The guards scraped some black coal.

Lu Bu asked them to add a small amount of yellow mud to the coals, and then used a spoon to make briquettes and put them aside to dry.

It's already a hot summer, and the hot wind is gathering quickly.

The stove and the firewood had not yet arrived, and the briquettes had been completely dry.

A guard lit a fire and set it on fire.

A faint green smoke rose, flames burst up, and Chen Gong and Zang Ba looked puzzled.

Lu Bu obviously said that he was going to use coal to light the fire, why did he still let people bring firewood?

The flames grew stronger and stronger.

"Put a few briquettes on top." Lu Bu instructed the guards.

The guard took a few briquettes and put them in the stove.

The flames licked the briquettes, and the black coals gradually turned red, and finally they actually burned.

Chen Gong and Zang Ba looked stunned.

The guards next to him were also dumbfounded.

It was the first time they had seen a stone burn.

"Coal can be burned, and it burns for a long time." Lu Bu said: "Using it to forge steel, the molten iron can be completely melted, and the impurities in it can be refined more. ”

"How does Wen Hou know about this kind of soil...... Uh, no! Is it coal......" Chen Gong asked, "Can it burn?" ”

"It's been recorded in the history books." Of course, Lu Bu would not say that he had the understanding of two thousand years later, and simply put the responsibility on the head of the history books: "I only saw it by chance, and I knew that there was such a wonderful thing in the world." ”

"Now that you've found out, is it time to stop the construction of the barracks?" Chen Gong said: "It's not too late to wait until all the coal here is taken before continuing construction." ”

"The good coal in Xuzhou is all underground." Lu Bu instructed: "Continue the construction of the barracks, find some carpenters, stonemasons, and people who specialize in digging passages, and follow me out of the city early tomorrow morning." ”

"Wen Hou is going to ......" Chen Gong seemed to understand what Lu Bu was going to do.

"There are so many people in Pengcheng, they can't all be sent to grow food." Lu Bu said: "I want to open a mine, open a coal mine!" Isn't it stupid to sit in Xuzhou and let the coal lie underground and not use it? ”

The changes in the technological era are always accompanied by the emergence of new energy sources.

If it is really possible to open a mine in Xuzhou, the application of coal will definitely drive the development of other industries.

The strength of Xuzhou may be in this move.

Lu Bu knew very well that opening a coal mine was not as simple as he imagined.

In the huge Xuzhou, there is not coal everywhere underground.

With the current excavation capacity, it is not easy to dig a tunnel several hundred meters deep into the ground.

It is important to make sure that there is coal in the ground before excavating.

They didn't know the concept of mining clearly, and although Chen Gong and Zang Ba were confused, they didn't ask much.

It was determined that he would open a mine in Xuzhou, and Zang Ba immediately went to recruit people.

Most of the strong men are in the army, and most of the men who come to Pengcheng are weak.

However, no matter how weak a man is, his strength is greater than that of an ordinary woman.

Except for those who are seriously ill and too young and old, as long as it is a man, Zang Ba will accept it all.

Chen Gong accompanied Lu Bu back to the official mansion.

went directly to the study, and Lu Bu asked people to find a roll of nitrated sheepskin.

The sheepskin was laid out on the table, and he picked up his pen and drew the lines.

Chen Gong, who was standing on the side, watched it for a while and didn't understand what he was drawing.

"Wen Hou, these are ......" Wen Hou asked Lu Bu in astonishment.

"Coal mine construction drawings." Lu Bu said: "Mining coal mines is not as simple as imagined. The terrain of Xuzhou is complex, and the really good coal is hundreds of steps below the ground. ”

Chen Gong was stunned: "So deep......"

"It's easy to do if it's just a deep pour." Lu Bu said while drawing construction drawings: "There are many problems to be solved in the construction of coal mines. First of all, we have to dig tunnels so that people can go down. Secondly, it is necessary to build vents to ensure that fresh air is transported underground. Lighting should also not be done with an open flame ......"

Speaking of this, Lu Bu stopped.

Looking at Chen Gong, his face was also stunned.

Coal mines are different from other places.

The tunnels dug out will be filled with thick gas, and the use of open flames will definitely cause an explosion.

Chen Gong, who didn't understand these things at all, didn't know why Lu Bu suddenly stopped and didn't say anything.

looked at Lu Bu suspiciously, he was still waiting for an answer.

After being silent for a long time, Lu Bu looked at the construction drawings but did not add any more strokes to them.

"Is there something embarrassing?" Chen Gong could see that Lu Bu was hesitating.

"Does the public station know what can be used for lighting, but it doesn't need to use an open flame?" Lu Bu suddenly burst out.

At the end of the Han Dynasty, open flames were used for lighting, and Chen Gong didn't know what could be illuminated without using flames.

From the expression on his face, Lu Bu got the answer: "Forget it, I'll think of a way." ”

"It's all illuminated with open flames, I really haven't heard of it......," Chen Gong replied with some guilt.

Lu Bu interrupted him: "I know you haven't heard of it, just asked casually just now." ”

"What are the layers of Wen Hou paintings?" Looking at the construction drawings drawn by Lu Bu, Chen Gong found that the part that represented the ground had been divided into several parts by him.

Each part is also marked with strange symbols.

Unbeknownst to Chen Gong, those symbols were actually Arabic numerals that were very popular 2,000 years later.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the cultures of various regions had not yet penetrated into each other.

The Arabic numerals that seemed convenient to Lu Bu were just some strange symbols to Chen Gong.

"I don't know anything about the public station." "Coal is not found in every corner of the ground, it is divided into many layers, and some depths are difficult to burn, while others are easy to burn," Lu said. ”

Pointing to several layers on the construction drawings, Lu Bu continued: "Each layer is called a tank, and the best coal is mostly in eight tanks and fifteen tanks up. These layers of coal are thick, easy to burn, and the most valuable to be mined. ”

used to be a mercenary, and it stands to reason that Lu Bu shouldn't know about this.

On one of his missions, he was in a coal mining area of a certain country.

And many of the people who work there are his compatriots.

When he is idle, he always chats with his compatriots, and his understanding of coal is only available at that time.

Lu Bu talked eloquently, and Chen Gong listened in a fog.

He looked at Lu Bu in astonishment and asked, "How does Wen Hou know this?" ”

It wasn't until Chen Gong asked that Lu Bu realized that he had said too much.

For Chen Gong, who grew up in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, coal itself is a magical existence.

He is even less likely to have any knowledge about coal.

Suddenly having an epiphany, Lu Bu smiled: "Read more books, many things have been told to us by our ancestors, but we have ignored them." ”

Chen Gong has read a lot of books, but he has never read a book about coal.

was full of doubts, but Lu Bu looked serious, and Chen Gong didn't want to ask too much.

"Gongtai will go back to rest early, and go out of the city with me early tomorrow morning to explore the terrain." The more he talked, the more loopholes he had, and Lu Bu reminded Chen Gong to go back earlier.