Chapter 372: Too Late

"Yang He, a new commercial product will soon be released by the Prince's Mansion. Give the merchants in Yanzhou a heads-up in advance; you know what to do with the rest."

After briefly discussing the situation regarding the Northern Di and military affairs with Chang Wei, Zhao Xu spoke to Yang He again.

These past few days, because of the instability at the Border Market, he had been keeping watch at Yanguan.

He was not yet clear about the matter of the Soap.

"A new commercial product?" Yang He immediately revealed a fanatical look, like a cat smelling fish.

To him, old commercial products could no longer stir any Bolan in his heart, even though these goods continued to bring substantial income to the Prince's Mansion.

Only new goods were like a new girl in a brothel, filled with a thirst for exploration.

"Where is it? What is it? I ask that Your Highness let this official take a look." Yang He's expression was excited.

Chang Wei had little interest in trade.

Seeing the two of them start talking about commercial products, he cupped his hands to take his leave and returned to the North Camp.

With only the two of them left, Zhao Xu said, "Do not be anxious; you will be able to see it in these two days."

According to what Qu Sheng said, the Soap Workshop was ninety percent complete.

Yang He rubbed his hands incessantly, "Hehe, this time we can scrape a sum of Silver from the hands of the powerful merchants again. Your Highness, although government affairs and the military are very important, I feel this commercial product cannot be stopped either. After all, it concerns the finances of the Prince's Mansion; naturally, the more, the better."

Zhao Xu nodded slowly.

Currently, the Yanzhou Trading Firm possessed the status of an Imperial Merchant.

It traveled unimpeded in prefectures controlled by the Imperial Clan, and no one dared to block it.

It was equivalent to direct sales.

In prefectures controlled by powerful clans, they were sold exclusive sales rights.

While earning a sum of monopoly fees, the powerful merchants still had to pay Silver when taking the goods, which was equivalent to agency sales.

Every time a new product came out, the trading firm could sell new exclusive rights, earning a large sum of Silver at once.

Afterward, they still had to take goods from the Prince's Mansion as usual.

It was equivalent to earning their Silver twice.

"I have a plan for this in my heart. Next, the students of the Technology Academy will continuously research and create new products for the trading firm," Zhao Xu laughed.

"Technology Academy?" Yang He was stunned for a moment. "Does Your Highness mean that this commercial product was created by the students of the Technology Academy?"

Among the three academies, the Technology Academy was the most mysterious.

He and the officials had always been unclear about what this academy did.

They even held some contempt for it.

Now that he learned the new commercial product actually came from the hands of the students of the Technology Academy, he was quite shocked.

"That's right, it is them," Zhao Xu said casually, continuing toward the Government Academy.

Confirming this news, Yang He smacked his lips. "Your Highness, does the Technology Academy still need people? This official has a few juniors in his family who wish to listen to Your Highness's teachings."

This conversation made him suddenly realize that the Technology Academy seemed to be the place Yan Wang valued the most.

"No need," Zhao Xu dropped this sentence and gradually walked away, leaving Yang He with a bitter smile.

It seemed he, like many others, had missed this opportunity.

Over here.

Zhao Xu arrived at the Government Academy and immediately summoned the students of the Mineral Prospecting Department.

After this period of contact, Zhao Xu had selected Chen Ce as the head of the Mineral Prospecting Department from the twenty-four students.

Regarding knowledge of minerals, he had mastered it the most thoroughly.

At present, he had already taught them the knowledge of the most common minerals and those that would be needed in the short term.

Now they needed to go and practice, to find all these mineral deposits.

For example, sulfur ore and saltpeter; these two mineral deposits were distributed throughout Yanzhou.

Entering the age of firearms, Yanzhou's demand for these two minerals had increased sharply.

Yet currently, most of Yanzhou's saltpeter was purchased from Yizhou.

If one day they were throttled, Yanzhou would be quite miserable.

After all, even with the most advanced Artillery and firearms, it would not work without Gunpowder.

Others included Tungsten Ore, manganese ore, and so on.

These were essential minerals for manufacturing high-strength alloys.

Accompanying the improvement in the quality of Yanzhou's steel, the quality of the cutting tools needed would naturally have to improve as well.

Otherwise, cutting metal in the future would be a huge problem.

Moreover, the appearance of alloys would further improve the quality of Artillery barrels and firearm barrels.

In this way, the barrels could withstand more Gunpowder.

The power and range would be further improved.

"During this time, you all first find this ore, this ore..."

Spreading the Mineral Map on the table, Zhao Xu pointed them out to Chen Ce one by one.

The other students gathered around, watching carefully.

Among the students of the Mineral Prospecting Department, Chen Ce was relatively older, around twenty-five years old, and his skin was quite dark.

However, like Wang Ying, he was a person who did practical work.

Zhao Xu had taken a fancy to this point, and combined with how well Chen Ce had mastered what he taught, he had chosen him.

"This official has remembered; I will certainly not fail Your Highness's expectations." Chen Ce cupped his hands, his patched sleeves lifting.

In the Government Academy, he basically belonged to the poorest group of people.

Besides this, he still had a wife, children, and an elderly mother at home waiting for him to support.

At first, he was unwilling to come to the Government Academy.

After all, he was only a student at the academy, with no Silver to earn, and he did not know when he would be able to pass the Official Examination to become an official.

But his elderly mother and wife were unwilling to let the books he had studied so hard for so many years go to waste.

Thus, they threatened him with death to make him try the Government Academy.

The two of them, meanwhile, made a living by doing needlework and laundry.

Not daring to let down his elderly mother and wife, Chen Ce was extremely diligent at the Government Academy.

He memorized an entire textbook until he knew it by heart.

Liu Fu took note of this, so he took advantage of this matter regarding the Mineral Prospecting Department to recommend him.

And he did not fail to live up to expectations; he was valued by Yan Wang and selected as a director, which could be called a meteoric rise, making many students envious.

Now, he is an official of the Government Office and has a salary to collect.

He cherishes this very much.

Now that Yan Wang has entrusted him with the heavy responsibility of prospecting for minerals, a surge of spirit suddenly rose in his heart.

It was a spirit of determination to handle the matter perfectly.

"Then this King will await your good news. Remember, the work you are doing is very important and does not belong to any other official," Zhao Xu said.

Coming from the modern era, he was very clear about the importance of mines to an industrial nation.

It could be said that mines are the lifeblood of industry.

"Yes, Your Highness," everyone said loudly.

With Yan Wang saying this, they were immediately filled with excitement.

After all, from the perspective of the officialdom of the Great Song, the job of prospecting for minerals was really a bit like neglecting one's proper work.

Sweeping his gaze over everyone, Zhao Xu stepped forward one by one and patted them on the shoulders.

Prospecting for minerals is a very arduous task.

Although the geographical conditions near the mineral deposits were marked on the maps.

These places were certainly very different from those in the modern era.

The natural environment of ancient times was quite primitive.

Perhaps some of the mines were just forests or swamps.

It was not impossible to encounter jackals, wolves, tigers, or leopards.

"From today on, the Mineral Prospecting Department is officially established. The office has also been prepared for you. If you need Silver or supplies, you only need to report it to the Government Office," Zhao Xu said solemnly as he returned to stand before them.

Chen Ce could not hide the smile on his face; before today, he only held an official title in name.

Now, he would officially become a part of the Government Office.