Nuclear Warlord

Chapter 267
It was almost dark when we left Yefu.

In the early morning of the second day, Li Changfeng went to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry successively.

Going to the Ministry of War is because it involves the interests of the defenders in various places, and it is not good to have a bad relationship with the Ministry of War. After all, no matter how high the prestige of Ye Qingcang is, he has no direct jurisdiction.

But the Ministry of War is different, and it is justifiable to manage the defenders in various places.

To put it bluntly, it is still benefit transfer.

Besides, no matter how many Ye Qingcang's old ministries are, it is impossible for them to spread all over the world, without the full cooperation of the Ministry of War.

Minister of the Ministry of War Yue Jianghe was naturally very happy and readily agreed.

Then there is the Ministry of Industry.

This time, it didn't transfer any benefits, it just gave Gu Tiancheng some benefits, because in the early stage of construction, many craftsmen needed to be dispatched and cooperated by the Ministry of Industry.

But in the middle and late stages, it doesn't matter whether there is a Ministry of Industry or not.

As for the official department, Li Changfeng didn't even bother to go, Feng Quji would coordinate.

The Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Punishment are not related to his project, and there is no need to go there.

Up to now, a community of interests centered on local officials, local defenders, and the top dignitaries in the capital has basically been established.

No matter how much Emperor Qianwu trusted him and loved him, he would grow old one day and could not protect him for a lifetime.

Establishing a huge force centered on him is the most secure and long-lasting.

After finishing these, Li Changfeng put his energy on another preparatory work—steel.

The Ministry of Railways was established, followed by the approval of the project. After the terrain survey was completed, construction was about to begin in full swing.

Steam train locomotives can be built slowly, but the rails must be stockpiled in large quantities, which is the top priority.

The problem also followed.

Capacity!

Still not enough capacity!

On the one hand, it is because the scale of his current steel plant is still small.

On the other hand, because his iron and steel plant expanded too fast, the number of truly experienced iron-making workers was too small, resulting in an extremely low product qualification rate.

For this reason, Li Changfeng had to run to the steelmaking plant again and again, making people pay high prices to find craftsmen who knew how to make iron.

Coupled with the fact that Emperor Qianwu allocated 300 million taels of silver to build the railway in the capital in recent days, Li Changfeng once again became a hot topic of discussion in the city.

From high-ranking officials to ordinary people, everyone is discussing this matter.

"Have you heard that His Majesty allocates 300 million taels for His Royal Highness the Ninth Prince to build some kind of railway, which is said to be used for running trains!"

"Then you have only heard half of the news. This is the money that will be spent in the early stage, and the total cost will be more than 2000 million taels."

"Hiss... oh my god, so much money, I can't even imagine it!"

"It's really scary. I don't know what the highness is doing with this train. I heard that it can replace the carriage and run very fast."

"It's probably a bit like the steam car with four wheels a few days ago. It would be great if we could ride it too!"

"I have always suspected that this news is fake. After all, it feels too outrageous to spend so much money!"

"What's fake? Don't you know that His Royal Highness Ninth Prince is recruiting someone who can make iron? That salary, oh my god, is more than my annual income in one month!"

"It seems that His Highness encountered trouble in making that train."

"..."

Li Changfeng was originally a focus person, and with the huge impact of this incident, every time he did something, people would pay attention to it.

Soon, news of his lack of ironworkers spread throughout the capital, and Feng Quji also learned the news.

this day.

Li Changfeng went to the steel factory again.

New problems appeared again.

Iron ore is in short supply.

The reason is that he bought a large iron mine. When he used explosives to blow up the mountain, he miscalculated the hardness and thickness of the mountain, resulting in excessive dosage, and the mountain collapsed and buried the mining site.

It will take at least half a month to clear the rocks and resume production.

Li Changfeng was quite helpless about this.

He did not punish the blaster. After all, there are no professional exploration tools in this world. Everything depends on experience, and misjudgments are inevitable.

Now only part of the production line can be shut down first.

Li Changfeng went back to the house sullenly.

As soon as he arrived at the door, a servant reported: "Your Highness, Prime Minister Feng Quji has been waiting for you in the mansion for a long time."

Li Changfeng was a little surprised.

Why is he here?

Could it be that something went wrong with the agreed plan?

With doubts, Li Changfeng walked quickly to the living room.

Seeing him, Feng Quji quickly got up and saluted.

"Meet His Royal Highness Ninth Prince!"

Li Changfeng pulled him up: "This is not above the court, the old prime minister doesn't need to be so polite."

Feng Quji shook his head: "Courtesy cannot be discarded!"

Li Changfeng had no choice but to decide not to talk about this issue, and changed the subject: "But what's wrong with the local officials?"

"No problem." Feng Quji paused, and asked tentatively, "I heard that there is something wrong with the production of rails here, Your Highness. There are not enough craftsmen?"

It is already a grasshopper in a boat, and this matter itself is not a secret, Li Changfeng did not hide it.

"That's right. In fact, the situation is even worse. A mine collapsed in this prince's mine, and the supply of iron ore has problems."

"So rail production stopped?"

"Not all of them, but a lot of impact."

"How long will it take to resolve?"

"It will take at least half a month to clear the landslide rocks, and then mine and transport them to the factory. It may take nearly a month in total."

Feng Quji couldn't help but frowned: "Too much time wasted."

Li Changfeng sighed: "Indeed, but there is no way to do it, mainly because the amount of iron ore was too much during this period."

Artillery Guns have been produced continuously, requiring large quantities of iron ore.

Mass production of bicycles also requires a lot of iron ore.

Li Changfeng had already made sufficient preparations when planning these things before, but in the end such an accident happened, and he secretly blamed himself for not taking such emergencies into account.

At this moment, Feng Quji suddenly said: "Your Highness, do you know the Shangguan family of the Eight Great Aristocratic Families?"

Li Changfeng was stunned for a moment: "I know a thing or two, Prime Minister, you come to the mansion, don't you have something to do with the Shangguan family of the Eight Great Aristocratic Families?"

The Shangguan family is one of the eight great families of Dagan.

Their main industry is metal smelting, they control a large amount of iron ore, and they have many highly skilled iron smelting craftsmen.

More than half of the high-end weapons in Dagan are forged and provided by the Shangguan family, and even a large part of the currency in Dagan is minted by them.

It can be seen from this that the Shangguan family has a pivotal position in Dagan.

Moreover, this aristocratic family is different from other aristocratic families. It is not hostile to Dagan, and even has a good relationship. It can be seen that Emperor Qianwu entrusted them with coins for casting.

What's more, there is a noble concubine in the palace who is a daughter of the Shangguan family. Although Emperor Qianwu is not particularly fond of him, it can be seen his attitude towards the Shangguan family.

(End of this chapter)