After being divorced, my identity as a poet was exposed

Chapter 390 Ordnance Division

In the imperial study, Li Wenhou, Minister of the Household Department, drank tea with the four old princes.

They are all old foxes.

Knowing that all of this was already in Li Chenan's calculations and there was no room for maneuver at this moment, they quickly adjusted their mentality and made a choice, and became very interested in the win-win strategy Li Wenhou said.

So instead of waiting for Li Wenhou's visit later, they drank tea and discussed in the imperial study.

This is exactly what Li Chenan hoped for.

This kind of matter is left to Li Wenhou to handle with full authority, which is also what he is most happy to see.

He took Amu to the Ministry of Industry.

Huang Xiumu, Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry, was shocked.

"Prince Regent, if there is such a heavy snowfall, if you have any orders, just send someone to tell the lower officials if you are okay?"

Li Chenan walked into the Yamen of the Ministry of Industry, and under the shocked eyes of all the officials, he shook off the wind and snow, and grinned:
"I'm not here to tell you anything, but to see the Ordnance Division."

Huang Xiumu was stunned, "Why don't you sit for a while and warm up by the fire?"

"No, let's go now."

"Then please come with me."

Huang Xiumu took Li Chenan away from the yamen of the Ministry of Industry, and the few officials in the yamen immediately whispered to each other:

"You say that the regent depends on the Ordnance Department. Is it because we are not doing well enough?"

"Probably not. Didn't you see the smile on the regent's face when he came in? I'm afraid it has something to do with the current situation in Ningguo. I'm afraid the Ordnance Department will be busy next time."

"fight?"

"Isn't that right! I heard that the Ministry of War has checked several arsenals in the past few days, and the results are not good. The inventory is seriously insufficient, and the weapons in the warehouses are also neglected. Sixty to seventy percent of them are no longer usable!"

"Think about it, even the arsenals of the Sifang Acropolis in Kyoto are so unbearable, how can the arsenals of the four frontier armies be any better?"

"It will only get more chaotic!"

"Once a war breaks out, there will be endless troubles!"

"But...making weapons and armor requires money! Every year, Mr. Huang has written to the Ministry of Accounts to allocate money, but every year it fails. I heard that the income of the Ministry of Accounts is still poor this year,"

The official shook his head, "Even if the regent has the heart, he is probably powerless."

"Hey... After all, the nearly 20 years that Ji Tai has been prime minister is the 20 years that our Ning country has completely fallen behind!"

"The last time the regent held a court meeting, he said that people who are poor will be bullied, and countries who are poor will be beaten. Now that the surrounding countries see that Ningguo is poor, they are all ready to move. The regent...is not easy!"

"Old Zhu, do you think the regent can find a way to get the money?"

"This is not a matter of tens of thousands of taels of silver!"

"If you want to satisfy the weapons and armor of frontline soldiers, you must activate the ordnance bureaus of each state!"

"In the past 20 years, the ordnance bureaus in each state have existed in name only, and the Taoist government still exists."

"How can the output of the Ordnance Bureau of the Taoist Mansion meet the needs of the four major frontier armies?"

"If you want to restart the 72nd State Ordnance Bureau, the money... at least millions of dollars!"

"Where are you from?"

"What's more, once the war starts, the expenditure on horse food and grass will be a bottomless pit!"

"...Then according to what you say, there is no solution?"

The elderly official surnamed Zhu pondered for a moment and shook his head: "It's hard to solve! It's hard to solve!"

……

……

Huang Xiumu took Li Chenan for half a cup of tea, and came to a wide yard behind the Yamen of the Ministry of Industry.

The yard is fenced.

At a glance, several chimneys can be seen faintly erected in the white snow.

But there was no smoke coming from the chimney.

Even within the fence, there were only sparse sounds of tinkling irons.

"Regent,"

Huang Xiumu looked at Li Chenan cautiously, and said in a low voice: "The price of charcoal has increased this year, the Ministry of Household...the lower officials are still coordinating with Li Shangshu, and there is no result yet, so, so the Ordnance Department There is not much work here, so there are not many craftsmen left."

"Are there enough iron ore or iron ingots?"

"Back to the Regent, these are not enough, and the reason is a bit complicated."

"Oh, tell me."

After saying this, Li Chenan stepped towards the iron gate.

"Our Ministry of Industry has some mines in our hands. Originally, there were craftsmen mining them."

Huang Xiumu followed Li Chenan step by step, and came to the iron gate. He hurried over and pushed open the iron gate.

When Li Chenan stepped into the door, he followed up and said:

"But official iron is not allowed to be sold by the court. In other words, the iron ore mined by the government can only be used to make some special ironware."

"For example, weapons and armor, such as the saddle and horseshoe nails used by war horses, and the free agricultural equipment allocated by the imperial court to encourage farmers, etc."

"It's all customized."

"Originally it didn't matter if there was silver in the national treasury, but then...after Ji Tai came to power, the country's tax revenue became less and less, and the Ministry of Households ran out of excess silver, so the Ministry of Industry gradually stopped mining because there was no Silver to pay the miners."

"It has been ten years since this stop."

"Mining stopped, and the ore in storage became less and less, so the ordnance bureaus in various states also stopped. I heard that the ordnance bureaus in many places have even been bought by local rich people, not for making ironware. , but turned into a cattle farm.”

Li Chenan was not surprised by this, because there are detailed records in the files of the Imperial City Department.

"This is the yamen of the Ordnance Department, the Regent, please sit inside."

Huang Xiumu stretched out his hand to lead Li Chenan to a second floor building.

Just as I walked to the door of the second floor, a rough voice came from inside:

"No matter how difficult it is for me, this flint cannon must be produced!"

"I have personally seen the scene of the explosion of the Regent's fireworks, and I have also smelled the smell of the fireworks. There must be two things, saltpeter and sulfur, in it!"

"Firework explosions will produce fire and smoke. If we get this thing out and let it explode in a small space, such as this bamboo tube."

"The bamboo tube restrains the light and mist of the fireworks explosion, which will generate a strong driving force. It can project the stones filled in it, and it can even be projected farther than the distance of an arrow!"

"You know what that means?"

"This means the birth of a brand new weapon!"

"This means our fighters can get ahead of the enemy at greater distances!"

"Now we can't make weapons and armor to provide to our soldiers. If we come up with such cheap and high-quality gadgets... Our frontline soldiers can always kill a few more enemies, maybe they can save their lives."

"Don't be afraid of failure, keep verifying!"

Li Chenan stood at the door and listened carefully, a smile appeared on his face.

He was about to open the door and go in, but he heard another voice from inside:
"Master Zhao, we have verified it for a month. Three people were killed and six people were injured... I believe this thing is powerful. Now that the regent is already the regent of our Ning country, why don't you ask to see him?" Prince Regent, ask him for this method of making fireworks... We can also save some detours and save a few people from dying."

There was a moment of silence inside, then Master Zhao spoke in a low voice:
"After all, it was something invented by the Regent. It can be called an artifact. How could he teach us like this?"

Li Chenan pushed the door open and entered with the wind and snow.

He looked at the burly man with a dark face, "Are you Zhao Sanmu, Sizheng of the Ordnance Department?"

Zhao Sanmu was taken aback, and looked at the respectful and respectful immediate boss Huang Shangshu who was standing behind Li Chenan, and he immediately understood who this young man was.

He hastily bowed and said, "Your Majesty Zhao Sanmu, I have met the Regent!"

There are six craftsmen in the house.

At this moment, they were startled when they heard it, and they knelt down immediately, and said in fear and fear: "The grass people kowtow to the regent!"

"Get up, I don't like these etiquettes."

Li Chen'an looked at Zhao Sanmu: "I'm here to tell you how to make fireworks, and to talk to you about my own views on making cannons."

"Maybe it can inspire you."

Zhao Sanmu was overjoyed, "Regent, please sit down!"

Li Chenan sat down and found that there was really no pot of charcoal fire in the room.

It's not easy... This broken country!
(End of this chapter)