The Ming Dynasty started with caution

Yan Chengjin's heart moved slightly, and he carefully thought about Emperor Hongzhi's intentions.

Mentougou, Xiangshan, and Hunhe are wastelands with towering hills. The rocks are knotted and cannot be cultivated. It is useless to keep them in the hands of the imperial court.

But it's different if you make money.

The imperial court will definitely find a way to take it back. Yan Chengjin thought about it and had to find a way to keep it in his own hands.

"If I solve the urgent problem in Liaodong, I don't ask for pendants from the emperor. I just want the wasteland of Shanxi to benefit the people." Yan Chengjin raised his head slightly.

No one knows that there are a large number of coal mines hidden underground in Shanxi. If the anthracite coal comes out, there will be a wave of gold mining.

The officials were a little surprised, what did Yan Chengjin want Huangshan to do.

Emperor Hongzhi looked at Xiao Jing: "Check how much wasteland there is in Shanxi and report it to me."

Shanxi is not suitable for farming, and it is not a good land, so many salt merchants were born.

What he considered was that if the wasteland exceeded a thousand hectares, the land given to Yan Chengjin would have to wait until his death before he could take it back.

If this son really has an agenda, it would be hard for him to ask for his return. After all, he is an emperor who obeys his words.

Yan Chengjin said: "I am not in a hurry."

Emperor Hongzhi looked at the Ministry of Punishment and said, "Send someone to find out who is driving up the price of charcoal!"

He's your grandma's brother-in-law! Yan Chengjin muttered secretly.

Before Wei Shen could reply, Mou Bin looked embarrassed: "Your Majesty, according to Wanping County Magistrate Wu Jian, this is Uncle Chang Ning."

Emperor Hongzhi suddenly realized that the only person who could achieve this was Uncle Chang Ning.

I haven't looked for him for a long time, and he is making trouble again! However, this matter required him to punish him privately.

"Retreat!"

The officials didn't know why, but they could tell that His Majesty wanted to deal with family matters and left the hall one after another.

Xiao Jing knew that Emperor Hongzhi was worried about the Queen Mother: "The eunuch at Renshou Palace said that the Queen Mother has had a strong appetite in the past two days. Would you like to invite Wang Ji into the palace to have a look?"

Xiao Jing has sent away several groups of masters, including the late emperor and Concubine Wan Gui. Emperor Hongzhi's grandfather, the late emperor, also passed away to the bliss of the afterlife through his hands.

As I get older, my appetite suddenly improves, and I must be ready to leave.

Emperor Hongzhi didn't want the Queen Mother to know about Chang Ningbo.

Everyone in the palace knew that the Queen Mother's time was running out. He turned around and told Xiao Jing: "Summon Zhou Yu into the palace."

…

Metropolitan Procuratorate, room value

Yan Chengjin estimated that the wasteland allocated to him by His Majesty should not exceed a thousand acres. Otherwise, the vassal king and officials would not accept it.

However, this is the best way. If anthracite coal can be profitable, he cannot hold it in his hands alone. He will be framed and impeached by the officials and gentry.

The best balance is to give half of it to the court.

At this moment, Men Zao rushed in and reported: "Sir, Uncle Chang Ning is here."

Zhou Yu broke into the check-in room, and as soon as he took one foot in, he put on a flattering smile: "My dear nephew, I heard that you want to buy one million kilograms of charcoal and send it to Liaodong? I will sell it to you cheaply, two How about one hundred words per pound?”

There is no coal left in the capital, so we can only buy it from him. He wants to call it 200 yuan. This is really an advantage for Yan Chengjin, a dog official!

Do you think I am a fool? Yan Chengjin stretched out five fingers.

Zhou Yu's eyes shone: "My dear nephew, want to come up with five hundred coins? I know that you have the most money in the whole capital!"

"Five pennies."

It was for the Queen Mother's sake. If not for the Queen Mother's sake, he would have asked for it as a free gift.

Zhou Yu was dumbfounded and furious: "You are treating me like a beggar!"

"Charcoal will soon be reduced to five cents. If you don't believe it, you can't pay a cent more." Yan Chengjin said.

Zhou Yu thought that even if it was transported outside the city and burned, it would not be cheap for Yan Chengjin, a dog official!

Look what he has to offer! He walked away angrily.

Fang Xue saw that Yan Chengjin had made Zhou Yu angry and said, "Sir, is five cents too low? If your Majesty agrees to grant land, what will your Majesty do for you?"

Although some charcoal could be collected from retail investors, it was far less than one million kilograms.

Five cents is too low, and it’s more than that in summer. Besides, it’s winter now.

"It's quite a lot. I don't plan to give any money." Yan Chengjinhun didn't care, Zhou Yu would come to him soon.

…

Liangxiang,

Song Jing worked for two days, hammering the coals into pieces and washing them with water. After refining, some of them still had a strange smell.

Coal is roughly divided into three types, open coal, crushed coal and late coal.

Open coal is the best, it does not require a bellows and can be ignited with a little charcoal, followed by crushed coal, which is mostly used for metallurgy, and late coal, which can barely be burned with yellow mud and water.

Song Jing used bright coal as raw material and sifted out a small amount of coal, as big as a thumb.

The other engineers stood aside, looking a little numb: "Master Xiao Song, how can coal be smokeless? We have tried it thirty times."

"Master Yan said yes, then there must be such a thing in the world." Song Jing said firmly.

He held the newly refined coal with tongs and threw it into the furnace.

Smoke-free?

Everyone stared at the brazier with wide eyes. No smoke came out, but they could smell a faint smell of sulfur.

A flash of inspiration flashed in Xie Pi's mind and he looked at Song Jing: "Master Xiao Song, the craftsmanship is the same, the reason should be on the coal!"

"Not bad!" Song Jing also figured it out and quickly looked at the master pulling coal: "Where did you get this cart of coal?"

"Fang...Fangshan."

Yan Chengjin was in a good mood. People who have mined coal for a long time can tell whether there is coal underground from the surface of the soil.

After digging about five feet deep, we really found coal in Fangshan.

After listening to Song Jing's report, this kind of coal can easily make anthracite. The news was blocked in Liangxiang. After two days of experimentation, some was transported to the mansion for He Neng to continue the experiment.

The next day, he planned to send a car to Li Qing'e's mansion first. Women have cold bodies and are prone to illness.

At this time, Li's mansion.

Li Dongyang was reading by the stove. The mansion was reluctant to burn charcoal, and the servants wanted to squeeze into the main hall to get some warmth.

On the stove, the copper kettle was boiling and making a gurgling sound.

Li Qing'e picked up the copper kettle carefully, but Li Dongyang shouted distressedly: "Let the servants come, hey! Be careful, don't get burned."

The fat maid rushed in and whispered: "Miss, the son-in-law is here."

Li Qing'e's cheeks were slightly red. She was afraid of being noticed by her father, so she lowered her head to make tea.

Li Dongyang had already heard the word "son-in-law" and it was very harsh, "You are talking nonsense, I will punish you not to eat today!"

I don't know what happened. Since she was a child, she has been punished not to eat, but she has become fatter and fatter.

The doorman came in trotting: "Master, Lord Yan is here, he is outside the mansion."

Li Dongyang said firmly: "No!"

"But...but Lord Yan said that he came to deliver coal. Once this thing is out, the price of charcoal will drop." The doorman said according to Yan Chengjin's instructions.

Li Dongyang's eyes lit up and put down the book: "Let him in."

Yan Chengjin stepped into the mansion, and the servants followed behind carrying anthracite.

When they arrived at the main hall, He Neng excitedly added coal to the brazier. His movements were skillful. Li Dongyang did not stop him, but watched curiously.

Of course, he had burned coal before, but this coal was very strange. It was smokeless and burned very slowly.

Li Dongyang knew that the people of the whole capital were waiting for charcoal to survive the winter.

"What kind of coal is this?"