The name of Jiugang is famous all over the world!

In this life, Ying Zheng planned to use it. After all, there were no large iron ore veins in Guanzhong, or it was the land of Bashu.

However, in Bashu, the road is too difficult to walk. It is difficult to walk on Shu. It is difficult to reach the sky. He does not want to fight with nature.

Unless the Shanggongfang of the Great Qin Empire has developed something that can easily open up the Shu Road.

Otherwise, it would be much more convenient to seek iron ore veins above the Great Yuezhi than Panzhihua and other ore veins on the land of Bashu.

More importantly, in Li Kang's memory, there is a place above the Great Yuezhi territory, which was called Yumen in later generations.

There is a kind of oil resource here, which is also lacking in the Qin Empire.

What's more, capturing the Great Yuezhi could also allow the Qin Empire to expand its territory. Ying Zheng naturally enjoyed the success of such a killing of three birds with one stone.

After taking a sip of tea, Ying Zheng ordered Xiao He and said, "Xiao He, I want to inspect the coal mines in Pingcheng, you can arrange it here!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao He's face changed slightly. He was a little surprised and even more helpless.

The First Emperor was too willful. He just thought that the first Emperor inspected Yanmen County and could ensure safety, but the risk of inspecting Pingcheng coal mine veins was too great.

After all, it is not safe there, and deaths happen almost every day. The most important thing is not only the complex situation of the personnel, but also the danger above the ore veins.

The thought flashed in his mind, Xiao He rose up and bowed deeply to Ying Zheng, saying, "Your Majesty, the situation above the coal mines in Pingcheng is complicated, and Your Majesty has a noble status, so you should not go lightly!"

"The son of a thousand gold, I can't sit in the hall. If your Majesty wants to see the scene of the coal mine in Pingcheng, you can send the Iron Eagle Reeds!"

"If Your Majesty wants to see the officials and craftsmen on the coal mines in Pingcheng, I can order them to come immediately!"

At this moment, Xiao He glanced at Li Si, signaled that Li Si would also advise him, and then continued to look towards Ying Zheng, saying.

"Your Majesty, since all the coal mines on Pingcheng are mined by slaves, the scene is too cruel. Once Your Majesty appears, these people may..."

...

Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng was silent for a long time.

He naturally knew that no matter who it was, he would not treat slaves as human beings.

What's more, the slaves sent from Shangtang County and Kyushu County were basically all prisoners of war.

"Um!"

Ying Zheng could understand Xiao He's concerns, nodded and said, "I can't go to the Pingcheng coal mine mining site, but I want to go to the Pingcheng coal craftsman workshop in person."

Regarding anthracite and bituminous coal, Ying Zheng knew that even if he did not mention it, these craftsmen with craftsmanship would have developed the research.

Here, he thought of another thing that was of great use to the Qin Empire and also existed in this era.

asphalt!

Ying Zheng remembers it very clearly that asphalt is used as a cement-like bonding agent to build the seal of the Great Wall.

Moreover, asphalt is also an indispensable resource for building roads. Cement has other uses, and the cement pavement is not suitable for cavalry to rush around.

When Ying Zheng thought of this, he felt that he should make the asphalt, which would only benefit but not harm the Qin Empire.

With time, we will gradually move forward without spending several years, so that the treasury of the Great Qin Empire will be empty.

Asphalt can be mainly divided into three types: coal-coke asphalt, petroleum asphalt and natural asphalt.

There is natural asphalt in the territory of the Qin Empire today. Natural asphalt is formed by the long-term squeeze of oil in nature and gradually changing contact with air and water. It exists in a natural form.

The areas that exist within the Great Qin Empire are generally rock asphalt and lake asphalt.

Petroleum crude oil penetrates the ground, and the light components are evaporated, and then oxidizes by oxygen in the air under sunlight, and then polymerizes to form asphalt.

It is mainly composed of colloids such as asphaltene, resin, and a small amount of other mineral impurities such as metals and non-metals.

Most of this asphalt is naturally evaporated and oxidized, and generally does not contain any toxins.

The natural asphalt in the Qin Empire exists in Wuerhe, Bashu, and north of Jianjiaguan, Shu County, and in the later years, the Longmen Mountain area of ​​Guangyuan.

It is known as the first black ore in the Central Plains, with a reserve of more than 10 million tons.

In addition to natural asphalt, there is also petroleum asphalt, but this is a product of oil during processing, which is impossible for the Qin Empire today.

Nowadays, there are Pingcheng coal mine veins, and the Qin Empire can produce coal-coke asphalt. Ying Zheng remembers clearly that coal-coke asphalt is a by-product of coking.

However, temperature changes have a great impact on coal-coke asphalt, which is prone to brittle cracks in winter and softens in summer.

However, Ying Zheng was obsessed with coking asphalt because of its process, which was called coking in Li Kang's memory.

...

Coking refers to the process in which coking coal is heated to about 1000℃ under air isolation conditions, and is subjected to high-temperature dry distillation, and coking is produced by thermal decomposition and coking, coke oven gas and other coking chemical products.

Metallurgical coke has high carbon content, high porosity and high strength. It is an important fuel and reducing agent for blast furnace ironmaking, and it is also a proppant and loosening agent for the entire blast furnace feed column.

The coke oven gas produced by coking by-products has a high calorific value and is an excellent gas fuel for open furnaces and heating furnaces. It is an important energy component in steel joint enterprises.

The biggest reason why Ying Zheng is interested in coking asphalt is that the items that appear during coking are basically related to breakthroughs in iron smelting technology and maturity.

If the Qin Empire wanted to develop iron smelting technology and promote the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age, it had to coke.

However, at this time, the craftsmen of the Qin Empire did not realize this.

At this moment, Ying Zheng thought of it, and he didn't mind mentioning it. After all, this point could make the iron smelting technology of the Qin Empire soared by leaps and bounds.

...

Seeing Ying Zheng's expression change, Xiao He knew in his heart that Ying Zheng was probably inevitable this time. As soon as he thought of this, Xiao He couldn't help but look at Li Si.

Nowadays, besides the First Emperor, Li Si is the highest official present.

Realizing Xiao He's hesitation, Li Si nodded and said, "Go and do it, Your Majesty's will is the will of the Qin Dynasty."

"promise."

He nodded and agreed, Xiao He left. Li Si was silent for a long time, and said to Ying Zheng, "Your Majesty, why do you have to meet these craftsmen?"

Upon hearing this, a glimmer flashed through Ying Zheng's eyes. He knew in his heart that in this era, the status of all craftsmen is very low and cannot be favored.

Even if he has promoted the status of the Daqin Shang Workshop, the Shaofu, and even the Daqin Baigong again and again, the results are still not good.
Chapter completed!