Chapter 323 The cost is less than 10% of the glutinous rice mortar
"It's not a new way."
Fang Jue smiled when he heard the words and suddenly remembered something: "I heard that someone once read a book about me and said that I was guilty of privately casting armor in Liangzhou?"
Zhuge Qingshan: "It's just a villain's heart. You don't have to worry about it, young master. That's what officials are like. If you get angry, I'm afraid it will end up being a villain's heart."
"The old chief assistant is really brave, I am not as good as him." Fang Jue said.
Those who dare to read me, find an opportunity to see how I disgust you.
However, Fang Jue didn't really take it seriously, otherwise he wouldn't have mentioned it to his chief assistant.
"Huh?" Zhuge Qingshan asked suspiciously, "Young Master mentioned this matter. Could it be that the new way to make money has something to do with it?"
Fang Jue nodded: "I cast stone armor in Liangzhou. I used the eating method and needed a new creation called cement."
"cement?"
Zhuge Qingshan suddenly became interested: "I have heard about this. When the Xuanjian Division reported to Your Majesty, I happened to also hear it in the Imperial Study Room."
There was no need to cover up the matters investigated by the Xuanjian Division. Fang Jue had known about it for a long time, and it was he who had instructed Ye Hongyi to send the letter to the emperor.
Once this kind of good thing is brought out, there is no need to cover it up. Only when it is recognized openly can it be used.
"I wonder what kind of good thing this cement is?" Zhuge Qingshan only knew a name and did not ask about the specific details.
Taking this opportunity, we can learn the details.
"Do you know, first assistant, what materials are used to bond the bricks and stones when constructing large buildings nowadays?" Fang Jue asked rhetorically.
"Of course it's glutinous rice mortar. I've been renovating my home recently and saw a craftsman making this. It's really very effective. I heard from the craftsman that the ancient buildings on the city walls all use this stuff, but the formula is slightly different."
Fang Jue nodded: "Glutinous rice mortar is indeed very useful."
"But the cement produced below has more advantages."
Fang Jue said: "Sir, do you know how much glutinous rice was used to make glutinous rice mortar for the city wall alone when Jinling City was built?"
Zhuge Qingshan shook his head and smiled: "I don't know, but the Ministry of Industry should have archives."
"There is no need to check. I know that when Jinling was built, more than 100,000 kilograms of glutinous rice was consumed for every two miles of city wall."
"What?!" Zhuge Qingshan had no idea before, but when he suddenly heard this data, his eyes widened.
Fang Jue sipped his tea and said calmly: "This is still the case when no one is corrupt."
"This..." Zhuge Qingshan took a deep breath, and he suddenly understood something, "No wonder His Majesty has repeatedly proposed to repair the city wall, but he has been rejected by Yan Shangshu many times."
It has been hundreds of years since Jinling was built, and maintenance costs a lot of money.
It can be protected again, but eventually time will be cruel and defects will appear in many places, requiring extensive repairs.
The emperor mentioned many times that the walls of the capital city were in tatters. It represented the dignity of Daxia, and foreign envoys would laugh when they saw it.
But the actual situation is that the Ministry of Accounts has no money to repair it.
We can only do conservative maintenance and dare not start the project.
A two-mile city wall requires 100,000 kilograms of glutinous rice, which is more than a thousand taels of silver. This is just the adhesive, other materials are more expensive.
Coupled with the manpower, after a lot of reconstruction, every two miles of land will cost seven to eight thousand taels from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development?
The city wall of Jinling is more than seventy miles long...
Who dares to say this?
"Then, Young Master's cement?" Zhuge Qingshan's eyes lit up, "Can it save money?"
"The cost of cement is low. Every two miles of city wall only costs less than one hundred taels." Fang Jue said conservatively.
In fact, we can make a half-way discount, but the current technology is not perfect enough and cost control still has a long way to go, so Fang Jue said it would be more conservative.
"What!?" Zhuge Qingshan suddenly stood up and stared into Fang Jue's eyes, "Young Master is not trying to trick me, right?"
It was hard to accept and very shocking at the same time.
But when Zhuge Qingshan thought about it, he realized that what Fang Jue said was true, because the interest rates on the previous fireworks and glass were all astonishing.
Cement seems to be more reasonable.
Less than one-tenth the cost of glutinous rice mortar!
Too exaggerated.
"Don't be shocked, Sir Shofu. I haven't finished speaking yet. Cement needs to be used in conjunction with other materials to effectively replace glutinous rice mortar."
"The cost still needs to be considered twice. At least every two miles of city wall and adhesive made of cement still cost two to three hundred taels." Fang Jue said regretfully.
If it were not for the temporary inability to control costs and limited technology, this price could still be lowered.
"Two or three hundred taels?"
Zhuge Qingshan couldn't sit still anymore, and immediately came over and grabbed Fang Jue's wrist:
"Let's go, young master, follow me into the palace!"
Fang Jue was pulled to his feet and laughed: "What are you doing, old chief assistant?"
"Go to the palace and report this to Your Majesty. This cement factory should be built immediately. Any delay for a moment will be detrimental to the national economy and people's livelihood!"
Zhuge Qingshan said seriously: "Young Master has such a treasure, why didn't you tell me earlier? Then you don't have to leave the palace. You can also ask your Majesty for lunch."
Ha ha.
Fang Jue was laughed at by the old man. He wanted to take the opportunity to enter the palace and enjoy His Majesty's lunch.
This is a good reason.
"It's not necessary today. I have ordered the chefs in the mansion to show off their skills and prepare a table of delicacies to entertain you. It will never be inferior to a palace banquet." Fang Jue patted the back of Zhuge Qingshan's hand, pulled him back, and sat him down.
.
Being forced to sit down by Fang Jue, Zhuge Qingshan's mood eased a little, and he thought: "Just in time, this Jiangnan water conservancy project will probably use a lot of glutinous rice mortar, and cement can just reduce a lot of costs!"
"Young Master, this is really a treasure... But, does it really have such a miraculous effect?"
Zhuge Qingshan remained skeptical.
It's so cheap that people can't believe it and subconsciously suspect there's something wrong with it.
His anti-fraud awareness was pretty good, Fang Jue chuckled to himself.
"Don't worry, sir. I won't disappoint you. It's just that the Chinese New Year is coming soon. Let's talk about it after the new year... The projects in Jiangnan won't start in early spring, at least not until March."
Fang Jue said: "When His Majesty makes a copy and starts the court, after the sixteenth year, you can write a letter to report this matter. At that time, it will be in the name of the Ministry of Industry."
"Isn't it the Ministry of Husbandry?" Zhuge Qingshan said, "Young Master promised Yan Shangshu to provide financial resources for the Ministry of Husbandry?"
"Now that I am in charge of the Ministry of Industry, I naturally have to consider the Ministry of Industry. The Ministry of Industry controls the cement, and the Ministry of Household Affairs is responsible for marketing... Shangshu Yan will be satisfied."
Zhuge Qingshan: "Then I can rest assured..."
"It seems that the young master is really well prepared," Zhuge Qingshan said slowly, "New grain, gunpowder, glass, cement... How much preparation did the young master make in Emperor Zun Pavilion?"
Zhuge Qingshan couldn't help but be surprised. He really admired them. These things seemed to be miraculous and ingenious, but their practicality had to be respected as top quality.
Being able to come up with so many things in a short period of time was definitely not something that was done in the capital.
Emperor Zun Pavilion must have strong support behind it, otherwise how could so many epoch-making creations appear at the same time within half a year.
"Lord Chief Assistant will see it." Fang Jue didn't say much. He had to reveal the hole cards one by one. No one would hold a handful of open cards when playing cards.
"Well..." Zhuge Qingshan smiled and said, "I am looking forward to it."
"There is one more thing," Zhuge Qingshan remembered, and the other thing he really wanted to ask when he came to consult today is, "Your Majesty has ordered the cabinet, together with the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War, to ask the officials of Shuang, Han, Lin, Tu and other four states. Dispatch with the garrison and draft a detailed plan and list..."