- The super copper mine mentioned by Chen Ke is the Dongchuan District of Kunming City, which was later known as the copper capital of Tiannan. Dongchuan, known as the land of 'Ma Ta Lu Copper', as early as the Western Han Dynasty, the ancestors used the 'fire and water pouring method' to mine copper ore, and used charcoal to smelt copper ingots and mint coins. It was only later, as the surface copper mines were exhausted, and the mining industry in Dongchuan disappeared.

But Chen Ke knew that in his original history, from the Southern Song Dynasty, a large number of easy-to-mine copper mines were discovered one after another. In the Yuan Dynasty, Dongchuan became the only copper producing area in the country. After hundreds of years, until the Qing Dynasty, more than seventy percent of the country's coins were still minted by Dongchuan copper drums.

It is no exaggeration to say that the copper mine in this place alone is enough for the Song Dynasty for a hundred years.

Moreover, Dongchuan Copper Mine also has incomparable advantages - the Pearl River water system with superior water transportation conditions, which can be transported to Beijing and other places in large quantities at a reasonable cost between Yunnan and Guangzhou.

And if you want to make use of the Pearl River system, the biggest difficulty is in this Hongshui River. Chen Ke is not a water conservancy expert, but he has more than a thousand years of knowledge than his contemporaries. It is known that the Hongshui River and the Nanpan River and the Beipan River form the water transport channel of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. In his original history, from the Southern Song Dynasty, this waterway was the main transportation lifeline along the rivers of Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi, which greatly promoted the connection between Yunnan and Guizhou and Guangzhou. However, in order to drive the huge and heavy copper boats, it is necessary to recruit a large number of people to repair the river, such as removing reefs, widening the river, diverting and reducing water, and building locks......

"This is a big project of the system, and now there is a preliminary plan, but I also plan to ask experts to demonstrate it." The clipper boat was like a leaf, drifting on the blood-red stormy waves, and Hou Yi had already vomited out all his bitter gall. Chen Ke still spoke to Zhang Yu casually: "This waterway is of great significance to the Great Song Dynasty. No matter how much it costs, we're going to get through it. ”

"It's a big project." Zhang Yu is much better than Hou Yi. It's just that his face is a little pale.

"Yes, but it's still several times simpler than the Jinsha River." Chen Ke nodded and said: "Although it is thousands of miles long, most of the waterways are suitable for navigation, and the places that really need surgery, that is, more than 20 places, as long as you are willing to spend the capital, the construction period will not be too long." ”

"How would adults know that this river can lead to Guangzhou?" Zhang Yu finally couldn't hold back and asked the question he had been asking all along: "The villain often comes and goes to Dali, but he doesn't know such a waterway." ”

"That's why I want to study." Of course, Chen Ke will not say that I have seen large cargo ships on the Pearl River in my last life. He said lightly: "As early as the early years of the Western Han Dynasty. The king of Nanyue lured Yelang with his wealth. The konjac sauce produced in Shu County was once transported to Panyu by the Qiqi River. The Qiqi River is now the Beipan River and the Hongshui River; Panyu is now Guangzhou. ”

"Sure enough, Xiucai doesn't go out, so he knows the world." Zhang Yu praised from the bottom of his heart.

"In this case, Lord Chen is the champion, how can he be compared to a mere show?" Hou Yi was dying. Don't forget to offer sycophants.

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From the province to Guangzhou, the whole journey is 2,600 miles, and if you take it by land, it will take a month at the earliest. But Chen Ke and the others went all the way down the river, and it took less than four days to reach the city of Guangzhou.

When he arrived in Guangzhou City, Chen Ke showed the envoy's letter, and reported the situation in Dali to the imperial court in an urgent manner for 800 miles. One side took the stagecoach. Rushed to the capital day and night, and it took only five days to arrive at the Spring Street Pavilion three miles outside the Nanxun Gate. This is the place where officials bid farewell when they leave Beijing, and it is also the place where officials are welcomed back to Beijing.

At this time, in the Spring Street Pavilion, there was a team of Imperial City Division guards, led by an official. and a eunuch in the palace, looking at it, there was a blue sedan chair parked beside them.

After waiting and waiting, I finally saw not far away, a team of horses appeared with smoke and dust. ..., the horse team gradually galloped closer, Zhang Cheng led the four horsemen in front, followed by Chen Ke, followed by Liu Yue, followed by Zhang Yu and Hou Cheng, and at the back there were eight bodyguards and four followers of Zhang and Hou.

"Here we are." The eunuch's eyes were sharp, and he saw Chen Ke on the horse at a glance, and the officials on the side hurriedly shouted: "Stop them." ”

The guards hurried to the road, and returned to the house with both hands.

"Woo ......" Chen Ke grabbed the reins of the horse, looked past the jailer, and looked at the official and eunuch. The official was thirty or forty years old, with a beautiful beard and a handsome appearance. The eunuch was Li Xian, who had dealt with Chen Ke several times.

Seeing that it was an acquaintance, Chen Ke didn't say much, turned over and dismounted, threw the reins, and walked towards Li Xian and another official who ushered in him.

Liu Yue'e also dismounted, but Hou Yi and Zhang Yu were still sitting on the horses, still panting at this time. It took a lot of effort for a few of his attendants to help them down, but they still couldn't move their legs...... Although they all survived the muscles, the five days of non-stop horseback galloping still made the bodies of the two fall apart.

Li Xian sang a fat song to Chen Ke with a smile and introduced: "Champion Gong, this is the Chongwen Pavilion revision, the initiates' living notes, and Lu Xiu's revision. ”

"Written in Xialu Gong." That Lu Xiu didn't wait for Chen Ke to salute, so he smiled and hugged his fists and said, "Zhong Fang doesn't know me, but I have been looking up to you for a long time." "Lu Gongshu is the son of the famous minister Lu Yijian, and he is also the most outstanding of his sons.

"How can you not know Lu Shouzhou?" Chen Ke hurriedly returned the salute and said: "After Brother Lu is famous, he has both ability and political integrity, and he is really a model for the younger brother." ”

"Don't pity each other first," Li Xian opened the sedan curtain and said with a smile: "Let's get on the sedan chair." ”

Chen Ke was about to push, but he heard Li Xian say: "This is the meaning of the official family." He had no choice but to nod, looked back at Hou Yi and Zhang Yu and said, "Time is tight and the task is heavy, let's go and get busy." ”

"Whoa." The two of them hugged their fists and sang, and were about to leave, but they heard Li Xian whisper: "Champion Yuangong, let's invite them to join us." As he spoke, he lowered his voice and said, "You can't leak the news." ”

Chen Ke had no choice but to remain silent, and looked at Liu Yue, who was silently accompanying him along the way, and said, "It seems that you can't go home either." ”

"Worry about yourself." Liu Yue'e glanced at him, without any intention of leaving. In fact, as long as she wants to leave, no one here can stop her.

"Yes, it's better to worry about myself," Chen Ke said with a wry smile on the corner of his mouth: "Get on the sedan chair." After speaking, he lowered his head and got into the sedan car. The sedan chair was immediately lifted, surrounded by a group of guards, and headed towards the South Smoke Gate.

The sun is still high in the fifth month of the lunar calendar, and the light reflected is still dazzling on the towering tower of Nanxun Gate. When I left Beijing, it was still spring in March, and it was already midsummer when I came back. Lifting the sedan curtain and looking at the bustling flow of people, Bianjing is still prosperous, but Chen Ke has a feeling of being in a different world.

Listening to the noise outside, Chen Ke's heart was cold...... As soon as I returned to Beijing, I was quarantined, and no rumors were allowed to leak, which is never a good sign!

Because, in a country with a good face like the Great Song Dynasty, if there is a foreign country offering land and attaching it, it will inevitably be widely publicized, lest the world will not know about it. Now he is hiding like a thief, obviously the officials and ministers, and they are still full of doubts about whether to accept the fat meat sent to their mouths.

However, this is also normal, after the failure of the Qingli New Deal, the imperial court and the top level of this country slowly but firmly slipped to follow the path and not want to forge ahead. All they thought about was how to maintain this leaky ship, and as for riding the wind and waves and making contributions, they couldn't even think of it.

Can you really convince these dwilight guys? The closer he was to the palace, the more bottomless Chen Ke's heart became.

With a full stomach, he and a few companions were sent straight into the palace to rest temporarily in a heavily guarded courtyard. ..., after Chen Ke washed his face and changed his clothes and came out to meet him, Lu Gongzhu told him about the current situation.

In fact, three days ago, the official family and the ministers had already received Chen Ke's report. But it can only be said that things are unfortunate, in the days when Chen Ke left Beijing, the situation in the northwest has become increasingly hot......

After the Battle of Quye River, the Song Dynasty banned mutual markets, which dealt a heavy blow to Western Xia. Xiangguo did not hide the favor and sent troops to attack the Yan Road, in a vain attempt to force the Song Dynasty to open the border. The Great Song Dynasty sent troops to the northwest to transport grain, and the war was about to break out.

For the Song Dynasty, the threat from the northwest and north was a major matter related to the survival of the country, and all other foreign matters could be postponed. Even if Dali has already burned his eyebrows.

However, the temptation of giving 4,000 miles of land is too great for the officials and the ministers to say no easily. What's more, there are also copper mines that can solve the financial crisis of the Great Song Dynasty, which they cannot refuse. In order to avoid passivity, the officials and ministers decided to wait for Chen Ke to discuss the matter secretly after entering Beijing, and then make a decision.

"That's exactly what happened." As a cultivator and a confidant of the Son of Heaven, Lu Gong's words naturally also represent the meaning of the official: "How to respond to Dali's request depends to a large extent on the correct performance of the coming day." The officials and ministers will only give you a chance to persuade them, and if they can't do it, Hugh will mention the matter of Dali again. ”

"I'll ask a little more," Chen Ke listened, thought for a while, and said, "Will the Northwest really fight?" ”

"This, most of the time, can't be fought." Lu Gongzhu pondered for a moment, and said truthfully: "Our spies brought back news from Western Xia that the sister who did not hide the favor and the Empress Dowager had been assassinated. The status of not hiding the favor is no longer as strong as before, and several major clans are not convinced of him. And there is also a very important point, it turned out that farming in the forbidden land of Quye River was not the decision of the Western Xia court, but the behavior of not hiding and spoiling individuals, and the income naturally belonged to the no collectors, and the Western Xia and other families could not get any benefits. But they were cut off from each other because of this, and naturally they were full of complaints about not hiding their pets, let alone expecting them to help him go to war. After a pause, he said: "I thought, the two sides have been deadlocked for a year and a half, and they still have to sit down and talk." ”——

Segmentation –

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