Ming Dynasty: Evolution from snake to national guardian beast

Chapter 19 Zhu Gaoxu is the envoy of Peking
  "Your Majesty, there is a letter from Peiping."

A young eunuch whispered beside Zhu Yuanzhang.

He opened his eyes suddenly, his eyes flashed, and then he regained his composure.

Zhu Yuanzhang closed his eyes again and whispered:
  "Who reports?"

"Go back to the emperor, this is King Yan's secret."

Zhu Yuanzhang was getting older and his body was haggard.

"Fourth child?"

There was a hint of surprise in Zhu Yuanzhang's tone, thinking that Jiang Yu had some clues about Lao Si's investigation.

But at this time, Lao Si's memorial attracted Zhu Yuanzhang's attention.

Zhu Yuanzhang stood up, picked up the memorial handed over by the young eunuch, and read it carefully.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang's ambition has not faded, he is old after all, so he can only go to the memorial and read it carefully.

When he saw the last line of words, Zhu Yuanzhang's wrinkled old face instantly became extremely shocked.

"Coal? Stove?"

Zhu Yuanzhang murmured in a low voice, then stood up and said to the eunuch:

"Where is King Yan's envoy? Call him here."

The little eunuch immediately stood up, rushed out of the hall, and asked the envoys of King Yan to come to see the emperor.

Not long after, a man with a beard and a gray face walked in.

"I've met the emperor's grandfather."

It turned out that the person who came this time was Zhu Di's second son, Zhu Gaoxu.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his eldest grandson, his eyes slightly narrowed, the corners of his mouth raised, looking very happy.

"Little monkey, why are you here this time?"

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said:
  "Isn't the fourth child planning to make you a hostage?"

"What are you talking about, Grandfather? I came here this time just to see you. Moreover, I also have an auspicious thing that I want to give you."

Zhu Gaoxu laughed and said again:

"Besides, do I still need to be a hostage? If you are dissatisfied with my father, you can deprive us of our power at any time, why bother?"

Inside the Nuan Pavilion.

A large stove over two feet high was burning in the palace, and the heat wave made Zhu Yuanzhang, who was sitting behind the throne, feel a sense of warmth.

Zhu Yuanzhang said a few words to Zhu Gaoxu, and then ordered Zhu Gaoxu to fetch the stove and briquettes that Zhu Di gave him.

Zhu Gaoxu did not refuse, and took Zhu Yuanzhang into the Nuan Pavilion. Zhu Gaoxu ordered someone to set up a stove, lit a pile of briquettes, and performed an auspicious performance for Zhu Yuanzhang.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang is old, his eyes are fixed on the iron furnace, as if there is a bright scenery in the iron furnace, attracting everyone's attention.

In Yingtian City, the cold wind is biting, but in the Nuan Pavilion, it is as warm as spring. A wall is the difference between winter and spring.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Gaoxu silently looked at the fire in the Nuan Pavilion until the fire was completely extinguished.

"call!"

Zhu Yuanzhang let out a long sigh, with both surprise and relief in his eyes.

Surprisingly, Lao Si was able to refine such a treasure, which could alleviate the severe cold of winter.

Happily, as soon as Lao Si refined it, he brought it to him, which proved that Lao Si still had him as his father in his heart.

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes fell on Zhu Gaoxu, and he saw that he was not old but very tall.

Mantis legs and wasp waist are both excellent trainers. However, his face was a little dark, and he still had two small mustaches on his chin, which made him look a little sloppy.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang still liked Zhu Gaoxu very much. He smiled and said:

"Little monkey, I heard that your father said that this is a kind of briquettes made from coal, right?"

Zhu Gaoxu puffed up his chest and said proudly:
  "It's true."

"My father saw that the people in Peiping were suffering from hunger and cold. The price of charcoal was too expensive, and many ordinary people could not afford it."

"So I searched around for talented people and thought hard. Finally, I turned this poisonous thing into a miracle and benefited the common people."

"It's also a coincidence. My father told me that all this is due to the imperial grandfather, so I will give you such auspiciousness."

"Please accept it, Grandfather Emperor."

"When the coal mines in Peiping are officially mined, the lives of the people in Peiping will definitely not be as painful as before."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled slightly, Zhu Gaoxu was so flattering.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang was still very satisfied with one thing, that is, Lao Si did something good this time and did something that benefited the people of the world.

Every year in autumn and winter, the weather becomes colder, and countless people freeze to death every year.

Even in the richest place, under the emperor's feet, there were many frozen corpses, which were dragged out from outside the city and buried.

Zhu Yuanzhang was very troubled by this. Although he tried his best to solve this problem, because the cost of charcoal was too high, it was impossible to bring enough charcoal to the people to survive the cold winter.

Now that Zhu Di has turned coal into a resource, it is conceivable that the people of Ming Dynasty will not lack heating in this cold winter.

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly remembered something very important and turned to look at Zhu Gaoxu.

"How much does this coal cost?"

When Zhu Gaoxu heard this, he immediately became interested and said proudly:
  "Thanks to the efforts of my father and the others, one pound now only costs ten cents."

"This is more than 30% cheaper than charcoal."

As the winters get colder, the price of coal gets higher and higher.

A piece of charcoal, from fifteen copper plates at the beginning, to forty-five copper plates now, is already several times the price.

But now, Zhu Di has reduced the price of coal to freezing point as soon as he takes action, which is simply a hurdle for charcoal.

If the price of charcoal remains at this level, it won't be long before coal takes over the entire market until charcoal becomes completely extinct.

But for Zhu Yuanzhang, the price was still too high.

After all, coal is everywhere in Ming Dynasty. It is a complete waste and no one can use it.

If it weren't for the briquettes developed by Zhu Di, few people would be willing to buy them.

Now Zhu Laosi gets ten copper coins every time he opens his mouth. The profit is not ordinary.

Zhu Yuanzhang's expression changed and he said in a deep voice:
  "When doing things for the people, don't try to take advantage."

"That coal is garbage. No one wanted it before. It can be said to be the cheapest."

"Lao Si has now given coal a new value, so we can't compete with the people, right?"

"We, the Zhu family, must put the common people first. A mere amount of money is just a piece of work. Your father's vision is too narrow."

"I think five cents a pound is enough."

When Zhu Gaoxu heard what Zhu Yuanzhang said, his face turned green and he shouted quickly:
  "Grandfather, we also want to do our part for the common people in the world, but we also have to eat."

"This year, there was a severe drought in the north. Many people from Shanxi, Shaanxi, and even Gansu fled to Beiping Prefecture."

(End of this chapter)