Nie Chen smiled and said,
"I just improved the quenching process to make the pig iron harder.
Unfortunately, the temperature was not reached and steel could not be made.
The temperature of the charcoal is still too low.
After a while, I get coal, build a blower, and improve all the furnaces, so I can smelt steel. "
"Steel...what is it?"
The leader asked without changing his expression, his attitude was very humble, and he had the demeanor of not being ashamed to ask questions.
Weng Qiuchan also pricked up her ears, but her appearance remained cold and indifferent.
Nie Chen secretly smiled. For this biological father and daughter, the daughter is not as big as her father. She is still too thin-skinned. She is obviously very interested, but she has held back until now and has not asked a question.
"An object harder than this black iron."
"Tougher than this knife?"
The headmaster's expression changed, and his eyes became increasingly fiery.
He was keenly aware of the business opportunities contained in this.
"Yes, you are the master, but making steel requires a lot of energy. It takes two pounds of iron to make one pound of steel.
This is what I think. Let's expand production and divide the forged weapons into two grades, namely black iron and steel.
We keep the weapons made of fine steel for our own use, recruit soldiers, and arm our own troops.
We can sell weapons made of black iron. In today's world, there is war and chaos, the imperial power is weakened, the four kings are divided, and the princes have risen together. Even a small county can disobey the court's orders.
When the major forces attack each other, they will definitely need a lot of weapons.
Just imagine, those knives made of pig iron in the past would break after a few rounds of fighting on the battlefield. Soldiers had to use broken knives, broken guns, or even teeth and fists to fight the enemy.
What if a force buys our weapons? As soon as the armies of the two sides came into contact, all the weapons on the opposite side were broken. The soldiers and horses using our weapons continued to wield their swords to kill the enemy.
I'm afraid the enemy on the other side will be defeated immediately.
Master, this is an epoch-making weapon that can determine the outcome of the war. "
Nie Chen's current appearance is very much like a modern weapons dealer.
The headmaster looked at the knife in his hand with deep eyes. After digesting Nie Chen's words, he nodded, then shook his head and said,
"This repeating crossbow of yours can be mass-produced. After all, it only requires wood, tendons and a small amount of iron. But swords and armor are too difficult.
As you just said, refining these requires a lot of coal.
However, there are only some coal mines and iron mines in the west, and the output is not high. To send them to our side is a long way, the cost is high, and the volume is not large enough to support an industry as big as you mentioned.
If we spend a lot of money to buy some and arm ourselves, it is still possible, but if we sell in large quantities, it is not enough. "
"Master, your family is sitting on a mountain of gold and you don't even know it."
Nie Chen smiled mysteriously and said,
"You may not have studied these things, so you just don't know about them. On the hilltop east of our Qingfeng Mountain, when I came back yesterday, I picked up several pieces of iron ore. They are still in my room now.
According to my estimation, there is no small amount of ore contained in that mountain and its surroundings, and it must be a rich mine.
And usually, iron mines are likely to be accompanied by coal mines. As long as we dig down, we will definitely be able to dig out coal.
By then, we will have coal and iron ores, and we will have the technology. Once things are made and sold, we will be able to continue to expand scale and production, and become the master of the country. It will be difficult for you not to be rich by then. "
"Oh, I remembered."
Da Zhuang slammed the armrest and said,
"Yesterday you picked up a few broken rocks and said they were more valuable than silver. That's iron ore, right?"
"Yes, those are the ones. As long as we can mine them, we are guaranteed to make a lot of money. Let alone tens of thousands of taels of silver, it will be hundreds of thousands of taels or millions of taels. It is also a matter of time."
Old God Nie Chen said calmly.
Da Zhuang frowned when he heard this and said,
"But salt, iron, and coal are exclusively owned by the imperial court, and private trading is not allowed. This is a crime of beheading."
Nie Chen sneered and said,
"Brother, look at the clothes on your body. You are a bandit. Robbery and murder are the crimes of beheading. These crimes are more, no less, and no less. Being a bandit is just for fun with your head in your belt.
What's more, the court? Can the imperial ban still be issued in the imperial capital now? If the court's words are still effective, will there be so many people who support the army and respect themselves?
Da Zhuang, put away your thoughts when you were a soldier. You are now a bandit, a bandit who commits all kinds of crimes by killing people and stealing goods! "
"Oh, you're right, he's a bandit now."
Nie Chen's words were so shocking that Da Zhuang suddenly woke up. Suddenly, Da Zhuang stood up abruptly and his expression changed drastically.
"How do you know I was a soldier?"
"Dazhuang, sit down."
The headmaster waved his hand, then looked at Nie Chen and said slowly,
"What you said makes sense, but have you ever thought about one question? You are doing business with a warlord. What is a warlord? A man who respects his troops. Soldiers are the most dangerous weapon of the country.
People know that you have coal and iron mines here, so why don't they bring troops to destroy you and occupy the mines themselves, but instead use money to do business with you? "
He originally thought that Nie Chen would be able to solve this problem, but Nie Chen did not panic at all and said leisurely,
"As I said before, those who dare to do arms business need to be strong enough. We must be strong enough so that those people dare not bully us and can only do business honestly.
Of course, we definitely can't do it in the early stage, but we are also small, so as long as we do it in a hidden way, we won't attract too much attention from others.
Moreover, we need to find a reliable buyer in the early stage. This buyer must be rich and powerful, and must have soldiers. He must also trust us and not send troops to attack us.
I'll leave this matter to you, the boss. I believe that with your connections, you can definitely do it. "
"Me? I'm just a little bandit leader. Do you think those big warlords who have made kings and marquises like me will like me?"
The boss sneered.
However, Nie Chen did not laugh, but said meaningfully,
"No, you can definitely do it, General Weng."
As soon as Nie Chen said this, the atmosphere in the entire Juyi Hall suddenly dropped to freezing point.
Da Zhuang and Weng Qiuchan stood up suddenly, widened their eyes, and looked at Nie Chen in disbelief.
Looking at their posture, as long as the master gives the order, the two of them can kill Nie Chen immediately.
After all, the boss was stable enough. After looking at Nie Chen for a while, he burst into laughter.
"Okay, but I underestimated you, the second boss. Not only is he capable, but he also has eyesight. If you find out my identity, you should dare to tell me and have the courage."
