Because the sun had just risen, the brightness in the hall was not very strong. It seemed a little dim. Because of this, when the flashlight shone on the hall, the light spots could be seen very clearly.
"Before we go to court, let's talk about the torchlight! I believe that my beloved subjects also have such flashlights in their hands. What do you think of this thing? "
Li Longji went straight to the point.
"Your Majesty, torchlights are much brighter than lanterns. They are also very light and don't need to worry about wind and rain. It's really a good item for going out at night!"
"Your Majesty, such a good item must be widely promoted. However, we don't know how much it costs. If it's too expensive, I don't think the commoners can afford it! It's more practical to use lanterns and torches. "
"Yes! Yes! The key is how much it costs. However, even if it costs more, the wealthier families can still afford it. "
"Your Majesty, there are more and more workshops that the imperial court is directly in charge of. It's better to leave these unimportant ones to the businessmen! This can increase efficiency and save costs. The imperial court only needs to collect the technical fees. "
The group of ministers expressed their opinions. The atmosphere seemed to be very good. However, it was obvious that many of the ministers were thinking about the torchlight industry.
All of the ministers had realized the predicament the imperial court was facing. Although the imperial court was directly in charge of many industries and had great benefits in terms of safety and other aspects, no matter how good the policy was, it could not withstand the corruption of the vermin. At this time, although the various workshops were earning money, it was because many of them were newly opened and had not been in operation for a long time. The railway was also only a few years old. Moreover, it was in the process of expansion. In the face of a huge income, corruption was only a small problem. Therefore, the imperial court's financial income was increasing.
However, as the imperial court was directly in charge of more projects and recruited more personnel, there would be more corruption and inefficient operations. It was very likely that the entire imperial court would be dragged down.
Dispatching censors to supervise all the personnel in the imperial court was a very good idea. Punishing a few people from time to time could reduce the incidence of corruption and inefficiency. However, the effect would not be very good. It was definitely not as efficient as handing it over to private individuals.
Ang Lee naturally had the most experience in this aspect. In the past few thousand years, all the projects that were handed over to the imperial court were inefficient and corrupt. This was a problem that could not be solved at all. No great imperial court could solve it.
This was because humans were lazy and selfish by nature. Without anyone forcing them, it was easy for them to relax and slack off. In the absence of supervision, people's greed would be aroused and they would think of ways to get things that did not belong to them.
In order to solve this problem, the best way was to hand over many industries to private individuals. From there, they would use selfishness to stop selfishness. They would use the selfishness of the workshop owner to strictly require the workers to work hard and not be corrupted. This would greatly increase efficiency and prevent the occurrence of greed.
However, because the technology was provided by Ang Lee, according to the theory of later generations, they should pay a patent fee to Ang Lee based on the number of products produced. However, Ang Lee already had enough money and did not need to pay a patent fee that could earn him money. Such a thing did not exist in this era.
However, the imperial court could not be taken advantage of. Ang Lee felt that some projects that were not particularly important could be handed over to private individuals. However, they would have to pay a certain amount to the imperial court. Furthermore, they would have to pay a fee for every product produced.
However, how to calculate the number of products produced was another problem. It was worth dealing with it properly.
After listening to the ministers, Li Longji pondered for a moment. He looked at Ang Lee and said, "Assistant Minister Li, this flashlight was invented by you. What do you think is the most suitable one?"
Li An smiled and said, "Your Majesty, all the ministers focused on the flashlight just now. Actually, the technology behind the flashlight isn't complicated. Anyone should be able to make one with just a little bit of research. If you really can't make one, you can make one with a bamboo tube. The most important thing is the battery inside. This battery can only be used for a few hours before it becomes useless. A lot of materials are needed to make a battery, and without this subject's technical information, no one can make it."
"Oh, the battery is the key. Interesting. Is it inside? How do I open it? "
Li Longji asked curiously.
The flashlight was given to him and had never been turned on. After it was turned on, naturally, no one knew what it was like inside.
Ang Lee took the flashlight from a minister and gently turned it on. He poured out the battery inside and showed it to everyone.
The Emperor and the ministers saw that Ang Lee had turned it on, so they followed Ang Lee's example. They opened the back cover of the flashlight and took out the battery.
"My dear minister, this is the core! It's amazing that such a small thing can generate electricity. What's the cost? Will it be expensive? "
Li Longji asked softly. He was reluctant to let go of the battery in his hand.
Ang Lee thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, if it's mass-produced, the price will be very cheap. The cheapest battery can be controlled at the price of a few copper coins. It's really not expensive. We can consider mass-producing it."
Li Longji heard this and nodded gently. He said, "It's only a few copper coins. The price is indeed not bad. However, the imperial court is responsible for more and more workshops. It's troublesome to manage them. We can hand them over to private individuals. What do my dear ministers think?"
"Your Majesty, this method is appropriate. The battery has a good future. We can hand it over to private individuals. However, this technology belongs to Assistant Minister Li. How to charge for it is a problem."
One of the ministers said.
Ang Lee hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, you can charge according to the number of batteries produced by the workshop. For example, you can charge a string of money for every ten thousand batteries produced. The more batteries produced, the more the imperial court can charge. I obtained this technology from the research and development center provided by the imperial court. I dare not claim credit for it. It's enough that the imperial court can charge for it."
"This is a good idea. However, how do we determine the number of batteries produced by the workshop? It's quite troublesome to supervise. It's more convenient to sell the battery technology to private individuals in one go. "
One of the ministers said.
Ang Lee hurriedly objected, "That's not right. It's better to be small and long-term. This way, we can continue to earn income. In addition, in order to increase competition, we can sell the technology to a few more companies. This way, we can compete with each other and increase efficiency. The more people buy, the better the technology cost can be shared and the risk can be reduced. As for the number of batteries produced, it's not difficult. All the batteries produced by the workshop must be packaged with a batch number from the imperial court before they can be sold on the market. When the imperial court issues the batch number, it's time to collect money."
"A battery can only be used for a few hours. This is a consumable product! The demand for production is very high. It's definitely a profitable business. It's completely feasible to let a few more companies participate. "
One of the ministers supported.
"Alright, there's no need to argue. This battery was invented by Dear Minister Li. This matter will be handed over to Dear Minister Li!"
Li Longji made the decision.
Ang Lee said happily, "Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty. The battery was invented because it's a part of the Ten Thousand Mile Sound Transmission Project. Without the battery, the Ten Thousand Mile Sound Transmission Project can't be implemented. As for the flashlight, it's just a by-product of the Ten Thousand Mile Sound Transmission Project. It's something that was invented along the way."
Li Longji was quite excited when he heard this. He said, "So, the invention of the battery means that the Ten Thousand Mile Sound Transmission Project has taken another step forward? Good, that's great. "
Then, the morning court continued. All kinds of important matters were reported to Li Longji one by one for him to deal with.
After the court ended, Ang Lee had just walked out of the Political Announcement Hall when he was surrounded by a large group of ministers who followed him. They were all here for the battery technology that Ang Lee had mastered. With such a practical battery, as long as they mastered this technology, they would definitely be able to make a lot of money.
"How does Assistant Minister Li plan to deal with the battery issue?"
The group of ministers was very concerned about this issue. They seemed to want a share of the profits.
Ang Lee's idea was actually very simple. That was to open a public bidding. However, there would not be one bidder, but three bidders. The three bidders with the highest bid would get the technology. This was a one-time fee. In the future, they would have to pay taxes for the products. This way, they could maximize the continuous income for the court.
When Ang Lee told his idea truthfully to the ministers, they all felt that Ang Lee was too sinister. He actually came up with such a sinister idea.
As long as this technology was publicized, as long as they were businessmen, they would be able to see the commercial value in it. Therefore, there would be a lot of people willing to buy this technology. The more people there were, the fiercer the competition. When the time came, the higher the price, the higher the income the court would receive. Many people who wanted to buy this technology would be more disadvantaged. Not only would the initial investment be huge, but it would also be a huge investment to set up a workshop in the middle. Every battery produced in the later stage would have to pay taxes.
However, even so, because the battery's prospects were very good, it was worth fighting for even so much money.
These important ministers of the court all had their own businesses in private. There were also many big businessmen who had a good relationship with them and often paid them filial piety. Therefore, they naturally took a fancy to this very useful technology and hoped to get it.
In recent years, all the dignitaries who were taken care of by Ang Lee who had unique technology basically made a lot of money. For example, Yang Guozhong's skincare products had been completely promoted to the whole Tang dynasty. Ang Lee's own glass industry was also a very profitable business, bringing a huge income to Ang Lee's family.
In short, all the dignitaries who used the technology provided by Ang Lee to produce monopolized products were all very rich. Because the court monopolized the railway and other violent industries, it also increased the income of the national treasury. Therefore, there was more money to be used for large-scale construction.
Ang Lee could see that the expressions of these ministers were different. They seemed to have their own plans. They all had their eyes on the battery industry, but most of them seemed to lack confidence in an open competition. After all, there were so many rich and powerful people. Only the top three would have a chance. It was too rare.
Moreover, this technology was not monopolized, but shared with three companies. In this way, the three companies would compete with each other. It was impossible to form a monopoly at all. It was far better to have only one company to control it.
As a result, many ministers were in a dilemma. They couldn't make a good judgment. They didn't know what would happen if the three companies controlled the technology together. Would it cause vicious competition? Not only would they not make money, but they would also lose a lot of money. If they lost money, then the loss would outweigh the gain.
However, there were so many dignitaries who owned iron mines and engaged in the iron-making business. Which one of them didn't make money? No dignitaries who opened iron mines lost money. Therefore, they could give it a try. How would they know if they could make money if they didn't try? What if they could make money?
The premise of fair competition was to let the people involved in the competition understand the characteristics and market prospects of the product. Only when they all understood the product and knew that it was a profitable industry would they be willing to spend a lot of money to compete.
Ang Lee had already distributed dozens of flashlights to the ministers. This was a good means of publicity. Ang Lee believed that soon, the dignitaries of the entire capital would understand the whole new thing of the flashlight, and they would be willing to spend a lot of money to compete in this industry.
Although since ancient times, officials couldn't do business, this was only a superficial rule. In fact, how many people could really abide by this rule?
Of course, in order to appear honest on the surface, the officials wouldn't use their own names to do business blatantly, but they would let their servants or controlled relatives and friends do business in private, so as to avoid the imperial court's rule that officials were not allowed to do business.
In addition, there were some children of merchant families who took the imperial examination because of their intelligence and became important officials of the imperial court. Their families were all businessmen. Who would believe that they wouldn't help their families?
For example, if the son became a high official, but the father had always been a big businessman. In this case, in order to let the son be an official, the father would give up all his business and become a farmer or do nothing?
Or could it be that after a person became a high-ranking official, his family members could no longer do business? This was obviously very unrealistic. Those who should do business still had to do business, and they would definitely be supported and taken care of by the official's family.
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