ps: Thank you brothers for voting for Lao Fan on the last day yesterday. Thank you very much. Because there are too many people, I won’t list them one by one. There are two more votes on the first day of this month, and Lao Fan thanks them all.
As a note, the Jingxing Mining Area is located to the west of today's Shijiazhuang and is still an important industrial area in Hebei. Naturally, I will make full use of it in this book, haha.
Li Cunxu and Guo Chongtao left Jinyang and headed east, passed Chengtian Army City, entered the Taihang Mountains, and crossed Jingxingkou.
Walking along the steep valley until evening, you will see a majestic pass standing at the narrowest point of the two mountains ahead. This is Jingxing Pass.
Hedong and Hebei are separated by Taihang. In the Jingxing section, outside the valley is Chengtian Army City, garrisoned by Hedong, and inside the valley is Jingxing Pass, guarded by Lulong Army.
The road that Li Cunxu and Guo Chongtao traveled was not deserted. There were many merchants and travelers, and it was still the same when they arrived at Jingxing Pass. Although it was about to sunset, there were still many caravans waiting in line at the pass. Sergeant Lu Long was refusing
They were inspected one by one in front of the horse, and those who presented their vouchers were exempted from customs inspection. Those who did not have vouchers would have planners come forward to count the goods, estimate the value of the goods, and collect fees.
Li Cunxu and Guo Chongtao were important high-level figures in Hedong, and Lu Long was naturally followed by many people when he was sent as envoy. In addition to the fifty Black Crow Cavalry accompanying him for protection, there were also dozens of servants and civilians, carrying several large carts of gold, silver, jewelry and
Various gifts. After the group of people appeared from a distance, they had already noticed it on the wall. The Hedong messenger who arrived in advance quickly came down from the wall to greet them.
The messenger's name is Jing Jin, and he is young. Li Cunxu is twenty years old this year, and Jing Jin is not even seventeen. Jing Jin was originally an actor who wandered around the market. Because he was smart, well-behaved, and eloquent, he became the supervisor of the army the year before last.
Zhang Chengye was appointed as the envoy of the Supervisory Army Mansion, and he followed Zhang Chengye to Hebei many times. He not only knew the route, but also became quite familiar with the officials along the Lulong route, so this time Zhang Chengye specially sent him to be the guide for Li Cunxu and Guo Chongtao.
Jing Jin brought the officer guarding Jingxing Pass to see Li Cunxu and Guo Chongtao, and heated up the scene with a few words. The two of them became like old friends. In fact, Li Cunxu didn't understand the officer's official title at all, he only knew his surname.
Wang seems to be the commander of the Hengzhou reserve brigade.
Commander Wang led the way first and led the group into Guancheng. Before crossing the gate, Li Cunxu looked at the merchants who were still waiting to enter the customs and saw a small officer handing a parchment back to the merchants and shouting
: "The license plate is correct and no inspection is required. Release..."
When entering the doorway, Li Cunxu was still wondering what the "license plate" meant, but he was grabbed by his sleeve by Guo Chongtao, who was walking side by side. Guo Chongtao pointed to the stone wall of the doorway and whispered: "Something weird!"
As soon as Guo Chongtao finished speaking, everyone had already left the door. Li Cunxu turned around and looked around. He was also surprised. This wall turned out to be like a huge monolithic boulder. There were no gaps, as if it stood naturally here, like a god.
It is carved and exudes a rustic atmosphere of greenish gray.
Li Cunxu joined the army at the age of eleven. He has been in the army for eight years and has visited every inch of land and every pass in Hedong. How could he not have been to Jingxingkou? How could he not have seen Jingxing Pass? But in the past few years, he had visited
Guancheng is not like this...
In the midst of surprise, Jing Jin, who was holding the reins of Li Cunxu's horse in front, turned around and said with a smile: "In the spring, Jingxing Pass was just being repaired. When I and Zhang Jianjun saw it, they were very surprised. I could even pass the road at that time."
I lost my balance and almost tripped to the ground... This is cement, extremely hard. After passing the pass, ten miles ahead is Tianhu Village, and the cement is produced in the workshops there."
"Cement?" Li Cunxu muttered the word silently and continued to listen to Jing Jin's introduction.
"There are many workshops in Tianhu Village, which started to grow gradually last year. It is said that there are minerals in Jingxing Mountain, which produce graphite, lime, and clay. The workshops use these to refine coke, cement, and well porcelain..."
"Coke? What object?" Guo Chongtao was very curious.
Jing Jin explained: "It's dark, like burnt firewood, but it's made of graphite. It burns red and very hot. Firewood is no longer burned in Jingxing Pass. During the winter, it is burned with charcoal.
Very useful! Zhang Jianjun said that he wanted to talk to the merchants in Lulong and ask them to open a workshop in Hedong, specializing in burning coke. There is a lot of graphite in Hedong. However, the merchants in Lulong have not agreed yet, saying that they are for burning coke.
The method is forbidden to be leaked in Youzhou."
"Cement? Coke?" Li Cunxu muttered another word.
Jing Jin said: "We will stay overnight in Guancheng tonight and set off tomorrow. On the way, General Yazi and Guo Dianye will pass by Tianhu Village. It is very lively there. It is now larger than the neighboring Shiyi County and has more people.
There is just no city wall. Well, I heard that iron ore mines were discovered in Jingxing Mountain. When I returned to Jinyang last time, I saw many workshops opened, saying they were for iron smelting, but they have not been built yet. It is said that the workshops built in the mountains
It’s bigger and higher than the hills. I’ll definitely look for a chance to see it when it’s completed.”
Guo Chongtao whispered to Li Cunxu: "General Yazi, when we go to Youzhou this time, shall we buy some cement? We may also ask the craftsmen here to go to Hedong together. I don't know if King Yan agrees, but I hope Ya
General Zi, tell me more about this in front of King Yan."
Li Cunxu's eyes lit up: "Guo Dianye said... to repair Jinyang?"
Guo Chongtao nodded and added: "Not only Jinyang, but also Jinzhou, Xixian, Luzhou..."
Commander Wang, who was stationed at Jingxing Pass, arranged accommodation for Hedong and his party. After holding a brief reception dinner, he drafted more than ten customs documents overnight for use by the Hedong side along the road. At the same time, he wrote an official document, together with Hedong Jiedu.
The official letter from the government will be sent to Youzhou on horseback.
Early the next morning, Hedong and his party left Guancheng and headed for the hinterland of Hebei.
Facing the rising sun, under Jing Jin's guidance, the group arrived at Tianhu Village soon. As Jing Jin said, this didn't look like a village, but a lively market town comparable to a county town.
Ten workshops of various kinds are neatly arranged along the cross official road, mixed with various shops and teahouses. Teams of carriages and horses are constantly flowing on the official road. The shouts and noises are pouring into the ears, making people dizzy.
dizzy.
"This is where the market is, and further north is Tianhu Village. It's not as lively as this one," Jing Jin said.
"Where is cement produced?" Guo Chongtao is very interested in this thing.
"Not here, the workshops here are all secondary material workshops, and the head material workshop is in the south," Jing Jin said, heading south: "In the mountains to the south, close to the mining area, the head materials are dug out and directly refined, and then rough-shaped and transported here.
It’s refined on the edge. It’s not easy to get in in the mountains. There are sergeants guarding it. I tried it with Zhang Jianjun last time and couldn’t get in.”
Passing through Tianhu Village, which is gradually forming a market, Guo Chongtao asked Jing Jin: "It seems that cement does not cost much? The houses and shops in a certain village are all repaired with cement."
Jing Jin said: "It's really not expensive. It only costs five cars. If the quantity is large, it can be discounted. It's enough to build a yard with two doors. But the cement has to be used with the bricks, so the consumption is not small. But here
The bricks are all red bricks, which are different from the blue bricks in Hedong. It is said that they are fired very quickly and cost little. The houses in Tianhu Village are all made of red bricks, and Guo Dianye must have seen them just now.
"
Walking all the way, after leaving Tianhu Village, they have reached the foothills of the Taihang Mountains. The terrain gradually eases to the Hebei Plain. Li Cunxu and Guo Chongtao have been thinking about what they saw and heard just now, and they did not notice that the official road under their feet actually also
It was different. It was not only flat, but also wide. Driving along this official road to the north did not become a burden. Instead, it went faster and faster. It was only afternoon when we arrived at Hengzhou.
Li Cunxu discussed with Guo Chongtao for a while, asked Jingjin, and decided not to enter Hengzhou, but bypassed the city and continued north, staying overnight in Xinle. After resting for one night, they continued on the official road and arrived at Dingzhou at noon.
There was a traffic jam on the way, but Jingjin showed an official document and the team passed quickly without paying the toll.
The governor of Dingzhou and Zhaoxun greeted Hedong's party at the city gate, took Li Cunxu and Guo Chongtao into the city, and placed them in the post office. On the way, Guo Chongtao saw that the city was in good order, with a bustling market, peaceful pedestrians, and clean streets. He was impressed in his heart and spoke.
Praise goes: "He Shijun is a great talent, and his governance and management of the people are extraordinary. I have been to Dongdu before, and I think that Dongdu's prosperity and luxuriance may be better than Dingzhou, but the organization is not as clear as this place."
Li Cunxu's mind was only on the military and he was not familiar with civil affairs, but what he saw in the city was indeed far better than Jinyang, so he nodded in praise.
He Zhaoxun chuckled: "General Yazi, Guo Dianye has over-reputed me, which makes me feel ashamed. The appearance of Dingzhou today is not due to me, but to the administration of the Jieduan government. If it were Guo Dianye, or Yazi
General Zi governs Dingzhou in the same way."
Li Cunxu and Guo Chongtao thought that He Zhaoxun was being humble and did not say much. Instead, they turned to He Zhaoxun to beg for mercy and wanted to pay a visit to Wang Chuzhi.
Wang Chuzhi was the former Yiwu Army Jiedu Envoy. He once fought with his nephew Wang Gao. Wang Gao fled to Hedong. Wang Chuzhi has now surrendered to Lulong. After the demise of Yiwu Jiezhen, those who once fought for power and position
The uncle and nephew put aside their past grievances and restored contact since last year. They often exchanged letters with each other. The Wang family once attached to Hedong, and Wang Chuzhi also had a deep friendship with the Jin Dynasty. These things
Lulong Jiedufu knew about it, and King Yan himself didn't care, so Li Cunxu and Guo Chongtao dared to visit openly.
In addition to meeting the elder Wang Chuzhi, Li Cunxu also wanted to deliver a family letter from Wang Gao, so he wanted He Zhaoxun to lead them to Wang Chuzhi's house to meet him. Of course, in order to avoid suspicion, they also wanted to
Zhao Xun was present to accompany him.
However, this visit could not take place because Wang Chuzhi was not in Dingzhou.
"The Duke is not in Dingzhou Mansion now. Last month there was an honors meeting in Youzhou, and the Duke has gone to Youzhou. After General Yazi and Guo Dianye arrive in Youzhou, they will naturally be able to see the Duke in person."
After Wang Chuzhi surrendered to Lu Long, Li Cheng recommended him as the Duke of Beiping, and his title edict was also issued with the arrival of Han Quanhui and others. Today, Wang Chuzhi is the leader of the most powerful families in Youzhou.
The title of nobility is in the limelight for a while.
"Honored Honor Society?" Li Cunxu was exposed to a new word.
"Yes, King Yan said that all those who have the rank of imperial nobility are honored by Youzhou. This honorary meeting is to gather outstanding people from Hebei to participate in government affairs and contribute strategies to the Jiedu government."
Li Cunxu and Guo Chongtao couldn't help but look at each other in astonishment. (To be continued...)