Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 582 A Year of Great Harvest

Just as Cui Zhe was wondering what the bell sounded, he saw several children skipping and hopping across the street, singing a poem along with the melody of the bell.

Spring brings a hundred flowers, autumn a bright moon, summer a cool breeze, and winter snow. If no worries weigh on your mind, then every season is a good season.

The bell tolled for several tens of seconds and then quickly ended. The group of children skipped and disappeared into the street. Only then did Zhao Zhixuan, who was accompanying them, explain.

"Oh, that's the newly built bell tower of Jinling Academy in the east of the city. It's nearly twenty zhang tall and contains a huge mechanical clock. Every hour on the hour, it chimes once. When the time comes, the clock will ring automatically, and the tune it plays is this."

"It rings automatically at the appointed time? Isn't it struck by manpower?" Cui Zhe was immediately amazed. The craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty were truly ingenious.

"Of course not. If it were struck by a person, what would it be called a self-ringing clock? It only needs to be wound up every few days."

Cui Zhe couldn't figure out what kind of mechanism it was, but it must be quite amazing. However, he asked again, "Is this song very famous? Even children in the capital can sing along?"

“Of course, this song is called ‘Twelve Months Tune’. It’s a folk song that has been passed down in the Jianghuai region for hundreds of years. The tune is used in the Huangmei Opera Meng Jiangnu. Not to mention other places, in the three provinces of Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, it can be said that everyone knows it. Naturally, even children can sing along.” Zhao Zhixuan introduced immediately.

"I see. May I visit that clock tower?"

"The bell tower is located in the Confucian temple outside the East City. It is still a construction site. For your safety, it is best not to go in rashly. However, it is fine to take a look at the bell tower from a distance."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Assistant Director Zhao."

"Please, messenger."

The group soon arrived near the large construction site in the east of the city. From afar, they could see the huge clock tower, which was over 60 meters high. The clock tower was modeled after the gate tower of the Han Dynasty. It was made of brick on all four sides and had a hip roof. Near the top, a large clock was installed on each of the four sides. The hands of the clocks could be seen from a distance. Anyone who saw it for the first time was amazed.

Historically, Zhu Di built a glazed pagoda over 70 meters high at the Great Bao'en Temple in Nanjing. After its completion, it immediately became a landmark building in Nanjing. Countless Chinese and foreign envoys came to Nanjing and would visit the Great Bao'en Temple. It also attracted many foreign envoys to worship, paint, and even replicate it back in their countries. This glazed pagoda was destroyed by war during the Taiping Rebellion in the Qing Dynasty.

Lu Jin was certainly not interested in building pagodas, but building a few bell towers was acceptable, especially given the industrial sector, where bell towers, clocks, and watches, or rather, precise timekeeping devices, needed to be more widespread.

Not only do students need precise times to go to school, but factories also need precise times to start work. Railways and trains cannot function without precise timing devices. Otherwise, let alone railway operations, how many people would miss their trains if there were no precise times? The train can't just stop at the station and wait for you just because you're late, can it?

The exact departure time of each train requires precise scheduling. If one train is delayed, it will have a ripple effect. If a large number of passengers miss their trains due to a lack of accurate departure times, how can the entire railway scheduling system function?
Many technologies and social rules that modern people take for granted were actually driven by the needs of train scheduling. For example, the telegraph came first, followed by the train. Clock towers were also invented in Britain to ensure that passengers would not be late.

And then there's the telegraph. It was precisely because the early railway system urgently needed an instant communication tool to assist in dispatching and command that wired telegraphs were developed, which then evolved from the earliest pointer telegraphs to Morse code, and finally to radio.

A 'punctual' lifestyle is the foundation of an industrialized society.

Of course, given Lu Jin's 'prophetic' abilities, he could disregard the British industrial process. For him, the order of trains and telegraphs was uncertain, depending entirely on the progress of the science students.
The clock tower in front of us, built by Lu Jin, is over 60 meters tall. Although it is far less magnificent than Zhu Di's 70-meter-tall glazed pagoda and its brick exterior looks very simple, this clock tower is full of technology. It can not only operate on its own, but also automatically chime the hour on the hour. It can be called the cutting-edge technology of this era.

Cui Zhe stared at the clock tower from a distance for a while and found that the hands on the clock face were indeed moving continuously. He then asked Zhao Zhixuan how to read the clock and heard that the clock face was designed by His Majesty himself, and that even the mechanical structure inside was derived from the mechanical arts of the Gongshu clan. Cui Zhe was immediately amazed by this.

Not only was the Ming emperor impressive, but Cui Zhe was also deeply impressed by the Ming's engineering and construction capabilities. The Ming had only just driven out the Yuan invaders and had been established for three years, yet it was already able to build such structures. And what about Goryeo?

In fact, Zhao Zhixuan had something else to say: he had also heard that when the bell tower was built, the Marquis of Hunde, also known as Emperor Yuan Shundi Xiaotieguo, who was captured by His Majesty, had participated in the design and construction, but he had never seen it with his own eyes.

But this is actually not a rumor. Emperor Yuan Shundi's small iron pot did indeed contribute a lot to the construction of this bell tower.

After Lu Jin captured him, he was initially filled with fear and anxiety, constantly wondering when Lu Jin would kill him. But Lu Jin not only didn't kill him, but also arranged a job for him as an engineer in a watch factory.

Xiao Tieguo had always loved and was skilled at this kind of thing. When he was in Dadu, he even made a water clock that could automatically tell the time. When the time came, small wooden puppets would walk across the bridge. It was very exquisite and was jokingly called "Emperor Lu Ban" by the people of Dadu. It can be called the first version of the Apocalypse.

After arriving at the watch factory, he learned about modern watchmaking principles and techniques. From then on, he became completely absorbed in watchmaking, ignoring everything else and focusing solely on clocks. He played with all kinds of marine chronometers, pendulum clocks, table clocks, self-ringing clocks, pocket watches, and wristwatches.

I heard he's still self-studying mathematics and geometry, and has also learned machine tools and machining from craftsmen, completely immersed in the world of watchmaking.
It's not surprising that he behaved this way, because only by immersing himself in watchmaking could he temporarily forget that he was a deposed monarch and a prisoner.

Even after two years, he was somewhat grateful to Lu Jin. As a former emperor, Xiao Tieguo naturally knew about the humiliation of Jingkang and the miserable state of Emperor Huizong of Song after his capture. Compared to Emperor Huizong, Lu Jin at least did not humiliate him every day and even arranged a job that suited his tastes. This was already considered very kind.

Meanwhile, as the Goryeo envoy gazed at the clock tower in awe, at the same time, in the Ming Dynasty palace in the center of Jiankang City, a tea party was being held between the emperor and his civil and military officials. As the year drew to a close, the court needed to conduct a year-end review and make some advance arrangements for next year's work.

It wasn't until I examined the data carefully that I realized the Ming Dynasty had achieved tremendous success in its third year of existence.

In terms of territory, the north of the country continued to send immigrants to the Hetao region, southern Mongolia (Xilingol), and Liaodong. Although the territory area has not expanded northward, the court now effectively controls the former and latter Hetao regions. Due to the increase in population in southern Mongolia and Liaodong, the court's rule in the north has become more stable.

In the south, following the recapture of Fujian and the three provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi last year, Guizhou and Yunnan provinces were successfully recaptured this year. Although fighting continues in Yunnan and some local chieftains have not yet been pacified, the complete pacification of Yunnan is a foregone conclusion; it's just a matter of time. Overseas, with the arrival of the first batch of immigrants in Chengzhou (Hokkaido) at the beginning of the year for military settlement, it can now be said with certainty that Hokkaido is under the actual control of the Ming Dynasty.

In the South Seas, with Chen Youliang's continuous military campaigns in the first half of the year, the Ming Dynasty now controls the entire island of Sulawesi. Kalimantan, the largest island in the center of the South Seas, is also under Ming control, with most of its southeastern region under Ming control. This area is almost the same size as the territory of Indonesia on the island in later generations. Ming has established prefectures and counties on the island, and has set up immigrant settlements and established a stable de facto regime.

These lands in Southeast Asia have already become, in effect, the Ming Dynasty's possession.

As for the Americas, let's leave those aside for now. It was just a new colonial outpost in Panama, which was far from being under control.

Currently, China's traditional territories are limited to Jiaozhi in the south, and Gansu, Qinghai, Tibet, and the Western Regions in the northwest, which have not yet been conquered.

However, Lu Jin was not in a hurry. He planned to build more cavalry after the military reform and then attack the Northwest. He would first take back Lanzhou and Ningxia, settle a group of immigrants, and then continue to advance towards Qinghai. Once he reached Qinghai, the Ming Dynasty would have a springboard to advance into the snowy plateau region. At that time, it would not be too late to deal with Tibet. At that time, it would be much easier to either pacify or launch a military offensive.

As for the Western Regions, Lu Jin was even less in a hurry for the time being. From the perspective of national defense and security, the Eastern Chagatai Khanate (Yilibali), which currently occupies the Western Regions, is not considered an enemy. On the contrary, they and the Mongolians of the North are their enemies. In the original history, the Eastern Chagatai Khanate has always been at odds with the Northern Yuan and has been very close to the Ming Dynasty. The Eastern Chagatai Khanate has always paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty and is considered a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. There has never been any conflict between the two sides.

From a military perspective, attacking the Western Regions was also very difficult, not because it was particularly difficult to fight, but because of logistical problems.

Now, let alone the Western Regions, the entire Shaanxi province only has 400,000 to 500,000 people, which is less than the population of Nanjing. Ningxia and Lanzhou are practically uninhabited areas, and in the Hexi Corridor, you can't even find a single person who can speak Chinese. Not to mention beyond Jiayuguan. Under these circumstances, if you want to launch an expedition to the Western Regions, you won't even be able to supply food and provisions along the way.

Historically, the Ming Dynasty was never able to recover the Western Regions, and there were objective reasons for this. It was already very difficult for the Ming Dynasty to restore the traditional 'Chinese-speaking areas' such as Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, and the Hexi Corridor.

Later generations of Qing Dynasty enthusiasts often cite the Qing Dynasty's reconquest of Xinjiang as an example. This is a typical case of being full after eating the fifth pancake, so the previous four were as if they hadn't eaten anything at all.

Damn it, the Ming Dynasty's centuries-long migration to the northwest restored the Chinese-speaking areas there. Without this population and food as a foundation, how could the Qing Dynasty have conquered the Western Regions? They couldn't even send supplies there, let alone fight the Dzungars, a piece of trash with only a few thousand soldiers. In the battle of Tongbo, they were almost completely wiped out. Then, the ridiculous move of every Eight Banner household in the capital hanging white banners was utterly disgraceful.

From an economic perspective, the Western Regions are currently a money-losing proposition for the Ming Dynasty. It's a bottomless pit; conquering it would only require continuous investment, with no immediate returns. Therefore, Lu Jin is not in a hurry to reclaim the Western Regions. Instead, he prefers to focus on accumulating population, wealth, and technology. Once he has the money, the population, and the technology, it won't be too late to pour resources into the Western Regions.

At least we should wait until the Longhai Railway (from Lianyungang, Jiangsu to Baoji, Shaanxi) is completed, or even until it is extended to Lanzhou. At that time, it will be much easier to conquer the Western Regions than it is now. Moreover, with the railway, it will be more convenient to carry out large-scale migration to the northwest, and the speed of economic development will be faster.

In terms of industrial and engineering construction, four new shipyards were built this year, but most of them are only half completed, meaning that only one dock has been excavated for the time being. Another one will need to be excavated next year so that two warships can be built at the same time.

In addition, the Ming Dynasty launched six more warships this year. Among them, the Longwan Shipyard in Nanjing built two new 74-gun third-class battleships, the Fuzhou Shipyard in Fujian built one third-class and one fourth-class ship, the Guangzhou Shipyard built one fourth-class cruiser, and the Dalian Shipyard in Liaoning also built one fourth-class ship. However, no ships were built in Fushan (Yantai) in Shandong, mainly due to a shortage of timber and the lack of skilled craftsmen.

The reason why Fujian and Guangzhou were able to build ships quickly was because they had a large number of experienced shipbuilding craftsmen and no shortage of timber. They also had technical guidance from the imperial court, which is why they were able to build ships faster than those in the north. Liaoning was able to build one ship this year purely because the imperial court provided more support and more craftsmen, and Changbai Mountain had no shortage of timber. Shandong, on the other hand, lacked both timber and manpower, which is why it lagged behind five shipyards.

In response to this situation, Lu Jin has issued an order to relocate some shipbuilding craftsmen from Fujian to support Shandong and Liaoning next year. Fujian already has scarce land, and after the craftsmen migrate there, they can also share land with their families. Therefore, many people have already signed up.

Then there are the four factories under construction. The Jinling Arsenal building has been completed and is currently debugging equipment and conducting trial production. If all goes well, mass production of the Type 52 rifled shotgun will begin next year.

The main building of Jinling Machinery Factory in the south of the city has been completed. It is an old-fashioned red brick factory building. However, the equipment is still relatively simple. For the time being, there is only one machining workshop with dozens of machine tools of various types, which are powered by steam. Although the development is slow, there is no need to rush. This machinery factory is mainly engaged in manufacturing various heavy equipment and machine tools. Whatever is lacking can be made by itself in the future.

Then there's the blast furnace at Dangtu Ironworks, which has an annual output of 50,000 tons of pig iron. It's still in the design and material preparation stage and hasn't officially started construction yet.

Finally, there is the chemical plant on the north bank of the Yangtze River estuary in Haimen County, which mainly produces three acids, two alkalis, and chlorinated chemical products. It is currently still under construction and in the design phase.

In terms of large-scale construction projects, the main projects are currently two schools. The former Chu King's Mansion in Lujin was demolished and relocated, leaving an empty plot of land in the city center, which has been converted into Huangcheng Primary School. The three-story teaching building has now been completed and is expected to be topped out next year. After some decoration, it will be ready for use.

In addition, the Jinling Academy in the east of the city is expected to take another two or three years to be fully completed. However, the three science teaching buildings on the west side of the academy will be completed in a year at most.

These engineering and industrial construction projects cannot be rushed, but the court's fiscal revenue and economy are already showing signs of improvement.

The total annual fiscal revenue of the country is divided into two items: grain revenue in kind and cash revenue.

The total annual grain tax revenue was 2400 million shi (a unit of dry measure), and it continued to decline. This was mainly due to the impact of immigration. New immigrants were exempt from taxes for the court for three to five years, while people in areas that had already been registered continued to migrate to sparsely populated areas. Therefore, it was normal for grain taxes to decrease when the number of immigrants continued to decrease and the government could not collect enough taxes.

It will take at least five years for this to improve, as immigrants gradually begin paying taxes.

In addition, in terms of cash income, the total income for the year was 23,702,552 taels, which was divided into four parts: 14,270,000 taels from direct sales of salt, 421,720 taels from customs duties, 286,732 taels from domestic industrial and commercial enterprise income tax, and 8,724,100 taels from gold and silver that Wang Dayuan brought back from Lizhou this year, which was listed as overseas Lizhou special income.

Although this fiscal revenue is not much, it is much better than the Ming Dynasty under Zhu Yuanzhang in history, and there is hope for further increases next year.

(End of this chapter)