"General Li," Taoist Zhao once again used his words to promote himself: "This poor Taoist can not only judge people and read fortunes, but also identify ghost houses and know Feng Shui. He can also pray for blessings, hold fasts, and draw various talismans to ward off evil spirits and avoid disasters.
.In the future, I will be responsible for all the major and minor rituals in the general's home, ancestor worship and relocation, and the location selection of the tomb."
Li Siye grinned and retorted: "You opened this Taoist temple for my family. I, Li Siye, am not so blessed, nor do I have the financial resources to support such a big Taoist temple like yours."
"Pindao can also refine various elixirs! The materials for identifying stone ores, herbs, and refining elixirs are hidden in thousands of worlds and among all things in the world. There is arsenic in gold and copper ores, and quartz in shallow rivers.
Zeng Qing obtained iron and turned it into copper, fire refined the stone and turned it into true marble, cinnabar was mostly produced in the hot springs of Jingchu caves, and..."
Zhao Zheng said a lot in a long breath, and Li Siye, who had been squinting his eyes, opened his eyes slightly, which made him happy. It seemed that this alchemy contained information that customers were interested in, and there was hope for his Taoist temple!
Li Siye pinched his chin and asked, "Where does sulfur come from?"
This was a sub-question as well as a proposition. After thinking hard, Zhao Zhengyi breathed a sigh of relief and answered: "There is sulfur in cinnabar, orpiment, realgar, sulfur, and copper-iron ore, but it must be
It is a yellowish ore that looks like gold, but is actually sulfur."
Li Siye asked in surprise: "Really, you didn't lie to me?"
Taoist priest Zhao felt more relaxed now. It turned out that he didn't know. He handed over his hand and vowed: "I dare to use my head to guarantee that the sulfur is indeed in the iron and copper mine."
General Li continued to ask shamelessly: "May I ask, sir, what role does this sulfur play in alchemy?"
Zhao Zhengyi was sure that Li Siye was interested in elixirs, so he tried his best to explain to him: "The cinnabar is refined in the elixir furnace, and after removing the sulfur, it becomes mercury. However, the purpose of mercury is to convert gold and stone."
It is extracted from the essence of the essence. Sometimes these essences do not blend together, but sulfur can make them aggregate into elixir, which is indispensable."
How is this alchemy? This is simply a chemical experiment. The emperors are really brave enough. Not to mention whether they are poisoned or not, the stone disease alone is enough for them.
Li Siye's expression finally relaxed. He stretched out his hand and nodded his forehead and said, "Let's do this, Daoist Zhao, you first choose a piece of land in Shule City. It doesn't matter if the area is larger. It's best to stay away from residential areas."
Zhao Zhengyi was puzzled: "Why do you want to stay away from the streets?"
"Ahem." Li Siye said seriously: "Taoist temples are mainly about purity. How can they be mixed in the secular world like other sects? You have to appear new and different."
"Okay, the general likes peace and quiet, so I will do as I please."
"Also, I will first pay to build a backyard and an alchemy room for you, and you can settle down for the time being."
Taoist priest Zhao was speechless again. The donor had paid to build the Taoist temple. How could he say that the backyard and alchemy room should be built first? Shouldn't the front yard and Sanqing Hall be built first?
Li Siye reached out and patted his shoulder again to persuade: "Don't worry, the Taoist temple will definitely give you a place to build the alchemy room. For the time being, build the alchemy room first. You will have a safe place to refine alchemy. After all, it is a big project, and Chang'an is not a day."
It’s built.”
Taoist Zhao was very satisfied with being able to persuade him to this point. He almost gave up just now. Fortunately, Li Siye suddenly changed his mind. He did not expect General Li to like elixirs, which was beyond his expectation.
As for how to get Li Siye to spend all the money to build a Taoist temple in the future, he has this confidence. Isn't it because he likes elixirs? I will make the elixirs for you to eat. When you get addicted to them, it will be up to you whether you still pay for the repairs.
?
Zhao Zhengyi once again bowed to Li Siye and said: "General Li has a kind heart and helps our Taoist temples to flourish in Qixi. This is really an indispensable merit. Emperor Xuanyuan will definitely protect him in his throne in heaven."
The general will have smooth sailing, and his official career will be prosperous."
"Okay," Li Siye stood up and said with his hands folded: "You don't have a place to stay in Shule yet. It's past the first watch now, so you can stay in the house temporarily."
"Here comes someone."
Madam Wu, who had been waiting outside the hall for a long time, came in and said, "Alang, Taoist Priest."
"Clean up a room in the house for Taoist Zhao to live in, and send some dishes over."
"Here."
Zhao Zhengyi thanked Li Siye again, turned around and walked out after Mrs. Wu.
Li Siye looked at his figure disappearing into the night as he walked down the corridor pillar, and said to himself secretly: "You could have just said you were a chemist, and you would have wasted so much spit."
Li Mei'er walked up behind his brother, raised his hand to wipe his nose and asked, "Brother, do you really want to give the old Taoist a monastery? Where did you get so much money?"
Li Siye was in a good mood and said jokingly: "Of course I have a lot of money. If you get married in the future, your dowry will be a house."
"It's really annoying. Why do you bring this up? I'm going out. You can have a good rest."
Li Meier jumped and ran out, laughing and muttering with someone outside the window for a long time, then disappeared from the study with a lantern. The light covered with gauze flickered through the hollow door and finally disappeared.
Li Siye sat back under the oil lamp in front of the desk, feeling quite uneasy. Today was a great day, and he unexpectedly met such a Taoist priest. He picked up his pen and prepared to write down some more ideas, but couldn't write a single word, so he had to rub his hands and feel sleepy.
He stood up from the corner of his eyes, turned around and came to the couch, lifted up the quilt and lay down.
In the early morning of the next day, Li Siye and Zhao Zheng parted ways as soon as they left the governor's residence. Zhao went to look for his geomantic treasures to build a Taoist temple, while Li Siye went to the Shule Governor's Mansion, which was not far from his residence.
Governor Pei Guoliang, a foreigner with a white face and a high nose, was riding a horse in the backyard to practice polo in a crotchless robe. Unfortunately, the backyard of the Governor's Mansion was too small, and the ball was always knocked out of the wall, which took several hours of hard work.
The boy ran out to pick up the ball again and again.
The Persian steward stood at the door of the backyard and reported: "Good Lord, the new garrison general Li is here to visit."
Pei Guoliang got off his horse, handed the whip back to him and said, "How many times have I told you that I want to call you Alang."
"Yes, Alang."
"You should shout."
"Here."
He walked through the stone porch and came to the front yard. Li Siye was standing in the yard admiring the architecture of the Dudu Mansion. The layout was very Chinese-style, but due to the lack of materials, the roof of the main house was made of wide wooden tiles, but the brackets were
It's quite quintessential.
Governor Pei greeted him with his arms raised: "General Li, please come inside."
The two of them entered the hall. There was a screen in the middle, and in front of the screen was a table made of white stone.
"Please take a seat."
The bed had a backrest and was very soft to sit on. The maid in the mansion brought goat milk tea in an ivory cup, and steam filled the room in front of Li Siye.
"General Li is here to visit, but what's the important matter?"
Li Siye stroked the ivory cup and replied: "It's true. In the entire Shule region, there is only one treatment station for horses in Shule City. This is of course far from enough. At least there should be one in Yandu Prefecture and Bincheng Prefecture. I
We are also planning to change the way the military supplies logistics and set up two departments that specialize in the production of dry food and cured meat to supply this type of food to the entire army. Therefore, I came here to inform the governor specifically that a large amount of money must be allocated for preparations.
I don’t know how the Shule Army’s military expenses are calculated this year and whether they have been allocated.”
Governor Pei felt a headache when he heard this, and quickly ordered the housekeeper: "Go to the official warehouse in the city and ask Master Bai, who manages the account books, to come to the house. Oh, let him bring the account books with him."
The steward crossed his hands and said hello and left. Li Siye and Pei Guoliang sat in front of the case and chatted. After a while, Lord Bai came to the two of them. He crossed his hands and said, "Envoy Li Zhen, Governor Pei, I don't know if I have summoned my subordinates to come here."
What are your orders?"
Pei Guoliang leaned on the back of the bed and said calmly: "You manage the accounts of the Dudu Mansion. Please tell us about Shule Town's financial income and treasury balance."
"Okay." Master Bai opened the account and looked at it carefully for a few times, then closed his hands and said: "Two generals, Shule Town's rent income last year was 12,000 dendrobiums of highland barley.
There are 5,300 sheep. The income from farming is 33,000 dendrobium. 6.8 million kilograms of hay are harvested from the pastures and 20% is handed over to the Protectorate. Only 36,000 dendrobium is left, and 4,000 hu are left for the sheep.
Two hundred heads, no need to hand over the fodder."
Li Siye thought about it and asked: "How many horses can be fed by six million kilograms of fodder?"
Bai Zhu Bo Chashou said: "General, there are currently 3,200 horses in Shule Town, including the private horses of the army lieutenants. This has reached the limit of the forage supply. Even so, we have to allocate one horse every year.
Thousands of dendrobium barley is used as horse feed."
"Is this the only amount of fodder you can get from the pasture?"
"General Qi, first of all, there is really little pasture in Shule Town, and it is not as vast as the vast pasture at the southern foot of Nanshan Mountain in Qiuci. Secondly, most of the local people make a living by grazing, and our Tang army's horses also eat nearby.
As autumn and winter approach, the pastures near Shule Town have been gnawed clean, but the grass far away from Shule and close to the mountains is withered and yellow, so there is less forage to harvest and store.”
Li Siye understood. This was the result of lack of overall planning. Nomads had to move from one place to another for grazing, six or seven times a year, and they had to leave a piece of grass for winter storage. The fixed garrison of the Tang Army made them unable to compete with the nomadic people.
Generally, grassland resources are used rationally. Two or three pieces of turf can be chewed back and forth several times, even the grass roots are eaten away.
It seems that what he needs to solve right now is not the lack of horses, but the inability to properly optimize the use of pasture.