Shi Zhi knelt on the ground, Ling Zhen couldn't sit well, he also knelt on the ground.

"Get up, I don't blame you." The king of Han personally mixed these two important ministers together, and he said helplessly: "I will not let the soldiers of the Han army go to death, unqualified weapons must not be thrown into the battlefield, the sword is not mature now, then the heavy armor should always be okay." ”

"Your Majesty, 10,000 sets of heavy armor have been forged, and the defensive power is comparable to that of King Han, and it weighs only more than 20 catties, so it has been invulnerable, and the weight has been reduced to the limit."

"Very good, it's just that 10,000 sets is not enough, I want 50,000 sets."

"Your Majesty, but a set of heavy armor requires 300 pieces, which is more expensive than the heavy armor ridden by King Han, and 50,000 sets are difficult."

King Han thought for a while and said: "The problem of money, if you think of a way, 50,000 sets must be built." You have to know that the reason why the Han King Cavalry cannot be expanded is not because the armor is expensive and difficult to build, the key is that the cavalry of the Han King Cavalry is not easy to train, and the quality of individual soldiers is much stronger than that of other cavalry, and it is too difficult to transport the war horses from the far northwest. The road is far away, and the war horse is easy to die, not to mention, and it is normal to encounter strong on the road. ”

Shi Zhi could only agree, for him, only by building heavy armor could he slow down the mistake of slashing the horse sword. You must know that the Great Song Dynasty has heavy armor, but it is about sixty catties, and now it is indeed the limit of only twenty catties.

"Regardless of whether the war horse can be delivered or not, 10,000 pairs of Han King riding armor will be used as a backup."

40,000 sets of infantry heavy armor and 10,000 Han kings riding heavy armor out of thin air made Shi Zhi very big, but for him, as long as the money was in place, everything was not a problem, and it was less difficult than cutting horses and swords.

"However, the horse sword still has to be made, the new batch of steel has arrived, you must know that the metallurgical Peng family is the first in the world, you have to communicate more with Peng Jiakang, and it may be useful to use steel to forge the horse sword."

"Yes."

Shi Zhi finally passed the test, this guy was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat in the winter, and only at this time did he understand what a hero was. The pressure brought by King Han is many times stronger than that of the officials. If an official family is not an emperor, it is no different from an ordinary person. However, the King of Han is not the King of Han, he is still a generation of heroes, this is the gap.

Ling Zhen knew that it was his turn, but he wasn't worried, after all, after the Shenwei Artillery Bureau moved to the capital, it still had a lot to do.

"The cavalry's flame army has been revoked, does the Ling Qing family know the reason?"

"The minister is guilty."

"What are your sins!"

King Han still had a smile on his face, but this smile was more terrifying in Ling Zhen's eyes than the grim smile of death, and he was so frightened that he said hesitantly: "The flame army can't form combat effectiveness, the speed of the cavalry battle is too fast, in the transition between attack and defense, the weapons of the flame army are too slow, when they are just put into the battlefield, the Jin cavalry was caught off guard, and the Jin soldiers who killed them turned on their backs, but the Jin army made targeted precautions later, and it was difficult to exert their power." ”

"It's good to know, then what targeted measures have you done, just like Minister Shi, there is no sword to cut the horse, and having a new type of heavy armor can be regarded as atonement, what about you? I can reuse you and give you the highest glory. However, you remember that I don't raise idlers, I don't raise waste. ”

The little pride in Ling Zhen's heart suddenly disappeared without a trace, and it was obvious that King Han was very dissatisfied with the research and development of firearms. Once King Han loses patience, then the Shenwei Artillery Bureau will lose the meaning of existence, and there will be no need for him, the deputy minister of the equipment department, to exist.

"Your Majesty, it's true that the minister has not made a breakthrough on the issue of guns. But the cannon, the breakthrough was huge. The latest Shenwei cannon is enough to blast down the city gates, and if ten cannons are together, it can blast through a city wall, and the range is more than five hundred steps, so it is not affected by the bed crossbow. Just, just. ”

"Just what?"

"The cannon is too heavy, weighing about 1,000 catties, and it is very difficult to transport."

"It's good to improve slowly, two Shenwei cannons have been built, but as long as they are at full power, they can build two in a month."

"At least ten doors should be built in a month."

Ling Zhen's head was big, he kept wiping the cold sweat on his forehead, the difficulty coefficient of building a cannon is much higher than that of heavy armor, as long as he is rich, heavy armor can be mass-produced, but it is much more difficult to mass-produce cannons. In addition, gunpowder can explode if you are not careful, and the danger factor is very large. If the persecution is too tight, the craftsmen will quit.

King Han knew Ling Zhen's predicament and said: "Tell the craftsmen that as long as ten cannons are made in a month, I will give them the title of Yun Cai, the official of the Seventh Rank Order, remember that this is deliberately hereditary, don't worry, there will be brave men under the heavy reward, and ten cannons can be completed." ”

"Yes." Ling Zhen knew that there was no room for bargaining, and if he couldn't build ten cannons, his head would probably be in danger. You must know that there are many children of the Ling family, and if they die, the next deputy minister will not necessarily be worse than what they do, this is the result of the Han Kingdom's emphasis on talents.

"Ling Qingjia, do you have anything else to report to me?"

"Your Majesty, the fierce oil fire cabinet has been greatly improved, and on the basis of the cannons, we have also made a lot of small cannons, which are easy to carry, although they cannot attack the city, but it is more than enough to kill the cavalry of the Jin Kingdom. A small cannon weighs less than thirty pounds, and the infantry is a little difficult to carry, but the cavalry has absolutely no problem. As for defense, it is more powerful, and the cost is very low, and each cost is less than a hundred. It can be mass-produced, and it is easy to have a hundred pieces a month. ”

"Since it's easy to have a hundred a month, let's have five hundred."

With my stinky mouth, Ling Zhen can't wait to slap himself dozens of mouths, how can he say big things in front of King Han? But now that King Han has spoken out, Ling Zhen can only hold on to it.

Now the Han army is the main defense, not the main attack, at this time there is no need to attack the city, the role of the cannon can not even catch up with the power of the small cannon, the Han King Xiao Cannon is very interested, he said: "I give the cannon the name of the Shenwei Cannon, also called the Shenwei Cannon, the small cannon is called the Shenlong Cannon, also called the Dragon Cannon." ”

"Thank you."

Liu Zhenglong said: "Ling Zhen, you go down first, it would be better if the small cannon was a little smaller." ”

After Ling Zhen went down, Liu Zhenglong, the king of Han, said to Shi Zhi, "Do you know what I mean by leaving you behind? ”

"The minister understands that it's not about money."

"Yes, the Jin Kingdom is fighting powerful Jurchen warriors, and our Han is now using money to build the most powerful army in the world. Obviously, there is still a gap, so you Shi family should make a statement. ”

"The Shi family is smashing pots and selling iron, and they also have to ensure the normal operation of the equipment department."

"Very well, you go out."

Although the king of Han is rich in the world, heavy armor, firearms, and horse swords all require heavy investment, plus the recruitment of the new army, and the army's grain and grass supply all need heavy money, which has exceeded the limit of the Han king. You must know that the northwest is barren, and the king of Han did not collect taxes from the people, in this case, it is purely the king of Han who carries it alone, which is why the Shi family should set an example and let the four major families pay for it, and the Liu family, the Chai family, the Xiang family, and the Zheng family will all pay for it.

It's not enough to rely on blood transfusions, you can't empty everyone, at this time, Liu Zhenglong thought more about making money, and he asked Liu Mingjun to come over.

In front of the Ming people and not saying secret words, Liu Zhenglong said straight to the point: "The Hanjin War is about to kick off, but almost all of my property has been taken out, and I still can't support this battle against the sky, what do you say should be done?" ”

Liu Mingjun is so smart, he knows that the meaning of King Han is definitely not to let the major families pay money, it should be to find a way to make money.

After thinking for a long time, Liu Mingjun said: "Your Majesty, Weichen means that cigarettes should be released, although the top ones make money, but after all, the sales are limited, and now cigarettes have become fashionable in the upper class, but it is far from enough to transform them into huge wealth to support huge military expenditures. If the money transaction is not good, it can be converted into an exchange of goods, and we will send the cigarettes out in exchange for the goods that the Han Kingdom needs. ”

"The idea is good, but it still can't maintain huge military expenditures, we want to start a trade war, and the wealth of the Jin and Song countries will be gathered in our Han country, so it is equivalent to the world supporting the Han army. The Jin Kingdom has countless cattle, sheep, horses, gold, silver and jewelry, but they will not easily trade with our Han Kingdom, no matter how many cigarettes and wine there are, the war will not be able to play as soon as it starts, so you have to find another way. Overseas trade should be accelerated, Yuan Xia has already gained a firm foothold, and it should also create benefits for Dahan, you urge it. ”

Speaking of this, the King of Han let out a long sigh, and he continued: "I give you an idea, the most popular currency in the Great Song Dynasty and the Jin Kingdom is copper coins, although we have persuaded them to use silver coins, but as soon as the war starts, it will be reversed, and it is still mainly copper coins. The most important thing we have ever had is copper, gold, silver, these precious metals, you have to learn to raise the price of gold, and then do your best to suppress the value of copper coins, and accelerate the depreciation of copper coins. I have served in the Great Song Dynasty Money Casting Supervisor, and I still know everything about the Great Song Dynasty Money Making. From now on, you are also in charge of the Han coinage, making Song money, and then secretly using copper coins to buy gold, and at the same time insisting that gold must be used in the transactions of cigarettes, wine, firearms, iron, etc., otherwise the Han Kingdom will not accept anything. In the past, the official family exchanged one tael of gold for ten taels of silver, and one tael of silver was equal to consistent money, that is, one thousand wen, but in fact, one tael of silver on the black market could be exchanged for one thousand and one hundred wen, or even more. The task I gave you is that before the start of the war, one tael of gold can be exchanged for fifteen taels of silver, and twenty taels of copper coins, remember to climb slowly, and not let the Jin and Song countries notice. ”

Liu Mingjun gasped after hearing this, and he said hesitantly: "Your Majesty, once the price of copper coins depreciates, the common people will suffer huge losses, which will damage your prestige to King Han. ”

"It's better to live a poor life than to be killed by Jin Bing. You declared to the outside world that not only did the Han Dynasty not collect taxes on its people for five years, but also that the people who migrated over would be given a settling-in allowance, and they would be paid more after joining the army. Raise the previous standards, in a word, the people of the Great Song Dynasty are destined to be poor, and they can live a good life in the Han Dynasty. ”

King Han knew that once the currency war started, the common people would definitely be affected, but now he had no time to take care of so much, and now he could only do this. Moreover, luxury goods are only traded in gold, and the losses are more for those who are rich, and the impact of the common people is still very small.

"Your Majesty, the minister means that the real estate of the major families in Jiangnan can be sold and exchanged for gold."

"No, as soon as the war starts, the real estate will skyrocket, and then you will sell, and now what you have to do is to speed up the purchase, and we will only pay copper coins. Don't look at the silver coins of the Han Kingdom used in the three kingdoms, but the largest circulation is still the Great Song Dynasty copper coins, so wash them again. Spices and other valuables brought back from the South Seas were traded in gold. ”

Once the idea is opened, it can't be controlled, Liu Mingjun's train of thought also came up, he said: "Your Majesty, the Song State has a precedent of looting our gold bank, you see, can we try to issue paper money, of course, we can use gold, silver, to ensure that the paper money does not depreciate, of course, mainly in large amounts, use Dahan banknotes to trade, give discounts, discounts, in addition to the existence of gold banks in the form of paper money, we can give high interest." In addition, the gold bank began to charge a management fee for the copper coins deposited. In addition, the wealthy families of the Great Song Dynasty, Jin Kingdom, Western Xia, Tubo, and Dali were allowed to invest in the gold bank. ”

"Very good, you look at the operation, remember one sentence, that is, if the war does not start, you can't sell Jiangnan real estate, of course, Beijing real estate can be thrown out. When appropriate, some firearms and even cement could be sold to the Song Kingdom. ”

At this time, King Han felt a little haggard, he knew that this time against the sky, it was destined not to be a smooth road, but for the sake of the world, he could only go on without hesitation.

The concubines in the Han Palace, headed by the queen, began to hand over luxury goods to Liu Mingjun in batches, asking him to sell them to the Kingdom of Jin and the Kingdom of Song for gold. As if they had smelled something, the nobles of the Han Kingdom began to sell luxury goods in exchange for gold.

Gold was deposited in gold banks and interest was charged to become a new mode for the wealthy people of the Han Kingdom to make money, and gradually spread to the Song Kingdom, the Jin Kingdom, the Western Xia Kingdom, the Tibetan Kingdom, Dali, the Annam Kingdom, and the Wa Kingdom.

The price of gold is gradually rising, and copper coins are slowly depreciating, after all, the Great Song Dynasty has accumulated more than 100 years of wealth, and the Jin State has looted the wealth of the Liao State for 200 years, and it will not cause a crisis because of the rise in gold prices in a short time. Since all countries now use the Han silver dollar as their official currency, the rise in the price of gold does not seem to be outrageous in the state of the Han Dynasty's use of silver coins as a regulation.