Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

The number of soldiers in the Beijing Camp has been restored to 40,000. According to Zhang Shikang's plan, at least half of the soldiers will be converted to musketeers in the future. After all, this is the general trend.

But he was so happy that he even ignored the production capacity. There were less than fifty craftsmen in the entire military camp.

It would take at least 10 to 20 years to make 10,000 muskets, even if everyone stopped eating and drinking.

"Sir, there are only forty or so craftsmen in the military camp. Even if all the craftsmen work, they definitely cannot produce so many muskets." Mao Yuanyi said in a muffled voice.

"Oh, it was my negligence." Zhang Shikang slapped his forehead, forgetting that the court was now in such a poor state.

"That has to be implemented as soon as possible. I'll go see His Majesty when I'm free in the next two days and ask him to transfer all the firearms craftsmen from the Ministry of Works over here. You have to make preparations in advance." Zhang Shikang said with a frown.

Silver, silver, silver is needed everywhere, but precisely because of this, it is more urgent to improve the combat effectiveness of the army.

Zhang Shikang could have directly commissioned the production of the finished instantaneous fire gun to the Ministry of Industry, but he ultimately rejected the idea.

People at this time have no confidentiality measures regarding technology, and even worse, they seem happy to share it with outsiders.

Zhang Shikang believes that this is a big problem, especially military-related technology, which is the foundation of a strong country.

Although the instantaneous musket may have been installed in Europe for a long time, it is still necessary to keep it secret in East Asia, at least to prevent the Tartars from learning it.

Another point is that Zhang Shikang really disliked the bureaucratic style of the various government offices, so it would be safer to simply ask for those skilled firearms craftsmen to come over.

It would take a long time just to make the 10,000 muskets for the Beijing camp. The Ming army has so many troops. If there is no problem with the stability of these muskets, the border troops and garrisons in various places will have to be updated in the future. In short, these craftsmen will definitely not be idle.

After the matter of the musket was finalized, the cook came over to say that the food was ready, and the three of them began to chat while talking.

The food in the Beijing camp was only average, but the three people present didn't care. In order to show his respect and gratitude, Zhang Shikang even poured wine for Mao and Song personally.

This made Mao Yuanyi and Song Yingxing a little flattered. Song Yingxing felt that, no matter what, this gentleman was approachable and unlike those powerful people he knew who would bully craftsmen at any time.

After chatting for a while, Zhang Shikang learned that Song Yingxing's main research direction was not firearms, but agriculture and handicrafts.

Specifically, it is an induction and conclusion of various tools, techniques, and processes used in agriculture and handicrafts based on the skills of the Song people.

Of course, the science and engineering giant has never lacked innovative spirit, and Song Yingxing would also make improvements to some outdated or impractical tools.

In short, Song Yingxing can be regarded as an encyclopedic giant. No matter what you ask him, he will say he knows a little about it.

But Zhang Shikang understood that when people at that time said they had a little understanding, they did not really mean it; it was just a humble statement.

Thinking of this, Zhang Shikang asked casually:

"Mr. Song should know about spinning machines, right?"

As we all know, the improvement of the spinning jenny marked the beginning of the First Industrial Revolution, and the widespread use of the steam engine was the symbol of the First Industrial Revolution.

At that time, the whole world was making progress, but the Qing Dynasty was the only one that was still closing its doors to the outside world and calling itself the Celestial Empire.

Now that Zhang Shikang is here and the handicraft boss is right next to him, he feels that he has to get involved no matter what.

"I naturally know the answer. Why do you ask this question, sir?" Song Yingxing asked in confusion.

He wanted to ask if the lord was interested in the ways of business, but after thinking about it, he didn't dare to ask.

Emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce has been the national policy of all dynasties, and the Ming Dynasty was no exception. Successive emperors of the Ming Dynasty sneered at the ways of merchants, and they even regarded handicraft technology itself as the product of merchants.

Song Yingxing is 52 years old this year. At the age of knowing the destiny, he naturally understands that trouble comes from the mouth, so he will not say anything if he can avoid it.

Zhang Shikang frowned slightly, thinking that Old Man Song seemed to be on guard against him, but he didn't take it too seriously and expressed his thoughts:

"I think that the spinning machine is the foundation of most handicrafts. Look, Mr. Song, the clothes we wear, the quilts, all the silk fabrics, even your majesty's dragon robe, all require the spinning machine.

Ordinary people may not have to farm, but they have to wear clothes when they go out. Even when bandits rebel, no one is naked, right?"

Zhang Shikang's ideas were so unique that even Mao Yuanyi was stunned. Song Yingxing was also a little confused, but he still nodded in cooperation.

“Therefore, I believe that technological innovation should start with spinning machines.

The efficiency of today's spinning machines is too slow. If the efficiency of the spinning machines can be increased eightfold, Mr. Song, do you know what will happen?"

Seeing that the two bosses were listening so seriously, Zhang Shikang immediately felt that it was time to show off.

But Mao Yuanyi and Song Yingxing didn't seem to cooperate perfectly. Song Yingxing stroked his beard and said:

“It will drop in value.”

If the spinning efficiency is increased eightfold, the price of the yarn produced will indeed drop. This is a truth that anyone with a little knowledge of economics can understand.

"wrong!"

Mao Yuanyi was a big shot in the military, while Song Yingxing's strengths were agriculture, handicrafts, and some heavy industry-related areas such as smelting and machinery.

It was for this reason that, with the help of Song Yingxing, the two were able to finally solve the material problem of the self-produced musket anvil.

But everyone has their specialties. Their abilities are certainly top-notch in their respective fields, but they are outsiders in the field of economics.

Zhang Shikang slammed the table, his face showing an expression that said, "Back off," and he was about to start showing off.

“If the market is only in Ming Dynasty or only in the southeast coast, the price of yarn will indeed drop.

But what if it is exported abroad?

You may not know how big the overseas market is, but I know that even if the craftsmen of our Ming Dynasty spin their spinning machines until smoke comes out, it is definitely difficult to supply the entire earth!"

The Age of Discovery had actually already arrived, and the French and the Dutch had already begun colonization.

As long as Zhang Shikang is around, he will never allow the Ming Dynasty to miss this great opportunity.

In short, maritime trade will be carried out sooner or later, and even if Jesus comes, he can't stop it, Zhang Shikang said.

Of course, Zhang Shikang’s starting point was still to make money.

The Ming Dynasty is a broken ship that is short of money everywhere.

"Sir, our Ming Dynasty has a maritime ban." Mao Yuanyi reminded.

The Ming Dynasty's maritime ban policy was rather bizarre, always loosening and tightening at other times. During the reign of Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, he once issued an order that no ship was allowed to go out to sea, and even the Maritime Customs Office was abolished.

But when it came to his son Zhu Laosi, he built blessing boats like dumplings. It is said that the largest blessing boat was three stories high and more than 150 meters long.

However, with the passing of Zheng He and Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming Dynasty began to tighten its control again. Coupled with the subsequent trouble caused by Japanese pirates, the Ming Dynasty simply locked down the area and even ordered that the land within a dozen miles along the coast be designated as a restricted area.

If the people dare to violate the rules and enter the seaside, they will be severely punished.

Nowadays, although the maritime ban policy has been somewhat relaxed, this is partly because the imperial court is in financial difficulties and has no energy to manage it, and partly because only one or two ports have been opened for foreign trade.

It can only be said that it was a minor action, better than nothing. The imperial court generally maintained the maritime ban policy.

Zhang Shikang was furious when he heard this and slammed the table again:

"Then open the sea!"