Hearing this, Cheng Chong and Zhang Liao were shocked.
The two of them looked at each other, their eyes filled with ecstasy!
Iron ore!
What did this mean?
In this era, iron was the most important strategic resource.
Whether it was armor or weapons, they could not do without iron.
Without raw materials, no matter how good a craftsman was, no matter how much money he had, he would not be able to forge a good weapon.
At present, the Great Han Dynasty was implementing a salt and iron official camp system.
Several large iron mines were firmly controlled by the provincial governor.
For example, Liu Yu, governor of Youzhou, Dong Zhuo, governor of Liangzhou, and Han Fu, governor of Jizhou.
The reason why these places were so powerful in the early stages of the Three Kingdoms was largely due to the existence of iron ore!
And now, in Cheng Chong's territory, an iron mine was discovered.
This was definitely a huge surprise!
It was the foundation of Cheng Chong's participation in the dukedom in the future!
Taking a deep breath, Cheng Chong calmed down and asked in a deep voice.
"Who else knows about this?"
Killing intent flashed in his eyes.
The existence of the iron ore was a secret that could not be leaked.
After all, his current power was still too weak.
Those great clans were like a pack of wild wolves. If they were to covet Cheng Chong, they would probably devour him until not even his bones were left.
"Don't worry, my lord. I know the pros and cons." Guo Jia smiled indifferently.”
"The moment I received the news, I had already taken control of those migrant workers.”
"The government is providing for their families as hostages, and at the same time, they are paying a lot of money to keep their mouths shut.”
"In addition, I have already sent people to completely seal off the ten miles around the iron mine.”
Cheng Chong nodded in satisfaction.
As expected of Guo Jia, he did things properly and did not reveal a drop of water!
Guo Jia continued to report.
"I've also secretly asked someone to investigate. The reserves of this iron ore are extremely huge, enough to forge 100,000 sets of armor and 200,000 macho standard long knives!”
Cheng Chong was shocked once again, and the joy in his eyes became even stronger.
The scale of this iron mine was actually so large?
With so much armor and weapons, it was enough to arm a 100,000-man army.
In this era, if one could have 100,000 armored warriors, it would be enough to become a terrifying force that the dukes of the world feared!
Zhang Liao was also trembling with excitement.
At this moment, he was extremely glad about his decision.
Choosing to follow Cheng Chong was definitely the right choice!
He had already seen Cheng Chong's huge potential!
"However…"
Guo Jia changed the topic and revealed a difficult expression.
"Iron ore is just a dead object after all. If you want to turn it into usable armaments, you need specialized equipment and a large number of skilled blacksmiths.”
"The Central Mausoleum doesn't have these things. We need to purchase and recruit them.”
"But the financial situation of the Central Mausoleum, my lord, should also be very clear. Maintaining normal operations is already very tight, let alone developing iron mines.”
Guo Jia felt helpless.
Money.
Everything was a matter of money.
A clever housewife can't cook without rice. No matter how intelligent he was, he couldn't conjure money out of thin air!
Cheng Chong smiled bitterly.
When the cannon sounded, ten thousand taels of gold would be released.
If one wanted to dominate the world, not only did they need powerful military strength, but they also needed a large amount of financial support.
It was precisely because of this that the various dukes would actively rope in the great clans.
Liu Bei could only make a comeback with the help of the Mi family.
Yuan Shao relied on the Zhen family's support to defeat Gongsun Zan and dominate the north.
However, this path was not feasible for Cheng Chong.
His background was too low, and his influence was also very weak. He simply could not enter the eyes of those aristocratic families.
Moreover, he was not willing to act according to the expressions of those aristocratic families.
As for digging graves and borrowing money from the ancients like Cao Cao, it was not appropriate.
It wasn't that he cared about morality, but that he couldn't do it.
After all, Cheng Chong could only control a small area like Ling County.
This place had been a bitter and cold place since ancient times. There were no ancient tombs at all.
There were many ancient tombs in Yanzhou and Yuzhou, which were beyond his reach.
If he wanted to raise money, he had to start somewhere else!
Cheng Chong muttered to himself for a moment before an idea suddenly flashed in his mind.
"Fengxiao, you don't have to worry. I'll solve the money problem.”
Guo Jia was stunned.
Solved?
How to solve it?
Could it be that the lord wants to extort money from the people?
A worried expression appeared on his face as he hurriedly opened his mouth to advise.
"My lord, the development of the iron mine is important, but the people's hearts are more important!”
"The tax burden on the people of the Central Mausoleum is already very heavy. We can only reduce taxes and corvee.”
"Moreover, our army must not plunder everywhere like the Yellow Turban Army!”
"That way, although we can accumulate wealth and gain temporary prosperity, we will lose the hearts of the people and will definitely not last long!”
Cheng Chong laughed and waved his hand.
"Fengxiao, what are you thinking!"
"Raising taxes, plundering, you don't have to say anything. I won't do any of these!”
"It's easy to earn money!"
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