Time Travel: After Seizing the Throne, I Lead the Ming Dynasty to Take Off

Zhu Yunhuan casually twisted his body and stretched his arms and legs, clearly not surprised by the result: "Market freedom often creates the highest social benefits. This is the result of market selection."

Ma Sanbao put away the last memorial.

With a puzzled look on his face, he scratched his head and said, "I don't understand what Your Majesty is saying, but I only know one thing, Your Majesty is wise, hehe." He showed a simple and sincere smile.

Zhu Yunhuan shook his head helplessly, sat down behind the dragon desk again, slowly picked up the teacup and took a sip, without saying much. He said that other people did not need to understand national economics.

At this time, there was a knock on the door.

The eunuch guarding the door announced in a shrill voice, "Your Majesty, the Minister of Works, Lord Qin, wishes to see you."

Zhu Yuanzhang put down the teacup in his hand thoughtfully.

Then, a faint arc appeared at the corner of his mouth, and he said, "Xuan."

Can he create a Ming Dynasty in his own shape as soon as possible, solve many major worries, and then start trying to free his hands... Many of these things depend on the Ministry of Industry to work hard.

Soon, the vermilion lacquered gate of the Qianqing Palace was pushed open, revealing a vast expanse of white outside the palace, and Qin Kui, the Minister of Works, standing outside the gate in a crimson robe with his head bowed.

Qin Kui walked in slowly.

He bowed and said, "Your humble servant, I pay my respects to Your Majesty."

Zhu Yunhuan yawned nonchalantly and said indifferently: "Just say it if you have anything to say."

Qin Kui was already familiar with the temperament of the young emperor.

With a hint of joy on his face, he raised his head and said directly: "Your Majesty, the refractory bricks have been fired!"

"After trying various proportions, and repeatedly testing the coked coal provided by Your Majesty, the refractory bricks are working well!"

"Your Majesty is knowledgeable and resourceful! I admire you so much!"

After saying that, Qin Kui bowed again and made a deep bow with a look of generosity, but a trace of disbelief still remained on his face.

Before, he did not dare to disobey or question Emperor Zhu Yunhuan.

But even after receiving Zhu Yunhuan's task, he was still nervous. Bricks that were fire-resistant, heat-resistant, and pressure-resistant? Coking coal that burned much hotter than other materials... could it really be possible?

However, he had been personally tinkering with this matter at the Ministry of Industry these days, and it had really opened his eyes: it really was all possible! !

Of course, the most crucial thing here is definitely not the coal that can burn very hot, nor the refractory bricks, but their future role!

Now that we have these things, the next thing to do is just iron smelting, right?

Even though he couldn't possibly know Zhu Yunhuan's ultimate intention.

But at least in his eyes, the Ming Dynasty could use these things to make stronger copper and iron, refurbish existing weapons, and greatly increase the number of weapons currently held.

In other words, it greatly enhances the arsenal and military capabilities of the Ming Dynasty!

What made him most incredulous was the seemingly childish yet unparalleled handsome face before him—something that every emperor of every dynasty would dream of, and this young emperor had prepared with just a few casual words?

Especially at this moment when he came to the Qianqing Palace and saw Zhu Yunhuan, the surging emotions in his heart were like the surging river and the rolling waves that were difficult to calm down.

"Refractory bricks..." Emperor Zhu Yunhuan, on the other hand, showed a hint of joy on his face. He nodded and murmured to himself calmly. Then he took a clean pen from the pen holder and played with it in his hand intentionally or unintentionally, obviously thinking about something.

For Zhu Yunhuan, this is indeed good news.

But it is still expected - this is something that has already produced results and applications in later generations. The direction is right, and as long as you think about it carefully, the result will definitely be right.

"We have the refractory bricks. All we need to do now is to use the brick furnaces we had the Ministry of Industry build earlier and start mass production."

"Then we used refractory bricks to build furnaces for steelmaking."

"Steelmaking..."

Zhu Yunhuan frowned slightly, his eyes a little dazed, recalling the memories and experiences of his previous life in his mind.

Coking coal can burn at high temperatures, but when it comes to steelmaking, high temperatures alone are not enough. It is impossible to create fuel with a higher combustion temperature and then quickly advance to high-quality steel, as in those online novels I read in my previous life, and then create some superior weapon that can cut through iron like mud.

The more critical step...is actually to remove impurities.

"This requires the use of the converter steelmaking method."

The converter steelmaking method is to transfer the molten liquid pig iron into a furnace cast with refractory bricks and specially designed for removing impurities. Lime is placed inside in advance and the silicon, manganese and other impurities in the iron are oxidized to release a large amount of heat, eliminating the need for additional fuel to blow in oxygen. At the same time, decarbonization, dephosphorization, desulfurization, and deoxidation are achieved, and harmful gases and non-metallic inclusions are removed.

Zhu Yunhuan roughly went over the principles and processes in his mind.

His eyes flickered slightly, and then he gathered his thoughts. He already had an idea in his mind. He looked at Qin Kui with a smile on his lips: "Qin Kui, you are right this time. My next step is to start steelmaking, mass production!"

Hearing Zhu Yunhuan's words, Qin Kui first breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, he belatedly realized it and widened his eyes, saying in confusion, "Steelmaking? And... batch steelmaking?"

The metals of this era were mainly copper and iron.

But it is not that there is no concept of steel. It refers to iron with high hardness and good performance. After all, steel and iron are inseparable. They only differ slightly in the composition content. It is normal to produce high-quality "iron" during iron smelting.

But this thing is not stable! When will it be available in batches?