Ang Lee had explained the reason very clearly. After listening to the analysis, the Zhan clan leader realized his stupidity and ignorance. He only thought that there would be conflicts if they cooperated, but he did not expect that the conflicts would be bigger if they did not cooperate. He also did not expect that cooperation could greatly reduce the cost of the products and thus obtain higher profits.
As it was getting late, Ang Lee definitely could not personally go to the mountain where the tungsten ore was produced. After a night's rest, he would go again tomorrow. At the same time, the team would leave the Zhan clan and continue to head west to the Lang tribe's territory to rest for another day.
"Since Assistant Minister Li has explained the reason so clearly, I have nothing more to say. My Zhan clan is willing to cooperate with the Lang tribe."
The Zhan clan leader said.
Ang Lee nodded with satisfaction and said, "That's good. In that case, why don't you send someone to the Lang tribe tonight to inform them of this matter and ask them to wait for us at the border mountain tomorrow morning. This way, I can make the arrangements."
The Zhan clan leader said, "Assistant Minister Li, don't worry. I will send someone to the Lang tribe now. There won't be any delay."
After saying that, he hurriedly went to make the arrangements.
Ang Lee was not sleepy for the time being, so he immediately asked someone to prepare paper and pen. He also drew the various equipment needed to smelt the tungsten ore and wrote down various text descriptions on the paper.
The production of these equipment was not difficult. As long as there was clay, there would be no problem. There was clay beside the river here. This river flowed from Dongnu Province all the way to Central Sichuan. Therefore, every tribe along the way had clay to use. There was no need to worry about this.
These clay could be fired. After firing, it would become bricks. It could also be made into the required shape and then fired. In this way, the tools obtained would also be brick-like, which was different from pottery and porcelain.
Some small instruments could be directly molded with clay and then fired with fire. As for some large instruments, they needed to first make bricks and then use the bricks to build the instruments. It would just take more time.
The smelting of tungsten ore was not something that could be done in one day. Therefore, in order to help them, Ang Lee might have to stay here for two days. At the same time, he could also experience the local customs and take in the beautiful scenery.
The patriarch of the Zhan Clan did not dare to delay. Overnight, he sent his trusted clansmen to the Lang Clan to report the news. For the safety of the journey, they sent six people and six mounts. There was no need to be afraid of encountering wild beasts on the way. The large number of people who went could also show the importance they attached to this matter.
Normally, in these remote mountainous areas, the city gates would not be opened at night. There were more wild beasts here. The reason why they did not open the gates was for safety and to protect their own people. However, there would definitely be guards at the city gates. Once something happened, they would be able to prepare immediately.
When they heard that the Zhan Clan had an urgent matter to report overnight, the clansmen of the Lang Clan did not dare to delay. They knew the clansmen of the Zhan Clan and naturally knew that the people who came were not bad people. Very soon, they let them in.
The patriarch of the Lang Clan had already rested. He was unhappy to be woken up by his clansmen. However, when he heard that the Zhan Clan had an important matter, he did not dare to delay. After all, based on his understanding of the patriarch of the Zhan Clan, if it was not an extremely important matter, the Zhan Clan would not send someone to deliver the news in the middle of the night. Fortunately, when the Zhan Clan arrived, it was already the latter half of the night. There was only one hour left before dawn. The patriarch of the Lang Clan was almost done sleeping. Usually, he would wake up before dawn and would usually wake up an hour earlier. Now that he was forced to wake up an hour earlier, it was only two hours less sleep. To him, it was not a big deal.
"What? The Assistant Minister Li of the Imperial Court is here? He even found tungsten ore at the Jie Mountain?"
The patriarch of the Lang Clan was a little surprised.
The Zhan Clan member said, "Lang Clan Leader, Assistant Minister Li asked us to come over and inform you. Tomorrow morning, you will go to the Jie Mountain to wait. Don't be late."
"Alright, I got it. It must have been hard on you. Hurry down and have some hot food!"
The patriarch of the Lang Clan warmly asked the person who came to inform him to go down and eat. Then, he called up all the clansmen who had some status in the clan. Such a big matter was not a joke. They had to have a good discussion with the clansmen.
By the time all the clansmen with status came over, half an hour had already passed. However, fortunately, the sky was not bright and they were not in a hurry.
"Tungsten ore? What is tungsten ore? "
The clansmen were the same as the patriarch of the Lang Clan. They seemed to have some doubts about what tungsten ore was. The Zhan Clan member who came to inform them was also not very clear about tungsten ore. However, he said that it was a very valuable mineral and it was at the Jie Mountain.
"Who knows? It's at the Jie Mountain. What kind of ore would there be there? Is it something we have seen before? "
The patriarch of the Lang Clan said.
"Patriarch, it's meaningless for us to guess blindly now. Why don't we have breakfast earlier and then hurry to the Jie Mountain?"
A clansman said.
The patriarch of the Lang Clan agreed and said, "That's right. Hurry up and eat something to fill your stomach. Then, we will go to the Jie Mountain in the dark. They told us to go there in the morning. It doesn't matter if we go there in advance. It's better to be early than late."
Very soon, the people of the Lang Clan began to prepare food. They were all simple ingredients. After eating, they set off for the Jie Mountain. Due to the importance of this matter, they sent out a lot of people. There were more than fifty of them. They set off in the dark. Some of them rode horses while the young and strong ones walked behind them.
As those with weak legs were riding horses, the group of people moved very quickly. When the sky was just beginning to brighten, the group of fifty of them arrived near the Jie Mountain. They met the Zhan Clan members who had come over last night. There were not many Zhan Clan members. There were only about twenty of them. They had come in advance to set up temporary huts and make various preparations.
After all, Ang Lee had said that he would come over. Naturally, they had to go ahead and make some preparations. In this way, when Ang Lee came over, they would have a place to rest.
There were mountain paths in the Jie Mountain. The mountain paths could lead directly to the top of the mountain. Not only were they very suitable for sightseeing, but they could also see a lot of tungsten ores along the way. However, the mountain paths here were very difficult to walk on. Some places even required the use of both hands and feet to go up. Those with weak legs couldn't go up at all.
Considering that Ang Lee would definitely climb the mountain to take a look after coming over, the Zhan Clan members made some improvements to the mountain paths. They repaired some of the particularly difficult paths to walk on, making the mountain paths slightly easier to walk on.
After the Lang Clan members came over and saw the Zhan Clan's patriarch, they were most concerned about the tungsten ores. They still couldn't figure out what tungsten ores were. Naturally, they were a little anxious.
After asking the Zhan Clan members who were busy, they finally figured out what kind of stones were tungsten ores in the vicinity of the Jie Mountain. However, the Zhan Clan members were also confused about more information. They only knew that the black and white stones were tungsten ores. As for more detailed information, they didn't know at all and couldn't answer the Lang Clan members.
Since they had brought more than fifty Zhan Clan members, they couldn't let these people be idle. Other than some of them picking up stones nearby, more of the Zhan Clan members were arranged to help the Zhan Clan members build temporary huts and temporary tables and other things to rest. The remaining people went to the mountain paths to check the road conditions. They cut down the bushes that were in the way and did some simple repairs. Since they were idle, they might as well do more work.
Ang Lee went to bed a little late last night to prepare the technical materials for the Zhan Clan. Therefore, he didn't wake up until dawn. After eating a simple meal, he followed the Zhan Clan's patriarch and more than a hundred people to the border between the Zhan Clan and the Lang Clan. He was prepared to personally see the tungsten ores there. He wanted to see how much they were produced and whether they were worth large-scale mining.
As the technical materials were prepared last night, they sent people to the Zhan Clan's patriarch. As a result, the Zhan Clan's patriarch and many other Zhan Clan members didn't sleep the whole night. They were all busy studying Ang Lee's blueprint. Before dawn, they had already sent people everywhere to prepare all kinds of raw materials. Some went to the river to dig clay, some went to the Lu Clan to buy coke, and some went to dig ores directly. The division of labor was very efficient. More than a hundred people were sent out. This was half of the Zhan Clan's labor force. It could be seen that the Zhan Clan had paid a lot.
Looking at the red eyes of the Zhan Clan's patriarch and others, Ang Lee smiled slightly. These guys were really too anxious. If he didn't hand over the technology to them, they wouldn't leave in advance. They were a little worried. However, at the same time, it seemed to reflect their inner urgency for ferrotungsten smelting.
"Patriarch, it seems like you didn't sleep last night!"
Ang Lee asked.
The Zhan Clan's patriarch said, "At this age, insomnia is common. I'm used to it. I've long been used to it."
This wasn't a lie. He was too excited and mixed with some worries. Anyone would suffer from insomnia. This was a very normal thing. There was nothing strange about it.
However, the Zhan Clan's patriarch didn't necessarily suffer from insomnia. He didn't sleep at all. Even if he was sleepy, he wouldn't sleep. This was a matter of his own choice. It didn't belong to the category of insomnia.
"That's right. It's okay to suffer from insomnia occasionally. However, it's not good if you suffer from insomnia frequently. It will affect your health."
Ang Lee said.
The Zhan Clan's patriarch smiled and quickly changed the topic to the direction of ferrotungsten smelting. Obviously, he wasn't interested in his own health. He was more concerned about the problem of ferrotungsten smelting. This was an important problem related to the future survival of the Zhan Clan. In the heart of the Zhan Clan's patriarch, this problem was much more important than his own health.
The scenery along the way was very good. The scenery in the mountains was always so beautiful. After walking for more than two hours, Ang Lee and the others finally arrived near the border mountain of the Zhan Clan and the Lang Clan. They saw the Lang Clan's patriarch and the others. They also saw a row of pavilions, tables and chairs for people to rest.
"Assistant Minister Li, what exactly is this ferrotungsten ore?"
After exchanging a few pleasantries, the Lang Clan's patriarch couldn't wait to ask.
Ang Lee could only explain the ferrotungsten ore in a more detailed manner so that the Lang Clan's patriarch could understand.
"The ferrotungsten ore actually has such great benefits. Wouldn't we be rich then?"
There was no need to mention how excited the Lang Clan's patriarch was. He was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth.
The Zhan Clan's patriarch said, "Assistant Minister Li's intention is for our two clans to cooperate and open a ferrotungsten smelting workshop here at the border mountain. Both clans will work together and the harvest will be shared by both clans."
When the Lang Clan's patriarch heard this, he was puzzled for a moment. Then, he said, "Our two clans have the same population. Then, each of us will contribute half of the manpower and the harvest will be split equally. This is the fairest way and can also avoid conflicts."
The Zhan Clan's patriarch nodded and said, "That's what I mean too. We will contribute the same amount of manpower and split the harvest equally. This is the fairest way."
Ang Lee smiled and said, "Let's go up the mountain and see how much ferrotungsten ore there is."
After saying that, he led a group of people up the mountain. At the same time, many clansmen of the two clans were digging for ore nearby. This could play a role in detecting the amount of ore.
In the future, there were advanced instruments that could accurately detect the amount of resources in an area. However, in the Tang Dynasty, there were no such advanced instruments. All the detection needed to be done manually bit by bit. The efficiency was very low and the accuracy was not very high. However, they could still detect a rough estimate. And it was enough to have a rough estimate. The smelting efficiency in ancient times was relatively low. It was far inferior to the smelting efficiency in the future. Therefore, it didn't matter even if the amount of ore was not accurately measured. To many people, there was no essential difference between being able to smelt for a hundred years and being able to smelt for ten thousand years. They both represented that the amount of ore was very high.
In other words, as long as the amount of ore in the vicinity could be smelted for a hundred years, then there was no need to continue the detection. A hundred years was a long time. No one could predict what would happen after a hundred years. The amount of ore that could be used for a hundred years was already a lot. It was enough to be mined.
The mountain road was difficult to walk on. Fortunately, Ang Lee was young and there were no problems with his legs. He could climb the mountain without any pressure. On the other hand, the patriarchs of the two clans were in their fifties. It was a little stressful for them to climb the mountain and they were panting. Fortunately, they often climbed the mountain when they were young. Therefore, even if they were panting, they could still climb. If they were pampered people, then it would be troublesome. They would definitely not be able to climb a single step.
Because of the vegetation along the way, they couldn't directly see a large amount of tungsten ore. However, as long as they used tools to dig deep, they could find tungsten ore.
They walked and stopped along the way. First, they wanted to rest for a while. Second, they wanted to dig out the tungsten ore along the way so that they could find out how much ore was in the mountain. The people in charge of digging along the way were naturally strong men of the two clans who were about twenty years old. They were very strong and worked very hard. With three to five people, they could quickly dig a very large and deep hole. At most, they could dig half a person deep enough to find tungsten ore. Some of the tungsten ore was even on the surface, but it was covered by grass and creepers. As long as the grass and creepers were removed, the tungsten ore would be exposed.
The Summit
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