Father Jiang is in his sixties, energetic, and is wearing a navy blue silk gown. He put it on specially to meet the prince and princess. It can be seen that it is new and the creases are all there.
He was not restrained. He kowtowed as soon as he entered the door, then stood up and explained the matter.
"Your Majesty, Princess, we are not slow in making firecrackers, but we have a problem now."
Shen Mingzhu asked: "What's the problem?"
Father Jiang said: "Princess, we don't have enough pig iron."
ah?!
Shen Mingzhu's eyes widened. She had forgotten this. Her glare shocked Father Jiang and said hurriedly: "I led them carefully and there was absolutely no waste of iron.
If you show up, your Majesty can send someone to investigate."
Xiao Xian smiled and said: "Dad Jiang, don't be so nervous. The princess is not blaming you."
Shen Mingzhu also smiled, "I forgot it myself, but I can't blame others. How many are there now and how long can they last?"
Father Jiang said: "I have taken stock of all the pig iron we have in stock. We can still support it for a month at most."
Shen Mingzhu smiled, "One month is enough. Just rest assured and continue making firearms according to the previous method. I will take care of the iron ore matter."
Father Jiang was overjoyed and knelt down, "Thank you so much, Your Majesty and Princess."
Xiao Xian laughed and said: "Dad Jiang, you are doing things for us, we want to thank you."
Father Jiang was so excited that he burst into tears, "You can't kill me. It would be great if I could sell my martial arts skills somewhere. Those iron knots are my lifeblood. Without them, I can't do anything."
Let me show off my skills. The happiest thing in my life is watching pieces of iron become perfect instruments."
Everyone laughed.
Shen Mingzhu said: "Okay, Father Jiang, just relax and start working as usual. Everyone should just rest when they should. Leave the rest to me."
Father Jiang resigned happily.
Xiao Xian asked Shen Mingzhu, "How can we solve the iron ore problem?"
Shen Mingzhu smiled and said: "We can only develop in many aspects. First, let people go out to search for iron ore. Daizhou, Shunzhou, Mianzhou and other prefectures will all go to investigate, and report immediately once found.
Let us know. In addition to the iron mines currently owned by the imperial court, we can explore other mines."
She believed that with the current level of the imperial court, less than half of the iron ore could be discovered, and there must be a lot more.
Xiao Xian suggested: "We can send the fleet to Wubao. There are iron ore deposits in Lingshe Mountain, but it's just a bit far, and navigation is not that mature now. If the journey is too far, accidents may easily happen on the way."
Shen Mingzhu nodded, "Yes, let's do it step by step. Once the supply points are built one by one, we can then let them transport them over long distances."
Although I also sailed to Wubao in the past, it was definitely not as heavy a task as transportation. It was just to send information or to rush on my way.
"The quickest way is to search nearby. Once we find it, we will go mining. Another way is to have the fleet survey the islands that have been marked to see if there are any."
Xiao Xian nodded, "This is also a way. Let's make arrangements now."
Shen Mingzhu said: "There is another way to solve the urgent problem."
Xiao Xian looked like he was asking for advice.
Shen Mingzhu said mysteriously: "You will know after you come with me."
