I Build an Aircraft Carrier in the Ming Dynasty

Huainan, this place has undergone tremendous changes in the last two months.

Coal mines have been built, and everywhere you can see are black coal diggers with only a pair of eyes.

China has a long history of using coal, but the amount has always been small. In other words, it is like this all over the world. Before the advent of the steam engine, there was not much demand for coal.

But demand for coal has been growing exponentially since the advent of the steam engine.

Last year, the annual coal consumption in Nanjing was about dozens of tons. And this year, in May alone, Nanjing's coal consumption is as high as several thousand tons.

This huge demand has directly driven the surrounding coal mining industry.

Few businessmen were involved in coal mining in the past.

But now they don't have to worry about market problems, as long as they are dug out and shipped to Nanjing, there will be factories rushing for them.

Therefore, Huainan, a place rich in coal, suddenly became hot and prosperous.

A large number of merchants purchased various mining tools and hired a large number of landless tenant farmers to mine coal.

And these tools were bought from Jiangnan Iron and Steel Factory.

On a large ship, those rectangular iron trucks were continuously pushed down.

These are ore transport vehicles produced by Jiangnan Iron and Steel Plant, all steel structure, very durable. Moderate size, easy for one person to push and pull.

An iron truck like this would cost twenty taels of silver, but in terms of improving efficiency, using this type of truck is much more cost-effective than using a traditional wooden wheelbarrow.

Only this kind of iron truck can withstand the high-intensity operations on the mine. With a wooden car, it will be scrapped in two days.

In addition to the iron truck, a large number of steel products such as two-headed hoes, hoes, and shovels were also removed from the ship and distributed to the miners.

These are all necessary tools to improve mining efficiency, specially developed by Jiangnan Iron and Steel Plant.

The evacuated ships were then loaded with coal and shipped to the south.

The bustling world is for the benefit, and the bustling world is for the benefit.

The changes in Jiangnan have a huge impact on the surrounding area, changing the lives of countless people.

Just like in Huainan, many tenant farmers have found that it is far better to farm the land for the landlord than to dig in the mines.

Since then, landlords and tenant farmers have had to raise their prices slightly.

Not only the tenant farmers, but also some landed farmers, after discovering that coal mining was more cost-effective than farming, they all switched to coal mining.

Since farming is not cost-effective, what else is there to grow? Some daring farmers just sold their fields and the whole family went to dig coal.

The men dig coal, and the women boil water for cooking.

Although the job of digging coal is very fortunate, farming is also very hard, and farming is difficult to support myself. In contrast, mining coal is much better than farming.

Some big landowners saw that coal mining made money, and they also dug out the silver hidden in the cellar, invested in coal mining business, purchased coal mines, and purchased coal mining tools.

There were also some cloth merchants and salt merchants, whose industries were severely impacted. The cheap goods in the south squeezed them out of existence, and a large number of cloth merchants and salt merchants went bankrupt.

In desperation, they could only change their careers and choose to invest in coal.

For a time, the coal industry in Huainan experienced an explosion.

Various coal-related industries have also been driven.

Faced with this situation, the prefect of Huainan not only did not stop it, but instead encouraged those businessmen to invest in the coal industry.

Although he knew that these coals were transported to Nanjing, it belonged to the behavior of the enemy.

However, in the process of capitalizing on the enemy, Huainan also got huge benefits, and the tax revenue was increased by 50%. This is almost impossible to imagine in a farming society.

This is hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, and it is still a steady stream of taxes.

Which local official can resist this temptation?

Therefore, the prefect of Huainan did not think about the consequences of selling coal to the south, he only cared about how much money he could make.

He has given a great deal of homage to the people above, just to buy a message.

Once he learned that the imperial court was going to take care of himself, he would roll up the money and flee directly to Nanjing.

To this end, he has quietly sent some of his family members to Nanjing, leaving a way back.

Zhong's Coal Mine, a large coal mine excavated by Zhong Xueyan.

Zhong Xueyan was also quite proud when he watched the scene of thousands of workers working at the same time.

"I didn't expect this little coal to become valuable. Fortunately, my old father left me a few mountains, otherwise I would have lost my family in my generation."

Zhong Xueyan laughed and said that his ancestors had also been high-ranking officials in the third-rank household minister, and had accumulated countless wealth.

However, he was squandered by grandfather and father, and by his generation, he was about to fall into the middle of the family.

And he really has no talent in studying the imperial examinations, so he can only eat and die.

But fate is so wonderful, the coal that no one cares about in the past has suddenly become a hot commodity. And the mountains in his home just happened to have a lot of coal that was easy to mine.

Since then, Zhong Xueyan has developed again and has become a famous figure in Huainan. Even if the magistrate sees it, he has to call the shopkeeper Zhong Zhong.

"Master, when I was in the south, I saw something called a steam engine, which can be used to pump water and transport coal, which is much more convenient than manpower. There are such machines in mines in the south.

It can save a lot of labor costs. "

its steward said.

"Then why don't you buy some back, is it expensive?"

Zhong Xueyan asked that the biggest expenditure in mining is labor. If there are machines to replace the labor, it can greatly reduce the cost and improve the efficiency and output at the same time.

"It's a bit expensive, but that's not the main problem. The problem is because we are under the jurisdiction of the Qing court, and they won't sell it to us at all. They are worried that we will leak our technology to the Qing court."

The butler said helplessly.

"His mother's Manchu tartar, hurt a lot."

Zhong Xueyan cursed loudly. Before, he didn't have much opinion on the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Anyway, no matter who was the ruler, he had to pay taxes.

But now, because of the Qing rulers, he cannot use advanced machines, so he has an opinion on the Manchu rulers.

He hoped that Wu Jun would come over quickly and occupied Huainan, so that he could use advanced machines and make more money.

"Yeah, just call me. Those BMW cars, perfumes and soaps are very cheap in Nanjing. The price doubles as soon as it reaches ours, because we are not their children.

I heard that Wu Guogong is very good to the people and merchants under his rule. After he calls, we can also enjoy that kind of treatment. "

said the butler.

Before he knew it, Wu Changqing had supporters in the north.

Moreover, there are quite a few of these people, mainly businessmen, and they are all powerful figures.

Nowadays, it is very easy for Wu Jun to inquire about the information in the north, and those businessmen will cooperate very well to help, just want to show goodwill to Wu Changqing.