"Greetings, Your Majesty! Greetings, Your Majesty! "
In the Sweet Dew Hall, Li Zexuan saw Li Er and Empress Zhangsun walking out from the back of the hall. He quickly retracted his gaze and bowed towards the two.
"Mm! Rise! "
Li Er waved his hand and couldn't wait to get straight to the point, "I heard that you are here to present a treasure, but why don't I see the treasure?"
Although Li Zexuan was young, he was extremely cunning. Usually, it was hard to take advantage of him. Today, he actually took the initiative to "present himself". Li Er really wanted to know what surprise Li Zexuan brought!
Li Zexuan said solemnly, "Your Majesty, the item that I brought today is a little big. It is still outside the hall. May Your Majesty allow me to get someone to bring it in!"
"Oh? Quick! Zhao Song, get someone to bring the item that Duke Yong 'an brought in! "
Hearing this, Li Er immediately said.
A little big? Now, he was even more curious about what Li Zexuan brought!
Zhao Song received the order and left. Moments later, he brought in four eunuchs carrying a coal stove and a basket of briquettes.
Seeing the eunuchs carrying in a lump of metal and a basket of black items, Li Er couldn't help but frown. Because these two items didn't look high and mighty at all!
Feeling slightly unhappy, Li Er walked down from above and looked at Li Zexuan unkindly, "This is the treasure that you want to present to me ~? Eh? What a special coal stove! "
Halfway through his sentence, Li Er realized that there was a fire burning in the stove. He couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
Li Zexuan cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, this isn't a coal stove. This is a coal stove. Inside is burning coal!"
"Coal ~? How can coal fire be so strong ~? "
Li Er wasn't the kind of Emperor who didn't know about worldly affairs. Hearing this, he immediately frowned in disbelief.
At this moment, Zhangsun also walked down from above. She carefully sized up the honeycomb briquettes in the bamboo basket and said after a moment, "Your Majesty, the briquettes brought by the Marquis of Yong 'an are very special! Not only are the coal briquettes of the same size, there are also many holes of the same size in the middle. This concubine guesses that it is because of this that the fire in the furnace is so strong! "
Li Zexuan was stunned. Then, he turned his head to look at the bamboo basket. As he looked, he asked, "Li Zexuan, is what the Empress said true?"
Li Zexuan cupped his hands and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, the Empress has sharp eyes. Just as the Empress said, the reason why the charcoal balls are so easy to ignite is because of its special structure! Because these briquettes were shaped like honeycombs, I call them honeycomb briquettes! Today, the treasures I present to Your Majesty are this coal stove and the honeycomb briquette! "
Li Er calmed down and nodded, "To be able to turn useless coal into this kind of easily flammable honeycomb briquette, it is indeed a treasure! In that case, the imperial court might be able to consider mining a few coal mines next year! But how did you make these honeycomb briquettes ~? "
Seeing the honeycomb briquettes, Li Er felt as if he had seen a pile of gold. The Great Tang had discovered many coal mines in the Hedong Road area, but because the raw coal was hard to burn, the mining value was not high. But now, it was different!
Li Zexuan said helplessly, "Your Majesty! This honeycomb briquettes were made by smashing the coal briquettes, adding a binder, and casting it through a mold! Today, I present these two items to Your Majesty. First, I want to show Your Majesty the advantage of combining the honeycomb briquettes and the coal stove. Second, I want to discuss something with Your Majesty! "
"Advantage ~? What advantage? Could it be that this honeycomb briquettes are easier to burn than charcoal ~? "
Li Er asked.
Li Zexuan repeated what he had told his mother and grandmother yesterday about the advantages of using honeycomb briquettes to boil water and cook rice. Before Li Er could say anything, Zhangsun couldn't help but exclaim, "That's right.
"Four honeycomb briquettes can boil water and cook rice for an entire day? Marquis Yong 'an, is what you said true? "
Li Zexuan smiled and nodded, "Absolutely true! And a normal family cannot boil water and cook rice for an entire day, so the actual consumption of honeycomb briquettes is definitely less than this! "
"Haha! Good stuff! This is really good stuff! Li Zexuan, let me ask you, how much does this honeycomb briquettes and the coal stove cost ~? "
When Li Er heard this, he could not help but feel that the honeycomb briquettes were more convenient than the coal briquettes. He laughed and asked.
Li Zexuan replied, "The cost of a honeycomb briquettes is less than a copper coin! As for the coal stove, it is about a hundred and fifty copper coins! But a coal stove can be used for at least five years! "
Li Er nodded, "That's right! That's right! It's cheap and practical! The commoners will definitely like it! This is really a treasure that benefits the country and the people! Haha! I also like it! "
Empress Zhangsun had a worried expression, "Your Majesty, although the honeycomb briquettes are cheap, the price of the coal stove is on the expensive side. Not everyone can afford it! To fully promote the use of coal stoves and honeycomb briquettes, I'm afraid there are still many difficulties! "
Li Er's face instantly darkened. Clearly, he agreed with what Empress Zhangsun said.
Li Zexuan bowed and said, "Your Majesty is right! This is also the second reason why I came to find Your Majesty today! "
Li Er's gaze darkened, and he said, "Speak!"
"Your Majesty, now that the Tang Empire has been stable for less than ten years, the price of charcoal in the Eastern and Western cities has always been high. Burning charcoal is no different from a fantasy to the commoners! But in winter, the weather is cold. Other than boiling water and cooking rice, most people also need a fire to keep warm! Chang 'an is the capital of the Tang Empire. Every year, many poor commoners freeze to death, not to mention the other remote areas. There will definitely be more people freezing to death!
And now that there are cheaper and more durable honeycomb briquettes, the price of charcoal will definitely continue to drop! Correspondingly, there will be more and more people who can afford to burn coal! But to the commoners, the price of coal stoves is indeed too high. But without coal stoves, the use of honeycomb briquettes is extremely limited! And now that it is winter, there are still many poor commoners who are suffering from the cold!
So, honeycomb briquettes and coal stoves must be promoted to the commoners together! And in order to help the commoners survive the winter, I can sell the honeycomb briquettes and coal stoves at cost price to the poor commoners without earning a single cent! But my power alone is ultimately limited. So, I have a small request, and I hope Your Majesty will allow it! "
Li Zexuan said slowly with a sincere face.
Hearing this, Li Er was silent for a moment, and he said, "It's good that you still have this kind of heart. I really didn't misjudge you! Actually, since the beginning of winter, I have been thinking about how to reduce the number of commoners who freeze to death. But in Chang 'an alone, there are tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of poor commoners who are suffering from the cold. The money in the national treasury cannot be used now. If you have a way, quickly say it! As long as your request is not too much, I will allow it! "
…
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
