Three Kingdoms: Fusion of Entries, Change of Destiny

Chapter 149 Planning the Emperor's Eastern Relocation
Jia Xu arrived at Zhang Ji's army and brought a very alarming message.

"What?! Fan Chou is dead?!" Zhang Ji suddenly stood up from his seat, his face full of disbelief.

Zhang Ji's forces were the weakest, and he was the first to be pushed out of Chang'an.

Following that, Fan Chou also met a tragic end, leaving only Li Jue and Guo Si in the vast city of Chang'an.

Back then, when the four of them joined forces to conquer Chang'an, how majestic they were! Now, however, they have fallen into a miserable state of being torn apart.

The most stable love triangle has been destroyed, leaving only Li and Guo, who will inevitably have a fierce battle sooner or later.

"Li Jue and Guo Si are really going to turn the world upside down!" Zhang Ji muttered to himself.

Jia Xu stood quietly in the tent, watching Zhang Ji's shocked and discomfitured appearance, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

His original intention in saying "Serving the country to rectify the world" was to give Li Jue, Guo Si, and others a way to survive.

Unexpectedly, after taking control of Chang'an, they dragged the world into even deeper chaos and war.

Compared to Dong Zhuo, Li Jue and Guo Si were nothing more than reckless brutes who lacked strategy. They acted even more recklessly, and now they had developed to the absurd point where one side held the emperor hostage and the other side held the officials hostage, openly opposing each other.

At present, the emperor and his officials are in danger, and the people of Sili are suffering terribly. Jia Xu is to blame for all of this.

To make amends for his mistakes, Jia Xu devised a plan that might turn the tide, and the key to this plan was General Zhang Ji, who was standing before him.

“General, Li Jue and Guo Si are now in control of the government in Chang’an, acting recklessly and wantonly. The emperor is in disgrace and the people are suffering.” Jia Xu spoke slowly, his voice low. “The death of Fan Chou was the beginning of their power struggle.”

In my opinion, neither Li nor Guo are benevolent people; their relationship is like fire and water, and a fierce battle is inevitable sooner or later.

"General, your forces are relatively weak. If you continue to remain neutral, you will likely become a casualty of their struggle."

Zhang Ji frowned, pacing back and forth in his tent, pondering Jia Xu's words repeatedly.

He knew perfectly well what was going on in his heart.
After being ousted from Chang'an by Li Jue and Guo Si, his situation became increasingly difficult.

He has been looking for opportunities to regain his footing.

“Mr. Wenhe, what good plan do you have? Please speak frankly!” Zhang Ji stopped and stared intently at Jia Xu.

Jia Xu remained calm and slowly said, "Li Jue and Guo Si are now at the point of no return, and it's only a matter of time before their conflict escalates. What we need to do is to cleverly orchestrate a situation so that this conflict will erupt completely at the time we desire."

"How exactly should we proceed?" Zhang Ji pressed.

"Does the general still remember Guo Si's wife?" Jia Xu asked.

"I remember it. That woman had a slender waist and plump hips, and was quite beautiful," Zhang Ji nodded in response.

"Guo Si's wife was jealous by nature and was extremely wary of the women around Guo Si."

We might as well bribe someone to poison Guo Si's wife's wine.

Once his wife is poisoned, he will surely suspect Li Jue, which will only exacerbate the suspicion between the two of them.

After listening, Zhang Ji fell into deep thought, and after a moment said, "This plan has some merit! But what should I do after their conflict erupts?"

"Stirring up their conflict is just the first step in the plan," Jia Xu continued unhurriedly. "Li Jue and Guo Si are evenly matched, and if they fight, they will definitely not give way to each other, which will only seriously deplete their strength."

When they are exhausted from fighting, you, General, can intervene as a third party to mediate.

At that time, you can propose a plan to move the emperor eastward to Hongnong.

In this way, Li and Guo can find a new balance, forcing them to compromise for their own interests.

"Move the emperor eastward to Hongnong?" Zhang Ji's eyes lit up. "You mean, let the emperor leave Chang'an and come to my jurisdiction?!"

“Exactly!” Jia Xu nodded.

"But I only have a few thousand soldiers. If Li and Guo go back on their word, I can't protect the emperor!" Zhang Ji was excited, but he wasn't blinded by his excitement.

"Therefore, General, after you receive the Emperor, you should immediately escort him to Guandong!" Jia Xu emphasized the words "Guandong".

"Guan...Guandong?" Zhang Ji's eyes widened, his face filled with shock. "The warlords of Guandong, can they tolerate me?"

“Under normal circumstances, the warlords of Guandong would naturally not tolerate each other. But if you, General, are escorting the Emperor to move east, then you will be a meritorious minister to His Majesty and the country. The warlords of Guandong will be too busy currying favor with you to dare to harm you easily,” Jia Xu explained patiently.

Zhang Ji paced back and forth in his tent, his mind filled with hesitation.

Seeing this, Jia Xu continued to persuade him, "General, you can secretly send someone to Guandong to investigate the situation of the various lords and find reliable people. If any lord is willing to welcome the emperor, you can join their ranks. In this way, you will surely be given an important position." "But would Li Jue and Guo Si agree to hand over the emperor?" Zhang Ji asked again.

"General, rest assured," Jia Xu said confidently. "Although Li Jue and Guo Si hold considerable military power, their actions in Chang'an have already aroused the dissatisfaction of the people."

They are currently fraught with conflict. If we simply suggest that they move the emperor to Hongnong, and they believe that this would not significantly harm their respective interests, but rather ease the tension between them, they are very likely to agree.

Moreover, the general now commands a considerable force. If he can unite with other factions dissatisfied with Li Jue and Guo Si, creating significant pressure, they will have no choice but to compromise, even if unwilling.

Zhang Ji paced back and forth in his tent, weighing the pros and cons repeatedly in his mind.

After a long while, he finally stopped and looked at Jia Xu with a firm gaze.

"Wenhe, we'll do as you say!" Zhang Ji gritted his teeth, his expression resolute. "If this succeeds, I, Zhang Ji, will never forget your contribution, sir!"

"General, you are wise," Jia Xu said, bowing. "This matter should not be rushed; we need to plan it carefully."

Zhang Ji nodded in agreement and said, "Wenhe, you will stay in my army and offer advice and strategies to help me achieve great things."

"I will do my utmost to assist the general," Jia Xu replied respectfully.

……

Yanzhou, Chenliu workshop.

After obtaining the "Method of Coking in Earthen Kilns," Cao Yan immediately went to the workshop.

In the history of iron smelting, coke, along with iron ore and limestone, is known as one of the three major raw materials for ironmaking, holding a pivotal position.

The West, which pioneered the history of modern iron smelting, considered coke, along with the steam engine, iron, and steel, to be one of the four major factors that accelerated the technological development of the First Industrial Revolution, demonstrating the high status of coke in history.

The construction of large blast furnaces was a significant marker of modern iron smelting in later generations.

However, the use of large blast furnaces for iron smelting requires the realization of mechanized coking and steam blasting technologies.

Cao Yan did know what a blower was, but given the current conditions, he had absolutely no way of making a steam blower.

However, providing a framework and having the craftsmen provide either manpower or a water-powered blower should still be achievable.

The book "Methods of Coking in Earthen Kilns" details the methods for building earthen kilns, also known as earthen coke ovens.

Among them, the construction of the flue is a key procedure in kiln construction, and two layers of flues need to be built.

The first layer of flue gas should be built in the center of the kiln, constructed using lump coal. The coal filling around the flue gas should all be pulverized coal. After filling to a certain height, the coal needs to be tamped down and compacted before building the second layer of flue gas.

The second layer of flue is much more complex than the first layer.

This layer of flues also has a center, around which are built stone flues that are 60-70 centimeters wide and 20 centimeters high. There are 16 or 18 such flues, and each flue is connected to the center.

After the walls are built, a second layer of coal is added, covering all the flues with pulverized coal to a thickness of more than half a meter.

At this point, ignition begins. First, easily combustible wood chips are lit and thrown into the central flue, causing them to fall into the bottom flue and ignite the coal and pulverized coal.

When the fire reaches the central flue of the second layer, wood chips are added to aid combustion.

Then a third layer of coal was added, still using pulverized coal, to a thickness of about 70 to 80 centimeters.

During combustion, the central flue will gradually collapse, and flames will spew out from the small flues to the outside, making the fire more and more intense until it shines out from the center to the outside.

When the kiln reaches this temperature, the cokers need to surround it with stones or brick fragments.

When flames shine through the bricks and blue smoke appears, it is a sign that the bricks have charred.

The opening should be plugged immediately and then covered with sand.

Once the sand is used to cover the surface, water is sprayed to cool it down. After cooling, the product is removed, and the coking process is complete.

It takes more than 30 people to work together to produce one batch of coke in this kind of earthen kiln. It can produce two batches of coke a day, and one batch can produce nearly 50 tons of coke!

This shows that the efficiency of this kind of earthen kiln coking is indeed quite good.

However, while imagination is wonderful, practice requires artisans to experiment constantly.

In any case, with coke, the Cao Group's overall strength will surely reach a new level!

(End of this chapter)