Chapter 32 Honeycomb Briquettes
"Your Majesty! Do you want any way to keep warm?" Yuying asked regardless of the consequences, and then quietly observed Kangxi's reaction.
She thought about it and decided that it was more important to hand over the solution to Kangxi first. As for the rest, who cares? As long as she insisted that she had dreamed, Kangxi would not be able to get any information no matter how much he asked.
Sure enough, after hearing her words, Kangxi's eyes warmed up a little and he grabbed her hand, "Could it be that Ah Ying has a solution?"
Yuying saw that Kangxi didn't seem to find it strange, and was only thinking of a solution. She breathed a sigh of relief and said what she was thinking, "Your Majesty, do you know anything about coal?"
Hearing Yuying's question, Kangxi couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.
Coal mining in the Qing Dynasty was mostly concentrated in the Shengjing area, but Emperor Taizu once completely banned mining on the grounds of "dragon's rise" and feng shui. However, as early as a few years ago, Emperor Kangxi had relaxed the policy and adopted the attitude of "allowing the people to adopt it".
However, due to successive years of heavy snow, the demand for coal mines increased dramatically, and Kangxi had no choice but to relax the policy again and build official kilns. In order to encourage people to actively open mines and use coal as firewood, he even exempted them from taxes.
However, human mining is always limited, and the amount of coal collected currently is far less than the amount consumed. Kangxi thought Yuying didn't understand, so he explained the matter to her in detail.
"So, Aying, do you understand?" Kangxi said to Yuying earnestly.
Yuying seemed to understand, looking at Kangxi's sentimental expression, and said what she had thought, "Your Majesty, I have a way to reduce the loss rate of coal and make it burn longer and more vigorously."
That’s right, what Yuying wants to talk about is honeycomb briquettes.
Thanks to the fact that Yuying was brought up by her grandparents, they didn't like to use gas or induction cookers, they were used to using firewood and coal, and even went to the coal factory to pull coal when Yuying was young. It was because of this that Yuying saw how the traditional honeycomb coal was made.
Kangxi listened to Yuying's words and said, "Aying, if you really have a solution, please tell me in detail. If it works, I will thank you on behalf of the people of the world!"
So Yuying explained the principle of honeycomb coal to Kangxi.
Honeycomb briquettes are actually a very simple thing. Kangxi understood it after a short while and personally drew the shape of honeycomb briquettes on paper.
"Aying, come and take a look, is this the case?"
Yuying came closer and looked at the paper, which showed the same honeycomb briquettes as the ones she had seen before. She looked at Kangxi in surprise.
[As expected of Kangxi, he can draw it right away?]
Hearing Yuying's sincere praise, Kangxi felt proud and quickly asked Liang Jiugong to call Nalan Mingzhu.
There is coal in the Forbidden City now. Thinking of what he just learned, that coal and yellow mud can be mixed in a certain proportion, which not only saves the cost of coal, but also allows the broken coal to be shaped and utilized, Kangxi can't wait to see the finished product now.
As for whether honeycomb coal would work, Kangxi had no doubts. Through Yuying's thoughts, he learned that it was a fuel widely used in later generations. Since it was successful in later generations, there was no reason why his Qing Dynasty could not do it!
Nalan Mingzhu felt strange when he learned that Kangxi had summoned him, but he quickly changed into court clothes, got in the carriage, and hurried to the palace.
Along the way, countless thoughts flashed through Mingzhu's mind. He naturally knew that the emperor was in a bad mood recently. Could it be that he had angered the emperor in some way?
When Mingzhu arrived at the Qianqing Palace, Kangxi was playing chess with Yuying.
"Why are you cheating again, Ah Ying?" Kangxi smiled as he looked at the frustrated girl opposite him.
Yuying is so angry!
Who was so desperate that she wanted to play Go with Emperor Kangxi? How could a young girl like her win against the shrewd Emperor Kangxi?
It's useless even if you give in!
Yuying glanced at Kangxi, reached out her hand furtively, and glanced again.
Just preparing to make a final push——
"Aying, do you want to destroy the chess set?" Kangxi asked casually, playing with the chess piece in his hand.
Yuying was startled and retracted her hand that was stretched out in the air awkwardly. She smiled at Kangxi in a flattering way, but her attention was attracted by Kangxi's hand.
Yuying is a bit obsessed with hands. Kangxi had very good hands, with long fingers, distinct veins, and neatly trimmed nails. There were small crescents on the nails, which were said to be a sign of a good body.
In modern times, Yuying is concerned about whether she has a crescent moon on her hand. In the past, she had one or two, but now she has none. Now that she has found her dream hand, she has to take a closer look.
Kangxi noticed where Yuying's eyes were focused, and he fiddled with the chess piece in his hand for a while. Seeing that Yuying's eyes were getting more and more pointed, he finally stretched out his other hand and handed it to her in a bad mood, "What? Are you stunned?"
Yuying held it as if she had found a treasure and nodded quickly.
This hand was so big that Yuying had to use both hands to hold it. Her hands were covered with thin calluses, perhaps because Kangxi often held a pen and a bow. After all, in history, Kangxi was both a man of letters and a man of martial arts.
Yuying played with her hands, touching here and pinching there, not noticing that Kangxi's eyes gradually became deeper.
Just then, Liang Jiugong came in.
"Your Majesty, Master Mingzhu is already waiting in the study."
"Ahem - then I'll go over to see you." Kangxi withdrew his hand, clenched his fist, put it to his lips, pretended to cough, and was about to stand up.
When Yuying saw Kangxi stand up, she also stood up and wanted to leave.
Kangxi saw this and asked, "Aying, do you want to run away? Don't forget the agreement we made before playing chess. Are you trying to renege on it, Aying?"
Upon hearing this, Yuying glared at Kangxi and sat back down.
What?! I shouldn't have agreed to his request! What? Just because I lose, I can let him do whatever he wants. This is too shameful!
A trace of regret flashed across Yuying's face.
Kangxi was indeed happy to hear this. "Okay, Ah Ying, just stay here and don't go anywhere. Wait for me to come back obediently."
Kangxi didn't care that Yuying didn't respond. After all, he was already in the Qing Palace and couldn't run away. He took the blueprint he had just drawn and turned to go to the study.
Mingzhu was standing anxiously in the middle of the study. When she heard the noise and saw Kangxi coming, she quickly knelt down and greeted him, "Your servant greets the emperor!"
"Get up - take a look at this." Kangxi handed him the paper in his hand.
Nalan Mingzhu took it with both hands, looked down at the strange things drawn on the paper, and was really confused. "Your Majesty, I am stupid and don't know what this is?"
Kangxi explained it to him in a good mood. When Nalan Mingzhu heard about the effect of this thing, his eyes became brighter and brighter.
"I'm leaving this matter to you. Do you have any objection?" Kangxi asked.
Nalan Mingzhu certainly had no objection. This matter had to be done. It was a great achievement, and he Mingzhu was not stupid! How could he push away the credit he had already obtained! As expected, he Mingzhu was the most intimate minister around the emperor, and Tong Guowei and Suo Etu all stood aside!
"Your Majesty! I am willing to share your worries! I will present this honeycomb briquettes to you as soon as possible!"
"Well, in that case, you should do it as soon as possible."
"Yes, I will take my leave."
Nalan Mingzhu is gone. It can be said that he came and left in a hurry.
But the difference is that when he came, he was hesitant and uneasy, but when he left, he was in high spirits and walked with the wind. Anyone who saw him could see that he had got a good job.
After hearing that the emperor had summoned Nalan Mingzhu, Soetu at the Hesheli Mansion had been paying attention to what was happening in the palace. When he heard that Nalan Mingzhu came out of the Palace of Heavenly Purity with a happy look on her face, he could not sit still and hurriedly harnessed his carriage and went to the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
How can the emperor favor one over the other?
Mingzhu, don't think you can have all the good things for yourself!
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