Chapter 208 Development Plan of Honeycomb Coal Industry
In May of the first year of Tianqi, the capital of the Ming Dynasty.
Under the bright sunshine, the streets are neat and clean, and there is an endless stream of people.
May is a rare comfortable time of the year in Beijing.
The Little Glacier is approaching, and the cold March wind suddenly turns cold again. Beyond the Great Wall in the Ming Dynasty, there is a desert, and the sandstorms in April are dozens of times more terrifying than those in later generations.
There is no sudden sweltering heat in June, nor the violent thunderstorms that appear from time to time in July.
May is the only exception in the year.
Wang Hongyu looked at the people in the capital at this time, listened to the authentic stories of the storyteller next door, tasted the haggis in his mouth that was close to the taste of later generations, and his heart was filled with treasure.
Is Ming Dynasty bad?
Compared with later generations, it was really terrible.
But everyone here is real, every smiling face, every struggle, every sigh, and every dream is real.
Wang Hongyu likes a saying.
"If you are responsible for what happened before you were alive, why worry about commenting on it afterward?"
If you are worthy of the people at this time and shoulder the responsibility of China at this time, you will have no regrets.
No regrets, but reluctance.
During the bloody battle in Hunhe River, countless arrows grazed the face, countless swords hit the armor, Nurhachi's curses, Mang Gurtai's roar, and Huang Taiji's almost killing gaze.
Everything was just two months ago.
It feels like a world away, yet so close.
Wang Hongyu drank the mutton soup in a big gulp and quietly walked to the shop in Dongzhimen to observe.
Goods are still coming in and out here.
Since Emperor Zhu Di moved the capital to Beijing, the capital has developed rapidly.
However, its natural environment is indeed somewhat different from that of Jiangnan.
Productivity at this time is limited, and local food is not enough to support this megacity with a population of more than 800,000.
The Grand Canal from Jiangnan to Tongzhou is of vital importance.
Most building materials and lumber go through Dongzhimen, so this is the place with the largest number of manual workers in the capital.
This winter, briquettes made life less difficult for everyone, and also made me a lot of money.
Wang Hongyu waved his hand and asked Meng Biao to spend 8,000 taels of silver to invest in reproduction, not to increase briquettes, but to invest in coal mines in western Beijing and even Shanxi. From the other end of the industrial chain.
Looking inside Dongzhimen, two more shops selling coal have opened.
Someone must have seen the business opportunity and put it into large-scale production. The technical content of briquettes is mediocre, so the supply must exceed demand this winter.
However, coal can be sold at a good price before briquettes become unsaleable.
This is the industrial mind.
"Sir, why are you here?"
Meng Biao saw Wang Hongyu who was observing competitors on the street.
"That's good. It seems you haven't slacked off. You've always got people on hand to observe your competitors."
Wang Hongyu patted Meng Biao on the shoulder. This veteran of the Sichuan Army was not able to join the war, but he supported half of the business in the capital industry and made a net profit of several thousand taels of silver. He also knew how not to be stingy, so he had 50 people under his command.
Each craftsman received a "year-end bonus" of 30 taels.
Thirty taels is equivalent to the income of an ordinary person who works for three years. Which of these craftsmen will give up such a position, and which one will not give up fifty taels and change jobs to work as a servant in a wealthy family?
Later, under his own instruction, he and Wei Zhongxian acted out a "partner split" drama, which convinced Zhao Nanxing and Gao Panlong.
It has to be said that Meng Biao was of great help to him and he must be rewarded and reused.
The two briefly communicated about the current business situation.
Briquettes can be easily copied, but the quality depends on the coal and craftsmen, and currently we are leading the way.
Several high-quality coal mines in western Beijing have also been put into operation. It is expected that they will make a lot of money this autumn and winter. After all, these new briquette manufacturers in the city have to buy massive amounts of coal.
These competitors want to squeeze us out, but they don’t know that when they buy raw materials, they are giving us money. The more they want to squeeze us out, the more they help us make money.
The winter in Beijing at this time was different from that of later generations. The temperature in Beijing at the beginning of the minor cold season was similar to that in Bashang now, or even colder. The freezing period lasted for more than half a year. From September to March next year, it was necessary to light a fire at home for seven months.
Warming.
At first, city dwellers bought firewood from the streets to light fires. As Beijing's population continued to increase, the demand for firewood increased dramatically, and there was no more firewood to cut for dozens of miles in the suburbs.
Those woodcutters who make a living by selling firewood can only go to farther mountainous areas to cut firewood, and the round trip takes more than three days. Of course, the woodcutter cannot cut firewood from the mountains and then carry it to the city to sell it in a time-consuming manner.
In this way, firewood stacks naturally appeared. The wood stacks collected wood, and then people who specialized in transportation used horse-drawn carriages and oxcarts to transport it to the city for sale. There was also a firewood stack in the city specifically to receive firewood.
In other words, cutting, collecting, transporting, and selling firewood have formed a supply chain. Many people make a living from it, and the price of firewood is naturally getting higher and higher.
Purchasing firewood for cooking and heating has long been a major burden for residents in Beijing.
Fortunately, Datong, western Beijing and other places have abundant coal.
Burning coal is far more economical than burning charcoal, and coal is gradually replacing charcoal.
But a new problem arose, that is, there were more cases of gas poisoning after burning coal than when burning wood. Later, many people only dared to burn coal during the day.
In fact, this is an illusion caused by insufficient knowledge: whether burning coal or wood, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide will be produced. The smoke emitted during combustion is carbon dioxide, and insufficient combustion will produce carbon monoxide.
Carbon dioxide can suffocate people, and carbon monoxide can destroy the ability of hemoglobin to absorb oxygen. This is called poisoning, which is actually suffocation.
So why do fewer people die when burning firewood? Because people will cough when the smoke is strong, and thick smoke can be seen. Often when homes burn firewood, they open windows or leave vents. When burning coal, there is less smoke than burning firewood.
Leave vents open.
When coal without vents is burned, it will lack oxygen, resulting in incomplete combustion, and the production of carbon monoxide that cannot be seen or coughed, leading to carbon monoxide poisoning.
When using briquettes, you also need to leave vents. However, briquettes burn slowly, so the vents can be smaller, or the doors and windows are not tight and there are no vents.
Wang Hongyu specifically told Meng Biao that briquettes are mainly sold to large households with large houses and ventilation, as well as to industries that are still engaged in production in winter.
But this way the market has not been fully opened.
Further deepening will involve construction aspects such as house renovation and flue renovation.
In later generations, honeycomb briquettes were used to burn stoves in Beijing, and there was a chimney to dissipate heat and the house would not be cold.
Later generations had galvanized iron rolled chimneys, which were light, easy to install and disassemble, and had good heat dissipation. Now they can only be replaced by ceramic pipes, which are difficult to handle around corners and are too heavy. Moreover, the heat dissipation is not good, and heat is wasted directly from the roof.
He also damaged the roof.
Wang Hongyu and Li Tiezhu discussed for many days, and they could only use the flue of the earthen kang to connect the flame outlet of the cast iron honeycomb briquettes with the earthen kang, and then enter the chimney in the wall through the earthen kang.
Therefore, an industry of flue construction projects is about to emerge.