Due to the arrival of the emperor, all the idle people were cleared away, and only the officials from the Ministry of Works and the craftsmen's team leaders were able to leave far behind.
Zhu Gaochi was shocked again. He looked up at the silhouette of a ship as tall as three palaces, standing on the shipbuilding pier.
"Why did he build such a big warship?" Zhu Gaochi looked at Zhu Yunxi, who was frowning slightly, "Why...why did he fall in love with this? Such a big ship is just for coastal defense? Isn't that killing a chicken with a knife?"
"
"Which ship is this?" Zhu Yunxi asked.
"Back to the Emperor!" Zhang Han, the head of the Construction Department of the Ministry of Industry, said, "This is the Wen Tianxiang number that I was ordered to supervise the construction of!" After saying that, he paused, "The keel has been built, but when the ribs were being built, I discovered that
, in terms of load-bearing..."
"I understand, it's the wood that doesn't work!" Zhu Yunxi frowned, paused and said, "Is it because of a lack of supply or something else?"
"Back to the emperor, it's fir trees sent from various places. The trees are not old enough!" Zhang Han replied, "Warships are no better than merchant ships. They must use fir trees to resist rot and moisture. If the trees are not old enough, the wood quality will not be good. A fir tree must at least
More than thirty years..."
Hearing this, Zhu Yunxi could only sigh in his heart.
Wood that is ordinary in the eyes of modern people is actually an extremely precious strategic material in this era. Since the Tang Dynasty, fir has been the king of trees, used in Buddhist temples and palaces, as furniture in the homes of powerful people, and even in shipbuilding.
Due to continuous felling over the past hundreds of years, good wood has become increasingly scarce.
We have a vast land and abundant resources, but we also have many people, and the harm we do is also great!
"I remember that Guangxi, Yunnan and other places are also rich in fir!" Zhu Yunxi said, "I will go back to the Ministry of Industry to list the specifications of the wood used, and I will order Yunnan, Guangxi and other places to send people to cut down!"
"It's a waste of people and money!" Zhu Gaochi said to himself, "In places deep in the mountains and old forests, transporting a piece of wood to the capital is more difficult than climbing to the sky! Moreover, the mountains and rivers are dangerous, and the people who cut down the wood are often in danger of their lives! Hey, he can't be more loving.
Besides, you can also build a palace, right?"
"Your Majesty, in fact, the best fir trees used in the treasure shipyard are from Annan!" Lian Zining, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, thought about it, "I bought two thousand fir trees from Annan last year, and there is no defective one!"
"Annan?" Zhu Yunxi frowned and started thinking.
The reason why we have not embarked on the road of navigation in history is not only the lack of awareness and arrogance, but also the lack of resources. There are only two ways to deal with the lack of resources, one is to buy, the other is to rob...
The latter is of course better than the former, but it is simply a business without capital. Why did Western countries in the Age of Discovery colonize extensively, wasn't it just to rob?
"Annan is going to be in trouble!" Zhu Gaochi looked at Zhu Yunxi's side face and was suddenly horrified, "You are not thinking of beating Annan for a few rotten pieces of wood, right?" Then he cursed in his heart, "I didn't see it earlier.
You are the son of Emperor Sui Yang!"
Although there is only one word for "rob", the knowledge here is huge. It is best to grab someone who has no power to retaliate. Although Annan is small, he can still struggle a few times. And in the poor and remote areas, if the fight is long-lasting
Fight, then the gains outweigh the losses...
"Li Jinglong!" Zhu Yunxi said.
"I'm here!"
"You are in charge of the vassal administration, and you will go back to give Annan credentials and ask about the fir tree!" Zhu Yunxi said.
"I obey the decree!" Li Jinglong said immediately.
Zhu Yunxi looked at the towering ship keel and sighed again, turned around slowly, and suddenly saw in the farthest distance, a craftsman with a bitter look and a deep hatred, lowering his head and thinking, there seemed to be something to say in his eyes but he didn't know.
Dare to speak out.
"Who are you?" Zhu Yunxi asked the man.
"Hurry up, the emperor is asking you something!"
The craftsman obviously didn't expect that the emperor would pay attention to him, and was stunned. It was an official from the Ministry of Works who reminded him hurriedly.
"Little man... Jiao Jiao Jiao Jiao... Big big!" The craftsman bowed down and stammered as he spoke.
"Get up and answer slowly!" Zhu Yunxi said with a smile, "I saw that you were thoughtful just now, but do you have something to say? Don't be afraid, just say whatever comes to mind. If you say it well, I will reward you, if you say it badly, I won't.
I don’t blame you!”
Jiao Da knelt and did not dare to raise his head. He was sweating like rain and was terrified.
"When the emperor asks you something, just get up and say it!" Li Jinglong stepped forward, helped the other person up and said with a smile, "Jiao Da, this is your creation!"
"Villain..." Jiao Da swallowed, and his bitter face became more and more wrinkled, "Actually, the wood used in shipbuilding does not necessarily have to be fir. Last year, Bao Shipyard built two ships, using Nanyang
Teak coming from over there.”
"Teak is also called annatto. No matter how much it is soaked in sea water or exposed to the sun, it will not deform or crack. It is much better than fir. If such a big ship is made of teak, it will definitely be better than fir!"
"Where did Nanyang come from?" Zhu Yunxi asked immediately.
Lian Zining, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, said, "It should be Srivijaya. This teak wood was the tribute of the country when the emperor ascended the throne. There are 600 teak trees in total!"
"Three Buddhas?" Zhu Yunxi thought for a moment, "It should be Indonesia later!"
Thinking of this, he felt a little regretful in his heart, "It's a pity that it is still separated by the sea. If it were next to a land like Goryeo, we could make a big fuss!"
"It's not just the Three Buddhas!" Jiao Da said again, "Burma is also rich in this tree!"
Zhu Yunxi was overjoyed and asked Li Jinglong, "Is the Burmese envoy still in the capital?"
"I'll do it right away!" As soon as Zhu Yunxi opened his mouth, Li Jinglong knew what he meant. Let's go ahead and extort money. Anyway, Myanmar is like an ant in overheated country now, making the second child of the Prince Yan family restless all day long.
Do you want wood or your life? As long as King Burmese is not stupid, you still can't give him those rotten wood?
"What position do you hold now?" Zhu Yunxi looked at Jiao again and laughed.
"The villain is the captain of the cabin!" Jiao Da said with a vibrato.
"Back to the emperor, his family has been a shipbuilding carpenter for generations!" Lian Zining said from the side, "His grandfather was originally a shipbuilding craftsman under Chen Youliang, and later moved to the capital!"
Those are the ones who were captured!
Zhu Yunxi already knew in his mind, "How much is the monthly salary now?"
"One and a half dollars!" Jiao Da whispered.
The craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty were all low-status people. Under the imperial authority, they served the royal family free of charge and unconditionally. They only received some monthly rations. This Jiao Da was able to earn monthly money because he served as a grassroots worker in the shipyard.
for management reasons.
"Reward him fifty silver dollars!" Zhu Yunxi said.
"Don't thank me yet!" Li Jinglong reminded.
"Young man, thank the Emperor for your grace!" Jiao Da couldn't stand firmly and once again bowed to the ground and knelt down to salute.
"Hel him up!" Zhu Yunxi said with a smile, "Your unintentional words solved the urgent need of the Bao Shipyard and you should be rewarded. Although it was unintentional, you couldn't have said it without decades of skill and experience!"
As he said that, he looked at Lian Zining and said, "You go back and announce a clause. Among the craftsmen who do well and never make mistakes, how much will be rewarded each month? How much will be rewarded for those who can innovate? According to the craftsmen's qualifications and years of service,
Reward as much as you like every month!"
"I obey the decree!" Lian Zining said.
He agreed happily, but Zhu Yunxi still caught a hint of disapproval in the other person's eyes.
In fact, this is not only the case in the Ming Dynasty. Craftsmen in all dynasties were free laborers from the government. They were given three melons and two dates at most, but no real money or silver.
But Zhu Yunxi knows that talent is actually the primary productive force.
"This is a rare occasion, Zhu Aiqing, please accompany me to see the shipyard again!" Zhu Yunxi said with a smile, "Uncle Jiao, follow me!"
