After finishing the meal, Wang Zihao thought about the charcoal thing again. His daughter happened to be there too. Wang Xijun was extremely talented in business and might be able to figure out what Li Min was going to do. So Wang Zihao interrupted the mother and daughter who were gossiping.

, told Li Minshuo about his purchase of coal producing areas tonight.

"Xijun, why did Your Highness acquire those useless coals? My father has thought about it all the way and still can't figure it out?" Wang Zihao looked at his daughter who was thinking about it and asked. He really wanted to know Li Min's intention, otherwise tonight

I may not be able to sleep again.

"I know!" Wang Xijun, who was thinking hard, suddenly raised his brows and said excitedly, "This Li Min is really cunning. He throws a piece of cement for others to grab, but he is preparing to make a fortune silently."

After hearing his daughter's words, Wang Zihao was also shocked and said eagerly: "Xijun, do you really want to understand His Highness's intention of purchasing Coal? Hurry up and talk to your father!"

"Hehe, father, you are in the game, so you can't see the connection clearly. In fact, with your intelligence, as long as you can think about it and combine it with some previous information, you can definitely guess what King Liang is playing.

That little trick!" Seeing his father being so eager, Wang Xijun instead played it safe and said with a smile on his face.

Although Mrs. Wang didn't care about business matters, seeing that her husband was so anxious, her daughter deliberately didn't say anything, so she stepped forward and patted Wang Xijun on the head and scolded: "I know you have many evil ideas, so hurry up and talk to your father."

Tell me, what is the plan of Prince Liang?"

"Mom, your daughter is so smart, what if you make her stupid and she won't be able to get married in the future?" Wang Xijun said with dissatisfaction, rubbing her head.

"Go! You can't get married because of that Liang Wang. What does it have to do with my mother?"

"Okay, you two, stop bickering. Xijun, hurry up and tell me what Prince Liang is planning." Wang Zihao stopped the bickering between mother and daughter. Mrs. Wang usually has nothing to do at home, and only Wang Xijun is with her.

, their biggest hobby is bickering, and they never end once they start arguing. He doesn't want to listen to their quarrel in the middle of the night.

"Dad, since you are so sincere, my daughter will tell you." Wang Xijun smiled mischievously, ignored Mrs. Wang, and turned to her father, "Actually, this matter is very simple, just think about it.

Why did Li Min suddenly become so interested in charcoal after launching cement? There is only one answer, and that is that charcoal must play a very important role in the production of cement."

Although it was just a short sentence, in Wang Zihao's ears, it was no less than a bright light in the darkness. It suddenly illuminated a corner of the fog in front of him, making him vaguely seem to have caught something, but for a moment

I can't tell clearly.

Just listen to Wang Xijun continue to say: "Although the method of making cement has always been rumored to be very mysterious, now I can be sure that cement must be calcined with fire, which is similar to the method of burning lime. At most, the proportion of ingredients is different.

That’s all.”

Wang Zihao, who was already enlightened, had new doubts after listening to his daughter's words. He couldn't help but ask: "Xijun, it is not difficult to guess that cement is made by burning. After all, the biggest function of charcoal is to burn. Your Highness now

Being so eager to acquire coal producing areas proves this from the side, but how do you know that the method of burning lime is similar?"

"Father, have you forgotten what the new cement factory in the suburbs was originally used for?" Wang Xijun said proudly again. The new cement factory she was talking about was the one that Bai Qing and other generals were responsible for after the establishment of Li Min's Supervision Institute.

A new cement factory was established by the supervisor's craftsmen and craftsmen transferred from the Ministry of Works. The cement used for the main roads in the east and west cities was produced there. However, Li Min guarded the place very strictly, and the craftsmen had food and accommodation in the factory.

There are seconded Jinwu guards patrolling the surrounding area for several miles, and no one is allowed to approach, so people outside have no way of knowing the situation inside the factory.

"Where? Isn't that the lime workshop of the Ministry of Works? Ah~! I understand!" Wang Zihao was confused at first, then slapped his thigh, and finally figured out the key point. There are so many workshops under the Ministry of Works that are not in use, why are they not used?

A lime workshop was selected, and both items had to be calcined. Apart from the different colors, the appearance of lime and cement was actually similar. Although this could not prove anything, it was enough to show that Wang Xijun's guess was very likely.

After thinking about all this, Wang Zihao was in a great mood, especially for Li Min's purchase of charcoal. He was filled with admiration. Because charcoal is difficult to ignite, it is not as convenient to use as firewood and charcoal, so it is rarely used by ordinary people.

However, it is perfectly suitable for large-scale calcination in workshops, and compared with wood and charcoal, pebbles are more resistant to burning. In addition, the cost is low, so those who plan to build cement plants are not afraid of not buying it.

Of course, Wang Zihao greatly praised Wang Xijun's smart daughter, but it was already midnight, so after the conversation, the family of three went back to their rooms to sleep.

Knowing Li Min's plan, Wang Zihao became even more concerned about the purchase of coal. The next day after Gao Zhongzhong, the two of them went to Blackstone Mountain in person. Due to the influence of the open-pit coal mine, almost all the coal in the area of ​​dozens of miles was almost empty.

There was no grass growing, so it was basically an ownerless wasteland. The two went to the local county government to register, and then they bought all the land around Blackstone Mountain for dozens of miles without paying more than a hundred dollars.

Next, Wang Zihao asked around to see where else there were coal-producing places around Chang'an, and he found four more places. However, these places were a bit far away from Chang'an, and the coal was buried deeper, which was not as good as the situation in Black Rock Mountain.

, but together with Gao Zhongyi, they still spent money to buy them all. Anyway, these were wastelands, and they didn’t cost much money in total.

While Wang Zihao and Gao Zhong were encircling the land, Li Min was also very busy. The day after the imperial list for investment in the Supervisory Construction Institute was posted, Li Shimin formally agreed to Fang Xuanling's plan to build roads with cement in the court.

And the first step was to build two main roads, one from Chang'an to Songzhou on Jiannan Road, and the other from Chang'an to Luoyang. The first road was related to the security of the southern border of the Tang Dynasty, and the other was

It is the most frequent lifeline of commercial transportation in Datang.

As soon as the construction plan for these two main roads came out, Li Min's construction supervision institute became even more popular. Merchants who were originally doubtful swarmed towards the supervision construction institute. As a result, Li Min had to borrow a group of manpower from the Ministry of Industry again.

, this alleviated the dilemma of shortage of manpower.

However, as the number of businesses registered to produce cement increased, Li Min issued a new notice, to the effect that because there were too many people, he did not have enough manpower to guide the construction of cement plants, so he divided the registered manufacturers into three levels.

The three levels are divided according to the investment funds, among which those with more than 200,000 guan are in the first level, those with 100,000 to 200,000 guan in the second level, and those with less than 100,000 guan in the third level. The higher the level of merchants,

You will have priority to get guidance from the craftsmen of the Construction Supervision Institute and start the construction of the cement plant as soon as possible.

Along with the notice, there was also a ranking of registered merchants according to their funds. Very few people could enter the first level. Only Cheng Hualiang, Li Jingheng, and Li Jingye, who had received guidance from Li Min in advance, and the three small businessmen who had joined forces.

The team has all reached the first level standard. There are not many people who can enter the second level. There are less than twenty people in total. Most of them belong to the third level. After all, they can produce ten at once.

There are not many people in Wan Guan.

As soon as this notice from the Supervisory Institute was issued, most of the franchise investors were dissatisfied. After all, everyone took money to invest. Why should those who are strong enjoy privileges? They were not as good as the other party in terms of funds. Now,

If they are asked to build a factory first, how can people like them who are less powerful still play?

Of course, the investment manufacturers would not just accept this unfair regulation. Many people went to the Construction Supervision Institute to object, demanding that they be treated equally, otherwise they would unilaterally tear up the contract and no longer invest in the cement plant. These

People have more or less backgrounds behind them, which is why they behave so strongly.

Li Min deliberately and forcefully rejected these people's requests at first, insisting on the decision of grading according to funds. Although he was a fifth-grade supervisor, he was the prince of the Tang Dynasty after all, and he had the support of Li Shimin behind him, so he didn't need to do it at all.

Ignore these people's 'unreasonable demands'. However, after the people behind these businessmen came forward in person to try to make connections with him, Li Min reluctantly added a clause to the end of the regulations, allowing those who had already signed the contract to add additional funds.

Or join forces, whether they can squeeze into the top two brackets depends on them.

Seeing that Li Min, who had a tough attitude, finally gave them some relief, how could those investment businessmen think of anything else? Those who had the strength to add additional funds, while those who did not have the strength to build relationships, found familiar people to join forces, and strive to get the ranking.

Let's move forward. Before the cement plant was built, cement investors had already started the first round of reshuffle. Most of them chose to join forces with the weak. Depending on the region or their relationship, a few or even a dozen companies would join forces.

Together, integrate capital and compete with those strong merchants.

After this round of reshuffle, the number of merchants registered in the Supervision and Construction Institute has dropped sharply from hundreds to less than a hundred. However, each merchant is very strong, with a minimum capital of more than 100,000 yuan, and only those entering the first level are

Suddenly the number increased to twenty-five.

Li Min was very satisfied with this result. This was originally a play he directed and performed. The purpose was to allow these investment companies to integrate their capital. This would not only facilitate future management, but also be more conducive to the development of the cement industry. He could

I don’t want to see a scene where small factories are everywhere and management is a mess.

After the capital integration was completed, cement plants finally began to be built. Most of the twenty-five first-tier plants were built in the nearby Chang'an, Luoyang or state capitals between the two places, and most of the second-tier plants were built in the nearby cities.

They are all distributed in the state capitals between Chang'an and Jiannan. The new cement factory under the jurisdiction of the Supervision and Construction Institute sent out craftsmen and guided the construction of twenty-five first-level factories at the same time. These things were mainly done by Bai Qing, an eighth-grade small-scale cement factory.

As the official supervisor, Li Yifu assisted as his deputy. For a time, the two were known to everyone in Chang'an City and stole the show. As for Li Min, the superintendent, he finally had time to care about the property in his own name.
Chapter completed!