Volume 2: The Capital, I’m Back Chapter 61 I Want to Eat Seafood
Zhu Qizhen said so much to his younger brother just to free up his hands to do his own things.
In his opinion, the emperor's daily routine was to attend court and review memorials, with less than three hours of rest each day. Even the donkey pulling the mill in front of the village committee next door would not dare to be used in this way!
Just hand over this mess.
In this way, he can focus all his energy on implementing the new policy. If any problems arise, having Zhu Qiyu as his younger brother in the middle can act as a buffer and give him enough time to respond.
Judging from the evaluations of later generations, Zhu Qiyu was highly praised. This was a good opportunity for him to train so that he could be independent in the future and help share some of the pressure.
When he was a sales manager, he was well aware of the importance of building a team. If he had to do everything himself, he would tire himself out sooner or later and still fail to achieve any results.
An excellent leader is not about personal ability, but about being able to lead a professional team.
For example, Pingxiangbo Chen Huai is now very professional in digging pits and firing kilns, so he needs to be trained in this area.
For such a huge project as building the Martyrs' Shrine, although we have not seen the drawings from the Ministry of Works yet, we can imagine that according to their method, it will take at least two to three years. After all, stones and wood need to be transported from other places, which is very troublesome.
If you want something simple, effective and cost-effective, you can't rely on the people in the Ministry of Industry, so you have to do it yourself.
Chen Huai had just returned home and the celebratory banquet had already been set up. Just as they were about to start eating, a young eunuch hurried in.
"Pingxiang Bo, the emperor summons you, please come to the palace immediately."
When Chen Huai heard this, he naturally put down his bowl and chopsticks without saying a word, changed into court clothes and rushed to the palace.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!"
"My dear, please don't be polite!"
Zhu Qizhen was writing and said without raising his head, "Come forward and talk."
Chen Huai walked forward and saw a lot of content densely written on the paper. After taking a closer look, it looked like... the process of burning lime powder?
Could it be that the emperor is planning to use this thing as a conventional weapon?
"Your Majesty, are you going to... burn lime?"
"Almost!" Zhu Qizhen put down his pen and handed the note over, "But this thing is not called lime, it's called cement!"
"cement?"
Chen Huai took it and looked at it for a few seconds, feeling very confused. You called me out of the house and didn't even let me eat, just to play with you?
"This thing..." Zhu Qizhen didn't know how to describe it for a moment, so he said, "Anyway, this thing is necessary for building the Martyrs' Shrine. You just need to do as I say."
When Chen Huai heard that it was used to repair the Martyrs' Shrine, he immediately became interested and patted his chest and said, "Your Majesty, don't worry. I know kiln firing best!"
"If you want to successfully make cement, the first step is to select the material. You must use limestone. Nothing else will work. This limestone..."
Zhu Qizhen suddenly realized that cement was different from lime and required extremely pure limestone, but he had never studied geological exploration, so how could he know how to find limestone!
"Your Majesty, you want to find limestone?" Chen Huai seemed to have discovered the problem, and said, "There is plenty of it over at the West Mountain!"
“Are you sure it’s limestone?”
Zhu Qizhen thought to himself, if you don't test this thing, how can you tell what kind of rock it is?
"Your Majesty, rest assured. The mining and firing techniques of limestone have long been mature among the people. It is not difficult to find it."
Zhu Qizhen thought about it and thought, yes, how did Yu Qian recite that poem?
Thousands of hammers and chisels dug out the mountains, and the raging fire burned as if it were nothing.
I am not afraid of being torn to pieces, I just want to keep my innocence in this world.
Lime hums, lime hums, isn't it the limestone that hums?
It can be seen that what Chen Huai said was correct. With the current technology, the exploration and mining of limestone should not be a problem.
"That's good!" Zhu Qizhen nodded and said, "Anyway, this task is handed over to you. Follow the steps I wrote and bake a batch of experimental products first. I want to test them."
"I will obey your orders and complete the task!"
Chen Huai left with the note. Zhu Qizhen thought about it and took out another piece of paper.
Jinying was serving on the side. When she saw that the tea had gotten cold, she went to change it for a cup of hot tea.
"Your Majesty, please have some tea."
"okay!"
Zhu Qizhen picked up the teacup, took a sip, and continued writing and drawing on the paper.
Suddenly, he raised his head and asked, "Why are you standing here if you're not investigating Wang Zhen's case?"
"ah?"
Jin Ying was stunned for a moment, and said: "The case is already under investigation, I will stay and serve the emperor..."
"You can just put anyone beside me. You must handle Wang Zhen's case in person and monitor the whole process. That's all my money, so make sure you watch it carefully! Also, this bastard once transported a large amount of gold and silver to my hometown in Weizhou. Send someone to investigate immediately!"
" I obey your command!"
"Wait a moment!"
Jin Ying hurriedly asked, "What else does the emperor want to say?"
"Does the former Minister of Industry, Li Cheng, have a son who stays in the Ministry of Industry?"
Jin Ying thought for a moment and replied, "His son Li Shulin is currently the head of the Ministry of Works, and is mainly responsible for supervising the manufacture of military equipment."
"Call him to me!"
Li Thanh was originally the son of Hu Quy Ly, the monarch of the Ho Dynasty of Annan. In the third year of Yongle, Emperor Da Zong launched a military campaign against Annan. In the fifth year of Yongle, the Ho Dynasty was destroyed. Li Thanh was pardoned because he was good at making firearms. From then on, he entered the Ministry of Works and devoted himself to the study of firearms. He was revered as the "God of Firearms" by the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty.
In the eleventh year of Zhengtong, Li Cheng passed away, and his son Li Shulin remained as the head of the Ministry of Works, inheriting his father's career and continuing to research military equipment.
What Zhu Qizhen is most concerned about now is improving firearms and gunpowder. This world is no longer an era of fighting with cold weapons. The Western Portuguese countries already have matchlock guns. If they don't hurry up to develop their own firearms, and wait until the other party's strong ships and powerful guns arrive at their doorstep, it will be too late to say anything.
The more important point is that although the emperor personally led the army to turn defeat into victory, it is still hard to swallow the bitter pill. Within a year at most, he vowed to conquer the northern desert. Little Wala, just wait for the baptism of fire!
Not long after Jin Ying left, a eunuch about twenty-five or twenty-six years old came to the palace.
"Your servant Huai En, kowtows to His Majesty!"
Zhu Qizhen looked up, then lowered his head and continued writing and drawing on the draft paper.
"Get up!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Huai En stood up and stood obediently beside Zhu Qizhen.
"What to eat for lunch?"
"ah?"
It was Huai En's first time serving the Emperor in close proximity, and he was very nervous.
"I ask you, what do you want to eat for lunch?"
"Oh, oh!" Huai En said hurriedly, "Everything has been arranged. Today's lunch will be roasted lamb, and..."
"stop!"
Zhu Qizhen suddenly raised his head, his face pale as he asked, "Can you change one?"
"Ah?" Huai En was startled and said quickly, "What does the emperor want to eat? I will prepare it right away."
"Anything but mutton!"
"So... roast beef?"
Zhu Qizhen's facial muscles twitched noticeably, and he said, "I don't want to eat meat today!"
"Then...I will prepare some vegetarian food?"
Zhu Qizhen thought for a moment and said, "Are there any seafood?"
Huai En was immediately in trouble and said, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten that our dynasty stipulates that ordinary people are not allowed to go to sea..."
Zhu Qizhen frowned and said, "What kind of bullshit rule is this?"
"Your Majesty, please be careful with your words, Your Majesty!"
Huai En knelt down directly. This is the ancestral rule. If these words were heard by those civil officials, what would happen...
"Never mind, just bring something else, as long as it's not beef or mutton."
Huai En suddenly had an idea and said, "There are a few fresh carps in the imperial kitchen. I will go and tell them to make a steamed carp for the emperor."
"Alright, go ahead!"
Zhu Qizhen secretly sighed, as the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he couldn't even have a meal of seafood, what a shit!
No, the sea must be opened. I want to eat lobster, abalone, salmon, mantis shrimp...
Thinking of this, he suddenly stood up and took out the map he had just taken out.
The reason why the Ming Dynasty implemented a maritime ban was mainly because Japanese pirates were rampant along the coast. The people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, and even the foreign merchant groups living in Quanzhou at that time, had assisted Zhang Shicheng, Fang Guozhen and others. After Zhu Yuanzhang conquered the world, he simply banned the sea in response to the rampant private overseas trade and Japanese pirates.
At this time, Japan was experiencing an era of warlord separatism, with feudal lords attacking each other. The defeated feudal lords were forced to leave their homeland and turned into pirates, frequently harassing the coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty.
As the threat of Japanese pirates became more and more serious, the Ming Dynasty's maritime ban policy became increasingly strict. Although it could provide some protection, it completely led to the loss of the coastline.
Zhu Qizhen stared at the map, and suddenly an idea flashed through his mind.
The reason why Japanese pirates were so rampant was mainly because the Ming Dynasty’s coastline was too long, making it a very passive defender.
If you deploy defenses in Dengzhou, they will land in Quanzhou.
You deployed defenses in Quanzhou, but they turned around and ran to Taizhou...
Therefore, although the imperial court maintained 200,000 guards to prepare for the Japanese invasion, which consumed a large amount of money and grain every year, it always felt that it was unable to cope with the situation.
But why should we defend blindly?
