Chapter 122

Da Wang finally caught up with Bai Yang in the home garden; his Bai Ge knew that the novice Da Wang Xiao Bai had burned coal in the study with a charcoal brazier for a long time and roasted sweet potatoes, which startled him.

「Holy crap! Do you know burning coal indoors is dangerous, can cause carbon monoxide poisoning? 」

Da Wang clueless · JPG

「This coal is a good thing, but burning it still requires some skill! If you burn it indoors, you need ventilation, install a chimney, otherwise the carbon monoxide produced by burning coal, if inhaled in a certain amount, will kill a person! 」

Da Wang shocked, mouth wide open · JPG

「There are many precautions for burning coal; I'll search for information and print it out for you. Are roasted sweet potatoes tasty? 」

Da Wang pursed his lips, "I ate it, but it's not as good as the kitchen's wood-roasted version for me; when burnt it still has a weird taste!"

Bai Yang sighed in relief, "If it's not tasty, that's fine; just don't eat it. Sweet potatoes roasted directly in unvented burning coal contain sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide. Eating them could cause dizziness and weakness, luckily you didn't eat any."

Da Wang felt extremely guilty: "... I ate a bite, I ate it, and gave the unburnt part to Weini to eat; she loved it."

Bai Yang comforted him, "... It's a bear, no problem, good physique. No, wait, where did you get the coal?"

Okay, I forgot to mention the most important thing.

Bai Yang learned that he had discovered an open-pit coal mine, and was very happy for Da Wang. "If the reserves are large, you could strike it rich!"

Da Wang's eyes sparkled.

Bai Yang gave Da Wang a thorough lecture on coal knowledge, first emphasizing the safety hazards of mining and burning coal to Da Wang, then the benefits of coal.

Including how to let the poor of Youzhou burn cheap coal by mixing straw and mud to make honeycomb coal; if reserves are low, making honeycomb coal can save a lot of energy. Modern people don't lack that, they've already eliminated the troublesome honeycomb coal, but the manpower of the Great Jin is the least valuable, so there's great potential.

Da Wang worked quickly; within two days, the newly established mining department of the coal mine obtained a simple little booklet.

A printer-version of the main knowledge about coal.

Da Wang also wanted to ask the Grand Tutor to polish it, then have it block-printed and publish another popular science book. Of course, before that, they need to actually mine coal and test the honeycomb coal first.

The Internal Affairs Department quickly received a task to make honeycomb coal stoves in the hot summer; not understanding doesn't matter, just get it done.

Although they truly couldn't understand that the Youwang Manor had a very advanced heated wall and floor heating; in winter you only needed to burn charcoal in the large outdoor furnace, why make such a tiny strange stove?

The coal reserves of Yanque Mountain are beyond the current capability of the Great Jin to estimate; the mining team, under Mr. Zhao's guidance, prepared some tools and set off to dig. The temporary mining team was just a detachment of Youzhou Guards sent over to help for a few days, and the Youwang Manor was delivered two carts of coal.

Da Wang didn't mind getting his hands dirty, reached out and touched it, his big eyes full of undisguised joy. Wei Shen guessed, "Struck it rich?"

Da Wang lifted his chin, "Made a fortune!"

"Come on! Zhao Bao, go to Tongshui County to recruit a bunch of people to mine coal at Yanque Mountain, wages will be… about eighty cash! Those Youzhou Guards don't need to return yet; they can help there and maintain order as well." Without a safety net, Da Wang wouldn't dare act recklessly; nowadays in Youzhou you can't find a long-term job paying fifty cash, so this coal mining venture should first be tried, and we'll talk about balancing income and expenditure later.

He also thought that if the coal burned poorly it could kill people; where among the common folk would there be an iron stove that could vent smoke? The Prince again called Zhao Bao, "Let the Youzhou guards watch over the coal, first strictly forbid its flow to the common folk."

From then on, the Prince's attendance at the Northern Camp was not as good as Wei Shen's; in the afternoons he would set aside time to study honeycomb coal together with the Internal Affairs Bureau.

Mixing the lowest-grade coal with straw powder and yellow clay yields honeycomb coal, which can greatly reduce costs; this undertaking has again been upgraded to the Prince's top priority.

Fortunately, Brother Bai directly produced the data for this; the optimal mixing ratios are already available, so he only needs to test which kind of yellow clay from Youzhou works best. Straw powder is also easy to obtain; once the Internal Affairs Bureau makes the molds according to the drawings, the Prince can make many in one afternoon. It's similar to the mold used for squeezing snowballs: dip into the prepared paste, pinch, then place back on the ground; after drying, you get a perfectly shaped honeycomb coal.

The Chancellor came to report to the Prince; upon arriving at Mingguang Hall, he found the entire square in front of the hall covered with blackish cakes…

This is the main hall of the You Prince's mansion used for receiving external guests.

He blocked the Prince in the east corridor of the main hall, who was currently… kneading mud; the Chancellor took a deep breath—is this a belated rebellion?

Your Highness!

Your Highness: "Chancellor has come~ Look, all this is what I made this afternoon; want to try playing with it? Perfect, we've moved to the shady spot on the east side—it's cooler there~"

The Chancellor took another careful look at the Prince's face, sunburned red; he changed his tone to concern: "Your Highness, just have the palace staff do it; it's the height of summer—if Your Highness suffers from heatstroke, what can we do?"

The Prince waved his chubby paw nonchalantly, "My health is fine! By the way, Chancellor, what business do you have?" Surely he didn't come just to watch me knead mud, right?

The Chancellor dropped a bombshell: "An edict sent from Chang'an announcing to the world: the Second Prince is enfeoffed as Prince of Guangling, with domain Guangling Commandery; the Fourth Prince is enfeoffed as Prince of Jing, with domain Jingzhou Commandery."

This time the Prince finally stopped what he was doing with his hands: "What happened? How come it's so sudden…" Could it be that the eldest brother won?

No way! The eldest brother is very petty; he even used to trick him when they were kids!

The Chancellor shook his head: "I don't know the specific reason. However, the surface explanation is that they have reached the age to be enfeoffed, and His Majesty is also in his prime." He paused, glanced at the Prince, then continued: "Before ascending the throne, His Majesty was not the crown prince; when I entered service, His Majesty was still the Prince of Luling."

The Prince also knows this, but: "What a hassle—if it's decided, who will be called back? Isn't this an even greater opportunity for a life-changing turn?" However, the Prince now also realized that this contest between his two elder brothers was won by the Prince of Yu, and the four sons over five years old have been brought to the same level.

No, not that either.

The Prince pondered again: Guangling Commandery, Jingzhou Commandery?

Talk of being on the same level is all deceit; their fiefdoms beat Youzhou eight hundred times over.

The Prince instantly became angry—fine, you enfeoff a prince, and you've successfully angered me!

The Prince, venting his frustration, puffed out another row of black cakes; he lifted his head and saw the Chancellor still standing silently at his side.

"Your Highness knows, Chancellor, do you have anything else?"

"Yes. The two Princes have been enfeoffed; Your Highness needs to send a congratulatory gift. What to send still requires Your Highness's instruction."

"What? We still have to give a congratulatory gift?"

"When Your Highness was enfeoffed, did the two Princes not send a gift?" Impossible.

"Hmph! After the Moonlight Silk incident, the second brother sent some silk and cloth; as for the fourth brother, he casually sent a golden tiger he doesn't play with!" However, the Prince also knows the protocol, and soon made a decision,

"Send a cart of honeycomb coal that I personally made to the Prince of Guangling, and to the Prince of Jing…"

The Prince pulled off his ga wu box from his neck—a small rectangular box of bronze inlaid with crystal; Bai Yang had given him a few to carry candy, saying this kind of box matched his attire. Actually it's not worth much; the turquoise and agate inlaid on it are quite small.

He didn't give it directly after pulling it off; instead, he poured the half-box of rubber candy onto his dirty little hand, then handed the empty box to the Chancellor: "Give it to Bai Li Hu."

Just a second before he shoved the rubber candy into his mouth, Zhao Bao lunged forward and pressed him down.

"Your Highness! Eating sugar again, and your hands are so dirty!" Indeed, Your Highness can keep his baby fat thanks to the candy from Bai Yang's general store, which is indispensable. The Prince doesn't like eating those weird snacks; he only likes rubber candy and milk sticks.

Chancellor: …!

What? Returning to the original point, no! He hasn't had contact with the Fourth Prince, but given the education from the Cui family, he'd probably turn out as lively as their Prince…?

Now the other three have been dragged onto the same starting line, while their Youzhou Prince is on a separate track alone.

The Chancellor looked at the palm-sized box in his hand; it was quite exquisite. The inlay all around doesn't really look like gold—maybe this gift is a bit too light? The transparent middle part especially resembles the windows of the You Prince's mansion.

"Your Highness, are we really just sending this one? Won't it be a bit small?" He said tactfully, "After all, you are an elder brother."

The Great King objected, "Where is it small? Just find a bigger box!"

Chancellor: ……

Zhao Bao could only help the Great King by adding two sentences: "Chancellor, this is the first time you've seen something so exquisite, right? This transparent part isn't glass, it's crystal. The blue part is turquoise, the red part is red agate; they're all very precious gems. This Ga Wu Box is our Highness's treasure!" It's just that there are quite a few; after giving one away, there are still nine left.

The Chancellor clasped his hands, "I understand now; I will write it clearly on the document. Then there's nothing else, I take my leave."