Steel is the foundation of the industrial revolution. Steam engines need steel as materials, train tracks also need steel as materials, and even trains themselves need steel as materials.

Steel production also requires steel.

The most core weapon is also inseparable from steel.

Zhao Huan walked over and he watched back and forth around the iron cannon.

Sima Qi said: "Your Majesty, please wait aside first, and I will set an example for Your Majesty."

Zhao Huan retreated aside and saw Sima Qi ordering an artillery soldier to aim at a pile of stones four miles away, and then ignite the lead.

With a loud bang, the pile of stones four miles away were blown to pieces.

The power is much greater than the thunder of the sky. If it hits a person, it can blow up the flesh and blood of the person and break it into corpses.

Obviously, after a year of improvement, the quality of the artillery has been significantly improved.

Zhao Huan was very satisfied. If this thing was dragged to the front line, the strength of the Song army would greatly increase.

Zhao Huan asked Chen Gui: "Chen Aiqing, how much does it cost to build a cannon?"

"Report to your Majesty, I have done an accounting and it will cost about 2,000 calibers for a cannon."

Zhao Huan couldn't help but feel nervous. Yi Guan's money in the Song Dynasty was about 465 yuan, and 2,000 yuan was about 90,000 yuan.

This is a bit expensive.

Chen Gui continued: "Your Majesty, the cost is mainly due to the high cost of steel."

"Sima Qi, has there been any progress in the last time I gave you the blast furnace steelmaking process?"

"Report to Your Majesty, the new method of smelting steel in the Song Dynasty is already in use. The purity of steel is twice as high as before, and the time required is greatly shortened."

"Since that's the case, why is it still so expensive?"

"Your Majesty, the supply of iron ore is insufficient and the difficulty of mining is high, resulting in the price of ore being too high."

This is indeed a realistic reason.

Although the court established a trading company to prepare for mining iron ore, and merchants like Han Lixian also obtained part of the mining rights.

But since the second year of Jingkang, the imperial court renewed its weapons and equipment, the demand for iron has increased by leaps and bounds, and the consumption of iron has been too fast.

It is impossible for the iron mine trading company to make money. It is possible that the people who are given free money to the military weapon prison. Although they all have the emperor's money, they all have their own tasks and goals.

This demand is huge, and mining is a high-intensity job. The monthly salary of people will naturally be high, and the price of iron ore will of course be high.

The most important thing is that time is slow.

As time slowed down, the supply was insufficient, and iron mine trading companies began to raise prices.

Anyway, they were supported by Tang Ke, and the military weapon surveillance had a lot of money allocated by the emperor. They were a rich man, and the iron mine trading company was not afraid of military weapon surveillance not purchasing.

But in this way, the military weapon surveillance accounts are ugly.

Chen Gui had long wanted to participate in the Song Dynasty Shangyusi, and the iron mine trading company under it became arrogant and domineering because it controlled the resources.

Now the emperor asked about the expenses and the old rules were told truthfully.

Zhao Huan stopped and said that the high money was his own money, which changed from the left hand to the right hand.

It was just that from the process from the left hand to the right hand, many people were paid in the middle.

Of course, once the interest chain becomes complex, it is not just about salary, but also a large layer of oil and water has been exploited.

To solve this problem, the most important thing is not to optimize the organizational structure, but to improve and improve productivity.

The key point is how to increase iron ore production and steel production within a fixed time period.

As long as both volumes increase, the price will naturally drop.

To increase these two volumes, in addition to improving the mining technology and smelting technology, transportation must also be improved, faster and larger at one-time volume.

Zhao Huan suddenly said, "Sima Qi, I have an idea."

"Please tell me."

"It doesn't matter if you can create some gunpowder that is more powerful than the thunder. I think that I will use gunpowder to bomb iron ore. After the bombing, people will only carry it, so that it will take less time."

Everyone looked at each other and couldn't help but be shocked by the emperor's bold idea.

In their concept, gunpowder is used for war, and there is no idea that too much iron ore is linked.

When the emperor woke up like this, everyone instantly felt that this was feasible.

Sima Qi said: "This is simple, you just need to increase the amount of gunpowder."

"Okay, so, you and Chen Gui will create a gunpowder for me specifically for mining iron ore. I will ask the Ministry of Industry to arrange people to go to the iron ore to detonate."

"Abide by the order!"

"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. For the New Year, my royal chefs should have arrived too." Zhao Huan smiled heartily, "Everyone will go with me to have a few drinks to warm up."

Everyone said, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Zhao Huan felt that he was so busy and fulfilling, and many of his ideas were realized step by step.

However, the most important thing is now just starting to speed up.

Steam engine!

This thing is a must-have for the Industrial Revolution. Without it, trains cannot run away, ships cannot drive, and planes cannot get on the sky.

Let’s not talk about entering the industrial age.

In fact, ancient China had already mastered the principle of steam-like engines, but it was not cast with steel, nor did it think of it in industry.

So, this matter is not difficult to deal with. Just Zhao Huan needs to click. The people of the Academy of Sciences should understand it soon.

The emperor walked in front and suddenly said to Sima Qi again: "Sima Aiqing, do you think why can Kongming lanterns fly to the sky?"

I have become accustomed to the emperor's wild brains, and the people of the Academy of Sciences are no longer surprised.

Sima Qi replied truthfully: "Your Majesty, the fire in Kongming lanterns will burn the surrounding void. Once this void is burned, a kind of qi will be produced. This qi will not only expand, but will also become lighter, and will naturally keep the Kongming lantern upwards."

Zhao Huan couldn't help but be surprised. It seemed that the ancients knew a lot, and they didn't know why.

The emperor smiled and said, "No wonder Shi Ziming asked you to write the study of matter for him. Sima Aiqing has a deep study of the study of matter."

"Your Majesty praised you, and I have also been inspired by reading "Mengxi Bitan".

"Oh, Shen Kuo?"

"Yes, your Majesty."

Sima Qi said again: "In fact, the fire ignited the lead wire in the cannon chamber. The lead wire ignited the gunpowder, causing a blast, which instantly burned the void and produced a very powerful impact force."

The emperor couldn't help but nodded, and he said again: "Sima Beloved, I have something else to do."

"Please tell me."

"You said that this was impacted by the scorching void, which pushed the gunpowder from the iron cannon to explode. Can this impact be used in other aspects, such as a rotor, such as a carriage..."

Sima Qi was stunned for a moment, and Chen Gui was stunned for the same.

They all knew that the emperor had many strange thoughts in his mind, but they did not expect so many.

He actually thought about using the impact force generated by the scorching heat to drive the wheel or carriage?

Seeing everyone confused, Zhao Huan said, "What? Can't you do it?"

"No, no, your Majesty, theoretically, is feasible, but I need to think carefully about how to use it."

Zhao Huan continued to look like he didn't understand anything and said, "Well, I won't say much. You can think about it yourself. Two months is enough. I will give you two months to make something for me. I won't explain what it is. According to my imagination just now, I will make something for me."

"Abide by the order!"

With the emperor's prompt, Sima Qi began to walk on the road of the steam engine.
Chapter completed!