Chapter 283: Preparing for the Natural Disaster

After reading the note, Bai Wei immediately ran to the archaeology office of the Zhenbei King Tomb.

Rushing into the office, she caught sight of Ye Lao and immediately asked while panting.

"Ye Lao, in the records of the Zhenbei King Tomb, is there any mention of natural disasters in the Daliang Kingdom?"

"Natural disasters?" Ye Lao adjusted his glasses in confusion. "Why do you ask? According to the data we have excavated, the natural disasters that have occurred in Daliang so far include blizzards and droughts. Which one are you asking about?"

"Blizzards and droughts?" Bai Wei pondered in her mind.

Beijiang had already suffered from blizzard weather, and Yannan was currently experiencing a drought, but a drought could not possibly be artificially brought to Beijiang by Yuan Canghai.

Besides, Beijiang had the Snow Mountain; even if there were a drought, water could be diverted from the Snow Mountain.

Therefore, the natural disaster could not be a drought.

Bai Wei thought for a moment. "Professor Ye, are there any other disasters?"

"According to the data, not for the time being." Professor Ye asked curiously, "Bai Wei, did you discover something?"

"I, I was just asking. Professor Ye, thank you."

After saying this, Bai Wei was afraid the other party would ask more, so she hurried out of the office.

After leaving, she began to worry again.

The data did not record the natural disaster, so she did not know what Beijiang would encounter this time.

But no matter what, making preparations in advance was a must.

Bai Wei immediately wrote a note to Xiao Moting.

"Xiao Moting, I didn't hear any news about a natural disaster. However, just in case, you should stockpile goods and grain in Daliang to cope with it."

"Also, I will help you build the iron factory now. When the time comes, sell weapons to the Kokand Kingdom. Keep the silver earned as a reserve fund."

No matter the dynasty, one must have money to deal with various situations.

Beijiang now had both coal mines and iron mines. If an iron factory were built, they could mass-produce weapons and sell them to the Kokand Kingdom in exchange for silver.

Upon receiving the note, Xiao Moting did not dare to be negligent and immediately ordered the soldiers to make preparations.

The grain in the Northern Frontier Camp was all gathered together and kept under strict guard.

Expenses in the camp were cut, and all unnecessary spending was eliminated.

In addition, Xiao Moting had Qin Zhan take inventory of the iron and coal mines and have them all gathered in one place.

Qin Zhan finished the inventory quickly and returned to report.

"Prince, there are currently over forty thousand jin of iron ore at the mine, plus four hundred jin of Saltpeter Mine. Over ten thousand jin of coal has been stockpiled in Beijiang, and I have already had the soldiers cover the coal in the camp with tarpaulins to protect it from rain and moisture."

Xiao Moting nodded.

Daliang's transport capacity was poor, relying entirely on horse-drawn carts. If it weren't for Bai Wei urging the construction of roads in Beijiang and sending two Military Trucks, which were used to transport coal and iron ore whenever there was free time, the Northern Frontier Camp would not have been able to stockpile so much ore.

Xiao Moting wrote down the inventory status on a note and sent it to Bai Wei.

"Bai, there are over forty thousand jin of iron ore, over ten thousand jin of coal, and four hundred jin of Saltpeter Mine."

After receiving it, Bai Wei let out a sigh of relief.

"With this much ore, it's enough for the initial stage of iron smelting."

"Now that the road from Beijiang to the mine is open, what about the road to Shiya City? How much has been built? And the iron factory materials I sent earlier, have the craftsmen studied them?"

Xiao Moting replied, "Many of the craftsmen have learned most of it, but the workers building the road are still working day and night. It is expected to be completed in half a month."

"That's great." Bai Wei felt relieved. "You have the craftsmen speed up the road construction. I will help you prepare for the iron factory here. By the time the iron factory is built, the road should be connected, and then we can use trucks to transport coal from Shiya City to Beijiang continuously."

This was the reason she had urged Xiao Moting to build roads instead of houses first.

Only when the road was open could coal and iron ore be transported.

Otherwise, at the speed of ancient horse-drawn carts, transporting a few hundred jin of coal would take several days; the horses would be exhausted before much ore was moved.

"Alright, you prepare on your end, and I will go inquire about the iron factory."

Xiao Moting received the note and took it seriously as well.

Now that Zhao Li had returned to Shengjing, there was no need for him to stay at the mine all the time.

He walked out the door and gave an order to Zhang Zhao.

"Issue an order to the people in the surrounding villages and towns: the Northern Frontier Camp will distribute new vegetable seeds for free. Anyone willing to grow grain and vegetables can come to the Northern Frontier Camp in two days to collect seeds."

"Also, have the soldiers load the ore onto the vehicles; I am returning to the Northern Frontier Camp now."

Zhang Zhao accepted the order and immediately urged the soldiers to move the ore.

The Military Truck was parked by the side of the road; the daily supplies and grain transported over had all been unloaded, and it was currently empty.

Zhang Zhao had the soldiers move the iron ore from the Warehouse and load it onto the Military Truck.

Evening.

Xiao Moting got into the Minivan and headed back to the camp.

The Military Truck was loaded with a full load of iron ore, packed to the brim.

The five Minivans were also loaded with as much Saltpeter Mine and iron ore as possible; they had come fully loaded and were returning fully loaded.

Xiao Dabao was worried. "What exactly is this natural disaster?"

Xiao Moting shook his head.

The unknown, the Goddess did not know, and neither did he.

But no matter what, they had to be prepared in advance to meet all changes with constancy.

"Equipment for the iron factory..."

Bai Wei sat in front of the computer, constantly checking information.

She wanted to help Xiao Moting build the iron factory as soon as possible so that iron weapons could be sold to others; this was one of the main sources of income for the Northern Frontier Army's military expenses.

Although the business of the Bai's Grocery Store in Xuancheng was also booming, Beijiang had to support 180,000 soldiers, as well as hundreds of thousands of farmers and craftsmen. The daily expenses were a huge figure, and the silver earned from the Bai's Grocery Store alone was far from enough.

She still had to earn money through other channels.

Bai Wei researched information for an entire afternoon, her eyes aching.

She hadn't expected that building an Iron Factory would require so much equipment and machinery; she was dazzled by what she saw.

Just then, a post suddenly popped up.

"Sanjiang Iron Smelting Plant for transfer."

"Transfer?" A flash of inspiration struck Bai Wei's mind.

That's it!

Acquire an Iron Factory, then dismantle the machines in the plant and transport them to Beijiang.

Then, using this equipment to "replicate" an Iron Factory in Beijiang—wouldn't that be faster than building one from scratch?

Furthermore, it would also save time and effort!

Bai Wei had an idea; she immediately noted down the Iron Factory's phone number, picked up her mobile phone, and called.

"Hello, excuse me, are you looking to transfer your Iron Factory?"

Half an hour later, Bai Wei put down her phone, stood up, and walked out the door.

The person who answered the phone just now was the factory director.

She had already clearly inquired about the other party's situation over the phone.

The Sanjiang Iron Smelting Plant is located in Sanjiang Town, not far from Qingshan Village; because it is an iron factory built in the nineties, the equipment is now aging and the plant has no business, so they intend to transfer it.