However, mines usually cannot be dug that deep. Often, water leakage occurs halfway through the digging, so we have to give up. After all, once water is found in the mine, it is impossible to drain the water out of the well with the current technical conditions.

of.

Moreover, in some places, the water was so powerful that it could flood the entire mine in just a few breaths. The Huns working inside were sometimes drowned before they had a chance to escape.

Cao Liang is not surprised by this phenomenon. After all, coal mining is a high-risk industry and it is definitely not a boast. Mining coal with no skills and no experience is a dead end.

People are completely normal.

In ancient China, during the Ming Dynasty, coal mining technology had developed greatly. "Tiangong Kaiwu" written by Song Yingxing had detailed records of the coal mining process. Cao Liang remembered reading it before

I have read this book, but unfortunately I can’t fully remember its contents. Who doesn’t have the photographic memory of Cai Yan and Zhang Song?

However, although he did not remember all the contents, Cao Liang still remembered some sporadically. He organized these contents and combined them with some specific situations at the time. Cao Liang wrote a coal mining construction manual as the most basic

The operating specifications require coal mining teams in various ravines to learn and master them.

Of course, this can only provide theoretical guidance, and specific operations must be continuously explored in practice.

In each ravine, a dozen points were selected for excavation at the same time. After dozens of days of continuous digging, more than 95% of the wells were abandoned, either because of water leakage or landslides, or because they were dug into designated areas.

No coal seam was found at the depth, so we were forced to give up.

However, good news came from the remaining five percent of the mines. The Huns finally dug this "black stone".

The first basket of charcoal blocks dug out was sent to Jinyang by fast horses overnight. Cao Liang looked at these "familiar" things and was filled with emotion. It was not easy. He finally succeeded in mining.

Everyone was very curious. They didn't know what Cao Liang was doing with the black stone. It seemed that this thing was much lighter and brittle than ordinary stones. If he smashed it lightly, it would

If it is broken into pieces, it would be too unqualified to be used as stone.

And this thing is obviously inedible. It is neither food nor hard. But seeing Cao Liang's serious look, everyone was a little confused. Could it be that this thing really has a special purpose?

Cao Liang smiled and said nothing, and asked his soldiers to bring an ordinary stove. The lighting material for these stoves was firewood. Firewood is flammable and has a high flame, but it lasts for a short time.

Cao Liang ordered his soldiers to light the fire with firewood. When all the firewood was ignited and the flames were about a foot high, Cao Liang personally put the black stones into the fire.

Everyone was very curious and came to watch one after another, thinking that some miracle would happen. However, when they saw that the flames in the stove were completely suppressed, they couldn't help but feel disappointed. It seems that there is nothing surprising about these black stones.

, except for some differences in color from ordinary stones, there is nothing special about them.

Cao Liang didn't say anything, but signaled everyone not to be anxious and take their time. After a while, the black stones turned red. After a while, the furnace was already filled with red and blazing flames.

Although it is not as high as firewood, the temperature is obviously much higher. Standing in front of it, everyone can feel its overwhelming heat.

"This thing is called coal and stone. In ancient times, the Classic of Mountains and Seas called it Shi Nie. It looks like stone but is not stone. The formation of these coal and stones is quite complicated, but you remember that these coal and stones can be burned instead of firewood, and the firepower is sufficient and lasts for a long time.

This winter, we are counting on it to survive the winter." Cao Liang did not explain too much. The formation of coal requires hundreds of millions of years of geological changes. If I tell people of this era, it is difficult for them to

I understand, as long as you know that coal can be burned.

Finally, it was discovered that coal was dug out in about ten of the dozens of ravines, so Cao Liang ordered all the ravines where no coal was dug to be abandoned, and all personnel concentrated on the ten ravines where coal was produced.

The exploration work has made great progress so far. Next, it will enter the substantial coal production stage. Countless coals will be continuously loaded into baskets from underground and then transported to the surface.

The harsh working environment caused a large number of Huns to die. Huns died in almost every mine. In one landslide, more than a dozen Huns were buried alive in an instant, without having to dig their graves.

By the time coal production officially began, nearly one-third of the Huns had died, and the real severe test had just begun.

Dozens of mines in ten valleys produce coal at the same time. Although the speed of manual coal mining is not very fast, dozens of mines operating at the same time can still produce a lot of coal.

After the coal mining was on track, Cao Liang sent a special person to supervise it, and he could finally breathe a sigh of relief. After all, as General Pingbei, the governor of Bingzhou, he still had a lot to do, and he couldn't just focus on coal mining.

on things.

The Huns who fled to Jiuyuan were the focus of Cao Liang's greatest concern. In the Battle of Dongguan, the Huns suffered heavy losses and could not recover in a short time. It was already difficult for them to attack Jinyang City again.

After the Pingbei Army merged with the Bingzhou Army, its strength increased greatly, from the original 10,000 to 25,000. The increase in personnel also meant an increase in combat effectiveness.

Deng Ai Yanghu and the others have not been idle at all. They have been seizing the time to conduct drills and integrate the Bingzhou Army into the battle rhythm of the Pingbei Army as soon as possible.

Under the training of Tian Yu, the Bingzhou Army also has a combat effectiveness that is completely different from that of ordinary county soldiers. This has a great relationship with the fact that they have been under the threat of the Huns and Xianbei for a long time. The Bingzhou Army has extremely high combat qualities and can even

Compared with the most elite Chinese army in the imperial court.

This made Cao Liang feel like he had found a treasure. It seemed that Tian Yu was an extraordinary person. He had made considerable contributions in Bingzhou over the years. The fact that Jinyang City had not been lost was enough to prove that Tian Yu's efforts were

successful.

Just when Cao Liang was planning to march to Jiuyuan, someone suddenly sent a letter to his home in Luoyang. Because he didn't want to distract Cao Liang, Yang Huiyu rarely wrote to Cao Liang, but
Chapter completed!