Crowned the New Han Dynasty

Chapter 579: The mine is revealed and measured, the foundation of the world

Zhou Ao was struggling until the next day. When he arrived at the Yamen, the first thing he encountered was the ridicule of meritorious officer Shi Lanluo.

"Captain Zhou, didn't you go back early yesterday, and you didn't work in the yamen, why did you stay up all night? Look at your eyes, bloodshots are spreading, this is hurting your health, so be careful."

After hearing this, Zhou Ao smiled bitterly and said vaguely: "I went back yesterday and thought about recent events until late at night, so my energy was low."

Lan Luo smiled and said: "It's true that he is someone close to the prefect. He does things with care. When I went back yesterday, I had a drink with my wife, but I'm not as upset as you."

Zhou Ao praised him as a very pleasant person, and he was the one we all yearned for.

Lan Luo was also proud of himself, nodded and left.

As soon as they left, Zhou Ao looked at his colleagues and subordinates around him and noticed that the tense atmosphere in the yamen had dissipated a lot without him noticing.

Take Lan Luo as an example. When Chen Zhi first came, this person also made some remarks. Later, there were some twists and turns. There was always a gap between him and Chen Zhi's team. Later, there was the war in northern Xinjiang. It affected the entire Dai County and was almost terrified from top to bottom. Lan Luo was no exception. He had already become a frightened bird. If he had met Zhou Ao before, both parties would have nodded at most. How could there be such relaxed words?
"After defeating the Xianbei people, the prefect had many means. He quelled several conflicts in the city, even warned several families, deterred the big clans, and made the city much more peaceful. Therefore, the scholars of these aristocratic families felt that the prefect was enough to guard Daijun, so they did not I’m as worried as before, but at the same time I feel relieved.”

Zhou Ao knew the reason behind it, so it became even more difficult to make a decision.

In the previous four letters, there were warnings from former colleagues, advice from close friends, and even a senior official from a wealthy family who had only casual acquaintances in the past, who offered an olive branch to him, and his heart was inevitably shaken a little.

In fact, just looking at the current situation in Dai County, Zhou Ao would be full of confidence and energy, but yesterday's letters just confirmed that a new crisis was brewing in the court behind it.

This crisis is also centered on Chen Zhi and has far-reaching influence. Compared with the war in Northern Xinjiang, it seems that there is no bloodshed and no iron horses, but in fact it is more dangerous. The disadvantage is that it is an abyss and there will be no recovery.

Under such circumstances, even Zhou Ao could not help but murmur in his heart. However, since he dared to give up his roots in Luoyang and follow Chen Zhi here, his will was extraordinary. As he walked, he gradually came up with ideas. .

At this time, Jun Cheng Liu Bao came from the front. When he saw Zhou Ao, he came over and said, "Captain Zhou, the prefect is looking for you."

"It just so happens that I also have something to report to the prefect." Upon hearing this, Zhou Ao followed Liu Bao and walked over.

Chen Zhi was not in the place where he usually handles official business, but in a side room behind the Yamen.

After the two arrived, Liu Bao knocked on the door first. After entering and announcing something, Zhou Ao followed closely.

The furnishings in the room are ordinary, but you can smell a faint fragrance, with curls of green smoke floating in it. Looking over, you can see a small incense burner on the table.

There were two people sitting on both sides of the table, it was Chen Zhi and Ge Hong's disciple and nephew Ge Lu.

Seeing Zhou Ao come in, Chen Zhi nodded slightly and pointed to a chair next to him, asking Zhou Ao to sit down first and listen to the two people talking. Liu Bao left after greeting him. He still had many things on his hands. to be processed.

Zhou Ao sat down and didn't say anything. He held his breath and listened quietly to the conversation between Chen Zhi and Ge Lu.

Zhou Ao actually doesn't know much about Ge Lu, but he has been famous for Ge Hong behind Ge Lu for a long time, so he even respects Ge Lu. At the same time, he also knows that not long ago, Chen Zhi Ge Lu was also given a task to take a few people out to explore the mineral deposits.

Chen Zhi did not deliberately block this news, but the people who initially investigated it knew about the court's salt and iron policy, so they acted very carefully and did not spread it on a large scale.

However, since it is prospecting and it is within the scope of Dai County, sometimes it is inevitable to use manpower and material resources, and even mobilize some equipment. After a long time, it is no longer a secret in the bureaucratic circle.

It's just that because of the war a while ago and the invasion of the Xianbei tribe, there was nothing else to care about inside and outside the city, so no one paid too much attention to it. The same was true for Zhou Ao. But now when he heard it, he realized that Chen Zhi seemed to be concerned about it. Considerable importance.

That Ge Lu was not polite, took a sip of tea, and went straight to the point: "Prefect, there are indeed many mineral deposits buried in this county, mainly coal mines, and a lot of iron ore. It has become a big mine, but problems have arisen.”

Chen Zhi said: "Taoist Master, it's okay. When I asked a few people to go prospecting, I made it very clear. If you need anything, just come and ask for it, and I will arrange everything properly."

"The poor Taoist is impolite," Ge Lu said with a smile, but judging from what he meant, he didn't intend to be polite from the beginning, "I heard that the prefect has Mohist heirs, so it's better to divide one person Come over to me, so that he can follow the mine veins, draw a circle diagram below, and measure it." Chen Zhi nodded, and said directly: "This is what should happen, and I will arrange it later."

Ge Lu said with a smile: "That's good. Among the few people the prefect gave me before, there are people who are good at measuring, and they have also drawn pictures, but they are not accurate. With him, he can make measurements, and then let the Mohist If you write it down, you will have no worries!”

The New Han Dynasty inherited the accuracy of measurement from the two Han dynasties. "Lü Li Zhi" records: "The width of a millet is the width of a millet, the length is ninety, and the length of a yellow bell. One is ten, ten is an inch, and ten inches is ruler."

Mining in the Han Dynasty, after more than a thousand years of development, naturally had a mature system, and measurement was the top priority. In "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic", there are examples of measuring mountain heights and well depths, and people at this time, It has been possible to use the equality and proportion of congruent and similar triangles for indirect measurement to assist the construction of mines.

For a mine that wants to operate for a long time and be relatively safe, topographic maps, structural maps and distribution maps are all essential, and who is better at this than the Mo family replacement?

After receiving Chen Zhi's promise, Ge Lu was very satisfied. He was also very interested in this prospecting. He could not only put what he had learned into practice, but also be helpful to Chen Zhi and reflect his own value. Therefore, this was a very exciting project. It was a pleasant task, but the process was a bit painful, but it was not as painful as the years when he worked as a furnace boy for Ge Hong.

Not to mention, the strange talisman that Chen Zhi gave them was even more mysterious, which made Ge Lu very concerned.

In fact, this prospecting will not be very smooth. Even if Chen Zhi has the memory of later generations, he does not know the specific location or how deep the mineral deposit is buried. Finding it based on experience will naturally take time and effort.

Based on what Ge Lu has learned, in his opinion, if what Chen Zhi said is true, there are indeed mineral deposits around Daijun. According to their manpower and search methods, it will take two or three years. If they are not lucky, it will take three to five years. No surprise every year.

But this speed is considered fast in Ge Lu's opinion. After all, no one has noticed the mineral deposits here in the past hundreds or thousands of years. If you can find it within ten years, how can you say it is slow?

However, it turned out that after using the talisman that Chen Zhi gave him, the whole process was quickly compressed. With the guidance of the talisman, traces of the mineral deposits were found in just a few days.

While everyone in Dai County was panicking because of the Xianbei invasion, the prospecting team led by Ge Lu made rapid progress and achieved important results one after another, which ultimately led to the meeting between Ge Lu and Chen Zhi.

But what really brings Ge Lu together is the talisman that guides them. In his opinion, this thing is too magical. If he can learn its secrets, Taoist alchemy will definitely shine in the future!

However, although he wanted to ask, he also knew that this kind of thing probably involved the inheritance of Taoism. He was not a close person or a disciple, so he was afraid that it would be difficult to ask, otherwise it would break the rules of the world, so he kept enduring it, even if he met Chen Zhi didn't ask.

So after thinking about it, he decided to press on and settle the current matter first, get a little closer to Chen Zhi, and then test it out. In addition, he also wanted to inform Ge Hong in the south about this matter. Teacher, do you have any suggestions?

So, he then briefly described his thoughts.

According to Ge Lu, the mineral deposits in Dai County can be excavated using the well canal method, which can speed up the construction progress by communicating with water underground, and can also improve ventilation and lighting conditions.

"However, this method was not proposed by me. It was the conclusion reached after discussion by a few helpers with mining experience who discovered that there was a river passing by."

After Ge Lu finished speaking, Chen Zhi nodded and said, "Okay, let the experts discuss this aspect, but it must be ensured that it is feasible."

Ge Lu said again: "There is another main problem. Whether it is to build a mine or dig it in the future, it must be manned. Is the eunuch going to recruit the candidates for the miners? Or choose from Wu Ding? I heard that you have called He became a Wu Ding from a large family in Daijun."

"Mining is a dangerous job, and working in deep mines, accompanied by humidity, often leaves the root of disease. How can we use martial arts?" Chen Zhi shook his head, and then said: "But you don't have to worry about manpower, I'm ready There are more than 1000 people, and there will be more and more people in the future, so we don’t have to worry about not having enough.”

When Ge Lu heard this, his heart moved, and then he nodded and said: "That's good."

Chen Zhi then looked at Zhou Ao, and said with a smile, "Wu Qu, I kept you waiting for a long time, and I called you over to arrange some people to follow Daoist Ge to protect their safety. Top it first, of course, the premise is to pay attention to safety."

Zhou Ao responded with all his heart.

Afterwards, Ge Lu took his leave. After Chen Zhi sent him out, he came back, sat down next to Zhou Ao, and asked with a smile: "Do you have anything to tell me? I think you have something on your mind."

　Thanks to "Empty and Unreal" for the reward!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)