Chapter 221 Why do you dare to guarantee? Even this king can't guarantee it!
"Xuanba, where did you catch this iron-eating beast? It's so naive. I will send someone to find one someday and keep it in the palace. It will be a cute thing!"
Li Shimin asked quickly.
"What your Majesty said is very reasonable. I, Old Cheng, have to catch two of them to keep my precious daughter company!" Cheng Zhijie couldn't help but grin, his face full of anticipation!
"Your Majesty, Mr. Su Guo, this beast was hungry in winter, so he ran to the glass greenhouse guarded by Cheng Laosi and others, looking for food. I saw that it was young and couldn't bear to starve to death, so I took it away.
Go home and be raised like a family beast!"
Li Xuan explained.
"It was delivered to my door by myself!"
Hearing this, Li Shimin, Cheng Zhijie and others couldn't help but look envious.
After a while, Li Shimin breathed a sigh of relief, looked at Li Xuan again, and said, "Xuanba, you just had any good ideas for the use of cement?"
"Your Majesty, although cement is not like salt and iron, it is related to the foundation of the country!"
Li Xuan said: "However, cement is related to all roads and buildings in the Tang Dynasty, and its importance is no less important than salt and iron!"
"What does Xuanba mean?"
Li Shimin was confused by Li Xuan's words.
One moment it's not important, the next moment it's just as important.
"Your Majesty, salt and steel can be used directly as soon as they are produced. No one dares to cheat on their quality. However, when building roads and houses with cement, there are many opportunities to cut corners!" Li Xuan said again.
"Does Xuanba have any good ideas?"
Li Shimin's expression condensed and he asked quickly.
On the side, Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling and others also quickly looked at Li Xuan. This King of Jin, who is famous for his supernatural power, always has some fantastic ideas.
"Your Majesty, cement production can be handed over to generals as supervisors, but road construction and house construction cannot be left to generals as supervisors!" Li Xuan said.
"His Royal Highness the King of Jin, I will serve as a prisoner and will definitely not engage in such things as cheating, corruption, and corruption!"
Gongsun Nian looked anxious and said quickly.
"Can you guarantee it?"
Li Xuan asked with a chuckle.
"Go back to the King of Jin, and the official will use your head to make sure!" Gongsun Nian looked determined.
"oh?"
Li Xuan couldn't help but sneer, with disdain on his face, "You are just a young general serving as a prisoner. Why can you guarantee it? Even I can't guarantee it!"
"Do you know how beneficial cement is?"
"this?"
Gongsun Nian was stunned, thought for a moment, and said quickly: "Your Highness, you can get five million pounds of cement a year!"
Five million dollars?
Li Shimin and Cheng Zhijie couldn't help but look surprised, so many?
"Hey……"
Li Xuan was dumbfounded and looked at Gongsun Nian in amazement and said: "I will be the prisoner, you are so ignorant! Do you know how cement is fired? Just grind some limestone, clay, and stones into powder, and then mix it with iron to make
The remaining slag is burned together to make cement!”
"It's actually baked like this?"
Suddenly, Gongsun Nian, Li Shimin and others were all surprised.
Limestone, clay and stone are all worthless things. They are scattered all over the mountain. You can get as much as you want.
"So, cement is not valuable at all?" Li Shimin asked hurriedly.
"Exactly!" Li Xuan nodded.
"However, the benefits of cement are huge. Once roads and bridges are built, or even houses are built, it involves the entire Tang Dynasty. If it is fully utilized, cement alone can generate tens of millions of money for Datang!"
"Wan Wan Guan?"
Li Shimin, Changsun Wuji and others couldn't help but take a cold breath.
However, after thinking for a moment, his face became full of doubts.
"I would like to ask His Majesty the King of Jin, if you only use cement to build roads and bridges, this is something that benefits the people, but it cannot make money. But if you only rely on cement to build houses, how can you make tens of millions of dollars a year?" Fang Xuanling
asked.
"Your Majesty and everyone are wrong. Building cement roads does not make money, nor does building houses!"
Li Xuan said: "Actually, the most profitable place is to make money by building roads with cement!"
"Um?"
Li Shimin, Fang Xuanling and others couldn't help but look puzzled.
"Xuanba, how do you make money on roads? Is it possible to collect tolls?"
"Exactly!"
Li Xuan nodded lightly.
Li Shimin's face was filled with astonishment and he shook his head repeatedly, "Isn't this a bandit?"
"Your Majesty, the imperial court hires craftsmen and workers for free and consumes cement to build roads for free. Why can't they charge tolls?" Li Xuan sneered.
"This road was built by me, and this mountain was opened by me. If you want to pass by, why not charge a reasonable toll?"
Moreover, over time, the road built with cement will be damaged due to wind and rain, and the soil will collapse. It will need to be repaired again by the court, right? Is this all money?
Is it possible that the imperial court spent tens of millions of money, but allowed those merchants’ convoys to travel on it for free?”
"Your Highness, Prince Jin, there are usually checkpoints on some important roads and commercial taxes will be collected!"
Fang Xuanling said quickly.
"Not enough!" Li Xuan shook his head gently.
“Building roads with cement is far beyond ordinary roads!
Ordinary roads will become muddy once it rains and snows, making it difficult not only for convoys to walk, but also for people to walk.
However, the cement road is straight and flat. It never slips when it rains, and there is no mud. Therefore, even if it rains, pedestrians and vehicles can still drive. Moreover, it is not bumpy, and the speed when walking on it is definitely faster than that of ordinary official roads.
Almost 50%.
In this way, it is a great thing for all merchants in the world, which is enough to increase the profits of all merchants by 10% or 20%. Moreover, post stations and inns can also be set up on the cement road along the way. This is also a sure profit.
A trade without losing money.”
"Even in snowy weather, if the cement road is smooth, you can still walk on the snow. Businessmen all over the world will be willing to pay to walk on this kind of road.
You can't help but feel that those merchants will lose money when they spend money. However, what merchants in the world earn is the cost of traveling from one city to another. The shorter the time they travel, the more they earn.
The shortened time they spend walking on the cement road has already earned tolls, and it will only be more, not less!"
Li Xuan took a breath and continued: "Moreover, the most important thing is that as long as all the pipelines in Datang are built on cement roads, it will definitely save time and effort for the army to travel and transport baggage than on dirt roads.
Therefore, card toll collection should be set up in every city connected by cement!"
"build!"
Li Shimin shouted directly, his face full of determination.
Li Xuan nodded at Li Shimin and continued: "How much steel and cement are needed to build so many roads, bridges, and houses? Can I be considered a prisoner?"
"Moreover, they are all built in various parts of the Tang Dynasty. How many craftsmen, laborers, and generals are needed to supervise it? There are aristocratic families in every city in the Tang Dynasty. If those aristocratic families want to use ink to build houses,
Steel bars, will the prisoner be able to guarantee that the officials and people who will be the prisoner can reject those aristocratic families?
If there is a quality problem with the cement and the building, if someone cuts corners, collapses, and kills someone, who will be responsible for this kind of responsibility?..."
After Li Xuan's series of questioning, there were beads of sweat on Gong Sunnian's forehead.
An official from a poor family like him understands the horror of aristocratic families.
Not to mention, facing all the aristocratic families in the world?
He, a mere general as a prisoner, was unable to resist at all!