My father is Jiajing

Chapter 256 Prince Yu’s Note
Zhu Zaigui pondered for a while and asked, "Why is the output of lime only a few million kilograms a day?"

When Wei Dahe and the others heard Zhu Zaigui's question, they were obviously stunned. They never dreamed that Prince Yu would ask such a simple question.

Wei Dahe glanced around and replied carefully, "Your Highness, a million kilograms of lime a day is already a lot. The limestone used to make lime is knocked down in the mountains by burning and hammering. Then it has to be transported to the lime kiln, where the limestone and fuel are laid out in layers and calcined for seven days before we can get usable lime."

What Wei Dahe said was not nonsense, it was the true portrayal of the lime field.

From the mining and transportation of these limestones to their placement in kilns and then to calcination, all of this requires the most primitive and cheapest labor. As for animal power such as mules and horses, there is actually very little of it.

Therefore, it is inevitable that production efficiency cannot be improved.

But Zhu Zaigui still did not agree with this answer.

Zhu Zaigui said, "I know all the situations you mentioned. But this is not an excuse for your low production capacity. You only produce a few million catties of lime a day. Excluding some for civilian use, government use and palace use, how much lime can be allocated for the expansion of the capital? Are you here to laugh at me?"

Zhu Zaigui's words frightened Wei Dahe, Zhang Enhua and Liu Quande so much that their knees went weak and they immediately knelt on the ground.

"I have no such intention. The output of lime is only this high. Even if I ask the craftsmen and prisoners to work around the clock, it will be difficult to increase it."

Listening to the nervous cries of these three people, Zhu Zaigui sighed in his heart. It seemed that this was the limit of this limeyard, but it obviously could not meet the massive demand for lime required for the expansion of the capital.

Therefore, Zhu Zaigui said: "Okay, I will reconsider this matter. From today on, Teng Xiang will be fully responsible for the production and management of the lime field. You three will continue to do what you did before."

When the three heard what Zhu Zaiqi said, they couldn't help but feel relieved and bowed to him again, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Then the three of them bowed slightly to Teng Xiang and said, "Greetings, Eunuch Teng."

Arranging Teng Xiang to take over the limestone field was actually one of Zhu Zaigui's established plans.

Teng Xiang can be considered an old subordinate of Zhu Zaigui. The two have had experience of fighting on the battlefield together, and Zhu Zaigui has also seen his performance in Shunyi Industrial Park in the past two years.

So now that he had been given such an important task by Emperor Jiajing, Zhu Zaigui naturally no longer considered the problem according to his previous thinking.

Xishan Limeyard was the closest construction material production site to the capital, so in order to ensure the progress of the capital's expansion project, Zhu Zaigui entrusted Teng Xiang with an important task and transferred him from Shunyi Industrial Park to be fully responsible for the production work of this limeyard.

Zhu Zaigui arranged Teng Xiang to work at the Xishan Limeyard. Although he still missed the scenery of Shunyi Industrial Park, he knew that if he could successfully manage the Xishan Limeyard and provide Zhu Zaigui with a steady supply of lime and other building materials, he would have done a great job. The rewards and favors he would receive would surely be extremely generous.

Therefore, Teng Xiang was also looking forward to making some achievements in the Xishan Limeyard so that Prince Yu could praise him.

After arranging Teng Xiang, Zhu Zaigui also said to Teng Xiang: "You should carefully inspect this lime field in the next few days and arrange the manpower ratio in the lime field. At the same time, you should also carefully calculate the production efficiency and production cost issues in the lime field. Use animal power when necessary. How much can a mule be worth? Manpower should be used where it is most important, and not wasted on transportation and handling."

"We should build roads and renovate buildings where necessary. We can also consult some experienced masters about the lime kilns and make changes if necessary. In short, I have only one request, which is that by next year, I want to see this lime field produce more than 10 million kilograms of lime per day."

When Teng Xiang heard what Zhu Zaigui said, he immediately promised: "I will not let you down, Your Majesty, and I will definitely transform the Xishan Limeyard!"

Zhu Zaigui nodded in satisfaction, and then continued, "Also, the way of mining rocks should be changed. Don't always use time-consuming and laborious methods such as burning and hammering. Although sometimes this method may be more useful in some places. But this does not mean that there is only one way to mine rocks. After returning, I will also write a memorial to explain the situation and seek help from the Military Affairs Bureau to get some gunpowder to mine rocks."

"At the same time, you should not be complacent. Although the production method of lime has been passed down for thousands of years, it does not mean that it has always been like this. You should also use your brains and think about how to make a more powerful building material based on lime."

"Also, I have some insights from reading the Yongle Encyclopedia recently. I will write a note and send it to you in a few days. You can try to experiment based on my note and see if you can create something new."

Wei Dahe, Zhang Enhua, Liu Quande and others may not be aware of the power of Zhu Zaigui's words, but Teng Xiang is very clear about it.

Through the past two years of contact and the acquaintance he had gained while working under Zhu Zaigui, Teng Xiang was very clear about how powerful his own prince's creative ideas were. If they could really be put to the test, it would definitely be an immeasurable success.

Therefore, Teng Xiang excitedly bowed to Zhu Zaigui and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty! I will definitely have someone carefully test your method and try to create a building material that is better than lime."

Zhu Zaigui chuckled, "Don't talk so early. This may not be possible yet. You should first sort out the situation inside the limeyard and change the current management and production capacity for me. As for the test of new building materials, you have to wait until the lime here is enough for me. Otherwise, the expansion project of the capital city that I am supervising will be stopped and started. When His Majesty blames you, you will all have to bear the consequences."

Zhu Zaigui was still very clear about priorities. Although he knew roughly how cement was made, the exact manufacturing process still required people to constantly try and verify.

Therefore, in order to ensure that the progress of the capital's expansion project was not restricted by construction materials, Zhu Zaigui still had to give Teng Xiang a heads-up in advance to let him know what was the most important thing.

As long as the supply of lime needed for the expansion of the capital was guaranteed, there would naturally be plenty of time and energy to experiment with the manufacture of cement.

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Asking for a monthly ticket~~
(End of this chapter)