Changsun Wuji had not yet realized the seriousness of the matter. After all, it was just the beginning. But in just the next few days, Changsun Wuji completely realized that the first thing was that in their store, except for non-registered households, All the master craftsmen and apprentice craftsmen ran away.
The rest of the people can build their own. As for selling... Let’s not talk about the cost. At least you will lose as much as you build. The second thing is that he found out that Cheng Yaojin’s blacksmith shop is also selling it like Li Ke. The price of Quyuan plowshares and related kitchen knives, iron pots and other ironware is only one-third of their selling price.
After a little inquiry, I found out that the pig iron ingots in Cheng Yaojin's house were directly supplied by Li Ke. I don't know the cost and the supply price. However, Cheng Yaojin now maintains a high monthly income while also selling These pig iron ingots meant that the price Li Ke gave him was definitely profitable.
This also means another thing. Li Ke still has the ability to sell pig iron ingots externally.
Changsun Wuji was completely silent. This move... had no solution. It's not like the method of "Datang Weekly" that makes them give up without any solution, but from the beginning to the end... from the commercial means to make them have no solution.
They directly monopolized all the buyer's market, and no people came to buy things from them. This was one, and the other was that he could guess that Li Ke would cut off their sales channels to the official.
If Li Ke continued to sell the pig iron ingots used by the Tang Dynasty official to prepare armor at the price sold to Cheng Yaojin, what would he have to fight for? Can't Datang officials buy his iron ore at a loss? impossible.
If he dares to say this, he is waiting to die.
When the new issue of "Datang Weekly" was on sale, the news above made Changsun Wuji's heart sink even more. In the past few days, Chang'an City actually set off a wave of purchasing craze. People usually knew that Li Ke After seeing the selling price of iron items in the blacksmith shop, everyone rushed to buy iron items, whether it was kitchen knives or other items.
Because these iron tools are unprecedentedly cheap, the people are simple at heart, and they are afraid that the price of iron tools will rise in the future.
However, in the new issue of "Datang Weekly", Li Ke used his own name to ask the people not to rush to buy these ironware, but to consider the situation of their own homes before purchasing, and to ensure that within the next three years, In the name of His Highness the King of Qin, the price of ironware will never increase!
This guarantee has shown that... the cost of smelting pig iron in Li Ke's hands is definitely much lower than theirs, otherwise Li Ke would suffer such a loss even if he had a gold mountain! There is only one explanation, that is, Li Ke has a better way to make iron, which greatly reduces his smelting costs.
Even if he sells ironware at the current price, Li Ke will make a profit!
At present, there is only this possibility. Just thinking about this possibility, Changsun Wuji feels a little powerless, because there is really no way to deal with this? Want to find a way to get the smelting method from Li Ke?
Stop making trouble, it's impossible. Their eldest son's family had mastered the most advanced iron-making technology in the Tang Dynasty before. Did their eldest son's family popularize it to others? No.
If you ask Li Ke to take it out at this time, are you being shameless? If being shameless can solve the problem, his old face, Changsun Wuji, will no longer be there. The problem is that even if he is shameless, this matter cannot be achieved!
The most important thing now is that although Li Ke has raised the monthly income of the people around him,... he may not lose money but still make money, because for the people, ironware is something they must buy, one piece every seven days The 20% discount coupon for purchasing ironware means that the monthly money these people have after working for more than a month will almost all be used to purchase ironware in addition to the food needed to maintain their own lives!
In other words, the monthly money Li Ke sent out finally returned to his hands, and there was still profit!
Everyone in Changsun Wuji is numb!
For now...there is only one way! Changsun Wuji thought about it over and over, and only came up with one move.
Only this trick could make Li Ke hand over the method of making iron, otherwise there would be no way at all.
But for now... the Changsun family's iron mine and blacksmith shop can only be closed. This method is called death and rebirth. As for whether to die after death or rebirth, the choice is not up to Changsun Wuji. On the body.
Just do whatever you want. Now that Changsun Wuji has made the decision, he goes directly to see Li Shimin. This matter must go through Li Shimin.
As for what he said when he met Li Shimin, no one knows, but after Changsun Wuji met Li Shimin, Li Shimin informed Li Ke to go to court tomorrow.
Although Li Ke didn't know why he was asked to go to court, and he didn't know what Changsun Wuji said to Li Shimin, but Li Shimin only asked Li Ke to go to court after Changsun Wuji came to see him, so this matter must be related to the recent incident. Iron has something to do with it.
Iron can be said to be the most important weapon of the Tang Dynasty, so if Sun Wuji, the eldest son, could guess something about this news and turn a deaf ear to Li Shimin, it would make sense for Li Shimin to ask him to go to court.
As for what Changsun Wuji wants to play, Li Ke doesn't care. As far as Changsun's family is concerned, they are hopeless and just waiting to die.
The next day, Li Ke went to court on time. Obviously many people had been notified that Li Ke was going to go to court today, but no one had any special expressions, because today was a direct duel between Changsun Wuji and Li Ke, and everything was at stake. Tang’s ironware, so no one wanted to get involved.
"I have something to report." Changsun Wuji stood up immediately after going to court.
"Ai Qing, please speak." Li Shimin nodded.
"Your Majesty, the price of ironware in Chang'an City has dropped sharply recently. This is a good thing that benefits the country and the people. However, after I asked the blacksmith and related craftsmen in my house, I found that the plow weighing about 3 kilograms was refined and made in my house. The cost of the first 900 wen is already the limit, but His Highness the King of Qin’s shop can reduce the selling price to 300 Wen, presumably His Highness the King of Qin must have brand new smelting technology.”
"But my blacksmith shop can no longer operate, so I want to close the blacksmith shop. In addition, 80% of the pig iron in my name is sold to the court. Considering that His Highness the King of Qin may have better smelting technology, in order to save Regarding the cost of the imperial court, I think that perhaps the imperial court can purchase directly from His Highness the King of Qin, so I also want to shut down the iron mine." Changsun Wuji started directly.
Changsun Wuji's words made Li Ke narrow his eyes. This old Yin man actually committed suicide today?
Here I want to talk about the iron ore operation in Datang. Although the iron ore in Datang is allowed to be operated by private parties, a 20% iron tax is levied. That is to say, if you mine 100 kilograms of iron ore, you will have to hand over 20 kilograms of iron. Give the ore to the court, and the rest is yours.
The iron ore in the official iron smelting workshops of the imperial court basically comes from the imperial own-operated iron mines, as well as iron ore handed over by private iron mines in various places.
In addition, the imperial court also purchased some pig iron directly from private blacksmiths. For example, in addition to the iron ore handed over by the Changsun family, after smelting, 70% to 80% of the remaining iron ore was sold to to the Tang Dynasty.
This can be regarded as a benefit from Li Shimin to the eldest son's family, because the court will definitely reserve a part of the profit when purchasing.
Although Changsun's blacksmith shop was forced by Li Ke to sell out, mainly because there was no one to smelt it, he could still sell iron ore to the court, but he chose to commit suicide.
