Not to mention Qian Biao, even Ding Jian was greatly impacted.

The use of hydraulic power has been used on a large scale since a long time ago on the land of the Tang Dynasty. For example, hydraulic mills, hydraulic overturns, etc., but those are within their understanding. Even the hydraulic forging hammers that they just saw, they felt acceptable.

But the thing in front of me was far beyond their imagination.

The rectangular fine iron was fixed to the frame, and an oval drill bit was closely close to it in the middle of its front end. Under the crowd's attention, a master craftsman called the order, and the oval drill bit began to rotate, and the speed was getting faster and faster. Blue smoke gradually rose, and the sharp eyes could even see the place where the oval drill bit was in contact with the fine iron, which had begun to turn slightly red.

It was at this time that a nozzle sprayed out a column of water on one side of the drill bit, which was poured onto the cross-section of the fine iron. So a large amount of blue smoke rose with the sound of chirping and began to spread in the factory.

Under everyone's gaze, iron filings flew, and a shallow pit appeared under the high-speed rotation of the drill bit.

"The most valuable thing about this hydraulic drilling machine is this drill bit." Tu Hu explained to everyone: "This drill bit is worth tens of thousands of silver dollars. This is the result of dozens of top craftsmen who specialize in steel and iron making, and the gentlemen of the Wushu Institute's hard work for several years."

"This is really a sharpening of iron like mud!" Ding Jian exclaimed. "What is the drill made of?"

Tu Hu smiled: "In the process of smelting this kind of drill bit, many other ingredients are added, but everyone, I'm sorry, what is added is one of the highest secrets of the Tang Dynasty. Please forgive me for not saying it clearly."

"Understand, understand!" Everyone nodded.

"How long can I make a qualified gun barrel?" Ding Jian asked.

"It takes twelve hours to stop, and a cannon barrel can be drilled out in ten days." Tu Hu said: "However, not every cannon barrel drilled out meets the requirements. There will be special masters to conduct detailed inspections on the cannon barrel. If there are any flaws, they will be destroyed and refined. The cannon is too powerful, and once it explodes, it will cause us to suffer heavy losses."

"Have you tried to use molds to cast them?" Qian Biao said.

"Try it!" Tu Hu shook his head and said, "The gun barrel made in this way is simply useless. There are too many impurities and trachoma. Anything like this can cause serious consequences."

"It seems like I've used copper at the beginning?" Ding Jian remembered some past events.

"Using copper can solve these problems, but firstly, the cost of copper is too high and we can't afford it at all. Secondly, it's too heavy and not suitable. When a cannon weighs four or five thousand kilograms, its range of use is greatly limited. Now we are using fine iron to make it, the weight has been reduced by half. The heaviest heavy cannon is only more than three thousand kilograms, and the range of the nearer range has been reduced to about two thousand kilograms. Now the Wuhan Institute of Technology is still studying smaller small cannons suitable for army-carrying, but I don't know when it will be successful." Tu Hu explained.

Ding Jian and Qian Biao both knew that the artillery was only equipped for the navy now. The reason was that it was too heavy and it was inconvenient for the army to carry it. Especially in the future wars against the south, it would be more affected by terrain conditions. Transportation and terrain would make it impossible to carry artillery.

"Everyone, let's go and see the finished product!" Tu Hu led everyone into another door. When they stepped into the door, everyone's eyes lit up. In the spacious factory, there were more than a dozen dark cannons, and several people dressed in masters were squatting where they were carefully inspecting the cannons one by one.

"What are they doing?" Qian Biao pointed at a master. The man was using a strange utensil, a piece of hose, with a round shiny metal object connected to the front end. The hose on the other side was divided into two, but the end was stuffed into his ears. The man held the strange utensil in his left hand and a small hammer in his right hand, gently tapping the cannon barrel.

"This is checking whether there are trachoma and other flaws in the barrel. This is a very critical link. Only the most experienced masters can do it." Tu Hu said. "Only after passing their level and a cannon can it be truly manufactured and can be shipped out of the factory."

"A cannon is expensive, right?" a representative asked curiously.

Tu Hu nodded with a smile: "A cannon, with a base shell, our factory price is 5,000 silver dollars."

Everyone took a breath.

"Everyone, this is really not profitable, I can only barely protect my capital." Tu Hu spread his hands and said.

Ding Jian widened his eyes and said, "The Fuyuan has twenty-four cannons like this, which is 120,000 silver dollars. This is a moving silver mountain."

"This does not include ammunition!" Tu Hu said: "Solid bullets are very cheap, only a few silver dollars, but a flowering bullet costs dozens of silver dollars."

Speaking of this, Tu Hu sighed: "At that time, Li Xiang told me that the money that fights in war is about money. He wants to make a lot of money and then use money to kill the enemy. Now I really understand why Li Xiang said this. The iron hook showed great power in Guangzhou. He shot hundreds of flower bullets alone. Isn't it just a matter of using silver to smash people?"

The representatives of the two provinces present were silent.

No wonder Li Xiang is called a money skewer. The methods of making money are strange. The court has endless ways to make money, but the court is still very poor. Not to mention the money invested in people's livelihood projects, the artillery bombardment in Guangzhou Port alone cost tens of thousands of taels of silver. So much money was just a demonstration. He did not get an inch of land and did not seize any spoils. It was completely pure expense. How could he be in such a war?

"If you can kill your opponent with money, you will never exchange the lives of our good-hearted man in the Tang Dynasty!" Tu Hu said: "So it is worth spending this money, because as long as the person is still there, you can earn more money for us. Human life cannot be measured by money. This is what Li Xiang said."

"There is no one to lose people, both people and land will be lost, while the saving is no one to lose land, and both people and land will be gained." Ding Jian whispered: "The truth is the same."

"Brother Ding said it thoroughly!" Tu Hu nodded repeatedly: "We only make artillery here, and the shells are produced in another place. The place is so dangerous that we won't take you to that dangerous place. Next, we arranged for everyone to visit some other factories, all of which are being built and produced at the same time."

After a whole day of visiting, until Ding Jian and Qian Biao were invited to the Prime Minister's Mansion to meet Li Ze, Qian Biao's head was still buzzing.

In a large textile factory that uses hydraulic power, there are not many workers in the entire factory, and only countless textile machines are operating under the power of hydraulic power.

The steaming refining iron plant was transported into pieces of thick iron billets. When it came out, it became hard and tough, with several steps of refined iron.

These factories are still under construction and are operating only one of the production lines. After reading these, Qian Biao suddenly felt a little scared about the scale of those workshops in Dezhou.

What kind of scale should it be?

The weapons of hundreds of thousands of troops of the Tang Dynasty were originally made in such factories. He suddenly recalled that when his elder brother Qian Feng was still in charge of E Yue, the weapons were all knocked out by a large number of blacksmiths with hammers. Such input and output, as well as everything in front of him, were completely in the sky and underground.

No wonder the Jiedushi in the world was wiped out by Li Xiang one after another.

"Two, how do you feel today?" Li Ze smiled and looked at the two border officials in front of him. One of them had been away from the North for several years, but the other had never been to the North. Although he had never seen Qian Biao before, the painters of the inner guards had already presented the appearance of this person vividly in front of him, so when Qian Biao stood in front of him, Li Ze felt strange at all.

This is a smart person, a pragmatic person, and of course, a capable person.

Ding Jian just gave in a little while Qian Biao paid a visit.

"Don't need too much polite!" Li Ze helped Qian Biao up and said.

"This gift is Qian Biao thanked Li Xiang for avenging my Qian family." Qian Biao stood with his hands crossed and said seriously: "The Qian family is in trouble. If Li Xiang is bandit, Qian family is afraid that the whole family will be destroyed."

Li Ze smiled and invited the two of them to sit down, looked at Qian Biao, and said, "You don't need to thank you for this matter. After all, this is just a decision made by the central court. As for what you said to avenge your Qian family, it is just a matter of passing. In the face of national affairs, family feuds can only be accessories."

Although he was a little surprised, Qian Biao was more relieved.

Li Ze explained it thoroughly and he could understand it. What was slightly surprised was that Li Zesihao did not think that Qian had favored him, but said frankly that it was just a national interest and had no intention of using it to make a contribution, which was completely different from Qian Biao's idea.

"I heard that you still have some thoughts about Tian Guofeng, but you should be more generous in this matter." Li Ze looked at the other party and said.

Qian Biao lowered his head and said for a while: "Li Xiang, if you say that there is no truth in your heart, you are not lying to you. I can only say that the matter between me and Tian Guofeng is just a private problem between us and him will never affect the slightest official duties."

"That's enough!" Li Ze said: "Everyone is in a different position and will have different ways of doing things. Even if the ultimate goal is for the country, it is considered to be a different destination. In this process, it is not surprising that individuals' interests and emotions are always completely different. As long as they put national interests first and personal interests behind them before encountering anything, it is enough."
Chapter completed!