Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 36 Expensive Price

Coming out of the Governor's Mansion, Zhu Yixi was relieved.

After some dealings, his image of being loyal and uncompromising has been completely established.

Whether it's beriberi, the General Medical Administration, or the plague, he has handled everything properly, and the possibility of taking over in the future will greatly increase.

Riding the horse, Zhu Yixi suddenly remembered: "Zhu Yi, go pick a bunch of flowers and go to the Golden Immortal Temple. Put it down and leave according to the old rules!"

"Yes!" Zhu Yi nodded and ran away in a hurry.

"Let's go, let's go to the craftsman camp!"

After waving their hands, five or six teenagers ran happily, and within half an hour, they arrived at the craftsman camp.

After Zhu Yixi's transformation, the Craftsman Camp has undergone major changes.

Although he is not good at firearms, Zhu Yixi has always liked to leave professional matters to professional people. What he does is management.

Therefore, as a laborer, he first reformed the system.

It is divided into the Firearms Department, Weapons Department, and Raw Materials Department.

Needless to say, the firearms department includes bird guns, Franco cannons, tiger squat guns, etc.; the arms department includes shields, ladders, spears, arrows, etc.; raw materials include iron, steel, logging and other rough work.

As for Zhu Yixi, he went directly to the raw material department. All ordnance is determined by raw materials.

Wang Yan was also invited here.

"Crash-"

At this time, under the nearly five-foot blast furnace, a large amount of molten pig iron was tilted out, weighing hundreds of catties, glowing red, and the temperature was astonishing.

Immediately, the pig iron water quickly rose up and dripped into the wrought iron on the side to infiltrate and fuse them.

This is because pig iron has high carbon content and wrought iron has low carbon content, and wrought iron drips pig iron to increase its carbon content, neutralize it, and become steel.

This is the world-leading Su Steel Method in the Ming Dynasty, which can make steel without using a crucible.

"it is good!"

Zhu Yixi hurriedly applauded and applauded.

"Craftsman, you are here!" The craftsmen in charge of making iron hurriedly saluted respectfully.

"Jingming, why are you here?"

Wang Yan turned around, saw Zhu Yixi, and said, "Are you done with your work?"

"It's almost there!" Zhu Yixi smiled and said, "Once you come, the whole camp will be different."

"Where is it!"

Knowing what he was referring to, Wang Yan couldn't help but said, "Actually, the blower already exists, I just lengthened it."

"As for the Su Gang method, it was spread in the south of the Yangtze River, but it was closed in Guanzhong and never spread."

"It's already pretty good!" Zhu Yixi smiled happily: "I've heard about it since you came, and the production of pig iron has increased by nearly [-]%!"

"This has to be the benefit of burning with coke, which burns faster and hotter than coal."

Wang Yan smiled slightly, his face full of humility.

"If you don't tell me, how do we know how to use coke to burn it? We have been using coal with seven carbons and three to make iron before!"

The craftsman on the side was full of admiration and said: "Not to mention, you directly use salt and mud to build a blast furnace. When it comes out of the furnace, it will be pig iron. When it is melted, it will be left behind. Sprinkle the dry plaster and stir it quickly with a willow stick, and it will be wrought iron." .”

"It saves us a lot of effort!"

Changing pig iron to wrought iron used to be done by frying, but the carbon content is directly changed by sprinkling marl, which is simple and quick.

"It's in the book, it's in the book." Wang Wei said rather ashamedly: "I just copied it."

"Don't be modest!" Zhu Yixi admired, and then asked: "How much iron is produced every month now? How much is wrought iron?"

"Pig iron is [-] catties per month, and wrought iron is about [-] catties."

The craftsman in charge of making iron was busy.

"Why are there so few?"

Zhu Yixi frowned: "There are blast furnaces and blowers again, isn't it an increase of [-]%?"

Hearing the questioning, the craftsmen panicked and said: "The master craftsman has learned that in the past, most of the pig iron was shipped from Fengxiang Mansion. We smelted less, and mostly hammered mature iron."

"You can't buy too much ore, only these."

"Then, where do you buy the ore today?"

Zhu Yixi said in a deep voice.

"Longshouyuan!" the craftsman said softly.

"Where?" Zhu Yixi frowned, feeling rather troubled.

There are not only iron mines, copper mines, gold mines and other associated mines there, but also a lot of them. Even he knows that it is the most complicated place in Xi'an.

Big households, gentry, Prince Qin's mansion, and Yamen are basically all involved.

Even Sun Chuanting can only pretend to be deaf and dumb. It is too involved, and even Emperor Wanli can't compete.

After all, the land costs hundreds of taels every year, but mining is a matter of tens of thousands, and the land has to be added to the loss, so that Sun Chuanting can make a compromise.

"There should be quite a few miners in Longshou, right?"

"About 4000 people, there are all year round."

Seeing his question and answer, Wang Yan hurriedly said with concern: "You can't take Long Shouyuan's idea, there is a hornet's nest, you can't move it."

"I understand!" How could Zhu Yixi be so stupid, Long Shouyuan couldn't even eat the cheese if he was killed, so he could only set himself on fire.

Is that for iron ore?Iron is only [-] Wen per catty. Where can there be gold mines, silver mines, and copper mines to get money quickly?

Wang Yan breathed a sigh of relief, before he said: "Iron mines are all done in secret, after all, the imperial court doesn't allow it."

"If you really want iron ore, you can go to Jingyang."

"Jingyang?" Zhu Yixi was taken aback for a moment, then overjoyed: "Is there any iron mine in Jingyang?"

"Yes!" Wang Wei smiled slightly and said, "My family also has a workshop. In recent years, thanks to the sale of iron, otherwise it would have been very difficult due to the drought and military disaster."

"Jingyang is only a hundred miles away, very good!"

Zhu Yixi said happily: "Please write a handwritten letter. I will send someone to buy some ore and smelt some iron."

However, it was a pity in his heart that the background of Longshouyuan could not be touched, and those small landlords in Jingyang, wouldn't they be easy to catch?
It's just that Wang Yan has a share in the family, and he just invited him here, so he can't cross the river and tear down the bridge, right?

"Small things!" Wang Yan said indifferently: "Selling ore also makes money."

After solving the pig iron problem, Zhu Yixi heaved a sigh of relief, and left the raw material department with Wang Yan, and then said:
"Your Majesty, when there are enough materials, can you cast a red cannon?"

"How can there be enough without copper?"

Wang Yan asked with a puzzled expression, "Could it be that you want to use iron to cast cannons?"

Zhu Yixi nodded.

"That will cause the wall in the chamber to be broken, with many gaps, some as big as a slap, and some as small as a mung bean. Once the cannon is fired, the chamber will explode."

Wang Yu hurriedly said: "Its danger is self-evident. If you make it, if you don't hurt others, you will be in danger."

"However, copper materials are not available!"

Zhu Yixi said helplessly: "A cannon in red clothes costs at least two thousand catties, and copper whiskers are two silver coins per catty (about 160 copper coins per catty). The total consumption is 400 taels."

"That's right!" Wang Yan sighed, and said, "In the first year of Tianqi, Duke Wen Ding (Xu Guangqi) bought a [-]-jin heavy cannon, and Folang Jiren asked for a thousand taels, which is no different from yours."

"Governor Sun used to cast cannons for two 300 taels each."

"You forgot, ten cannons, really successful, one out of ten."

Zhu Yixi smiled wryly: "That is to say, in a real sense, 4000 taels a cannon."

(End of this chapter)