In the imperial study room, Li Wenhou, the Minister of Revenue, accompanied the four old dukes to drink tea.

They are all old foxes.

After knowing that all this was already under Li Chenan's calculations and there was no room for maneuver at this moment, they quickly adjusted their mentality and made choices, and developed a strong interest in the win-win strategy mentioned by Li Wenhou.

So instead of waiting for Li Wenhou to visit, they started discussing drinking tea in the imperial study room.

This is exactly what Li Chenan hopes for.

Li Wenhou is the one who is most willing to see this kind of thing.

He took Amu to the Ministry of Works.

Huang Xiumu, the Minister of Works, was shocked.

"Regent, what order do you have to give me what snow is like? Isn't it enough to send someone to tell the officials?"

Li Chenan walked into the Ministry of Works. In the shocked sight of all the officials, he shook off the wind and snow and grinned:

"I'm not telling you anything, but to see the Ordnance Division."

Huang Xiumu was stunned, "Why...you sit for a while and roast the fire to warm your body?"

"No, go now."

"Then please follow the official."

Huang Xiumu took Li Chenan away from the Ministry of Works, and the few officials in the yamen immediately whispered:

"You said that the Regent needs to look at the Ordnance Division. Are we not doing well enough?"

"It shouldn't be true. Didn't you see a smile on your face when the Regent came in? It's probably related to the situation facing our Ningguo now. The Ordnance Department may be busy next."

"fight?"

"Isn't it true? I heard that the Ministry of War has checked several armorys in the past few days, but the result is not good. The inventory is seriously insufficient, and Curry's weapons are negligent in maintenance, and 607% of them can no longer be used!"

"Think about it, even the armory of Kyoto Sifang Acropolis is so unbearable. How good can the armory of the four major border troops be?"

“It will only be more messy!”

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

"But... it takes money to build weapons and armor! Our Lord Huang wrote a letter every year to ask the Ministry of Revenue to allocate silver, but it failed every year. I heard that the Ministry of Revenue's investment is still unbearable this year."

The official shook his head, "Even if the Regent is willing, he is afraid he will be powerless."

"Hey... After all, Ji Tai's nearly twenty years as prime minister is the 20 years that our Ningguo has completely lagged behind!"

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

"Old Zhu, do you think the Regent can come up with a way to get the money?"

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

"To meet the weapons and armor of the frontline soldiers, the ordnance bureaus of each state must be activated!"

"In the past twenty years, the ordnance bureaus of each state have been in name only, and the government still exists."

"How can the output of the Ordnance Bureau of the Daofu meet the needs of the four major border troops?"

"If the Ordnance Bureau of the Seventy-Two States is to be restarted, the silver... will be at least one million!"

“Where did you come from?”

"What's more, once the war starts, the expenses for war horses and food are even more of a bottomless pit!"

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

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

...

...

Huang Xiumu took Li Chenan away for half a cup of tea and arrived in front of a wide yard behind the Ministry of Works.

The yard is surrounded by a wall.

At first glance, several chimneys could be vaguely erected in the white snow.

But there was no smoke coming out of the chimney.

Even the walls were filled with sparse sounds of jingling irons.

"Regent,"

Huang Xiumu looked at Li Chenan carefully and whispered: "The price of charcoal has increased this year. The Ministry of Revenue... the officials there are still coordinating with Li Shangshu. There is no result yet, so there is no work in the Ordnance Department, so there is no left behind a few craftsmen."

"Is iron ore or iron ingots sufficient?"

"When the Regent, these are not enough, the reasons are somewhat complicated."

"Oh, tell me."

As he said this, Li Chen'an stepped towards the iron gate.

"Our Ministry of Industry has some mines in its hands, and there were craftsmen who were mining them."

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

When Li Chenan stepped into this sect, he followed and said:

"But the court did not allow the sale of Guantie, which means that the iron ore mined by the government can only be used for the construction of some special iron tools."

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

“It’s all customized.”

"Originally, it didn't matter if the national treasury had silver, but later... Later... Ji Tai took power, the country's tax revenue was getting smaller and smaller, and the Ministry of Revenue lost the excess silver, so the Ministry of Industry gradually stopped mining the mines because there was no silver to pay the miners' remuneration."

"This has been a stop for more than ten years."

"The mining stops, and the ordnance stored becomes less and less, so the ordnance bureaus in various states have also been stopped. I heard that many local ordnance bureaus have even been bought by local wealthy people. Instead of building iron tools, they have become cattle farms."

Li Chenan was not surprised by this because there were detailed records in the files in the Imperial City Division.

"This is the yamen of the Ordnance Department. Please go and sit there."

Huang Xiumu reached out and led Li Chen'an to a two-story building.

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

"No matter how difficult it is, this flint cannon must be made!"

"I have seen the fireworks explode and explode with my own eyes, and I have also smelled the fireworks. There must be saltpeter and sulfur in it!"

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

"The bamboo tube binds the light and fog of the firework explosion, which will give it a powerful driving force. It can project the stones filled in it, and even project it farther than the distance of an archery!"

"You know what this means?"

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

"This means that our warriors can take the enemy first at a longer distance!"

"Now we can't build weapons and armor to provide them to our soldiers. If we create such cheap and affordable things... our soldiers on the front line can always kill a few more enemies, and maybe they can save their lives."

"Don't be afraid of failure, continue to verify!"

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

He was about to push the door and go in, but he heard another sound coming from inside:

"Mr. Zhao, we have verified for a few months. Three people died and six people injured... The villain believes that this thing is powerful. Now that the Regent is already the Regent of our Ningguo, why don't Lord Zhao ask for a way to meet the Regent and ask him for a way to make fireworks... We can also avoid detours and kill fewer people."

After a moment of silence inside, Lord Zhao spoke, his words a little deeper:

"After all, it was something that the Regent invented, and it was a magical tool. How could he teach us like this?"

Li Chenan pushed the door open and walked in with the wind and snow.

He looked at the silly man with a dark face, "Are you the Si Zheng Zhao Sanmu of the Ordnance Department?"

Zhao Sanmu was stunned and looked at his respectful immediate boss Huang Shangshu who was standing behind Li Chenan. He immediately understood who this young man was.

He quickly bowed and said, "Secretary Zhao Sanmu, I have met the Regent!"

There are six craftsmen in the room.

At this moment, they were shocked. They immediately knelt down and said in fear: "The people of Cao should pay homage to the Regent!"

"Arise, I won't promote these etiquettes."

Li Chenan looked at Zhao Sanmu: "I'm here to tell you how to make fireworks, and I also want to talk to you about my own opinions on making cannons."

"Maybe it will inspire you."

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

Li Chen'an sat down and found that there was no pot of charcoal fire in the room.
Chapter completed!