kled and said, "Old man doesn't have time to fool you.""But you're already dead, aren't you" Long Huaiyu exclaimed in horror.Duan Jinjiang said, "For so many years that I have held power, how could I...Chapter 737: Compilation

As for Su Zhendong's request, Li Chen did not refuse.

Making firearms was initially just Li Chen wanting to increase his sense of security.

But since the first arquebus has been successfully made, let's make a batch of them and train some sharpshooters. Even if they are not very effective on the battlefield, they are powerful weapons for self-defense.

Feeling safe and confident again, Li Chen smiled and said, "No problem. You can issue a public letter to the Ministry of Works in the name of the Five Army Dudu Mansion. The Ministry of Works will produce them according to your order. However, as for the quantity, we can't make too many. Song Yingxing, how long would it take to manufacture such a fire gun"

Song Yingxing calculated for a while and replied, "At least twenty days."

"Twenty days is twenty days!"

Su Zhen'ting gritted his teeth and said, "I want a hundred first."

Su Zhendong's lion-hearted demands, however, caused Guan Zhiwei's face to turn grim. He wouldn't dare refuse Su Zhendong outright even if he had ten times the courage. He could only say in a meek and timid voice, "General Su, this thing takes a long time to manufacture, and the money and silver it consumes are exorbitant. Just the materials alone cost almost fifty taels of silver per piece, not counting the cost of bullets. Bullets are consumables, discarded after each use."

Fifty taels.

Su Zhenning's mouth twitched.

In the Qin Dynasty, ordinary families could live comfortably for a long time with just five taels of silver. This fifty taels for a gun is truly not something that ordinary people can afford.

Ke Suzhen also understood the saying "you can't catch a wolf if you don't let go of your child." He gritted his teeth and said: "This sum of money, the Five Armies Dudu Mansion will pay. One hundred swords would be five thousand taels, and another two thousand taels will be given to you for purchasing bullets and gunpowder."

Li Chen looked at Su Zhen's father in surprise. He didn't expect the future father-in-law to be quite bold.

Now the imperial treasury is empty. Even with Li Chen's face, the Ministry of Revenue doesn't give the Five Army Governor's Mansion much money. With this seven thousand taels spent, who knows how long Su Zhen'ting will have to live frugally

However, since Su Zhentiing had made up his mind, Li Chen did not stop him.

Anyway, this thing is bound to become popular sooner or later. It's not a bad idea for Su Zhen Ting to try it out on a small scale first.

After all, weren't those sharpshooters trained for their own use

After considering all of this, Li Chen began to find Song Yingxing more agreeable.

"This palace promised before that as long as you complete this palace's requests, then a reward would be given to you."

Li Chen said to Song Yingxing: "From today onwards, you are the head of the Ministry of Works, with a rank of Sixth Grade. Your salary and allowances will be paid according to your official position."

Ignoring Song Yingxing's tearful gratitude, Li Chen turned to Guan Zhiwei and said, "You should also draft an imperial edict to be submitted later. Under the Ministry of Industry, establish a Workshop Bureau. All craftsmen with sufficient ability and contributions should be transferred into the Workshop Bureau and receive salaries according to the standard of the seventh rank, included in the Ministry of Industry's roster."

The company does not set a limit on the number of non-staff personnel. Anyone who contributes can join, and they will be promoted based on their merits after being hired.

Li Chen's two short sentences, however, involved huge interests.

The Ministry of Works added a new department directly under its jurisdiction. There is no limit to the number of staff it can have, and new employees start at the seventh rank. This can be considered a great favor from heaven.

Li Chen also knew that this would generate huge profits. He said to Guan Zhiwei, who was visibly excited across from him, in a calm and indifferent tone: “I'll leave this task to you. If anything goes wrong afterwards, I will hold you responsible. If I find out that you are engaging in nepotism, stuffing unqualified people into positions, showing favoritism, or even selling positions and accepting bribes, I will not show leniency.”

Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!Chapter 1498: Yuan Shidao