Chapter 3513: Extra Chapter 45
When he returned to Beijing this time, Bai Shan presented the map he had drawn to the emperor. The emperor stared at the map in his hand in silence, especially when he saw the places with triangular symbols, he became even more silent.
Bai Shan said: "Although it's not 100% accurate, it's still 70% accurate. If nothing unexpected happens, these places should be silver mines."
The emperor pointed to the other two symbols and asked, "What about these two?"
Bai Shan took a look and said, "It's copper and iron mines."
The emperor's heart began to stir. He looked at Bai Shan and asked, "When did you start researching minerals?"
Bai Shan said, "After digging up a lot of flowers and plants, I began to understand the differences in soil quality, and then I figured out the differences in rock and mineral resources."
Bullshit, can farmers who farm every day find minerals?
In fact, Bai Shan read more and more diverse books after his retirement. Zhou Man had channels to get books, and occasionally he would take out a book that contained text describing gold mines and even various methods of smelting gold.
Bai Shan was curious and started looking for gold mines based on the description in the book. After all, who doesn’t like gold?
The couple once fantasized about finding a large gold mine in the wild, especially an exposed gold mine with a particularly high gold content, and then taking the gold mine home to refine it themselves...
Unfortunately, they didn't find any gold mines in the end. However, Bai Shan read more and more books and finally found many silver and copper mines.
The Jin Dynasty was short of gold and silver, especially silver, which was extremely scarce. This led to merchants basically using copper coins for transactions. However, copper coins were heavy and difficult to carry, and their purchasing power outside was far less than that of silk and brocade, but these coins were also easily damaged.
If it gets damp accidentally, its value will be greatly reduced.
Therefore, the most stable currency in the world is still gold and silver.
In recent years, due to the rapid development of Dajin's trade, the mining of gold and silver has also improved a lot, but the domestic supply of gold and silver is still far from meeting the demand, which makes gold and silver more expensive.
In the long run, this is not a good thing.
If we can find a large amount of silver mines...even if they are overseas, it would be worth a try.
The emperor pondered for a moment, "I remember that last year the Queen of Silla petitioned us to send troops to jointly attack Baekje and Japan?"
Bai Shan said nothing.
This year he stayed away from court affairs and was unaware of the situation in the court.
The Hanlin who was walking before the Emperor immediately said, "Your Majesty, this spring the Japanese nation presented tribute and requested to reconcile with our Great Jin. Please grant the name Japan."
So have you forgotten? Now we have no excuse to attack them.
The emperor is busy with state affairs, how could he remember such a trivial matter?
But as soon as Hanlin mentioned it, he remembered it and felt a little regretful. He accepted the application too quickly, and if he regretted it now, he would be afraid of losing the demeanor of a great country.
The emperor sighed and glanced regretfully at the location of Japan on the map. His gaze fixed on Baekje. "Is Baekje still obstructing Silla's visit?"
The Hanlin bowed and replied, "Yes, Baekje and Silla clashed from time to time. To prevent Silla from seeking aid from our dynasty, Baekje would sometimes intercept our merchant ships. Governor Guo reprimanded Baekje for this many times."
The emperor nodded and pointed at Baekje, saying, "Tell Qingzhou and Andong Protectorate to contact Silla. If Baekje does not repent, help Silla to take over Baekje."
How could the Hanlin dare to agree? As Hanlin, they could participate in politics and give suggestions, but at most they could act as consultants, and the decision had to be discussed by the three provinces together.
As expected, Bai Shan reminded him, "Your Majesty, why don't you invite the gentlemen to come and discuss this? And..."
His eyes fixed on the map of Japan. "The Japanese are driven by profit. When I was traveling in Japan, I once expressed my admiration for its scenery and wanted to buy some land there for my retirement, or to develop it into a business to attract customers. The Japanese generals were delighted and competed to offer me land."
The emperor raised his eyebrows and asked, "Did you accept it, my dear?"
Bai Shan shook his head. "I don't plan to visit Japan often, so I've declined for now. However, if Your Majesty is interested, I can recommend a few people to you."
Of course not with their real identities, otherwise even if Japan does not know their purpose, it will know that their purpose is not pure.
Bai Shan and his friends did not use their real identities on this trip abroad.
The emperor looked at the map and various markings in his hand, and finally stopped accusing them of secretly taking the princess out of the country. Instead, he looked at Bai Shan and asked, "Why don't you come back and lend me a hand?"
Bai Shan's face immediately turned sad. "Your Majesty, I have been traveling for three years and my health is not as good as before. In addition, I have been carefree and relaxed in recent years, so I am afraid it will be difficult for me to be as self-disciplined as before. Your Majesty is very kind and has brought in many talented people in recent years, all of whom are more talented than me..."
Anyway, the main idea is that he doesn't want to come back to work.
The emperor was very moved the moment he proposed it. In recent years, the relationship between the monarch and his subjects has eased. He remembered the time when the monarch and his subjects got along well with each other, and forgot the hatred from their previous differences. He just felt that it was not bad for Bai Shan to come back.
But after proposing it, he felt a little regretful, so after Bai Shan refused, he felt both regretful and relieved. The emperor himself did not expect that one day he would be able to experience such complex emotions.
There is a carrot squatting in each position in the court. If he returns to the court, which carrot will make room for him?
Isn’t that harming people?
He has already been the prime minister, and a prime minister for quite some time. His ambitions have been fulfilled, so why would he come out and make others hate him?
Moreover, his two children are now officials. If he, as a father, runs away, won’t he be a hindrance to them?
He is not a fierce father, so he would not do such a thing that would harm others and himself, and would also make him suffer from his hard work.
So after speaking his heart out to the emperor and presenting his gifts, he went home, closed the door, and rested.
Spread the news to people outside that he had just returned from overseas, was exhausted from the long journey, and had fallen ill due to unfamiliar climate.
Those in the court who heard that the emperor wanted him to take up an official position felt relieved after they had tensed up. They probably guessed that Bai Shan would not take up an official position again, so they felt relieved and were no longer anxious when they saw that the emperor had rewarded the princess's mansion with many good things.
Zhou Manren was sitting at home, and gifts fell from the sky, and he was very happy to receive them.
She sent the medical books and herbal medicine books she had compiled over the past few years to the Imperial Medical Bureau. "After copying and checking, send a copy to the Chongwenguan and a copy to the bookstore. Remember to return the original manuscript to me when they are printed."
Doctor Zheng recognized Zhou Man's handwriting and agreed. He sighed and said, "Master Zhou, I'm afraid all the doctors in the world will be your disciples in the future."
With her unreserved skills and output, who among the doctors in the world can compare with her?
Zhou Man urged him, "The Zheng family is certainly an option. I heard that the Zheng family has your own collection of medical records and prescriptions..."
Doctor Zheng: ...He knew that she was still thinking about those things in his family.
Doctor Zheng said, "No more. You've spent most of it over the years. What's left are some secret recipes for finished medicines. They're life-saving treasures for our Zheng family, so I can't give them to you."
Zhou Man certainly wouldn't ask for secret recipes; that was the foundation of a person's life. He nodded and said, "We'll discuss medical skills later. During my recent trip to the sea, I encountered several rare illnesses, some curable and some incurable. I've written down the medical records..."
(End of this chapter)
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