County office.

Chu Tianxiu went to the mine in the morning, summoned all the blacksmiths to prepare for the big smelting, ran outside for a day, and returned to the county office to rest in the evening.

Zu'er immediately made him tea and served him a delicious and hearty meal. I'm afraid that the cook of the county government can't do it, and even this cook was brought from the Pingwang Mansion.

Lord Li Yu asked with concern: "Husband, how is the situation in this Danyang County?" ”

Compared to her fiefdom, she still has to ask.

Chu Tianxiu drank tea and said, "Danyang County, guarding a golden nest, but eating dry buns. Danyang County can't be poor like this, it has to be grasped immediately, and it can only be done in a big way. ”

"Oh, what do you say? Is there a lot of copper mines? ”

Li Yuqi said.

"There aren't many copper mines, so we just make some copper money and spend it ourselves.

The real big bonanza is still a large open-pit iron mine, and it is developed. It is enough for the people of Danyang County to eat a mouth full of oil and eat for hundreds of years. ”

Chu Tianxiu shook his head and said: "But the problem is that there is only one small iron-making workshop in Danyang County, with only a few dozen blacksmiths, and the daily output of pig iron is only a few hundred catties, and the inferior ironware produced is only a few dozen.

The iron-making technology in this county is too backward, and the ironware produced is not sold to other places, so it is sold to farmers in this county. A large iron mine was wasted in vain, and it was all turned into lumps of stone and placed on the mountain.

I, the Danyang County Order, since I want to make the people of the county rich, I naturally want to start with this iron ore. Danyang County needs a large number of blacksmiths to make steel. Yu'er, do you know where the blacksmith is? ”

Li Yu pondered and said: "There are a large number of excellent blacksmiths in the imperial court, who are recruited from all over the country and are under the jurisdiction of the Taiwei Mansion, but they are only responsible for building weapons and armaments for the imperial army, and cannot be transferred privately. I can only go to other counties to recruit some to come. Husband, what are you going to do? ”

"I plan to build a large, improved steelmaking plant in Danyang County, and strive to recruit 1,000 blacksmiths to produce steel farm tools and iron tools of all kinds in large quantities. Then sell it to all parts of Dachu. ”

Chu Tianxiu said.

"Is there steelmaking?"

Li Yu was puzzled and didn't quite understand.

Chu Tianxiu talked to her carefully.

The new steelmaking method he made seems to be very advanced and mysterious.

Water conservancy blower, after using water conservancy, one can be worth the full strength of dozens of strong men, with strong wind and firepower, day and night.

This "hundred steel" technique, which has been tempered for thousands of years, is also extremely strong and sharp.

But in fact, these are all steelmaking methods invented by blacksmiths in the Western and Eastern Han dynasties in history, and they have been invented for 2,000 years.

The iron-making technology of the Han Dynasty was so high that it was actually incredibly strong. A blast furnace group can have as many as more than 200 blast furnaces, and a blast furnace can produce one ton of "fried steel" at a time, which is unprecedented.

So, it's not modern steelmaking.

Chu Tianxiu just took out the hundred steels one or two hundred years in advance. In the small place of Danyang County, digging an earthen furnace with wrought iron, and repeatedly forging it, it can be smelted.

Take out this set of techniques, and the Da Chu blacksmiths can do it.

There is really only one problem – lack of money.

To build all kinds of earthen blast furnaces and recruit a large number of blacksmiths to make iron, it required a large investment.

Chu Tianxiu was going to take the lead by himself and smashed in 10,000 taels of silver first.

But it's actually very small.

You must know that it cost three thousand taels of silver to build a papermaking workshop, and the Shen family spent ten thousand taels of silver. Not to mention the large iron-making workshop.

He wants to build Danyang County into a base for large-scale steel smelting, and only 10,000 taels is naturally far from enough.

10,000 taels of silver is only enough to build ten new blast furnaces, which is not a small number, and with improved technology, dozens or hundreds of blacksmiths can do it.

The investment is small, and the results are slow.

It is estimated that it will take 100,000 taels of silver to build a large number of small blast furnaces in large quantities to operate this big project, so that all the people of Danyang County can enter this steel industry and enter the steel age with "boom".

"Invest 10,000 taels of silver first? ... All right. ”

Li Yu rubbed his forehead.

She naturally took out this money, and the money earned by the Duhou Paper Workshop was almost enough for 10,000 taels.

Even if you lose all this money, you will only lose everything you earned before.

With the remaining 90,000 taels of silver, Chu Tianxiu was ready to raise funds.

The investment in a large-scale ironmaking workshop is too huge, of course, it can't all be paid by itself. Otherwise, if something goes wrong halfway, the bottom of the pants will be lost.

Let's start with the county.

Although Danyang County is poor, there are still some big landowners, squires and wealthy households. Give these landlords and squires a chance to make a fortune.

They complained in the future that Xiao Duhou, the great lord of the blue sky, did not give them a chance to make a fortune.

...

Early the next morning.

"Bell, bell, bell~!"

Zhao Hu, the county lieutenant, and Jiang Gang, the warden, got the order of the county magistrate.

In every possible way, he reluctantly took more than a dozen soldiers and servants to beat gongs and drums on the streets of Danyang County. Raise a huge amount of silver for this large steelmaking workshop of the county magistrate.

"Folks, squires, take out your own silver and invest it in the iron-making workshop~!"

"The county magistrate said that he wants to take everyone to make a fortune, build an iron-making workshop, and when he earns a lot of silver, he will share it with everyone!"

"The county master said, this is a once-in-a-century opportunity for our Danyang County to make a fortune, if you miss it, it will be gone! In the future, the ironmaking workshop will earn a lot of silver, don't blame the county master for not reminding you! ”

Both of them shouted in their throats, and smoke came out of their throats.

As a result, in Danyang County, every household closed their doors and windows... In the past, on the streets of the county where people came and went, not a single shadow of a bird could be seen, let alone silver.

The squires and wealthy families of all families hid behind the door of their large earthen courtyard, blocked the door, and looked at the movement outside through the crack in the door, "I'm bah~!" Xiao Duhou has only been in office for a day, and he can't wait to set up a clever name and start looting the people's money! Yesterday he said that he would take the people to make a fortune, and today he will start collecting cash! ”

"This father and old squire, like a thief, guard against our county commander!"

County Lieutenant Zhao Hu was full of helplessness.

The warden Jiang Gang didn't have a rut.

This method will not raise money at all, unless it is forcibly collected.

It's a pity, the prefectural magistrate said.

Voluntarily!

It must be voluntary, and the rich should not be forced to raise money.

As a result, none of them responded voluntarily.

The county lieutenant and the warden were forced by the county magistrate to take out one hundred taels of silver each, which was a small investment in one of the blast furnaces.

It was quite painful for both of them.

The two of them are also helpless!

Other people's county orders are all to loot the people's fat and ointment.

But our county's county order looted the county lieutenants and wardens as soon as they came.

The two of them didn't dare not give it yet.

In addition, they also raised dozens of taels of silver, but the blacksmiths took out the money under the pillow and put it together.

The blacksmiths felt that the steelmaking skills of the county commander were mysterious, and they seemed to have some skills, so they threw a small amount and gave it a try.

...

The county magistrate Zhao Hu and the warden Jiang Gang traveled all over the county and the countryside, but they couldn't find the steelmaking workshop of the county commander who was willing to take the initiative to invest.

They had no choice but to return to the county office, take the money raised, and report to the county magistrate.

"Forget it, mosquito meat is also meat."

Chu Tianxiu shook his head.

In a Danyang County, even the county lieutenants, wardens and a group of blacksmiths raised a total of 100 taels of silver.

The rest are rich, and nothing has been paid.

This Danyang County is still too poor!

Of course, the vision is not good, and the rich families, squires, and big landlords are guarding their own money and refusing to let go, for fear of being cheated by him.

Chu Tianxiu didn't force them to give it.

Give them a way to get rich, don't want it yourself, don't blame him for not reminding the county lord in the future, and don't take them to make a fortune.

When he returned to Jinling City, he ate a big family.

The Imperial City of Jinling, the imperial capital where the world's wealthy families gathered, has many big tycoons, thousands or tens of thousands of taels of silver, and the wealthy nobles don't pay attention to it at all.

According to later generations, it is to attract investment.

"Li Kangnian, do you want to invest in silver? Uncle will take you to eat big meat! ”

Chu Tianxiu shouted.

The county Cheng Li Dangnian was so frightened that his legs trembled, his face turned pale, and he cried: "Uncle~, I still have my little silver to go to my daughter-in-law!" If you lose it, your daughter-in-law won't be able to marry. I want to fight a bachelor for the rest of my life! ”

"Look at your unproductive appearance, Uncle Ben can still trick you. Uncle Ben also gave 10,000 taels of silver, and he didn't lose meat!

You go and write to your father, raise a thousand taels of silver, and Uncle Ben will give you a blast furnace! Don't say that your uncle is cheating you, your uncle is vigorously supporting you.

Earn money for one year, and next year it will be enough for you to marry ten wives and concubines. ”

Chu Tianxiu looked at Li Kangnian's frightened look, and he didn't have a good temperament.

...

Five or six days passed.

The rainy season passed quickly.

Chu Tianxiu was in Danyang County, and took the county Cheng Li Kangnian, the county lieutenant and the warden, to preside over the rain spring plowing in Danyang County.

Actually, it's not much of a deal.

Rain means that the spring rainy season is coming soon, and it is necessary to take the farmers from all over the county to cultivate seedlings, apply manure to the fields, repair ditches, dig ditches and drain water.

It's still seedling cultivation, and it's not time to plant it.

The peasants brought their cattle and iron farming tools to plough the land.

Although there were cattle in the fields, they were not very effective, and the iron farming tools were too fragile.

This ploughing, sure enough, it can be seen that the iron farming tools built in Danyang County are very inferior, and they are broken and damaged at every turn.

For this reason, the blacksmiths did not dare to build large iron ploughs more than one foot long, all of them were half-foot short ploughs, and the depth of ploughing was too shallow.

The hoe is also short and shallow.

There is a local saying: "If you plough one inch deep, you can top the dung." ”

If it is turned shallowly, the grain will naturally be less.

After a farming, a large number of iron farming tools were damaged, and they had to go to the blacksmith shop to repair them while the farm was slack.

Chu Tianxiu was speechless.

Production tools represent productivity!

This is a great truth that is not easy to understand.

In Dachu two thousand years ago, steel was productivity. For the next 2,000 years, steel will be the largest productive force.

...

After the rain is over.

Chu Tianxiu, the magistrate of Danyang County, presided over the farming of the whole county, and there was no need to continue to stay in Danyang County.

In addition to spring plowing and autumn harvest, grain collection and tax collection, a small county town basically has nothing to do.

Litigation cases have never been the main work of the county order, and they can be handled every ten days and a half months.

This Danyang county seat will be handed over to the county Cheng Li Dangnian to watch here. If something is undecided, send someone to Jinling City to deliver a letter.

Coupled with the county lieutenant Zhao Hu and the warden Jiang Gang, two experienced "old fritters", it is no problem to deal with a small county town.

The two county lieutenants and wardens, for a long time, wished that the county ordered the eldest master to return to Jinling City, and stop looting the oil and water of their subordinates.

"Lord of the county order, ensure your health!"

"In Jinling City, take care of it. We'll miss the county master! ”

The squires of Danyang County came to see them off, wiping tears on their faces one by one, and their hearts were overjoyed.

Xiao Duhou tossed around for a while and didn't find any silver, and finally couldn't stand this poor and cold place, and wanted to go back to Jinling City to enjoy happiness.

Li Kangnian, the county magistrate, looks honest and honest, and is obviously much more reliable than Xiao Duhou, the county magistrate.

Chu Tianxiu waved his hand and said, "Let's go, go back to Jinling City." Find the silver and pull the investment! ”

The "rumbling" carriage procession of the Pingwang Mansion went straight to Jinling City.