"Li Ke." When Li Shimin heard this, he turned to Li Ke.

"The son is here." Li Ke stood up calmly.

"Is that the case?" Li Shimin looked at Li Ke and asked.

"Well, the craftsmen under Erchen have indeed improved certain methods, so the cost of iron smelting has dropped a lot, and if the imperial court purchases pig iron ingots, Erchen can afford it." Li Ke said lightly.

"Pig iron ingots? Do you deliver the finished product directly? Li Shimin looked at Li Ke and asked.

"Erchen doesn't know what the smelting price of the Ministry of Industry is, but Erchen thinks it is lower than that of the Ministry of Industry." Li Ke nodded.

"Duan Lun." Li Shimin directly opened his mouth to call people.

"The minister is here." Ji Guogong Duan Lun stood up from his position, Duan Lun is the current secretary of the Ministry of Industry, and these questions are naturally going to ask him.

"What is the price cost of smelting?" Li Shimin asked directly.

"Just Qi Guogong said that the price is almost the same as the price of the imperial court, taking the forging of the main plough plough of the current Tang Dynasty as an example, a plow weighs 3 catties, and the cost is about 900 Wen after the final construction is completed. Aside from the labor cost of building, after smelting into pig iron, the cost of 3 catties of pig iron is about 880 Wen. Duan Lun gave a similar price.

Li Ke immediately calculated in his heart, Datang's pig iron output last year was about 2.1 million catties, and according to this cost, that is, the cost of Datang's national government and private ironmaking last year was 610,000 yuan.

However, it is estimated that at least 6 to 80 percent of the country's output has reached the imperial court.

Of course, it is also because of the smelting technology that limits the output, and can only produce so much in a year, Datang is about 597 grams of a catty for later generations, and the annual pig iron output is about 2.51 million catties for later generations. Li Ke remembered some articles he had read in his previous life, speculating that the national pig iron output at the peak of the Tang Dynasty could reach 10 million catties, but now it seems that the estimation is an error in the data.

After all, there was no statistical bureau in this era, and the calculations of later generations relied on the iron ore tax, iron income and tax rate recorded in the basic ancient books to extrapolate the pig iron output, in fact, this error is very large.

Many people estimate that it is based on the 20% iron ore tax, and then look at the iron income of the imperial court, and the tax rate is reversed, but the iron income of the imperial court is not all smelted from the 20% iron ore handed over by the private iron ore, and the imperial court also has a large number of self-operated iron ore, which is all handed over to the imperial court.

Therefore, the error of the iron income of the entire Datang is too large.

Li Ke's estimated pig iron output is also a preliminary statistical estimate made by his Yuelai firm, you ask Li Shimin about this number, Li Shimin doesn't know, he only knows the imperial court.

Many people say that Datang pig iron production is only so little, why do you create so many swords and armor?

Datang's pig iron output is indeed only so little, but China's smelting did not start from Datang, from the Spring and Autumn Period to Datang, after so many years, I don't know how much pig iron has piled up.

"What was the income of the imperial court from pig iron last year?" Li Shimin asked again.

"Back to Your Majesty, last year, the annual pig iron income of the imperial court was 1.6 million catties." Duan Lun immediately gave an answer.

"In other words, about 140,000 catties of pig iron per month, if the imperial court directly purchases pig iron, can Li Ke provide it? 140,000 catties per month. Li Shimin looked at Li Ke and asked.

Li Ke silently calculated that 140,000 catties of pig iron is equivalent to about 84 tons of pig iron per month in modern times.

At present, he has 30 blast furnaces, each of which is guaranteed to be optimal, and the best operating iron production rate is about one furnace and one ton, of course, this is not the upper limit. If a blast furnace does not rest 24 hours a day, it can produce 3 furnaces of iron a day, then its daily output is about 90 tons. How much does it take in a day?

Although there is the light of the blast furnace and the torch, even if it is not easy to operate at night, it is no problem to have two furnaces a day, 60 tons a day, and a matter of 2 days.

That's it?

Otherwise, give the cheap dad 5 days' amount, and look at his pitiful.

"I'll triple it for you, forget it, let's make it whole, 500,000 catties a month." Li Ke said lightly.

As soon as Li Ke's words came out, everyone in the court was stupid, 500,000 pounds a month?? Wouldn't that be close to the total income of the imperial court pig iron in three months?

"Can you do it?!" Li Shimin was shocked.

"Well, it's a big deal, but it can still be done." Li Ke said without changing his face, one-sixth of the output in a month, of course, the proportion is large.

"How much?" Li Shimin took a deep breath.

"50 wen a pound." Li Ke said with a smile.

Everyone: "......"

The cost of the imperial court last year was about 880 Wen for 3 catties, and the average catty of pig iron was close to 300 Wen, and Li Ke directly reduced the cost by one-six...... No wonder the eldest grandson's family doesn't play anymore, what is this fun for?

"Agreed!" Duan Lun was excited, and before Li Shimin could speak, he agreed, one-sixth of the cost! This means that this year's pig iron income has tripled, and at the same time, the money paid is actually less?! You can win it for only 300,000 yuan! Last year, it cost 480,000 yuan!

Eldest Sun Wuji's face was dark, this was not at all what he expected! According to his idea, if the imperial court was allowed to directly purchase pig iron instead of iron ore, if Li Ke's output was not so large and he could not get what the imperial court needed, then he could suggest that Li Shimin ask Li Ke for smelting technology, and the official smelter would be set up for ironmaking production.

And in order to prevent Li Ke from squeezing them with words like last time, he thought about it, the official smelter is not sold to the people, but the court for its own use, so he can't say anything about competing with the people.

Li Ke's smelter can't get the technology, but the official smelter won't they all come up with the relevant technology sooner or later?

But he never expected that Li Ke not only produced enough production, but even tripled Li Shimin......

At this point, the people in the Ministry of Industry naturally stood on Li Ke's side temporarily, because the annual engineering pressure of the Ministry of Industry is very high, and now Li Ke has increased the number to them so much at once, and the natural pressure on the production of armor in the Ministry of Industry is much smaller!

The point is that the main output of smelting pig iron does not belong to the Ministry of Industry, and the output is not stared at by the Ministry of Industry, so it naturally has nothing to do with the Ministry of Industry, and there is less responsibility!

And the Ministry of Industry needs less funds, so that the Ministry of Industry can withhold part of the funds!

"Then since Qi Guogong's side can't continue to operate, the relevant orders of the Ministry of Industry will be transferred to you." Li Shimin pushed the boat down the river and directly did this matter, anyway, it was the eldest grandson Wuji who proposed it himself, and it is no wonder that he Li Shimin.

Besides, why did the eldest grandson Wuji do this, can Li Shimin still not know? Didn't you just tell him Li Shimin that Li Ke had forced him to be too happy?

After thinking about it, Li Shimin felt that he couldn't let the eldest grandson's family really not survive like this, and the smelting business of the eldest grandson's family was equivalent to gone, otherwise, let him sell ore?