As soon as the engineering exam ended, Xiang Lang rushed to Chang'an overnight. The reconstruction and expansion of Chang'an City is a major project for which he is personally responsible, and as soon as this project is completed, he will not be at ease for a day. As soon as Xiang Lang arrived in Chang'an City, Liu Xin's letter was delivered. So, Xiang Lang couldn't take a break, and hurried to Yiwu City.

Liu Xin saw Xiang Lang's haggard face, and couldn't help laughing: "Juda, it's really hard for you to let you go back and forth." ”

Xiang Lang shook his head and said, "Lord Qiqi, it's nothing to be tired. It's just that the coal mentioned in the letter from the lord, my subordinates have consulted many classics, and they haven't figured out what it is, so I'm really ashamed. ”

It turned out that when Xiang Lang left Chang'an, he also carried a large number of materials with him. He wanted to prepare in advance, so as not to be asked by Liu Xin when he got it. Along the way, he was busy looking through the materials to find records about coal, but found nothing. It is also a loss that in the past few years, all the classics have been copied from bamboo slips to paper, and it is much easier to consult, otherwise he will be even more haggard.

Liu Xin smiled and said, "Juda, you don't understand what coal is, it's not your fault." However, you have to remember that coal is a good thing, and it can be used as a substitute for firewood, and it is better than firewood. ”

After a pause, Liu Xin continued: "I've already seen it here, and it's a good job. How is the reconstruction of Chang'an progressing? ”

Xiang Lang sighed and said, "According to the lord's orders, his subordinates have sold part of the land in Chang'an City publicly, and basically all of them have been sold. Those wealthy families really transported a lot of wood and stone from Kanto and other places, and now the road from Wuguan to Chang'an is almost all caravans transporting wood and stone. But these wealthy families were busy building their own homes, and rarely sold wood and stone. If the trees in Guanzhong are not cut down, it may be difficult to complete the reconstruction of Chang'an City before the end of this year. The subordinates are courageous, and ask the lord to allow his subordinates to send people to collect materials nearby. Where trees have been cut down, subordinates will definitely let people replant them in time. ”

Liu Xin lowered his head and pondered for a moment, shook his head and said, "No, the trees in Guanzhong must not be cut down." Since the reconstruction of Chang'an City is difficult to complete this year, it is better to postpone it for a year. When those big families have repaired their homes, they will always take out the surplus wood and stone and sell them, and some shrewd merchants will not let go of this good opportunity. The top priority at the moment is to quickly organize people to go to Gumo to mine coal. ”

Xiang Lang couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he heard that Liu Xin was not urging him to hurry up and rebuild Chang'an, and said, "My subordinates are about to ask the lord, how should this coal be mined?" ”

Liu Xin thought for a while and said, "Just use an iron pickaxe and a hammer to smash it." The smashed coal was transported to Yiwu by camel horse. Build a warehouse in the city of Yiwu, and open up a place outside the city to build a smelter, as for how to smelt better iron, it is up to your research institute. One thing you have to keep in mind is that this matter is more important than the construction of Chang'an City, and you can organize people to do it now. ”

Xiang Lang heard Liu Xin say so seriously, he didn't dare to slack off, gave a deep salute, and hurriedly went out to transfer people. Xiang Lang now has a lot of people under him, and there are 100,000 people in the engineering corps alone, plus the craftsmen of the research institute, it is a huge team. But half of the engineering corps was building a new city on the steppe, and half was on the construction site of Chang'an City. As for the craftsmen, except for those who moved to Yuzhang County, most of them remained in Xiangyang. Xiang Lang can only draw on the engineering corps that built Chang'an City now. Fortunately, Liu Xin had promised to postpone the construction of Chang'an City for one year, and it was not a big problem to send 10,000 engineers to Gumo.

After arranging the mining of the Gumo coalfield, Liu Xin breathed a sigh of relief. Although he didn't know much about coal mines and didn't know how to use them to smelt better iron, he believed that with coal, the skilled craftsmen of Dahan would definitely come up with solutions to these problems.

Liu Xin turned around and went back to the backyard. This was originally a big mansion built by Dong Zhuo for himself in Yiwu, and the front part has been demolished, and the demolished wood, masonry and stone have been transported to Chang'an to build the materials of Chang'an City, and before it has time to be demolished, it has been used as Liu Xin's temporary residence in Yiwu. Before Liu Xin stepped into the courtyard gate, he heard a burst of laughter, it was Minchan and the others practicing dance.

Sure enough, seeing Liu Xin coming in, Lu Qiling quickly greeted her, took Liu Xin's hand, and said in a loud voice: "Godfather, you came just in time, Ling'er's Hu Xuan Dance is now about to catch up with Sister Liya, Ling'er will dance one for you." ”

As soon as Liu Xin looked up, she saw that Liya had just put away her dancing, and her pretty face was still flushed, so she couldn't help but shake her head and said, "Ling'er, you go to the side and practice by yourself first, and I'll talk to your sister Liya about something." ”

When Princess Liya of Loulan heard Liu Xin looking for her, she rushed over like a gust of wind, flashed her big good-looking eyes, and asked slyly, "My lord, aren't you going to drive me away again?" No matter what you say, I won't go back, I still want to see the Central Plains. Don't worry, I'll follow you, and I'll not get in your way. ”

Originally, Liu Xin planned to take a little detour and escort Liya back to Hunicheng before returning to Yumen Pass from the northern line. But because of the discovery of the Gumo coalfield, Liu Xin temporarily changed his mind and accelerated the speed of his return, of course, it was impossible to make a detour to collect mud. And Liya was unwilling to let others escort him back to Shanshan, plus she got along well with Minchan and Lu Qiling, so she followed Yi Wu. Along the way, Liu Xin also proposed several times to send her back to Mud City, but she refused. This time, before Liu Xin could speak, she directly refused.

Liu Xin was slightly stunned, and then smiled: "Princess, Liu didn't drive you back, it's because Liu left in too much hurry this time and forgot an important thing, and I want to ask you to go back and help me do it." As long as this matter is done, when you want to come to the Central Plains in the future, Liu will definitely welcome it. ”

Liya glanced at Liu Xin suspiciously and asked, "What is the important matter?" ”

Liu Xin said seriously: "Do you remember the Black Whirlwind? ”

Liya's expression was stunned, and suddenly she saw a look of concern, and asked anxiously, "Isn't there news of the Black Whirlwind, my lord?" ”

Liu Xin shook his head and said, "The black whirlwind has come and gone without a trace, how can it be so easy to get news of her." However, Liu has already found out that the black whirlwind is Shanshan. Therefore, Liu wants to ask the princess to go back and use your identity to secretly search for her whereabouts in Shanshan. caught the black whirlwind, Liu must be thankful! ”

Liya pursed her lips and said, "Why should I help you?" ”

Liu Xin smiled and said, "If the princess wants to play in the Central Plains and is unwilling to help with this, then Liu will no longer be reluctant." In fact, Liu is not without a way to deal with the black whirlwind, but it just takes a little more effort. Although the black whirlwind is elusive, it is inseparable from water sources in the desert, so Liu sent a large army into Shanshan and stationed heavy troops at all water sources to see if she could escape to the sky! ”

Liya's heart sank, and she hurriedly said, "Since Lord Liu can trust the little girl, the little woman promised to return to Mud City and help the adult capture the black whirlwind. ”

These days, following Liu Xin's team, Liya has long seen that the strength of the Han army does not lie in personal bravery, but in strict discipline. As long as Liu Xin really gave the order to watch the water source, these Han soldiers could definitely guard the water source tightly. Although the black whirlwind is powerful, if you want to fight against the Han army on your own, and even face the pre-set ambush, it is definitely more than lucky. Rather than letting Liu Xin send the Han army to deal with the Black Whirlwind, it is better to let himself be false.

Liu Xin couldn't help laughing when she heard Liya agree to her request, and said, "Then Liu will have full authority to ask the princess." ”

Liya waved her hand and said, "It's okay, it's okay." I'll leave now. ”

Liu Xin didn't say a word, and immediately arranged for five hundred cavalry to escort Liya back to Mud City. Considering that Liya was a woman, Liu Xin selected four more from the twelve female guards to accompany her. It wasn't until Liya's figure gradually disappeared at the corner of the avenue that Liu Xin let out a long sigh of relief and finally fooled her away.

In order to let Liya go home, Liu Xin really used a lot of brains, and it was best to implement it on the black whirlwind. I don't know what Liya will look like if she knows that Black Whirlwind is actually a woman in the future. Liu Xin couldn't help laughing.

Minchan didn't know when she came to Liu Xin's side, leaned lightly on his shoulder, and said faintly: "Master, in fact, Miss Liya and the slave family can talk very well. And since entering the Jade Gate Pass, she has been fascinated by the beautiful scenery along the way, why do you need to send her away? ”

Liu Xin took Minchan into his arms, looked at the west and sighed slightly, and asked rhetorically: "Chan'er, do you know why I set up the market in Maoling, and the Hu caravan from the west can only reach there at the farthest?" ”

Minchan thought for a while and said: "The slave family remembers that the master said that Maoling was once extremely prosperous, and it is a pity that it will decline like this, so the master thought of establishing a market there to restore the prosperity it once had." ”

Liu Xin nodded and said, "Yes, sir, I did say so at the beginning, but it was just a public statement." ”

"Public rhetoric?" Minchan raised her head in surprise and looked at Liu Xin, and asked softly, "Then what is the real reason why the master is doing this?" ”

Liu Xin said with a smile: "The reason is very simple, that is, I don't want those Hu people to continue eastward. Liya is also a Hu person, and I don't want her to continue eastward. ”

"Don't let them continue east?" Minchan pondered for a moment, and suddenly said happily, "I understand, the master doesn't want them to see the true condition of the big man." ”

"Hehe, our Chan'er is really ice and snow smart, a little bit thorough. Yes, I just don't want the Han to fall apart in the eyes of aliens. Even though I know that this situation can't be hidden, I still don't want outsiders to see our big man's jokes! Liu Xin straightened his chest and sighed, "Forget it, don't talk about this." You mentioned Maoling just now, why don't we go to Maoling now, I don't know how the market is built. ”