It was lunchtime, so Zhao Xian invited Qiao Lizheng to lunch. After lunch, the two continued their conversation.
Gradually, Zhao Xian's thoughts became clearer, and he formed his own judgment.
Thinking of this, Zhao Xian looked at Qiao Lizheng and said:
"Qiao Lizheng will stay in Shuixian Village for the next two days. I will assemble an investigation team as soon as possible to go to Fudu Village to conduct an investigation and see if we can find out the reason."
"Thank you, Marquis Zhengyang. If the truth can be found out, Fudu Village may be able to return to its former peace, and the children in the village will no longer suffer from death."
Next, Zhao Xian began to focus on investigating the reasons for the unexplained deaths of children in Fudu Village.
To verify his deduction, Zhao Xian purchased relevant books from the system and consulted them.
According to Qiao Lizheng, when the children in Fudu Village fell ill, they suddenly experienced symptoms such as difficulty breathing and purple skin, which may be a disease called blue baby syndrome.
Blue baby syndrome is a dangerous condition, and due to the infants' weak immune systems, the mortality rate is extremely high.
Fudu Village is a mountain village with beautiful mountains and clear waters, and its natural environment should be quite good, making it suitable for people to live in.
However, in Qiao Lizheng's account, two problems in Fudu Village caught Zhao Xian's attention. The first problem was that Fudu Village had experienced similar situations before, but the number of cases was small and had not attracted people's attention.
Secondly, the crops in Fudu Village are growing well and the harvest is much higher than in other places. Could it be that chemical fertilizers were used?
This is of course impossible. For crops to grow well, in addition to favorable weather, the soil and water must be fertile.
It was very difficult to have enough food at home back then. Qiao Lizheng said that Fudu Village is a blessed place, which means that the soil and water there are unique.
Based on a comprehensive analysis of these circumstances, Zhao Xian concluded that Fudu Mountain may have a nitrate mine, which is rich in nitrogen and can be made into fertilizer.
The fertile soil in Fudu Village is likely due to rainwater washing away the nitrate mines on the mountain, bringing the nutrients to the soil and water below, resulting in good crop growth.
Increased fertility in the soil and water is beneficial to crops, but it may not be so for humans.
Saltpeter contains a large amount of nitrates, which dissolve in water. Once the concentration in the water reaches a certain level, it can have a certain impact on the human body.
The information Zhao Xian found clearly states that infants who drink water with excessively high nitrate levels are likely to develop blue baby syndrome.
Over time, the nitrate content in the local water will increase, and long-term consumption of such water can be fatal to infants.
For adults, this water is not fatal, but if left for a long time, it will definitely cause problems.
Fudu Village must take immediate action to stop drinking local water sources; the best solution is to relocate the entire village.
Of course, this is just Zhao Xian's deduction. Whether this is true or not, we need to investigate to find out the reason.
The next morning, Zhao Xian found Li Guang and Li Xue and told them what had happened in Fudu Village. The two were also very surprised after learning about the situation.
"Is this really true? Why would their mountain god punish the villagers, even the children?" Li Xue asked.
Li Guang also did not believe that what happened in Fudu Village was the work of the mountain god; there must be other reasons.
Zhao Xian nodded and said:
"The government has not investigated the matter in Fudu Village, so those charlatan masters have brought up the mountain god, which is completely unfounded."
I think this situation is related to the local soil and water conditions.
Li Guang and Li Xue did not understand Zhao Xian's words. How could the inexplicable deaths of many children in the village be related to the water and soil?
Seeing that the two were looking at him, Zhao Xian spoke up:
"Did you know a famous person in history named Li Mu?"
"Of course I know. Li Mu was a wise and brave general of the State of Zhao during the Warring States period. He made many outstanding achievements on the battlefield and saved the State of Zhao from danger on many occasions."
"That's absolutely true. Li Mu's ability to achieve immortal feats was not only related to his wisdom and courage, but also to his mastery of a powerful tool: gunpowder."
Zhao Xian's words piqued the interest of Li Guang and Li Xue. They hadn't expected that Li Mu would use gunpowder on the battlefield to deal with the enemy at that time.
Seeing that the two were very interested in his topic, Zhao Xian continued talking.
"At that time, the State of Zhao was facing unprecedented difficulties, while other states were constantly expanding their military strength, preparing to launch a fatal blow against Zhao."
At this critical moment, Li Mu stepped forward and led the Zhao army to resist attacks from neighboring countries.
In resisting foreign invasion, Li Mu relied on his wisdom to cleverly utilize the terrain to set up defensive lines, making them difficult for the enemy to break through.
This is only one aspect. What truly enabled Li Mu to win the final victory was that the Zhao state possessed a strategic resource.
When Li Mu led his army to stop the enemy invasion, the Zhao state suffered a severe shortage of resources and could no longer sustain the war.
At that time, the State of Zhao had a resource called saltpeter. People at that time knew that saltpeter could be used in medicine, but they did not know what other uses it had.
Li Mu was very clever. He used saltpeter as the main raw material to manufacture gunpowder, and quickly equipped his army with the gunpowder he had developed, which greatly increased the strength of the Zhao army.
In this battle, Zhao Jun, relying on the power of the flammable gunpowder, successfully defeated the enemy and won the war.
Upon hearing this, Li Guang still didn't truly understand Zhao Xian's meaning, and then spoke:
"Brother Zhao just mentioned that what happened in Fudu Village was related to the local soil and water. Now he's mentioned saltpeter. Could it be that the saltpeter is affecting the local soil and water?"
"This is just my speculation. Not far from Fudu Village, there is a mountain called Fudu Mountain. I suspect that there is a saltpeter mine in this mountain."
Over time, the toxicity of the nitrate ore contaminated the village's drinking water source, leading to illness and death among the village's children.
Next, Zhao Xian began his analysis. Although Li Guang and Li Xue didn't know what Blue Baby Syndrome was, they could understand the general idea.
Li Guang was overjoyed to learn that the crops around Fudu Village were growing well because saltpeter from the saltpeter mines could be used as fertilizer, which could greatly improve the crop yield.
In ancient times, crop yields were generally low, which was largely due to the fertility of the soil.
As the saying goes, "A good crop depends entirely on fertilizer," how can farmers not know the importance of fertilizer to agricultural production?
"Brother Zhao, are you saying that there are saltpeter mines in the Fudu Mountain area, which can be used for medicine and gunpowder production, as well as fertilizer to increase crop yields?"
Li Guang spoke excitedly, hoping to gain Zhao Xian's approval.
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