Hua Shuyang did not lie. Zhao Hao was indeed not at home, and was not even in the capital.

He ran to Xishan, a suburb of Beijing...

Zhao Hao was not trying to avoid Hai Rui, but he had some feelings during the debate with the other party - he was vigorously criticizing metaphysics, but he stayed at home all day without going out, and only relied on history books to understand the world. This seemed to be a mistake of subjective dogmatism, which was metaphysics in itself.

So Zhao Hao decided to correct his mistakes. He wanted to conduct a thorough investigation of the current situation of the Ming Dynasty. After he had a clear and accurate understanding of the political, economic and people's livelihood of this era, he would formulate his first five-year plan.

As the saying goes, the economic base determines the superstructure. Today, Zhao Hao asked Zhao Shizhen to take him to Xishan to investigate the technology and organizational level of the coal mining industry.

Eryang was going to come along too, but Zhao Hao estimated that they would see some dark sides of society on this trip, and was worried that it would affect their positive and sunny attitudes… The imperial examinations paid more attention to the examinees' impartiality and peace than the provincial examinations, and those with extreme thoughts would mostly not escape the fate of being dismissed.

So Zhao Hao asked them to stay at home and study hard to prepare for the exam.

Little did he know that Hai Rui had already taken his two beloved disciples home to have sex with them...

~~

Because the place Zhao Hao was going to was full of people, in addition to Gao Wu and several men from Caijia Lane for protection, Zhao Jin also sent a procurement ambassador named Hou from the Guanglu Temple, who was accompanied by seven or eight soldiers.

According to the agreed time, everyone met at Fuchengmen early in the morning.

Zhao Hao naturally expressed his deep gratitude to Ambassador Hou, but Ambassador Hou said politely with a respectful smile: "Sir, you are too kind. I just happened to have some business in Xishan, so we can keep you company."

He was just a low-ranking official, so naturally he had to flatter Lord Xunqing's dear brother.

"Really?" Zhao Hao was surprised and said, "Is there any connection between Guanglu Temple and the coal mine in Xishan?"

"Of course. Our Guanglu Temple is a big consumer of coal. The 100,000 catties supplied by the Taiji Factory every year is not enough, and the quality of that coal is not good either." Ambassador Hou asked Zhao Hao to start first, and answered without hesitation: "Our temple will have to purchase more than 100,000 catties ourselves, especially the top-quality anthracite, at least 50,000 catties."

"Is Ambassador Hou responsible for the procurement?" Zhao Hao asked with a smile.

"It was me who was running errands all the time." Ambassador Hou said with a smile.

Zhao Hao glanced at Ambassador Hou, who was yellow, thin and as skinny as a monkey. He never expected that this man, with such a lowly official title, held a rare lucrative position among officials in Beijing.

He was about to speak when he heard a burst of hurried horse hooves coming from Fuchengmennei Street.

Then, a group of young men dressed in sable furs, surrounded by a large group of servants, came galloping towards Fucheng Gate.

The camel caravan carrying coal hurriedly dodged to the side of the road, and Gao Wu also quickly pulled Zhao Hao's reins to avoid them.

Zhao Hao had sharp eyes and spotted the young lord who had helped to speak that day among the group of young men rushing past. He wondered if the county lady was among them.

Unfortunately, he knew the person, but the person didn't know him. In a blink of an eye, the group of Beijing playboys took Lao Gao's snow foam and left the city.

After this group of bandits passed by, Zhao Hao and his men also set off.

Zhao Hao also rode a horse this time.

As the saying goes, "Southern boats and northern horses", during the last month in Nanjing, he foresaw that he would have to ride a horse after arriving in Beijing. In order to avoid embarrassment, he asked Gao Wu to teach him for a while.

Now he could barely control the horse to move forward and backward, turn left and right, but of course he had to slow down...

Fortunately, in this day and age, no one requires putting a "newbie" label on a horse's butt.

Zhao Hao then rode side by side with Ambassador Hou, following the official road stained black by coal, heading towards the vast mountains west of Beijing.

Along the way, camel caravans were seen coming slowly from the direction of Mentougou, with a pair of large wicker baskets on their backs, all filled with black coal.

"Is this how the mined coal is transported to the capital?" Zhao Hao asked.

"This is the coal shipped from Mentougou to Beicheng." Ambassador Hou was indeed familiar with the situation and answered without hesitation: "There is an old saying in Beijing, 'The endless burning of Xishan coal'. The entire Xishan area, such as Hunhe, Dayu, Mentougou, and even further away at Juyongguan, is full of coal mines. However, most of it is mined along the Yongding River so that it can be shipped out. Most of the coal is first shipped to Lugou Bridge, and then some is loaded onto trucks and shipped to Fuchengmen and Guangningmen. Some is still shipped out along the Yongding River. I heard that the farthest it can be sold is Tianjin."

"That's far enough." Zhao Hao couldn't help but say in surprise: "It's unlucky in this freezing weather."

"This season brings good luck." Ambassador Hou smiled and kept the secret, saying, "Go three miles ahead and you'll find Sanli River. You'll know when you get there."

Zhao Shizhen suppressed his curiosity and waited eagerly.

After walking three miles, you will see a winding river leading to the capital from the southwest.

The river was frozen at this time, but it was much busier than usual. Everyone saw countless ice carts loaded with coal speeding past them.

"This ice cart is also called an ice raft. It is very simple to make. It is covered with wood on top and steel bars on the bottom. It only needs one person to hold a pole to support it, and it can slide on the ice like flying. Even if it is loaded with thousands of pounds of cargo, it is still much faster than a horse-drawn carriage." Ambassador Hou introduced with a smile: "This Sanli River directly connects to the moat, and can directly transport coal to various gates of the capital."

"No wonder every household burns coal, it turns out to be so convenient." Zhao Hao smiled and said, "Let's ride on this ice scooter the rest of the way."

"These ice cubes are too dirty. If you want to try something new, there are plenty of ice carts in Beijing that are more comfortable than sedan chairs." Ambassador Hou hurriedly advised.

"We are going to the coal mine, do we have the right to complain about the dirt? Besides, I am not a precious person." Zhao Hao waved his hand. In fact, his hips were aching from the saddle and he was eager to change the means of transportation. He smiled and said to Ambassador Hou: "How about I take the car and you ride the horses, and we meet at the dining hall?"

"Let me accompany you, young master." Ambassador Hou said with a smile. How could he miss this good opportunity to get closer to his younger brother Xunqing?

So he asked someone to pick out two clean ice scooters from the ones heading west and stop them.

Not all of the ice floes that shuttle back and forth on the river are transporting coal.

~~

After a while.

"My lord and young master, please sit tight. Let's drive!" The driver, wearing a tattered cotton jacket and a dog-skin hat, pushed the bamboo pole with all his might.

The ice slab carried them, Gao Wu, and Zhao Shizhen, and slid slowly forward.

There were several officials and guards sitting on an ice rickshaw at the back, while the rest of the people took care of the horses and rushed to the dining hall by land.

As the driver continued to increase his strength, the speed of the ice sheet became faster and faster, and soon it surpassed the people on horseback.

As the car glided at high speed, the sound of wind whistled in everyone's ears. Seeing the ice scooters rushing towards them, as if they were about to hit them at any time, Ambassador Hou was frightened and turned pale.

Zhao Hao was extremely excited, he didn't expect that in the Ming Dynasty, he could still find the thrill of driving at high speeds as he did four hundred years later. He could no longer suppress his youthful nature, and let out bursts of joyful cries, enjoying this rare feeling of acceleration.

Zhao Shizhen also started shouting when he saw this, but he was just trying to relieve his inner tension...

The river is connected in all directions, and the ice sheets are flowing back and forth densely, making it more convenient for the people in the capital to travel in winter.

As a result, we arrived at the dining hall at noon.

As soon as he got to the dock and took off the ice, Ambassador Hou couldn't wait to vomit.

Zhao Hao could only pat his back and comfort him, "If you ride a horse, you won't get there before dark..."

ps. The guaranteed first update is here, please give me monthly tickets and recommendation tickets~~~