The midsummer sun scorches the earth. Whether it was two thousand years ago or two thousand years later.
Hot.
It seems to always be synonymous with summer.
And this day!
All the officials of the Han Dynasty, ranging from the three officials and nine ministers to the officials and people, were all waiting on a street in Chang'an City.
Prime Minister Shi Zhumaichen wiped the sweat from his forehead, unbuttoned his clothes slightly, and complained: "On such a hot day, we are asked to stand here. Is it human behavior?"
Prime Minister Shi Biantong also echoed: "Who says it's not the case!"
Another Changshi Dynasty even said: "Your Majesty is quite comfortable. He lives in Jianzhang Palace to avoid the heat and leaves us ministers outside to bask in the sun."
The three chief ministers talked to each other, and the prime minister standing in front suddenly became impatient.
Look back.
He glared at the three chief historians and scolded: "Shut up, Your Majesty is the Emperor of Han Dynasty. Who can you slander?"
The three chief historians immediately lowered their heads and closed their mouths angrily.
See this.
Prime Minister Li Cai then withdrew his gaze.
After all, they were his subordinate bureaucrats, and it was impossible for Li Cai to impeach the three of them for such a thing.
A verbal scolding is enough.
At this time.
Bian Tongtong shook his arm at Dynasty and signaled to Dynasty.
After Wang Chao understood what he meant, he patted Zhu Maichen on the shoulder again, and then looked at him to signal Prime Minister Li Cai, who was standing in front of the three of them.
Zhu Maichen became an official later, so he is older than the two of them.
Seeing the look in their eyes, he immediately understood what it meant, so he took a step forward and said to Prime Minister Li Cai: "Prime Minister Li, your Majesty asked us court officials to take the lead in donating money, so as to make a show for those wealthy businessmen. .”
"But they didn't tell us how much we should donate."
"So Maichen can't help but ask, how much money is the Prime Minister planning to donate?"
Li Cai glanced sideways at Zhu Maichen.
For this subordinate bureaucrat who is about the same age as himself, it is obviously different from the other two Chang Shi.
He stretched out his right hand, made a gesture similar to "nine", and said, "I'm not going to donate too much, just this amount."
Zhu Maichen suddenly frowned and asked, "The Prime Minister said that he is ready to donate 900,000 yuan!"
"Copper coins?" Prime Minister Li Cai immediately shook his head and said, "Who am I? Can you donate those things? What I want to donate is nine thousand gold coins, horseshoe gold!"
Zhu Maichen heard this.
There was an expression of surprise and confusion on his face.
Surprised.
He didn't expect that the Prime Minister would be willing to bleed so much and donate so much. The question is, why donate nine thousand gold?
immediately.
Zhu Maichen asked in confusion: "Xiang Li, you have donated these nine thousand gold, why don't you make it up to ten thousand gold?"
"Ten thousand gold? Can you raise a thousand gold for me?" Prime Minister Li Cai snorted softly.
Want to say.
This Zhu Maichen knew the current affairs and said immediately: "If Prime Minister Li needs it, Maichen will find a way to raise a thousand gold coins for the prime minister."
Talking
Zhu Maichen turned around and left, preparing to collect the remaining one thousand gold coins.
However, Li Cai grabbed him, shook his head slightly and said, "Hey, Zhu Changshi, what do you want to do with this thousand gold? Just wait, you will know my intention soon."
then.
Zhu Maichen just nodded and said, "Yes, Prime Minister."
And this time.
Prime Minister Li Cai glanced at the other two chief ministers again and asked, "How much are you three going to donate?"
The three chief ministers looked at each other, and then replied awkwardly: "We are in a tight situation and can't come up with so much money, so just prepare ten thousand or twenty thousand."
"Ten thousand or twenty thousand? Humph!" Prime Minister Li Cai snorted softly and said, "
I would like to congratulate you three. Resign from this position as soon as possible before His Majesty comes back to deal with you. "
The three chiefs were immediately shocked.
If you donate too little, will it be dealt with?
This is in line with the temper of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Liu Che, and there were too many cases where officials were demoted to common people for reasons such as inability to manage funerals and failure to raise funds.
Immediately.
Chao Chao then said, "It's not that tight. I still have some connections with my family members, so I can donate one to two million!"
Prime Minister Li Cai continued: "Don't donate so much. If you donate too much, you will be targeted!"
Zhu Maichen, the chief historian, immediately frowned and asked, "But didn't His Majesty say that even though we donated a lot, he didn't ask us about the source of the money?"
"Hey, Maichen, is this your first day as an official?" Prime Minister Li Cai snorted softly.
This way.
Zhu Maichen immediately held up his hands and said, "It's Maichen who is confused."
While several people were talking, those in Langya Pavilion finally came out and stood on the stage.
in.
After the champion brother Huo Guang and the bus driver Xiaqiu Jiang whispered for a few words, everyone saw Xiaqiu Jianggong take out a piece of paper and read: "The wind is blowing...the clouds are flying!"
"Weijiahai is back home!"
"The warriors of Ande are here to guard the four sides!"
"Since the founding of our country by Emperor Gaozu, our dynasty has been blessed by the Emperor, with good weather and good weather, and peace and prosperity for the country and the people."
"Now that there is a natural disaster and drought, there is no harvest in the northwest region. Officials like us should take the lead in donating money, gathering wealthy businessmen to contribute money, and the common people to contribute food, so that we can tide over the difficulties with the people of the Han Dynasty in the northwest."
"under."
"Servant Sang Hongyang is responsible for calculating the amount of donations, and Longyan Hou Han is responsible for allocating the Yulin Army to guard the disaster relief funds."
After chanting for a while.
Finally it’s time to donate.
The officials in the audience were already thirsty from the scorching sun, and they wished they could donate money quickly and go back to their homes to rest.
And this time.
Longyan Houhan said that he also led a group of Yulin troops and walked out pushing a wooden cart.
At this time.
Han Shuo nodded to Jiang Gong of Xiaqiu, and Jiang Gong continued: "This disaster relief fund-raising was initiated by your Majesty. Your Majesty is the emperor of the Han Dynasty and the father of all his people. The drought in the northwest should be the father of the emperor." Take the lead in donating.”
"Sang Shizong, please remember the amount of money donated by Your Majesty."
The words fell.
Sang Hongyang on the side shouted loudly and said: "Your Majesty donates money, ten thousand gold!"
Subsequently.
Duke Xiaqiu Jiang nodded and said, "The prime minister is the head of the hundred officials and the head of the three princes. Now, please donate money to give the officials a good start."
After hearing this, Li Cai from the audience immediately signaled a few slaves to bring up the gold horseshoes that had been prepared.
After Sang Hongyang counted them for a while, he chanted loudly: "Prime Minister Li Cai, donate nine thousand gold!"
Nine thousand gold!
This is definitely not a small amount of money.
To know.
Horseshoe gold was the best currency in the Han Dynasty, and its purchasing power was definitely not comparable to that of copper coins.
And after Li Cai donated money.
Duke Xiaqiu Jiang continued: "The Imperial Censor is one of the three princes, and his status is second only to the Prime Minister and the Taiwei. Since I have been idle as a Taiwei official for a long time, I will directly ask Zhang Yushi to donate money."
The words fell.
Zhang Tang, the imperial censor, walked onto the stage carrying a few slings of copper coins.
Then he handed the money to Sang Hongyang in front of everyone.
Sang Hongyang took the money!
After counting for a while, he shouted loudly: "Censor Zhang Tang, please donate three thousand yuan!"
Three thousand dollars?
After this number was reported, the officials below were in an uproar.
The three princes in the dignified court.
He actually donated three thousand yuan!
But this is not what everyone expected. After all, Zhang Tang, the imperial censor, has always been known as
He is honest and self-sufficient, and his family does not own any property. If he spends as much money as Prime Minister Li Cai, then there will be a problem!
It's better to go to Zhangtang.
Duke Jiang of Xiaqiu shouted again: "Taichang is the head of the Nine Qings, below, please..."
"......"
After all the officials with a salary of 2,000 stone have reported their names and come forward to donate money.
later.
This is the real target of this donation - wealthy businessmen.
Businessmen value profits over separation!
But no matter how heavy the profit is, at this moment, there must be a lot of blood. In order to induce those businessmen to donate money, Huo Guang stood up directly and said loudly: "This Le Restaurant will contribute two million to the disaster in the northwest!"
The words fell.
Sang Hongyang also shouted: "Chang'an Le Restaurant, this time to help the northwest disaster, we will contribute one million."
The two finished speaking.
The other two remaining restaurants in Chang'an City were also clamoring to pay 500,000 yuan.
Don’t donate.
Can not be done!
Unless these businessmen don't want to stop doing business.
But at this moment, Duke Xiaqiu Jiang said on the stage: "Businessmen are different from court officials. We do not force businessmen to donate money. Everything depends on personal wishes."
Um.
That's what it says.
Any businessman whom Huo Guang has personally identified would dare to try the consequences of not donating money?
Unless his entire family doesn't want to do business.
This time, the donation was busy from morning to evening, and the money was hauled away in a simple wooden cart.
As for security work?
The Yulin Army led by Han Shuo was guarding the surrounding areas, and no one dared to cause chaos in Chang'an City.
night.
Sang Hongyang, Huo Guang and others began to count the number of donations received on this day.
It wasn't until late at night that I figured out the approximate amount.
——Twenty-three million dollars!
Um.
This is the approximate amount including converting those fine currency horseshoe gold into money.
Wait until the next day.
After Huo Guang, Sang Hongyang and others finished their work, His Majesty hurriedly summoned them to the palace to inquire about the situation.
When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Liu Che saw the two people coming in, he quickly asked: "How much money did you raise in total by donating money yesterday?"
Hear the words.
Sang Hongyang, who is good at calculating fortune, quickly said: "Your Majesty, the total amount of money is more than 23 million!"
After hearing this, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was shocked and said, "How can you actually raise so much money?"
"Eh!"
"If it were not to be used for disaster relief in the northwest, I would really like to use the more than 23 million yuan as military pay to immediately attack the Xiongnu Chanyu who is huddled deep in Mobei!"
"These black-hearted businessmen are still rich!"
"That's all."
"When we run out of money to fight the Huns, we can collect money from these merchants!"
Liu Che, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, seemed to have tasted the sweetness at this moment.
I just collected a huge sum of money from a wealthy businessman yesterday, and here I am actually thinking of collecting money from a wealthy businessman again in the future.
But that's right.
Who makes businessmen rich?
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was very happy with his achievements and loved to fight.
But fighting costs a lot of money.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was short of money, so why not pay attention to these businessmen who were ruthless for the sake of wealth.
But at this moment.
Huo Guang did not dare to disturb the mood of Liu Che, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. After explaining the matter, he withdrew from the palace.
later time.
He went outside the city and began to build stoves made of piled earth. The servants who were following him asked, "Huo Alang, why are you building so many earthen stoves? Are you trying to make those clay pots?"
"More? I still think it's too little!" Huo Guang snorted.
Build an earthen stove
, naturally to bake something special.
As for the clay pot?
He doesn't need this.
After the stove was almost built, people went to search for enough wheat straw, pine branches and other items that were convenient for burning, and also brought in a large amount of clay.
first.
Huo Guang had the clay crushed and sieved by hand, leaving behind fine pure clay.
Then.
Shape the pure soil into a very simple cuboid, which is the shape of a brick.
Finally, it is put into the furnace and slowly calcined.
When the fire in the furnace gradually extinguished, what was burned was the familiar red brick, which was what Huo Guang needed.
Most of the ancient houses and mansions were made of wood.
This is not the house Huo Guang is after.
Because ancient houses were extremely afraid of fire. The most famous one is the Epang Palace. Legend has it that Xiang Yu set fire to it and burned it to the ground.
Infrastructure!
Huo Guang must have been thinking about building a house with red bricks.
This can save a lot of wood and is also simple and trouble-free. If we continue to build houses in the ancient way, it will be too time-consuming.
He has helped Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty complete the donation and collection of money for the disaster in the northwest.
Therefore, in the later time, the land was enclosed in four directions around Chang'an City.
The purpose of enclosing land is to build houses. House construction requires the use of bricks, which can save a lot of trouble.
After the bricks are fired.
Huo Guang checked the quality and felt that it was okay and hard enough.
then.
Then people began to bake them in large quantities.
There are bricks.
Then building a house requires another very important thing, which is cement.
actually.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, my country had its own "cement", which was made from glutinous rice slurry mixed with grass ash and other things. Its effect is not much worse than modern cement.
But here's the thing.
In this day and age, where can we get so much glutinous rice slurry?
It's better to just bake ordinary cement yourself.
certainly.
Huo Guang could also choose not to use cement and build directly with clay. In the early rural areas, there were not even red bricks. Instead, straw was used to make the adobe bricks of the city, and the houses were built bit by bit with the soil.
This is actually a question worth thinking about.
How simple and hassle-free is it to build a house using clay and bricks? But if the cement is fired, the effect will be great.
It’s just that cement is not easy to bake!
Especially the iron ore.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's salt and iron official camp, in terms of iron ore, even if Huo Guang had ten courages, he would not dare to mine it privately.
Instead, you can try using the iron slag produced after iron smelting.
This is something no one wants.
While Huo Guang was thinking about these things, he arranged for the land slaves in the northern circle of Chang'an City to come over in a hurry. Each of them had a bruised nose and swollen face, claiming that they had been beaten.
His slave was beaten.
That's not bad.
Immediately.
Huo Guang asked, "Who is the perpetrator? You didn't tell me your name?"
The slaves then said, "I'll repay you, but it's of no use!"
Not useful?
Huo Guang narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "What is the background of this other party and why he is so arrogant? My encirclement of land is something that His Majesty has agreed to do. Even the high officials in the imperial court would not dare to do anything with me!"
I saw the beaten slaves hesitatingly saying: "Huo Alang, the other person claims to be the prime minister!"
