It was different from the time when Wanli deliberately launched a country-based dispute in order to get back the personnel, finance, and military power that had been eroded or even controlled by civil servants, and wanted to divide the ministers. Zhu Youdong now firmly holds all the power, and there is no need for internal civil servants to

There was a fierce battle. Therefore, when the struggle over the kingdom of Tianqi Dynasty first appeared, he made a prompt decision and quickly selected the candidate for the crown prince.

On May 12, the twenty-fifth year of the Apocalypse (1643), the emperor officially issued an edict, clearly naming the eldest son of the emperor Zhu Ciyi as the crown prince, and the second son of the emperor Zhu Ciyan as the king of Song Dynasty. The planned fiefdom was Brazil in South America in the future. The third emperor was named emperor.

His son Zhu Ciyan was the king, and his planned fiefdoms were Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile in later South America.

Of course, although the status of monarch and ministers between the three brothers has been determined since then, on the one hand, South America has been roughly decided at this time, and the Ming Dynasty cannot immediately send the two princes to the country - it will look too ugly and will make the new generation

The Inca Kingdom and the vast number of Indians in South America were disgusted. Therefore, the two brothers Zhu Ciyan still stayed in Beijing. On the other hand, everyone's psychology is not so easy to control, and Zhu Youdong never thought of relying on his own words.

Words can make all the ministers wholeheartedly support Zhu Ciyi. Therefore, the open and secret fighting below may not completely stop.

However, no matter what, the status between the princes has been decided. If anyone dares to blatantly flutter again, the emperor will definitely not show mercy. Besides, the Ming Dynasty's clan policy is completely different now.

Unlike in the past, those who failed to compete for the reserve would no longer go to their own fiefdoms to be pigs and be raised in captivity, but would still be the king of a country. Under such circumstances, even the person involved would find it difficult to resort to desperate measures and take risks.

Be brave.

In short, that's it. Although Zhu Youdong has established a prince, as long as the next two princes do not leave the country, or the prince does not succeed, there will be fighting. But at least it can be controlled within a certain range and will not cause too much harm to the country.

harm.

After doing all this, he called Zhu Youxiao back from Tianjin Port: I am going to patrol the northwest. Ciyi has just been crowned prince and still needs to study. Yuxiao, you can supervise the country again for your brother. I promise,

This is the last time.

As for why we need to patrol the northwest, it is of course that with the development of science and technology in the Ming Dynasty, coal, saltpetre, cotton and even oil in the northwest provinces have become indispensable for the development of the Ming Dynasty's industry. In recent years, the drought in the northwest has become increasingly severe.

What is the situation there? As an emperor with sole power, he cannot just listen to reports from people below him. Sometimes, he must go and take a look himself.

…

Just when Zhu Youdong appointed the crown prince and asked the Chief of Ceremonies to prepare for his tour. June 1643, Lanzhou, Gansu.

In the early summer season in the northwest, the already dry air becomes even hotter. In the production workshop of Lanzhou Steel Plant, the temperature here is much higher than outside. So much so that most of the workers working here are

It's shirtless.

"Attention, attention." The loudspeaker inside the steel plant chirped twice and then a clear human voice came out: "The molten steel is coming out of the furnace, all masters in the yellow zone, please pay attention to safety."

With this reminder, a huge crucible was slowly transported to the designated location by a crane. Then with the operation in the distance, it slowly tilted, and the red molten steel gurgled into the guide trough, and was in the guide trough.

Under the guidance, it quickly flows into the mold.

After the pouring of this furnace of molten steel was completed, the workers who had been waiting nearby approached in an orderly manner and began their new work.

Amidst all this orderly, busy and dangerous work, on the hanging ladder above the steel factory building, a group of middle and low-level officials in blue and purple official uniforms were surrounded by a senior official in red official uniforms.

Officials, watched the whole process in full.

"Okay, okay. With the support of electricity, the production efficiency of our Lanzhou Steel Plant has improved a lot. Hey, I come here often. In the past, when there was no electricity, a steam engine was needed to lift such a large crucible.

, it’s slow, difficult to control, and very dangerous!”

"Uncle Fang is absolutely right. However, in addition to the use of electricity to improve factory efficiency, this advancement in materials science has also further promoted the production of steel plants. Uncle Fang, please see, the cables hanging the crucible can withstand twenty

Not to mention the weight of five tons, it can also maintain stable properties at temperatures below a thousand degrees. The new crucible can withstand a high temperature of three thousand degrees, so as to ensure that the molten iron can be heated to the boiling point..."

"Yes, that's why the emperor said back then that science and technology can be advanced alone at the beginning, but as we get later, we need more cooperation from various industries. Well, Director Liu, there should be no problem with this year's rail production tasks, right?

?”

"Uncle Fang, don't worry. As long as pig iron, coal, and electricity can keep up, the production tasks issued by the imperial court this year, including three thousand kilometers of standard rails, will definitely be completed as scheduled."

"That's good. Alas, the Western pirates have cut off the maritime trade between our Ming Dynasty and India. So much silk porcelain tea has to rely on the Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway to go to the Western Regions. Even the spices from Nanyang now have to be transported to the northwest first.

Then it will be shipped to Europe... The Lanzhou-Xinjiang Line has long been overwhelmed. Therefore, it is imperative to build a double line. Well, Director Liu, do you have any difficulties in your factory? I and my colleagues in the Chief Secretary

We are all here, and everything we can do has been done for you.”

"There's nothing else. After all, Uncle Fang asked Lanzhou City to cut off the power supply and use all the electricity to ensure the operation of the steel plant. It's just this coal... Uncle Fang, I have coal in Gansu, but the output is generally small and the quality of the coal is

It's also relatively poor. In order to ensure the quality of molten steel, we have to pick every batch of coal after it enters the factory... Uncle Fang, this production task is so heavy, and the factory has to allocate a lot of manpower to do it.

... I was thinking about whether Uncle Fang would come forward and coordinate with the Chief Secretary of Shanxi or the Mongolian Autonomous Region for us. The coal they have is abundant and of high quality."

"Haha." There is a tradition in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty: unless it is absolutely necessary, do not call an official by his current position. For example, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel should not be called the Minister, but should be called "Otsuka Zai" - this kind of

Calling officials of this dynasty by their ancient official titles not only appears elegant, but is also a habit of the Ming Dynasty officialdom.

Specifically speaking of the title Fang Bo, its original meaning is of course a prince. But in fact, in the Ming Dynasty, it refers to the chief envoy: although starting from the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the governor and governor were often the highest official positions in a province. But that

The two were sent by the central government, and the so-called organizational relations are in the Ministry of Personnel (Personnel Department). The highest official with official status in the province is also the chief envoy.

The chief envoy of Gansu, whose surname was Tengjiao, was also a celebrity in terms of history.

Of course, in this era, the Ming Dynasty's national power had been completely reversed by Zhu Youdong. He Tengjiao did not have to fight with the rest of the Dashun army like he did in the historical plane, let alone die heroically for his country.

He was appointed Chief Envoy of Gansu Province in the 23rd year of Tianqi. After taking office, he made a keen discovery: God has not given face to the northerners in recent years, and Gansu has been suffering from drought for many years. The agriculture and animal husbandry industries close to the Yellow River are

Struggling to survive, almost all the primary industries in other places are finished.

Fortunately, there is a large steel factory in Lanzhou that is directly affiliated with the Ministry of Heavy Industry of the Ming Dynasty. Thanks to the crazy construction of railways in the Ming Dynasty over the years, the rails produced by the Lanzhou Steel Factory have always been in short supply. The employees of the entire steel factory have been in Tianqi for twenty-three years.

By that time, the number of people had reached more than 30,000.

These more than 30,000 people, together with their families and children, form a large factory area of ​​about 150,000 people. And the various small vendors, schools, hospitals, financial institutions, entertainment facilities, etc. that are attached to the factory area, plus the families of these people

, there are almost more than 200,000 people of various kinds - in this era, the urban area of ​​Lanzhou only has a total of about 200,000 people!

In addition to directly supporting more than 200,000 people in Lanzhou City, this steel plant also indirectly supported several small coal mines and small iron mines in Gansu. It was also because of this steel plant that the imperial court invested in building it in Lanzhou.

Then the thermal power plant fed more coal mines and more people... In short, a steel plant drove the livelihood of nearly half a million people - and at this time, as a new province, the entire Gansu

The registered population is just over three million.

The smooth operation of a factory involves the livelihood of one-sixth of the population of a province. As the chief envoy, no matter how high you value it, you cannot overestimate it.

Therefore, after He Tengjiao was promoted from the position of chief secretary of Guizhou to here, this official who had been promoted because of his good performance in agriculture in Guizhou quickly and completely changed his concept in less than two years: agriculture and animal husbandry

There are too few jobs and people to support. Industry, industry is the key to ensuring that Gansu can get better and better!

Spain cut off the sea trade between East Asia and India, which was a big blow to the merchants in the southeast of the Ming Dynasty. But on the other hand, the northwest has ushered in another opportunity for revitalization since the Tang Dynasty. Based on industry,

To develop commerce, as long as everything is done properly, Gansu, a province based on the Hexi Corridor, will be completely prosperous in the next ten years!

With this understanding, it is not surprising that He Tengjiao would go to the Lanzhou Steel Plant every now and then.

Of course, if we look at it from the perspective of future generations, Lanzhou Steel Mill is a state-owned enterprise and a central enterprise. While making due contributions to the country's industry, it also has some inherent shortcomings. At this point, He Tengjiao made great contributions to the steel mill.

Big support: The Chief Minister himself takes the lead, and all officials in the Chief Secretary's Office in Gansu are not allowed to arrange their relatives and children into the steel factory. Those who have already been arranged must withdraw within a time limit. The director of the steel factory is allowed to attend the Chief Secretary's meeting on a regular basis.

The power of regular meetings. At the meeting, all issues raised by the steel plant will be dealt with immediately if they can be dealt with. If they cannot be dealt with, they should try their best to find solutions...

However, when Director Liu said that he did not want local coal in Gansu and wanted to transfer coal from other provinces, He Tengjiao, who was the chief envoy of Gansu, stopped working.

"Haha." He laughed dryly, and Uncle He Fang, who was so amiable just now, turned a little cold: "Director Liu, is my coal in Gansu so unbearable?"

Seeing the expression on this official's face and hearing the voice of Director Liu who was completely different from just now, how could he still not know that he had touched Uncle He Fang's skin? However, those small coal mines in Longzhong and Hexi

The coal that was delivered is really not good.

"Uncle Fang, there are too many impurities in the coal. Using it directly as fuel will seriously affect the quality of the rails, so we must further process the coal coming to the factory. But washing and picking up coal every day is really labor-intensive.

.This year, as the amount of rails required by the imperial court is increasing, in order to ensure both output and quality, the factory has to temporarily recruit 3,000 people to further refine the coal. Uncle Fang, the original employees of our steel factory were only

Thirty thousand people, this sudden increase of 10%, the factory's profits will be too thin. At that time, the factory workers will feel that their overtime hours are getting longer and longer, but their wages will not increase. If this continues, the workers' mood will be wrong.

, how to ensure the output and quality?"

"Huh~ Lanzhou Steel Plant is a steel plant directly under the Ministry of Heavy Industry of the Ming Dynasty. It must consider issues from the perspective of the people's livelihood of the entire Ming Dynasty. Director Liu, you have also seen that this little glacier climate has no intention of ending in a short time. I, Gansu's agriculture

It is basically the same as the animal husbandry industry. There are so many unemployed people, why don't the steel mills take this opportunity to take care of them more? I am the parent officer of Gansu. I am not only the parent of your steel mill, but also the parents of the three million people in Gansu!

"
Chapter completed!