Caravans are not an easy task, and even in the later world, it is not an easy thing to do if you want to transport goods from Asia to Europe, not to mention that it is still the beginning of the Tang Dynasty. The middle road is long, there is no transportation supply, the roads are complicated and indistinguishable, and it passes through many countries, and it is not possible for anyone to go all the way. Therefore, at the beginning, it is the most cost-effective way to cooperate with the Hu caravan that already has rich experience. In the beginning, while cooperating, I let my people go in to learn from experience and accumulate knowledge, and then slowly develop my own caravan. This is also the reason why Xia Hongsheng found Arhan.

Naturally, this matter is not so easy to think about and make a decision, so Xia Hongsheng gave Arhan three months. In three months, the civil and military conference will be over, and these things will be famous all over the world. From top to bottom, those who are sunny and snowy, and those who are under the riba, all know these things. At that time, the market value of these things will be the final blow to the Hu caravan's decision.

The day after Arhan left, it was not the day of the court, but Xia Hongsheng got up early in the morning, and he had to go to the palace and ask Li Shimin for a will. Xia Hongsheng needs the help of various states and counties to find such a black liquid that can be lit.

Although we know where China's major oil-producing areas are, many of them are obviously unusable under the current conditions. For example, in the northeast region, which is now Liaodong, is occupied by the Tatar and Goryeo people. and the Xinjiang region in later generations, which is now the territory of some small countries in the Western Regions. On the Lingnan side, because the degree of development is very low. It's also very inconvenient. And so it goes. For the time being, we can only focus on Central China and North China in the future generations.

Fortunately. There are also several large oil fields in the Central Plains.

Xia Hongsheng took a carriage, arrived outside the Suzaku Gate, and entered the palace. At this time, Li Shimin was still exercising, Xia Hongsheng went to wait outside the courtyard where Li Shimin was exercising, and the reason why he didn't go in to meet him was because he knew that Li Shimin would take his wife, children and daughter to exercise together in the morning, so he didn't go in.

After waiting outside the hospital for a while, I heard Li Shimin say this with a smile and walked out.

Xia Hongsheng took a few steps forward to greet him: "Meet Your Majesty!" ”

"Xia Qing? Why did Xia Qing enter the palace so early today? Li Shimin saw Xia Hongsheng waiting there. So he asked, "But what happened to those people?" ”

Xia Hongsheng shook his head and replied, "Weichen wants to ask His Majesty for a will. ”

"Go to the study and say." Li Shimin said to Xia Hongsheng.

Xia Hongsheng bowed down and waited for Li Shimin to pass, and then followed behind Li Shimin to the imperial study. Li Shimin sat down, and then asked again: "Okay, what is the matter with Xia Qing, you can talk to me carefully." ”

Xia Hongsheng did not rush to make a request, but spoke to Li Shimin first: "Your Majesty, the minister wants to tell Your Majesty about a real thing first. ”

Li Shimin looked up at Xia Hongsheng and leaned back. Then he smiled and said, "Xia Qing is going to talk about the big truth with me again?" Hehe, that's it. Xia Qing said. ”

"Your Majesty, in the far west, that is, in the past Persia, and then continue westward, there is a vast empire called the Byzantine Empire. Its capital, Constantinople, was once in an atmosphere of extreme tension. The capital has been besieged by the enemy for many days, and it is in danger. The enemy's fleet was immense, with no end in sight, and was equipped with excellent siege machines. And what about the Byzantine side? But there were only a dozen warships, and the rest were small ships. Under such circumstances, the two sides started an unusually tragic battle. Your Majesty can guess what the outcome of this battle was? ”

"If you look at it normally, then naturally this Byzantium is going to lose. The disparity between the forces of the two sides is too great, and no matter how strong the city is, it will not be able to last too long after all. Li Shimin said with a smile: "However, since Xia Qing said it so and asked the question, then I have to say that Byzantium won, right?" ”

Xia Hongsheng nodded and said, "Not bad." Your Majesty, the outcome of that war was quite striking, and in the battle, the Byzantines used a magical flame that they sprayed from small boats, and these flames fell directly on the approaching enemy ships, and some fell into the water. Strangely enough, instead of being extinguished by the water, the flames swooped down on the enemy's ships with even more ferocity. The enemy's fleet was suddenly engulfed in flames, about two-thirds of the ships were completely burned, and the rest were like frightened birds, crushed by the united Byzantine fleet, and were attacked by a storm in the retreat, and at last only a dozen scarred and broken ships remained. The terrible thing is that when they look back, the flames are still not extinguished, the flames are burning on the surface of the sea, burning in the storm, like hell fires, the more flooded, the more intense they burned. The enemy was so frightened that he did not dare to attack Byzantium again for the next thirty years. More than thirty years later, the enemy had a young king, who attacked Byzantium again, but once again encountered this fire and returned with a feather. ”

What Xia Hongsheng said was a war between the Arabs and the Byzantine Empire, although it would happen in a few decades, but Xia Hongsheng said it in order to arouse Li Shimin's coveting of this flame.

"Oh? Is there really such a flame in the world? Li Shimin asked with interest: "It can burn in water, and the more the water is poured on, the more it burns...... Isn't this the three-flavor true fire in the sky? ”

"Your Majesty, most of the people in the country of Byzantium are Greeks, so those enemies call this fire Greek fire. Byzantium itself, on the other hand, called this fire "the fire of the sea", "the fire of flowing", and "the flame of liquid". Xia Hongsheng said to Li Shimin: "Using this flame as a weapon is huge. The power of this weapon, the Byzantine empire, which occupied a large amount of land in the far west with this weapon, and maintained it for more than a thousand years, shows the power of this weapon. ”

Li Shimin's expression was really grim, and his two eyes stared directly at Xia Hongsheng: "Xia Qing came to talk about this matter today, why did he come to talk about it?" ”

"Your Majesty, if Weichen had said that the Greek fire of Byzantium had only been a mistake, a crude use, a waste that had not been taken into account, and had not really exerted its power. And after a lot of experiments and demonstrations, can he now create a more powerful weapon than this? Xia Hongsheng bowed down and said to Li Shimin: "Your Majesty will agree to give Weichen a will to find raw materials for making this kind of thing?" ”

"What?!" Rao is Li Shimin, and he is a little unsettled at the moment: "So, is there really such a thing?!" Can Xia Qing make it?! ”

"Your Majesty, this thing has actually been discovered by the people a long time ago!" Xia Hongsheng took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and presented it to Li Shimin with both hands.

Li Shimin didn't wait for Wang De to get it, he strode over and took the paper directly from Xia Hongsheng's hand, and saw a few words copied on it:

"Gao Nu has water to burn." - The Book of Han

"Gansu Jiuquan Yanshou County Nanshan spring water, water fat, such as gravy, in the holding vessel, yellow at the beginning and then black, such as condensation paste, burning extremely bright, no different from the paste, the paste and the water jar is very good, the other side of the people call the stone paint" - "Naturalist"

"This is ......," Li Shimin looked at Xia Hongsheng's excerpt on the paper.

Xia Hongsheng bowed and saluted, and said, "Your Majesty, the things mentioned in these two sentences are the raw materials for making this flame. The will that Weichen wants to ask His Majesty is to order the states and counties of Longyou Dao, Guannei Dao, Henan Dao, Hedong Dao, and Hebei Dao to find this black, grease-like water that can be ignited! With this kind of water, it is possible to make that kind of fire, and the fire that is made is even better than the Greek fire that His Majesty has spoken of. In fact, there are countless such things in and around my Datang, and the most convenient for us to use is the existence in the few Dao that Fang Cai Weichen said, and I also ask Your Majesty to issue an order to order these Daozhong counties to find this kind of oil! ”

Li Shimin lowered his head and thought for a while, and then asked Xia Hongsheng: "Xia Qing, how sure are you that you can make this kind of thing?" ”

"I don't dare to say too much, but the minister is seventy percent sure." Xia Hongsheng looked at Li Shimin and said truthfully.

Li Shimin looked at Xia Hongsheng, and then looked at the piece of paper in his hand: "If it is true that the ancestors have already discovered this thing, why don't they see anyone using it?" ”

"Because no one knows how to use it correctly." Xia Hongsheng smiled and said, "And it just so happens that there is this method in the Gewu that Weichen has learned. ”

Li Shimin smiled: "Okay! Seventy percent sure, enough! ”

There is no 100 percent certainty in this world, as long as there is 50 percent certainty, Li Shimin will consider it, 60 percent certainty, Li Shimin will be prepared, and 70 percent certainty, Li Shimin will dare to take action immediately, and this courage and decisiveness is one of the reasons for his success.

"If Your Majesty is worried, you can order the guard of Yan'an County in Guannei Province to look for this thing. The high slave of the Han Dynasty is now Yan'an County, and the Weishui is a tributary of Yanshui, His Majesty can make the place find some first, send it to Chang'an, and let Weichen test it first. Xia Hongsheng saw that Li Shimin agreed, so he said again: "When Weichen is successfully made, Your Majesty will order other parties to find this oil in their own ways." ”

"Yes, Yan'an County is in Gyeonggi Province, not far from Chang'an, you can find some to send first, and Xia Qing will make some for me to see." Li Shimin nodded and said, "If it is really as magical as Xia Qing said, it is not too late to let all the provinces find such things." (To be continued.) )