Chapter 969
Steel
People still preferred to use charcoal, while poor families burned firewood directly. So, although this was ancient times, to be honest, in places with many people, the surrounding area was mostly barren.
The situation is better in the south, but in many places north of the Yangtze River, a lot of timber and manpower are spent on keeping warm in autumn and winter.
If the North could make good use of its coal resources, its economic development speed would not be slower than that of the South.
Pan Yun said, "The Ministry of Works is already trying to deal with the coal, and there will be progress soon."
She paused, then said in a low voice, "Whether the coal is used for heating, power generation, or other purposes, it must be processed. There are rich mineral deposits in this land from the Nurgan Regional Military Commission north to the Outer Khingan Mountains. Second brother, the Jurchens are one of the ethnic minorities of our Great Ming. They voluntarily submitted to the Ming Dynasty. After you go there, you must manage the land well so that they can live a good life relying on their homeland and yearn to live a good life in their homeland."
Pan Yu's eyes flashed, and he nodded vigorously: "Little sister, tell me how to find a coal mine. When I get to Nurgan Commandery, I'll find a coal mine and tell them it's a good thing."
Pan Yun swiftly pulled out two books and shoved them at him: "I prepared these for you long ago. The books not only contain methods for finding coal mines, but also simple mining and usage methods. However, I suggest you use the usage methods published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The coal ore in these books is basically unprocessed, and the usage methods are too crude."
Pan Yue said thoughtfully, "I remember there was a travelogue in the Imperial Academy's library that mentioned this item. I'll find it and make a copy for you to send you."
Pan Hong also said, "I'll look for records in the Hanlin Academy for you later. Perhaps someone discovered this item while traveling in the Northeast."
Pan Hong vaguely remembered that coal mines seemed easy to find, with coal and rocks exposed on the surface, and sometimes even spontaneously combusting when they encountered natural fire, commonly known as "burning rocks".
It was precisely because it could burn that ordinary people realized it could be used for cooking and heating. If it weren't for the frequent poisoning incidents, this kind of stone would have been widely used long ago.
The Pan family of four ate, drank, and chatted until late at night, after which Pan Jun left quietly.
Pan Yu took the cloth bag and books given to him by Pan Yun back to his room. The next morning, with red eyes, he carried the bundle on his back, took the big knife, bid farewell to his father and brothers, and left.
Their delegation left together with the Jurchen delegation, and it would take ten days to travel from the capital to the area beyond the Great Wall.
This timeframe is still too long. If coal can actually be used and steel smelting and other processes are also developed, they can certainly consider building railways.
This not only shortens people's travel time but also facilitates the transportation of goods such as coal and iron.
Pan Yun stood silently in front of the map hanging in the Ministry of Works, lost in thought.
The officials from the Ministry of Works were already used to her daydreaming, and they kept passing by her without acknowledging each other.
Only occasionally would craftsmen come up to her and ask, "Grand Preceptor, I have a question..."
"Grand Preceptor, there's one part of the blueprints you provided that I can't install..."
"Imperial Advisor, come quick! I've figured out something really interesting..."
"Imperial Preceptor, someone has presented me with something extremely useful today..."
But none of this stopped Pan Yun from deep in thought. When Hu Cheng returned from outside the city, looking refreshed, Pan Yun was drawing two winding lines on the map with a charcoal pencil.
Hu Cheng suppressed the urge to report the good news, and first leaned over to take a look. After glancing at it, his eyes widened, and he nervously looked around before whispering to Pan Yun, "Grand Preceptor, could this be the marching route? You, you want to attack the Jurchens?"
Pan Yun glanced at him and said, "What are you thinking? The Jurchens are a minority of our Great Ming. They just came to congratulate His Majesty on his birthday, and His Majesty has just rewarded and appeased them. Why would I be so bored as to beat them up?"
Hu Cheng: "Then this route..."
"This is the road!"
Hu Cheng frowned slightly: "Road? You want to build a new official road? These two sections of official road are so long, and they don't overlap with the original official road at all. This is too expensive."
Pan Yun said, "This official road is not a dirt road, but a railway."
Hu Cheng: "Huh?" Pan Yun: "Our cold forging and quenching technology is still not mature enough, and the output is extremely low. You complain about making gun barrels, let alone making steel for paving roads."
Hu Cheng's mouth dropped open, and after a long while he finally said, "Wait, wait a minute, you said the road would be paved with steel?"
Pan Yun nodded.
Hu Cheng: ...
He turned and left without saying a word.
Pan Jun glanced at his back, but didn't mind, and continued to stare blankly at the map.
She doesn't intend to fix it right now; she's just considering it first.
However, she had already made a plan in her mind: she would start construction on the railway within five years at the latest.
Before that, all they had to do was increase the steel refining rate.
Pan Yun fell into deep thought. She had long disliked the two iron-smelting furnaces and steel-smelting furnaces in the Ministry of Works, and it was time to make improvements.
Besides the Ministry of Industry, there was also the Inner Factory.
In the early Ming Dynasty, iron was a state monopoly. During the Hongwu era, Zhu Yuanzhang adopted a cautious attitude towards the mining of gold, silver, copper, and iron.
Unlike capitalism, which rushes to exploit resources without regard for consequences, Old Zhu has always adhered to the idea of sustainable development and is very cautious about the treasures of the land, seemingly wanting to leave the good things to future generations.
However, after the late Hongwu period, private mining began to increase under the state monopoly. In the following dynasties, the court gradually relaxed the restrictions and began to allow private iron smelting, as long as it paid taxes proportionally.
However, the imperial court still strictly controlled the scale of private iron smelting, allowing only one furnace per region. Even so, the combined iron production of government-run and private enterprises approached 90 million catties, making it the world's number one iron producer.
Pan Yun's lips curled slightly. Just then, a man passed by behind her, and Pan Yun grabbed him: "From the Inner Court of the Ministry of Justice?"
Chen Feng, who had been captured, was stunned for a moment, then immediately stood up respectfully: "Yes, this humble official is an attendant of the Inner Factory of the Ministry of Justice. What are your orders, Grand Preceptor?"
Pan Yun: "Go to the inner factory and get the iron ore and iron smelting distribution map. Also, find someone knowledgeable about the smelting methods currently used in the inner factory."
After a moment's hesitation, Chen Feng said, "Grand Preceptor, the map of the iron mines and iron smelting sites requires the Minister's order to obtain..."
Pan Yun waved her hand and said, "Then go find Hu Cheng and tell him I want to see it, and ask him to write it down for you."
Chen Feng let out a breath, bowed his head in agreement, and retreated with a deep bow.
The Inner Factory had little to do with the Ministry of Works or the eunuchs; it was a department specifically responsible for managing iron mines and iron smelting workshops, and it belonged to the Yuheng Qingli Division under the Ministry of Works.
It is only a very small branch under the Ministry of Works, but the things it is responsible for are of great importance.
Pan Jun needed steel and wanted to develop industry, so he absolutely could not avoid the internal factories.
Iron ore mining is an important source of revenue for the country, but in recent years, due to the depletion of explored iron ore deposits, resource scarcity, and rising costs, revenue for the national treasury has become very low.
Pan Yun glanced through the ledger, compared it with the blueprints Chen Feng had brought, sneered, and looked at Hu Cheng.
Hu Cheng immediately replied, "Grand Preceptor, you mustn't misunderstand. I did not embezzle or accept bribes in this matter." (End of Chapter)