As a rare grain, Li Longji was only lucky enough to taste one meal before he sent someone to the Savant's Restaurant to ask about it. He was told that he could only eat one meal every three days, and this was because of his special status.
Li Longji could only put the matter of the cornbread aside for the time being and look forward to the arrival of every three days. He once again devoted his energy to various aspects of Great Tang.
According to Wang Juan, the current Li Longji should be in a situation where he rejoiced in grandiose achievements. A bucket of millet only cost a few copper coins, and under the fawning of many officials, Great Tang was flourishing.
But now, Li Longji had no intention of relaxing. The Zhang Family and the Wang Family worked together with other merchants to open businesses all over Great Tang. Even the most remote places did not lack this kind of business cooperation.
In addition to doing business, these shops were also in charge of collecting information, such as the living conditions of the people in a certain place and the bad evaluation of the officials in that place. These information were then sent to the capital to let Li Longji understand that his country was still far from his ideal.
Zhang Xiaobao even took the opportunity to deceive Li Longji, telling him how wealthy that place was. In the winter, every family had fruits, and all they wanted to eat was vegetables. They were already sick of meat.
Every family had a type of carriage that was dozens or even hundreds of times faster than a carriage. It only took two days to travel from the capital to Lu Zhou. Moreover, everyone had a very small radio that they could carry in their pocket at any time. They could take it out at any time to greet their family in Tubo at the Blackwater Commander-In-Chief's Manor.
In terms of medical treatment, the Virtuous Academy could not compare. When hunting in the mountains, one's ears would not be eaten by wolves. It was fine. As long as one hid and did not let the wolves bite off one's head, one could use the small radio to inform a specialized department. There would be something that was hundreds of times faster than gliders flying over to save the person. Then, just like farming, one could grow another ear and install it.
If there were no telegrams and steam engines, Li Longji would definitely not believe it. But now, he had no choice but to believe it.
Hence, after making a comparison, Li Longji felt that the people of Great Tang did not have a good life. At the very least, he did not have a good life. He could not compare to the ordinary people of that place. Even if he lost an ear, he could not grow another one. This was the difference.
Looking at the intelligence reports on the various regions of the Great Tang, he found that there were many places where the people could not eat white flour and rice, and could only eat millet, let alone meat and eggs. Even in winter, one could not expect to see fresh cucumbers.
"We still have to work hard." Li Longji closed the document about Hedong Dao, picked up a small metal box on the desk, and dripped two drops of eye drops mixed with ice shards into it, and said to himself.
Gao Lishi, who was not far away, made a gesture to the young eunuch. After a while, the young eunuch came back with a tray. On the tray was a bowl with something inside.
"Your Majesty, it's getting late. Drink some beef radish soup and rest early," Gao Lishi said as he placed the bowl in front of Li Longji.
Li Longji raised his head and squinted his eyes to look at the light above his head. He then glanced at the clock on the wall. The hands were pointing to 11 o 'clock. He nodded. "It's already midnight? Time really flies. Never mind, help me take a look at this small matter. I think it's better to find two more reliable people. "
Picking up the radish from the bowl, Li Longji stared at it. "Radishes in winter are also small ginseng. I heard that Xiao Bao is planting ginseng in Jili State. How is it going?"
"They planted it last year. They said that they will plant it for five years. By then, there will be more ginseng in the hospital. They also planted a lot of other herbs. Your Majesty, don't worry. They even planted pearls, not to mention ginseng. Oh, Xiao Bao sent a letter saying that Your Majesty had corn bread yesterday."
While Gao Lishi was speaking, he took out a small toy from his sleeve. It was a funnel. He also took out some leaves that came with the cornbread and stuffed them into the funnel. He lit a match and took two deep breaths. He seemed to be much more spirited.
Li Longji chewed the beef tendon that was deliberately put into the bowl and asked in a muffled voice, "What's the matter with the corn bread?"
"They said that in a few years' time, they can use corn to feed livestock, especially cows. They want me to help choose a cow with more meat to be specially raised for meat in the future and save on other grains. It's also good for cows. Before the corn matures, they can chop the corn cob and the stalk together.
I'm wondering if there should be a special area in every prefecture in Tang to be used to raise cows. Part of it is used for farming, part of it is used for meat, and part of it is used for milk production. "
Gao Lishi looked at the bowl on the table and replied.
Li Longji suddenly understood. "Oh ~! I understand now. I thought that corn was really precious. I didn't expect that Xiao Bao and Cuckoo had people bring it back from elsewhere to be used as fodder. I heard from Xiao Bao that the people in that place, regardless of whether they are adults or children, can drink fresh milk every day. Many children in Tang can only drink soy milk. I don't believe that if others can do it, so can I. "
Gao Lishi nodded vigorously, expressing his support and trust.
"Xiao Bao sent a letter saying that he was going on a trip. He even left in a hot air balloon. Are there any changes in Xinluo?" Li Longji was not sure where Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were going to travel. He was afraid that it would delay the deployment of Xinluo.
"I've heard the news. Xiao Bao ordered his family's business to transport all kinds of good goods to the border between Xinluo and Tang Dynasty, such as the clock hanging on the wall, pearl jewelry, cosmetics, beautiful clothes, and complete sets of glass products. He wants to do a big deal with Xinluo."
"What kind of deal?"
"In exchange for charcoal, the price is very high. The price of charcoal of the same quality is 1.5 times that of Tang Dynasty. There is also the matter of opening a smelting plant in Xinluo."
As Gao Lishi spoke, he wanted to point at the charcoal brazier to signal the Emperor, but he suddenly stopped. There was no charcoal brazier here. They used heating, the kind that coiled around the ground.
Li Longji also knew what Gao Lishi was thinking just now. He smiled in satisfaction. "Technology must be developed. Otherwise, I would still be using candles to roast charcoal. It seems that Xiao Bao has gone to cheat people again. Take some time to ask if there are any new weapons in the weapons research department. Let me be happy, even if it's in the experimental stage."
"Yes, I'll contact him later. I thought of another thing that might make Your Majesty happy. Cuckoo said in a letter to her family that this year, Xiao Bao spent a lot of money to build a place to cultivate Kunbu in Jili Province. Xiao Bao called it kelp, which means that if nothing goes wrong this year, there will be a lot of kelp production. When the time comes, I'll let the people in Dengzhou learn to cultivate it.
After the kelp is dried, it will be sent to all parts of Tang Dynasty and sold to the people at a low price. It can prevent the Big Neck Disease. The two of them originally planned to extract something from the Kunbu and put it in salt so that the people can eat salt. However, due to the lack of technology, they can only postpone it indefinitely. "
Gao Lishi did not know the extent of the weapons research, so he thought of something else to tell the Emperor to make him happy.
However, Li Longji did not look happy at all.
"That's right, we can't keep up with the technology. For Xiaobao and Juanjuan to be able to think of this, it's probably because their master told them. That means that the technology of the other side has already reached that level. We're still far from it, we have to catch up. At the very least, we have to wait for the other side to have the strength to defend against them in case they attack.
Li Longji clenched his fists and ate the food in the bowl as fast as he could. He followed Gao Lishi's instructions to wash up and get ready to sleep.
Lu Zhou, in the forest northwest of the Matchwood Factory, a group of people was busy. Some were in charge of recording, and some were operating.
When everything was ready, a loud noise rang out. The people involved in the experiment smiled. "It's done.
Send the report to the young master and young miss. The picric acid is successfully developed. The trinitrotoluene is in the process of development. The new cannon is tested. The maximum range is 6.6 kilometers. The extraction of gasoline and diesel failed. We're working on a new method. "
The person who spoke was the craftsman who won the first place in the competition in the capital, Zhang Tianyou. After he was selected, he studied with Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan for a while. He was the first to read Wang Juan's books. After that, he was sent to Lu Zhou to be in charge of the scientific and technological research.
When the people in charge of the research of the new gunpowder heard his words, they subconsciously puffed out their chests. Although they had lost their freedom from the moment they joined the research team, their family's standard of living was not comparable to ordinary people.
If it were not for Jia Ru's research team, they might still be ordinary craftsmen who spent the rest of their lives in some county. Now, they could at least wander around Lu Zhou, and they were escorted by many people.
The ticking sound of telegrams rang out, all the way to Ji Li Province. Unfortunately, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan could not receive the news for the time being.
At this time, Lu Zhou did not stop working at the sea with the arrival of winter. The number of ships coming in and out every day was still the same.
Before Xinyuan Island was fully occupied and explored, the profit-seeking merchants began to move further away. For example, there was a group of small islands beside Xinyuan Island, as well as an island that was not smaller than Xinyuan Island that was connected to Xinyuan Island on the other side.
Ordinary merchants would go there to scout for resources and find a way to get them on board. Then, they would bring them back to Lu Zhou, pay a part of the taxes, and wait to make a fortune.
Sun Miao was also the captain of a fleet in Jiangnan. His family was quite well-to-do, and he was a High Scholar. Unfortunately, he had failed several imperial examinations in a row. After the New Year, he gave up on the idea of continuing to work in the capital and was ready to find another way to develop.
When he was on Newgate Island, he participated in the first advance party formed by merchants and made a lot of money. He also met the owner of another merchant and was attracted to the owner's daughter. After a few contacts, they gradually became close. In the end, he secretly married her and made her his co-wife.
He had two wives and three concubines at home, and his son and daughter were running around everywhere. His older son and daughter had already gone to school and were doing well in their studies.
Logically speaking, he should be content with what he had. However, his neighbor's 22-year-old son came to the capital this spring to take the imperial examinations and stayed in the capital to become an official.
As a result, his neighbor's status was obviously much higher than his own. In May, he renovated his house according to the standards of a sixth-grade official. His father complained more than once in his letter that they were inferior to each other.
Sun Miao also felt sullen. When he was a High Scholar, his status was higher than his neighbor's. Now that he had no chance, he could only pin his hopes on his son. However, his son was too young. How could he take the imperial examinations at the age of twelve? He didn't even have the status of a High Scholar.
Unless his son suddenly became Zhang Xiaobao and his daughter became Wang Juan, even if everything went well, he would have to wait for ten years. He couldn't let his neighbor suppress him for ten years. Who knew if his son would become a third-grade official after ten years?
Sun Miao was very worried about this. Just as he was looking for an opportunity, it suddenly appeared in front of him.
There were quite a few tribes on another large island not far from Xinyuan Island. The last time he went there, he saw a leader of a large tribe, or rather, a tribal chief. Anyway, he was just a person. He had diligently learned the language of the Tang Empire and was able to carry out simple conversations.
When they were talking about the exchange of goods, the leader mentioned that he wanted to meet the Emperor of Tang. It was not an ordinary worship. Perhaps, the leader could not imagine how majestic the Emperor of Tang was.
The speaker had a heart, and the listener had a heart. Sun Miao's heart came to him. Since he could not pass the imperial examinations, he could become an official through other means. No one in his family could be an official, so why couldn't he make a great contribution?
With this idea in mind, Sun Miao, who came back, began to contact people. He did not foolishly go to Lu Zhou's Provincial Governor, nor did he write a letter to the capital. Although he was qualified to send a letter to the capital as a High Scholar, he knew it was useless. The Emperor could not see it at all.
After thinking for two days, he found Lu Zhou's Trade Alliance. First, the alliance was controlled by the Zhang Family and the Wang Family. If he wanted to let the Emperor know, the Emperor would definitely know. Second, the Zhang Family and the Wang Family would not steal his credit. The two families were so famous that they did not care about the merit of a tribe leader on an island. Most importantly, the Zhang Family and the Wang Family were very amiable.
Sun Miao's contact was successful. The person in charge of Lu Zhou's affairs agreed immediately. As long as Sun Miao was confident that he could get the leader of the tribe to the capital and bring a lot of local specialties as tribute, Lu Zhou's people would be responsible for the protection work along the way and contact matters after the arrival.
Before winter came, Sun Miao brought the people arranged by Lu Zhou to the island and found the leader of the tribe, Shan Tushi. This name was given by the leader himself. At first, he said that he wanted to follow the Emperor's surname, Li. Later, he was dissuaded. If the surname was not passed down by the ancestors, it could not be taken casually. It had to be given by the Emperor, especially by people who did not belong to Tang.
When Shan Tushi learned that he could meet the Emperor of Tang, he was very excited. He asked people to prepare many things that he thought were good and wanted to go with Sun Miao.
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
