On the 18th day of the twelfth lunar month, the Right Beiping sent news that the paper-making and printing equipment of Ji City had been secretly transported to the prefecture city to start production. The merchants of Youzhou were also gathering in Wuzhong. Zhang Xian, Zhang Liao, Guo Jia, and Jiang Yao would arrive at Xuantu before the end of the year.
Zhao Feng had brought a large amount of money with him when he came, and the prefecture had been able to carry out many tasks.
While everyone was busy arranging their work for the next year, Liu Heng focused on investigating the pottery shops in the city to understand the pottery craftsmanship at that time.
It was difficult to support the construction of three counties with only the profits generated by the paper and printing industries. Even if they fully supported the construction of one county, it would be difficult.
Therefore, he had to open up more sources of income. Considering the environment and development conditions at that time, the only luxury goods that could meet the requirements of low investment and high output could only attract the eyes of rich families. Among them, China's world-famous porcelain was the first choice.
The Eastern Han Dynasty's pottery craftsmanship had greatly improved compared to the previous dynasties, laying a solid foundation for the great development of ceramic craftsmanship after the Tang Dynasty.
Of course, his current skills were far from what Liu Heng had seen and learned in the past.
Therefore, improving the ceramic craftsmanship and creating exquisite porcelain on the basis of the Eastern Han Dynasty was a shortcut to greatly increase income in a short period of time.
After verifying it with his own memory, Liu Heng wrote down in detail the conditions, raw materials, etc. for firing exquisite and high-quality porcelain, as well as a few processing techniques that he had seen on television.
After the basic information was gathered, Liu Heng gathered the experienced potters in Xuantu County and chose a site in the mountains outside the city. There was a considerable amount of limestone and clay here, which was easy to mine and transport.
After completing a few preliminary plans for the kiln, the small-scale porcelain firing base was officially completed, and the trial production of porcelain began.
At the same time, another group of potters were sent to study the brick and cement. After Liu Heng explained the modern brick firing method, the cement production method, and the raw materials needed, they were allowed to experiment on their own.
After that, Liu Heng immediately led his men to Gao Xian in the northeast direction in search of iron ore.
The iron ore deposits here were easy to excavate, and the veins were long. It was an excellent iron ore base. Although the rich ore reserves were small, it was enough for early use.
Qin Feng was still closely monitoring the movements of the mountain bandits. After learning that Liu Heng had arrived at Gao Xian, he rushed back overnight to pay his respects.
After Liu Heng understood the situation in detail, he rewarded him and instructed him to continue monitoring the mountain bandits. At the same time, he transferred the county soldiers into the mountain to search for ores.
Qin Feng was very puzzled,[What ores are you looking for in this cold weather?] He didn't think too much about it and personally led his men into the mountain to search.
The fire burned high when everyone collected firewood. Within three days, several ores were discovered.
Liu Heng checked them one by one and used the method he learned in school to distinguish the quality of iron ore to grade them. He marked the high-quality iron ore seams that were buried shallowly in detail and waited for the excavation to start in the future.
After the iron ore was done, Liu Heng went south without stopping and found rich coal resources in the eastern part of Xuantu Prefecture.
This time, the mining work was relatively easy. The local people had long used this kind of black and bright stone, but the amount was not large, and because of traffic and communication reasons, it was not known to outsiders.
Following the directions of the local elders, Liu Heng found a few black stones in a forest.
The old man said," Reporting to the prefect. This is a black stone that can be burned. There are many more in the forest. I don't know where they came from." Every winter, the villagers would often pick them up and go home to keep warm.”
Liu Heng weighed the coal and smiled." Dig deeper. There must be more down there!"”
The old man found it strange." The villagers have also tried it, but they didn't see it even after digging a few feet deep. Perhaps this black stone can only be found by chance.”
Liu Heng threw the coal on the ground and said,""This is the place. A few feet wasn't deep enough. It had to be at least ten feet deep!”
Under the old man's bewildered gaze, more than ten soldiers began to dig with all their might. Soon, the frozen earth within a radius of two zhang was dug up. As the depth increased, the black soil layer gradually decreased. When it was about ten zhang, the black soil basically disappeared. When it went down another half zhang…everyone, including the old man, was so shocked that they could not close their mouths!
Black rocks indeed appeared at the bottom of the pit, but it was still mixed with black soil. When he dug down again, the bottom was almost all black rocks, and the black layer extended to an unknown place.
Looking at the black and shiny coal, Liu Heng understood that with good coal, steel could be refined, bricks and porcelain could be fired, and glass could also be fired.
After walking around the deep pit, Liu Heng ordered Wu An to deploy a hundred soldiers to guard the area. No one was allowed to mine the area without permission, and anyone who violated this rule would be imprisoned.
It was already the end of December when they returned to the county city. The land inspection was already in full swing, and the people who had gone to various places to recruit craftsmen had also set off one after another.
All the people in the county were preparing for the new year, buying meat and cloth. The streets were bustling with people.
The effect of tax reduction was reflected. Coupled with this year's bumper harvest, the people sold their grain and earned more money than in previous years. It was enough to buy new clothes for their families and a piece of meat on New Year's Eve. A smile was the true embodiment of happiness.
Walking on the street and looking at the happy crowd, Liu Heng felt a sense of accomplishment.
Suddenly, two familiar figures entered his sight. Liu Heng immediately dismounted and squeezed through the crowd to quietly come behind the two of them. He took off the scarf covering his mouth and nose and shouted,"When did you arrive?"
The two of them turned around at the same time and exclaimed,"Brother Liu!”
"Brother! Yao 'er misses you so much!" Jiang Yao threw herself into Liu Heng's arms while Guo Jia cupped his fists and bowed.
Liu Heng stroked Jiang Yao's hair and praised,""Yao 'Er has grown taller. Let me see…Hmm, she has become even more beautiful!”
As he spoke, he sized up Guo Jia." Brother Guo, you're much stronger. It seems like you're persistent in running. You're taller and more handsome. I'm afraid that the young lady of Xuantu Prefecture will be lovesick again!”
"They're far from meeting Jia's requirements. Besides, Big Brother often says,'I'm not a good person. A real man should put his career first, and talk about love later!”
Hearing this, Jiang Yao immediately retorted,"Liar, before leaving Ji City, he was with Miss Qian…Aiya, I can't say it!”
Liu Heng's interest was piqued. Guo Jia turned her head to the side and exclaimed,"What a beautiful hairpin! It would definitely look good on Yao 'er's head!”As he spoke, he ran over.
However, Jiang Yao was not moved at all. She quietly snuggled into Liu Heng's arms, causing the people around her to point and whisper.
Liu Hengke was shocked. He quickly covered his face with a scarf and pulled Jiang Yao to the prefecture.
It was not strange that Liu Heng did not think much of it. After all, he was from the modern world. However, Jiang Yao didn't care at all. It was surprising that she didn't care at all.
It was not until Liu Heng had left for a long time that someone suddenly shouted,"Eh? Why did that young man look so similar to the new prefect? Could they be brothers?"
"Something like that! "Otherwise, why would they be on the street…" The sound of discussion soon disappeared, leaving Guo Jia leaning against the wall in deep thought.
At this time, the prefecture was already extremely busy. Officials were promoted, the prefecture soldiers were added, and the officials were extremely busy.
Qiushou was in charge of handling all this. When he saw Liu Heng enter the house, he immediately stood up to welcome him." When did the lord enter the city?" Why didn't you inform us beforehand so that we could be prepared?”
Liu Heng smiled." You are all so busy. How can you burden me? It's good to enter the city quietly. You can understand the people better." What's the latest news in the past half month?"
"The state government has sent a notice to collect taxes the day before yesterday," Ju Shou said with a wry smile."It requires the counties to hand over all taxes before the end of January.
But now, the county government only had money to spend, and it was difficult! Also, although the workmanship of the pottery kiln in the mountains was good, it never met the lord's requirements. The colored glaze easily fell off. According to the old potter, it might be because the heat was not enough.
The first batch of bricks was being produced in the kiln, and they would be ready in a day or two. The cement was still being trial-produced, and the results were expected to be submitted in ten days.”
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。