The economic development of the Ming Dynasty was definitely the peak of my country's feudal society. It has a complete range of categories, advanced technology, and very developed commodity trade. When it comes to economic scale, all other countries in the world may not be opponents of the Ming Dynasty. This is obvious just by looking at the direction of silver. At that time, more than 70% of the silver in the world finally flowed into the Ming Dynasty. Some people estimate that the national silver reserves in the late Ming Dynasty might have exceeded 500 million taels.

If it weren't for the sudden entry of the Qing Dynasty into the pass and the Ming Dynasty's economy continued to develop, no one could predict what kind of society would have emerged. However, one thing is certain, it must be a very bright society. To use the statement from historical textbooks, that is, the germination of capitalism has been born. Everything is developing in a positive direction.

Unfortunately, the Qing Tartars suddenly entered the pass, ruled civilization with barbarism, took pride in being backward and beaten, and were ashamed of developing the economy. In the end, they successfully turned the world's most advanced country into the world's most backward country. In this regard, the Qing Tartars made great contributions. The word manchu, until now, is probably still full of contempt when read by foreigners.

Li Fenglai reported in detail the situation of the ironworks.

According to Zhang Zhun's requirements, the development of iron smelting plants is to develop simultaneously in both quality and output. In terms of quality, it is mainly to increase the output of steel to create more fine weapons. For example, the manufacturing of flying dragon cannons and red cannons requires a large amount of steel. In terms of output, it is to build more iron smelting furnaces and produce more pig iron to meet more civilian needs.

At present, the daily pig iron production of the iron smelting plant in Laoshan has exceeded 3,000 kilograms. The average steel production has exceeded 500 kilograms per day. Such a production is still possible. However, this is the limit of the Laoshan Iron and Steel Plant. It is unlikely to further expand. Because the iron ore used by the Laoshan Iron and Steel Plant is transported from Lingshan Wei, the cost is very high and it is seriously not cost-effective. Therefore, to further expand the pig iron production, we must get close to the iron ore and build more iron smelting plants.

At present, Li Fenglai and others have sent people to build a new iron smelting plant in Fushan. There are relatively high-quality iron ore near Fushan Iron Smelting Plant, and the daily pig iron production is about 5,000 kilograms and steel output is about 800 kilograms per day. If the iron smelting plant in Fushan is not enough, you can also choose to continue the Xinjiang iron smelting plant in Qixia area where there is a lot of iron ore.

“Not for now.”

"After we control Laiwu and other places, we will build more iron smelting plants."

Zhang Zhun said in contemplation.

Most of the iron ore discovered by the Hu Ben Army are poor mines, with high mining costs and high smelting costs. It is because Zhang Zhun has put in a lot of money now, so much pig iron has come out. Due to the war needs, Zhang Zhun basically does not consider the cost. From an economic perspective, it is actually not very cost-effective.

In his impression, it seemed that Laiwu and other places had large iron ore resources, and the mineral quality was relatively high. The Hu Ben Army later controlled Laiwu and then built the largest iron smelting plant there. Currently, there are two iron smelting plants, and the production capacity should basically meet the needs.

The steel produced by the iron smelting plant is not very military, but mainly for civilian purposes. To build various agricultural tools, a large amount of pig iron is required. In addition, the construction of Laizhou Prefecture and Dengzhou Prefecture requires a large amount of pig iron, and some even require steel. The construction of the naval wharf also requires a large amount of steel.

"I am going to relax the steel business and encourage powerful businesses from the public to participate in the establishment of iron smelting plants to alleviate the shortage of funds."

Zhang Zhun said lightly.

For a long time, salt and iron were sold by the state, and the state had strict control over salt and iron. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the control over salt and iron was also very strict, and private people were not allowed to operate iron ore on a large scale. During the Wanli period, the main iron ore production areas were all stationed with mine supervisors. However, by the end of the Ming Dynasty, the control ability of the government weakened and the private iron smelting industry emerged. There were many people who colluded with officials and businessmen to buy and sell iron ore farms. For example, Foshan mentioned just now was all private smelting plants.

However, Zhang Zhun was not planning to release steel production in the area controlled by the Hu Ben Army. The main reason was that he was worried that once the private smelting industry flourished, for the sake of interests, some people would definitely take risks and smuggle steel into the Liaodong region. In addition to the sparse population and resources, the backwardness of the steel production process was also the case. If the Tartars obtained a large amount of steel, they could be used to forge more weapons, and the Tartars' combat effectiveness would continue to be enhanced.

"The established policy remains unchanged."

“Continue to increase pig iron production.”

“Continue to increase steel production.”

Zhang Zhun said instructed.

"clear."

Li Fenglai and the other three answered in unison.

Yin Gensheng seemed to notice something and asked tentatively: "Sir, has there been a major military operation recently? Are the Tartars coming to rescue Dengzhou City?"

Zhang Zhun nodded without comment and said with a cold expression: "Are you prepared for any trouble?"

Yin Gensheng realized that he had asked something he shouldn't have asked, so he hurriedly shut up.

Zhang Zhun then went to the craftsman's workshop.

The main work of the craft workshop is to produce the Hu Ben gun and the Hawkeye gun, as well as supporting components. This is the core of the weapon and equipment technology of the Hu Ben Army, so the guard specifications here are the most stringent. After Zhang Zhun arrived, the first thing he checked was various guards and confidentiality work. In the battle sequence of the Hu Ben Army, there was a group of soldiers without numbers silently defending the safety of the craft workshop. The Maoyan Department and the Intelligence Department also dispatched personnel to the place.

In order to prevent the secret leak of the Hu Ben Army, the setting of the craft workshop is very special. The craft workshop has a large confidentiality area, surrounded by walls and barbed wire, just like a prison. In the confidentiality area, there are all kinds of logistics services. Ordinary craftsmen must live in the confidentiality area. The craftsmen who master core technology are even more directly monitored and cannot easily leave the core confidentiality area.

The current output of Hu Ben guns is stable at about fifty per day. The output of Hawkeye guns is stable at about ten per day. The warehouses of the craftsman workshop often store more than one thousand Hu Ben guns, which are available for urgent needs at any time. In fact, the output of Hu Ben guns can fully meet the needs of the Hu Ben Army unless Zhang Zhun expands the army on a large scale all at once.

After a period of development, the production process of Hu Ben Gun has become very mature. From the initial flattening of steel sheets, to drawing threads, to final setting, to quality acceptance, it has been divided into 133 processes. Each craftsman is only responsible for one of them. This is conducive to improving technical proficiency and confidentiality.

In addition to the Huben gun, the craftsman is also responsible for the production of Minnie bullets. The production of Minnie bullets is actually very simple. A worker who has passed basic training and uses appropriate tools to make 3,000 Minnie bullets every day. One hundred workers started working at the same time, and 300,000 Minnie bullets were made every day. Therefore, there is no need to worry about the output of Minnie bullets. The Huben army has a large number of Minnie bullets that can be used to train new recruits.

What you need to worry about is actually the manufacturing process and principles of Minnie bombs. In fact, the principle of Minnie bombs is worthless to put it bluntly. It is a conical projectile, which is hollowed out at the bottom and sunken in. As long as someone sees the manufacturing process, you can remember it with just a glance. Therefore, keeping the confidentiality of Minnie bombs is also very critical.

Zhang Zhun then went to the gunpowder factory.

There is no need to rely on smokeless gunpowder. Zhang Zhun didn't know its formula at all. Therefore, he could only keep making a fuss about the purity of black gunpowder and increase the power of black gunpowder as much as possible. Repeated practices have proved that only granular black gunpowder can be fully burned. Therefore, the gunpowder produced by gunpowder factories now is all granular gunpowder. Granular gunpowder is divided into many levels. The higher the purity, the higher the level. In terms of manufacturing technology, it is always a perfection.

To make black gunpowder, pure nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal are required. Charcoal is completely free. Nitrogen can be collected in stables, pigpens, toilets, etc., and then purified through special processes. There is no problem. The problem is sulfur. The sulfur production in the area currently controlled by the Hu Benjun is not large.

Therefore, in the long run, the Hu Ben Army still needs to continuously expand its territory to increase the possibility of sulfur ore. Unfortunately, Zhang Zhun really does not have a deep understanding of the distribution of minerals in my country, and only knows some of the most basic overviews, such as the distribution of strategic materials such as coal, iron, and oil. As for where the sulfur in my country is mainly distributed, he knows nothing, and he can only rely on the people of the Gunpowder Bureau to work hard on their own.

The current daily gunpowder production of the gunpowder factory is about 800 kilograms. The monthly output is about 24,000 kilograms. Such output is indeed not much. The combat consumption in Huang County is more than 10,000 kilograms. With the continuous expansion of the Hu Ben Army, the black gunpowder consumed will definitely be more. Fortunately, the emergence of Minnie bombs has greatly reduced the consumption of black gunpowder. However, the use of a large number of explosive packs requires a large amount of gunpowder.

Anyway, the more black gunpowder, the better at any time. Some people may say, why not exchange black gunpowder from the Ming army? In fact, it is a misunderstanding. Last time, Zhang Zhun blackmailed a large number of black gunpowder from the Ming army. After taking it back, he found that the quality of these black gunpowder was too poor and could not be effectively used. But all the processes of these black gunpowder have been completed, and it is difficult to improve the quality. In the end, he had to use them all to create landmines.
Chapter completed!