Iron Dynasty

The strong tea has a faint tea aroma at hand.

The issue of the military system was put aside for a while, Xiao Ming continued: The Huyantuo tribe on the grassland withdrew, and now it has become the blood wolf tribe, you all know it.

Our scouts on the prairie have brought back news. It was a fluke that we won last time, but this time Youzhou was taken over by Bei Shan, which is a lot more troublesome. Niu Ben said with a frown.

Zhan Xingchang said: That's right, the blood wolf tribe has stepped up its surveillance of Cangzhou. Barbarian scouts often appear outside the city. Now we can't send craftsmen to build a fortress on the grassland. After the Highness went to Chang'an, I made an attempt. , This craftsman has just transported the materials to the grassland, and the barbarian cavalry will arrive later, and we have to withdraw to the city.

This Bei Shan is really not an easy character to deal with. Now he must be staring at Cangzhou like a wolf staring at its prey. As long as there are any mistakes, they will take advantage of the situation. Xiao Ming frowned deeply.

After pondering for a while, he continued: The strategy of advancing this fortress cannot be stopped. Since it is temporarily impossible to advance to the grasslands, the Cangzhou Pass must be built into an iron wall. After the meeting is over, I will teach you a brand-new construction method.

Yes, Your Highness. Zhan Xingchang nodded.

At this time, Xiao Ming looked at Chen Qi, How is the military workshop now?

Chen Qi said: His Royal Highness, the equipment of the equipment department has now been moved to the military workshop, and now the artillery is in normal production. This month, the military workshop has provided 20 artillery pieces for Cangzhou, but now the material problem can not follow. up.

Chen Wenlong echoed: His Royal Highness, just relying on Qian Guanjia's mine, this iron ore can't keep up. Now basically the iron ore shipped every day is only enough to produce one artillery piece, and sometimes the materials for a piece of artillery are all not enough.

This problem is basically unsolved for Xiao Ming now. After all, this mine is not a problem that the more people there are, the more mining.

Because after the iron ore on the surface is dug, it can only continue to dig underground. The number of people mining in this narrow space is limited, and people cannot be stuffed into it indefinitely.

It is precisely because of this that the difficulty of mining has increased, and the mining manpower tends to be fixed, but the output of iron ore is now basically maintained at a certain amount.

In addition, these iron ore had to be transported after being mined, and there was a long delay on the way, which was really bad for the production of artillery.

Don't worry about this, materials will be delivered soon, Xiao Ming said.

Chen Qi and Chen Wenlong looked at each other, Really?

This is still fake, the emperor wants to buy artillery from Qingzhou, 8,000 taels, some silver taels will be charged with iron and coal when the time comes, and there are other vassal kings. In this way, it is equivalent to the basic iron and coal of Da Yu Kingdom. It will be transported to our Qingzhou. Lu Fei said loudly.

Purchasing? Your Highness, this artillery is the lifeblood for us to deal with the barbarians. If we don't have enough, how can we sell it. Niu Ben was suddenly unhappy.

It's still uncomfortable to take the artillery from his hands and cut his flesh. After all, these are the armaments of the Qingzhou Army.

Old General, Chen Wenlong also said just now that there are not enough minerals in Qingzhou, and we don't want to solve the material problem. This is very restrictive to the military workshop. Not to mention that the emperor's life is difficult to violate, we must also consider the money. The cost of this cannon is only two or three thousand taels, and now we buy eight thousand taels, which means that for every cannon we provide to the court, we in Qingzhou can earn two or three cannons for nothing at the same time, and this business is a steady profit. Xiao Ming analyzed.

Niu Ben was stunned for a moment, and the thought came back to his senses. He smiled and said, Your Highness, I'm really confused.

When the crowd heard the words, they laughed kindly.

However, our military workshop is going to have enough trouble now. Your Highness, you have to send some more slaves here, otherwise there will not be enough manpower. Chen Qi said.

This is no problem, but this time the artillery we sell and the artillery we use must be produced separately. At least we must ensure that the range and power of the artillery sold are not as good as the artillery of Qingzhou, so that if these artillery fall into the hands of foreign enemies in the future, we can also suppress it. Xiao Ming warned.

Niu Ben and the others nodded when they heard the words. They were about to talk about this issue. It seemed that Xiao Ming had considered all aspects.

After the military issue was finished, Pang Yukun said: Your Highness, this year, the grain harvests in the six states have been bumper, and many people have sold the grain to the government office. Now the backlog of food in the government office is 500,000 stone, plus the army. Now that the warehouses in the six states are running out of stock, the next day of grain harvest is coming, do you still need to continue purchasing grain?

The 500,000 shi of grain is only enough for 500,000 people for three months. It is more than enough to feed the army, but it is far from enough. According to modern standards, it should be enough for at least three years.

Because once the war comes, production will be destroyed. For example, in the Battle of Cangzhou, although there were only 50,000 auxiliary soldiers and soldiers, but

There were 200,000 to 300,000 people mobilized to transport food and grass and prepare materials for siege.

These strong laborers are recruited, and the family's fields cannot be properly cared for. Because of this, the harvest in autumn will definitely be reduced a lot in a few years.

It is because of this that Xiao Ming said that Qingzhou was also severely damaged.

As long as the people sell, we will take it. Not to mention everyone, we must guarantee the army's grain and grass for at least three years. As for the granary, each state is now responsible for the construction. Make sure that the grain will not get wet, and assign targets to each state, and each state must complete the amount of grain purchases. Xiao Ming said that the problem of grain cannot be a joke.

This kind of land depends on the sky for food. Once it encounters drought, floods, and locust plagues, the year's food is likely to be finished. Therefore, taking advantage of the harvest season of food to purchase a large amount of food can ensure that there will be no trouble in the event of natural and man-made disasters.

Pang Yukun nodded, wrote down Xiao Ming's words, and then said, Your Highness, there are only two million taels of silver left in the treasury. At this time, do you want to take a look at the account book.

The saddest thing in the world is that people live well, but the money is gone.

Pang Yukun's words gave Xiao Ming a stomach ache. Now all the money earned by the Chamber of Commerce will be put into the government treasury, which will be allocated by the government, so the accounts can be seen clearly.

The money he earned was just to buy cattle for the people, and he spent more than one million taels forging farm tools. The plate armor forged for the army cost at least 20 taels per set, but the Qingzhou Army lost 400,000 taels of silver. In the Battle of Cangzhou, the artillery, ammunition, and shells cost hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.

At the same time, there are also the food and drink expenses of slaves, the salary of officials, the wood purchased for shipbuilding and so on.

Looking at the dense numbers on it, Xiao Ming's head froze.