"Well....."
Li Zexuan was stunned for a moment, then asked curiously: "Why is this? Is there still surplus iron ore in Chang'an City?"
When he heard Uncle Forbes say that he couldn't buy iron, he subconsciously thought that iron ore couldn't be bought either. But after hearing what Uncle Forbes said, that was obviously not the case!
Uncle Fu said matter-of-factly: "Master, isn't this normal? There are only a few houses in Chang'an that can smelt iron, so how can they consume so much iron ore? Of course there is a surplus!"
China began to smelt iron around the Spring and Autumn Period. Since there was already rich experience in smelting bronze at that time, progress was rapid, and pig iron and "block iron" appeared almost at the same time. The smelting temperature of lump iron is low, and there are many inclusions, but the carbon content is low, close to wrought iron, the melting point is high, the texture is soft, and it is suitable for forging utensils; the smelting temperature of pig iron is high, the sulfur and phosphorus content is large, and the texture is hard and brittle , but wear-resistant and suitable for casting utensils.
Since the Han Dynasty, various metal smelting and processing technologies have achieved comprehensive development and have become technically finalized. For example, steel-making technology is not commonly used due to its low efficiency. As an early form of the steel filling process, the Sui Iron Law has been widely used.
The iron smelting technology in the Sui and Tang Dynasties continued to develop on the previous road without much breakthrough. It mainly followed the "steel filling method" in the late Han Dynasty. The smelting efficiency was not high. Moreover, the iron smelting business in this era was owned by the state, such as There are very few people like Changsun Wuji who can mine and smelt iron privately, so private productivity cannot be released, and the speed of iron smelting cannot keep up with the speed of mining!
Li Zexuan rolled his eyes secretly and thought, "What a shame. If I had known this was happening, would I have waited until now?"
"Oh! That's all! Now that it's like this, there's no need to miss these ten days and a half! When the workshop completes the iron smelting equipment, the iron ore from Yifang County should be transported back! By then Our workshop will never be short of iron again!”
Li Zexuan sighed and said helplessly.
"That's all we can do! If the young master has nothing else to do, I will go back to the workshop first!"
Uncle Fu couldn't help but smile when he heard Li Zexuan's confidence in the second half of his sentence, and then said goodbye.
"Well! Uncle Fu, you have to take care of your health. If you have anything to do, just ask the people below to do it! Don't be tired!"
Li Zexuan expressed concern.
To be honest, Uncle Fu is still busy at such an old age, and he feels uncomfortable. But currently he really has no candidate on hand to replace Fu Bo! Fubin may be able to do it in the future, but now he is too immature to take on a big responsibility! If possible, he really hopes that Uncle Fu will live a long life, a thousand years!
"Haha! Don't worry, young master, I am in good health!"
After Uncle Fu said that, he went out.
…………………………
"Your Majesty, Marquis Yong'an wants to see you!"
In the afternoon, Li Er was busy reading memorials in the Ganlu Hall. It was the end of the year and there were always a lot of things. He had been busy until late at night for many days in a row! Compared with the carefree Li Zexuan, he, as an emperor, seems to be more miserable. At this moment, the Huangmen servant outside the palace came in and bowed to report.
"Well, let him in!"
Li held the ink pen in his hands and said without raising his head.
"promise!"
After a while, Li Zexuan stepped in from outside the palace, bowed his hands in a formal manner and said: "Your Majesty, my lord, see you!"
"Excuse me, what's the matter?"
Li Erxi said softly, his words like gold.
Li Zexuan felt choked inexplicably, paused, and replied: "Your Majesty, the iron ore you asked me to search for has been found. It is located near Huojia Village, Yifang County. Your Majesty directly sent people to collect it. That’s it!”
Li Er finally raised his head after hearing this, "Oh? So fast? It seems that your ability to find minerals is quite effective!"
Don’t most people look for iron ore for three to five years? How can anyone be like Li Zexuan, who found five mineral veins in more than a month? Now this guy really has a mine at home!
"Look at this, your boy has gained a lot this time! Tell me about it!"
Li Erhui's eyes were as bright as a torch, and he hit the nail on the head with one word, saying.
Lao Li is asking questions knowingly! Li Zexuan didn't believe that Li Erhui didn't know this information. After all, the Baiqi "secret agency" was not a vegetarian!
"Uh... the people I sent discovered a total of two iron mines, two sulfur mines, and one coal mine! Your Majesty said before that only iron ores were needed, so I didn't mention the other mines just now!"
The implication is that as the king of a country, Lao Li, you must keep your word!
How could a person like Li Er fail to see Li Zexuan's frivolous nature? He said angrily: "You bastard! Will I go back on my word?"
"How can it be possible? Your Majesty is a wise and holy warrior. Even if everyone in the world goes back on your word, Your Majesty, you will definitely not do it!"
Li Zexuan smiled and flattered him.
Li Er snorted and said, "Stop hating me! By the way, where is the other iron ore you found?"
Li Zexuan frowned slightly, and then relaxed it again without leaving any trace. He replied: "Your Majesty, another iron mine is also in Yifang County, but it is about twenty miles away from Huojiacun. It is located in Near Peach Blossom Village!”
Li Er smiled meaningfully, and then said: "That iron mine must have more ore than the iron ore in Huojiacun, right?"
Li Zexuan secretly cursed Li Er for being an old fox, but said: "Your Majesty! How can you say this kind of thing accurately? According to the report from the people sent by the minister, the two iron mines look the same from the outside. As for what is going on inside , I don’t know anything about it!”
That said, the actual situation is roughly similar to this. However, when this product arrived, I compared the map and recalled the mineral resource distribution map in the previous life. I found that the iron mine near Taohua Village was larger than that in Huojia Village. The iron ore reserves are 30% higher!
That's why he handed over the iron ore in Huojiacun to Li Er!
Li Er glanced at Li Zexuan suspiciously. Although what Li Zexuan said was similar to the information he had received, he still couldn't help but suspect that there was something wrong here! After all, Li Zexuan is so clever! If you are not careful, you will be deceived by him!
"Let me believe you!"
Anyway, there are too many ores, and we won’t be able to refine them all by then!
After a while, Li Er sighed helplessly and said: "In the next few days, I will ask the Ministry of Industry to start mining! If you have nothing else to do, just go and do it yourself!"
The subtext is - if you have nothing to do, you can leave!
Li Zexuan didn't like staying here in the first place, so he said goodbye cheerfully: "Your Majesty is wise! I have something to do in the academy, so I'll leave first!"
After that, when Li Er nodded in agreement, he quickly turned around and ran away!
………………………………
