When Han Du heard this, he suddenly became nervous.
No way, is it possible that Lao Zhu's eyes and ears are spread to this extent even before the Jinyi Guards have been set up at this time? When Tang He said those words to himself, he never let anyone get close to him. Could it be that Lao Zhu actually knew?
This is impossible!
He still had to test it again, and Han Du had a plan in mind.
After smiling and calming down his emotions, Han Du explained: "Didn't Wei Chen make a drunken mistake last time and say that naval battles were easy? Although Duke Xin Guo didn't argue with Wei Chen at the time, he later felt that he should take a step back. The more I thought about it, the worse I felt, so I took Wei Chen to discuss the naval battle."
After hearing this, Lao Zhu snorted and said with a smile: "I just said that you used to be careless in front of me. Why have you become more cautious today? It turns out that Duke Xin Guo took care of you."
He paused with a smile, pointed at Han Du and said: "You kid, don't be ungrateful. Duke Xin Guo is the number one in our navy and is proficient in naval warfare. It is your blessing to get guidance from Duke Xin Guo. "
"Weichen naturally knows good from evil." Han Du quickly apologized and said with a smile, "Isn't Weichen accepting it with an open mind?"
Han Du wiped away the sweat in his heart. He thought it was Lao Zhu's ears and eyes that heard something, but he didn't expect that it was him who looked a little abnormal, and Lao Zhu noticed the clues.
What does it mean to accompany you like a tiger? This is.
Lao Zhu's eyes were so sharp, no wonder none of the civil and military officials dared to be unconvinced. In the past, Han Du thought that Zhu Biao could have seven points of Lao Zhu's demeanor, but now it seems that Zhu Biao doesn't even have five points, and he has four points of Lao Zhu's strength. It seems that if Zhu Biao wants to reach the level of Lao Zhu, he has to work hard to learn.
"It's always good to know how to proceed and retreat. Do you know why I urgently called you back?" Lao Zhu asked casually.
To be honest, Han Du really doesn't know why Lao Zhu urgently called him back to Beijing. Judging from the current situation, it is obviously not about Fang Benzhai and those people. Fang Benzhai and those people have done everything they should do, and the only thing left is to follow the clues and see if they can gain anything. But Han Du couldn't do this kind of thing, and Lao Zhu wouldn't force himself to do it.
Originally, Han Du thought that he had said something wrong or made some mistake in this matter. But now it seems that it is obviously not what he thought, so Han Du doesn't know why Lao Zhu urgently called him back to Beijing.
Seeing Han Du's confused look, Lao Zhu asked in surprise: "You haven't really forgotten, have you?"
Han Du smiled bitterly, cupped his hands and said, "Please let me know from your Majesty."
Lao Zhu looked at Han Du speechlessly. Han Du was able to forget such an important thing. But since Han Du forgot, Lao Zhu had no choice but to say directly: "Have you really forgotten about increasing the production of briquettes?"
Briquettes!
Damn, I really forgot.
Han Du immediately replied righteously: "Wei Chen naturally dare not or forget it, but if the emperor wants to increase the production of briquettes, he will need a larger venue. The emperor had promised to show Wei Chen a piece of this place before. of......"
Han Du's implication is that I will remember this. But didn’t you say before that you would give me a piece of land to build a briquette workshop? Since Your Majesty has not given me the land now, it is not my fault that the production of briquettes cannot be increased.
Lightly, Han Du took it out.
Of course, Lao Zhu had no intention of arguing with Han Du. Then he said: "You can choose the land yourself. Wherever you choose, I will give you the land there. However, this matter has been delayed for more than a month and cannot be delayed any longer. The current demand for briquettes is not high among the people. Big, that’s because they were supported by the cheap pebbled charcoal they bought. Once their inventory runs out, the demand for briquettes will definitely surge.”
Han Du glanced at Lao Zhu in surprise. He did not expect that after reading The Wealth of Nations, Lao Zhu actually understood the content in it. Some professional terminology was used now. I saw that Lao Zhu really took The Wealth of Nations seriously.
Lao Zhu didn't pay attention to Han Du's random thoughts, and continued to sigh: "Seven things to do when opening the door, firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea. Firewood comes first. If the court cannot meet the people's demand for briquettes, then it will be There's going to be big trouble."
Lao Zhu spoke solemnly, looking at Han Du as he spoke.
After listening to this, Han Du nodded in agreement and said, "Your Majesty, the briquette workshop must be established without delay."
After pondering for a while, Han Du suggested: "How about putting it here in Dongcheng? If the briquette workshop is built here in Dongcheng, it can be connected to the coal mine by cement roads. It will be extremely convenient to transport the coal."
Making briquettes requires a huge demand for coal. If the workshop can be built next to a cement road, it can save a lot just in transporting coal.
Han Du established the briquette workshop to make money, so he naturally hoped that the cost would be as low as possible.
Old Zhu thought for a moment, shook his head slightly and said, "No. This side of the east city is a large teaching ground. If the workshop is built here, it will be suspected of spying on the main camp."
Han Du didn't expect this.
Frowning, he thought for a moment, then settled for the next best thing and said, "Then build it outside Nancheng, preferably next to the Qinhuai River."
Lao Zhu thought for a while and felt that this was okay. The Qinhuai River passes through the city, entering from the west and exiting through the south gate. The Qinhuai River outside Nancheng is already downstream and is of no importance to the entire capital.
"Okay, I will find you a place outside Nancheng." After a pause, Lao Zhu suddenly asked: "How big do you need it to be? Is fifty acres enough?"
"That's enough, that's enough. I would like to thank you, Your Majesty." Han Du was overjoyed when he heard this.
Fifty acres of land is enough to build a beautiful school, the kind with a 400-meter circular track and playground. How could it not be enough?
According to Han Du's estimation, a dozen or twenty acres of land would be enough. In a briquette workshop, to put it bluntly, the drying of briquettes takes up some space, and a simple shed needs to be built to prevent the briquettes from being exposed to rain. As for the stacking of pebbles, it doesn't matter. Anyway, stones are things that need to be mixed with loess and water. What's wrong with being exposed to the sun and rain? It does not affect the use of charcoal and can be piled casually in the open air.
Of the fifty acres of land, I can free up about thirty acres. Han Du, who has experienced the feeling of losing money every inch of land, has an obsession with land. Even if he doesn't need the thirty acres of land now, even if it's empty, Han Du feels very happy when he sees it.
Now that everything is said and done, the emperor should let himself retire. But Han Du found strangely that although Lao Zhu said nothing, he had no intention of letting him back down. Instead, he picked up the tea and took a sip.
