My life skills in Daming Liver

Together with Eunuch Hu and Eunuch Tao, led by Eunuch You, they came to a workshop by the Minjiang River.

Eunuch Hu looked at his adopted son suspiciously, when was such a workshop built in the mine?

Eunuch Hu has been obsessed with the chemical experiment materials that Su Ze wrote to him recently, and he is so busy in the laboratory every day that he didn't notice the workshop at all.

Su Ze smiled slightly. When Su Ze was tossing the waterwheel, Little Eunuch You also noticed it. He quickly asked Su Ze if the water wheel could drive the heavy hammer to forge metal?

Su Ze asked Uncle Zong Yuan, a master craftsman in the shipyard, to build this hydraulic workshop in the turbulent upper reaches of the Minjiang River near the mine.

Eunuch Tao watched with great interest the thunderbolt bang bang water wheel hammer, but Su Ze led them to a deeper place in the workshop.

"Little Eunuch You, can I use it?"

Little Eunuch You nodded, and he pulled a wooden pole to open the sluice, only to see the river water began to flow into a large wooden barrel.

The wooden barrel is connected with the sledgehammer with a sling, and as the water in the barrel increases, the sledgehammer is pulled up by the sling.

When the water in the wooden barrel was almost full, Little Eunuch You immediately shouted, "Get out of the way!"

All I saw was that the bottom of the barrel was opened and the water drained out all of a sudden, and the big hammer suddenly fell from the air and hit the anvil heavily.

Sparks burst out from the impact of the hammer and the anvil, and both Eunuch Tao and Eunuch Hu were taken aback by the astonishing power.

Su Ze pointed to this hammer and introduced: "This is a hydraulic hammer, which can be used to make hundred-forged steel billets."

Little Eunuch You is very proud that this hammer can be used to forge steel billets, and then divided into small pieces, just let the water wheel forging hammer in front hit it, and it can produce quite good steel.

In fact, the stability of this hydraulic machine is not high, and the striking force of the water wheel forging hammer is not strong, in fact, it is similar to a weapon made by an experienced blacksmith.

But the advantage of this workshop is that it saves effort!

Only a few craftsman apprentices are needed to forge a weapon that an excellent craftsman can forge in a month.

With such equipment, Eunuch You can focus more on the alloy ratio, and constantly experiment with steel with a more suitable ratio.

Su Ze said: "Since ancient times, coins have been cast using the money casting method."

Eunuch Tao nodded. He was ordered to mint coins, so naturally he had done research.

The so-called money fan casting is to pour the burnt copper water into the stone money fan, open the money fan after cooling, and you can get the copper coins with imprints on the front and back.

The coins in ancient China were all cast, while the coins we use in modern times are all stamped.

The method of stamping is much simpler than that of minting coins. The raw material brass needed to make coins is pressed into copper plates, and then the copper plates are cut into copper billets.

After these copper blanks are heated, they are placed on a printing machine such as a hydraulic hammer to punch out the patterns on the coins.

The coinage efficiency of this method is higher than that of the coinage method, and the pattern of coins produced by the printing machine is clearer and more standardized. It can also print complex graphics such as head portraits, flowers and buildings, and the coins produced are naturally more refined.

Su Ze explained the principle of the printing machine again, and then asked Eunuch You: "Eunuch You, can you make this printing machine?"

Little Eunuch You thought for a while and said, "Everything you need for this printing machine is available here, but the hydraulic hammer needs to be modified. Godfather, I can do it."

Eunuch Hu was very satisfied, and Eunuch Tao was even more overjoyed.

"but."

Eunuch Tao looked at Su Ze.

Su Ze said: "However, if the coins made by this printing machine need to have a hole in the middle, then another drilling process is required, so that the speed of minting coins will be slow."

"Can't you directly make holes in the mold of the printing machine?"

Su Ze shook his head and said: "The copper coins I face are round on the outside and square on the inside. The square holes must be aligned with each other. The working efficiency of the printing machine is too low."

"To make a square hole, you have to grind it afterward."

Eunuch Tao said anxiously: "The promotion of money can't be delayed!"

Su Ze said: "This machine is like this. Eunuch Tao has another way, which is to change the style of money."

"No longer use the outer circle and the inner square, but directly mint round coins."

"Actually, square holes were included in the ancient man-made coins for the convenience of demoulding. Nowadays, with printed machine-made coins, there is no need to demould. In fact, there is no need to leave square holes."

"Another use of the square hole is that it can be worn with hemp rope. My father-in-law wants to mint large-denomination copper coins, so there is no need to leave a square hole."

Nowadays, one tael of silver in Nanping County is 1,500 yuan, which means that a copper coin is not used in daily transactions.

Basically, ten copper coins are worn in a string, or a hundred copper coins are worn in a large string for use.

Su Ze said: "You can mint smaller new coins and use them as ten old coins, and then mint slightly larger new coins and use them as fifty old coins."

Su Ze took out another Spanish silver coin and the Roman silver coin he found in Moon Harbor.

"This is a silver coin suppressed by Xiyi. It has intricate patterns and is very popular overseas. I can also mint such coins."

Eunuch Tao touched the two foreign silver coins, and they were indeed very exquisite.

The Spanish silver coin is native to Mexico, with the cross coat of arms on the front and the crusader emblem on the reverse.

The ancient Roman silver coin is a Caesar silver coin. On the front is Caesar's profile head, and on the back is Venus holding a scepter and the standing statue of the goddess of victory.

"Who is this, to have his face printed on the coins?"

Eunuch Tao exclaimed.

Su Ze thought for a while and said: "There is a saying in the Han Dynasty that there is a country in the far west called Daqin, and this person is Huo Guang of Daqin."

Eunuch Tao suddenly realized that although he had never been in the imperial study to study, he knew who Huo Guang was. He immediately reprimanded: "This kind of powerful minister dares to engrave his own head on the coin, he really is an usurper."

Su Ze said again: "I was punished later."

"It's good to kill! This kind of powerful minister should be punished!"

Eunuch Tao clearly stated his position on safeguarding imperial power, but he didn't know that there was no emperor in Caesar's era.

Su Ze smiled, and he continued: "Can you print Taoist symbols on the front of the coin, and the father-in-law will submit it to His Majesty for decision?"

Eunuch Tao thought for a while, if it is really possible to cast better-looking copper coins with less copper, the emperor and ministers should not object.

But whether what Su Ze said is feasible or not depends on making the finished product first.

So Eunuch Tao lived in the mine, and Eunuch You, with the help of Su Ze, began to manufacture printing machines and forge brass alloys.

The synthesis of brass alloy is not complicated, but the printing machine took a lot of effort.

The ductility of copper is not as good as that of gold and silver, and more pressure is needed to cast patterns. Su Ze and Eunuch You worked hard for five days before transforming the hydraulic hammer into a printing machine.

On May 10th, everyone came to the workshop again. Little Eunuch You put ten cut brass blocks into the stamping and printing machine, and then opened the gate to start watering.

The hydraulic hammer gradually rises, and when it rises to mid-air, the water in the bucket leaks down, and the heavy printing hammer hits it down.

Little Eunuch You filled up the water again and raised the hammer, only to see that ten brass blocks had been punched into round and bright yellow coins.

Eunuch Tao immediately went over and took the copper coin out of the mold. Seeing the clear patterns on it, he couldn't close his mouth.

[Find the Mint, you can learn the skill 'Metallurgy', do you want to learn it? 】

[Find the mint, you can learn the skill 'casting and forging', do you want to learn it? 】

Su Ze was overjoyed, so he naturally chose "Yes".

[The skill 'Blacksmithing' can be merged into the skill 'Casting and Forging', should it be merged? 】

"yes"

[Merged skills, casting and forging, Lv4, 100/400]

[Metallurgy, Lv1, 1/100]

After several days of calculation, the words "Jiajing Tongbao" were written on the front of the new copper coin, and the center of the coin is a relief of Penglai, an overseas fairy island.

On the reverse side is the book "Longevity Emperor", with the word "Dang Ten" in the middle.

The weight of the whole copper coin is heavier than that of the Song money in Fujian. In fact, the copper content is almost the same as that of the Song money, but because of the use of brass alloy, the whole coin is yellower, and it looks yellow.

The more Eunuch Tao looked at this copper coin, the more he couldn't put it down. There is no way for the folks to imitate such an exquisite copper coin, and it looks so good that it is no problem to use it as a ten-year-old coin in the market.

In addition to Dang Ten, Su Ze also minted a kind of "Dang Twenty" and "Dang Fifty" copper coins.

These two copper coins are slightly larger than the "Dang Ten" coins, with the abbot printed on them, and the relief of Erxian Mountain in Yingzhou.

Eunuch Tao, who participated in the entire coinage process, knew that this "Dangshi" coin was similar to casting ordinary Song coins, and because it was not cast with Qian Fan, it saved the cost of fire consumption and demolding.

The cost of Dang 20 and Dang 50 coins is slightly higher than that of Dang 10 coins, and the copper stored in the treasury of the Niesi Yamen in Fujian is enough to be cast.

However, according to Eunuch You, if more workshops can be set up, the speed of copper smelting, copper plate rolling and coin minting can be greatly accelerated.

Eunuch Tao said to Su Ze: "Mr. Su! If the 'Three Immortal Coins' can be recognized by the imperial court, you have done a great job!"

Based on Eunuch Tao's understanding of Emperor Jiajing, such an exquisite Sanxian coin will definitely be loved by the emperor.

Eunuch Tao said again: "I want to pay tribute to Mr. Su!"

Su Ze shook his head and said, "Tao Dadang, please don't add my name."

Eunuch Hu and Eunuch You also said, "You don't need to add our names."

Eunuch Tao was stunned, and Su Ze said again: "If the palace asks, Eunuch Tao can say that this method was given by an immortal in a dream, so there are these three immortal coins. Your Majesty will definitely like it more."

When Eunuch Tao thought it was true, he quickly said, "But everyone?"

Su Ze said with a smile: "If you can succeed, why should you cherish such a reputation? And Su is going to take the imperial examination."

Eunuch Tao suddenly realized that generally speaking, the emperor rewarded the meritorious officials of foreign courts with the position of Jia Jinyiwei.

Since Su Ze is going to take the imperial examination on the right path, it is inappropriate to add the position of Jinyiwei.

Thinking about it, Su Ze's talent will definitely require high school in the palace exam in the future, Eunuch Tao quickly said apologetically, "This is a grievance, sir."

Su Ze said with a smile: "It's all for His Majesty, the success doesn't have to be my fault!"

Seeing Su Ze's arrogance, Eunuch Tao only had two words in his mind - "loyal minister"!

What is a loyal minister! This is the great loyal minister!

For the sake of His Majesty's great affairs, Eunuch Tao was full of admiration for Su Ze in his heart, regardless of his reputation.

He immediately said: "If there is any success in minting coins, Mr. Su must be there!"

Since he doesn't want fame, then use money to compensate him.

If the imperial court can really approve the use of printing machines to mint coins, it will definitely make a lot of money, and it will be up to Eunuch Tao to share some of the profits with Su Ze.

This time, Su Ze did not refuse, nor did Eunuch Hu and his son.

Eunuch Hu and Eunuch You didn't want to share the credit because they didn't want to go back to the palace.

The days of doing experiments in Nanping were so enjoyable. If they returned to the palace, they would not have a backstage in the palace, so it would be impossible for them to be so free.

In this way, the credit will naturally be given to Eunuch Tao.

The minted three immortal coins, together with eunuch Tao's secret disclosure of the method of minting coins and the "immortal grant in a dream" minting method, will be sent to the palace through the channel of emergency military information.

The next step is to wait for news from the imperial court. If the emperor agrees to mint three immortal coins, then the minting machine can be started immediately!

When Su Ze returned to Nanping County, he immediately called his confidants and asked him to bring a letter to Lin Mojun of Changningwei.

In the letter, Su Ze asked Lin Mojun's organization leader Ningwei to secretly buy Song Qian in the market, and asked her to go to Yuegang to buy copper.

Based on Su Ze's understanding of Emperor Jiajing, the exquisitely printed new money would definitely win his heart, not to mention that Eunuch Tao had already said in his letter that casting big money was profitable.

With the pissing nature of the Longevity Emperor, he will definitely support the casting of new money.

Fujian's commerce is well-developed, and the shortage of money has always been a reuse problem that restricts the development of commerce.

That's why Fujian needs silver brought in through ocean trade. It's just that everyone knows that silver is a good thing. Although a large amount of silver flows into Fujian through smuggling every year, a large amount of silver also flows out of Fujian. Money is expensive and goods are cheap. did not disappear.

Casting high-quality copper coins can indeed unblock the money method very well.

Money itself is based on trust. Even gold and silver currencies are not priced entirely according to the value of precious metals.

If the people of Fujian can recognize that new money with better quality is actually good for business activities, then Changning Wei secretly minted some new money, and it will not affect the entire commercial system of Fujian.

Su Ze's bigger goal is to acquire copper to test casting cannons.

Although Yuegang can buy some Frang cannons, they are not very powerful in naval battles.

What can really play a decisive role in naval battles is the front-mounted cannon weighing more than twelve pounds, that is, the Hongyi cannon.

However, the Portuguese's cannon-casting technology was still a little behind, and Su Ze couldn't find the Spanish and Dutch to buy cannons.

According to Captain Alfonso, the 12-pound muzzle-loading gun is still an advanced technology in Western countries, and it is not enough to be used on warships. The technical casting gun factories are basically in Europe.

With the unreliability of today's maritime trade, even if you find a seller, you don't know when you will be able to buy it.

On the timeline before Su Ze traveled, it was not until the Wanli period in the early seventeenth century that red cannons began to enter the Ming Dynasty.

Now Su Ze's Lv4 casting skill actually has the method of casting a front-mounted cannon like a red-clothed cannon.

However, the temperature of the blast furnace is not high enough, and the refined steel is not up to standard. If the iron cannon is cast by the sand foundry method, it cannot withstand the explosion of the shell at all, and it is easy to explode the chamber.

Su Ze estimates that in order to cast a qualified red cannon, he needs to upgrade his metallurgy skills to Lv10.

But instead of iron cannons, you can use copper cannons!

The melting point of copper is lower than that of iron, and the difficulty of smelting copper alloy is also lower than that of special steel. You can make a few copper cannons first.

Although pulling on King Lu's tiger skin, Chang Ningwei had a good time in the sea area of ​​Fujian for a while.

But Su Ze knew that with the strength of the Changningwei ships, they couldn't cause any disturbances in the East Asian waters.

The little money earned from robbery and protection fees is not enough to repair the ships on Dong'ao Island, let alone the cost of training seamen.

The East Asian waters are about to enter a world of great contention, and the Ming Dynasty, Japan, Korea, Portuguese, Spaniards, Dutch, and even the United Kingdom will all wrestle here.

The prologue of exploration in the age of great voyages is about to come to an end, and what awaits all countries in the world is an era of fiercer maritime competition.

Su Ze looked to the northeast, then to the southeast, and sighed, his biggest enemy is still time.

I have read some books recently, and I have a new understanding of the maritime situation in East Asia in the 16th century. The development direction of the sea may need some adjustments.

It's not a contradiction to the previous article, it's just that the protagonist is constantly updating his cognition and proposing more reasonable and feasible solutions.

This is a secret, I will write it later.

The character skill cards are being checked and sorted recently, and will be released in the free chapter, thank you all.