When the court session ended, Li Qiji directly received the guard who had brought the asphalt sample in the Imperial Study.
When the guard handed a large, dark bag of stuff to Li Qiji, Li Qiji was still dumbfounded. So it really was the asphalt that Guan Zhiyue had mentioned!
This world is simply amazing. They never knew that these things were gifts from nature and could be used in such a way.
"Is this what you brought back from the north?" Li Qiji asked.
The guard knelt down and respectfully reported, "Yes, Your Majesty, and there are many more over there, still emerging continuously from underground."
"We don't know if this is what Her Majesty the Empress is looking for, so I brought back a small sample for Her Majesty to examine!" the guard said respectfully.
Li Qiji said with great satisfaction, "You may go and rest now. I will go and find the Empress."
At this moment, Guan Zhiyue was sitting in the courtyard, fanning herself with a banana leaf fan. It was so hot that even with two ice basins next to her, she still felt hot and uncomfortable!
"Ah, I miss my air conditioner so much! And chilled watermelon! It was just so refreshing!"
I want air conditioning!
I want chilled watermelon!
"I want an ice cream!"
"Oh my god! It's so hot!!!"
Guan Zhiyue looked up to the sky and sighed, "This is simply not a life for a human being!"
As Li Qiji led Hua Quan into the backyard, they heard Guan Zhiyue lying on a rattan chair with her eyes closed, shouting something. Hua Quan didn't understand what it was, but Li Qiji knew it perfectly well.
He had witnessed firsthand what chilled watermelon, air conditioning, and popsicles were in Guan Zhiyue's space, and just thinking about them made him feel a chill.
He rushed over from the Imperial Study, his clothes already soaked through. It was just too hot; the weather was unbearable.
"Yue'er, do you think this is natural asphalt?" Li Qiji walked to Guan Zhiyue's side and gestured for Hua Quan to present the contents of the tray to Guan Zhiyue.
Guan Zhiyue was startled awake by the sudden sound. She opened her eyes and saw Li Qiji, covered in sweat, squatting next to the ice basin beside her.
He was fanning himself with his hand, blowing cool air onto his body!
"Why didn't you take a sedan chair? It's so hot, did you come all this way?" Guan Zhiyue asked with concern.
Li Qiji smiled and said, "I just wanted you to see it as soon as possible, to see if it's this thing."
Guan Zhiyue was speechless, but she didn't say anything. She then looked at the tray that Hua Quan was holding, reached out and examined it, and smelled it to confirm that this was the thing.
He then laughed, "It seems that the official road of our Nanding Kingdom is destined to be wide and flat. That's right, this is natural asphalt!"
"Your Majesty, issue the decree! The sooner the construction begins, the better. Let's start construction right from where the asphalt was discovered!"
“When the official road is smooth, transporting asphalt from the north will be several times faster, which is quite good.” Guan Zhiyue excitedly stood up from the rattan chair and looked at Li Qiji, who was squatting next to the ice basin.
Li Qiji was also very excited after hearing Guan Zhiyue's words, after all, this was a unique honor that no other country had!
"Really? So this is what they call asphalt?" Li Qiji asked again, still unsure.
Guan Zhiyue nodded patiently and said, "Yes, this is asphalt. Our Nanding Kingdom aims to become the number one power in the world."
"Hua Quan, convey my decree: have the cavalry and guards of the cavalry battalion first go north and cordon off all the areas where asphalt has been discovered. Also, notify the officials of the Ministry of Personnel to send some people to the north to build a smooth asphalt road."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I'll go right away!" Hua Quan was also very excited. He had heard his emperor talking about this matter since returning from the disaster relief efforts in Sihuangzhou. Now that it had finally been resolved, he was naturally very happy.
After they establish their southern kingdom, things will change drastically, and other countries will only be able to look up to them.
Seeing that Hua Quan had left and there was no one else in the courtyard, Li Qiji took advantage of Guan Zhiyue's inattention and kissed her hard on the cheek. He was overjoyed.
"What! It's so annoying!" Guan Zhiyue said coquettishly.
Li Qiji chuckled and said, "What can I do? Of course, I'll kiss my wife. I'm so happy. If you hadn't forbidden me, I would have hugged you and spun you around in circles."
Guan Zhiyue was speechless. Was there really such a reason to be so happy? It was just about to start building a smooth official road, wasn't it?
"Your Majesty, are we really going to start building this smooth official road right away?" Li Qiji asked Guan Zhiyue.
Guan Zhiyue rolled her eyes at Li Qiji, then laughed at his spineless look, "What else can we do! We've discovered natural asphalt, why wouldn't we use it for the New Year!"
Judging by the time, her second crop of rice will be ready for harvest soon, and the corn, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and other crops will also be ready for harvest one after another. Another year is about to come to an end.
"Now that our asphalt road is in place, let's also quickly come up with a plan for the establishment of the medical institute and some technical colleges that I mentioned last time!"
Li Qiji has now tasted the sweetness of success. Whatever Guan Zhiyue says is like a royal decree, and of course he will accept it without question. Whatever she says goes.
However, what Guan Zhiyue said were all good things that would benefit the country and the people. He would overcome all difficulties to make those things a reality. He just didn't know how long it would take to achieve them.
"Yes, Your Majesty, you are right!"
Hearing Li Qiji suddenly say such a thing, Guan Zhiyue turned her head to look at him, thinking he had gone mad. "Did you take the wrong medicine?"
"No way! I'm just happy!"
Rosamund Kwan: .....
The two re-analyzed the next steps again, looking for anything they hadn't considered. Suddenly, Li Qiji remembered that the construction of the official road had begun.
That would be another huge expense. Where would he get the money? The construction of water conservancy projects has already cost a lot of money.
"My wife, the national treasury is now empty..."
"And then?" Guan Zhi asked.
Li Qiji suddenly became very obsequious, standing up from his squatting position and walking behind Guan Zhiyue. He then began to massage her, saying, "Wife, you're so good at making money, can you help your husband out?"
"Look at my national treasury, it's empty. We're spending more than we earn, and I'm almost in debt. I'm heavily indebted. In another month, I don't think I'll even be able to pay the ministers' salaries," Li Qiji said, sounding aggrieved.
Guan Zhiyue's lips twitched uncontrollably after hearing Li Qiji's words!
What kind of emperor is he? It's like he's living in a prison. He just throws things around and everyone envies him for living in a big villa and eating delicacies. But he's just an empty shell!
“Bringing you along is not out of the question, but we need to take it step by step! Besides, we also need to open our doors to the world and let our products go out so that we can make money.”
"Especially glass products, and our restaurants! We should learn from other countries, open our doors to foreign businesses, and they will become richer themselves."
Li Qiji listened to Guan Zhiyue's words. Although he didn't quite understand, he could tell that he could make money by doing this!
"Alright, my wife, whatever you say, I'll do it!" Li Qiji massaged Guan Zhiyue's shoulders and legs even more vigorously, acting like a born lackey.
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