Liu Bao and three Mohist apprentices came over with tools in hand.
"Your Majesty, this is it."
"Yes, that's right. That's it!"
Song Yang smiled and nodded.
"Have you ever used it?" Song Yang asked.
"No." The four of them shook their heads in unison.
Song Yang looked at Yu Ming and Lai Mingxi again.
The two of them also shook their heads like rattles.
"Then try it."
Song Yang took the tool from Liu Bao's hand and began to pound the ground.
Turn the handle while punching.
Soon a circular hole was made in the ground.
He brought up the tools and took out a bucket of soil.
"I didn't expect that my Luoyang shoveling skills are not that bad!" Song Yang said proudly.
That's right, he doesn't have more advanced tools now, so he can only use Luoyang shovel to deal with it.
If you use a Luoyang shovel with a link handle, it won't be a problem to reach a depth of fifty or sixty meters.
The first oil well in Jianghan Oilfield is in the third formation.
The terrain of the Jianghan Basin is already very low. After being soaked by Yunmengze and washed by the Han River system, the oil-bearing sandstone layer should not be too deep from the surface.
That's why Song Yang thought of coming over and giving it a try.
"How much has Luoyang shovel done?"
"There are a hundred."
"A hundred? It's barely enough. We'll arrange a hundred people tomorrow and let's go explore."
More than a hundred people, Song Yang and his guards.
Holding a Luoyang shovel, he dug a hole in a wasteland.
When I came to Mingxi, I only heard Song Yang talk about prospecting for minerals.
But looking at this posture, it doesn’t look like prospecting.
We don’t dare to say it, and we don’t dare to ask it either.
Early in the morning, Song Yang led his men to start digging a hole in an open space 200 meters west of the camp.
It is possible to drill out oil in the entire Jianghan Basin.
Starting from the deserted village, Song Yang planned to dig all the way through.
The drilling process was relatively smooth, but the exploration results were unsatisfactory.
The Luoyang shovel is easy to use.
However, after drilling hundreds of holes, no trace of oil or natural gas was found.
In order to make the hole deeper, Luoyang connected several sections to the shovel handle, and it was not a problem to dig dozens of meters dry.
But basically digging all over this area yielded nothing.
"That's it for today, let's move on tomorrow!"
Song Yang said hello, it's almost dusk, it's best to finish work quickly before the mosquitoes come up.
In the next few days, Song Yang and his party walked westward very slowly.
He walked day after day, digging holes as he walked, just like a group of rabbits digging forward.
After eight days of progress, they finally reached a relatively open wilderness. Song Yang checked the map again.
We should have arrived at Qianjiang.
This place is under the control of Jingzhou, but there is not even an old mountain village in this barren land.
No hunter has passed by in eight years, let alone the government.
Song Yang didn't ask anyone to notify Wang Ben, and this group of people were still digging around.
"Your Majesty, there is a swamp ahead." The vanguard came back from exploring the horse to report.
This has happened more than once.
Along the way, it took two days just to clear the swamp.
"Let brothers be careful and go around to see if there is a way out."
"Everyone else, camp where you are."
"Lao Yu, you lead the people to set up camp, and I will lead the exploration team to dig holes."
Song Yang greeted him, and Yu Ming immediately led the Fuxing Army to camp on the spot.
When camping in the wild, just clear a place and install a tent.
I brought a lot of tents with me on this trip, so four people can sleep comfortably in one room.
"Come on, sir, will you camp with Lao Yu or go exploring with me?"
Song Yang looked happy.
This guy has a frosty look on his face.
The beard that was originally neat and elegant has become chaotic after more than ten days of sharing meals and sleeping outdoors.
"I'm going to explore with the prince!" Lai Mingxi said, holding the Luoyang shovel.
He made up his mind to get closer to Song Yang.
I have been struggling for more than ten days, and I have to persevere.
Song Yang nodded and led the exploration team towards the edge of the swamp in the west.
There is also a barren meadow here. I finally cleared a place and dug a hole here.
After working hard all morning, I saw that the campsite over at Yu Ming was almost ready.
The sun at the end of August was very scorching, and Lai Mingxi felt dizzy from being exposed to the sun.
He swore that he had never been exposed to more sunshine in his life than in these ten days...
"call!"
Lai Mingxi stood up and straightened up, holding his waist and leaning on the Luoyang shovel.
"Your Majesty, that..." Lai Mingxi seemed to have something to say.
"Just say whatever comes to mind."
Song Yang also straightened up and stretched. When he saw Lai Mingxi hesitating, he greeted him and said.
"Your Majesty, are we really looking for minerals? Actually, I am a local. This place was originally a wasteland meadow, and there are no big tombs..."
Lai Mingxi mustered up his courage and said.
He regarded Song Yang as a tomb robber.
No wonder, whoever is not a tomb robber would stab the ground with a Luoyang shovel.
Or bring a group of people to poke the ground together...
Song Yang didn't explain anything about oil or anything to Lai Mingxi.
Just talking about prospecting.
But this place is full of flat land, not even a hill. Can there be a mine in this place?
According to Lai Mingxi, ore must first be found in a place with rocks, such as a mountain.
This area is low-lying, almost turning into a pond and lake. There is not even a mound to be found. Where are the mountains and mines?
"You guy! When I said prospecting, I meant prospecting. What I'm looking for this time is oil! It's oil! It's not tomb robbing!"
"How could I do such a thing as tomb robbing!"
"Humph! At most it's a rescue archaeological excavation!"
Song Yang rolled his eyes at Mingxi and said angrily.
Lai Mingxi scratched his head. He knew what oil was.
"It's Menghuoyou. Do you know Menghuoyou?" Song Yang curled his lips and said.
"Fierce oil? I know. There is this stuff in the guardhouse. I heard it is from Hedong Road."
Song Yang was stunned by Lai Mingxi's answer.
This guy actually knows where oil comes from.
"Tell me the specific situation, where exactly is it?" Song Yang asked eagerly.
Lai Mingxi thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, I only know that Meng Huoyou came from somewhere near Taiyuan Prefecture on Hedong Road, but I don't know exactly where it came from."
It turns out that Lai Mingxi had a classmate who was the director of the Equipment Department of the Ministry of War, Guo Pinhuai, who was in charge of ordnance, so he bought it.
I came to Mingxi to hear Guo Pinhuai talk about the fierce fire oil incident.
At that time, Guo Pinhuai also made a small profit through Meng Huoyou's shopping, so he and Lai Mingxi showed off.
"Hedong Road... Okay. I know it. I will go back to look for it in the future. If I find it, I will count it on you." Song Yang said with a smile.
Lai Mingxi hurriedly cupped his fists to thank him.
"Your Majesty! A brother fell into the swamp ahead!"
Song Yang was about to invite people to have lunch by hand when suddenly a spy came in front and shouted hurriedly.
"Quick! Go and save people!"
When Song Yang heard that someone had fallen into the swamp, he hurriedly called to the Renaissance troops around him and rushed in that direction.
Tan Ma ran with Song Yang and others for five minutes.
Song Yang had already seen a person trapped in the meadow swamp ahead.
The man had sunk almost to his chest and was still struggling.
When Song Yang saw him struggling, he shouted hurriedly:
"Don't move! The more you move, the faster you will sink!"