Zhu Youzhen walked around the * workshop while listening to Sun Yuanhua next to him introduce him to the latest status of the * workshop.

“… The workshop's monthly output has now reached 100 tons, which is the upper limit at the current production scale.

About three-quarters of each month's production is used for mine mining, and some of it is transported to Luoyang for the repair of the Luoyang-Sanmenxia road.

A quarter of the production is stored in warehouses for military training and military operations in various places.

However, whether it is civilian or military, the output of the workshop is far from meeting the needs of various places.

The price of * in the market has risen from 1 jiao to 1 jiao 6 cents per catty, and the inspection department of the Ordnance Supervision has found several times that * warehouse reserves * have been stolen and sold to the market. ”

Zhu Youzhen did a little mental calculation, and then asked him: "Then is there any way to increase the yield of *?" If we can't solve the market's demand for *, then no matter how strict the management is, there will always be people who take risks. ”

After Sun Yuanhua avoided a basket on the road, he opened his mouth and said: "If you want to increase the output of the workshop, you can only increase the production workshop."

However, the place where the workshop can no longer be expanded, and if the production workshop is added, I am afraid that the safety of the surrounding area will be affected.

The minister thought that His Majesty should consider opening a new * workshop outside the capital to solve the current problem of insufficient production capacity. ”

Zhu Youzhen did not speak out immediately, but silently paid attention to the work of the workers in the workshop, and it was not until he walked out of this grinding pharmacy that he stopped and said to Sun Yuanhua: "Tell me where the ordnance supervisor wants to set up a new * workshop." ”

Sun Yuanhua replied without thinking: "I think that if we set up a workshop in Tianjin, Luoyang, Shanghai, Fuzhou, and Guangzhou, if the production capacity of the Ordnance Supervision can be expanded to more than 1,000 tons per month in the future, then I think it will greatly alleviate the lack of power in the market." ”

Zhu Youzhen asked suspiciously: "Do Shanghai, Fuzhou, and Guangzhou also produce nitrate?" If you go to these places to open a workshop, can the Ordnance Superintendent control the quality of the *? If you can't control the quality, even if the yield increases, it doesn't make much sense. ”

Sun Yuanhua suddenly defended with some anxiety: "In terms of quality management, as long as the system is formulated and strictly implemented, the quality of the * should be guaranteed."

Although the south does not produce nitrate, willow trees can far exceed the north, and after our research, the only one that can replace willow charcoal and have a low price is about coconut shell charcoal.

Compared with the north, there are many rivers in the south, and it is possible to use hydraulic abrasive materials to better reduce costs. And these places are located at the junction of the river and the sea, whether it is to import materials or to transport finished products, it is very convenient.

What's more, His Majesty now allows private businessmen to go to Yunnan to open mines, and the price of this * will inevitably remain high. Rather than letting those merchants go private* at that time, it is better for the Ordnance Warden to open a few workshops first to control the situation.

The investment in these workshops, at the current market price, can be fully recouped in less than a year, which is a rare opportunity. ”

Zhu Youzhen was silent for a moment, and then said: "There is already a Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau in Shanghai, and since the Ordnance Supervisor intends to go south, he must do it well, and don't let people look down on him." ”

Sun Yuanhua suddenly said happily: "Thank you Your Majesty for your permission, the minister will definitely personally supervise this matter, and no one will see the jokes." ”

The output value of the workshop is as high as 32,000 yuan per month, and the gross profit is close to half, while with the expansion of the production scale, the cost has been reduced by at least 20%, although this is just enough to offset the increase in raw materials.

Due to Chongzhen's heavy investment in railways, roads, and water conservancy construction, the demand for iron ore and limestone is almost unlimited.

The blast mining method, which was not widely used, quickly became a common model in Gyeonggi mines. As a result, the market demand for the market soon exceeded the supply on the market, especially the high-quality products produced by the Ordnance Supervisor.

The rolling profits brought by * not only made the officials of the Ordnance Supervision happy, but also made them full of interest in how to improve the production efficiency, so there is Sun Yuanhua's suggestion to the emperor today.

The officials hoped to extend the influence of the Ordnance Prison to all regions of the country, so as to monopolize the domestic market.

As for Chongzhen, he is not disgusted by the idea that the Ordnance Supervisor wants to monopolize the market. *Although it is a low-level *, it is still a kind of * that can endanger life after all. If possible, he still hopes that the production of * can be controlled by the imperial court.

After inspecting the workshop, Zhu Youzhen continued to ask Sun Yuanhua about the status of the production of muskets by the Ordnance Supervisor.

After the Chongzhen 1 and 2 light and heavy arquebuses were finalized, the firearms workshop under the ordnance supervision carried out production. Because Chongzhen heard that muskets without arquebuses had appeared in Europe at this time, he asked the Ordnance Superintendent to produce these two arquebuses with the lowest production limit, and began to develop muskets that did not need Vulcan.

A large amount of pig iron was used in railroads and various iron machinery, so that the monthly production of muskets in the firearms workshop was fixed at 800. Of these, 200 were heavy muskets, and the remaining 600 were light muskets.

Although the style of these arquebuses has lagged behind the most advanced flintstone muskets of this era, the quality of these arquebuses has not been much different from the mainstream arquebuses used in this era.

In the musket depot of the Ordnance Superintendent, 1,800 light arquebuses and 600 heavy arquebuses have been stored.

Sun Yuanhua hesitated, and also talked about the issue of artillery, "The copper material that I applied for to Your Majesty before, after many tests, the Ordnance Supervisor finally successfully cast a batch of bronze cannons with 11 catties of cannons using the lost wax method.

The barrel of the gun is 17 meters long and 144 times the caliber, the caliber is 118mm, and the gun body weighs 5597 kg, if you add the frame, it is 1112 kg. Although it seems difficult to move, it is already a third lighter than the Hongyi cannon.

Its standard charge is 113 kg, but even with a 15x or double charge, it has no problems.

With a standard charge, he can fight the enemy between 1500-2000 meters. If a double charge is used, then it is possible to hit farther. You can vouch for it, it's definitely a good cannon..."

Listening to Sun Yuanhua's constant praise of the cannons he cast, Zhu Youzhen suddenly interrupted him with some suspicion and asked, "How many have you cast?" ”

Sun Yuanhua hesitated for a while, and then gestured a six-character gesture at Chongzhen. Zhu Youzhen nodded at first, then felt that something was wrong, and continued to ask, "You cast six doors, how many have you become?" ”

Sun Yuanhua's eyes looked at the upper left with some wandering, and said: "Although it has only become this door, the minister has already figured out the trick, as long as His Majesty transfers some more copper materials from Japan this time, the minister will definitely be able to improve the success rate." ”

Rao is Zhu Youzhen is generous, and after listening to Sun Yuanhua's words, he also felt a little dizzy. Each cannon uses almost 1,000 catties of copper, six cannons is 6,000 catties, and the copper material shipped back from Japan is 10 taels per 100 catties, and six cannons are 600 taels.

Other accessories plus the labor cost of craftsmen accounts for about 40%, so the cost of this bronze cannon reached 840 taels.

The problem is that before and after, he allocated nearly 30,000 catties of copper to Sun Yuanhua, except for a few small cannons and some bearings, only this bronze cannon was left. In this way, the cost of this cannon has exceeded 1,000 taels, which is already equivalent to the price of a lucky ship.

In this way, the Macao people fired 1,000 taels of silver and a 4,000-pound Hongyi cannon, which is indeed not expensive.

However, Zhu Youzhen finally held back his complaints about Sun Yuanhua, although the cost of this bronze cannon is so high, but after reducing its own weight, the power has not weakened, and the first cannon is more suitable for field warfare.

If a few more can be built, it can make up for the shortcomings of the short range of the Furlong cannon, and the two cannons can be mixed.

Zhu Youzhen thought about it for a long time, and finally said to Sun Yuanhua: "This time, Zheng Cai brought back 220,000 catties of copper, which should be the last batch of Japanese copper this year."

I will ask someone to allocate 35,000 catties of copper for you, but this time I hope you can save some money, and I will not have any copper for you to study before June next year.

It's best to study how to use wrought iron to cast cannons, which is much cheaper. ”

Sun Yuanhua said gratefully: "Now the main thing is that the new blast furnace has only been repaired for more than half, and it is estimated that in December, the new blast furnace of Mentougou Iron Mine can be officially opened, as long as the new blast furnace can produce iron, the minister will begin to test cast iron cannons."

Otherwise, the molten iron of this small blast furnace alone is too little, and the second impurity is too much, and it really can't be used to cast cannons.

But please rest assured, Your Majesty, I have already figured out the casting method of this bronze cannon. The next time you recast, it shouldn't be lower than 30% success rate. ”

For Sun Yuanhua's comfort, Zhu Youzhen could only be silent, but thinking that in this year, if one or two of the ten cannons can be successfully cast, he can already be called a master, and he will lose his blame for Sun Yuanhua.

Since Sun Yuanhua mentioned the new blast furnace, Zhu Youzhen asked about the current situation of Kailuan Coal Mine, Jizhou Town, Qian'an Iron Mine, and Tangshan Iron Plant.

Although this coal and iron complex belongs to the palace business, the ordnance supervisor has also been keeping an eye on its construction progress. After all, the railway is now a new thing developed by the Ordnance Supervisor, and if you want to build a railway, you must have a lot of steel.

However, Sun Yuanhua, who was immersed in research, probably didn't pay much attention to these things, so he called a deacon in charge of the ordnance supervisor and reported the situation to Chongzhen.

After the restoration of the Zunhua Iron Works, the first task of the iron works was to provide the labor tools needed for several mines, as well as farm tools for nearby farmers.

The coal seam of the Kailuan Coal Mine slopes from northwest to southeast coast, and the coal seam near Tangshan is closest to the ground, and it has been mined before.

After the construction of the Kailuan Coal Mine, these small coal mines were incorporated, and then Qiaojiatun was the center to repair and re-plan the direction of the excavated mines. At the beginning of September, the coal began to be officially produced, and now about 30 tons of coal are produced every day, and there are more than 240 workers in the mine.

This is not because the Kailuan coal mine is not rich, but because Tangshan and Kaipingwei are too barren, the local population is not large, and they want to recruit from other places, and the local food is lacking.

The original plan of the Ministry of Industry to dig the canal into the sea seems to be too slow, but the construction of the horse-drawn railway from Lutai to Tangshan is faster, but it is necessary to build a double line here, not a single-track railway.

Tangshan is about 90 miles from Lutai, and Lutai is an important land and water town located on the edge of the Ning River, from which coal can be transported to the sea.

Sun Yuanhua estimated that the cost of a railway and a coal wharf would not exceed 150,000 taels, and the construction period would be about six months.