Chapter 870

Li Er and Fang Xuanling's hearts really couldn't take it anymore.

Qin Mu had just casually let them see a stove.

And it had stimulated them to this extent.

If it were really as Qin Mu said, a cast iron stove only sold for three hundred wen.

That meant that most families in the world could afford to buy one.

Just this one item alone, how big of a business would that be?

And this was just the stove.

Not to mention casting weapons, pig iron could also cast many things, the most common being farm tools.

Fang Xuanling offered a plan.

With more and better farm tools, the efficiency of farmers clearing land and farming would also be greatly improved.

The overall effect caused would be terrifying!

The most critical problem was.

Great Qin had it!

And Great Tang did not!

In this way, Great Qin had left Great Tang far behind as a whole.

No wonder Qin Mu wanted to pursue industrialization?

So that was it!

Great Qin had found a way to reduce the cost of iron smelting!

Li Er's mind was wandering, somewhat distracted.

Fang Xuanling also understood the shock in his heart.

He could only bid farewell to Qin Mu first.

"Your Majesty, I see that Li Er is feeling a bit unwell, so we will take our leave first. Excuse us!" Qin Mu waved his hand and let them withdraw.

They had already seen what they needed to see, and the deterrent effect had indeed been achieved.

Let them go back and digest it properly.

In fact, what they had seen was only the tip of the iceberg.

The industrialization Qin Mu wanted to pursue certainly didn't rely solely on cheap iron smelting methods.

Precision measuring tools, coke smelting.

These were all important technologies hidden behind the scenes.

Li Er and Fang Xuanling, only looking at the surface, would absolutely never think of these core technologies.

Even if Great Tang wanted to imitate them, they wouldn't know where to start.

As for Great Qin being able to lower the price of pig iron so much, it was also thanks to those captured Harsha war prisoners.

Using those prisoners to mine coal and ore had saved a large portion of the cost.

Moreover, the current price could be lowered even further.

Soon, a steady stream of Harsha war prisoners would be sent back to do this hard labor.

Chang'an West Market.

After Li Er and Fang Xuanling left the Great Ming Palace, they didn't go back.

They went straight to the West Market, wanting to see if Great Qin's iron prices were really that low.

They didn't disbelieve Qin Mu, but they needed to see it with their own eyes and touch it with their own hands to have a sense of reality.

Otherwise, such a thing was too unbelievable!

Upon arriving at the West Market, they headed straight for the farm tool shop.

Fang Xuanling casually picked up a hoe, estimating it to be about three jin of iron.

"Shopkeeper, how much is this hoe?"

The shopkeeper's attitude was very enthusiastic, and he leaned in to explain.

"This hoe uses high-quality wrought iron and will never break. It weighs three jin and two liang, more than enough. You two, how many do you want?" Fang Xuanling also knew some tricks for buying things.

The shopkeeper's meaning was that if they bought more, it could be even cheaper.

"What if I only want one?"

"If you only want one, this hoe will cost you sixty copper coins. Rest assured, my price is absolutely fair!"

Upon hearing this, Li Er felt a chill go through his heart.

He completely believed Qin Mu's previous words.

A hoe only cost sixty copper coins!

And in Great Tang, you couldn't even think of getting such a hoe for less than six hundred copper coins!

Li Er knew the value of pig iron all too well.

At one point, officials had even suggested regulating pig iron, not allowing private buying and selling among the people.

Li Er had once weighed this very carefully.

The cost for commoners to use farm tools was already extremely high. If it were regulated further, the price would double again, which was not conducive to the people's livelihood.

He clearly knew the cost of Great Tang's pig iron.

The situation before him shattered his perception.

"How can this be? How can it be so cheap?"

The shopkeeper selling the farm tools was also an honest man. Hearing Li Er say this, he was somewhat dissatisfied, "What kind of talk is that? Is it wrong for me to sell it cheaply?"

"Even if you wanted to pay more, I wouldn't dare to accept it. The West Market is not a place outside the law; it's managed by the Imperial Guard." Fang Xuanling hurriedly pulled Li Er away from the shop.

"Li Er, why don't we go ask around elsewhere?"

Li Er waved his hand.

"No need, Great Qin's iron prices are indeed this low. Great Tang is going to be in big trouble!" Fang Xuanling looked at Li Er's dejected expression, not knowing how to console him.

It was fortunate that they had come to Great Qin; otherwise, such important information would be hard to know in Jin Ling.

"Business must be done honestly."

Although it was unfavorable to Great Tang, at least they knew about it early.

"Li Er, let's go back to the post house first, and then discuss slowly how to deal with it?"

Fang Xuanling was also afraid that Li Er would be too devastated.

Faced with such a situation, no one would have any solution.

Li Er had already been hit very hard.

But he knew in his heart that he couldn't lose heart.

Faced with Great Qin's aggressive stance, he could only pull himself together and seriously consider countermeasures.

"Xuanling, you say, how could Great Qin manage to push the iron price so low? Just the charcoal burned for iron smelting alone costs more than that, doesn't it?" Li Er truly couldn't figure it out.

Iron smelting requires charcoal, not coal.