Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 268 It all started with the explosion of shit.

Li Longji, who was in Chang'an, completely ignored the complaints from Luoyang.

Pretend you didn't see it.

He remained silent, and Zhang pretended not to have seen it.

In Zhang Shuo's view, Li Longji's failure to praise Wang Maozhong was already a sign of great restraint.

Because no matter what, Wang Maozhong holds the imperial decrees. If you disobey the decrees and come to the court to complain, is the court trying to slap itself in the face?
Besides, all it's for is a little bit of silt?

In addition, Zhang Shuo was also very clear that Li Longji did not blame those powerful and influential people because he did not want to escalate the conflict over such a trivial matter, thereby affecting the overall reform policy.

Zhang Shuo was the leader of the military and political reforms, and he went out of his way to exacerbate the conflicts. In terms of understanding the boss's psychology, Zhang Shuo was far superior to Zhang Jiazhen.

In fact, judging from Li Longji's governance, whether in civil administration or military affairs, he was extremely averse to personally handling all government affairs.

He always puts more of his energy into personnel management.

For example, during those ten years, he paid great attention to the appointment of local officials. Every county magistrate had to write a report, and he had to personally review the arrangements for each county magistrate.

But he would only appoint an official to a certain place and to a certain position, without telling those officials what they should do every day.

In terms of trusting those he employed, Li Longji actually did a very good job.

This is also a reasonable administrative approach. You spend a lot of effort on the appointment and removal of officials, which is simply to assess their abilities and use their abilities to govern.

If you still want to remotely control things, you might as well send a servant or eunuch over; they would be more obedient, so why bother with all that?

Since you've chosen him, you have to give him room to grow.

The biggest difference between Li Longji's early and later years lies precisely in this point: he was too lax in his governance of officials.

Meanwhile, a technological revolution is also taking place in Chang'an.

Based on the current situation and what is foreseeable in the future, a fuel revolution is indeed imminent and cannot be delayed.

Large-scale production in fertilizers and wineries has led to a greater and more concentrated demand for fuel.

The cost is extremely high, and this is the fuel consumption never before seen. The timber in Guanzhong is simply insufficient to support the construction of fertilizer mills, let alone wineries.

However, Guanzhong is rich in coal, with numerous surface mines and even more underground, which is a unique advantage.

The Tang Dynasty, being very enlightened, provided ample room for the development of private enterprises.

For the imperial court, the most important mining industry was copper mining.

Because copper ore is money.

Even so, the imperial court stipulated that private individuals could mine mines that the court did not allow, but there was one condition: the mines had to be put into the market for government procurement.

The same applies to coal mines.

Seventy percent of the surface coal mines in Guanzhong belong to the imperial court. Currently, weapons and copper coins are made from coal smelting, but that's all.

Ordinary people basically don't use it, not because the government is strict, but because the cost of obtaining it is too high, and timber is much more readily available.

The remaining 30% of surface coal mines are controlled by powerful and wealthy individuals, but they are also used for the smelting needs of their families.

As for the underground ones, they are mostly privately owned and don't collect any taxes. The only rules are that the feng shui cannot be disrupted, the lives of the people cannot be disrupted, and so on.

Although there are regulations, the overall approach is quite lenient.

It could even be said that the overall environment still encourages private mining.

All of this greatly helped the fuel revolution.

Lady Zixia represents the privileged class, who have no shortage of resources, and at the same time, she also represents the traditional technocrats.

Her approach was very traditional: she collected all the books that documented coal mining and recruited experienced personnel.

The key point is that she doesn't care about the cost.

Because this calculation is so easy: as long as a large amount of coal can be mined, it will be very profitable for her fertilizer plantation and winery.

Money makes things easier.

This has always been the case; breakthroughs can be achieved even without scientific support.

Hundreds of experienced craftsmen are working to solve the problems one by one. If the digging is too deep, it will be easily buried. It's simple: build a protective frame inside and support it with wooden stakes.

What should I do if the water can't drain?
Dig a canal to allow water to flow.

What if the air inside is bad?
Open a vent to let in some air.

This is how the ancients solved problems.

They are not afraid of real difficulties. After all, there is nothing new in this world. How difficult can it be? If all else fails, I can still move mountains like the Foolish Old Man.

At the foot of a mine in the northern suburbs of Chang'an.

Lady Zixia, dressed in a turban, red robe, and black boots—typical men's attire—arrived at a mine and looked down.

Guang Sheng, who was standing nearby, said, "The depth of this mine has reached eight zhang, which should be the deepest mine in our Great Tang Dynasty."

Lady Zixia nodded, then asked curiously, "It's not that difficult, so why couldn't you do it before?"

Guang Sheng said, "Madam, we are doing this regardless of cost, but we had to consider the cost beforehand. Timber is cheaper. Coal is usually used to smelt weapons and coins, so there's no need to dig this deep. Also, the cost of using coal is higher."

Madam Zixia looked at Guang Sheng, "What do you mean?"

Guang Sheng said, "First of all, the coal that is mined has to be screened. The more you mine, the more manpower you need. In addition, the coal smells extremely bad when it burns, and I've heard that it's also poisonous. Also, transportation is very difficult."

Lady Zixia asked, "So how many problems have we solved?"

Guang Sheng was clearly less confident than before, saying, "It's still being resolved. At present, we've only formulated some screening steps, and we can also use some tools and tricks to reduce the difficulty of screening."

As for the smell of burning coal, some wealthy families have already found a way to get rid of it by burning it once, but only the very rich can afford to do so.

Moreover, they used it to brew tea or wine when entertaining guests, the purpose of which was to display their wealth.

“I’ve seen this before.” Madam Zixia nodded, then asked, “Is there any other way?” Guang Sheng shook his head and said, “This is the only way for now.”

Lady Zixia then asked, "And what about transportation?"

Guang Sheng said, "The best way is to build the winery and fertilizer factory near the coal mine, or find a coal mine near the river, and then build the winery and fertilizer factory on the riverbank. Transporting goods by the river will be much cheaper."

Madam Zixia nodded, "Don't worry about the cost for now. Practice makes perfect. In time, you'll have more methods, and the cost will naturally decrease."

Besides, our glass workshop also needs coal, so it's all worthwhile."

Guang Sheng nodded and said, "I understand."

Madam Zixia then asked, "What's the situation at the Nameless Academy?"

Guang Sheng was stunned for a moment, and then confusion suddenly appeared in his eyes.

"how?"

"They haven't been very active lately, they've been playing around everywhere, either playing with bird wings on the river, or running to the valley to do some kind of flying wing, or digging for eels and loaches in the fields."

As he spoke, Guang Sheng added, "Madam, they are just a group of children after all. What they did before was just homework assigned by Mr. Wuming. They are not the ones who do the work."

Madam Zixia said with some doubt, "That's true, but the fact that they have achieved so much success proves that they are indeed capable."

Guang Sheng said, "But they only use their skills for playing around. Those bird wings are useless; they're just for playing in the water."

Lady Zixia simply smiled and said, "Wait until you've proven it before you say these things."

For Wuming Academy, playing in the water is now outdated; what they pursue now is the heavens.

In a valley fifteen miles southeast of Chang'an, Xue Jun, his face bruised and swollen, stood on a hillside, holding up a huge bird wing board made of bamboo and cloth, while Linghu Baodi and Cui Gu'er helped him support the two sides.

"Done yet?"

Linghu Baodi asked nervously.

Xue Jun took a deep breath, "Charge!"

The three of them lifted the huge bird wing and rushed down. After going more than ten steps, Linghu Baodi and Cui Gu'er pushed forward, and at the same time, Xue Jun pushed off with both feet, and his whole body instantly flew up.

A cheer erupted at the foot of the mountain.

But before the echo had faded, there was a cracking sound, and the entire wingplate suddenly fell apart.

A scream was heard, and Xue Jun was seen falling from the sky.

Linghu Baodi and Cui Gu'er covered their eyes in fright at the same time.

I heard a thud.

There was a small lake at the bottom of the valley. Xue Jun fell directly into the lake. After only a short while, he emerged from the water, angrily slapping the surface and shouting to his junior brothers and sisters by the lake, "What are you doing? This is the twelfth time already. Do you really want to kill me?"

Linghu Baodi wouldn't tolerate him. "I told you this wingplate wouldn't work. It should be made into a triangle. The master said before that a triangle is the most stable, but you wouldn't believe me."

Xue Jun asked excitedly, "Have you ever seen a bird with a triangular head?"

Linghu Baodi said, "But I have seen people fall into the water."

"You fatso, just you wait!" Enraged, Xue Jun swam vigorously toward the lake.

Linghu Baodi, wanting to strike first, picked up a stone and threw it down, causing Xue Jun to cry out in pain and curse.

This is the norm at Wuming Academy. Similar scenes unfold every day: a group of spoiled brats get together, and if they don't act, they have to fight.

On a path behind the lake, a fat man and a dark-skinned young man were squatting next to a large jar of cow dung, with a small bamboo tube stuck in it.

The two of them pricked up their ears, and the beads spun around erratically.

Suddenly, a silvery laugh was heard.

"I'm coming!"

The fat man exclaimed excitedly.

The dark-faced young man immediately took out a tinderbox, lit the small bamboo tube, and then quietly ran to hide next to a big tree.

A moment later, a pair of scoundrels appeared around the corner. Cough cough, childhood sweethearts, it was Xue Bao'er and Wang Xi.

"Huh? What is that?"

A wisp of smoke caught Xue Bao'er's attention.

Wang Xi looked closely and exclaimed, "Oh no!" He immediately pulled Xue Bao'er into his arms.

There was a bang.

Wang Xi's back was covered in cow dung.

Xue Bao'er didn't know what had happened either. She opened one eye and saw Wang Xi's pained expression. She quickly asked, "Que'er, what's wrong?"

"I'm fine, don't move your hands, don't touch me! Please don't touch me!"

Wang Xi slowly took a few steps back, glancing left and right, thinking to himself, "These bastards must be nearby."

Xue Bao'er suddenly heard a laugh and quickly asked, "Who is it?"

"Run!"

Two people suddenly emerged from behind the tree; they were Li Jieman and Wang Shuang.

"damn it."

Wang Xi turned around and chased after them, shouting, "I'm going to kill you two bastards today!"

When Xue Bao'er saw the clump of cow dung on the back of Wang Xi's head, she couldn't help but cover her mouth with her hands, tears welling up in her eyes. "So, Que'er was just helping me hide the cow dung. Waaah—Que'er is so good to me!"

(End of this chapter)