Chapter 157 Pingshu version of Dream of the Red Chamber (Please subscribe and play)

The court has troubles every day, but the bottom line is that there is not enough money.

Liangzhe Road, Jiangnan East Road, and Huainan East Road wanted to develop water conservancy projects and applied to the court for 500,000 taels of silver for water conservancy projects; Qinfeng Road wanted to repair its military equipment and applied to the court for 300,000 taels of silver for military weapons. There were countless other projects of this kind, big and small.

This is really annoying. The three yamen, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works are arguing in the court every day. One doesn't want to give more, and the other doesn't want to ask for less.

Each one is important, each one is related to people's livelihood, and none of them can be abandoned. Zhao Huan wishes he could split the money into two halves to spend.

"I abolished the annual tribute and closed the Yingfeng Bureau. I no longer hold birthday gifts or indulge in beautiful women. The expenses of the Bianjing Palace have been reduced to the lowest level in the 160-190 years of the Great Song Dynasty. Why is it still not enough?"

Zhao Huan was extremely curious. "Even with me like this, the court of the Song Dynasty still struggles to keep up, requiring constant careful planning. How did the retired emperor balance all these affairs during his reign, prioritizing what was important and what was not, to remain strong for so many years?"

"One is wealthy, the other is irresponsible. I'm heartbroken that you've suffered a disaster, but I have no money. This is all I have, so I'm giving it to you. You can do whatever you want."

“…”

"Stop arguing. We only have so much money. If you give it to one person, it's gone to another. Can't you think about how to increase revenue and reduce expenditure? You've been repairing the river every year, and it's flooding every year. How on earth are you repairing this river?"

Amidst a chaotic commotion, the court session ended. The military expenditure of 300,000 taels of silver had to be paid. In the Song-Jin War that had just ended, the soldiers of Qinfeng Road had been supporting the Western Front with their lives. If we don't provide pensions, repairs, and training after we win, what will we use to fight the Jin Kingdom again?

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Bianliang City, the second half of Bianhe Street.

On a sunny morning, Daiyufang opened amid the booming sound of firecrackers, and immediately attracted countless onlookers.

"Daiyufang..." A flamboyantly dressed scholar muttered the name, shaking his head. "That name doesn't sound like a legitimate business. Could it be a new brothel in Bianliang City? Let's go in and take a look."

"Let's go together!"

"Let's go together!"

There were more than one or two people who had this idea. Zhao Huan did not expect that the three words "Daiyufang" did not attract the sentimental young ladies, but instead attracted a group of scholars first.

When I got closer, I found that it was just a shop. Although it was a two-story building, the area was not very large, far from enough to qualify as a brothel.

"Alas, I came here with high hopes, but left disappointed. What a waste of such an evocative name."

"Hey, this calligraphy is wonderful!" A young scholar named Li Mingxuan accidentally saw the three words "Daiyufang" on the shop plaque and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Others looked up and saw the three words on the shop plaque. They looked very elegant and distinguished. Compared with other shops along the street, it stood out like a crane among chickens.

This aroused some curiosity among the already uninterested scholars, who walked in involuntarily.

Daiyufang naturally has to explain clearly who Daiyu is.

Sitting behind the screen was the storyteller that Zhao Huan had bought at a high price, the old man who could stir people's hearts with his fragments. At this moment, he was drinking tea in a chair, preparing for the next story.

The subject of the story was naturally "Dream of the Red Chamber". Zhao Huan had already made arrangements and would only talk about the moment Lin Daiyu appeared.

After that, only once a day will ignite the heat

Chapter 1: Zhen Shiyin recognizes the psychic Jia Yucun in a dream, and the worldly-wise Jia Yucun falls in love with the young lady.

Chapter 2: Madam Jia passes away and Leng Zixing gives a speech at Rongguo Mansion in Yangzhou City.

Chapter 3: Jia Yucun uses his connections to get his old job back, and Lin Daiyu leaves her father and goes to the capital.

Zhao Huan's heart skipped a beat. Someone had been poisoned by anthracite. Could it be that the coal here in Xishan wasn't so-called anthracite? Then he thought, it must have been caused by poor ventilation and excessive carbon monoxide. If the coal was burning and emitting billowing black smoke, Widow Liu wouldn't have used it to heat the house.

"Old man Li, have you ever seen coal burning? What does it look like when it burns?"

"Yes, I have. Oddly enough, this coal doesn't produce much smoke when it burns, but it does have a pungent smell that makes you want to vomit."

"It has a pungent smell that makes me want to vomit. It's probably because the sulfur content is a bit high. To desulfurize, the coal needs to be crushed and put into water. Gravity is used to select the coal according to its density, and some impurities are removed at the same time." Zhao Huan thought to himself that it was impossible to make money for free, and wealth had to be created through labor.

"If crushing and desulfurization are required, you can make briquettes directly afterwards. Mix coal and soil in a ratio of 2 to 1, then add 10 kilograms of the mixture to 1 kilogram of water, stir evenly, shape into briquettes, and dry in the sun."

"Old man Li, do you have any coal at home? Or is there a good place around here where there's more coal? Let's go dig some up. I want to experiment with something and see if it can be used."

"Young Master, please follow me. There's a lot of coal piled up by the river. A few years ago, the corvée officer ordered us to dig it up. He said it was for iron smelting. Later, they tried it but found the temperature wasn't high enough and it was toxic. So, they didn't use it anymore and just left it there. All the coal we dug out was piled up by the river."

"That's great, let's go check it out." Zhao Huan stood up, patted his butt, and said to Xiao Ah Si beside him, "Bring me a string of coins."

"Old man Li, take us around and tell us everything you know, and this coin will be yours."

"No, no, it's just a matter of walking a few steps and talking a few words. I dare not ask you for money."

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