I have already established my power and prestige, so how did Li Shimin come back to life?

He was reluctant to even light a small coal stove. Deep down in his heart, he always adhered to the concept of diligence and thrift, and felt that lighting a coal stove to keep warm in such weather was a pure luxury and waste.

He saves as much as he can, after all, every penny is hard-earned for him, and is accumulated through his own hard work, bit by bit.

Lin Dafu bent down and carefully picked up the list that His Majesty handed him.

The handwriting on the list was strong and powerful, and it clearly stated that the manufacturing task of Qianwu cannon still needed to be advanced, and the quantity required this time was quite considerable, with as many as one thousand more to be built.

Speaking of the Qianwu cannon, after a long period of exploration and practice, the Tang Dynasty’s military factories have become quite familiar with its manufacturing process.

With the continuous improvement of technology and the increase in proficiency, the price of cannons produced has gradually decreased and costs have been effectively controlled.

However, there are still some problems that need to be solved with this cannon. For example, the hardness of the metal needs to be further improved. Only in this way can the cannon fire more shots on the battlefield and exert greater power and effect.

Lin Dafu is not an ordinary businessman who only knows how to do business. He has his own unique calculation ability for business accounts and cost accounting.

In fact, he had carefully calculated the cost structure of the Qianwu cannon.

After some in-depth research, he found that the cost of the materials used in the cannon itself was actually not high, and most of the raw materials needed to manufacture the cannon were transported from the distant Japanese island.

Although the journey was long and the transportation process required a certain amount of manpower and material resources, the overall cost was still within an acceptable range. The largest labor cost was borne by the hardworking Kunlun slaves.

Relying on their excellent physical strength, they undertook most of the heavy and arduous physical labor, providing strong support for the manufacture of cannons.

When Lin Dafu took all the cost factors into consideration, he found that the biggest expense was concentrated in the transportation link.

Every time a war breaks out, this heavy cannon needs to be transported to the front battlefield first. After firing a few shots on the battlefield, it needs to be carefully pulled back and sent back to the military factory to be melted down and recast in preparation for the next use.

This round-trip transportation process is really too cumbersome. It not only requires a lot of manpower and material resources, but also involves many uncertainties.

Lin Dafu looked into the distance and fell into deep thought.

The current number of military factories in the Tang Dynasty is still too small, far from meeting the needs of war and national development.

He couldn't help but imagine in his mind that if one day every prefecture in the Tang Dynasty could achieve vigorous industrial development and each prefecture could have ten military factories, it would be much more convenient.

By that time, no matter where the war is fought, cannons can be directly produced in local military factories. After they are manufactured, they can be directly pulled to the battlefield and put into use. There is no need to go through the trouble of transportation like now.

Moreover, by that time, perhaps after continuous technological improvements and upgrades, the Qianwu cannon will not only be able to fire five shots, but its performance will inevitably be greatly improved.

Play a more important role on the battlefield.

As he was thinking, Lin Dafu suddenly woke up as if from a dream, raised his hand abruptly, and slapped himself hard.

The "pop" sound seemed particularly crisp and loud here.

His eyes widened, and he muttered to himself with regret on his face, "What's wrong with me? Why am I suddenly obsessed with spending money? If every province had ten military factories, how much money would that cost?"

"How can I afford such a thing? What's wrong with me? When did I become the kind of person I used to hate the most, the one who only knows how to squander money?"

His thoughts involuntarily drifted to the shells again.

The transportation of these shells is also a big problem that causes people a lot of headaches.

During transportation, the shells must not come into contact with open flames or get wet, and the seals must be kept intact at all times. Moreover, during the handling and transportation process, they must be handled with extreme caution and care, without any room for error or mishap.

Lin Dafu knew clearly that every little trouble and request represented real financial expenditure and was part of the cost!

After all, he was a businessman with a sharp mind and good at thinking. He thought again and suddenly an idea came to his mind.

If I were willing to spend some money to hire some skilled craftsmen and knowledgeable people to conduct in-depth research and solve these problems that have been bothering everyone, then the days to come would be very different.

If these minor problems and difficulties can be successfully solved, it means that the cost of cannons and shells can be greatly reduced, and production efficiency and usage effects will be significantly improved. At that time, the profit will be like a snowball, getting bigger and bigger, and making more and more money, right?

"Snapped!"

Another crisp slap sounded, and Lin Dafu slapped himself again.

He frowned, his expression showing an extremely tangled mess, and he kept muttering, "I must be really sick. I don't know why I've been having so many random thoughts lately."

"We can't do this, we can't do this!"

As he spoke, he tried to calm his fluctuating emotions. He covered his chest tightly with both hands, breathing heavily, and tried to calm himself down.

"My own money! It's hard-earned!"