Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 239: Great principles and benefit the world
"This is way too much."

Yin Ashu, his eyes gleaming with greed, stared at the boxes of silver being carried down.

During the Tang Dynasty, currency was scarce, and gold and silver items were extremely valuable.

These boxes of silver ingots are truly priceless.

"It's worth the price."

Lin Dao clapped his hands. "We should have enough coal to buy this coal mine."

The daughter's beauty attracted the attention of powerful figures, who then used her influence to their advantage—this has been a long-standing tradition.

Yin Ashu is neither the first nor the last.

He seized this coal mine by abusing his power; he had no capital to begin with.

I am naturally delighted to be able to exchange so many valuable precious metals.

The only problem is~
“You are a member of the Prince of Qin’s mansion. If the Crown Prince finds out, things may become difficult.”

Lin Dao simply denied it, saying, "Don't give me any random identities. I'm not a member of the Prince of Qin's mansion."

"No?" Yin Ashu didn't believe it. "If it weren't true, why would Changsun Wuji go to such lengths to buy mines for you?"

Without going into too much detail, let's just say that ten years from now, apart from Li Er and his son, who in the Tang Dynasty would dare to call Changsun Wuji by his name?

In modern times, Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng would be the nominal masters of the Tang Dynasty.

The lackeys and sycophants around them were all increasingly arrogant.

This is a true example of how fortunes change.

"That's because they need something from me."

Lin Dao kicked the box next to him. "Are you going to mess with money?"

After staring at Lin Dao for a while, a smile appeared on Yin Ashu's handsome face.

"You're right, who would turn down money?"

Don't believe the stereotypical portrayals in movies and TV shows; villains aren't always ugly and short.

Although his name is Yin Ashu, he is not a thief with rat-like eyes.

In reality, how could his daughter be so beautiful that she caught the eye of the lecherous old man Li Yuan? It's impossible for her father to be ugly; it just doesn't make sense genetically.

Unless~~~
Yin Ashu, riding his horse, frequently turned his head to look at the forest path.

He instructed his servants to "arrange for someone to keep an eye on it."

"Find out exactly what he's going to do with all this coal."

"As for this silver, select half of it and send it to the palace."

He still cares about his daughter quite a bit.

Knowing that his daughter's competition for his affections also required spending money.

After making a fortune, his first thought was to give half to his daughter.

He doesn't seem like Zhang Jieyu's father.

They acted recklessly and committed all sorts of evil deeds.

He's been murdered, and nobody knows who did it.

As for Lin Dao, we'll find out what he's up to once we figure out.

We'll just snatch everything at once.

In this Tang Dynasty, as long as his daughter continues to be favored, he fears no one!
This is the power of rules and regulations.

The villagers near the coal mine have recently found a new source of income.

Carrying coal.

Ten catties of coal cost one coin. If you carried dozens of catties of coal up from the mine, that would cost several coins.

During the Wude era, one coin could buy about one pound of millet.

With such high wages, even during the busy autumn harvest season, villagers from nearby villages would take time to come down to the mine and carry a few baskets of coal up to exchange for money.

During the Tang Dynasty, the problem of soil erosion in Guanzhong was not as severe as it was in later periods.

There are many rivers of all sizes near Chang'an.

A river flows right next to the coal mine.

Lin Dao set up a coal washing plant on an open space by the river.

Although it's called a coal washing plant, it's really just a simple open-air washing operation.

Coal gangue and other similar materials will be screened out.

The truly useful coal powder and coal lumps, mixed with lime and red and yellow mud, were made into honeycomb briquettes.

In addition to the basic raw materials, combustion improvers were also mixed in.

The combustion aids are mainly charcoal powder, nitrates, potassium permanganate, carbonized wood chips, etc.

The hired villagers used ball-forming machines to shape the moist coal raw materials into honeycomb briquettes.

After these honeycomb briquettes have dried and solidified, they are loaded onto four-wheeled carts and sent to the West Market for sale.

Lin Dao took over a shop next to a restaurant that sold mutton stew, and now specializes in selling tin stoves, kettles, and honeycomb briquettes.

These days, there's no such thing as widespread advertising.

Li Erfeng wasn't home either, so they couldn't get this top influencer out to go around the city promoting how great honeycomb briquettes are—everyone who's used them knows!

Lin Dao used the simplest method.

A row of more than a dozen stoves were placed outside the shop, filled with honeycomb briquettes to boil water directly.

The kettle for boiling water was made by blacksmiths, and the aluminum alloy material was transported from Lindao.

Sure enough, the blazing flames and the hissing kettle attracted the attention of countless people.

Darth is conducive to the world.

There's not much Lin Dao can do right now, but he can temporarily help those people who are suffering from rising firewood prices so they can save some money.

At the same time, he was also fishing.

How the entire Tang Dynasty court reacted determined how Lin Dao would ultimately act.

If Li Erfeng or Li Jiancheng are suitable, he will support them and help them open up the commercial market to make profits.

If neither of them are suitable~
Then do it yourself!
The criteria for whether something is appropriate are quite simple.

People-centered approach.

This person was not a scholar from a prominent family or aristocratic clan.

They are farmers who face the loess soil with their backs to the sky, soldiers who brave ice and snow to fight on the battlefield, and civilians who carry a cart of charcoal weighing over a thousand pounds!
The price of the Lindao products is extremely cheap, basically at cost price.

It is effective and inexpensive.

The business of stoves and honeycomb briquettes quickly became booming.

Compared to firewood and charcoal, it has a huge advantage.

The most popular type is the aluminum alloy kettle.

Some people even buy a kettle instead of a stove.

After all, only those who have used it know how important and luxurious boiling water is. The West Market was the most prosperous commercial area in Chang'an City.

Merchants coming and going, residents within the city, and farmers outside the city quickly spread the news and goods far and wide.

The product's immense popularity naturally attracted business-minded individuals.

The first to arrive were a group of merchants from the Central Asian region.

These merchants from distant Western Regions countries, and even from the more distant Sogdian Nine Clans, immediately wanted to buy technology.

They brought out bags of spices, gems, and even a batch of orchids.

The technology for replacing the stove, kettle, and honeycomb briquettes in the forest road needs to be improved.

"The technology is not for sale."

Sitting on a stool, Lin Dao looked relaxed. "Especially, we can't sell it to the Hu people."

"I'm not some fool who gives away women and technology along with them!"

The merchants did not press the matter further and immediately offered to buy the goods.

"We'll take all of your goods, however much you have."

Of course, it wasn't about transporting it all the way back to their hometown by camel.

Instead, they resold the goods to large merchants in various regions, who then distributed them throughout the Tang Dynasty.

They can resell it for several times or even ten times the price and make a profit.

"Package?"

Lin Dao laughed and said, "Sure, of course we'll take the business that's offered to us."

"I'll sell it to you at the current price, a hundred times the original price."

The Hu people were very angry and accused Lin Dao of damaging the image of the Celestial Empire and undermining relations between countries.

"When there are benefits, people will definitely think of their own people first."

"You're letting them profit while you turn around and cheat your own people?"

"Do you think I'm some kind of expert or professor?"

The surrounding Tang people cheered and applauded.

Everyone agrees that Lin Dao is absolutely right!
Our own people haven't even had a good life yet, so why should you outsiders be able to live comfortably!
The foreign merchants fled in disarray.

But the desire to make money will not stop there; it will only grow stronger.

"Shopkeeper!"

The blacksmith at the blacksmith's shop got poached!

"Shopkeeper!"

"The coal-pounding machine used for mining coal at the coal mine has been stolen!"

Lin Dao replied lazily, "Go and inform the Prince of Qin's mansion about the blacksmith's matter. They're the ones who brought him here."

"The coal mine's goods have been stolen. Go to Lantian County to report the case."

Technically, it's not that complicated; you'll understand once you buy it, take it apart, and take a look.

The real key point is the materials.

The furnace was made of sheet metal.

The name sounds ordinary, but it actually uses galvanizing technology.

Not to mention the kettle, it's made of aluminum alloy.

They don't have these raw materials; at most, they can use cast iron.

Cast iron can certainly be used to make furnaces, but kettles made from cast iron are prone to oxidation.

That's not the most important thing; the most important thing is the honeycomb briquettes.

Coal, sawdust, and red and yellow mud are all easy to obtain.

Where do combustion-supporting agents come from?
Forced ignition is not out of the question, but that would significantly increase costs.

Lin Dao was sold at cost price.

How can those who lack core technologies compete with him for the market?

Don't underestimate this small market.

Chang'an was an international metropolis with a population of one million.

In addition, the large population in the counties of Guanzhong means that the daily consumption of firewood is astronomical.

This is precisely why the forests in the Guanzhong region gradually disappeared, and no dynasty after the Tang Dynasty established its capital there.

Lindao pioneered this entirely new market.

It not only alleviates the pressure on firewood and protects the natural environment, but it is also a huge business.

Counterfeits quickly appeared on the market, but they were only similar in appearance to the real thing.

Boil some water, and it tastes like rust.

Honeycomb briquettes are even more troublesome to light, and their thermal energy is not as good as that of the forest road.

If there's nothing better, then this is innovative technology; if it works, then use it.

But comparisons don't work, especially when the forest road is sold at cost price.

There were even instances where people who bought the goods came back to request a refund.

The ancients were not fools.

They quickly realized that the difference lay in the raw materials.

Understanding something doesn't mean you can solve it.

After all, whether it's sheet metal, aluminum alloy, or a combustion accelerant.

With the large-scale wholesale of these forest roads, cheap industrial products simply cannot be manufactured here in the Tang Dynasty.

Since the goods couldn't be sold as well as those in Lindao, the counterfeiters started looking for ways to ship them out of the country.

However, we were a step behind in this aspect.

Yanshoufang attracted more and more blacksmiths, and it almost became their world, where they spent their days constantly forging furnaces and kettles.

Aside from supplying Chang'an, most of it was sent by Changsun Wuji to Li Erfeng in Hebei.

When he approached Lin Dao for support, he made it very simple.

"To assist the King of Qin in pacifying the local populace~~~"

Lowering the cost of living for ordinary people and enabling them to obtain better living conditions could even alleviate the resentment among the people of Hebei.

Lin Dao agreed without hesitation.

As for the honeycomb briquettes, they weren't sent over.

Hebei has no shortage of coal mines, and although there are no combustion aids, they can still be used to make a fire.

The counterfeiters got desperate.

If commercial competition doesn't work, then let's resort to physical means!

(End of this chapter)