A certain prince opened an oil refinery to make money, not to alleviate poverty. If he wanted to alleviate poverty, he could just build a new city. ,
Everyone in the refinery receives high wages. If we don't make money from refined oil products, are we waiting for money to come from the sky?
That's the truth. Which industry doesn't do this?
The purpose of doing business is to make money. If you can pay taxes according to regulations, you are a conscientious businessman.
If you expect me to give you a special price, you might as well expect your ancestral graves to emit green smoke!
Everyone wants to take advantage of me, so go ahead and dream!
Are you going to be satisfied if I sell a barrel of refined oil and I have to pay you fifty taels of silver? ? ?
"I wonder how much fuel this airship requires for one flight?"
Li Shiwen had already guessed that the airship was a costly weapon, but he just hoped it wasn't too expensive, otherwise the Ministry of Finance wouldn't be able to afford it.
"Please ask Dean Song to explain it to Li Aiqing!"
A certain prince didn't know much about the data in this area, but he had relevant experts, and it would be more convincing to tell it to Dean Song.
"Da Situ, the airship needs to consume at least two barrels of fuel for one flight from heating and inflating on the ground to taking off and landing."
Song Yingxing had not been here long, but he already knew from the prince's mouth that the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance was a very stingy master. Even though the weapons in the immortal world cost a lot of money to fly, he still had to tell the truth.
"Two barrels are one hundred taels of silver. If twenty airships take off at the same time, it will cost two thousand taels of silver!"
Li Shiwen made such a calculation and told the result, which shocked the civil and military officials of the court.
You need so much money at one time. If you fly every day, wouldn't it cost hundreds of thousands of taels of silver a year?
The fuel cost for one year alone is equivalent to the entire purchase cost. The cost of use is so expensive that everyone is stunned.
"Li Aiqing, the airship is a flying weapon. It is the only one in the world. No country except me, the Ming Dynasty, has ever owned it. Its strategic value is unparalleled. Its value cannot be measured simply by the cost of silver. If The Donglu have this thing, but I, the Ming Dynasty, don't have it. I'm afraid that the court will try its best to shoot it down, right? This is the value of the airship! If we export the Western Yi allies in the future, we can easily recover this part of the cost. No need to worry, my dear."
Of course, high-tech weapons are very expensive. If you expect high-tech weapons to be powerful and low-cost, please go ahead and develop them yourself.
Once you have developed it, as long as you sell it at twice the cost price, a certain prince will buy as many as you make. What a bargain.
"Your Highness, this thing is unique to our Ming Dynasty. How can we easily buy it from Xiyi?"
When Wang Jiayan, the Minister of War, heard that the prince wanted to sell the airship to foreign countries, he was immediately unhappy and expressed his firm opposition to this proposal. At any time, the airship cannot be sold to other countries, regardless of distance.
"I agree with what Grand Sima said, this thing is an important weapon of the country and must not be sold to other countries!"
Wang Zhang, the right minister of the Ministry of War, also came out to support Wang Jiayan's point of view. The airship had just been built, and it would be too childish for the prince to plan to sell such a magical weapon to the Western Yi.
"His Royal Highness previously ordered Zhenhaibo Zheng Zhilong to attack Dongfan Island, which was occupied by the Western Yi. If he sells the airship to the Western Yi, wouldn't it help increase the Western Yi's military strength? Your Highness must not act like this!"
Lu Zhenfei, the Minister of Medicine, also wanted to stop the prince's plan. He was determined not to sell the airship to the enemies of the Ming Dynasty, as it would be used by the enemies to fight back. ,
"Is this what you all think?"
A certain prince smiled and looked at the people below who were eager to try, and even planned to come out to support these three idiots.
""
Everyone didn't know the reason, let alone what the little prince was thinking. Logically speaking, the prince was smart and would definitely not make such a stupid mistake, so they couldn't act rashly and could only wait and see what happened.
"Enter the court and bring up the maps of the Western Yi countries!"
"Slave, you obey!"
Yang Jinchao finally found some sense of presence. He happily called two chamberlains and clamped a huge map of Europe on a board. After clamping it, he ordered the chamberlains to put the board up for the courtiers to see.
"I would like to introduce to you the situation in Europe for your understanding. The war in Europe started in 161, which is the forty-sixth year of Wanli reign of our dynasty, and has been going on till now. It has lasted twenty-one years. For a long time. Currently France, Britain, Sweden, and the Netherlands are on one side, and Spain, Germany, and Austria are on the other side. I see in the fairy world that the two camps are still fighting fiercely. At present, Spain has been defeated by France in the naval battle. France The allied forces with Sweden also had the upper hand in the land battle, but they had not yet turned their advantage into victory. This is like our Warring States Period, when France was the State of Qin, Spain was the State of Qi, Germany was the State of Zhao, Austria was the State of Chu, and Sweden It is the State of Wei, the Netherlands is South Korea, and the United Kingdom is the State of Yan. Mr. Tang Ruowang, who served in the Qintian Prison, and many of his colleagues from the West were entrusted by Rome, and Rome supported Spain, Germany, and Austria. It’s the alliance of Qi, Zhao and Chu.”
If you simply tell these idiots about the Thirty Years' War in Western Europe, you will probably be wrong in nine out of ten cases, and you can only apply the local situation during the Warring States Period.
I had communicated with Lao Tang before, and the information possessed by a certain prince could not help but impress the armed warlock, and he also developed a strong interest in airships.
A certain prince wanted to use airships in exchange for a large number of mercenaries in the hands of the Holy Roman Emperor. The Ming Dynasty could help raise them if they numbered less than 100,000.
Each mercenary only needs to fight in the East for five years before he can retire and return home with a large sum of money. During this period, the money earned will not be less than three hundred taels.
In addition, a certain prince also provides food and accommodation here. With such a large discount, as long as the warlocks who return to Europe publicize it well, they should be able to fool thousands of people.
However, for the ministers in the palace, the awkward name of the Xiyi country was too difficult to remember. It was easier to understand it if it was changed to the Warring States model.
Problems also arise.
On one side is the Three Kingdoms Alliance of Qi, Chu, and Zhao, and on the other half is the Four Kingdoms Alliance of Qin, Wei, Han, and Yan. It seems difficult to determine the outcome, but judging from the prince's tone, it seems that the Four Kingdoms Alliance is going to win.
But Tang Ruowang is from Germany and should be considered a side of the Three Kingdoms Alliance. Should the court also support this side? Many ministers are constantly thinking about it in their hearts.
"I plan to use airship technology in exchange for mercenaries in Germany. The starting number is ten thousand, the more the better. If the number of German mercenaries can reach fifty thousand, they can cooperate with my Ming Dynasty king's division to have a field battle with the Donglu. If the other party comes out If money is needed to purchase, I intend to package and sell airships, mortars and other weapons for a total price of 20 million taels. As long as they can be successfully sold, more than 60% of the imperial court's annual income of taels will be secured."
A certain prince had already planned the next steps when he drew the bound book, and had already reached a verbal agreement with Lao Tang. Lao Tang also asked his colleagues to take a certain prince's autographed letter to Rome.
It is estimated that we should have reached the East Indies by this time. If we go quickly enough, we may have entered the Indian Ocean, and we will reach Rome in another two months at most.
In fact, it would be closer to take the Red Sea, but since the Ottoman Empire is attacking Central Europe from the Balkan Peninsula and threatening the territory of the Habsburg family, this route is relatively difficult to take.
"Your Highness, this method is very good, but what if the Western Yi becomes an enemy of the Ming Dynasty after mastering the method of making airships?"
Li Shiwen was very satisfied with the fact that the new weapons could sell for 20 million taels of silver. It would be better if all of them could be sold in Taicang, the Ministry of Revenue. However, some important things must be asked clearly in advance, especially "turning friends into enemies" ".
"It's easy to solve. Can Li Aiqing remember the fuel just now? This thing is refined from petroleum, but the airship cannot directly use petroleum as fuel. Firstly, the firepower is not strong enough, and secondly, the injector will be burned. As long as the petroleum is refined With the chemical plan in our hands, our Ming Dynasty will be able to gain an invincible position. The relationship between airships and fuel is equivalent to that between a gun and a gun!"
No matter which buyer wants to buy the oil refining technology, with an additional ten million taels of silver, a certain prince can consider packaging and selling the core technology.
With 30 million taels of silver as dog food, the immortal Da Chao should be able to survive for another year. Do you think it is irritating or not?
Ah ha ha ha ha
"Your Highness is wise!"
Li Shiwen also had his stomach full at once. Now he finally understood. It turns out that the secret of the airship lies in the fuel. Without the fuel, the airship is just a decoration and cannot take off at all.
The refining technology is in the hands of the prince alone, and is in charge of the twenty-four yamen. The supervisors are all internal servants, and anyone who leaks it can be denounced without interrogation, so the possibility of leaking the secret is very slim. of.
Twenty million taels of silver!
This price is not low!
At least it was completely acceptable to Li Shiwen.
"My dear friends, you can rest assured that the buying and selling cycle of airships is very long. Just one trip may take up to three years. By then, my Ming Dynasty will have already built a more advanced airship. This basic model will be replaced by Selling it to Xiyi will not pose any threat to you at all, and you can also make a lot of money, or hire a large number of mercenaries to help fight and ensure the safety of the country, why not?"
A certain prince never engages in loss-making business. Everything involving money must be carefully calculated. How can it be possible to cheat money when it involves a business worth tens of millions of taels?
When the more advanced "Wanli Kirov" model is built, the first generation model can be sold to the next owner naturally, and the capital will be earned with profit. In this way, the airship used by Master Wang will cost nothing.
"Your Highness has thought everything carefully, but now I have been abrupt!"
According to what the prince said, it seemed that this was indeed the case. It seemed that he was too impatient, so Lu Zhenfei took the initiative to apologize and no longer supported Wang Jiayan and others.
"I wonder which force among the Western Yi Your Highness wants the court to support?"
It doesn't matter if others don't know. As the Minister of War, Wang Jiayan needs to know this issue, especially when he meets Tang Ruowang. If asked, he can't be choked by the other party.
"Tang Ruowang and others have been of great help to me, the Ming Dynasty, in terms of scientific knowledge. I believe that the Ming Dynasty has always valued civilization and friendship, so we should reciprocate the favor at this critical moment."
If we don't give it a helping hand, the Mud Empire will be defeated by France. When the European War is over, a certain prince will not be able to profit from it.
To be precise, the prince will support whichever side is about to lose. This is what a neutral who pursues fairness should do.
If he had not wanted to obtain a large number of German mercenaries, a certain prince would have supported France's hegemonic cause in Europe, because it did not involve many overseas interests, so the conflict between the two sides would be very small.
The France of "Sun King" Louis XIV was almost besieged by the whole of Europe, and a certain prince lacked such a "foolish country" to attract European firepower!
Now the extremely clever Richelieu is the prime minister, and the Thirty Years War is far from over. It is not easy for France to play the game of one dominant player. It will be easier to handle it after Grandpa Li dies in a few years and his successor Mazarin Mazarin comes up. .
Unlike his conscientious predecessor, this man was particularly greedy for money. After his death, he left an inheritance of 50 million livres, which was more than half of France's tax revenue at the time.
Voltaire believed that this man was a man with mediocre talents but excellent luck. Fortunately, he only lived to be fifty-nine years old, otherwise Louis XIV, who was in power, would not have known what to do with this man.
Since Louis XIV's biological mother Anna was from Austria, Mazarin also wanted the young king to become the Holy Roman Emperor, but this plan did not succeed.
If successful, there is no doubt that the super empire composed of France and Germany will completely trample the Habsburg family under its feet and become the well-deserved overlord of the entire Europe, with a territory only inferior to that of the magnificent Frankish Kingdom.
As long as Mazarin is still the same Mazarin, it will be easy to get what he wants by delivering cakes to the prime minister. A certain prince has already begun to lay out plans for a few years.
If France is really equivalent to the Qin State, then it will be necessary for the Ming Dynasty to implement the "Strategy of Alliance", especially to have France and Spain go to war, thereby bringing down this thing that is hostile to the Ming Dynasty, and paving the way for the Ming fleet to go south to seize Luzon. .
But supporting the Mud Empire was tantamount to helping its ally the Spanish Empire, which meant that the Ming Dynasty had to give up Luzon, one of the main grain-producing areas, which was a bit reluctant to give up.
The monkeys in Annan were difficult to tame. Not long after Chengzu conquered Annan, this place was out of the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty. In comparison, Luzon was easier to swallow.
A certain prince really wanted to get Luzon, but he didn't want to antagonize Spain too much. He wanted to at least get enough rubber trees and cinchona trees from the other side, and then break up.
At present, I haven't thought of a way to get the best of both worlds. I can only take one step at a time. It is impossible to expect the ministers in front of me to give me advice. It is also a bad idea.
"Your Highness has a kind heart. By being courteous and reciprocating in this way, you can show the power of our great country and also be able to make good friends with the Western countries. This is the best strategy!"
Xue Guoguan didn't understand European affairs, but he knew the four-word secret of "yes, right, good, and high". A thousand words from others were not as effective as a flattery of his own.
"Feng Quan, Feng Aiqing!"
Since diplomacy was mentioned, a certain prince could not turn a blind eye to it. He had to give the Ministry of Etiquette some serious work to do, so as not to have to worry about the ceremony lighting up incense all day long.
"I'm here!"
Feng Quan didn't know what the prince meant by calling his name, but he had to look like he was willing to help the king. This was the basic skill of being an errand in the palace. 11
