The Liaodong Iron Cavalry of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 71 Planning
When Huo Yu finished listening to Xi Zhicai's report, a stone in his heart finally fell to the ground, and he finally found the coal mine, but to be sure, he had to meet the hunter who brought the black stone first.

Following Xi Zhicai to the county government office, he found that many people were surrounded by the gate of the county government office. Because the news that someone had turned in the black stone had spread, everyone came to have a look at the excitement, and also to see if the prefect kept his promise.

At this moment, Xun You was holding the coal in his hand and fell into deep thought. Niu Er, the Orion, looked nervous. He was afraid that what he brought was not what the prefect was looking for, and that the gain would outweigh the loss.In fact, Niu Er also had the attitude of giving it a try. His father was seriously ill, and the cost of seeing a doctor and picking up medicines was very high, and the finances for hunting alone could not afford it.

"Gongda, Gongda?"

Xi Zhicai yelled several times in a row to pull Xun You out of his thoughts, turned his head and saw that Huo Yu had arrived, and immediately bowed, "You see the lord."

"Gongda doesn't need to be too polite." Then he went to the coal in Xun You's hand and said, "Can you find the mystery in it?"

"You are stupid, please answer, my lord!" After speaking, he handed the things in his hands to Huo Yu.

Huo Yu took the coal with a knowing smile on his face, leaned over and carefully checked the bag Niu Er brought, and made sure that it was all coal.Then he asked, "Who brought this?"

After speaking, Niu Er stepped forward and bowed and said: "Caomin Niu Er, is this what adults are looking for?"

"Gongda, order people to take a hundred gold and reward it to Niu Er!" As soon as Huo Yu's voice fell, the surroundings exploded. A hundred gold is an astronomical figure for ordinary people, and Niu Er stood still on the spot until Xun You asked someone to fetch a hundred gold before he woke up.

"Thank you for the reward, my lord!" With this hundred gold, his father was saved, and Niu Er fell to his knees excitedly.

Huo Yu stepped forward to help Niu Er and continued to ask: "The eunuch is true to his word, this is what you deserve. Do you know where this thing came from?"

"My lord, Niu Er lived in the mountains with his father since he was a child. This thing was found in the mountains, and there are many more."

"It's so good, how about taking me here to buy you a hundred gold?" The people onlookers were completely overwhelmed, and it cost two hundred gold in just a few breaths. life!

"Niu Er will bring his lord to go there. With this hundred gold, it is enough to cure my father's illness. Niu Er dare not ask for any extra rewards."

Seeing Niu Er's answer in this way, Huo Yu didn't say much, after all, in the Han Dynasty, filial piety was the first priority, otherwise why would the younger generation want to be filial and honest first if they want to get ahead.He arranged for his personal guards to go with Niu Er to find the best doctor in Xiangping City, and then ordered people to bring firewood and fire starters.

Under Zhongmu Kuuikui, Huo Yu ignited the dry wood, and then put a small piece of coal into the fire.Under everyone's amazed eyes, the black stone slowly burned like this, turning from black to red, and finally to white ash.Xun You and Xi Zhicai only now understood the mystery of this thing.

"My lord, if this thing can be used on a large scale, it can solve the problem of heating in cold winter!" Xi Zhicai was the first to react, and bowed to Huo Yu.

"Zhicai is only half right, there is one more thing that can completely solve my heating problem in Liaodong!"

Speaking of that day, Huo Yu took Dian Wei and half of his personal guards back to the mountain forest with Niu Er. During the ten days, Huo Yu sent a letter to Xun You and Xi Zhicai to find the exact location of the coal mine. It is convenient to return to Xiangping in a few more places.

When Huo Yu came out this time, besides finding a coal mine, he went all the way south via Xinchang, Anshi, and Dawen County.The second and third places are all mountainous places, so they must be rich in minerals, but searching for mines is not Huo Yu's forte, this time I came here on a whim, and I plan to visit each county in private to learn about the specific situation of each county.

The first thing after returning to Xiangping, Huo Yu called Xun You and Xi Zhicai to the mansion to discuss matters.In the prefect's mansion, the three people were staring at the map drawn by Huo Yu and said slowly: "From Xiangping to Wen County, there are many mountains, but there are rich resources buried in these mountains. It has been investigated, but very little was found, and special personnel must be sent to search for it. Counting the people who came with us, there are about 8 people in the four counties, and there should be more than 2 young and middle-aged people. , Once minerals are discovered, human mining can be organized.”

"My lord, Liaodong still needs to recuperate." Xun You dissuaded Huo Yu, thinking that Huo Yu would immediately organize manpower to mine the minerals.

"Gongda, don't worry! Yu is not exploring and mining on a large scale right now. After returning from an unannounced visit to three counties, Yu decided to immediately issue an order to exempt from taxes for one year."

"My lord is wise." The two immediately said in unison.

Under the influence of Huo Yu, the two of them had a deeper understanding of the importance of minerals, but their thinking was old-fashioned after all, and Xun You immediately said: "My lord, the Central Plains just experienced the Yellow Turban Rebellion, which caused The fields are barren and the people are killed. At present, the chess pieces laid out by the lord in the early stage are slowly gathering, and the population of Liaodong will increase dramatically. Although there is not enough grain in the government treasury and winter plowing is imminent, if we do not pay attention to production, Liaodong will fall into famine within a year. Because the Lord reclaimed wasteland in Liaodong, he encouraged the people to engage in more production.”

"Gongda is right, and Yu hasn't forgotten about it. Apart from Xinchang, Anshi, and Wenxian, there is a vast plain in the Xiangping area. Relatively speaking, this area is rich in water resources, and it is extremely difficult to build water conservancy projects. Easy, very suitable for developing into a granary in Liaodong. Currently, there is not enough manpower in hand. Only Wing Gongda is responsible for reclaiming wasteland and constructing water conservancy in Xiangping. Yu has a new kind of farm tool here, so he can find Deheng to make it. If the experiment is successful, it will be popularized on a large scale." Facing Xun You's worries, Huo Yu said eloquently.

"Since you are so highly valued by the lord, how can you refuse? You will definitely do your best to complete the task assigned by the lord."

"Gongda, you arrange the manpower yourself. With Gongda on board, I believe you can get twice the result with half the effort. In addition, you must pay attention to rest when you have heavy official duties."

"Thank you for your great love, my lord. This subordinate will definitely live up to my lord's high expectations." Xun You said gratefully.

"Zhicai, the matter of mining coal mines must be carried out first. At present, civilian workers are recruited to mine, and the wages are settled on a daily basis. As for the wages, they will be calculated according to the amount each person mines. This way, the enthusiasm of the workers can be greatly stimulated. .”

"My lord's move is unprecedented in ancient times, and Zhicai took the order."

Mr. Mo has not returned yet, so the matter of the iron mine can only be postponed for the time being.After this discussion, Huo Yu issued another military order, all soldiers stopped training and devoted themselves to reclamation of wasteland and winter plowing.Then he ordered his personal guards to immediately look for Ma Jun and come to the prefect's mansion.

(End of this chapter)