Chapter 312 Customs (III)
Song Chenglian waved his hands as he saw Feng Yukuan off at the port. From a work perspective, it was a good thing for the previous incumbent to leave. In addition, Song Chenglian was very grateful for the key points of the anti-Japanese action given by Feng Yukuan.
After bidding farewell to Feng Yukuan, Song Chenglian returned to the office with some emotion. The people sent by Hojo were already waiting in the office. He thought Hojo would come to the office to talk about something, but he didn't expect Hojo to ask Song Chenglian to go to Yoshiwara again.
Song Chenglian had to go, but he didn't expect that Hojo would arrive first this time, and there were several people around him that he didn't recognize. After introducing each other, one of them who didn't look like an official turned out to be from the Nijo family.
After chatting about random things for a while, the man from the Nijo family asked Song Chenglian, "Sir Song, can I see your sword?"
Although Song Chenglian didn't understand what was going on, he didn't refuse. The people of the Nijo family drew their swords, and a cold light flashed in the house. The swords of the Huaxia Dynasty were not iron swords, but steel swords. Song Chenglian also knew that he had to maintain them. The sword body was bright and flashed under the light.
In China, it is not illegal to carry a sword . But swords are not just semi-ornaments. People who carry them must have some reasons to be accepted, such as soldiers.
In fact, Japan is similar. Those who carry samurai swords are samurai. Ordinary people will get into trouble if they carry these things. In terms of overall proportion, there are many more people carrying swords in Japan than in China.
After the Nijo family member finished looking at the sword, he returned it and asked, "Excuse me, sir, was the steel used to make the sword produced in the Ming Dynasty?"
Song Chenglian didn't even think about it and immediately answered, "Of course."
The people of the Nijo family replied happily, "Excuse me, sir, can you sell this iron to us?"
Song Chenglian did not answer the question immediately. Putting the people of the Nijo family aside, Song Chenglian first looked at Hojo Keiichiro. Hojo seemed to be fine, drinking with his head down. This reminded Song Chenglian of Feng Yukuan's description of the Japanese people, that everyone was really a non-stick pan.
If it is in China, and the head of a department is sitting on the spot, and someone says something about the field, it goes without saying that this is to let the participants know that someone is covering this matter and they can talk boldly.
According to Feng Yukuan's description of the Japanese, doing this in Japan can certainly be understood as someone's protection. But the Japanese side cannot believe it is true. Because the Japanese people in charge can do anything to protect themselves.
Thinking of this, Feng Yukuan felt that he could not let Nijo deceive him. "Hojo-san, has the shogunate made a decision on steel imports?"
Hojo Keiichiro, the Edo-Ming Dynasty trade commissioner, frowned slightly when he heard Song Chenglian ask this, "Mr. Song, doesn't the Ming Dynasty have Nanman iron for sale?"
As for the business scope, Song Chenglian is very familiar with it. "We only sell steel, not iron."
"Mr. Song, please discuss this with Mr. Hojo." Hojo started to pass the buck.
Seeing that these birdmen were indeed like this, Song Chenglian wanted to watch the fun. Since the Japanese were going to do this, why not play with them? Turning around, Song Chenglian talked to Nijo about the export of Nanman iron and steel.
After talking for a while, Song Chenglian unexpectedly discovered that the Nijo family was an expert in swordsmithing. He had a very deep understanding of Nanman Iron and the iron ore in the "Chukuda" region of the Mori family in Japan.
According to the Nijo family, the Japanese originally used high-purity magnetite from the Chugoku region in their native Japan to smelt iron. Over the past two hundred years, European fleets also brought "Nanman Iron".
Song Chenglian was puzzled and asked why they didn't import iron ore from China. This question made the Japanese silent for a moment. The Japanese spoke very implicitly. Song Chenglian also savored it carefully for a while, and suddenly understood the ridicule of the Nijo family towards Chinese iron ore exporters.
According to the Nijo family, Chinese exporters a hundred years ago still understood what high-quality iron ore was. However, during the Qing Dynasty, the ban on sea trade had been intermittent for nearly a hundred years, and the knowledge level of the Qing Dynasty traders responsible for exporting to Japan had plummeted. They could no longer explain what high-quality iron ore was.
Although it was the Qing Dynasty court that was being ridiculed, Song Chenglian still became furious when he heard it.
But Song Chenglian had to continue listening despite being angry. Fortunately, the people of the Nijo family did not go too far and stopped their criticism. After listening to the end, Song Chenglian understood a little bit and asked, "Since the Japanese samurai swords need such good Nanman iron, why ask us? "
This was actually a bit annoying, but the Nijo family member answered straightforwardly: "Your sword is made of very good steel. I would like to ask what the export price of steel is in Ming Dynasty."
Did they want to use cheaper steel? Song Chenglian finally figured out what was going on. He understood that the Japanese were not being unreasonable, but he couldn't get rid of his resentment. Song Chenglian couldn't help but sneer, "Your samurai swords are very sharp. I think it's because your craftsmen are skilled. Any iron can be turned into something magical..."
"Please don't joke!" The Nijo family member interrupted Song Chenglian's nonsense seriously, "Song Sang, if you really respect weapons, please don't say that."
Song Chenglian was moved by the seriousness of the Nijo family and put away his mocking mood. After a few more words, although the two sides failed to reach a consensus, they agreed to meet the next day. Let's see the difference between the samurai sword and the steel sword.
The next day, the Nijo family arrived as promised, bringing several knives and a dozen rolls of straw mats.
Without further ado, he and Song Chenglian began to test the sword. The samurai sword slashed horizontally, and the grass roll was cut horizontally. Song Chenglian was shocked by the might. He didn't expect the samurai sword to be quite sharp.
The young man in the office was indignant and drew out his broadsword to compare with the samurai sword. However, the Chinese army had long been using bayonets in hand-to-hand combat, and longsword combat was not the mainstream from the beginning. A longsword that was too sharp could easily hurt him in daily life, so he had to sharpen the sword before the battle.
Unexpectedly, the Japanese did not mock at all, but instead watched from the side with an expression that was what should be done. This made the young Chinese soldiers feel a little better.
He sharpened his sword, slashed it horizontally, and the grass roll was cut off.
Later, the Nijo family increased the number of grass rolls, and the sharpest samurai sword could cut through eight grass rolls with one strike. After being sharpened, the broadsword of the Chinese army only had four and a half rolls.
The comparison was clear. The young men of the Chinese army rolled their eyes. Although they were angry, they didn't know how to react. The Chinese sword was not as good as the Japanese samurai sword, which really made the young men unhappy.
"Please let us help your country sharpen swords." The Nijo family actually made a strange request at this time.
The young Jinyiwei were very angry, but Song Chenglian did not refuse. Although he was also angry, Song Chenglian decided to see what the Japanese were up to.
When the Nijo family took out the sharpening tools, Song Chenglian was no longer angry, and the young Jinyiwei who were originally angry soon calmed down. The difference between the two sides' sharpening stones was obvious just by looking at them.
It’s not that young people don’t care about their face. When the gap between the two sides exceeds a certain level, normal people will no longer be angry, but begin to admire.
The whetstones in Japan are very well made, and they are clamp-type, which means that there is a small tool to fix the sword and then sharpen the blade.
Compared with the Japanese way of sharpening knives, the Jinyiwei's way of sharpening knives is like the way people in the village sharpen knives. They simply press the sword and sharpen it in a simple reciprocating pattern like sharpening scissors and kitchen knives. Compared with the two, it's really not appropriate to even get angry.
After being refined in Japan, the broadsword used by the Jinyiwei could barely cut off eight grass scrolls with one sword.
Song Chenglian completely put away his contemptuous thoughts at this time, and he didn't think that the Nijo family was looking for trouble. Since the other party was also an expert, he had to respect him.
With the basis for negotiation, the Nijo family's request was also correctly understood. It turned out that someone in the Nijo family forged swords, and Nanman iron was indeed too expensive. Since the swords on the Ming side were so sharp, it must be that there was high-quality iron ore.
The trade between Ming and Japan was truly resumed. The Nijo family came here not to cause any trouble, but simply to hope that Ming could continue to provide high-quality iron ore as it did two hundred years ago, so that the Nijo family's sword-making business could continue to develop.
After this was done, Hojo appeared again. However, Song Chenglian did not go to Yoshiwara this time, but invited Hojo to eat in the canteen opened by the office. The early spring of 1732 was not particularly cold. Everyone sat around the copper pot and ate hot pot. The meat slices in the shuangxiang pot were ripe. After eating a lot, Hojo was satisfied and made a request. He hoped that "Da Ming" could resume iron ore exports. Especially the export of high-quality iron ore.
The news reached Linzi in late spring of 1732. The trade officer of the Ministry of Revenue was somewhat in a dilemma when he heard the request. Huo Chong was in favor of it.
Japan is resource-poor, and even though it has its own iron ore and coal mines, it is still an importer of high-quality iron ore. Therefore, this request is not only not excessive, but also logical.
The guys in the Trade Department complained, "Governor, we don't even have enough for ourselves, how can we give so much iron ore to Japan?"
"No, no, no. I don't think we need to consider exporting large quantities of iron ore to Japan. We can just sell pig iron and wrought iron directly. After all, Japan is not looking to engage in the iron smelting industry, but metal processing." Huo Chong suggested.
After all, they had received training, and the Trade Department could clearly distinguish between iron smelting and metal processing. When they heard these two terms, they suddenly understood. So someone asked what the "Southern Barbarian Iron" that the Japanese people were thinking about was.
Huo Chong first explained what the "Japanese pirates" were. The Ming Dynasty itself was indeed short of high-quality iron ore, and the invasion of the Japanese pirates also made the Ming Dynasty more reluctant to export iron ore and other metallurgical materials to Japan.
Just think about it, if Japan obtained high-quality iron ore, wouldn't it be able to produce more powerful Japanese swords?
There is also a common misunderstanding among people that the reason why Japanese swords are so good is because Japan itself has extremely high-quality iron ore. In fact, this is not the case at all.
The guys from the Trade Department hesitated when they heard this. Huo Chong knew it would be difficult to clear up the misunderstanding, so he waited for a while before continuing.
In terms of production technology, the samurai sword is indeed made with an attitude similar to that of "ten years of sharpening a sword", but it does not take that long, but the requirements for humidity, dust, ore and furnace temperature in the air are extremely high. The real Japanese ancient sword is made of three layers of steel, and it is not completely wrought iron. The temperature is also critical. If it is too early, it will be raw iron, and if it is too late, it will be too soft. It is not the steel that many people think, but it must be forged to a hardness between the two.
There are many stages in the creation of a samurai sword. The real craftsmanship is to use three different steels to synthesize a sword. The back, blade and blade are made of metals of different materials, and then they are fit together with inlay. The complexity is unimaginable.
However, no matter how exquisite the craftsmanship is or how amazing the skills are, the materials are the fundamental factor that determines the quality of a Japanese sword.
In the middle of the 16th century, during the Warring States Period in Japan, Japan's metallurgical industry began to use imported ores, most of which were sold by the Portuguese and Spanish and were commonly known as Nanman Iron.
In fact, the reds are also making money from the Japanese. The Japanese always think that these iron ingots are from the West, but in fact they are Indian Wootz steel and Malay iron. These steels were once the raw materials for the world's sharpest Damascus knife.
But before that, Japan used pure magnetite produced locally. In the 16th century, it switched to furnaces to increase production. After the introduction of Nanman iron, Japan immediately chose higher-quality iron and easily abandoned its own traditions.
In the end, Huo Chong made a summary based on what he knew, "The Japanese inherited the knife-making technology. As for materials, they used whatever was good. They didn't insist on using a particular material. Of course, some things are better than good. What do you think they are?"
Faced with such a question, the comrades of the Trade Department thought for a moment, and someone answered: "It means it is cheap and good, and has a high cost performance?"
Huo Chong nodded happily. The fact that the concept of cost-effectiveness has begun to take root in people's minds is indeed a very important progress.
But within a few days, the Commerce Department came to Huo Chong to complain, saying that the Metallurgical Bureau of the Ministry of Industry refused to export.
As soon as the Department of Commerce filed a complaint, the Metallurgical Department came to sue the Department of Commerce for its misconduct. The director of the department met Huo Chong and said, "Teacher, what are those people from the Department of Commerce saying? We don't have any ore to export. Do you want us to export steel and wrought iron?"
"No way?" Huo Chong felt that his students were overreacting.
If the people in the Commerce Department were training, then the people in the Ministry of Industry were real students. Huo Chong had put a lot of thought into modern science education, and at least the people in the Metallurgical Department of the Ministry of Industry were all people who had real knowledge of modern chemistry, physics, and mathematics.
It can be seen that the people in the Ministry of Industry also fully agree with this kind of master-disciple relationship. "Teacher, last time you asked us to move the base to Lanling, and now the production task is so heavy, where can we get so much steel to sell to Japan."
"It doesn't have to be too much, at least a dozen tons, right? Haha!" Huo Chong said this and couldn't help laughing when he looked at the expressions of these science and engineering men.
The science and engineering guy replied angrily, "No! Really not! There are so many parts that need to be replaced, and Sister Qian has scolded us several times."
Huo Chong heard this and felt that Qian Qing was a bit too much. The Ministry of Industry and Qian Qing had a quarrel over the pump before. At that time, Qian Qing wanted spare parts, but the Ministry of Industry had not been able to solve various crankshaft and gear issues, so they played a trick and said that it would affect the overall output of the pump, and they just fought back against Qian Qing.
Although the guys in the Ministry of Industry were science and engineering men, Qian Qing had studied mathematics, physics and chemistry with Huo Chong before they entered school. Qian Qing was engaged in military command not because she did not understand technology, but because military command needed more people.
Later, Qian Qing figured out what had happened, but he remembered the little tricks played by the science and engineering guys. Whenever something happened, he would inevitably mention the past to criticize the science and engineering guys.
The science and engineering guys knew they were in the wrong and didn't dare to argue too much. But they were also very unhappy about this matter.
After hearing what Huo Chong said, the science and engineering men immediately said, "Teacher, the coal-iron complex you mentioned before, we thought it would be good to go to Lanling. But after we get there, we use a lot of steel, and there really is none. Not even a ton."
Huo Chong had no choice but to ask about the announcement of the Metallurgical Department's relocation to Lanling.
When talking about Lanling, besides the masked Lanling King, there is also the fine wine of Lanling. Li Bai once wrote a poem praising it: The fine wine of Lanling is like tulips, and the amber light is served in a jade bowl. If the host can make the guests drunk, they will not know where they are from.
However, there is a more famous place in Lanling, which is Zaozhuang. Huo Chong does not like this name, just like he does not like the names of Zhumadian and Shijiazhuang.
Can Zaozhuang be called Lanling and Shijiazhuang be called Changshan? What's the point of creating a "Shijiazhuang Zhao Yun"?
Moreover, Zaozhuang is a very suitable place for early coal-iron complex. The annual runoff of rivers in Zaozhuang City is 1.07 billion cubic meters. The surface water resources are the largest in Tengzhou City, with a runoff of 325.3 million cubic meters, and the smallest in Taierzhuang District, with a runoff of 102.8 million cubic meters. The groundwater resources are moderately rich, and the main source of replenishment comes from atmospheric precipitation, followed by water storage projects such as reservoirs and ponds, and river runoff. There are 8 proven water sources, including Shiliquan, Dingzhuang, Dongwangzhuang, Yangzhuang, Jingquan, Qingliangquan, Kekou, and Yicheng, all of which are mainly karst water and porous water. The annual average groundwater resources in the city are 660 million cubic meters.
The coal reserves in Zaozhuang City are 171,771,000 tons, and the iron ore reserves are 41,780,000 tons. Shandong Zaozhuang Mining (Group) Co., Ltd. was formerly the "official kiln" of Shandong Zhongxing Mining Bureau, "Zhongxing Coal Mine Co., Ltd.", which was founded in the fifth year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (1878). At that time, it was known as the three largest coal mines in China together with Kailuan and Fushun. Zaozhuang Mining Bureau was established in 1956 and restructured into Shandong Zaozhuang Mining (Group) Co., Ltd. in 1998.
The reason why Zaozhuang is so famous is that the local economy has made important contributions to the development of China's coal industry, especially in the era of coal shortage, it played an important role in ensuring the coal supply in East China. In the 1960s and 1970s, it was named "Daqing-style enterprise".
In 1732, Shanxi, which was rich in coal, was still in the hands of the Qing Dynasty. Huo Chong could not import coal from Australia or Southeast Asia. Zaozhuang, a coal-iron complex with sufficient water resources, was more suitable.
When talking about the relocation of the Metallurgical Department to Zaozhuang, the science and engineering men all got excited. In the end, the science and engineering man couldn't help asking a question, "Teacher, why did I hear someone say that the capital should be moved?"
