"Your Majesty, the Marquis of Yong 'an requests an audience!"
In the afternoon, in the Sweet Dew Hall, a servant came in and bowed.
Speaking of which, Li Zexuan didn't even have time to eat lunch after leaving the workshop and came to the palace to look for Li Er.
He was quite hardworking.
"Let him in!"
Li Er smiled faintly and said.
After a while, Li Zexuan walked in from outside and bowed to Li Er. "Your subject greets Your Majesty!"
"Mm, rise!"
Li Er nodded and said, "You have been holed up in the Cloud Mountain all day, how come you have the time to come to the palace to see me today?"
This was asking the obvious!
However, he had to ask the obvious. If he directly said the purpose of Li Zexuan's visit, Li Zexuan would definitely think that he was being monitored, and there would be hostility between the ruler and his subject. Old Li wasn't that stupid!
Li Zexuan cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, your subject is here today to ask for the mining rights of an ore vein. Your Majesty, please grant me!"
A while ago, when Guan City was breached and the Cui Family's rebel army was annihilated, Li Er not only promoted Li Zexuan to an official position, but also rewarded Li Zexuan with the mining rights of three mineral veins. However, at that time, Li Zexuan did not specify which three mineral veins they were. It was basically equivalent to Old Li giving him a blank check that he could fill in at will. Today, Li Zexuan wanted to write the name of the Lan Family's volcano mineral vein on this check!
When Li Er heard this, he couldn't help but laugh. He said, "Yo ~! Are you here to collect a debt from me? Tell me, what ore vein do you want? Gold mine, silver mine, or copper mine? "
Li Zexuan bowed and said, "Your Majesty, your subject doesn't want gold, silver, or copper mines. Your subject only wants a vanadium titanium magnetite ore vein in Jiannan Province. Your Majesty, please grant me this!"
After the Qin Dynasty destroyed Ba and Shu, they implemented the county system in Sichuan and established Ba County and Shu County in the former Ba and Shu regions. In the first year of Zhenguan, Li Er abolished the state and county system and changed Yi Province to Jiannan Province.
Jiannan Dao was one of the Ten Daos under the heavens. It mainly referred to the thirty plus prefectures and hundreds of counties in the Sichuan region.
Li Er was puzzled. "Vanadium titanium magnetite? What kind of mine is this? What was its use? Why have I never heard of it? "
Although he had heard from Zhao Song that Li Zexuan had sent people to Sichuan to look for ores, he did not know what kind of ores Li Zexuan was looking for, let alone what vanadium titanomagnetite was!
Li Zexuan cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, your humble servant's workshop needs a catalyst called vanadium pentoxide. With it, your humble servant's workshop can mass produce sulfuric acid! As one of the 'three acids and two bases' in engineering, sulfuric acid has a wide range of uses. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the cornerstone of Great Tang's industrial industry! And the catalyst can be extracted from vanadium titanium magnetite! "
Although Li Er had not done any in-depth research on 'Chemistry', this was the first time he had seen Li Zexuan introduce something to him so seriously. Thus, he could not help but pay more attention to this vanadium titanomagnetite.
"Your Majesty does not know much about engineering. Can you tell me what the sulfuric acid is used for? And that vanadium mine, other than producing sulfuric acid, what else can it be used for? "
Asking questions when he did not understand was what made Li Er different from other monarchs. In terms of magnanimity, there were very few monarchs who could compare to him!
Furthermore, in the Sichuan region, there were many noble clans and tribes. The various powers were tangled and complicated. Old Li had to get a clear understanding of the matter so that he could weigh whether the vanadium mine in Sichuan was worth mining or not!
Li Zexuan thought for a while and picked out some things that Li Er could understand. He answered, "Your Majesty, sulfuric acid has a wide range of uses. In the future, it can be used to make more powerful gunpowder, extract stone paint, and make fertilizer that can increase the yield of crops. In the future, sulfuric acid can be used to refine copper and increase the purity of copper. In the future, the generators in the Ba River Hydropower Station will require refined copper! Furthermore, with sulfuric acid, your humble servant can also make batteries! "
As for the stone paint, it was petroleum. Before Shen Kuo's' Dream Creek Writings', there were records of petroleum in the 'Book of the Former Han'!
Hearing this, Li Er's face was filled with shock. He muttered, "More powerful gunpowder? There is more powerful gunpowder in this world? Fertilizer that can increase the yield of crops? Also, what are the batteries that you mentioned just now? "
The things that Li Zexuan said were all inconceivable to Li Er. He couldn't help but be shocked!
Li Zexuan smiled and replied, "Your Majesty, the gunpowder that your humble servant offered earlier was the most primitive, simplest, and of course, the weakest type of gunpowder. The gunpowder that your humble servant mentioned just now is more than ten times more powerful. Just a hundred catties is enough to destroy half a city! As for the fertilizer that can increase the yield of crops, it can increase the yield of crops by thirty to forty percent!
However, sulfuric acid alone is unable to produce powerful gunpowder and fertilizer. The industrial foundation of the workshop is still needed! As for the batteries, once we have sulfuric acid, we can immediately start making them. Your Majesty should know that your humble servant made a battery for the telegraph machine. Compared to the previous battery, this battery has more power. When marching to war, with the battery, it can ensure that the telegraph machine can maintain communication with the rear for a long time! "
When Li Er heard this, he couldn't help but be moved. Whether it was powerful gunpowder or batteries, he wanted them both! Thus, he smiled and said,
"Good! Good! Good! This battery must be made as soon as possible! As for the powerful gunpowder you mentioned, there's no need to rush. Another type of gunpowder is enough. Besides, I'm still very confident in the combat power of the Tang army! "
Li Zexuan smiled and said, "Your Majesty is wise! Your humble servant also believes that with Your Majesty's wisdom and martial prowess, the Tang army will be able to sweep the four directions and dominate the four seas! In addition, other than making sulfuric acid, the vanadium ore can also be used to forge divine weapons! "
"Divine weapons? What divine weapons? "
Li Er was immediately puzzled.
Li Zexuan replied, "Your Majesty, currently the workshop can already mass produce high-quality steel. If steel is a tiger, then vanadium is a wing. Adding vanadium in steel is like adding wings to a tiger. Adding a few percent of vanadium in steel can greatly increase the elasticity and strength of the steel. It also has better resistance to wear and tear, and can resist both high temperature and extreme cold. If this vanadium steel is used to forge swords, although it can't be said to be able to cut through iron like mud, it's not far from it! "
"Good! What a divine weapon! "
Li Er was immediately fascinated by the vanadium ore. He said excitedly,
"I have previously promised you the mining rights of the three ore veins. Since this vanadium ore is so important to you, there's no harm in giving it to you! Furthermore, I see that you have a card up your sleeve today. Could it be that you have found the vanadium ore you want in Fengzhou of Jiannan Circuit ~? "
Upon hearing this, Li Zexuan was overjoyed and quickly replied, "Your Majesty, at the beginning of this year, your humble servant sent a servant to the Shu Lands to search for vanadium ore. Fortunately, your humble servant did not fail his mission and found a large amount of vanadium titanium magnetite ore on a mountain in Fengzhou. With this ore, the Tang Empire will definitely need it for hundreds of years! However … "
Li Er smiled in his heart. He thought that they had finally come to the main topic. He smiled faintly and said, "However what?"
Li Zexuan bowed and said, "Your Majesty, according to your humble servant, this mountain was mistaken by the local Qiang people as a divine mountain. They do not allow outsiders to invade the divine mountain, let alone mine from it! Therefore … "
Li Er frowned and said, "Divine mountain? Is there a reason behind this? "
"In reply to Your Majesty, this is nothing but nonsense! The local Qiang people found that the mountain was very attractive to the soldiers and thought that there was a divine force behind it. However, it was just the strong magnetic force of the vanadium titanium magnetite ore in the mountain! However, the Shu Lands are isolated and most of the locals believe in the power of ghosts and gods. Therefore, it would not be easy to explain to them clearly! For this reason, your humble servant and general were almost killed by the local Qiang people. Your Majesty, please uphold justice for your humble servant! "
Li Zexuan bowed and said in a deep voice.
"The Qiang people!"
Li Er's face gradually darkened. After a moment of silence, he slowly said, "Back then, when the heroes were fighting for supremacy in the Central Plains, the noble families and other local powers in Shu Lands colluded with the officials of the counties and counties to protect themselves and watch the situation change. After my imperial father took control of Shu Lands, he sent letters to the various counties and counties. From Shangluo in the east to Shu Lands in the south, the county officials, bandit commanders, and the chiefs of the Di Qiang tribes fought for their descendants to submit. There were hundreds of replies every day.
In the face of strong military pressure, the noble families of Shu Lands all submitted to the Great Tang. Towards these local tyrants who surrendered, the imperial court mainly adopted a policy of using both kindness and coercion. On one hand, it was to prevent them from becoming too powerful in the future, and on the other hand, it was to prevent them from rebelling out of anger!
A few hundred years ago, Liu Bang rose to power in Shu Lands. During the Chu and Han Wars, Shu Lands not only provided the Han Army with an endless supply of soldiers, it also provided a strong logistical support for the war. Wherever the Han Army was, there would be military supplies provided by Shu Lands. Five years later, during the Battle of Gaixia, Xiang Yu committed suicide in the Wu River and Liu Bang ascended to the throne. This started the four hundred years of history of the two Han Dynasties!
Bashu contributed all of its energy to Liu Bang's empire, supporting the war for many years with its own strength. It made an indelible contribution to the founding of the Great Han Dynasty. Hence, Bashu could be said to be the place where the Han Dynasty rose. Thus, after Liu Bang ascended to the throne, he placed a lot of importance on Shu Lands. He treated Chuanzhong as the territory of the imperial court, and the Great Han Dynasty would rule it directly. He would never give the vassals in the Shu Lands!
In fact, Imperial Father and I have always paid great attention to the governance of Sichuan. In order to balance out the various powers in Sichuan and to maintain the stability of Sichuan, I have recruited the children of the leaders of Sichuan and given them to them. I have also sent them to the outside to promote them. On the other hand, I have sent the Empress's uncle to Sichuan to serve as the Chief Clerk of Yi Province's Governor-General's Office. I have asked him to help me govern Sichuan and let the people of Sichuan return to Great Tang as soon as possible!
In addition, I plan to give Ke 'er the title of King of Shu and give him the title of Governor of Yi Province. He will be in charge of Yi Province, Mian Province, Jian Province, Jia Province, Ling Province, Ya Province, Mei Province, Meng Province, Jian Province, and Qiang Province. He will also be in charge of Jiao Province, Nanning Province, and Hui Province, a total of 36 provinces. When he is a few years older, I will send him to Shu Lands to show the importance I place on Shu Lands!
Now that there is such an important mine in the Shu Lands, I will issue a decree for the Governor of Yi Province to personally negotiate with the Qiang people on your behalf. Once the negotiations are completed, you can send people there to mine the mine! "
The uncle of Empress Zhangsun and the Governor of Yi Province that Li Er mentioned was Gao Shilian, who later became the Prime Minister of the Great Tang!
After listening to Old Li Zexuan talk for so long, Li Zexuan had a rough understanding of the current situation in Shu Lands. Of course, he did not expect Li Er to change Li Ke's title from King of Han to King of Shu under such circumstances. However, according to the official history, even if he did not appear, Li Er would have made Li Ke the King of Shu this year.
Sometimes, history was shockingly similar!
At this moment, Li Zexuan clasped his hands and said,
"Your Majesty, when negotiating with the Qiang people, it is better to be soft than hard. If Governor Gao is blocked in the negotiation, this subject can give him some advice!"
Li Er could not help but laugh. "Oh? What kind of good plan do you have? "
Li Zexuan bowed and said, "The Qiang people mistake the mine as a sacred mountain. This subject will send people to explain it to them when the time comes! Once this mine is mined, it will bring endless benefits to the local Qiang people. The most obvious benefit is that they will earn more money every year! Although the Qiang people live in tribes, I believe that they all like money and the exquisite products of the Central Plains, right? "
Li Er finally understood. Li Zexuan was planning to use a mine to feed the surrounding people. It was indeed a good idea!
"Haha! This is also good! We will send an order to the Empress' uncle in a moment and have him deal with this matter at his discretion. When necessary, we will ask you for advice! "
Li Er nodded and smiled.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Li Zexuan clasped his hands in satisfaction.
… … …
After leaving the palace, Li Zexuan went straight back to Yunshan. When he passed by Yanhuang College, he thought for a moment, then turned around and walked in.
He called Li Zexuan out of the classroom and brought him to his office. Li Zexuan sat on the sofa and smiled. "Little Ke, you should have learned most of the financial management knowledge that I taught you, right?"
Li Ke clasped his hands and said, "I have not learned much of Yamachō's knowledge. How can I say that I have learned most of it?"
Li Zexuan could not help but laugh. "Haha! You brat, you are still being modest! Alright, I called you here today because I have something important to discuss with you. "
"Yamachō, please speak!"
Li Ke sat up straight and looked at Li Zexuan. He was all ears.
Li Zexuan nodded and said in a deep voice, "I went to the palace today. According to His Majesty, he intends to change your title to Prince of Shu and give you the position of Governor of Yi Province. You will be in charge of the affairs of Shu Province's thirty-six provinces. You need to be mentally prepared!"
Li Ke was shocked when he heard this. He panicked and said, "Yamachō, does this mean that His Majesty is going to send me to Shu Province?"
He was now learning from Li Zexuan at Yanhuang College. He had never heard of financial management knowledge before. He was very happy and fulfilled. He did not want to leave so soon!
… … …
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