When I left Yefu, it was almost dark.

Early in the morning of the second day, Li Changfeng went to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry.

Going to the Ministry of War, it is still because it involves the interests of the defenders in various places, and it is not good to have a bad relationship with the Ministry of War, after all, no matter how high Ye Qingcang's prestige is, he has no direct jurisdiction.

But the military department is different, and it is justified to manage the defenders in various places.

To put it bluntly, it is still a transfer of benefits.

Besides, no matter how many Ye Qingcang's old departments are, it is impossible to spread all over the world, and it will not work without the full cooperation of the military department.

The military department Shangshu Yue Jianghe was naturally very happy and readily agreed.

And then there's the Ministry of Works.

This time, he didn't convey any benefits, but just gave Gu Tiancheng a little benefit, because in the early stage of construction, many craftsmen needed the cooperation of the Ministry of Industry.

But in the middle and late stages, it doesn't matter whether there is a Ministry of Industry or not.

As for the officials, Li Changfeng didn't bother to go, and Feng Qujian would go to coordinate.

The household department, the ritual department, and the criminal department are not related to his project, and they don't need to go.

Up to now, a community of interests centered on the local officials, local defenders, and the top magnates in the capital has basically been established.

No matter how much Emperor Qianwu trusts him and loves him, he will eventually grow old one day and will not be able to protect him for the rest of his life.

The establishment of a huge force centered on him is the safest and longest-lasting.

After doing this, Li Changfeng put his energy on another preparatory work - steel.

The Ministry of Railways was established, followed by the establishment of the project, and after the completion of the exploration of the terrain, the construction will begin in full swing.

The steam locomotive locomotive can be built slowly, but the rails must be stockpiled in large quantities, which is a top priority.

Problems also arise.

Capacity!

Or insufficient capacity!

On the one hand, it is because his current steel plant is still small.

On the other hand, because his steel mill is expanding too fast, the number of truly experienced iron-making workers is too small, resulting in a very low product qualification rate.

For this reason, Li Changfeng had to run to the steelmaking mill again and again, and asked people to find craftsmen who knew how to make iron at a high price.

In addition, in the past few days, the matter of Emperor Qianwu's appropriation of 3 million taels of silver to build a railway has intensified in the capital, and Li Changfeng has once again become a hot topic of discussion in the whole city.

From the dignitaries to the ordinary people, they are all discussing this matter.

"Have you heard that Your Majesty has allocated three million taels to let His Royal Highness the Nine Emperor Princes build some railway, saying that it is used to run trains!"

"Then you've only heard half of the news, this is the silver that will be spent in the early stage, and it will cost more than 20 million taels in total."

"Shhh...... Oh my God, so much silver, I can't imagine it! ”

"It's really scary, I don't know what is the use of His Highness in this train, I heard that it can replace the carriage and run quite fast."

"I guess it's a bit like that four-wheeled steam car a few days ago, if only we could get on it!"

"I've always been a little skeptical that this news is fake, after all, it feels outrageous to spend so much silver!"

"What's fake? Don't you know that His Royal Highness the Nine Emperor Princes is recruiting people who can smelt iron? That salary, oh my God, is a month that catches up with my income for a year! ”

"Looks like Your Highness is in trouble making that train."

“……”

Li Changfeng was originally the focus of attention, and with the huge impact of this incident, every time he does something, people will pay attention to it.

Soon, the news of his lack of iron-making workers spread throughout the capital, and Feng Quji also learned the news.

this day.

Li Changfeng went to the steel mill again.

New problems have arisen.

Iron ore is in short supply.

The reason for this is that he bought a large iron ore mine, because when he used explosives to blow up the mountain, he miscalculated the hardness and thickness of the mountain, resulting in too much medicine, and the mountain collapsed and buried the mining site.

It will take at least half a month to clear the rocks and resume production.

Li Changfeng was also quite helpless about this.

He did not punish the demoman, after all, there are no professional exploration tools in this world, everything is based on experience, and misjudgment is inevitable.

Now only part of the production line can be stopped.

Li Changfeng returned home sullenly.

As soon as I arrived at the door, a servant reported: "Your Highness, Prime Minister Feng Qujian has been waiting for you in the mansion for a long time." ”

Li Changfeng was a little surprised.

How did he get here?

Could it be that something went wrong with the agreed plan?

With questions, Li Changfeng walked quickly to the living room.

Feng Qujian saw him and hurriedly got up and saluted.

"Meet His Royal Highness the Nine Emperor Princes!"

Li Changfeng pulled him up: "This is not above the court, the old prime minister doesn't have to be so polite." ”

Feng Qu shook his head: "Etiquette cannot be abolished!" ”

Li Changfeng was helpless and decided not to talk about this issue, so he changed his words and said: "But what is the problem on the side of the local officials?" ”

"No problem." Feng Qu paused for a moment and asked tentatively, "I heard that there is something wrong with the production of rails on your side, Your Highness, and there are not enough craftsmen?" ”

It is already a grasshopper in a boat, and this matter itself is not a secret, Li Changfeng did not hide it.

"That's right, in fact, the situation is even worse, a mine in this prince has collapsed, and the supply of iron ore has gone wrong."

"So rail production stopped?"

"It's not all, but it's a big impact."

"How long will it take?"

"It takes at least half a month to clear the rockslide, and then the mining is transported to the plant, which can take almost a month in total."

Feng Quji couldn't help frowning: "There is too much time to delay." ”

Li Changfeng sighed: "It's true, but this is also a helpless thing, mainly because the amount of iron ore used during this period is too large." ”

Artillery muskets have been continuously produced and require large quantities of iron ore.

Bicycles are produced in large quantities and also require large quantities of iron ore.

Li Changfeng had made sufficient preparations when planning these before, but there was still such an accident, and he secretly blamed himself for not taking such an emergency into account.

At this moment, Feng Quji suddenly said, "Your Highness, do you know the Shangguan family of the Eight Great Families?" ”

Li Changfeng was stunned for a moment: "I know a little bit about it, Prime Minister, when you come to the mansion, isn't it related to the Shangguan family of the Eight Great Families?" ”

The Shangguan family is one of the eight great families of Daqian.

Their main industry is the metal smelting industry, which controls a large amount of iron ore in Daqian and many highly skilled iron-making craftsmen.

More than half of the high-grade weapons of the Great Cadres were built and provided by the Shangguan family, and even a large part of the currency of the Great Cadres was minted by them.

It can be seen from this that the Shangguan family has a pivotal position in Daqian.

Moreover, this family is different from other families, it is not hostile to Daqian, and even has a good relationship, which can be seen by Emperor Qianwu handing over coins to them for minting.

What's more, there is a noble concubine in the palace who is a descendant of the Shangguan family, although Emperor Qianwu is not particularly favored, but he can also see his attitude towards the Shangguan family.

(End of chapter)