The pungent smell makes people dizzy.
But Fu Xiaoguan was not dizzy at all. He walked to the edge of the black pool with shining eyes.
oil!
This is all oil!
Fu Xiaoguan was so excited that he even reached out his hand to dip some of the sticky oil into his nose and sniffed it carefully.
Jiang Shang looked at the young emperor in shock. He could hardly believe that the king of a country would actually run so far to see this thing.
It was even more difficult for him to imagine that the emperor was not at all shy about the foul smell, and had such close contact with it, and even touched it with his own hands.
Seeing the surprise on His Majesty's face, Jiang Shang was a little puzzled. Isn't it just some kind of burning kerosene? This thing has probably existed for thousands of years. The people of Siyang City know about it, but very few people use it. First, the smell is too strong, and when it burns, the black smoke billows, even blackening the house. So, in the end, they concluded that this thing is useless.
The only thing Jiang Shang could think of was to use this thing to burn the kiln, mainly because it was free and the cost would be reduced a lot.
Fu Xiaoguan stood up, took another look at the oil lake, and turned to Jia Nanxing. He said seriously, "Draft an imperial decree. First, order Chen Po to lead the Third Divine Sword Army here immediately. Second, order Qin Chengye to lead everyone from the Academy of Sciences and all research equipment here as well. Third, order the Ministry of Industry to recruit personnel immediately. Construction of the road network in the six prefectures of Beixiao must be accelerated. Send these three orders to me at an urgent distance of 800 miles!"
Jia Nanxing was stunned, and quickly agreed. He drafted three imperial edicts. Fu Xiaoguan stamped them with his personal seal and sent Ning Siyan on a fast horse to deliver them to Siyang City.
Jiang Shang looked at Fu Xiaoguan in astonishment. His Majesty attached so much importance to this thing. Could it be that it was not just kerosene?
Of course, it is not just as simple as kerosene, it is simply epoch-making!
Fu Xiaoguan patted Jiang Shang on the shoulder and said with a smile: "I will record a great merit for you."
Jiang Shang forgot to thank him and instead asked, "Your Majesty... could this kerosene have other uses?"
"Let me tell you, this stuff is called petroleum. It's usually found underground, and it's very difficult to mine with current scientific conditions. You'll know its true purpose later, so don't tell anyone. Let's go back to Siyang City."
oil?
What is this?
Jiang Shang didn't understand, and he didn't know why Fu Xiaoguan understood.
In Jiang Shang's eyes, the young emperor suddenly became taller.
His originally arrogant heart disappeared at this moment - he had heard many stories about His Majesty a long time ago, and originally thought that they were just legends, but now it seems that His Majesty is a legend!
It was obvious that His Majesty had never seen this thing before, but he recognized it at a glance.
How can this be explained?
Just like white salt, there was no white salt in this world originally, but since Your Majesty went to Chi Lechuan, white salt has appeared in this world.
So what will Your Majesty turn this oil into that will shock the world?
Jiang Shang was extremely looking forward to it.
Eunuch Jia obviously felt the same way. He knew that His Majesty had never seen oil, but he understood His Majesty's method of turning decay into magic, so he was not too surprised.
The three of them got on the carriage, and Eunuch Jia drove away from Heitan.
Jiang Shang and Fu Xiaoguan sat opposite each other in the carriage. They had been walking like this for three days when they came here, and their initial restraint had been reduced a lot. He had already known that His Majesty was an easy-going person.
"Jiang Shang, you will be the magistrate of Siyang County."
Fu Xiaoguan suddenly blurted out this sentence, which startled Jiang Shang. "I have never passed the imperial examination."
Fu Xiaoguan waved his hand. "After these days of conversation, I have come to understand you a little bit. Of course, there are formal channels for obtaining official titles, but the current situation is special. After returning to Siyang County, I will grant you the status of a Jinshi."
"Back in the Yu Dynasty, I was just a scholar, and Emperor Xuan granted me the same status as a Jinshi, which allowed me to embark on an official career."
This sudden drop of wealth made Jiang Shang feel a little dizzy, especially since His Majesty told him about his origins, which was obviously a sign of his respect for him and also a spur to him.
Jiang Shang felt the pressure on his shoulders increase greatly. He was silent for a few breaths before he bowed and replied, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"If you really want to thank me, then take care of Siyang County for me. I tell you, with this oil, Siyang County will rise quickly. But I hope you don't focus your energy on oil, but on the people's livelihood that you mentioned when you came here."
"Introduce rice seeds and sweet potatoes so that the people can grow crops and fill their stomachs. Then introduce the Xiangzhu No. 1 so that the people have surplus grain to raise pigs. Your Jiang family is an aristocratic family in Siyang County, and your family's profound heritage should not be kept to yourself."
"I estimate that the government-run schools in the three states should be built this year, but they are short of teachers. We can ask someone from your Jiang family to teach there."
Jiang Shang clasped his fists and bowed: "I will remember this."
Fu Xiaoguan turned his head and looked out the window. There was not much to highlight about the people's livelihood that Jiang Shang talked about, but he seemed to have a good understanding of it from his words. In his words, this understanding was for the purpose of participating in this year's autumn examination and for him to be able to govern reasonably in the future when he serves as an official.
Such officials are good at stability. With a pillar industry like oil, Siyang County does not need to seek change. As long as the basic problems of food, clothing, housing and transportation for the people of Siyang County can be solved, Siyang County will naturally develop.
Because a large number of people will move into this place soon.
If there are people who can leverage the market, the market will be prosperous, merchants will come, and the grain, pork, etc. produced by the people will have a channel to be sold.
Chen Po’s newly established Third Army will have a total of 100,000 soldiers stationed here. While training, they must also take good care of the oil field.
Thousands of people from the Academy of Sciences will carry out new scientific research on petroleum here.
This place is about to enter a large-scale construction phase, which will require a large number of workers. The nearby mineral deposits also need to be explored, and everything requires people.
"Sir Jiang, I will have the Ministry of Revenue allocate a special fund to Siyang County. This fund will be used in two areas. One is to expand Siyang City and build it to accommodate a population of 200,000."
Jiang Shang was shocked. "Your Majesty, Siyang County has only about 30,000 people now, and the population is still flowing out. Where did these 200,000 people come from?"
"It will come. It will probably be available in the second half of the year."
Jiang Shang didn't understand and thought the Divine Sword Army would be staying in the city. Then he heard Fu Xiaoguan say, "Secondly, count the number of farmers in Siyang County. After the autumn harvest, the county government will purchase rice seeds and sweet potatoes and distribute them to farmers next spring to encourage them to take good care of the crops."
"Siyang County is short of water. We need to find it underground. This is also the responsibility of the government. We need to hire professionals to dig wells to meet the irrigation needs."
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