amaotonovel Chapter 894 Is this the power of the founding prime minister of the Ming Dynasty?
Chapter 894 Is this the power of the founding prime minister of the Ming Dynasty?
Looking at the gleaming faces of the craftsmen, Zhu Biao couldn't quite describe the feeling in his heart.
These are all master craftsmen in the artisan camp!
They were all master craftsmen who were personally sent to Ningyang County by the orphan a few years ago!
Several of them were even fellow villagers from Huaixi.
The results of it?
"Our Ningyang County."
“Our master.”
They kept referring to themselves as "our Ningyang County" and "our Lord," never even calling him "Prince Consort."
How ungrateful!
Zhu Biao was internally ranting, but Yang Shaofeng frowned slightly and looked at the leading craftsman, asking, "Transporting a few hundred pounds of goods? Can't you even keep up with a horse-drawn carriage?"
This is utter nonsense.
An adult horse pulls a two-wheeled carriage on a flat road, with a load capacity of about one ton.
If it were a mule, the load capacity would be as high as three tons.
Why is it that when we switch to a steam engine, the load capacity is actually lower than that of a horse-drawn carriage?
The master craftsman chuckled and bowed to Yang Shaofeng, saying, "My lord, please don't be in such a hurry. When I said it could carry hundreds of pounds of goods, I was referring to this little gadget in front of us."
"If we enlarge this thing, it can pull far more cargo than horse-drawn carriages or donkey carts."
"Moreover, this was the result of testing on a cement road. If it were replaced with the rails and flatbed carts with two pairs of wheels that the old man mentioned, it could probably carry even more goods."
"It's...that's..."
The master craftsman, who was leading the group, said with a choked voice, "The steel needed to make this thing has to be of good quality. The steel used to make the rails not only has to be cast iron, but more importantly, the amount used is enormous."
"Another issue is the connection between the rails and the sleepers. Mortise and tenon joints alone are definitely not enough, and using nails is also quite difficult. The junior staff are still figuring out how to solve this problem."
"There are also gaps between the rails. We have to calculate how much gap to leave in summer and winter. Even if we get the calculation, it might not be accurate. We have to build a railway to verify the calculation."
"..."
After glancing cautiously at Zhu Biao, Li Shanchang, Hu Weiyong, and the others, the leading craftsman chuckled and said, "Our Ningyang County has always been dirt poor. The iron ore produced by that small iron mine is also very ordinary. The steel mill is like a skilled cook without rice; there's never enough steel to go around."
Zhu Biao remained expressionless.
Hu Weiyong looked up at the sky.
Li Shanchang, however, could no longer hold back.
They're "so poor they're practically bankrupt" again!
It seems that these bastards haven't learned anything else since coming to Ningyang County, except how to lie through their teeth!
Even Xia Yu, the head of the secret service and commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was shocked on the spot.
Look, look, is this even human language?!
Yes, the iron ore production in your Ningyang County is indeed low, and the output of the steel mills is also limited.
The key question is how you have the nerve to say the phrase "poor as hell".
Damn it, those officials, gentry and scholars in Jiangnan even said that I, Xia, am turning black into white, harming the loyal and good, calling a deer a horse, and being a hypocrite.
That's because they haven't been to Ningyang County and haven't seen how blatantly liars the people of Ningyang County can lie!
Yang Shaofeng coughed, waved his hand, and scolded, "Alright, alright, stop talking nonsense to me. The matter of steel will naturally be resolved by His Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Li. You just need to focus on getting the steam engine and railway working."
Zhu Biao and Li Shanchang were completely stunned.
It seems like I've been inexplicably put under someone else's management again?
Hu Weiyong's eyes lit up, and he rubbed his hands together and said with a smile, "Well... Your Highness, it's not that I, Old Hu, am criticizing you, but it's one thing if you don't tell others about the iron ore shortage in Ningyang County, but how could you not tell me, Old Hu?"
“We have iron mines in Liaodong, and not only iron mines, but also several coal mines with abundant reserves.”
"No matter how much steel and coal your Ningyang County needs, just name your number and get His Highness to approve it, and I, Old Hu, can get you enough steel and coal."
“Of course,” Hu Weiyong changed the subject, rubbed his hands together like a fly again, and laughed, “Liaodong is a poor and cold place, full of waterlogged areas, so it’s not easy to build roads there. His Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Li should pay more attention to this matter and at least arrange more manpower.”
Li Shanchang was almost made to laugh out loud by Hu Weiyong.
It's one thing for Yang the Madman to like his upward management style.
Although Yang the Madman was already infamous, he was a man of real talent and was also the eldest sister's son-in-law.
Even though I know he's deliberately making things difficult for me, I have no choice but to grit my teeth and accept it.
We even had to help him clean up the mess.
But what are you, Hu Weiyong, to dare to engage in upward management like Yang the Madman?
Ok.
If I don't show my power, you all will really think I'm made of clay!
Li Shanchang chuckled coldly, turned to look at Zhu Biao, and said with a forced smile, "Your Highness, since Governor Hu has repeatedly mentioned that Liaodong is short of manpower, I have an idea."
Zhu Biao was slightly taken aback and asked, "I wonder what brilliant plan Prime Minister Li has?"
Li Shanchang stroked his beard and said, "It's not exactly a brilliant plan, but I just remembered a few words Your Highness said at the Ningyang County farm."
Zhu Biao was stunned again, and Li Shanchang continued, "His Highness said at the time that his only son was not allowed to go to Liaodong."
"I then thought of something: Why doesn't Governor Hu submit a memorial explaining the importance of Liaodong's mineral resources and land to our Great Ming Dynasty, and then request the court to relocate people to Liaodong?"
"Any family with two or three or more sons must relocate one of their sons to Liaodong."
“Our Great Ming Dynasty has more than ten million households, among which there are quite a few families with two or three sons.”
"Even if only one in ten is taken, a hundred households can be relocated to Liaodong in the shortest possible time."
"Adding their relatives, and the servants and attendants of some local gentry, they should be able to raise one or two million."
Li Shanchang glanced at Hu Weiyong with a forced smile and sneered, "I just don't know if Governor Hu dares to write such a memorial?"
As Li Shanchang finished speaking, Yang Shaofeng, Zhu Biao, and even Xia Yu couldn't help but gasp.
poison.
That's fucking toxic.
Is this the power of the founding prime minister of the Ming Dynasty?
Li Shanchang did not dare to provoke Yang Shaofeng into writing such a memorial.
Because Yang Dianfeng really dares to write.
But, do you, Hu Weiyong, dare to act like Yang the Madman?
If you dare to write it, I dare to urge the higher-ups to approve your memorial.
Then you'll have to bear the brunt of the curses from the entire world.
Don't even mention being criticized behind your back.
Even ancestral graves could be dug up.
But what if you don't dare to write it?
Then why are you even bothering with upward management!
Hu Weiyong was completely numb.
Do I dare to write it?
Laugh to death.
Who am I, Hu Weiyong, to dare write such a mad memorial?
If I actually write it, it won't just be a matter of being scolded or beaten up.
The first person to curse me, Mr. Hu, might just be one of my own relatives!