My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 111 The Prince Wants to Become the Biggest Coal Boss in the Tang Dynasty
The main hall of the East Palace.

Li Zhi looked a little nervous and reserved.

There seemed to be some fear in the East Palace.

Seeing the prince coming in on a four-wheeled carriage, Li Zhi hurriedly bowed and saluted with his hands crossed: "Greetings, elder brother."

Li Chengqian looked at Li Zhi carefully.

The appearance is still good.

As gentle as jade, with a scholarly air.

The food from Lao Li’s family all looks good, after all, his ancestors became rich many years ago.

Even if the ancestors were ugly, they will not look bad now due to genetic improvements from generation to generation.

Even the little fat boy Li Tai looks good, just a little fat.

"Old Nine, what are you afraid of?"

"Could it be that Big Brother will eat you?"

Li Chengqian said with a smile.

The word "Old Nine" in a teasing tone made Li Zhi feel a lot more relaxed.

"I haven't seen you for many days, and you have become more majestic," Li Zhi explained.

Li Chengqian didn't think that he was suddenly so domineering. This was clearly a psychological burden that Li Zhi had imposed on himself.

"Move a chair for King Jin to sit on."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Chairs have become popular in Chang'an, whether in the imperial palace or among noble families.

Its influence has been centered in Chang'an and gradually spread to the entire Tang Dynasty.

"Thank you, big brother. This time, Zhinu came and specially prepared a lot of gifts for you."

Li Zhi said respectfully.

He wanted to distance himself from any possible involvement in the fight for the throne.

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "It seems that my aunt really loves you. Not only did she go to my father to plead for you, she also asked for the position of General of the Right Jinwu Guard."

"I'm even giving you my own precious things."

"From now on, you must be more filial to your aunt."

When Li Zhi heard this, his heart trembled.

How could he not understand the hidden meaning of the prince's words? This showed that his every move was under his elder brother's surveillance.

There was snow and wind outside, and the burning brazier inside made Li Zhi feel a little hot.

There was already a bead of sweat on his forehead.

Although he was worried before, Li Zhi felt much more at ease after being appointed as the General of the Right Jinwu Guard and with the care of his aunt.

But now, the prince's brief words made him realize that the fight between the prince and the King of Wei was even more terrifying than he had imagined.

"Child slave, child slave"

Li Zhi wanted to explain something, but didn't know where to start.

"Okay, why are you so nervous?"

Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "I know you didn't intend to stay in Chang'an. I went to ask my aunt to plead for you so that I could persuade my father to let you leave Chang'an."

"Well, it's just that I can't persuade the emperor. He is determined that you should stay in Chang'an."

"Don't blame your father in your heart. He had no choice. As for why he didn't see you when you went there, it was because he had a big fight with my aunt."

"My aunt has a domineering personality and she is an elder, so it is normal that what she said was unpleasant to hear. It is also normal for my father to be angry after hearing it."

"I don't think my father will keep you in Chang'an forever. There will always be a time when he will release you and give you a fiefdom."

"Maybe next year, after we conquer Goryeo, your father will probably let you return to Jinzhou."

Li Chengqian's tone was gentle, and from an outsider's perspective, it sounded like an elder brother teaching his younger brother in a personal way.

However, as Li Zhi listened, cold sweat broke out on his face.

My whole back feels cold.

Li Zhi felt as if the prince was standing next to him and witnessed everything that happened.

He even knew everything about the conversation between my aunt and my father in the palace, which he did not hear.

"Brother, that's right."

When Li Zhi answered, his teeth couldn't help but chatter.

This is really horrifying and terrifying.

"Why, are you cold?" Li Chengqian asked with some confusion.

"I am a weak young slave, please forgive me, brother." Li Zhi took a deep breath and replied, contributing a little to the temperature in the room.

"Move the brazier closer to King Jin."

Li Chengqian gave instructions to the eunuchs in the hall.

Two eunuchs hurried forward to move the brazier.

"Thank you, brother."

Li Zhi hurriedly thanked him.

Li Chengqian didn't continue saying these words, feeling that he had been beaten enough.

If Li Zhi could recognize the situation clearly, everything would be fine.

This guy is very cunning. All the emperors in history looked down on him.

But he is still just a boy of fourteen or fifteen years old, so it can't be too exaggerated.

"I've been in Jinzhou for two years. How do you feel about that?"

Li Chengqian began to chat with Li Zhi about some family matters.

Li Zhi also hurriedly answered about some of the customs and practices he had seen and heard in Jinzhou.

It has to be said that Li Zhi himself was indeed kind and generous.

The things I talked about were basically related to the people.

Farm work such as spring ploughing and autumn harvest, or some educational issues in Jinzhou.

At the end of the conversation, he also mentioned his concerns about the wintering of the people of Jinzhou.

After listening to this, Li Chengqian paused for a moment, and then said, "Zhi Nu returned to Chang'an from Jinzhou, but I noticed some changes around Chang'an."

Li Zhi did not understand the meaning of the prince's sudden question. After careful consideration, he said, "It should be more prosperous and more lively than before."

Li Chengqian sighed and said, "Yes, it is more prosperous and lively now. There are more than one million registered residents in Chang'an, and there are also a large number of merchants and people coming and going."

"Zhi Nu, what do you think is the biggest daily cost for Chang'an City?"

Li Zhi hesitated and replied: "Food?"

Li Chengqian shook his head slightly: "Among firewood, rice, oil, soy sauce, vinegar and tea, firewood comes first."

"When Zhinu came back, didn't she notice that the closer we got to Chang'an, the barrener the land became?"

Hearing the prince say this, Li Zhi remembered that when he left Chang'an for Jinzhou to be appointed as the fief two years ago, Baqiao Posthouse was still shaded by green trees.

However, when he came back this time, all the trees were gone; they had been cut down and burned as firewood.

If you think about it more carefully, in winter, every family needs a lot of firewood for cooking, bathing and heating.

But he didn't understand that this was a normal phenomenon, and the prince had a purpose in mentioning this.

So he could only nod and reply: "Indeed."

Li Chengqian pointed at the brazier and said, "Nowadays, the palace, nobles and wealthy families mostly use charcoal and wood charcoal, mixed with bamboo grass for burning."

"Ordinary people cannot afford coal, so they mainly use firewood."

"The trees around Chang'an have disappeared in large areas. If this continues for a long time, there will be no trees, and the soil will erode. Won't it become a desert?" "Zhi Nu has never been to the Western Regions or the desert, but you know that this desert did not appear out of thin air. Many years ago, it was also covered with grass and trees."

"It was the uncontrolled raising of livestock and horses that caused the grass and trees to wither. Over the years, they stopped growing and formed the desert."

"Of course, for Chang'an, even if there is a possibility of forming a desert, it will take a very long time, even hundreds of years."

"Maybe I'm just worrying too much, but if this continues, it won't be a good thing."

"What do you think?"

Li Zhi was a little confused. He felt that what the prince said made sense, but he always felt that he didn't know the real purpose behind it.

We can't stop people from using firewood just because we're worried that Chang'an will become a desert.

"Brother is right."

After thinking about it, Li Zhi could only reply dryly.

Li Chengqian laughed and said, "Zhi Nu thinks that I will prohibit the people of Chang'an from burning firewood."

Li Zhi was a little embarrassed. He felt like a transparent person in front of the prince and all his thoughts could be seen through.

Li Chengqian did not ask further questions, but continued: "The main reason why coal is used so little by the people is that the price is too high, and the root cause is that too little is mined."

"Jinzhou is rich in coal. I plan to open a large workshop with tens of thousands of people in Jinzhou to mine coal, process it, and then transport it to Chang'an."

"When the quantity reaches a certain level, it can reduce costs and increase efficiency. Even if it cannot replace firewood, it can greatly reduce the demand for firewood."

In fact, Li Chengqian had this idea a long time ago. When the weather turned cold and he saw the coal in the brazier, he asked about the current situation of coal in the Tang Dynasty.

Coal, which is what we know as coal in later generations.

Coal carvings have existed since the Western Zhou Dynasty. Coal had already been mined and utilized in Shaanxi, the political and economic center of the country at that time.

During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the use of coal reached a higher level. For example, the legendary Dugu Xin polyhedron jet seal set is a seal made of jet.

Handicraft industry was relatively developed during the Sui and Tang dynasties. The use of coal provided more sufficient fuel for handicraft industries such as ceramics and iron smelting, which promoted the development of these industries to a certain extent.

For example, in the iron smelting process, the higher the combustion temperature of coal, the better the efficiency and quality of iron smelting.

By the Tang Dynasty, iron tools had been used in mining. In addition to excavation tools, transportation tools had also been improved to a certain extent.

Some simple transportation devices appeared, such as wooden carts, ropes, etc., to facilitate the transportation of mined coal from underground to the ground.

Nowadays, the main method of coal mining is to cut a groove at the bottom of the coal wall of the working face with a hand pick to create cracks in the coal seam, and then use a hammer wedge to knock and chisel the upper part to make the coal blocks fall off.

This method can separate coal from the coal seam more effectively. After continuous practice and summary, miners have accumulated certain experience in the location, depth, angle, etc. of the slot, making the mining process safer and more efficient.

There were also attempts at stratified mining, wooden supports to prevent mine collapse, optimization of support structures, the setting up of ventilation channels, the emergence of ventilation equipment, and so on.

In the field of mining, there has been very mature technological development.

It includes rough processing of raw coal, crushing, screening, and making coal cakes and coal balls.

Even the coal washing technology, although relatively crude and simple, has been initially attempted.

These aspects are not much different from the crude coal processing in later generations in terms of process. The difference lies in the industrial efficiency and meticulous operation.

After listening to this, Li Zhi said tentatively: "Brother, this...isn't it a bit too much of a waste of money and effort?"

Li Chengqian laughed and said, "What are you thinking? Would I be conscripted to do this?"

"The mining workshop will be in the form of a business, recruiting long-term workers and settling wages, just like my ice shop in Chang'an."

"First, it can promote employment for the people. Those who don't have land to farm can have more jobs to earn a living, and those who have land to farm can also make some money during the slack season."

"Secondly, it can stabilize local public security and prevent people with nothing to do from causing trouble."

"The miners who mine and the carriages that transport Chang'an will start with tens of thousands of people. If things continue to develop, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people will rely on this job to make a living."

"Isn't this a good thing that will benefit the people? What do you think?"

There was one more thing Li Chengqian didn't say, which was that by mining coal, he, the prince, would become the first and largest coal boss in the Tang Dynasty.

Jinzhou is Shanxi.

Li Chengqian knew very well how rich the coal bosses in Shanxi were in later generations.

As the crown prince, when he entered the coal mining industry, there was no competition at all.

If you dare to compete with the prince for the coal mine business, the prince will take your life.

When the coal mining industry developed, the prince became the new generation of coal mining king.

There will be no monopoly, and you can share some soup when eating meat.

Compared to a small business like Bingshopu, the coal mining business can truly make one rich enough to rival a country.

From a historical perspective, the development of coal mining is a revolution in new energy.

The energy revolution is the foundation of industrialization.

After the coal mining industry prospers and matures, we build blast furnaces, produce steel on a large scale, embark on the road of industrialization, create steam machinery, and usher in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, which is at the peak of the world. It’s really exciting to think about it.

Li Zhi was shocked by the grand blueprint drawn up by the prince.

When he was in Jinzhou, he also took many measures to improve people's lives and pay attention to their livelihoods.

Even his father wrote to him many times to praise his actions, which was also his pride.

However, after listening to the prince's story, I felt a little ashamed.

It's not about seeing the profits of the coal industry and how much money it makes, but about the fact that it provides tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Solving the livelihood problems of tens or even hundreds of thousands of people is such a great achievement and merit.

Compared with the prince's vision, Li Zhi felt inferior.

"This young slave is far inferior to his elder brother."

Li Zhi said this very sincerely.

Li Chengqian said directly: "Okay, then it's settled. The earlier the arrangement, the sooner the success."

"I will send people to Jinzhou in the next two days to prepare for the mining of coal. You should also arrange for people to follow."

"You have worked in Jinzhou for two years and are familiar with the place. Write a letter to Ma Changshi and ask him to help you make this happen."

"It's a good opportunity to get the mining done before the spring farming season. After the New Year, you can come with me and go there in person."

Li Zhi was a little surprised and asked, "Brother, do you want Zhinu to be involved as well?"

Li Chengqian asked: "Why, you are still unwilling?"

Li Zhi was pleasantly surprised and said, "Of course I am willing. Thank you for your appreciation, brother. I will definitely do my best in mining coal."

What Li Zhi valued was not only merit and reputation, but also the merit of benefiting the people.

Whether it is Buddhism or Taoism, there is the concept of merit, and Li Zhi believed in it very much.

After all, when she was still young, Empress Changsun was seriously ill, and Li Shimin built more than a hundred Buddhist temples and Taoist temples, and asked monks and Taoists to chant scriptures and pray for her.

Those scenes of chanting scriptures and praying for blessings had a great impact on Li Zhi, who was still young at the time.

After that, Empress Changsun passed away. Li Zhi, who no longer had the protection of his mother and the love of his father, felt spiritually empty. He could only place his hopes in gods and Buddhas, which led to his current precocious and steady personality.

Although I am not a very devout believer, regularly reciting Buddhist and Taoist scriptures can indeed make one's temperament peaceful.

It also made Li Zhi gentle and polite, unlike other princes, without bad habits.

"Okay, it's getting late, you still have to go to Qingque."

"Go there early, don't delay."

After finalizing the coal issue, Li Chengqian chatted with Li Zhi for a few more words and then began to speak.

In fact, Li Chengqian did not know as much information as Li Zhi thought.

As long as he understood the current situation in Chang'an City and knew some relevant information, plus Li Chengqian originally knew the historical trajectory, although the history books he knew had been modified countless times by later generations.

But the general direction is still the same, and by analyzing it, you can get a pretty good idea of ​​it.

"Yes, brother."

Li Zhi stood up and bowed respectfully with his arms crossed.

Now the image of the prince in his mind has undergone a drastic change.

(End of this chapter)