Three Kingdoms: A Million Soldiers Grown from the Fields

Chapter 138 Briquettes

The road surface, made of rammed earth, was repeatedly compacted and became as solid as a stone.

The roads outside Shicun Village are flat and wide, with plenty of room even for two oxcarts or horse-drawn carriages to pass at the same time.

The road surface has been raised as a whole, mainly to prevent water accumulation on rainy days from loosening the roadbed.

After more than two months, the coal mine has also started operations.

Many of the people who moved to Luqi from other places got their first job here.

To excavate shallow weathered coal seams and dig mine shafts.

Meals provided, salary based on work performance.

Lü Si's business is now stable.

With Taoyuan Winery serving as a major economic artery, there is a constant flow of merchants and customers, which indirectly drives the influx of a large amount of goods.

With a stable environment, thriving commerce, and the output of local agriculture and animal husbandry as anchors, Lusi's monetary system is naturally stable as well.

As dawn broke, the area under the locust tree at the entrance of Shicun Village was already crowded with people.

More than thirty strong oxen pulled carts loaded with coal along the newly built rammed earth road outside the village, slowly making their way towards Luqi City amidst the sound of whips and whistles.

"Uncle, are you going down into the mine today?" Village head Zhao Da walked over, striking a gong, followed by two county clerks in black robes.

"Down! Why wouldn't we get down!" Old Wang swallowed the last mouthful of porridge, his neck stiff, and pulled a wooden plaque from his pocket: "My family has three strong laborers. If we work hard for another month or two, even the youngest one will be able to get married!"

The village head opened the booklet and nodded: "Then I'll write down all the male members of your family."

"Alright!" Old Wang said happily.

"And I."

"I want to go too!"

A group of able-bodied men from the surrounding stone village also eagerly signed up.

"Don't rush! Don't push! One at a time!" the official shouted.

This is also a small convenience for the villagers of Shicun. They live nearby, and if they go to work a few quarters of an hour earlier each day, they can earn a few more quarters of an hour, which is all money.

At 3:45 a.m., noises began to emanate from the mining area.

The sounds of shovels scraping through coal piles and picks breaking up coal chunks were incessant.

As the sun rose higher, more and more miners arrived in oxcarts and horse-drawn carts.

The surface weathered coal has been almost completely mined out, and the surface of the entire mining area has sunk in by one or two meters.

The oxcarts and horse-drawn carts that had brought people then turned around and loaded up coal mines, heading west towards Shicun.

"Snapped!"

The wet mixture of yellow mud and coal slag was patted into a wooden mold. Fifteen-year-old Liu Cui deftly pressed and lifted the mold, and the round coal cakes were neatly stacked on the straw mat.

"The third basket!" she shouted to the person recording the work.

Inside the workshop, steam rose as more than a hundred workers, mostly men and women, were making honeycomb briquettes. Zhang Xian's honeycomb briquette formula consisted of 60% coal powder, 30% clay, and 10% lime, making it both durable and smoke-free.

"Cui girl is so capable! I'll keep track of it for you!" the man recording the work said happily, holding a pen in his right hand and drawing on the wooden tablet tied to his wrist in his left hand.

Upon closer inspection, it was clear that the palm of his hand had been severed at the base.

He was originally a member of the Armored Army, but he left the army due to injury. Zhang Xian found jobs for them. The soldiers of the Armored Army had almost all been literate, so they could do daily tasks such as counting and writing.

With a little more training, these people would be more than qualified to serve as officials.

Cui Yatou had no time for jokes. She continued to nimbly drag over a wooden mold, then filled it with wet material. With a press and a lift of the mold she used to make honeycomb briquettes, she moved it to the straw mat next to her, and there were several more round honeycomb briquettes.

Sweat dampened the tip of Cuiya's nose and the ends of her hair, but she didn't bother to wipe it away. Suddenly, sweat blurred her vision, and her hand slipped, causing the newly made coal briquettes to collapse into a mess.

Liu Cui bit her lip and started re-molding.

Her family were migrants who moved to Lüchi. Her mother was sick and weak, and they relied entirely on the work points she earned each day to make a living.

"Cui girl, have some water and wash your face. At least let me rest for a bit." The man suddenly handed her a piece of cloth and a bamboo tube.

She looked a little embarrassed, but also a little pitying.

"I won't drink it, and don't get your handkerchief dirty."

Liu Cui was only focused on the work at hand and didn't want to think about anything else. Making one more basket of coal briquettes would mean more food for the family. Nothing was more important than having a full stomach.

Fortunately, the magistrate of Luqi County provided them with resettlement housing. As long as they had a job, they could live there for one penny a day. Although the house was not big, it was enough for her and her daughter to stay in.

"You're so stubborn, girl. Fine, I'll put the water aside for you. Drink it yourself if you're thirsty!"

The man recording the work points put down the bamboo tube and, without waiting for her to refuse again, went off to record work points in other places.

It is located near the Hutuo River.

Ten miners in a team were also digging clay with great effort.

However, the collection sites here are all planned out with lines drawn with lime.

These limestone lines spread in two directions, towards the Jiaqi military camp and Lüqi County.

While collecting clay, they also built irrigation canals.

Not just irrigation canals.

Nowadays, there are such miners in many places in Lüchi County.

They were all doing the work of digging soil downwards.

Clay can be used to make pottery and honeycomb briquettes, while stones can be piled up in one place and used to build walls or to experiment with things like catapults.

The pitfalls left behind were all planned in advance.

These pits will be reinforced and connected in the future to store rainwater, act as reservoirs, and be used for fish farming.

Zhang Xian racked his brains to ensure the development of Luqi.

Chickens, ducks, pigs, and sheep have also been widely raised throughout the county thanks to the rapid breeding rate of Jiayuan Agriculture and Animal Husbandry.

If a farmer who raises chickens and ducks produces eggs, he or she only needs to hand over thirty eggs, and then the chickens and ducks belong to the farmer.

From now on, farmers can decide whether to continue using them for laying eggs or for slaughtering.

The same applies to pigs and sheep, except that instead of piglets, farmers are looking at meat. Farmers receive individual piglets and lambs from Lüchi County for free to raise. After the pigs and sheep are ready for market, they are taken to a special slaughterhouse in Lüchi County. Farmers can take 70% of the pork, while the live sheep can be exchanged for money directly.

Of course, the price of live sheep is not the market price, but the purchase price, but this can be considered as giving farmers a new way to make money.

What if the pigs or sheep die during the raising process?
Someone will investigate the situation, but whether it was intentional slaughter or an accident, farmers whose pigs or sheep have died will not be allowed to raise pigs or sheep for two years.

If someone maliciously kills a farmer's pigs or sheep, once the facts are verified, the perpetrator will be punished with a penalty equal to the value of the adult pigs or sheep.

If you don't have money to pay, there are plenty of jobs that will make you work hard.

After returning from Bingbei, Zhang Xian also began raising fish fry.

He also dug a pond in his farmland area outside the city, which covers several thousand square meters.

Two spaces were moved from the chicken and duck enclosures to raise fish.

The fish fry were bred by Zhang Xian using grass carp.

The fish he wanted to raise were naturally grass carp.

After comparing various species in Luzhou recently, he concluded that grass carp best met his requirements.

It produces a lot of meat and has a higher fat content than other fish. More importantly, it can be raised on plant-based feed.

In the future, as water is replenished to reservoirs and ponds in Lüchi County, the entire county will be able to raise livestock, thus alleviating some of the pressure on meat production.

The county government office. Red-hot honeycomb briquettes burned in a clay stove.

The coal stove has a direct connection to the bottom air vent and a grate.

The air vent is a protruding round hole with a cover, which can be used to adjust the heat when starting a fire.

At its lowest setting, it can keep the fresh coal burning in the stove burning all night without going out.

Moreover, although a properly mixed honeycomb briquette still has a somewhat pungent smell, as long as it is not used in an extremely enclosed environment, the harm has been greatly reduced.

Zhang Xian sat in a reclining chair and tested the coal stove.

The long-spouted iron kettle on the stove was steaming.

The water has boiled.

"How's the manpower arrangement going?" Zhang Xian asked, pouring water.

The person next to them, who was writing the name of Grain Rain, looked up.

"I have already instructed the clan members in Jinyang to keep an eye on Wang Ze's movements, and General Zilong has also taken some men out."

Zilong, Zhao Yun, Zhao Zilong.

After returning to Lüchi, Zhang Xian formally gave him a coming-of-age ceremony and a courtesy name.

“A cavalryman is a cavalryman; he is no longer a general.”

Zhang Xian poured Gu Yu a cup of tea.

It's tea water, not tea soup.

There are camellia trees on Wufeng Mountain. He found a few when he was clearing land for a coal mine and transplanted them to his home and farmland.

He then used some of the newly sprouted buds to process them into tea leaves.

However, at present, he is the only person in the entire city who loves to drink it.

Others who have a habit of drinking tea still prefer the taste of the tea soup they have been drinking for a long time.

Gu Yu accepted the thanks and then smiled, "With Zilong's abilities, it's only a matter of time before he's reinstated. Although the lord of Baihe Valley thought he had lost, after the news spread back to Bingnan, no one thought Zilong had lost."

"One man can defeat ten thousand troops; Zilong's bravery is second only to our lord!"

"Don't praise him anymore, just praise him behind his back."

Zhang Xian also had a smile on his lips. Although he said "Don't praise me, don't praise me," he still agreed in his heart.

"Letting him go this time is a way to let him take revenge himself. I just hope Wang Ze won't keep me waiting too long."

He narrowed his eyes and took a sip of tea.

"We certainly won't keep our lord waiting for long. Not to mention the distant future, on the Ghost Festival on the fifteenth of the seventh month, Wang Ze, as the prefect, will definitely personally offer sacrifices to the Earth God. At that time, he will definitely have to leave the city."

"oh,"

Zhang Xian was taken aback, then asked, "Does the Lüchi also need to be sacrificed?"

The most important matters of state are sacrifice and war.

Rong means war, and si means ritual.

The reason why Han culture is so attractive is because it contains a series of etiquette systems that, although incomprehensible, seem very sophisticated.

In particular, such etiquette was even more attractive and sought after by foreign lands when the country was considered superior.

Of course, the Ghost Festival is a Taoist festival.

"What does the lord think?"

Gu Yu threw the question back at him. He was also unsure whether his lord wanted to perform the sacrifice or not. At this moment, he desperately hoped that Lord Han Ji could be present.

It must be incredibly stressful for him to be alone with the lord.

Zhang Xian pondered for a moment and nodded: "The Ghost Festival is a time for honoring ancestors, showing filial piety, and remembering the deceased. The county government should also set an example."

"Shi Lin, I'm leaving this matter to you."

"Ah!"

Gu Yu's lips twitched. As the person in charge of criminal justice and secret agents, he was already overwhelmed with problems every day. He shouldn't have said that extra word.

"That specification"

"It's up to you."

Inside the Luqi County government office, the aroma of tea wafted through the air, yet it could not conceal the impending storm.

Gu Yu held the teacup, feeling the warmth of the porcelain with her fingertips, but her heart was heavy with the new sacrificial task she had been assigned.

"Rest assured, my lord, I will do my utmost to ensure the sacrificial ceremony is conducted in the same manner as in previous years," Gu Yu said solemnly, her worried expression vanishing.

He understood that the stability and prosperity of Lüsi were the foundation, and the more the lord paid attention to these "trivial matters," the more it showed his emphasis on the foundation.

Just thinking about having to redeploy manpower and coordinate supplies made his temples ache.

Zhang Xian nodded slightly. "The reason why Luqi is where it is today is entirely due to the unity of its people. Paying homage to our ancestors and remembering the souls of the deceased is also a way to unite the people."

He paused, then changed the subject, his tone becoming cold and undeniable: "As for Wang Ze... Now that Zilong has set off, let's wait for good news. On the fifteenth of July, the day of the Zhongyuan Earth Official's pardon, if he doesn't leave Jinyang City, he will be failing the name of this 'pardon'."

Gu Yu nodded and said, "Wang Ze values ​​official reputation and rituals the most. As the prefect, he must personally go to the altar in the suburbs to preside over the ceremony during the Ghost Festival. This is the usual practice, and there is no reason for him to be absent."

General Zilong is a master of martial arts and a meticulous mind; he will surely be able to…

"Promises, no matter how much you say, are just empty words."

Zhang Xian raised his hand to interrupt Gu Yu, his words resolute: "The day Wang Ze's head is hung in Jinyang will be the day Bingnan is completely pacified. Go down. You need to draft a plan for the sacrificial ceremony as soon as possible."

"By the way, once Wang Ze dies, you also need to prepare all the necessary obituaries, and the official documents submitted to Luoyang should state that the Protectorate of the Xiongnu will definitely apprehend the perpetrators!"

"Yes, sir!" Gu Yu dared not say more, bowed, and walked out of the main hall of the county government with slightly heavy steps.

Late June in Luchi was also extremely hot and dry, with the noisy chirping of cicadas making it impossible for people to calm down.

Especially around noon, the cicadas' chirping becomes even louder.

"Mom, I'm back."

After finishing her morning work, Liu Cui carried a small half-bag of millet and several medicine packets hanging from her waist back to her rented apartment.

The rented houses stand side by side, with the walls of one house also serving as the walls of another.

Fortunately, the front gate still has a courtyard of about five or six square meters, where chores like cooking can be done.

As a member of the honeycomb briquette workshop, Liu Cui also enjoys the hidden benefits that come with being a honeycomb briquette workshop employee.

Some broken honeycomb briquettes were left to them after the daily inspection.

In the small courtyard in front of the door, there was a hearth made of stones to imitate the shape of a coal stove, and next to the hearth was a small pile of broken coal.

Liu Cui pushed open the door and entered the house.

The space is just enough for two beds, with two more rooms behind it, but even all of it is smaller than the small courtyard in front of an ordinary farmer's house.

But it only costs one penny a day here. As long as you have a work certificate from Luqi County, it only costs one penny. So what else is there to say?

"Ni'er's back. Are you tired today?"

"Mom, I'm not tired. I made thirty baskets of coal briquettes this morning. That's enough for today's meals, and even for tomorrow's meals."

"And I also got you some medicine. The guard told me about this place. The doctor here is very good, and he won't charge you extra for the medicine."

The girl's face was covered in black, but her smile was exceptionally bright.

(End of this chapter)