The first light snow fell in Chang'an in November.

A young man wrapped his clothes tightly and walked into the gate of Taixue to watch a cold wind whirl, rolling up a little snow on the ground.

This sight made him hesitate for a moment, and chose to take the corridor instead to avoid the wind and snow.

Now Taixue is no longer like Xuande Gong's first visit to Chang'an.

Craftsmen, students, and people who came to inquire about any new farming or cold protection methods during the slack time crowded this renovated Taixue to the brim.

The young people walked through it, looking at those who didn't care about the snow around them, and talked freely in the cold wind—most of them were locals in Yongliang Pass.

On the other side of the equation were another group of people, who were curious to catch the snow in the corridor, or walking around the yard listening to the creaking of the soles of their shoes compacting the thin snow—most of them were from Yizhou like him.

But...... According to a friend I met in Guanzhong, by December, the snow would be several times heavier, and I don't know what kind of scenery it would be.

And I don't know how many briquettes Chang'an can store before this heavy snow falls?

There were all kinds of calculations in his head, and his feet kept passing through two corridors, and finally turned into a side hall, and the cold wind was cut off from the outside.

But the dim interior made him frown slightly, and after putting down the letter in his hand, the first thing he did was to trim the wick, and the darkness of the room was dispelled in an instant.

The change in lighting also made Lu Su, who was focusing on the deduction of the calculations in his hand, wake up, and said with a smile when he looked up:

"Fox Du, you came just in time, help me see this idea of solving the same cage of chickens and rabbits, is it right?"

Fox Du looked back and smiled:

"Dr. Lu, this arithmetic problem is not profound, and now it is supplemented by a bead-piercing abacus, how can it be wrong?"

"Oh yes, a certain father is in charge, and he has restored the surname of Ma for me, and he has taken the loyal name, so as to not forget the kindness of Xuande Gong, and the word Dexin is the foundation of his life."

Speaking of foxes... Ma Zhong put the letter he brought in front of Lu Su:

"Dr. Lu, Shangjun replied to the letter, it should be that there is finally news about the matter that I inquired about half a year ago."

Lu Su was overjoyed, and said while opening the letter:

"Ma Zhong and Ma Dexin, it's a good name and a good word, your father is worried about it, it should be for the sake of the imperial examination."

Ma Zhong nodded and confirmed:

"Participating in the imperial examination is a certain wish and a father's wish, if it is used by the Xuande Public, it will be quite troublesome to change the name at that time, so take advantage of this time to change the name."

Lu Su knew it, but he always felt that this name seemed to be said by Pang Tong......

With a shake of his hand, he unfolded the letter paper he had taken out, and sighed softly as he studied it by the light:

"If there were electric lights...... Wait..."

"The mountain fruit of Qiqi County produces coal!"

"Shangjun is also known as the open-pit coal in its land for ten miles, and it is all available?"

Ma Zhong was still thinking about what Dr. Lu meant by the electric light, when he was startled by the sudden rise in his voice.

Dr. Lu's face in front of him was ecstatic, and he did not have the graceful attitude of the Jiangzuo gentleman in the past.

Ma Zhong can also understand this.

Nowadays, most of the briquettes used in Chang'an are made in Hanzhongyun in Jiangzhou, and the other part is scattered in Yongliang, Hanzhong.

This substance was used in Yizhou to light fires, or smelt iron, or boil sugar, or boil pulp.

After the victory of Xuande Gong as an armament in the Weihe Valley, the use of briquettes to ward off the cold has never been more prominent.

As far as Ma Zhong knew, after Xuande Gong entered Chang'an, he had been sending people to find a place to produce coal in Guanzhong.

According to Mr. Zhuge said, before Dong Zhuo coerced the Son of Heaven to move west to Chang'an, Luoyang's Shaofu officials used coal, but those were all produced in Shanyang and other places, and Guanzhong could not count on it.

"Where is the county?" Ma Zhong was curious.

Lu Su looked excited:

"It's only one hundred and fifty miles north of Chang'an!"

So Ma Zhong also became happy with him, and one hundred and fifty miles means that only after this winter, Chang'an's coal will be enough to be self-sufficient from next year.

This Chang'an can also be as prosperous as Chengdu?

"What about Kami-gun...?" Ma Zhong asked.

Lu Su said with a happy look on his face:

"It takes a thousand miles to go north from Chang'an."

That is to say, I can't count on it for the time being, or I can leave it to my children and grandchildren.

Lu Su groaned and said:

"Tired of Dexin."

"Send this letter to the Zhuge Army."

Ma Zhong took the order and left.

Although he was not crowned, he was active and came from Chengdu Xiaotaixue, and he was also from the disciple of Mr. Kong Ming, and his family was poor, so he took advantage of the shortage of manpower in Chang'an to ask for a livelihood, and now he is quite valued by Lu Su.

As for the exploration of this coal, it is because Taixue also followed it earlier, so now there will be a reply to tell you.

A wisp of cold wind slipped in through the crack in the door when Ma Zhong left, and collided with the lights in a panic, causing a burst of light and shadow to sway, making Lu Su stunned for a moment.

I still remember that at this time last year, he was still anxious because of Sun Hou's sudden treacherous behavior.

Now that the end of the year is approaching, what I think in my heart is very different from the past 40 years.

As for the affairs of Jiangdong, they have long been unable to take care of it.

The first official imperial examination in the Han Dynasty in 400 years will be officially carried out by his hands.

Xuande Gong hoped that this system would be used as a powerful response to Cao Thief's recruitment order.

Kong Ming hoped to test the sword with the imperial examination, suppress the pride and strengthen the cold, and try a method that was completely different from the history of later generations.

As for himself...... Lu Su shook his head and laughed in his heart that he was thinking too much.

He stretched and re-picked the wick to adjust the brightness.

Holding the sutra in one hand, the abacus in the other, and the annotation of the sutra given by Kong Ming next to him, Lu Su was once again immersed in a state of learning.

Since July, Lu Su has almost always been in a state of making up for evil.

Particular attention was paid to arithmetic, which was revered as the king of science by later generations.

For example, although there are very few people who mainly study arithmetic today, whether it is Xuande Gong, Kong Ming or he Lu Su, they are all determined to open arithmetic.

In this case, how to formulate the test questions has become a problem, but fortunately, Lu Su has gradually gained eyebrows.

Ma Zhong carried the letter returned by Dr. Lu and walked through several corridors to the east side of Taixue, which was guarded by guards and difficult for ordinary students to approach.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, Ma Zhong saw a strange-shaped lantern slowly floating up from the courtyard in front of him, rising into the air without any dragging, and it continued to rise.

Ma Zhong could hear the discussion in the courtyard next to him, and he was so surprised that even the guards who had just verified their talismans couldn't help but stop and take a few more looks.

However, Ma Zhong still remembers what Mr. Kong Ming said before, distinguishing things, analyzing their reasoning, and following the reasoning can be touched.

Therefore, he instantly pressed the conjecture related to gods and ghosts in his heart, but wondered what the principle of this thing was?

Entering the courtyard in front, it was not surprising to see Mr. Kong Ming standing there with his hands in his hands, and Mr. Pang Tong next to him raised his head to look at the strange lanterns flying farther and farther in the sky.

Mr. Kong Ming is easy-going by nature, so Ma Zhong asked directly because he was curious:

"Sir, what is the principle of this Kong Ming lantern?"

What puzzled Ma Zhong was that a simple question made the two gentlemen look different.

Mr. Kong Ming's face was helpless, and Mr. Pang smiled narrowly:

"How did Hu Du think that this lamp was called Kong Ming Lantern?"

Ma Zhong looked at Pang Tong and said:

"Since it is made by Mr. Kong Ming, it is naturally called Kong Ming Lantern."

Pang Tong's smiling face suddenly stiffened, and he flicked his sleeves and was slightly angry:

Why do you think you can't make a certain system?

Ma Zhong didn't care so much, even though he explained the name change to the two of them.

Kong Ming's face softened a lot, and he also said something of encouragement.

However, in the face of Ma Zhong's inquiry about how the "Kong Ming lantern" was lifted into the sky, Kong Ming also said that he did not know the specifics, and could only talk about thermodynamics, which only knew the name.

After a pause in chatting, seeing that the strange lantern that had already flown into the sky was blown over by a gust of wind, and he didn't know where it fell, Ma Zhongfang remembered:

"Sir, Dr. Lu sent me ......"

"But the news of coal coming out of the mountains in Qiqi County?"

Kong Ming nodded and said:

"Xuande Gong is also aware of this matter, and from February next year, the matter of the Qiyi Coal Plant will be discussed."

Ma Zhong blinked, indicating that he would go back immediately and tell Dr. Lu that he didn't have to worry.

Seeing this young man who had not yet been crowned leave, Pang Tong said quietly:

"This is Ma Zhong, who is ranked among the fourteenth ministers?"

Kong Ming nodded, and a smile resurfaced on his face:

"Look at his origin, compare his age, and then look at his talent, most of them are real Ma Zhongya, and this son will definitely be able to stand out in the imperial examination."

"I wonder what will happen when this son meets Xuande Gong?"

The smile on Pang Tong's face was quite happy:

"It's going to be breathtaking, and I can't wait to see it with my own eyes at this time."

It is no secret that Xuande Gong's good materials are lacking.

The casual words of the younger generations may contain the essence of seeing the subtleties.

Therefore, Kong Ming and others will choose to hold the light curtain to read it again in their spare time, to observe its subtleties, or to seek the name of talents, or to find subtle words.

As a result, it was not a trivial matter that was dug up in the first place, but Ma Zhongqi.

According to what later generations said, he was able to make Xuande Gong praise his talents, he could assist Zhuge Liang in managing Nanzhong, and he participated in the decision of national policies alone, and he was determined by internal and external troubles, and finally became famous.

But what about Ma Zhong from Jiangdong?

Transferred to Nanzhong to attack bravely, supported the Nanjun Formation to kill Pan Zhang, outstanding in martial arts, and in terms of literary talent......

Xuande Gong once ordered him to write an article, but he held back six words in seven days, and there were five typos, no matter how you look at it, it is difficult to get along with Xian.

And it was also recorded in later generations that after General Yun Chang defeated Maicheng, the military general who captured and killed his father and son was also named Ma Zhong, and at that time Kong Ming and Pang Tong had speculation that it might be the same name.

Now this speculation has been completely confirmed.

Kong Ming didn't comment too much on Pang Tong's expression, because he didn't plan to inform Xuan Degong about it.

Let's look at this sub-imperial examination to become famous!

The two stood in the fine snow, put aside Ma Zhong's interesting story for the time being, and began to discuss how to improve the use of coal from Qiqi County.

At this time, the two of them couldn't help but start envious of the "Second Phoenix Majesty".

The millennium climate change map clearly shows that they are diametrically opposed to the early Tang Dynasty at this time.

The Tang Dynasty was warm enough to plant rice in Zhuozhou, and in a few years in this troubled era, I am afraid that the rice planted in Jiangdong will have little harvest.

As the cold days get longer, if you want to avoid resisting the southward movement of the Hu people, you must first solve the problem of heating the soldiers and the people, that is, the use of coal.

"Chang'an to Qiqi is only one hundred and fifty miles, and the road between the two places can be repaired, paved with cement, supplemented by rail transportation, how about taking this as the lifeblood of Chang'an?"

"Yes."

"As for the ...... of the Upper Counties"

Pang Tong was also a little hesitant when he said this, after all, this place is thousands of miles away from Chang'an, and this distance is not at all solved by cement or rails:

"At this time, it is too early to talk about taking the mines of Shangjun, we must first take Hedong, restore Taiyuan and Xihe two counties, so as to look north to Dingxiangyunzhong, or to restore the town of Fangwuyuan......"

Talking and talking, Pang Tong himself felt that he couldn't go on.

If you are familiar with the history of the former Han Dynasty, you will not be unfamiliar with Shangjun, because to the north of this county are the famous Shuofang County and Wuyuan County.

These two counties were placed by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, intending to lock the Hetao firmly to the Han Dynasty, but the two places were too far away from the Han land, and finally dragged Emperor Wu down, and the guard of the Hetao did not reach the state that Emperor Wu envisioned at that time.

The reason why the two counties spend a lot of financial resources is also very simple, although this place is located in the north of Chang'an, but there are mountains to block, so you need to go around the east of the river, and pass through Yanmen Dingxiang to get around.

But fortunately, Emperor Wu's efforts were not completely fruitless, at least the Han'er here were indeed very capable of fighting, such as Lu Bu and Zhang Liao......

Pang Tong thought a lot for a moment, but in the end, all that responded to him was Kong Ming's simple word:

"Goodness".

Looking at Pang Tong's surprised expression, Kong Ming said softly:

"According to the reply, the coal mines in Shangjun are innumerable, if the Cao thief can be destroyed and Emperor Wu can be restored, then the coal of Shangjun can be transported to Hedong nearby, and then Hebei will not be attacked by the severe cold."

Pang Tong nodded, this is also a truth, but he also understands in his heart that Kong Ming is easy to say, but in the end, I am afraid that the final implementation will require countless plans, and finally hook up a huge plan to break the chaotic world against the climate.

But isn't that what they want to do?

At this moment, a shout came from the next room:

"Steamed garlic, distillation, and done!"

Kong Ming Pang Tong's spirits lifted and he hurriedly greeted him.

Ma Zhong saw that the Kong Ming lantern released by the two of them was actually a convenient thing to do when he was bored and waiting.

And the real purpose is to get a glimpse of what the magic effect of allicin is.

Previously, he communicated with the Shaofu of Na Tang on the light curtain, and although the other party did not know the specific method of distillation, he still put forward a lot of useful insights.

In the end, Kong Ming, Pang Tong and Zhang Zhongjing worked tirelessly for a day and a night before they drafted a rudimentary distillation device.

Then the craftsmen were asked to burn according to the drawings until yesterday, and the distillation device was finally made.

Then the two of them rushed here early in the morning, and what they saw was Doctor Zhang, who had already been busy with his disciples.

When they couldn't get their hands on it, the two simply tied up a Kong Ming lantern on the spot, and by the way, they exchanged about the next major events.

Fortunately, by this time, there was finally a result.

Zhang Zhongjing, who pushed the door out, couldn't hide the tiredness on his face at all.

But the old doctor had no time to care, and carefully raised a transparent glass bottle in his hand, his eyes staring at the pale yellow object inside, dizzy.

"The medicine of the afterlife will eventually come to fruition."

(End of chapter)