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Volume One: Settling Down the Tang Dynasty Chapter 261: The Theory of Red Bricks

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    A few days later, Li Shimin hurriedly summoned several important ministers to the Manlu Palace.  This made these ministers very confused, and they didn't understand why the emperor suddenly summoned them in such a hurry.  During this period of time, nothing major happened in the court.  However, there was just some confusion.

    In fact, many times, not everything needs to be said in court.  On the contrary, most of the time, Li Shimin directly summoned these ministers to decide many matters after discussion.  After all, many things must go through endless debates in the court, and a conclusion may not be reached.  Also, some things need to be kept strictly confidential, and it is impossible to let too many people know.

    This time, Li Shimin summoned not many people, that is, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Wei Zheng, Changsun Wuji and others.  However, what shocked them was that Prince Li Chengqian was also here.  You know, as long as it is a small meeting like this, the things discussed are very important.  This is the first time for the prince to appear on such an occasion.

    Although they were surprised in their hearts, everyone's faces were calm as usual.  Sitting there, waiting for the emperor to speak.

    "My dear friends, I have invited you here today because I have a great event that I want to tell you all about. Come, bring the things up and let your lords have a look."

    Seeing that everyone was already seated, Li Shimin said to everyone with a smile on his face.  Then, he gave instructions to the outside.  Immediately, several eunuchs walked in with a tray each, and then placed the trays in front of Fang Xuanling and the others.

    Seeing the smile on the emperor¡¯s face, he also said that there was a big happy event.  Everyone felt relieved.  Then, they became curious, and when they saw the contents of the tray, they were stunned for a while.  The things in front of them were very familiar to them, but they had never seen them before.

    "Your Majesty, could it be that this brick is the great joy you are talking about? Well, but. Why is this brick so colorful? Is there something special about this brick?"

    Wei Zheng was very strange at first. He stared at the brick in front of him carefully for a while, and then he picked it up and inspected it carefully.  Sure.  Except for the different color, this is just like ordinary bricks.  Then he began to ask Li Shimin directly.

    "Haha, Wei Aiqing is right. Today's big happy event is this brick. All the Aiqings have also seen that the color of this brick is different from the green brick. Indeed. This brick is not a green brick, but a brick.  It looks like a red brick, and it was just brought back from the kiln this morning."

    When Li Shimin heard Wei Zheng speak, he spoke directly without being secretive.

    "Red bricks? Could it be that His Highness the Crown Prince discovered a new method of burning bricks? And seeing that His Majesty is so happy. According to Wei Chen's guess, there must be something unusual about this red brick."

    Hearing what Li Shimin said, the emperor looked so happy.  Fang Xuanling immediately realized that this was definitely not simple, otherwise, why would the emperor have called them here with such fanfare.

    "Eh, no, compared to the blue bricks, this red brick seems not as strong as the green brick. So, the problem must be the price. I dare to ask Your Majesty, do you know how much time it takes to bake a red brick like this?  How much does it cost?¡±

    Fang Xuanling thought that the red brick was unusual, and the rest of the people also thought of this problem.  Wei Zheng even picked up a red brick and broke it hard without breaking it. Then, he directly used one of the red bricks to hit the other one before breaking it.  Obviously, he was testing the quality of the red brick.

    However, he suddenly discovered that, in fact, it was not what he thought.  On the contrary, this red brick seems to be slightly worse than the blue brick in terms of strength.  However, this did not discourage him at all. Instead, he asked Li Shimin again with some excitement.

    To judge whether something is good or not, one is to look at the quality, and the other is to look at the price.  Since the quality is not outstanding and the emperor is so happy, there is no doubt that the cost of the red bricks must be lower than that of the blue bricks, and it is much lower.

    Hearing Wei Zheng¡¯s question, the remaining people were immediately shocked and became more focused.

    "Haha, Wei Aiqing is still so impatient. However, both Fang Aiqing and Wei Aiqing made good guesses. This red brick is indeed a bit unusual. I tried it just now. In terms of strength, red bricks are about the same as blue bricks.  It's even slightly worse than the green brick, but the difference is not big. The key point is the price. Although there is no specific calculation, the cost of a red brick is definitely less than one penny, or even lower."

    Seeing Wei Zheng pick up two bricks and test them in the Manna Hall, Li Shimin smiled bitterly in his heart.  SeveralAmong the ministers, he was the only one who could do this.  However, Li Shimin didn't mean to be angry at all. Instead, he was very happy.  Then, they started talking about the price of the red bricks.

    Of course, this has not been carefully calculated, it is just Li Shimin¡¯s rough estimate.  Moreover, this estimate is still an extremely high estimate.  Because, if you really want to calculate it, there are only two costs. One is fuel, that is, the cost of coal.  Also, there is the labor cost.

    "Less than a penny? How is this Well, what I want to ask is how this is done. If the cost is really so low, then the green bricks will soon be replaced."

    Changsun Wuji was shocked when he heard that the cost was less than a penny.  You know, the market price of this green brick is five cents a piece, and the cost must be more than four cents.  This gap is huge. Besides, this red brick is not much worse than the blue brick.  As long as the red bricks are on the market, will the green bricks still have a way to survive?  On the other hand, if the red bricks were sold based on the current market price, the profit would be high.

    Thinking of this, he suddenly felt happy.  The emperor just said that this was brought back by the prince.  This time, even if you don't get big benefits, you can at least get big credit.

    In fact, Changsun Wuji was not the only one who was shocked. The rest of the people also looked at Li Chengqian when they heard the cost price.

    "Yes, the price I just estimated is definitely too high. There are two reasons for this. One is that the production method of red bricks is different from that of blue bricks. They are also kiln bricks.  , but the quantity of red bricks in a kiln can be several times, even ten times, that of green bricks.¡±

    "In addition to the different production techniques, there is another more important reason. That is, firing red bricks does not require the use of charcoal, which can greatly reduce costs. Come and bring the things up."

    Li Shimin doesn¡¯t know exactly how the red bricks are fired. He only knows that the output is large.  Besides, even if he knew about the production process, he would not tell it.  What he mainly wanted to say was about the coal.

    "Graphite?"

    When he saw what the chamberlain brought up, Wei Zheng was surprised again.  However, except for Wei Zheng, no one else could recognize what was in front of them this time.  After all, this thing is rarely used, so who would pay attention to it.  However, I have never seen it, but I have heard of it.

    "Well, that's right, it's graphite. It's not charcoal that's used to burn red bricks, but the graphite is used directly. In this way, the cost becomes so low."

    "And today, I called all my dear friends here. Mainly for two things. One, it must be for the red bricks. And, it is for the graphite. I have heard about graphite before.  , I even saw it with my own eyes. However, it has never attracted anyone¡¯s attention. But today it has been proved that this thing is of great use, so it must be re-examined and taken seriously.¡±

    "Now, let's discuss how to deal with the red brick matter first, and then we will discuss the graphite matter."

    As for other things, Li Shimin didn¡¯t want to waste more time, but went directly to today¡¯s topic.  After all, these two things are related to huge interests.

    After hearing this, several ministers also began to think deeply.  Of course they all know what these two things mean.  How to do this specifically requires a good countermeasure.

    "Your Majesty, I believe that this matter is indeed a great joy as your Majesty said. In recent years, as your Majesty has worked hard to govern, the people live and work in peace and contentment, and have implemented the policy of low taxes and hiding wealth among the people. The lives of the people have also improved day by day.  Become rich. In addition, the new population of our Datang is increasing day by day, so more and more people are building houses. At this time, the emergence of such cheap red bricks is indeed a good thing for countless people of the Tang Dynasty.  It¡¯s a great thing. It can also alleviate the shortage of green bricks. However, if it is not done properly, it can turn into a bad thing.¡±

    "Therefore, I have a question here, whether the firing technology of this red brick should be directly controlled by the court, or allowed to flow into the hands of the people. However, when solving this problem, I would venture to ask, this burning technology  Who controls the Brick Law now?"

    The first person to speak was still Fang Xuanling. He suddenly thought of whether this thing was controlled by the imperial court or something else.  But before that, you must know who this thing belongs to now.

    "Well, this method of firing red bricks was developed by King Yong. However, King Yong has always been selfless, so he dedicated this method."

    Li Shimin was stunned when he heard what Fang Xuanling said, and then he spoke.  However, he had already begun to be wary  Li Feng must also think carefully about it.  So that when the time comes, things like last time will happen again.  At that time, there will be big trouble.

    But it¡¯s a bit unjustifiable. The brewing method they came up with has given all the benefits, and it¡¯s still that kind of selfless dedication.  In the end, someone was brewing wine at home and was kidnapped. It really didn¡¯t make sense.

    Therefore, this time, when Li Shimin heard this, he immediately decided that things in Jianghu Village must be properly arranged.  (To be continued)
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