"Mount Damo's iron ore is mined in the open and is easy to transport. The biggest problem is that the iron content is too high and the hardness is too high. Therefore, mining has always been difficult. As long as we make a few large solar furnaces and melt Mount Damo bit by bit, the mining speed will increase immediately. The increase depends on the size and quantity of the solar furnaces, "Ren Baqian said to the crowd.
At this moment, the crowd couldn't be bothered to study the mirror anymore. Everyone's attention was on Ren Baqian. Their attention was attracted by what Ren Baqian said just now.
The lack of iron ore had always troubled Dayao. Even though they could purchase some iron ore from the Yun Nation and the Chen Nation, the quantity was very little. Those merchants were more interested in transporting high value, light and bulky goods, such as salt, furs, gems, cloth, and porcelain.
Ironware had always been very precious. To the aboriginals, a one-kilogram fine iron dagger could be considered a treasure that could only be obtained after years of accumulation.
The empress wanted to expand the army by twenty thousand soldiers. She even had to find a way to prepare weapons. If not for Ren Baqian, she would have to exchange some of the treasures stored in the palace treasury for weapons in other nations.
During this period, it would be even more difficult for the commoners to buy ironware. However, this couldn't be helped. After all, equipping the new army was the most important thing at present.
Therefore, when Ren Baqian experimented with the standard weapon of the imperial guard, the imperial guard reacted as if his son had died. He almost shouted, "As long as the dagger exists, the man exists. To him, this dagger was closer to him than his son.
Under such circumstances, when Ren Baqian said that he could increase the production of Mount Damo by a hundred times, everyone was in disbelief.
If that was the case, Ren Baqian had really made a great contribution. Even if he didn't do anything in the future, this contribution alone would be enough for him to establish a foothold in Dayao.
If Ren Baqian said that he could increase the production of Mount Damo by a hundred times, they definitely wouldn't believe him and would probably question him in front of the empress.
However, he just demonstrated that he could melt a part of a steel dagger with this disk. Coupled with the characteristics of Mount Damo, even though everyone felt that his words were exaggerated, they felt that it was really possible.
"Deputy Prefect Ren, are you serious?" Tong Zhenye, the Minister of Revenue, was a burly man with a braided beard. His eyes flashed as he stared at Ren Baqian.
"Of course, but before that, we need to build the glass factory. Only by building a glass factory can we produce enough mirrors to assemble a solar furnace. "
"What do you need for the glass factory? As long as you can do it, the entire Ministry of Works will be at your disposal, "Tu Wan said solemnly.
"The Ministry of Revenue is the same." Minister of Revenue Tu Wan was a woman who looked a bit older than Imperial Treasurer Gu Yue, but she was very charming.
At this moment, everyone knew why His Majesty had summoned them.
On one hand, he wanted to observe this treasure, and at the same time, he wanted the cooperation of the various departments in the construction of this glass factory. On the other hand, he wanted the support of the various departments. Money and manpower were definitely needed.
However, in order to get a slice of the pie that Ren Baqian had laid out for them, none of them would object if he asked them to put in the effort.
"There's no need to trouble everyone. This glass factory is considered an industry of the palace. Naturally, the palace will allocate funds to build it," Ren Baqian said on behalf of the empress.
"Eh?" Everyone was shocked and didn't know what he meant.
Soon after, they became pensive. For example, the royal families of Great Xia, the Yun Nation, and the Chen Nation all had industries. However, Dayao was poor. Regardless of whether it was the previous emperor or the empress, they had very low requirements for material goods and weren't extravagant. In addition, they didn't put much effort into this, so the royal family didn't have any industries.
Needless to say, this was definitely Ren Baqian's idea. The empress wouldn't do this.
"I will also make arrangements for the solar furnace on Mount Damo. You don't need to do anything, but I will need some craftsmen to build it. At the same time, I will recruit some skilled aboriginals. They must be skilled."
Upon hearing this, Tong Zhenye, the Minister of Works, didn't object. Needless to say, Ren Baqian wanted to increase the mining speed of Mount Damo by a hundred times. Even if it was ten times, the Ministry of Works would support whatever manpower he needed.
Increasing the mining speed was already the biggest benefit for the Ministry of Works.
Tu Wan frowned slightly. She had more ideas about what this glass factory could do, but after thinking about it, she felt relieved. After all, this matter was proposed by Deputy Prefect Ren, who was also the husband chosen by the empress. If he wanted to use the power of the palace to do this, the others couldn't say anything.
Because by doing this, this glass factory would become the empress's industry in the future.
Would she still be able to snatch things from the empress?
As such, no one had any objections.
"Let's do it then." Seeing that no one spoke, the empress made the final decision.
"Yes, Your Majesty," everyone replied.
Originally, everyone didn't think much of Ren Baqian. After this incident, they somewhat looked up to him. After all, to be able to produce such a thing, it was evident that he was capable. Unfortunately, he was still too weak. He could be strangled to death with one hand. He wasn't worthy of the empress.
"Work on the glass factory will start tomorrow. Deputy Prefect Ren will be in charge and the other departments will do their best to assist."
"Yes."
At this point, the matter had been completely settled. Everyone's trip to the palace wasn't in vain. At least they were able to see such a magical thing, which was an eye-opener for them.
They conveniently took the sunglasses away. This group of people didn't think of returning them. After nodding at Ren Baqian, they put on the sunglasses and left immediately. They were afraid that Ren Baqian would ask for them back.
In their hearts, these sunglasses were still good stuff. After all, they didn't know much about glass. This mirror should be made of gemstones and the workmanship was exquisite. It would be good to take it as a family heirloom.
Naturally, they wouldn't know that these sunglasses were bought by Ren Baqian at the roadside for 30 yuan each. If he wanted, he could bring a sack of them back anytime.
Before everyone left, they nodded at Ren Baqian. This showed that these big shots in the imperial court had more or less acknowledged him. This was a good thing.
In the evening, he went to Yangxin Palace Hall and chatted with the empress for a while. He told her about the things needed for the construction of this glass factory. Even though he made it sound simple in the afternoon, there were still a lot of things to do.
For example, a blast furnace was needed for both steelmaking and glass production.
Since they were going to use a blast furnace, they would need cement and baked bricks.
Also, the materials needed for glass production: sandstone, soda ash, feldspar, dolomite, limestone, mirabilite and so on.
Most of these materials needed to be found within the borders of Dayao. Of course, he didn't need to look for them personally. He just needed to bring back a few pieces from Earth for the people of Dayao to find.
However, he still needed to make the soda ash.
As a result, even though it was just a glass factory, there were a lot of things that needed to be built.
Among them, Ren Baqian was going to provide the cement and baked bricks to the Ministry of Works. There was no need for him to hide this technology. Even if it was glass, after a period of time, after he had earned the most profit, he was going to sell this technology.
Among them, cement could be used in the construction of cities, roads, and other aspects.
There were also many uses for baked bricks. For example, in the future, he wanted to smelt in a blast furnace or build houses for the commoners. He didn't need to grind such big stones and transport them back to the city anymore.
Furthermore, brick houses were much better at keeping warm, waterproof, anti-corrosion, and fireproofing than wooden buildings.
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