Gao pragmatic explained the difference between light and heavy artillery and the different uses to the fifth uncle, and then sighed: "Now the third uncle is in Beijing to assist the government, and there are two important things: one is the rule of officials, and the other is finance. The top priority at the moment is to organize and optimize light firearms in order to form an advantage over the northern captives in the towns of the nine sides. In this way, the beacon fire is slightly extinguished, and the imperial court can free up its hands to clear up the evils. ”

Gao Cai didn't seem to be very interested in the major policies of these countries, and he didn't react to Gao Shishi's words, but he just pondered for a while, and asked: "You sent Gao Yi and others to Jingshi to do firearms research, this method is good, if it weren't for my body as an uncle, I can't do it, I can't wait to help you...... However, you just look for people from our Gao family, I don't think it's enough, although these people in the family are loyal, but after all, the range of choices is too small, if you want to fiddle with this matter really well, you still have to find ways to recruit talents. ”

Gao pragmatic nodded sympathetically: "Uncle Wu's words are reasonable, I also want to recruit talents, but I am too young after all, and I have to accompany the prince to study on weekdays, and I have to study by myself, and the time I can spare is limited......"

"Really?" Gao Cai said with a smile: "Jinghua soap is such a profitable industry, didn't you fiddle with it?" Also, these family members under your hands, I don't think they are specially trained to protect you, do they? The name of the Jinghua caravan, but even I have heard of it. ”

Gao Pragmatic was taken aback: "The fifth uncle has heard of the Jinghua caravan in Henan? ”

"Not only did I hear about it, but I also made a small deal with the Jinghua caravan." Gao Cai laughed: "When I first broke up, I got a lot of jujube forests, our Xinzheng's jujubes are quite famous, often sold in other places, this year someone came to our Xinzheng to collect jujubes, and the number is quite large, found me." I asked, and the man was going to be transported to Shanxi and sold to the Jinghua caravan, saying that he was going to sell it to the Mongols. ”

Gao Pragmatic was a little dumbfounded: Why is it that my Jinghua caravan has been doing business to this extent, and I still sell dates? That...... Is there a red-faced man named Guan Yunchang who is hiding?

Gao Cai saw that Gao Shishi's face was a little embarrassed, and quipped: "What's the matter, you, the owner, don't know what the people below are doing?" ”

Gao pragmatic smiled bitterly: "Uncle Wu said that I am laughing, I am actually a hands-off shopkeeper, I only formulate the general direction, and I don't ask about specific things." ”

This time it was Gao Cai's turn to be surprised, and said strangely: "Then you are not afraid that the people below will fool you?" It's your own business. ”

Gao Shishi shrugged his shoulders: "I invited Brother Sanhuai to go to Beijing to supervise the accounts for me." He said, paused, and explained: "In other words, I only determine the general direction, regardless of the specific operation, but I have specially arranged reliable people to supervise." ”

"Aren't you afraid that the people under your command will mess things up?" Gao Cai is still a little curious, after all, in this era, even if many people use the treasurers at all levels under their hands to deal with things, the owner rarely delegates power to this extent.

Gao pragmatic smiled, and said in his heart: If the professional manager can't do well, he will be replaced, and I, a "chairman" who does not concurrently serve as the "CEO", why do I ask so many details? As long as the two things of setting a strategy and rewarding and punishing merit are done well.

He briefly talked about this set of theories to Gao Cai, and suddenly remembered the matter of opening a mine in Xinzheng, and hurriedly changed the topic and asked: "By the way, Uncle Wu, I heard that you are researching firearms in Xinzheng, and the iron used is purchased from Xu County?" Is there an iron ore mine in Xu County? ”

"Yes, but the scale is very small, not as good as Nanyang - Nanyang has had iron officials since the Han Dynasty and has a long history. It's just that Nanyang is a little farther away, and I don't need much iron to knock on it here, so it's enough to buy it from Xu County...... What does this do, you ask? I'm afraid you won't be able to stay long in Xinzheng, even if you want to study, it's easy for me to give you a batch. ”

"My nephew doesn't want to study it, just do it on the Jingshi side." Gao pragmatic said, and said that he wanted to open a coal mine and make iron in Xinzheng.

After hearing this, Gao Cai was surprised: "The coal mine is easy to do, Xinzheng has already produced it, as for whether the reserves are as sufficient as you said, I don't know very well, but it should be a lot, at least as far as I know, many places in Xinzheng have dug up coal." ”

He paused, frowned and asked: "But coal is not good for ironmaking, in the former Song Dynasty, the Central Plains used coal to make iron, but the iron smelted from coal is too poor, and it is not durable to make farm tools, either brittle and easy to break, or soft and easy to bend, this kind of iron essence can also cast a plow or something, you build this iron factory, you don't want to make farm tools, right?" Or are you going to sell iron pots to the Mongols, so you want to cast iron pots in Xinzheng? ”

Of course, Gao pragmatic is not to cast iron pots, although there is a big market in Mongolia, but why bother to make iron pots all the way to Xinzheng, you can do it directly in Shanxi, from Xinzheng cast iron pots to sell to Mongolia, it is better to buy iron pots directly in Shanxi and transport them to Mongolia to sell them.

There was no way, so he had to tell Gao Cai that he had a way to coke and smelt iron.

Gao Cai was stunned for a while, and suddenly asked nervously, "Aren't you joking?" ”

"Of course not, how dare my nephew deceive the fifth uncle." Gao pragmatic hurriedly expressed his position.

"Smack!" Gao Cai slapped his thigh, widened his eyes and said: "I have also heard of the technology of coking, but the effect can be like what you said, it is the first time I have heard it, if you really want to set up this iron factory, what do you need my help, just mention it!" ”

The coking technology has appeared in the Ming Dynasty, Gao Shishi remembers a little, but it is not quite accurate, but the impression is that even if the coking recorded in the "Tiangong Kaiwu", which came out decades later, its technical content is not too high - it can be said that there is this technology in general, but it has not yet reached the point of supporting large-scale steelmaking with this technology.

This is very convenient and pragmatic to promote coking and iron smelting, after all, it is easier for people to accept and understand the new than to create a completely new technology.

Although the method mastered by Gao Pragmatic is not very advanced, it is just some of the local methods recorded in the small book of national steelmaking left by his grandfather in the *** era, but it is also much stronger than the current technology of the Ming Dynasty.

You must know that although the development ideas of firearms in the Ming Dynasty surpass some places in Western countries at the same time, they may not be in iron smelting - of course, there is an objective factor in this: there are too few rich iron ores in China's territory, and the vast majority of iron ores are poor ores, with many impurities, and it is very difficult to smelt. In addition, there are many impurities in the coal itself, and the poor quality of iron smelting in the Song Dynasty is certain.

It is precisely because there are too many garbage products made from coal ironmaking in the past, which caused people to lose confidence in this, so famous iron-smelting centers such as Foshan, Guangdong, almost all use charcoal to make iron and steel.

Gao Cai said so happily that he was willing to contribute to this, of course, he also knew that if this technology was really made out by Gao Pragmatic, it would not only be a huge source of wealth for the Gao family, it could be called a cornucopia, and even had great significance for the entire Ming Dynasty.

Maybe you might even be able to go down in history......