Chapter 128 Sit down, what's the hurry?

Li Xiang also considered this when making the stove and heater.

Nowadays, neither this kind of stove nor heater is suitable for ordinary people to use. The stove is okay, but the heater is too expensive.

How should we solve this problem?

Li Xiang thought about several plans in his mind, but felt that none of them were very suitable.

It is certainly not practical to chop wood nowadays, after all, the mountains near Chang'an are barrener than the heads of British men.

As for coal...it's a good idea, but transporting coal from the mines to the city is a big problem.

Coal itself is not expensive, but it becomes much more expensive when transportation costs are added.

The charcoal used for heating nowadays is generally wood charcoal, which is the charcoal mentioned in Bai Juyi's "The Charcoal Seller" as "cutting firewood and burning charcoal in the southern mountains."

Many people mistakenly believe that people before the Song Dynasty did not use much coal because burning it would produce carbon monoxide. In fact, this theory is completely untenable, because in a confined space, charcoal will also produce carbon monoxide.

In fact, the reason why the Sui and Tang dynasties did not use coal was, firstly, because the technology of making charcoal was very mature, and secondly, because the smoke from burning coal without desulfurization was really toxic. In this comparison, charcoal with relatively non-smoky smoke was more likely to be sought after.

This situation did not begin to improve until the Song Dynasty, because the forests had been almost completely cut down over hundreds of years during the Tang Dynasty, and the people of the Song Dynasty had no choice.

Interestingly, one of the reasons for the huge increase in steel production was the large-scale use of coal during the Song Dynasty.

The first "foggy city" in human history was not London, but Bianliang.

In the History of Song Dynasty, there are records of 33 foggy events, most of which occurred in northern cities.

If you don't consider the choking smoke, coal is a good choice. Even if it is expensive, it is definitely cheaper than charcoal and firewood.

As for environmental pollution and choking, I'm almost freezing to death, and I'm still considering this?

Burning coal also has its benefits. At least it can ensure the vegetation on the Loess Plateau and prevent soil erosion from becoming increasingly serious.

Li Xiang has heard of coal desulfurization technology, and he will study it slowly when the time comes.

Thinking like this, Li Xiang brought his men to the Lizheng Hall.

If we only use coal, it always seems like it’s not enough.

Li Mingda looked at the radiator brought by Li Xiang with great curiosity, but he was still maintaining his aunt's airs as an elder and was too embarrassed to ask any questions.

Seeing Li Xiang thinking, Li Mingda sat beside him and asked with concern: "Xiang'er, what are you thinking about?"

"Oh, oh." Li Xiang came back to his senses and said with a smile, "Nothing."

Li Mingda tilted his head, pointed at the heater and asked, "This 'heater' has a strange color, is it made of copper?"

"Yes, pure copper." Li Xiang looked at Li Mingda in surprise. His aunt actually knew copper?
"Humph, don't underestimate me." Li Mingda saw the surprise in Li Xiang's eyes and wrinkled his nose: "The Kaiyuan Tongbao that Sister Gao Yang sent me a while ago is very similar to this color."

"Aunt, you have a keen eye. I admire you very much." Li Xiang praised in a joking manner.

At this point, Li Xiang suddenly remembered and asked, "Hey, Aunt Gao Yang?"

"Yes, Sister Gao Yang, what's wrong with you?" Li Mingda raised his head vigilantly.

"Well, nothing. I just wanted to talk to her about the caravan. During the meeting in Shuozhou, I planned to take the lead in forming a caravan with the approval of my grandfather. It just so happens that Aunt Gaoyang has nothing to do, so she can be in charge of the caravan." Li Xiang said with a smile.

"Why don't you look for me?" Li Mingda pouted his lower lip.

"Aunt Gaoyang is very versatile and suitable to be in charge of the caravan." Li Xiang said with a smile: "Besides, she is also a person who can't sit still. It's just right to hand over the task to her. Aunt Gaoyang certainly has other things to do."

"Well, what's the matter with me?" Li Mingda snorted.

"Aunt still has to teach me to read. If I take care of the caravan, won't you have no time to accompany my nephew?" Li Xiang has a very high EQ.

Hearing this, Li Mingda's brows relaxed.

This elephant, huh.

"Is the caravan formed by Xiang'er going to trade with various tribes on the grassland?" Li Mingda asked again.

"Yes, we will use silk, tea and other things to exchange for the furs, cattle and sheep of the various tribes on the grassland..."

At this point, Li Xiang suddenly had an idea.

Cattle and sheep?

Yeah, shit.

“Cows and sheep… cows and sheep!”

He stood up suddenly and looked at Li Mingda with shining eyes.

"Long live Auntie!" he cheered, "There is a way!"

"What...what method?" Li Mingda was puzzled by his sudden jump, and a question mark popped up in his head.

Li Xiang said excitedly: "To be honest, Aunt, I was just thinking about how to make the people of the Tang Dynasty feel less cold in winter. Thanks to Aunt for mentioning the caravan, I remembered what I should do!"

"Really?" Li Mingda's eyes were curved. She would be very happy as long as she could help Li Xiang.

Li Xiang has always been a man of action. He was about to leave: "I'm leaving the palace right now to look for Aunt Gao Yang!"

But he didn't expect to be grabbed by Li Mingda's sleeve.

"Sit down, why are you in such a hurry?" Li Mingda said angrily.

"Eh? How can I not be anxious..." Li Xiang scratched his head.

After all, this is a problem that concerns millions and tens of millions of people, so of course it has to be treated as urgent.

Li Mingda said with a smile: "Today is the day when Sister Changle and Sister Gaoyang enter the palace. You just need to wait here."

"Oh." Li Xiang suddenly realized, "So that's it..."

In addition to wool, Li Xiang also plans to get some cotton.

We must pay attention to both wool and cotton textiles, and both hands must be strong.

Not only Princess Gaoyang needs to be involved, but Princess Changle also needs to be tied in.

The conquest of Goguryeo only took place in the past two years. If cotton and wool textiles had been developed, the problem of keeping the army warm could have been alleviated a lot.

And the most important point is that the wool industry can undoubtedly greatly strengthen the grassland's dependence on the Central Plains, and invisibly strengthen the relationship between the two sides.

The closeness of the relationship is secondary; dependence on the Central Plains dynasty is primary.

The little elephant is worth two!
After sitting in the Lizheng Hall for a while, the heating was set up. After the stove was lit, the heating gradually became stronger.

By the time Princess Gaoyang and Princess Changle arrived together, the room was already warm as spring.

"Sizi, Si...eh?"

Li Shu pushed open the palace door, and was greeted by a wave of heat. It was no exaggeration, because three radiators were installed on the palace door.

"Why is it so warm?" Li Shu took off the silver fox shawl and handed it to Luluo beside him.

Luoluo replied, "Princess, this is the 'heater' that the Prince of Hengshan just brought. The Prince said it can make the palace warmer."

"Hmm." Li Shu nodded, turned around and said to Li Lizhi: "Sister Changle, please come in quickly."

Li Lizhi nodded and walked into the hall. Sure enough, the temperature was as warm as Li Su said.

"It is true." Li Lizhi's face was rosy, completely different from her previous sickly look.

The most beautiful princess of the Tang Dynasty has finally regained her original radiance and beauty.

Li Shu walked to the side hall and pushed the door open.

"Great, you two are hiding here to play chess!" Li Shu teased with a sweet smile.

"Aunt Gaoyang, Aunt Changle... "

Before Li Xiang could finish his words, Li Shu held his face in his hands.

His hands were cold and Li Xiang couldn't help shivering.

"Warm my aunt's hands first." Li Shu looked at Li Xiang with curved eyebrows. "I just heard Luluo talking about that heater. How much does it cost? Let's get two sets for my aunt's family."

"It's not very expensive, just a few hundred strings of cash. The main problem is the lack of copper." Li Xiang said with a smile.

"Yeah, I thought it was very expensive." Li Su waved his hand nonchalantly, "I'll have to trouble Xiang'er to ask the craftsmen of the East Palace to make two sets for me."

Li Shu is different now. She has excellent abilities. In just over a month, the momentum of the restaurant in the West City has surpassed that of the restaurant in the East City, and the profit is even higher than that of the restaurant in the East City.

She also had a 30% stake in the restaurant, so she made a lot of money. Mrs. Fang boasted to everyone that her princess was a woman who brought good fortune to the family.

"Okay, aunt." Li Xiang answered honestly.

"Make two sets for me. When I go back in the evening, I will ask your uncle to send the money to the East Palace." Li Lizhi said with a smile.

"Hey, since you are doing this for your two aunts, how can your nephew accept money..."

Li Xiang wanted to be polite, but Princess Changle said, "You need money in all aspects. Of course, your aunt understands your difficulties."

Hearing this, Li Xiang was no longer polite and nodded in agreement.

Li Su looked Li Xiang up and down again and nodded with satisfaction: "You have grown taller after being away for two months."

"Yes, our elephants have grown into big boys now." Li Lizhi also joked.

Li Xiang: …

You're just teasing me instead of talking about business, right?
"Do you have a girl you like? Your aunt will propose to her on your behalf." Li Shu took the tangerines on the table and asked with a smile.

Li Xiang took a deep breath and decided not to bother with the woman.

"Okay, Sister Gao Yang, please stop teasing Xiang'er." Li Mingda smiled and waved his round fan. "Xiang'er just told me that he wanted to discuss something with you. If I hadn't called him back, he would have missed you."

"Xiang'er, do you have something to talk to me about?" Li Shu raised his eyebrows.

"Yes, in fact there is also Aunt Changle." Li Xiang said with a smile.

Li Lizhi sat next to Li Xiang and asked softly, "I wonder if Xiang'er has any problem and is short of money?"

Princess Changle was a well-known wealthy woman in the Tang Dynasty. Not only was her Changsun family rich, but her dowry was also of a level that shocked the world.

"That's not the case. I just have a few businesses that I would like to do with you two aunts." Li Xiang said, scratching his head.

"Oh?" Li Lizhi immediately became interested. She had often heard Li Shu talk about how much money the restaurant made.

Even if she is a rich woman, she wouldn't mind saving more money, after all, she has two sons.

Yes, Li Lizhi and Changsun Chong had two sons, Changsun Yan and Changsun Xu.

Many novels demonize cousin marriage. In fact, the disability rate is not that exaggerated. It is indeed much higher than that of unrelated people, but at least Changsun Yan and Changsun Xu are both normal people.

Of course, it is true that it is not encouraged in modern times.

These two children were also the reason why Li Lizhi passed away early. One reason was that she gave birth to the children too early, and the other was that she herself suffered from respiratory diseases, and giving birth to the children took too much toll on her body.

After organizing his words, Li Xiang said, "When I met with the tribes of the grassland in Shuozhou last time, with the approval of Aweng, I proposed to form a caravan to trade in the grassland, exchanging tea, silk and other goods for cattle and sheep on the grassland."

"This is a good thing. Are you planning to let us participate as well?" Li Shu's eyes lit up.

"Hmm..." Li Xiang thought for a moment and said, "There is a relatively lucrative industry among them. I wonder if the two aunts are interested."

"Don't keep us in suspense. Just tell me." Li Shu urged anxiously.

Li Xiang scratched his head and smiled, "The people on the grassland will definitely not sell all their livestock, but if we only buy wool, they will definitely be very interested in this business that does not require the sale of livestock and can be developed sustainably."

During this alliance meeting in Shuozhou, Li Xiang discovered sheep among the flocks sent by various tribes on the grassland.

Sheep are not exclusive to Europe. In fact, my country is also a sheep producing area. Mongolian sheep can be found from the Hetao region to the Greater Khingan Range.

Considering that Mongolia was still a new species at that time, Li Xiang decided to call them Beiting sheep.

"Wool?" Li Lizhi and Li Su looked at each other and asked in confusion, "Why do we have to buy wool separately? Can wool also be...sold?"

"Of course wool is not valuable, but my nephew has a skill that can spin wool into yarn..."

Li Xiang said, gesturing with his hands, "Just like silk, it can be used to make clothes and socks..."

Hearing this, Li Su immediately grasped the key point.

"I understand! On the grasslands, foreigners have no idea what wool can be used for. The same is true in the Tang Dynasty. Now, this technology is monopolized by you, right?"

Her eyes were sparkling. Li Xiang really didn't expect that the Li family actually had a business genius.

So much information can be analyzed through just a few sentences...

Very good, this is exactly the talent I need.

"Of course," Li Xiang said with a smile, "You know, a brick of tea can be exchanged for one or two sheep on the grassland."

There are not a small number of sheep on the grassland. Although animal husbandry is not well developed these days, grassland people are born to do this. There are more than one million sheep in the Xueyantuo tribe alone.

"If it's in exchange for wool, I believe they are willing to do it if one brick of tea is exchanged for 200 kilograms of wool." Li Shu said with emotion: "If we transport this wool back, as Xiang'er just said, we can weave it into yarn and then make it into sweaters..."

"The price of a tea brick can be exchanged for 200 kilograms of wool." Li Lizhi's eyes flickered, and her little head was calculating quickly: "Even if 10 kilograms of wool can make a piece of clothing, 200 kilograms is enough for 20 pieces; and it is easy to exchange a piece of clothing for a tea brick in the Tang Dynasty..."

(Second update sent)

(End of this chapter)