Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 214 Untie
Although Ji Ge said that it was okay to let Fang Chongyong be "a little greedy", he still admired his old friend's determination to maintain an "incorruptible" attitude and casually rewarded him with some charcoal.

At that time, Fang Chongyong didn't pay much attention to this matter. After all, his purpose was just to provide a frontline for Lao Zheng's subsequent actions, so that Brother Ji could have a rough impression. He preconceptionally believed that the shortage of charcoal in Chang'an was already serious. It's serious.

If someone with such connections and status as Fang Chongyong could not afford to burn charcoal without corruption, then what would happen to the lives of so many grassroots officials in Chang'an?
In fact, if you think about it, you will know that many officials in Chang'an can't survive the winter without corruption. This is simply a miserable life for officials!
I believe Brother Ji will also be touched.

Fang Chongyong had a good idea, but after he left Xingqing Palace and went to work at Yushitai to check in, he was embarrassed to find that the "one point" he imagined was completely different from the "one point" in Brother Ji's impression. !
Ji Ge sent the eunuchs in the palace to deliver twenty loads of charcoal at one go. His small yard did not have such a big warehouse to store it!
What couldn't be loaded in the woodshed had to be piled up in the yard, which already took up most of the yard, making it inconvenient to even walk.

Fang Youde, who is stationed at the Longwu Army Camp, has not come back, and he still doesn't know what happened at home.Fang Chongyong had been on duty at the Imperial Palace for the past two days. When he returned home, he saw the charcoal all over the yard with no place to place it, and felt a wave of headache.

Did Brother Ji give him too much charcoal, or did the size of his residence fail to keep up with his status?Or is it because personal thinking cannot keep up with the "grade" enjoyed by the powerful?
At this moment, Fang Chongyong fell into deep doubts.

For Brother Ji, nothing is as important as face. The rewards he gives to his ministers are often given casually with a wave of his hand, without any concept of numbers in his mind.

Brother Ji had no idea how big a cart was, how many kilograms of charcoal it could hold, and how long it would last. He didn't care about these trivial matters. He only rewarded his ministers based on their mood.

"The saint in Chang'an Palace is really willful."

Just after returning home from duty that day, Fang Chongyong saw Wang Yunxiu wearing a thick coat, staring at the charcoal in the yard and sighing.

"Isn't that willful? The sage neither cuts wood, cultivates land, nor burns charcoal. In his eyes, these things are very simple, just like throwing seeds into the ground, and the food will grow by itself. , the whole process does not require anyone to handle it at all.”

Fang Chongyong held Wang Yunxiu in his arms and sighed with emotion.

The bad habits of "meat eaters" in the past dynasties were most vividly displayed in the emperors and clans of Li and Tang.

It was called "elegant affairs" for King Qi to hug his girls to keep them warm. There were even more outrageous clans that kept a large number of servants. In winter, they had their backs to him and stood in a row to form a "human screen" to block the wind.

Classic bioenergy heat dissipation + automatic wind protection, as well as conversation and chat functions.

When Fang Chongyong heard Wang Yunxiu talk about this matter, he shouted "Holy shit". He could only say that these pampered powerful people really knew how to play.In terms of enjoying life, Fang Chongyong is not even a younger brother!

Charcoal fire heating will be very hot and uncomfortable. Only human body heating is the most suitable!Just in terms of heating, Fang Chongyong is more than a dozen grades behind those people!

"The charcoal given by the saint cannot be sold or given away. It can only be used by yourself. We don't have many people in our family. I think this charcoal is enough to last ten years."

Wang Yunxiu shook his head in disappointment and sighed.

Such a reward from the saint certainly means that Fang Chongyong's holy family is in good health.But is it a good thing for the country that the emperor is so generous with his people's efforts and rewards so lavishly?

The answer is obvious.

"You guys go to bed today while I do something in the study."

Fang Chongyong waved his hand and walked straight towards the study.

Wang Yunxiu looked at his back, frowned slightly, and finally sighed and said nothing.When a man is busy, his toes really can't touch the ground, and he doesn't go to bed until midnight every day.

Don't they say that the supervisory censor is very leisurely, and it is like a holiday when he is in Chang'an?

What the hell is he up to?
……

"Charcoal, it's hard to resist!"

In the study, Fang Chongyong held a candlestick and marked the locations on several maps hanging on the wall.

There was a "strange thing" in Tongguan County, Yongzhou, north of Chang'an (northwest of Tongchuan City, Shaanxi Province).

The mountain people there do not cut firewood for heating in winter. Instead, they burn the best wood into charcoal in the mountains (not just any rotten wood can be used for burning charcoal), and then transport the charcoal to Chang'an. Come sell and exchange for items necessary for daily life.

For example, iron farm tools such as sickles.

So how do these mountain people survive the winter on their own?
The answer is that they went to the mountains to collect charcoal, and then burned the ground to warm them through the winter. Their days were more moist than the people in Chang'an City.

The terrain of northern Shaanxi is mainly plateaus and mountains, and the emphasis is on "looking at the mountains and running to death".The houses stretch layer by layer on the mountain terraces, mixed with terraced fields.

Some people directly opened holes on the side of the platform and lived in them, which were the "cave dwellings" that Fang Chongyong often heard about in his previous life.

There is coal in Tongguan County, Yongzhou, and the mountain people themselves are using it, and they have mature methods of using it.The problem is not whether it can be found, but how to transport this thing to Chang'an, and how ordinary people in Chang'an can afford it!

The mountain people in Tongguan County refused to transport coal to Chang'an in ox carts because the specific gravity of coal was much higher than that of charcoal.Not to mention that a cart of coal cannot be sold for the same price as a cart of charcoal, and the cattle will be exhausted to death.

At the same time, the dignitaries in Chang'an also looked down on charcoal, thinking that not only did it taste great, it was also heavy and difficult to transport, and its effectiveness was no better than that of charcoal.

Even if the price can be much cheaper, so what?Do the rich and powerful lack money?
What they lack is quality of life!

These people's pursuit of quality of life is endless.Money is just a tool needed in the pursuit of quality of life.

And with the purchasing power of ordinary people in Chang'an, they can't afford to burn charcoal, which is very expensive, and they still lack mature methods of using it.Improper methods of burning charcoal will kill people, and improper burning of coal will also kill people. There is no essential difference between the two, and each has its own method of use.

If coal is not mined on a large scale and transported in a systematic manner, its price will not be very cheap.

The mountain people in Tongguan County collect charcoal just because it is convenient. As a substitute for charcoal, it burns much longer than firewood and has a much lighter smell than burning firewood.

They were reluctant to use the charcoal because it could be transported to Chang'an in exchange for money.

As the price of charcoal in Chang'an soared, Tongguan County, three hundred miles away from Chang'an, began to burn charcoal and transport it to Chang'an for sale, forming a new industrial chain.

The closest charcoal supply point to Chang'an is Zhongnan Mountain southwest of Chang'an.

It's just that a large area of ​​​​this place is a royal forbidden garden. People from Li Tang's clan often come here to hunt, so the trees in that area are not allowed to be cut down.

Therefore, the amount of charcoal Zhongnan Mountain can provide to Chang'an is also limited.This place alone cannot fully supply the charcoal needed by Chang'an.

"Coal from Tongguan County in Yongzhou still cannot be transported to Chang'an. Not only is the freight too expensive, but we also have to find sporadic mining sites."

Fang Chongyong shook his head and drew a cross on the map with a charcoal pen.

So is there any place that can provide Chang'an with a stable source of coal?
The answer is yes.

Fang Chongyong's eyes turned to another map on the wall.This map is very new. It was sent by Zheng Shuqing yesterday and has just been copied.

The place marked on the map is located northwest of Chang'an, in the northern suburbs of Pizhou on the edge of Jingshui River.

In this era, the Jingshui River was not just an "irrigation river", but could be transported by water, and there was also a ferry, so you could use small boats and flat-bottomed boats to transport coal, so there was no big problem.

More importantly, the end of the waterway is the ferry on the outskirts of Chang'an, so long-distance land transportation is not required.

However, although the transportation here is convenient, the conditions for coal mining are not good, and there are no local villagers or mountain people using coal.There are no "legends" about coal.

But the good thing is that although there is no news among the people, the government has records!

The coal in this place is buried underground, and ordinary people cannot pick it up at all. Even now, not many people know about it!
However, during the reign of Emperor Taizong, officials from the Yubu Department of the Ministry of Industry were ordered to explore nearby and found a charcoal pit ten feet deep.With the technical conditions at the time, it was possible to expand the mine and carry out sporadic mining, but there was no mining value at the time.

Because of the cost and effort, the price of the charcoal obtained will definitely be high, far more than that of charcoal, and it will be difficult to find miners to mine it.

In addition to spending a lot of money to build mines, only by using a combination of machinery and manpower for mining can the price of coal be significantly reduced.

This requires the government to invest huge amounts of money, resulting in a net loss in the early stage.

If the mine is mined directly without repairing the mine shaft, the miner may not be able to come back out if the mine collapses after he goes down.

Because it was the Zhenguan period, there were only 10 people in Chang'an, and the shortage of charcoal was not as severe as it is now. No one took the "lack of firewood" seriously.

In addition, the Tang Dynasty during the Zhenguan period was a typical "small government". The number of officials was an order of magnitude smaller than that during the Kaiyuan period. It was a state where chores could be ignored, so this matter was just registered with the Ministry of Industry for 100 years. Nothing more to say!
It is obvious that demand determines production. The people and the powerful do not have such demand, and the court has no intention to mess around.

Over the past hundred years, Datang's mining technology has improved a lot.Whether things that couldn't be done back then can be done now need to be seen before we can say it, and we can't just deny it casually.

Fang Chongyong felt that it was necessary to go to the local area to observe in person and see the results before making a decision.

Zheng Shuqing almost found this "long-lost" document by putting the "big knife" of deposing envoys to detect lawlessness and punishing officials on the necks of relevant personnel of the Ministry of Industry.The paper has been considered a cultural relic after so many years, and it was almost in pieces when it was found.

Lao Zheng invited someone to copy it before sending it to Fang Chongyong.This series of twists and turns can be said to be a mountain road with eighteen bends, and I don’t know how many people’s backs were broken.

If we have advanced to this step and do not go to the scene to see it, it will be too embarrassing for the time travellers.

"You can go and have a look here in Pizhou. We will leave tomorrow."

Fang Chongyong crossed his arms and watched for a long time, and then drew a circle on the map where the coal mine was.

As for the transportation conditions here, he even went to inquire about Jingshui's "weird temper".

Jingshui is both frozen and non-frozen in winter.

Much of its water flow comes from mountain springs along the Jingshui River, and the temperature of mountain spring water is often higher than that of the river water.Sometimes the river looks like it is frozen, but in fact there is only a thin layer, and people and horses will fall into the river if they step on it.

Only during the coldest days of the year is the ice solid enough for horse racing; other times, it breaks into pieces if you hit it with a stick.

There is a folk legend that when Li Er fought with the enemy on both sides of the Jing River, Li Er asked the Dragon King to use his power to advance the days when the Jing River would freeze so that the army could cross the river smoothly. Fang Chongyong did not know whether it was true or not.

Nowadays, there is a temple to worship the Dragon King on the bank of Jingshui River. I think the source of this incident should be here in Taizong, and it is also part of the praise for him.

“If the Pizhou Coal Mine line could be opened up, I wonder if it would make things easier for the people of Chang’an.

However, after all, the distant water cannot quench the near thirst. This move will not be until next year at the earliest. Lao Zheng relies on the coal mine to survive the winter, and there is probably no hope. "

Fang Chongyong glanced at the Hedong carboniferous distribution map provided by the Ministry of Industry. There were densely marked marks everywhere on it.According to an official from the Ministry of Industry, many coal mines there are open-air and widely supply to surrounding states and counties.

However, in the feudal era when transportation was inconvenient, coal from Shanxi could not be transported to Shaanxi on a large scale to meet urgent needs.

From the perspective of resource utilization efficiency, Chang'an as the capital should be ranked last among all choices.Fang Chongyong was also helpless, because no matter how many bad ideas he had in his mind, he could not build Chang'an into as accessible as Luoyang.

Without the convenience of transportation, it would be impossible to develop the economy and solve people's livelihood problems. You can't tell Brother Ji to move the capital now, right?
"The Tang Dynasty has already used up all the benefits of having its capital in Chang'an, and now it has to start paying off its debts."

Fang Chongyong murmured to himself. He found that when he had a rare moment of kindness and stopped lying flat and wanted to pull Shengtang away, he couldn't!
It is very easy to be an old coin fighting for power and taking food from others.

However, once you want to make the cake bigger, you find that one or two people who should have stood up to do things have fallen flat, and you are the only one working hard.

After all, it is much easier to steal things from the people than to open up wasteland yourself.

At this moment, he felt a little bit of the helplessness of Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty.

"Forget it, Datang doesn't belong to my family, it's none of my business. I'm worthy of Datang for my leisure time, and I'm not an official of the Ministry of Industry."

Fang Chongyong threw away the charcoal and didn't want to bother with it anymore.

"Let's just play with my wife honestly. I have to go to Pizhou to look for coal mines tomorrow. I won't be able to play with you for a long time."

Fang Zhongyong pushed open the door and walked towards the bedroom.

The night in Chang'an was really cold. He couldn't help but shrink his neck while standing in the yard.

……

Outside the gate of the Ten Princes' Residence, there were more than a dozen people wearing the brocade robes of the Tang princes.They said nothing, quietly waiting for Yu Chaoen, the new envoy of the Ten Kings' House, to read out the imperial edict sent by Li Longji.

He is a prince, but he has to look at the face of a eunuch.At this moment, the sadness in everyone's hearts was beyond words, and they did not dare to express it.

Because the envoys of the Ten Kings House have great power, there are many ways to put small shoes on for people like them.

Moreover, the current relationship between Li Longji and these princes, how should I put it, may not be very appropriate to describe it as a fire or water, but it is almost like strangers.

Even more malicious towards each other!At least passers-by would not have murderous intentions towards them, but it was hard to say for Li Longji.

"The King of Ying, Li Yan, the King of Di, Li Yan, and the King of Yong, Li Lin, are sent to Chang'an. They set out immediately. They must leave the ten kings' houses within three days!
King Ying went to Yunyang (north of Chang'an), King Di went to Liquan (west of Chang'an), and King Yong went to Lantian (south of Chang'an). They each opened their own mansions, and the number of servants in the mansions should not exceed three hundred.

These three kings were not allowed to enter Chang'an unless they were ordered to do so.If you want to meet the saint, you must first report to Zongzheng Temple, and you can only leave after the saint agrees.

After entering Chang'an, there should be no more than five followers, and actions must be followed by the arrangements of Zongzheng Temple. No one is allowed to enter the palace without the saint's handwriting. "

Yu Chaoen shouted in the eunuch's unique drake voice. The many princes who heard the content of this imperial edict had surprised expressions on their faces and fell into a deathly silence.

The good news is: the prince can finally be released!

The bad news is: it’s not a complete release!

First of all, there are only three people released this time, which is not a large number.

Secondly, the locations for release are all around Chang'an.

Thirdly, the only one exposed is the prince himself, not the prince’s grandson and granddaughter!
In the end, the imperial edict didn't say anything about how to arrange the other princes.What kind of princes can be released and what kind can't be released is also not said!

What is this riding a horse?
The expressions on everyone's faces were wonderful, including confusion, stupefaction, joy, and calm.It's just hard to say whether these people express their emotions on their faces or whether they are deliberately performing it for outsiders to see.

But no matter what, the ten kings' house confinement system quietly opened a crack "without warning" without the consent of the central officials.

　I wasted a little time looking up the information, so I’ll update it today.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)