Chapter 60: Granny Xie's Loom

Zhu Yunteng simply watched the two men squat on the ground to assemble the machine, showing no intention of offering any hints.

Today, the Ministry of Works represented the most advanced technology of the Great Ming. Only by understanding the true capabilities of the Ministry of Works could Zhu Yunteng know what kind of innovations to introduce in the future.

Fortunately, the two men did not disappoint Zhu Yunteng. Despite a few minor setbacks along the way, they successfully assembled this simple machine tool amidst much fumbling.

"Hah—"

The two men simultaneously let out a breath of stale air, bowed to Zhu Yunteng, and said, "Your Highness, we have successfully fulfilled your command."

Zhu Yunteng did not speak immediately. Instead, he walked over to the machine tool and gently stroked its surface with his hand.

The chilly sensation instantly stirred up the memories of Zhu Yunteng's past life as an engineering major.

Narrowing his eyes, he savored the feeling carefully for a moment before opening them again to look at Du Ze and Wang Shifu.

"Your Highness!" The two men quickly bowed once more.

"Hmm—" Zhu Yunteng nodded slightly, his right hand once again lightly brushing over the machine tool. "Minister Wang, with this machine tool, I believe copying Master Wang's masterpiece should be much easier, right?"

"Your Highness is wise. With such a machine tool to manufacture parts, reproducing our ancestor's work will surely be much faster." Wang Shifu first offered a flattering remark before tentatively asking, "However, I wonder which of our ancestor's works Your Highness wishes us to replicate first?"

The inventions left behind by Wang Zhen were numerous, and the vast majority of them were related to agriculture.

Only by knowing Zhu Yunteng's intentions could Wang Shifu determine the direction in which the Department of Science and Technology should focus its future development.

Although Du Ze remained silent, he looked at Zhu Yunteng with an equally expectant gaze.

As the Minister of Works, he naturally also wanted to know in which direction the new Emperor intended to lead the Ministry.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Zhu Yunteng said, "Let us create the water-powered spinning machine first! Winter is fast approaching, and I do not wish to see any of the Great Ming subjects freeze to death in the wind and snow during the very first year of my ascension."

Upon hearing this, both Du Ze and Wang Shifu flashed a trace of surprise in their eyes, mixed with a hint of reverence.

A new Emperor who could think of the common people at the very first instance would surely become a renowned and enlightened ruler in times to come.

After a brief hesitation, however, Du Ze wore a troubled expression and said, "Your Highness, although this humble official does not know how remarkable the water-powered spinning machine invented by Master Wang is, it must undoubtedly be extraordinary.

"However, if we do that, the supply of raw materials might fall somewhat short. Moreover, even if we have the yarn, we will need corresponding looms to weave it into cloth; if the looms cannot keep up, having an abundance of yarn will be of no use."

"You are entirely correct," Zhu Yunteng nodded in approval.

Yet, he immediately smiled and said, "The issue of raw materials is easy to resolve. Tree bark, leaves, and even certain grasses can serve as raw materials. After all, we are merely solving the problem of clothing for the common people, not producing goods to sell for profit, so the quality of the materials is of no importance.

"Thus... I will allocate a sum of money for you to procure these raw materials around Yingtian Prefecture. This will also help boost the income of some of the common people residing in the vicinity of Yingtian Prefecture.

"As for the looms you mentioned..."

Zhu Yunteng once again reached out his hand toward Jiang Huan.

Jiang Huan pulled another blueprint from his bosom and handed it directly to Du Ze this time.

After Du Ze accepted the blueprint, Zhu Yunteng smiled and said, "This object is called the Granny Xie Loom, invented by an elderly woman during the Southern Song Dynasty, though it has never received much attention over the years.

"I happened to stumble upon it among the rare volumes collected by His Imperial Grandfather, and after a series of improvements, I finally finalized its current form. See if you can attempt to manufacture it."

Hearing what Zhu Yunteng said, both Du Ze and Wang Shifu leaned their heads over the blueprint.

After just a single glance, Wang Shifu could not help exclaiming, "This is far too ingenious!"

"Your Highness, how did you ever think of using sixteen shuttles to work simultaneously?" Du Ze also could not refrain from asking.

As the Minister of Works, he naturally possessed a wealth of related knowledge. People in the Great Ming had indeed thought of using multiple shuttles simultaneously to increase weaving efficiency.

Yet, in the end, they were all forced to give up because they had no way of controlling multiple shuttles at the same time.

However, upon looking at the blueprint before him, he sensed the difference with just a single glance.

The greatest difference was that Zhu Yunteng had added a curved connecting rod to it, which allowed the operational trajectory of all the shuttles to be exceptionally well controlled.

In the past, even if they had conceived of such a method, it would have been extremely difficult to manufacture the curved connecting rod. But now, with the machine tool, the situation was completely different.

In an instant, the look in Du Ze's eyes toward Zhu Yunteng changed entirely.

An inexplicable feeling even arose in his heart, as if all of this had actually been part of Zhu Yunteng's plan all along.

From the machine tool to Wang Zhen, and now to the Granny Xie Loom presented just now, every step was proceeding precisely on schedule.

Naturally, Zhu Yunteng was unaware of what Du Ze was thinking; he simply assumed they did not understand something on the blueprint. Pointing to the shuttles depicted on the paper, he explained, "Actually, controlling the shuttles is quite simple, as long as each shuttle can travel along a predetermined route.

"The difficult part is how to enable the shuttles to reverse direction and operate at high speeds..."

As he spoke, Zhu Yunteng reached out and tapped near the blueprint, continuing, "This small device is called a spring, made by twisting and bending steel or hard copper. Do not underestimate this humble thing; it possesses exceptionally powerful elasticity and is wonderful for solving the issues of shuttle reversal and high-speed operation."

"This..."

Du Ze and Wang Shifu were so shocked they no longer knew what to say.

After a brief hesitation, they could only bow and say, "Your Highness possesses boundless talent; we cannot hope to compare."

"Very well! Let the Granny Xie Loom be handed over to the Department of Science and Technology as well. Minister Wang, operate at full throttle during this period to manufacture as many as possible, and begin processing as soon as the materials are gathered," Zhu Yunteng waved his hand.

He did not particularly enjoy this kind of mindless flattery.

With that, he turned to look at Du Ze and said, "Minister Du, the production of gunpowder and firearms should also fall under the Ministry of Works, correct?"

"Yes, Your Highness!" Du Ze replied with utmost respect.

Zhu Yunteng said, "Good! Take me over to have a look."

"As you command!"

Not daring to delay, Du Ze led the way and guided Zhu Yunteng toward the gunpowder and firearm manufacturing workshops.

The Great Ming's utilization of gunpowder and firearms actually began very early; records of using gunpowder and catapults to attack cities date as far back as the Song Dynasty.

By the end of the Yuan Dynasty, firearms had already evolved into various categories such as cannons and the three-eyed gun.

Today, the Great Ming possessed even more advanced weapons like the Hongwu Grand Cannon and the improved three-eyed gun.

Needless to say, the Hongwu Grand Cannon was simply the most primitive type of bronze smoothbore cannon. Its firing range and shooting method still belonged to a very backward era, though by contemporary standards, it could also be considered at the global forefront.

As for the three-eyed gun, calling this contraption the ancestor of the Gatling gun was hardly an exaggeration.