Zhu Qiyu left Nanjing at this time, naturally giving Xu Chengzong and Lu Zhong a stage to let the insects see what ghost tricks are.

The emperor was in the capital, and the Duke of Wei, Xu Chengzong, was not very good at acting arbitrarily.

As for whether the insects who ignore the advice and insist on going their own way will be unlucky, this is not Zhu Qiyu's concern.

He was more concerned about the progress of the saddle factory.

Zhu Qiyu finally walked to the saddle factory under the darkness of night.

Ma'an Factory and Jianghuai Factory are mainly responsible for the supply of coal and iron materials around Nanjing and Hangzhou.

Because there were so many people in the prison camp, nearly 10 million kilograms of coal was produced every day, which was about 5,000 tons.

Zhu Qiyu stood on the mountainside. The sun was already dusk, the wind had become a bit colder, and the sky was so gloomy that it seemed like it was going to snow.

Wang Jing finally finished his business and came to pick him up when he had time.

Zhu Qiyu gave him too many exam results, so he had to work day and night.

"I'm so late, please forgive me for your majesty." Wang Ning bowed his head and said, although his face looked tired, he was still smiling.

Zhu Qiyu motioned to Wang Niping to stand up, looked at the joy on his face and asked curiously: "What makes Wang Shilang so happy?"

"Your Majesty, please come with your attendants." Wang Ning put up his sleeves and came to a coal yard. The place was full of black ash. Zhu Qiyu, Wang Ning and other people all put on masks.

Wang Xingwu said with emotion: "Your Majesty, the poor family does not have enough firewood, so they can only let the cold rain and cold wind blow it. They never cook soup and eat it, but only eat cold vegetables all year round."

"During the Tang Dynasty, Meng Jiao lamented in "Yin of the Bitter Cold": Knocking on a stone does not produce fire, but strengthening yin takes away righteous yang."

"In the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuo couldn't afford firewood, so he had to destroy the car to pay for it, dismantle the family car and make a fire to keep warm."

"In the Southern Song Dynasty, Han Cai also said: The family was poor and no one went to collect firewood."

"Firewood, rice, oil and salt, the word "firewood" is the first word. I believe that the coal mined by Guanye should be based on small profits and high sales, rather than high profits and small sales."

Wang Ning was a civil servant, and although he was not as eloquent as Li Xian and others, Wang Ning still cared about living beings and worked for the welfare of the people.

Zhu Qiyu nodded and said, "I also have this intention."

Wang Xin said this because of course there are some things that need to be determined, and everyone must work together to push the Ming Dynasty's cart forward.

Wang Jing looked at the stacked coal and sighed and said: "Your Majesty, coal is a daily need for the people. If it is opened by the government, some people will say: If the government officials open it, the value will be doubled. How can every household live in peace?"

"For example, in the late Northern Song Dynasty, Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty set up more than 20 official charcoal sales, and each weighing fifteen kilograms cost three thousand yuan."

"The imperial court benefited greatly. During the Daguan period, the roads under Kaifeng City were filled with frozen bones and the people complained."

In the Song Dynasty, coal monopoly was a major business and the main source of income for the Song Dynasty court.

Originally, the matter of government-run monopoly had existed since the Qin Dynasty, but by the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, it had become an important daily issue for courtiers to advise the emperor.

How much did Zhao Ji, Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, sell for so that the people froze to death under the capital city?

One scale weighs fifteen kilograms, one weighs three thousand yuan, and one kilogram of coal costs two hundred yuan!

At that time, wheat cost fifteen cents per dou, rice cost thirty cents per dou, and one dou weighed about twelve kilograms.

Song Huizong sold coal, risking his life for no money.

According to the calculation that Kaifeng Prefecture installed coal fires on the first day of October and removed the fires on the first day of February, each household would need more than a thousand kilograms of coal to survive the winter.

Five kilograms of coal is needed for one roll, and more than a thousand kilograms of coal requires two hundred rolls.

Two hundred copper coins, which were kept from the late Northern Song Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, could be exchanged for one hundred taels of silver!

The price is really too scary.

Therefore, once the imperial court began to run government-run businesses, people would immediately point to Song Huizong's supervision of coal management, Song Gaozong's Lin'an excrement tyrants, and collapsed shops and houses business.

Therefore, when Wang Jing talked about the saddle factory, he still advised His Majesty to make small profits but quick turnover, rather than making large profits and small sales.

Zhu Qiyu asked doubtfully: "How much does our coal frying cost per pound?"

"Six coins." Wang Ning bowed his head and said.

Zhu Qiyu frowned and said: "Six qian, one household needs 6,000 qian to survive the winter, which is roughly three silver coins."

“It’s still too expensive.”

Even with the generous reward from the Beijing camp, which is only about thirty silver coins per year, three silver coins are still too much.

Firewood, rice, oil and salt, firewood is the first word, which is indeed reasonable.

However, Wang Xing said without any panic: "Your Majesty is too expensive, and I am also too expensive!"

"But the price is already very low. I thought of a way to lower the price."

It's really not expensive.

In the Northern Song Dynasty, a pound of coal was sold for 200 yuan, and in the Ming Dynasty, coal from the Guanye Institute was sold for 6 yuan a pound. Isn’t the price of coal in the Ming Dynasty cheap?

But Wang Ning thought of another way to lower the price some more.

"This is a major matter involving people's livelihood. If you can get a penny down, it's a penny." Zhu Qiyu looked at Wang Xing's face and said with great conviction.

The people are in poverty and have experienced rebellions. Every penny less is worth a penny.

Wang Xing led everyone to the coal and said with a smile: "I will add some loess to it. One pound of coal will be 80% crushed coal and 20% loess. Then I will add some water to shape it and make holes to get this coal cake."

"

"Compared with coal frying, it is more fire-resistant and takes longer, but because there are holes, the heat is not lost."

Although Wang Yan added loess to the coal, because there are holes, it burns more fully, and the calorific value does not suffer much loss compared to coal frying.

This is because coal blasting, that is, small pieces of coal, is not screened and contains coal gangue itself.

A kind of black stone that cannot burn, but blocks the fire door and causes the coal to burn incompletely.

Zhu Qiyu took a palm-sized, half-high briquette and looked at it for a long time. He had seen this thing before. It should be called briquettes or honeycomb briquettes!

However, Fenghuo coal still has a ignition layer, but this briquette has none at all.

Loess is used for shaping and fire resistance. Filling in 20% of the loess can indeed effectively reduce the price of coal.

"If the coal price is like this, you can save one penny." Wang Ning bowed his head and said.

Wang Xing led everyone to continue walking and came to a pile of coal stoves. He pointed at the coal stove that was less than two feet high and said with a smile: "There are also coal cake stoves, bricks in the furnace, and coal cake tongs."

"Four or five briquettes can last for a day, and they can also be used for cooking and boiling water."

"Even if you can't afford a briquette stove, you can stack one with bricks at home. The structure is not complicated."

"But a special flue must be installed to prevent coal from being poisoned by fire."

Fire coal is poisonous and carbon monoxide poisoning. Specially set up flues and clear them regularly to ensure safe use.

Zhu Qiyu looked at the small coal stove and nodded repeatedly. This thing was made by casting. As Wang Yan said, even if you don't want to buy a coal cake stove, you can make one yourself with bricks and stones.

Zhu Qiyu nodded repeatedly and said: "What a good thing! What a good thing!"

The cold wave has arrived. Zhu Qiyu wrapped himself in a big cloak and looked at the howling cold wind outside the window. He even had the illusion that he was in Beiya. Is the cold wind in Nanjing also so cold?

Zhu Qiyu felt a chill on his face. He looked up and saw snowflakes rising from the sky at some point.

Mr. Lu Xun once said: "The rain in the warm country has never turned into cold, hard and brilliant snowflakes; the snow in the south of the Yangtze River is extremely moist and beautiful."

"After the snowflakes in Shuofang are flying, they are always like powder or sand. They never stick together. They are scattered on the house, the ground, and the withered grass. That's it."

This is the difference between the snow in the north and the south. Because it is cold in the north, the snow does not condense, but the blood in the south is moist and beautiful.

But Zhu Qiyu didn't feel the beauty of the snow in the south at all. He only felt the dry and cold air similar to Beiya, the whistling of the wind, and the snow flakes swirling in the air like bone-carving knives, which made people feel like bones.

chill.

Zhu Qiyu was very sure that this was not snow from the south. There was no doubt that it was snow from the north.

Soon the small snowflakes turned into heavy snowflakes, flying between the sky and the earth. When the wind blew, the snowflakes traced the shape of the wind and flew into the distance.

"How many kilograms of coal do we have now?" Zhu Qiyu asked in a low voice with a fierce look in his eyes.

"From Henan, Shandong and other places, plus Ma'an Factory, Jianghuai Factory and other places, 100 million kilograms can enter Beijing within five days." Wang Xing looked at the vast white sky with a horrified expression. Is there such heavy snow in the south?

One hundred million kilograms of coal is about 50,000 tons, and there are about 300,000 households in Nanjing, so the total need is about 150,000 tons of coal.

Zhu Qiyu stood in the wind and snow without saying a word for a long time. He calculated the accounts in his mind for a long time, and then said: "It's still not enough. I want 300 million catties."

Wang Ning and others' expressions changed drastically. They looked around and remained silent. They could give it to His Majesty if he didn't ask for it.

The people currently mining coal in Ma'an Factory and Jianghuai Factory are more than 200,000 prisoners of war. Each person can produce 100 kilograms of coal per day, and the maximum daily production can be 20 million kilograms of coal.

It is true that 200 million jins of coal can be produced in ten days, but what about sending it from Ma'an Factory and Jianghuai Factory to Nanjing City?

And it's snowing now.

Leveling the road is also a big trouble.

Zhu Qiyu took a deep breath and said: "Within ten days, there are 200 million kilograms of coal left. If the prisoner camps can be transported to Beijing as scheduled, I can forgive them and reduce their hard labor for three months."

"Even if it is less than five days late, I will forgive you for two months."

He is now continuing to work in Beijing, and the ten days of hard work are equivalent to two months of hard labor.

Zhu Qiyu traded hard labor for output.
To be continued...