Liu Tan took a deep breath and said, "Are there any craftsmen here who have worked in a paper workshop before?"
Miao Rui immediately said, "Yes, they are all waiting, but since His Highness has not given any orders, they have no choice but to sit idle."
Liu Tan immediately said, "Get the map, and then invite the prime minister over."
Huo Guang had already gone to do other things, but now that Liu Tan had summoned him, he had no choice but to come again.
As soon as Huo Guang came in, he asked, "Your Highness, have you come up with any solution?"
Liu Tan said, "Let's think about that slowly. I just had a new idea."
When Huo Guang saw Liu Tan take out the map, he couldn't help but feel nervous: "What does Your Highness want to do?"
Liu Tan's map had already marked the location of the previous copper discovery, and then also marked the location of the limestone discovery. He turned to look at Huo Guang and said, "I forgot to ask Wei Buyi where the coal was discovered."
Huo Guang helplessly stretched out his slender finger and pointed at the map: "Here."
Liu Tan immediately had it marked out, then drew a circle with his finger. He then roughly calculated based on the grid and said, "This area is about 75,000 mu, right?"
Seventy-five thousand mu is equivalent to about fifty square kilometers, which is not a small area.
Huo Guang nodded: "Your Highness wants to..."
Liu Tan said: "I want to build a special industrial zone around these points."
"Industry...industry?" Huo Guang heard a new word and a confused expression appeared on his face for a short time, but he quickly adjusted himself.
Liu Tan nodded and said, "You can also think of it as a place that serves as ancillary functions for these mining areas."
Huo Guang took a deep breath and said, "Your Highness, just tell me what you want to do."
Huo Guang was a little devastated at this moment. Although there were many things Liu Tan did in the past that he didn't quite understand, it would only take a while for him to figure out the trick. However, at this moment, he really didn't understand what Liu Tan meant for a long time.
Liu Tan explained, "So, whether it's mining coal, copper, limestone, or even clay, they all require a large area for storage and processing. Currently, all of this is done near the mine, but if the mine expands in the future, these areas will have to be moved. So, I simply want to establish a centralized functional area in these central points, covering warehouses, transportation, processing, and worker housing."
Huo Guang immediately retorted, "No."
Liu Tan was not unhappy at all. He just copied the concept of industrial zones from later generations and did not make any in-depth changes to localize it. He called Huo Guang over for this reason. If Huo Guang felt that something was inappropriate, he would just change it.
Liu Tan tilted his head and asked, "What's wrong?"
Huo Guang said, "I don't understand why Your Highness is doing this, but one thing is certain: it will increase various inconveniences. Your Highness wants to establish such an area in the center of these areas, which means it's not very close to any of the mines, making transportation extremely inconvenient."
Liu Tan laughed and said, "I thought you were talking about something like, have you forgotten how I asked them to transport it when we built the city in the Western Regions?"
Huo Guang said, "Tracks? But... the tracks are easily damaged, and I'm afraid it will be very troublesome."
Liu Tan waved his hand. "That was a temporary arrangement. This time, we'll have different tracks. However, the wheels will also change. Anyway, everything will change when the time comes. I plan to have the tracks and roads running parallel to each other, with tracks for cars and roads for people to walk on. Oh, you've been to Shiheyuan. What do you think of the roads there?"
Huo Guang was stunned for a moment. "Your Highness wants to... build this kind of road from all places in that area to the mine?"
Liu Tan nodded seriously. "Yes, this can actually improve efficiency because it makes it easier to transport goods from a centralized warehouse to other locations, and it also facilitates centralized management."
Huo Guang said cautiously, "This matter still requires long-term consideration and careful planning. Besides... Your Highness, shouldn't you be researching how to mine coal? And why don't you visit the capital?"
The capital is already so dilapidated, and you still want to build an industrial zone?
Liu Tan smiled awkwardly and said, "I suddenly remembered that we haven't built a paper mill yet. We're running out of paper. If we don't hurry up, there won't be enough for next year's summer exams. So when I was choosing a place, I suddenly wanted to gather everything together."
He paused and said, "Besides, the renovation of the capital city requires the use of the national treasury. These things... they are all mine."
Whether it's limestone, coal or even copper mines, they are all his. There is nothing wrong with him wanting to enclose some land to build an industrial zone for himself. He uses the palace's accounts and at most gives the national treasury some money to buy the land.
Even this little money is nothing, after all, it is just wasteland that cannot be cultivated.
Huo Guang was speechless for a moment. He had become accustomed to the fact that whatever Liu Tan did was all for the development of the Northern Territory. Now he remembered that these... were actually Liu Tan's private properties. They could not be regarded as the Northern Territory's property just because he was selfless.
In the land of the Han Dynasty, aren't there many cases where the royal palace is extravagant and other cities are dilapidated?
He rubbed his temples and said, "Then Your Highness should look for the Grand Tutor..."
Huo Guang suddenly stopped talking here. He was shocked to find that Liu Tan did not have a tutor!
You should know that the officials of the royal palace and the officials of the imperial court are two parallel lines. For example, Huo Guang ordered all officials to govern the northern border country, and Liu Tan should have a Taifu to assist the king in governing the royal palace, and a Lieutenant to be in charge of military officers.
However, Liu Tan did not think of any of these... It was as if the officials of the Northern Border Kingdom were his subordinates.
It’s a shame for the father... no, it’s a shame for the son because Liu Che didn’t even make any arrangements for Liu Tan, and let Huo Guang and others do this part-time job!
Huo Guang was in a state of panic. He looked at Liu Tan deeply and said, "I will immediately write to His Majesty and ask him to assign you an official!"
Liu Tan didn't object. Since arriving in the Northern Border Kingdom, he had been involved in too many things. Every time, he had to find a solution with Huo Guang. In less than two months, Huo Guang had lost a lot of weight. Not to mention him, no one else dared to gain weight - except Sang Qian.
Although this person has a little psychological pressure, he eats well and sleeps well, and maintains his weight.
The only two people left, Li Buyan and Wei Buyi, often ran outside. They were so tanned from the wind and sun that they were unsightly.
Although Jiang Chong didn't have to be caught by Liu Tan to find a solution or run away, the problem was that he hadn't finished reading or copying all the files!
Because it has now become the Northern Kingdom, all criminal files from various counties must be collected and archived here, which also makes it convenient for him to obtain some basic information.
As a result, Jiang Chong became much thinner due to exhaustion.
It’s okay to have more people come to share some of the burden.
Before leaving, Huo Guang said, "Your Highness, please do as you wish."
Liu is talking about his own money, so he can do whatever he wants with it. He really has a mine at home!
Liu Tan extended his hand: "Wait...wait, I need someone to help me with the planning!"
An industrial zone is basically equivalent to a small city, so naturally it needs dedicated people to plan it. And because production and life are all there, many living facilities are also planned, such as commercial areas, living areas, and sewage treatment.
Liu Tan felt overwhelmed when he thought about it. How could he understand this?
Huo Guang's voice came from a distance: "I will find one for Your Highness!"
Liu Tan scratched his chin and didn't dare to bother Huo Guang anymore. He simply put the matter aside and continued to study the coal mine.
Alas, emerging things are not good. In the past, gold mines, copper mines and the like could be thrown to subordinates after discovery, but he had to mine the coal himself.
Well, he just wrote about determining the depth of the coal seam. After determining the depth, the next step is to dig a vertical shaft. This is the shaft that people usually refer to as going down the shaft to dig coal.
The setting of the well also requires care. It cannot be set up anywhere. It must not be easy to collapse. And according to the special terrain of Shuofang, it is also necessary to avoid sand and groundwater. If groundwater cannot be completely avoided, a place with small water flow must be chosen.
Then the well must be worked on. Well, I don’t know what happened to the batch of bricks I made before. If they can be used, they can be used.
After the well is drilled, the well tunnels are arranged in time. The well tunnels basically divide the entire mining area into small ponds. The ponds need to be connected to the main transport tunnels, and there must also be connecting tunnels between each other.
Then, in order to prevent collapse, there must be trapezoidal supports inside the tunnel and the pond, and horizontal supports are also required if the coal seam is inclined.
After these are completed, ventilation and drainage facilities can be installed.
As for ventilation, Liu Tan thought about it and felt that a windmill was the most suitable option, especially in the Gobi Desert where there was a lot of wind and sand. If the wind tube and windmill were well set up, it would reduce the need for manpower to crank the windmill. Of course, manpower would still be needed when there was no wind.
Drainage cannot rely on manpower. If we really rely on manpower, how many people will be needed? There are few people in Shuofang!
Liu Tan wrote and drew on paper, and finally chose a winch. To put it simply, it is a bearing with two tracks, and then wooden barrels and other water-holding utensils are hung on the tracks. The people below put water into the wooden barrels and hang them on the winch, and then the people above operate the winch to transport the water to the surface for discharge.
This is the best solution Liu Tan can think of. Apart from this, he has no other good solution for the time being.
As for the rest, he decided to leave it to the intelligent working people.
After all, he had never mined before, and he had no way of predicting the problems that might arise during the mining process, so he could only leave it to the front-line personnel to deal with, and come back to him if they couldn't handle it.
After Liu Tan finished writing, he hesitated for a moment and asked someone to hand it to Wei Buzhi.
Originally, he wanted to give it to Huo Guang, but when he thought about how Huo Guang's clothes were already a little too big for him, he felt reluctant.
After two days of research, Wei Buyi couldn't help but come to ask Liu Tan, "Your Highness, what is a Panche?"
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