Liu Xin did not return by the original route, but chose another road, which was the northern route of the Silk Road, starting from Shule through Weitou, Wensu, Gumo, Qiuci, Yanqi, Cheshi, Yihe,
Finally, he arrived at Yumen Pass. In this way, he was equivalent to walking around the entire Western Region.
The news that the Han army had successively annihilated Black Whirlwind and Banbian Yun, two of the most powerful horse bandits in the Western Regions, and defeated the Three Kingdoms Allied Forces had already spread throughout the countries in the Western Regions. Regardless of whether they were originally opposed to rebuilding the Western Regions Protectorate or were holding a wait-and-see attitude
, their attitudes suddenly changed, and they began to support the reconstruction of the Western Region Protectorate. Liu Xin's journey was very smooth. Within a few days, the team had arrived outside Gumo City, and Gumo King Wu**
He even led the soldiers and civilians of the city ten miles out of the city to greet him.
In fact, since Jia Xu has already completed the preliminary work, Liu Xin does not need to waste any more words now. Like the countries he has passed before, all Liu Xin needs to do now is to encourage the Uzbekistan and reward them.
Some silks and porcelain, and then went to the streets of Gumo City to observe the people's sentiments. Of course, the first thing to do was naturally the wedding banquet held by Wu Xin for Liu Xin.
After drinking for three rounds, Wu's face suddenly turned bitter, and she bowed and said, "Master Liu, I have something to ask of you, and I hope you can grant it."
Liu Xin waved her hand and said: "Young lady, don't be restrained. Sit down and talk slowly. As long as Liu can help solve the problem, Liu will do his best." b Time Travel Novel: b
Wu** did not sit down, but continued to stand and said: "Mr. Liu, it's like this. What our Gumo country lacks most is food. Can you please help me?"
When Jia Xu passed by Gu Mo a few days ago, Wu Ming mentioned the food shortage in Gu Mo, but Jia Xu's Western Region Protectorate has not yet been formally established, and he cannot make the final decision on allocating food to Gu Mo.
.
After hearing what Wu** said, Liu Xin felt slightly surprised, thought for a while, and said: "As far as I know, there are many deserts in the Western Region, so it is impossible to be rich in food, but there are still a few oases, and self-sufficiency should not be a problem. And Liu
I have traveled to so many countries and I have never seen any country that is short of food. Why is Gumo short of food?"
To be honest, Liu Xin has no shortage of food. If the fertile fields in the south of the Yangtze River are developed, it will become a new granary for the Han Dynasty, and there will be no need to worry about food. However, there is plenty of food, but it is a bit difficult to transport it to the Western Regions.
Difficulty was the main reason why Liu Xin considered reducing the garrison in the Western Regions a few days ago. Therefore, when he heard that Gumo was short of food, Liu Xin did not immediately agree.
Wu** said with a bitter face: "To be honest with Mr. Liu, Gumo is no different from other countries. In addition to deserts, there is also a large black stone mountain in the territory, where not a single blade of grass grows."
"Oh." Liu Xin sat up straight and said with a frown, "It's surrounded by desert. It's not easy to survive. And there is such a place where no grass grows? Well, I can't promise you food support for the time being. I'll wait until tomorrow
Let’s go to Black Rock Mountain and see it before making a decision.”
The next day, as soon as Liu Xin went out, Wu** came over and saluted: "Master Liu, can you go to Blackstone Mountain to take a look now?"
Seeing Wu**'s anxious look, Liu Xin was not angry, but a little relieved. This shows that Wu**, the Gumo King, is still very concerned about the livelihood of the people. Because even if there is no shortage of food, there will be no shortage of those things.
It is eaten by dignitaries, so the biggest victims of food shortage are ordinary people. Wu** is so anxious, which shows that he cares about those people.
Liu Xin nodded with satisfaction and said, "Without further delay, let's go now!"
Wu** hesitated and said: "Sir, it seems you haven't had breakfast yet."
Liu Xin waved her hand and said: "The Protectorate of the Western Regions has been rebuilt. From now on, the people of Gumo will be my subjects of the Han Dynasty. I can't just watch the people of the Han Dynasty still hungry, right? Let's take a few
Steamed buns, eat them while walking."
The location of Gumo is actually a larger oasis. As the population of Gumo increases, houses have been built in many parts of the oasis, and there is even less land for farming and grazing. There are no other oasis in Gumo.
The supply of food naturally became a big problem.
However, unlike other places, the east side of Gumo City is not a desert, but a large black stone land. The locals call it Black Stone Mountain. Although it is called a mountain, it is not much higher than the surrounding area.
It is considered a hilly area, but there is no grass growing on the hilly area. It is so dark that one cannot even see the end of it.
Liu Xin came to the Black Stone Mountain, jumped off the horse, and walked a few steps forward. Suddenly her eyes lit up. This was not the Black Stone Mountain. It was clearly a coal mountain!
Others don't know, but Liu Xin knows very well that coal is definitely a good thing. Not only that, Liu Xin also knows that there are rich coal mines buried in many places, but the coal is buried very deep underground or deep in the mountains. Even if Liu Xin
Xin knew that with his current ability, it was impossible to take them out.
The Black Rock Mountain in front of us is different. This is a shallow coal mine and a large coal field. This coal field is dozens of miles in radius and contains rich high-quality coal. After more than a thousand years, it even spontaneously ignited, and a fire broke out for an entire
It burned for hundreds of years and eventually became the prototype of the Flame Mountain in Journey to the West. Of course Liu Xin didn't know that this was the Flame Mountain in Wu Chengen's novel, but he knew how important these coals were.
Take cooking as an example. The dishes in Zhoumufu are not found in other places. The biggest difference is that there are many more stir-fried dishes, and stir-frying requires controlling the heat. In the absence of coal, only wood can be used for cooking.
With straw, it is difficult to reach the temperature Liu Xin needs. Now with coal, these problems can be solved. Liu Xin has even smelled the aroma brought by the ingredients being stir-fried in the iron pot.
Of course, the greater use of coal is not that it can stir-fry a few side dishes, but that it can smelt better iron or even steel. Looking at the darkness in front of him, Liu Xin was about to shine.
However, Liu Xin would not tell Wu** what he had discovered. He calmed down, turned around and said with a smile: "It's so hard to find such a large area that is not a desert, but not even a blade of grass grows. It's such a pity. What a pity." b Time Travel Novel
:b
Wu** quickly answered: "Yes, that's why Xiao Wang wants to ask for help."
Liu Xin laughed and said: "Don't worry, I will help you with this. I will send more manpower soon to conduct a detailed investigation of this Black Rock Mountain to see if it is possible to transform it and turn it into an oasis."
.”
Wu** was greatly disappointed and said with a bitter smile: "Master Liu, by the time your people turn this place into an oasis, I'm afraid my people will have starved to death."
Liu Xin patted Wu** on the shoulder and said with a smile: "No, I will provide all the food Gumo needs before this black stone mountain turns into an oasis. However, I also have a condition."
Wu** suddenly turned from worry to joy and said repeatedly: "As long as Mr. Liu can provide us with food, we can agree to any conditions. Of course, Mr. Liu, please rest assured that we will pay for all the food."
Liu Xin laughed and said: "They are all Han people, and Liu will not bear to watch them starve. There is no need to pay. There is only one. My people are here to study how to transform Blackstone Mountain. There may be many
It’s confidential, so from now on, no one can approach this area. Once this is done, food will not be a problem!”
Wu** said hurriedly: "It turns out that Mr. Liu has this condition. No problem, no problem. The Black Rock Mountain area is a place where birds don't poop, and no one usually comes. Xiao Wang will issue an order after he returns,
Make sure no one comes close."
Liu Xin waved her hand and said: "That's good. Liu will leave now. The food will be shipped in a few days. I will send the army to take over this Black Rock Mountain right away."
Wu** was stunned and asked quickly: "Master Liu won't be here in Gumo for two more days?"
Liu Xin shook his head and said: "If the problem of Black Rock Mountain is solved one day earlier, the people of Gumo will be able to live a prosperous life earlier. Time waits for no one."
After discovering such a large coal field, Liu Xin could not stay still. His thoughts had already flown to Chang'an City, and he wished he could organize an engineering team to mine the coal here.
In the next few days, Liu Xin was busy on the road. He didn't even make too many stops at the newly established Protectorate of the Western Regions by Jia Xu. He also declined King Qiuci's banquet and traveled quickly. Seven days later, he appeared in
Yumen Pass.
Entering Yumen Pass, the first thing Liu Xin did was to send his findings in Gumo to Xiangyang and Chang'an respectively by means of meteor fast horses and flying pigeons. The purpose of sending to Xiangyang was to inform Ma Yun of this situation.
, sent to Chang'an to notify Xiang Lang to mobilize manpower to prepare for mining coal mines in Gumo.
Then, Liu Xin left Yumen Pass and continued on her way. After entering Yumen Pass, the road became smoother. There were newly built roads here, enough for four carriages to drive side by side. The roads were lined with street trees, which could block the blazing summer heat.
The scorching sun. Walking on such a road, the speed of advancement naturally increased. In addition, Liu Xin was eager to return home. Three days later, they passed Liangzhou and entered Fufeng County.
Getting closer and closer to Chang'an City, Liu Xin was not as anxious as he was at first. He ordered to slow down his advance and headed to Xinwu City. Xinwu City was originally Dong Zhuo's hometown. After a year of construction, it will become
The institute’s new R&D base.
Liu Xin is very satisfied with the construction here. The high city walls can be used to prevent outsiders from entering. The houses left by Dong Zhuo in the city have been slightly transformed into "laboratories" for the research institute. And outside the city
The surrounding area has been classified as a military restricted zone, and it has been converted into a second training center. Of course, the original training center and research base located on the western outskirts of Xiangyang City are still preserved. Liu Xin came here today just to wait.