"Your Highness, this has nothing to do with whether the ministers recruit or not, there is really not enough iron ore!" The old man Liu Min was anxious, rubbed his hands and explained: "Your Highness, there are only so many iron mines in our Datang Dynasty in a year, if you go all out to cast cannons, I'm afraid that there will be no materials to make horizontal knives." ”

"The output is not enough...... Li Chengqian took a deep breath, and he had no way to deal with this objective fact.

This is just like people can't let the sun rise in the west, Li Chengqian also has no way to increase the steel output of Datang, there must be so many mines, and he can't increase it if he wants to.

Another point is the problem of transportation, although Datang is now building roads in a large area, but because of the relationship between human and material resources, progress is still slow.

Moreover, in order to strengthen the control of the Mobei grassland and the border of the Western Regions, the main directions of road construction are now concentrated in the north and west, as for the road situation in the Central Plains, in fact, there is not much change, except for the road from Chang'an to Luoyang, other places have not even done the planning at all.

The low output of iron ore and the inconvenience of road transportation have basically wiped out all of Li Chengqian's hopes.

"Your Highness, you can guarantee that you will do your best as a prison, but it is really impossible to do it with a thousand cannons in three years, please think twice." Lao Liu is also out of the way this time, who do you love, anyway, there is no cannon, and you have to die.

After a period of buffering, Li Chengqian slowly calmed down from his madness, knowing that his requirements were too high, but he still asked a little unwillingly: "Then how much can you increase the output?" Can you do it with 500 doors in three years? ”

If we can't get a batch of Zhenguan cannons out in the shortest possible time, not to mention what the old man who has spent tens of thousands of yuan will think, even if it is the batch of old killers of the Sixteen Guards, it will be difficult for Li Chengqian to cope with the past.

Therefore, he must make the newly formed artillery unit form combat effectiveness within three years, only in this way can he appease the old goods of the Sixteenth Guard, and at the same time, he can safely divert part of the 60,000 guan for other purposes.

Thinking of this, Li Chengqian couldn't help but feel that the old man's money was really too difficult to earn, and it was far more difficult to say than those barbarians in the north and west.

Liu Min was also forced by Li Chengqian and had no choice but to promise: "If it is four hundred, the minister can guarantee it, but if five hundred cannons are ......, the minister can only say that he will do his best." ”

As for whether it can be completed in the end, let's talk about it then. A lot of things can happen in three years, it's good to take one step at a time, and it's a big deal to get rid of the official and take the title and send Yazhou after three years.

"The research of the new steel formula cannot be stopped, the palace will take out 15,000 yuan to issue a reward order, and the national public reward, if this, the second and third prizes are finally taken away by outsiders, then you will be a prisoner will lose a lot of hair, and you Lao Liu is afraid that it will also be famous through the ages!"

However, Li Chengqian didn't seem to want to let Lao Liu go, even if Liu Min had agreed to the task of making 500 Zhenguan cannons in three years, he still put the task of researching new materials on the head of the general supervisor.

Anyway, it is the Li family's tradition to catch a toad and pee out, and the saying that the capable work more is not said once or twice, Liu Min has long been accustomed to such an arrangement, so naturally there will be no surprise.

And Li Chengqian's arrangement is not untargeted, after such an unreasonable arrangement, there will often be some guidance, and it will not let his subordinates mess around with black eyes, thinking of this, Lao Liu has a touch of expectation in his eyes: "Your Highness, we have been studying new steel, but this formula is ......."

"You can do the recipe yourself, this palace can't help you, but you don't want to learn from those Hu people, even put spices in it, that thing is useless." Li Chengqian remembered that when he was engaged in glass development some time ago, he seemed to have seen those Hu people adding star anise and cinnamon to the liquefied glass liquid, and couldn't help but remind Liu Min.

"Hehe, this minister knows that he won't mess around like those nonsense people." Liu Min also knew the past of those Hu people, and couldn't help but smile when he heard Li Chengqian mention it.

"New materials do not have to focus on steel, other metal material formulas should not be let go, you must make a record when conducting tests, and at the same time keep the records and the final production of the product together, these materials no one knows whether they will be useful in the future, do not give up because they do not meet the current requirements."

Based on the concept of the laboratory in later generations, Li Chengqian has been telling Liu Min what to pay attention to when researching new materials.

He is a chemistry major, and he doesn't know anything about materials science, so he can only give general instructions, and it depends on Liu Min himself how to operate.

However, Li Chengqian proposed a laboratory plan to him, hoping that Lao Liu could organize some people to set up a professional research department. This research department should be independent of the production unit, have its own small smelting equipment, and have its own simple hydraulic press .......

In short, this research department is equivalent to a small general supervisor, as long as there will be a supervisor, the research department must have it, and even if there is no prison, the research department must also have it.

Li Chengqian thought of where to speak, and said it for about half an hour, and finally closed his mouth when he was a little tired, looked at Liu Min and said: "Old Liu, you have to keep in mind what the palace said just now, and operate it as soon as possible, Datang will soon have a big battle to fight, and there is no room for delay in time." ”

"Your Highness, it's okay to move, but ...... There's no money. Liu Min learned Li Chengqian's habitual actions and spread his hands: "Your Highness, the general is not a for-profit organization, and the ministers don't have a penny in their hands now, if you want to realize what you said, you have to ask the Ministry of Civil Affairs for money, this matter...... Tang Shangshu didn't understand that the ministers were really negotiating. ”

"Tang Shangshu? Tang Jian? Hearing Liu Min say Tang Shangshu, Li Chengqian naturally thought of Tang Jian's old guy.

"Yes, Tang Shangshu is there...... It's very difficult to deal with, minister, minister......".

"Okay, old Tang, don't worry about it, Bengong will go to him in person." Li Chengqian secretly sighed that his life was bitter, the dignified prince was actually regarded as a salesman by himself, I don't know if the princes of China for 5,000 years knew about it, and would jump out of the cemetery angrily.

But what if you don't?

If he wants to wait for more than ten years and directly inherit the throne in the future, then there is really no need to toss and turn like now, as long as he pays attention, don't rebel, and don't make Li Er dissatisfied, then he can indeed do nothing to be a fool.

But this is not what he wants, from the beginning to the present step by step to today, Li Chengqian already knows that he can't stop now, even if he wants to.

(End of chapter)