Jinyang, even in this winter, the scenery is still beautiful.
The towering Yang Mountain passes through the south of Siyang. The lush forest is like a barrier, blocking the wind and sand coming from Mubei.
Therefore, when the Han army arrived here, many soldiers felt that the air suddenly became fresher and they felt energetic.
The frozen Nanhe River allowed Han soldiers to walk across it on foot.
The thick ice allowed even the heavy equipment of the Han army to pass through safely.
Yi Zong was standing on a mountain in Jinyang, looking at the army passing through Nanhe in front.
However, his attention was completely attracted by another thing.
On the hill on one side of the Nanhe River is a forest.
But there is something strange about this forest. There are many trees in this forest, and they are actually headless trees!
There seems to be some special power that prevents these trees from growing taller.
But the trees on the two adjacent hillsides are growing well.
As the saying goes, when things go wrong, there must be monsters!
The Moyuan Mo scholars who followed the army were full of curiosity about this phenomenon.
Early in the morning, under the protection of a group of Han cavalry, we went to the woods to inspect and study.
They also took away a group of soldiers from the tunnel camp, supposedly to take samples.
From morning to now, more than a dozen Mohists from Moyuan have been squatting in this place and have not left.
This let Yi Zong know what they should have discovered.
There are not many things in this world that can interest these painters so much that they can even dig into the soil with a shovel like a farmer.
"Members of Moyuan, have you discovered anything?" Yi Zong asked a civilian staff officer beside him.
As the main force in the pre-war plan, the Yi Zong Division was equipped with a staff group composed of more than 100 examination scholars and Wuyuan students.
These people move with the army and act as think tanks.
At the same time, these experiences in the military will become nutrients for their growth in the future, allowing them to have rich experience when they stand alone for more than ten years.
And the person next to Yi Zong also has a relatively big background.
He is a good friend of Yizong and the younger brother of Zhang Tang, the governor of Nanyang County.
The so-called co-birth refers to brothers born from the same mother.
This is the closest blood relationship among Han families.
However, this young man named Zhang Wu obviously does not have as much talent and ability as Brother Nai.
It's just the appearance of a middle-aged person.
However, because his elder brother is Zhang Tang, even if he is Yi Zong, he has to give him some thin noodles.
After all, although Zhang Tang is not in the center, everyone knows that once this Commander Zhang returns to Chang'an, his starting point will at least be that of a Jiuqing giant.
In the future, he may even be granted the title of Marquis or Prime Minister.
"General..." Zhang Wugong said: "It is said that the Mohists seem to have discovered a large iron mine!"
"Big iron mine?" Yi Zong frowned, thinking of something.
Which business is the most profitable in China today?
Of course it’s salt and iron!
The state implements a monopoly system on salt and iron. Although private production and manufacturing of all salt and iron are allowed, private sales are prohibited.
In order to implement the Yantie official camp, the people killed for this purpose today can almost form a reinforced battalion.
However, the private salt and iron industry, especially the iron smelting industry, has not declined at all due to this.
Even Yi Zong, a relative who devoted himself to the army, had heard about the prosperity and strength of today's iron smelting merchants.
The two princes of Linqiong made a fortune every day by relying on the large iron mines in Linqiong, and they were as rich as the rest of the country.
The profits from ironware were so great that wherever there were iron mines in the world, they became prosperous.
As for the Han Dynasty's demand for ironware, at present, it is almost a bottomless pit!
The army alone requires more than 300,000 kilograms of iron every year!
Apart from other things, a pair of breastplates requires dozens of kilograms of fine iron.
A Mo Dao requires twenty or thirty kilograms of fine iron.
Not to mention, the Anton Protectorate's thirst for iron tools is almost endless.
Therefore, no matter how much ironware merchants produce, they can be purchased by the government immediately.
They don't even have to sell it.
Just work hard at home to dig holes and smelt iron, and then you can count the money.
Businessmen, landowners, and powerful scholar-bureaucrats all over the world are vying to open mines.
But the problem is that iron ore in China is not that easy to find.
Currently, two very large open-pit iron ore veins have been discovered near Nanyang and Linqiong.
Other iron mines are small and medium-sized iron mines.
Moreover, the ore quality is very poor.
According to the Mohists, it contains too many impurities and can usually only be used as pig iron, and it is difficult to use it as a raw material for crude steel or even fine steel.
Only the large iron mine in Linqiong and the iron mine in Nanyang can barely select some high-quality ores that can be used to smelt crude steel and refined iron.
A large iron ore was discovered?
This made Yi Zong feel a little incredible.
"How big is this iron mine?" Yi Zong asked in a deep voice.
"It is said..." Zhang Wu replied: "It is larger than any iron mine discovered so far in the country, and it is also accompanied by some rare metal minerals..."
"Like this..." Yi Zong raised his head, remembering what the emperor said to him.
"Steel is strength!"
"Send someone to inform Cheng Bushi and ask him to send troops here immediately!" Yi Zong made a decision immediately.
An iron mine bigger than Linqiong is enough for Chang'an to do whatever it takes!
Not to mention, this mine may be accompanied by many rare metal minerals.
Yi Zong believes that once this news reaches Chang'an, many people will probably be unable to sit still.
The Cheng Zheng family and the Zhuo family in Linqiong occupied such a large ore, so they became the richest people in China. Their wealth was said to be worse than that of some princes and kings!
Nowadays, relying on the salt and iron government camp, I can earn more than 200 million a year.
More importantly, the military's demand for high-quality steel and refined iron has no limit at all.
Everyone wants better weapons and equipment.
However, due to limited production and raw materials, it took the Han Dynasty six years to save the refined iron needed for less than 5,000 cuirassiers.
Thinking of this, Yi Zong ordered: "Send someone to inform the Tunnel Camp and let the Tunnel Camp's men and horses stay here to rebuild Siyang City!"
There is almost no need to think about it anymore.
Yi Zong already understood that in the future, this place would definitely become another pig iron smelting base for the Han family after Linqiong and Nanyang.
However, I don’t know whether this place will fall into private hands or the hands of the state.
"It will definitely make a scene..." Yi Zong thought in his heart.
He could already foresee the turmoil that would arise in the court over the iron mine.
"Send this matter to Taiyuan immediately with a flying pigeon, please report it to the emperor on your behalf..." Yi Zong thought for a while and ordered.
The emergence of this large iron mine is now of great benefit to the Han army's operations.
Apart from other things, the discovery of this mine almost made up for the cost of the Han army's march out of the fortress.
You know, the Cheng Zheng family and the Zhuo family in Linqiong relied on iron smelting to produce hundreds of thousands of kilograms of iron every year, which was sold all over the world. Their business even reached Ni Nan and Jiuzhen in South Vietnam. (To be continued.)
