Chapter 881 Self-character scroll steel breaks the game

  Seeing Feng Ziying's words are so sure and thoughtful, Zhu Zhiren's heart is also moved.

  The biggest problem facing Yongping Mansion right now is that it owes too much tax calendar to the Ministry of Household Affairs, which has reached the point where it is hard to get back.

  If the current situation continues, this kind of debt will only become more and more serious. Even if Zheng Jizhi at the Ministry of Accounting can help him relieve his cheeks, will Zheng Jizhi no longer be the Minister of the Ministry of Accounting in a year or two? Then his prefect position is in jeopardy.

Besides, Zheng Jizhi from the household department can't cover the sky with one hand. Once Guan Yingzhen becomes the new official of the Ministry of Commerce, his right servant from the household department will definitely be replaced by someone. This newcomer will definitely clean up the original problems, Yongping The government may not be able to escape.

  By that time, Zheng Jizhi may not be able to help him cover up all the time.

If the coal and iron industry can be really developed according to what Feng Ziying mentioned, the amount of the mining tax alone will not be small. Although the mining tax does not belong to the Ministry of Households, it belongs to the Ministry of Industry. The emperor personally grasped it, and it was more effective to win the favor of the emperor than to directly make up for the deficit of the account department.

   Besides, there is also the commercial tax on iron materials. As long as it is exported, the city tax and customs duties are quite a lot.

It's just that Yongping Mansion's traditional debts to the Ministry of Households are mainly land taxes. The commercial tax is not a large amount, so it doesn't owe much. However, according to the practice of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the land tax is insufficient. The commercial tax is used to offset it, which is why Zhu Zhiren is so interested.

   "Ziying, judging by your posture, you are very confident?" Zhu Zhiren pondered for a while, "What do you need a fool to do?"

"Shibo, it's mainly craftsmen and manpower. Foshan Zhuang's is the largest iron smelter in Foshan, but they have to recruit craftsmen from Foshan to come here. The climate and diet are very different, so many people are unwilling to come, so they take the lead. Most of the craftsmen may come from the Zhuang family, but more of them have to be recruited by our Yongping Mansion." Feng Ziying said slowly, "This time my nephew wants to make it bigger. With the support of merchants like the Shanxi Chamber of Commerce, Haitong Yinzhuang will also help. Therefore, the money is not bad, and the sales market channels are not a problem. Iron smelting after processing, the effect will be much better,..."

  Zhu Zhiren is not ignorant of the iron smelting industry, he frowned and said: "Ziying, coal smelting iron, it is said that the quality of iron is very poor..."

Feng Ziying understood what the other party meant. Coal is directly smelting iron. Because the sulfur content is too high, the iron quality is not good. This is also the biggest problem in coal iron smelting. Because the smelting temperature increases, the quality of iron materials can also be improved.

   "Don't worry, Uncle Shi, we have already considered this aspect. If we don't solve this problem, it is impossible for Zhuang Ji to be so interested..."

  Seeing that Feng Ziying's attitude is quite confident, Zhu Zhiren can only believe it tentatively. Besides, this matter will not be accomplished overnight. He still has time to see whether what this young man said is rhetoric or whether he really has some special skills.

"Ziying, if this matter is as you said, Jin merchants and Foshan iron merchants are willing to invest heavily in this bet, how much do you think the annual output of this iron material will be?" He licked his lips and endured it for a long time, Zhu Zhiren still Couldn't resist asking this question.

The Zunhua Iron Works in Shuntian Prefecture next door is considered the largest iron production place in the entire Northland. In addition to mainly supplying the military and military bureaus in central Beijing, it also supplies folks to make agricultural tools, iron pots and other objects. The surrounding forests in Zunhua have been cut down, and it is becoming more and more difficult to burn charcoal, and the quality of smelting iron with charcoal is difficult to use. Therefore, the situation of the Zunhua Iron Factory has shrunk significantly, and the number of craftsmen is less than one-fifth of that at the beginning of the founding of the country a hundred years ago. It is said that Zunhua Iron Works intends to close down.

The Zunhua Iron Works is said to have produced 3,000 jin of iron per day at its peak, and a million jin of iron per year. However, in actual conversion, it is calculated on the basis of sixteen taels per catty, which is actually about 700 tons. .

  If such a quantity is changed to later generations, even the most **** indigenous steelmaking method can be more than ten times stronger than this thing, and more importantly, what is trained is still iron, not steel.

In the Ming Dynasty, it seems that there was no real molten steel that could be refined, and it was almost a mixture of wrought iron and steel. Of course, at that time, people had no way of knowing the carbon, iron and steel in iron ore and steel. Effects of elements such as sulfur and phosphorus on the quality of steel.

Feng Ziying thought for a while before slowly saying: "10 million catties shouldn't be a problem, right? If the iron smelting furnace we designed can meet the design standards, my nephew feels that many processes can be improved, and it will reach 20 to 30 million catties in the future." It's not a big deal either."

  Zhu Zhiren's feet were a little weak, and he couldn't help but his voice trembled a little, "How much? Ziying, how much do you say? Ten million catties?"

Feng Ziying nodded with certainty, "Uncle Shi, don't think that I'm talking too much. Iron smelting is nothing more than two key points. One is how to achieve better results than charcoal, and the other is the improvement of iron smelting technology. It is the design of the iron smelting furnace. On this point, Zhuangji and the Shanshan Chamber of Commerce have been improving,..."

Feng Ziying's words are half true and half false. Zhuang Ji's iron smelting furnace in Foshan is just like that. There is no new technology at all, and the original traditional method is still followed. But this time Feng Ziying brought some of the craftsmen of Zhuang Ji through Gu Dengfeng. The new ideas and thinking have indeed inspired the craftsmen of Zhuangji a lot, and they have made amazing progress in coking, which is close to success.

The iron smelting blast furnace is also very controversial, but Feng Ziying's attitude is also very clear. If it is purely old-fashioned iron smelting, whether it is in terms of output or quality, it is better to ship it directly from Guangdong. The reason why it is in Yongping Prefecture In doing so, it is hoped that a new technology can be used to achieve a breakthrough.

   On this point, Zhuangji and the merchants of the Shanshan Chamber of Commerce also made up their minds after some debates, and were willing to spend a sum of money to try it out.

Even without this bit of courage, Feng Ziying really looks down on this group of Shanxi merchants. Thinking about the fact that in previous lives, these people could hook up with Jianzhou Jurchen for the sake of profit and take such a big risk. Now they just pay some money. , Once successful, how big the reward will be, how can they not understand?

  Zhu Zhiren couldn't help but stood up and rubbed his hands hard.

  If what Feng Ziying said is true, then his plan to smelt iron is really not simple.

Before, he thought that Feng Ziying would only reach the scale of the Zunhua Iron Works, which would be quite difficult. If such an iron factory can appear within a year, then no matter whether it is the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Households, or even the Ministry of War, I am afraid that they must have a more "objective" understanding of their own Yongping Prefecture.

   "Ziying, what do I need to do now?" Zhu Zhiren finally couldn't help it.

"Shibo, there may be two things. One is the craftsmen. When my nephew heard that the Yongping Guard was abolished, although all the guards were allocated to the Funing Guard and the Fourth Battalion, the craftsmen stayed. My nephew wanted to use it, and it was agreed at the beginning that some craftsmen from Youtunwei in Xingzhou would be exchanged to the mansion as compensation, but this matter has been dragged on. Minhu,..."

  Feng Ziying's words made Zhu Zhiren couldn't help showing a weird look, "Ziying, you want to get these craftsmen back? I'm afraid Jizhen won't agree?"

  He almost said, are you trying to compete with your father? That is now a Tunwei artisan in Ji Town. Although it looks like a private household, its nature has not changed in fact, and it still serves Xingzhou Youtunwei to a large extent.

"We can talk about it." Feng Ziying smiled, "Those craftsmen are tasteless to the current Xingzhou Youtunwei, otherwise they will not be reduced to the same as private households, but if you want to do a large-scale iron smelting For workshops, it is very important. Xingzhou Youtunwei is different from Kaiping Zhongtunwei. They mainly make vehicles, armor and repair weapons. These craftsmen can play a greater role."

"Maybe you plan to cooperate with Ji Town?" Zhu Zhiren hesitated, "The amount of iron produced is so large that it is not cost-effective to rely entirely on foreign transportation. In fact, it can also be made into pots, plows, hoes, picks, etc. Things that are urgently needed everywhere,…”

"Including firecrackers and casting cannons." Feng Ziying said calmly: "If possible, I think it is possible to open a workshop in Yongping Mansion that can make firecrackers and cannons. Zhuang Ji actually made firecrackers for the Ministry of War in Foshan. The Military Bureau and Military Weapons Bureau are better, but the price is cheaper. If they can be produced in Yongping Prefecture, not only can they meet the needs of Liaodong faster, but also can promote firecrackers in the military affairs of the Nine Frontiers,..."

  Feng Ziying's idea surprised Zhu Zhiren again. It would not be easy to build a gun workshop in Yongping Mansion.

"Ziying, I would like to remind you, don't be so ambitious, gun workshops can't be built casually, even if the Ministry of War allows it, but it seems that the Beijing camp is not willing to buy goods from the Military Bureau, so don't delay It's a big deal."

"Don't worry Shibo, my nephew knows it well, so I need to ask Shibo to guide and support my little nephew in all aspects." Feng Ziying knew that it would be difficult for Zhu Zhiren to accept too much for a while, so she could only take it step by step slowly. Only with the complete success of the technology of making steel with charcoal can the worries of people like Zhu Zhiren be truly relieved.

"Well, Ziying, the current situation in Yongping Mansion is not good, and I also understand your thoughts. If you want to open the situation at once, I will definitely support you, but I suggest that you spend more time to familiarize yourself with the situation in Yongping. Find out what we should do first, and then worry about it." Zhu Zhiren was still a little worried, Feng Ziying's enthusiasm made him happy, but he was also worried that the other party was eager for success.

  (end of this chapter)