Chang'an City is very big, but Chang'an City is also very small.

The Changsun family sold their worthless coal mine to Chu King Li Kuan at a high price, and the news quickly spread to all the noble families.

"Master, all contracts have been signed and deposits have been made in the Chang'an County government office. Even if the King of Chu wants to regret it, it is useless."

Changsun Kuan suppressed his joy and reported to Changsun Wuji about the mining transaction.

"It's done well. These coal mines are simply tasteless and it's a pity to abandon them. They haven't brought any income to the family at all over the years. It's a blessing to be able to sell them at a higher price than when I bought them back."

Changsun Wuji was not an ordinary person, but he could not have known that Li Kuan could come up with new tricks in the coal mine, so like the housekeeper Changsun Kuan, he was very satisfied with this transaction.

"If you look at it carefully, these mining families have still made tens of thousands of dollars. It's not easy to meet someone like the King of Chu who has taken advantage of them."

"Did Li Kuan really get this money from selling his property?"

Changsun Wuji had also heard of what Li Kuan had been doing these days, but he still couldn't believe that Li Kuan had shorted out the Chu Palace for the purpose of buying coal mines.

If Li Zhiyun had known something, he would have made a breakthrough, right?

"It's absolutely true. Even the actual operator of this transaction is Wang Fugui, a businessman from the West Market. Everything in the Chu Prince's Palace was sold to him."

"Long gave birth to nine sons, each of whom is different. They are all the heirs of His Majesty. The gap between His Royal Highness the King of Chu and the Crown Prince is too big."

…

Chu Palace.

Li Kuan looked at the pile of land deeds in front of him and showed a satisfied smile.

I am also a mine person!

"Your Majesty, these coal mines are of no use at all. Only the poor people who cannot survive will buy some coal mines and burn them for heating. But if you are not careful, you will be poisoned by carbon. Last winter alone, several incidents happened because of this reason.

"

Although I have already bought everything, Laifu is still a little unwilling to give up.

"Uncle Laifu, don't worry, I have my own plans. These coal mines are of no use in the hands of the Changsun family, but it's different in my hands."

Li Kuan remembers clearly that in the 1990s, briquettes were used almost everywhere in the country. Coal burning was the main method of heating, but at that time it was briquettes that were burned.

What Li Kuan has to do now is to develop briquettes and briquette stoves.

This is not difficult at all.

The difficulty is that no one has thought of doing this before.

In other words, people in the past could not understand the reasons for carbon poisoning, so naturally they could not find effective solutions.

"Xue Li, come with me to the outside of the city. I will make arrangements myself."

…

Tai Chi Palace.

"Naughty son, what a wicked son! I thought he had changed his ways, but unexpectedly, he became even worse."

Naturally, what Li Kuan did could not escape Bai Qisi's attention. Li Shimin's face turned blue after listening to Li Zhong's report.

"Your Majesty, most of the things are still in the hands of the businessman named Wang Fugui. How about I go..."

"What are you going to do? Didn't you say that they have signed the contract clearly in black and white? Besides, there are so many nobles in Chang'an City watching. Even if I stop it, Kuan'er's reputation will get better?"

Li Shimin looked like he hated iron and said, "Besides buying mines, what else is that scoundrel doing?"

"There is no special movement in the Prince of Chu's Mansion, but a group of new craftsmen have been recruited around the King of Chu's courtyard outside the city. I don't know what they are busy with."

As the most powerful intelligence agency in the Tang Dynasty, Baiqisi was very aware of the movements of many ministers, but it was not omnipotent.

"Your Majesty, the prime minister and Duke Dai are outside asking for an audience."

Before Li Shimin could continue to ask questions, a young eunuch came to report the news.

"Forget it, let that scoundrel mess around. I want to see what tricks he can come up with. If you can't give me an explanation that satisfies me by then, don't blame me for putting him under house arrest!"

After Li Shimin finished speaking, he took a deep breath, calmed down, and prepared to summon Fang Xuanling and the others.

The etiquette of the Tang Dynasty was actually very simple as long as it was not a special occasion. They were not as prone to kneeling as the braided chariots in later generations.

After Fang Xuanling and Dai Zhou gave Li Shimin a simple salute, they immediately got to the point.

"Your Majesty, February this year is much colder than in previous years. It seems to have the feeling of late spring cold. People have frozen to death in Chang'an County and Wannian County. The Qintian Supervisor predicts that there will be heavy snow in the next few days."

Fang Xuanling talked about the matter with a sad face.

Chang'an City in February was still very cold even when the climate became warmer in later generations, let alone in the Tang Dynasty.

However, situations like this year are relatively rare.

"Because the charcoal prepared in many people's homes has almost been used up. If it gets colder in the next period of time, then..."

As the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Dai Zhou has always been very concerned about the situation of the people. When faced with the current situation, the one who is most worried is the Ministry of Revenue.

No matter how the court responds, the Ministry of Revenue will definitely not be able to escape.

Fang Xuanling: "Your Majesty, it is said that the price of charcoal in the West Market has increased by 50% recently. If it snows again, it is expected to continue to rise. Not to mention whether the supply is sufficient, even at this price, ordinary people cannot afford to burn it.

of."

Dai Zhou: "Yes, charcoal is too expensive, mainly because it is not resistant to burning."

Fang Xuanling and Dai Zhou explained the problem to Li Shimin one by one.

"If a disaster does occur, how much money can the Ministry of Household Affairs allocate for disaster relief?"

Li Shimin didn't have any particularly good solution. He could only start with the worst outcome and consider the solution.

"Your Majesty, every sum of money from the Ministry of Revenue has already been arranged. Suddenly, a sum of money needs to be transferred..."

Dai Zhou looked worried. Even though he, the Minister of Household Affairs, was in charge of the entire Tang Dynasty's money bag, he actually didn't have much money at his disposal.

"Your Majesty, the expenses of the Ministry of Household Affairs are all fixed. This disaster is not likely to be small. It may be difficult to rely on the Ministry of Household Affairs alone. But..."

Li Shimin looked at Fang Xuanling's awkward smile and seemed to feel something was wrong, "But what?"

"I heard that a large amount of new money came into the internal treasury at the end of last year. Could you please lend some money to the Ministry of Accounts first..."

Fang Xuanling was a little speechless. As an emperor, Li Shimin had a clear distinction between public affairs and private matters. He generally would not use money from the treasury to handle his own private affairs.

Now I have the idea of ​​​​infecting the inner treasury...

Hearing that Fang Xuanling had actually targeted his inner treasure, Li Shimin's face immediately turned sour.

It's not that Li Shimin is stingy or doesn't care about the life and death of the people, it's just that what these ministers did is a bit...
Chapter completed!