After the dispersion of the dynasty, Yan Lanfeng did not want to leave. The emperor saw his thoughts and kept him to discuss matters.
Seeing this, Zhuge Qingshan also came shamelessly.
"After all, what do you want to say?" Xiao Pingsi asked.
Yan Lanfeng said: "Your Majesty, I want to set up a fireworks bureau under the name of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and all the income will go directly to the national treasury..."
"Do you want to be completely state-owned, like salt and iron?" Xiao Pingsi was surprised, "Does Mr. Fang agree?"
If it all goes into the national treasury, this is a state-owned business, so the profit from it will not be that big.
Even if it is divided into 10%, I am afraid it will be much less than the private sector.
Yan Lanfeng sighed: "This is exactly what Mr. Fang meant. The young master only brought out the fireworks for the Ministry of Household Affairs. I talked to the young master yesterday and he didn't care at all."
"Furthermore, Your Majesty, the fireworks business must be state-run. Any private interference is inappropriate."
Zhuge Qingshan was confused: "What does Yan Shangshu mean by this?"
Xiao Pingsi also waited curiously for the answer.
Yan Lanfeng hissed and said: "Because... the profits are really terrifying!"
"How much profit can there be? Is it more profitable than salt and iron?" Xiao Pingsi smiled and waved his hands in disbelief.
Today's salt is all sea salt, and the mining cost is less than two cents per catty; salt merchants who wholesale the salt from the production areas charge at least five cents per catty; and when salt is sold to governments at all levels, it costs at least fifty cents per catty!
And this is still relatively ordinary salt. For those refined salts or additional varieties, the profits are even more terrifying.
This profit of more than ten times, even if the labor consumption in the process is included, is still terrifying.
It is not an exaggeration to say that one can make a fortune.
Every year, the official salt revenue alone and the private salt tax revenue from franchises exceed 20 million taels of silver!
Therefore, salt and iron have always been government-run since ancient times, because the profits are too great and the country cannot throw away these revenues.
These state-owned commodities are the bulk of tax revenue!
Therefore, for the emperor, he did not believe that there was any commodity that could surpass the profit of salt and iron.
But next, Yan Lanfeng will break his cognition.
"Last night, Master Zhuge was also present. I later discussed with the young master. He said that he earned more than 1,320 taels of silver last night."
Xiao Pingsi's eyes lit up. He was not a lofty god and knew the meaning of this number.
"How much is the capital?"
"Two..." Yan Lanfeng was at a loss for words.
"Two hundred taels?" Xiao Pingsi was a little surprised, but remained calm, "It's considered a huge profit, but compared to salt and iron, it's still too little."
Seeing Yan Lanfeng's behavior, Zhuge Qingshan immediately glared: "Is it possible that the capital is only twenty taels?"
Yan Lanfeng stretched his eyebrows and thought it would be better not to say it all at once, lest the chief minister would be shocked to death.
Xiao Pingsi couldn't sit still at this time, stood up and said: "The cost is only twenty taels?"
Then the profit is more than fifty times!
How is this possible!
Seeing this, Yan Lanfeng's eyebrows moved slightly: "Exactly..."
He did not intend to tell the truth. The cost of two taels was too unacceptable and would not be conducive to subsequent pricing.
Therefore, Yan Lanfeng planned to repeat the same trick, hiding it from the emperor and the chief minister, and he would not be afraid when the matter came to light and was discovered.
Because Yan Lanfeng has also made an account, Mr. Fang mines some of the raw materials himself and uses his own servants, so there is no cost.
If we wait for the official establishment, mass production of various things will definitely require manpower and material resources... Then there seems to be nothing wrong with paying a little more for yourself, right?
And the profit of fifty times is scary enough.
The worst thing is, I’ll make another false account...
"This...if this is true, wouldn't it be more profitable than salt and iron?" Xiao Pingsi was overjoyed.
Zhuge Qingshan was also ecstatic, but he quickly calmed down and said: "Your Majesty, the salt and iron are necessary for daily life, and the quantity is huge, so the profit is terrifying. But fireworks are not for everyone to enjoy. Only noble families have spare money, so the size should be
It’s no match for salt and iron.”
"What Master Zhuge said is absolutely true." Yan Lanfeng nodded, and he did not smile stupidly.
The fireworks business is very profitable, but it's the money of rich people. It's hard to say how much it can make.
As for salt, everyone has to use it. Although the price is not very high, the quantity is so large that it is difficult to estimate.
To sum up, as long as those rich people are not stupid, they will still be unable to compare with the profits of salt.
"Yes, yes, yes..."
Xiao Pingsi also calmed down.
He said: "This is a good thing after all. I have decided on the Fireworks Bureau. The Ministry of Household Affairs should take care of it. It is best to make these fireworks a major source of income for the national treasury. Mr. Fang's hard work will not be in vain."
"I obey!" Yan Lanfeng retired happily.
After he left, Zhuge Qingshan said: "Your Majesty, the young master will really surprise us."
"Yes... Thanks to the young master, we can't see the results this year, but starting from next year our Xia Kingdom will definitely be more prosperous and powerful!" Xiao Pingsi said confidently.
"Your Majesty, I always feel that Young Master seems to know everything, and his knowledge is like a bottomless pit... I wonder what good things he will come up with..."
When the two met each other, they both felt like they had received divine help.
Xiao Pingsi came over, took Zhuge Qingshan's arm and said: "Sir, you and I, the monarch and the ministers, work together, and with Mr. Fang's power, we will surely shine in the annals of history for generations to come!"
"I, I am willing to do my best for Da Xia!" Zhuge Qingshan said in greeting.
…
The fireworks bureau is still in preparation, but the musketry bureau has been established.
Fang Jue didn't interfere at all. The emperor asked him to choose people, but he didn't care about it at all.
Full authority was given to Mo Yuan, the Xuanjian Division and the Ministry of Industry and Accounts Department, and they just said that they would be involved when the business opened, and they did not want to manage every detail.
This was also his attitude, telling the emperor to tell the officials that he did not want to control the Musket Bureau.
However, the Musket Bureau still needs Fang Jue to provide technical guidance, but there is no need for him to be busy until the Yamen is completed and the factory is set up.
And this was one of the reasons why Fang Jue fired King Qin.
Next, Fang Jue will be busy with various practical matters and probably won't have time to take care of King Qin's studies.
Hearing that King Qin was banned from studying, Fang Jue did not plead for mercy. This prince was indeed a bit too arrogant and dared to interfere in affairs that only the prince could supervise. The emperor did not give him a direct assignment to the vassal, which was already regarded as his favor.
Transgression is intolerable to any boss in any era.
Especially, it was at the core of imperial power.
Fang Jue didn't know when King Qin would be released, because he no longer needed to care too much about who the next emperor would be.
Xiao Pingsi's talents exceeded Fang Jue's imagination. It can be said that getting along with such a king is relaxed and pleasant.
I'm afraid the next emperor won't be so easy to get along with.
This is also the reason why Fang Jue has been making a lot of moves recently. He plans to invest all his energy in His Majesty.
It is really rare for an emperor to tolerate the Ministry of Accounts making false accounts.
It doesn't matter whether he does all this to pretend to be a virtuous person or if he really does it.
As long as he keeps acting like this, it doesn't matter what's true or false.
"First make your belly rich, then make yourself rich, and then strengthen your army to conquer the world..."
Fang Jue wrote his plan in his study and burned it.
Gaining the emperor's trust is a short-term goal. After achieving it, Fang Jue will continue to show what he can replicate in this era.
Fortunately, he had read a few books before.
"Barefoot Doctor Handbook", "Militia Training Tutorial", "Friends of Military and Civilian Talents", "Farmland Water Conservancy Handbook"...
I heard people jokingly say that if you learn these things, you can conquer any era, but I didn't expect that they would actually come in handy.
"Master, we have a visitor." Noriichi was outside the door and suddenly knocked on the door.
Fang Jue packed up his things and walked out: "Who is coming?"
"Xia Song, Minister of the Ministry of War."
"Bingbu?" Fang Jue was a little surprised, "What is he here for?"
There seems to be no dispute between you and the Ministry of War?
Living room.
"Young Master, the Musket Bureau manufactures ordnance and should be under the jurisdiction of our Ministry of War. Why is it under the yamen of the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Household Affairs?"
Fang Jue smiled: "It has been many days since the decree was issued. Why did Lord Xia Song come to ask me today?"
"And you shouldn't ask me, you should ask His Majesty."
It's not my order.
"I...didn't the Young Master suggest it?" Xia Song said displeased.
Fang Juedao: "I didn't suggest it. I just asked the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Household Affairs to mobilize manpower, plus the Forbidden Army and the Xuanjian Department to send people... By the way, your Ministry of War will not provide people or money, and you can also get ordnance afterwards.
, what’s your dissatisfaction?”
"this……"
Xia Song was stunned.
How could he not understand this?
Your Ministry of War has nothing to offer, and you can still benefit from it afterwards. It would be a bit greedy for you to accept it before it is better.
If it were someone else, Fang Jue would not have such a harsh attitude.
In fact, it was Xia Song who spoke in a wrong tone, as if he was here to ask for guilt.
"According to the laws and regulations related to ordnance production, our Ministry of War should be involved in the Musket Bureau. How can we exclude our Ministry of War?"
Fang Jue smiled: "Master Xia has known the news for a long time, why did he come to ask today if he knew something... Who is so bold and dares to reveal the secrets of new ordnance to you?"
Xia Song was startled and did not dare to answer casually. After thinking about it carefully, he said:
"Young Master's words are serious. Who dares to leak the secret? It's just that Bai Qing was injured by you. This matter has already been spread..."
The Ministry of War originally didn't care about the new ordnance, but when they heard that Bai Qing was seriously injured by that thing, Xia Song realized what the Ministry of War had missed.
However, the decree has been made for a long time. If we raise objections at this time, all parties will not make things easier for the Ministry of War.
Therefore, Xia Song came to Fangjiazhuang, hoping that Fang Jue could mediate for the Ministry of War.
