Zhu Gaoye didn't seem to know the reactions of the two people behind him.
After watching the entire process of glass making, Zhu Gaoye said to Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di,"
"Let's go, I'll take you to the steel mill.”
Smelting steel? Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di immediately widened their eyes in surprise. At the same time, they were also very interested in the steel smelting plant that Zhu Gaoye mentioned.、
Soon, the three of them arrived at the steel smelting plant. There were also many workers operating the hot and rolling molten iron.
The molten iron splashed onto the furnace wall and immediately caused sparks to fly.
Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di were terrified. They were afraid that if they were not careful, the splashing molten iron would cause some danger.
However, after watching for a long time, they didn't see any accidents. Director Zhu and Zhu Di gradually relaxed.
Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di were shocked by this unprecedented method of smelting steel.
"This is my steel smelter. The ground is filled with smelted steel.”
Zhu Gaoye pointed at the mountain of steel on the ground and said to Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yuanzhang.
In ancient times, most of the steel was made by carburation, and the quality of the steel produced was uneven.
That was why there was the saying of Hundred Steels, which was to continuously hammer steel and then artificially forge the uneven quality of steel into something of the same quality.
Naturally, the production of steel produced by this method was not very high.
However, the ground in front of them was filled with steel, causing Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di to be shocked.
This kind of shock was far more than seeing glass.
If the pile of things on the ground was really the steel that Zhu Gaoye mentioned, wouldn't it mean that the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty would be able to take weapons made of steel and wear armor made of steel in the future?
One had to know that in ancient times, a good weapon and a good armor meant that one could kill their way out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood!
But were these things really steel?
Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di were suspicious, but they didn't say anything.
Because the two of them were now businessmen, they couldn't be too clear about prohibited goods like steel controlled by the imperial court. Otherwise, they would easily give themselves away.
"My young friend," Zhu Yuanzhang asked,"is there any advantage to your method of smelting steel?"”
Zhu Gaoye bent down and picked up a small piece of steel. He tossed it up and down in his hand and said to Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di,"
"The steel I made is completely different from the steel that Big Ming has now.”
"This steel isn't forged. It's formed naturally after being refined.”
"Compared to ordinary steel, the material balance and toughness are also better. All the steel blocks have the same quality.”
"We can even use the similarity of these metals to create an enormous steel warship.”
After Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di heard Zhu Gaoye's words, they could not help but be shocked.
In this era, all the big ships were made of wood, because the iron smelted now was not enough to support such a big ship.
The best thing was to install an iron ram on the bow of the ship, and then cover the side of the ship with a thin layer of iron sheet to prevent the enemy's rockets from igniting the ship.
Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but feel excited. If he could really build steel warships, then the chaos of the Japanese pirates along the southeast coast was nothing to be afraid of.
Didn't the entire sea allow Da Ming's ships to come and go as they pleased? There was no need for him to spend so much effort to move within the Forbidden Sea.
The ban on internal migration had always been a sore spot in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart.
Zhu Yuanzhang, who was born in a poor family, valued the people very much.
Although Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely harsh on the officials and would kill them at every turn, he was the other extreme when it came to the commoners.
In order to prevent these commoners from suffering injustice, Zhu Yuanzhang specially set up the Dengwen Drum in Jinling. As long as the commoners felt that they had been wronged, they could sound the Dengwen Drum. Then, someone would bring these commoners to see him and ask him to avenge them.
In order not to let the officials block the people's way of seeking justice, it was even stipulated that as long as the people had the imperial edict on their heads, they could enter the capital to meet the emperor. The officials along the way were not allowed to stop them, or they would be punished for treason.
Zhu Yuanzhang, who treated the people with such importance, had no choice but to do something as wasteful as forbidding them from moving.
There was no other reason than that the southeast coast was filled with pirates, and these pirates came and went like the wind.
It was very difficult to catch their traces. As the saying went, one could only be a thief for a thousand days, but how could one guard against thieves for a thousand days?
Although Zhu Yuanzhang had invested a lot of manpower and resources in the southeast coast, it was still a little difficult to deal with the highly mobile Japanese pirates.
Often, by the time the soldiers arrived, these people would have already looted and left.
In the long run, not only would the people along the coast suffer from the scourge of the Japanese pirates,
It would also drag down the finances of the Imperial Court, which was not very rich to begin with. This would not be worth it.
Zhu Yuanzhang had no choice but to choose the lesser of the two options.
"This steel can not only be used to make giant ships, but also to improve the firearms that Great Ming currently has!”
"Because these steel have good toughness, it makes the power of the existing firearms even stronger.”
It could even make the existing firearms more powerful?
Zhu Yuanzhang's heart skipped a beat.
If there really was such a warship, they would equip it with firearms. It was simply invincible on the sea.
Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang was a little excited.
"An improved firearm?"
Zhu Di's face revealed a look of disbelief.
Zhu Di's military level and vision were definitely not something that ordinary people could compare to.
Firearms had been developed to this point and were quite mature. Not only were there cannons, but there were also guns.
This kind of flintlock was not the kind of outdated thing that could only fire one shot at a time.
Instead, it was called a three-eyed musket, which could be fired three times in a row to form a suppressive fire.
Other than being able to fire from a distance, this kind of gun could also be used as a melee weapon. It was already a rather advanced existence in this era.
Cannons were no longer the kind of things that had more of a deterrent effect than a practical effect. They were the true killing weapons of a battle formation.
Zhu Di even had the idea of organizing a large-scale cannon array and then using the huge power of the cannon to directly wipe out the enemy.
It was a pity that this kind of expenditure was not something that Great Ming's current finances could afford.
Even so, Zhu Di still felt that in this world, no country's firearms could compare to Ming's firearms.
How could such an advanced firearm be improved?
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