When talking to Ge Songdao about territorial expansion, Liu Mingqi did not get the desired effect.

But he was not discouraged either.

It would be strange if Ge Songdao was full of interest from the beginning and wanted to do something big.

After all, in the eyes of people today, including Nanzhao, it is not a good place, let alone other countries that are more remote.

This also requires Liu Mingqi to constantly tell them the importance of these places through facts.

Once the imperial tycoons know the true importance of these places, the saying "since ancient times" will appear.

No hurry.

Liu Mingqi is only seventeen years old and has at least fifty years to advance this.

But Ge Songdao talked about another thing.

"Your Highness, the official really likes the honeycomb coal you made. It is cheap and easy to use, and is most suitable for people in Xikang." Ge Songdao said: "But there is one thing that is bad. Its freight is too expensive! This causes us to use it very expensive."

The boy nodded.

Sichuan is surrounded by mountains and is naturally easy to defend and difficult to attack.

But this also made it difficult for Sichuan to communicate with the outside world, otherwise the poet would not have the feeling of "the road to Shu is difficult".

Dakang is very attentive to the construction of waterways in China.

In addition to the Grand Canal, Yellow River Waterway, and Yangtze River Waterway, there are many other tributary waterways.

For example, from the Imperial Palace to Chengdu, you can walk the Han River Waterway.

From the Danjiangkou waters to the west of Xinye, take a boat down the Han River and arrive at Wuhan, the thoroughfare of nine provinces, then from Wuhan to the Yangtze River Waterway, flowing upwards to Yibin, and then from the Minjiang Waterway in Yibin to Chengdu.

It seems to have to be turned several times, but this is much more convenient than simply using a carriage to transport it.

A ship can carry hundreds of thousands of kilograms or even more supplies, how much can a carriage carry?

How much does it consume for shipping and how much does it consume for carriages?

If you think about it carefully, you will know why the Song Dynasty was so rich.

People's shipping accounts for more than half of all transportation!

Moreover, there was sea transportation in the Song Dynasty, and sea transportation would never be like my Ming Dynasty. Even the ship could float away at any time.

But, as Ge Songdao said, the journey was still too long.

If it is a small thing with high value added, such as flower essential oil, shipped to Chengdu, the shipping fee is equivalent to its selling price, which is almost negligible - you can carry a hundred bottles with you, so it doesn't take much effort.

But it was so cheap that it was only two cents of honeycomb coal. After shipping all the sea and land, the price of arriving in Chengdu was almost doubled.

Not to mention shipping to Xikang, it takes even more effort.

If it weren't for transporting border military supplies, it would be costly, and I'm afraid I'll get five or six cents a piece.

This price is definitely not very expensive compared to wood and coal, after all, they also need to be transported or cut down in such a way.

Moreover, the convenient use of honeycomb coal under extreme conditions and the sense of security and soothing it gives people is far from comparable to coal and wood.

But wouldn't it be good if it could be cheaper and save more money to do other things?

Surely good!

But now there is another problem that needs to be solved.

Liu Mingqi said directly: "Does the Governor want our Prince Yu Mansion to open a honeycomb coal workshop in Chengdu?"

"right!"

Ge Songdao said without any concealment, "If that were the case, it would be great."

Except for Sichuan, the three southwestern provinces, the other two are very poor.

The demand for cheap, durable and convenient fuels is endless.

Why has Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan not caused large-scale natural environment damage in history?

Very simple.

Because these places are very poor, with vast land and sparsely populated.

With a small population, how much can it be used for cutting down?

In addition, these three provinces have more mountains and more vegetation, which is far higher than those in the plain provinces in the east and northwest, so the speed of using wood is equal to the speed of wood growth.

In Liu Mingqi's mind, in fact, the increase in population in these provinces is the most in line with Dakang's interests.

After all, if you want to control the entire Indochina Peninsula, you will not be able to completely incorporate it into the embrace of Dakang without tens of millions of immigrants.

Since you want to increase your population, you must have sufficient food and good and cheap resources.

Honeycomb coal is one of them.

Liu Mingqi said: "I think it's good, but there is a very important problem that needs to be solved."

Ge Songdao was overjoyed, "Your Highness, please tell me, we can solve any difficulties."

He thought Liu Mingqi would have to take control for a long time, but he didn't expect that this young man was so straightforward.

"Is there a large coal mine in Sichuan?" Liu Mingqi asked.

"Well……"

Ge Songdao had a headache, "We have a large coal mine in Weiyuan... I wonder how much production you need for your highness?"

"If you want to make honeycomb coal, you need to prepare at least 3 billion yuan per year. If you consider Nanzhao and other places, even 5 billion yuan is not a big deal." Liu Mingqi said, "According to half a pound of each honeycomb coal, it takes about 2 billion pounds of coal to be enough. Can it be produced? If there is no convenient coal resources, then setting up a honeycomb coal workshop in Sichuan is a tower in the air, which is unreliable."

Why can we build a honeycomb coal workshop in Beijing, and we did two at once?

Isn’t it because Jincheng, Shanxi is only 400 miles away from the capital, and coal can be transported in two days?

Isn’t it because although Yuncheng in Shanxi is 800 miles away from the capital, it is a town on the same Yellow River waterway as the capital, so is the water transportation very convenient and fast?

If Sichuan does not have convenient coal mine resources, how big is the difference between the cost of transporting coal and the cost of transporting honeycomb coal directly?

There is no need to be so troublesome!

"I have to ask to find out."

Ge Songdao said, then stood up, went outside the study room and ordered for a while before coming back.

After returning, he said apologetically: "I am not very familiar with this, so I am making your Highness laugh."

"No." Liu Mingqi shook his hand, "It is impossible for people to be fully equipped. It is called mediocre. Specializing in one's own way and implementing it from beginning to end. This is a capable minister. For example, if Governor Ge wants to take Nanzhao into his pocket, then he will definitely succeed!"

Ge Songdao was amused when he heard this, "Your Highness seems to have an obsession with Nanzhao. What exactly attracts you?"

"Who can refuse to expand its territory?" Liu Mingqi said with a smile.

He did not continue to discuss the matter with Ge Songdao.

Even if there is no such righteousness to suppress it, when the tobacco harvest in Yibin is good, and when they find that Yunnan is the best place to grow tobacco, it doesn’t take Liu Mingqi to say that, there will naturally be a sound in the court, and it will become louder and louder.

Wealth moves people's hearts.

How come anyone dislikes too many ace products exported like cigarettes?

The two chatted for a while, and someone came back from outside.

Ge Songdao got the note, glanced and handed it to Liu Mingqi: "The annual output should be around one billion jin. If your Highness’s honeycomb coal workshop needs it, we can further expand the production, and there is no problem with 2 billion jin!"

He finally felt relieved at this moment.

If the annual output is only 300 million jin, then I'm really embarrassed to let Liu Mingqi build a honeycomb coal workshop here.

Ge Songdao never felt that the output of "five billions" that Liu Mingqi said was just a matter of talking nonsense.

It is not an exaggeration to know that this number is a bit of an exaggeration.

The area near Tubo in Xikang is covered with heavy snow for at least three months a year, and the cold weather lasts almost half a year.

Just for the garrisons over there and their families, one billion honeycomb coal a year is definitely not too much, and one hundred and a half billion can be used - now isn't it? After the order of one billion, I'm still going to ship 10 or 20 million to there every month.

In addition, the northern Sichuan area is close to the northwest and is relatively cold and requires honeycomb coal for heating.

Not to mention Guizhou, a mountain province that is rainy all day long.

Their firewood burning was a pain. A village started cooking, and thick smoke could cover a radius of one thousand meters.

If honeycomb coal is available and wet wood is replaced, it will definitely be a blessing for the people of Guizhou.

Ge Songdao's first time he left Beijing to serve as an official in Guizhou. His parents, wife and children also died in Guizhou. He took revenge on his relatives and avenged his relatives.

Therefore, Guizhou has a great significance to him, and he is certainly willing to give Guizhou people a better life.

In addition, you don’t need to mention the role of honeycomb coal in the daily lives of Sichuan people. They can also use honeycomb coal worth two cents a piece of honeycomb coal to cook. Isn’t this much cheaper than coal and wood? It’s much more convenient?

Just counting it like this, you have to use 30 to 4 billion honeycomb coal a year. If you sell it to Nanzhao according to Prince Yu’s plan, then you shouldn’t prepare more?

So people just talk nonsense without opening their mouths and making things difficult for others.

Liu Mingqi looked at the note, which was not written on it, "Weiyuan Coal Mine's annual output xx kilograms", but wrote down the output in January this year and February's output... and continued to write down the previous May output.

This shows that the person who writes data is very cautious and serious, and does not make it big.
To be continued...