readx;? When Roland got out of bed, it was already bright on the horizon. Pen Fun Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

He put on his coat and walked to the window, where the white buildings had revealed their own backgrounds, and the red tiles and gray walls mixed together to form a vibrant variegated color. It's still cold inside, but if you face the sun, you can feel a little warmth.

The earth has turned to snow.

Walking into the converted office of the study, today's breakfast was on the table, a fried egg and two pancakes, plus a glass of hot boiled water, as in the town, apparently prepared by Nightingale for himself.

"Thank you," Roland said to the empty chaise longue.

"How did you know I was here?" the nightingale gradually emerged.

"You won't sit if you can lie down," he smiled, holding two pancakes between the eggs and bringing them to his mouth, "and the back of the chair is sinking, and I don't know if there is a ghost." ”

"No, I like it to sit too," she dodged and appeared straight to the desk, turning over and sitting on the edge of the table, "like here." ”

This set of actions is smooth, and he never gets tired of watching it, Roland thought, especially the process of escaping into the fog and then getting out in an instant, it is like a jump.

"You seem to be in a good mood and have good dreams?"

She raised an eyebrow, "Well, it's a nice dream." ”

"That's good," Roland swallowed the "egg burger" in a few bites, "you'll have to follow me today." ”

"Because of the assassination?"

"Well," he froze, "if the list of gems is activated by Tifeko, there may be other dark chess in the West, and we won't be able to review everyone." "These brave and resourceful men who are loyal to the royal family should not be wasted on assassinations, they could have been put to a more promising position to use their abilities. Thinking of this, Roland further strengthened his determination to eradicate Tifeco's forces as soon as possible.

"As you wish, Your Highness," said Nightingale with a smile, "where are you going today?"

"Mines and salt wells, that's one of the main purposes of my visit. ”

......

After summoning Perot and a group of related personnel to the castle, the expedition team drove out of the city.

Although Roland was more concerned about the iron mines located in the Maple Leaf and Wild Rose, the gem trade was also the pillar industry of the Changge District, and it was also the closest to the fortress, so the first stop of the expedition was on this famous five-color gem mine.

Due to the snow, the ground became muddy and impassable for carriages, so the group had to ride slowly, and it took most of the morning to reach the edge of the desperate mountains. Roland was once again convinced of the truth that if you want to get rich, you must first build roads, there is no hard road leading to the mining area, once it rains, it will not be possible to transport ore smoothly, and no matter how high the output is, it is useless.

The vein is located in a natural cavern, and after a short narrow passage, the interior suddenly opens up, and nearly a hundred bundles of pine resin torches can only give a general picture of the scene inside the cave. Roland looked up and asked, "Is this cave a natural formation?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Perro nodded, "and it is rumored that it was discovered by accident: it was originally a smooth rock wall, but more than three hundred years ago there was a tremor in the earth, and the rock wall collapsed, revealing the current hole. At first, the local hunters only used this place as a shelter from the rain, but as they continued to explore, they discovered the existence of the five-colored gemstones. ”

"You know that very well," Roland laughed.

"These stories are a household name in the West," Perro beckoned one of the men in the group to pull closer, "his name is Denver Kerry, and he is the manager of the mine, so you can ask him about it." ”

"You're Duke Lane's man?"

"No, Your Highness, the Ke Lian clan does not belong to any lord," the man known as Denver bowed, he was about thirty years old, but he spoke like a calm old man, "We have lived around this mine for generations, and the hunters who found it are also one of the ancestors of the family. The family has served three dukes, and the map of the mine is as tall as a person, and no one knows the mine as well as Ke Lian. ”

It can be seen that he is very proud of this, and even in front of the prince of the Grey Castle, he can still talk eloquently. And that steady temperament is extraordinarily outstanding, coupled with a set of slim black uniforms, it is like the old housekeepers of those thousand-year-old families played in the movie.

Since the gang had all passed the Nightingale's review before leaving, Roland wasn't worried that he was a lurker, "Why is there no one mining in the mine now?"

"For the evil moon has just ended, Your Highness," replied Denver without thinking, "the snow in the mountains melts and merges into the mountains and flows downward. Although drainage ditches and catchment wells are set up in the mine, the speed of water collection is much faster than that of human transport, and the ore veins at the bottom are temporarily inaccessible. Traditionally, mining here has to wait until the summer arrives. ”

"Is this also the case with the iron ore in the Maple Leaf and Wild Rose Territories?"

"I've never been there, but I've heard that the two iron mines are much better off than here, with a higher ground and an upward road. But if you want to resume production, you will have to wait at least a month later. ”

"Looks like you're going to need to set up a few more steam engines to help pump water. Roland shrugged.

"Steam...... Machine, what's that?" Denver looked confused.

"A machine that keeps the mines going all year round," the prince couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth, "there's still a lot to learn about mining in the future." ”

The other party's expression seemed to be quite disbelieving, and his lips moved, but in the end he did not refute.

Roland didn't pay attention to it, the rail minecart and the supporting steam engine pumping and traction system were already very proficient in the North Slope mines, and even sold a set to the ore tycoons in Silverlight City, which sooner or later would be replaced with more efficient steam equipment - but he was not interested in gemstones, and would definitely give priority to the development of iron ore.

"In that case, let's go to the next place to investigate. Roland turned around.

"Wait, Your Highness...... This is a little bit of Ke Lian's heart, "Denver probably didn't expect the prince to leave immediately, so he hurriedly took two steps forward, took out a small wooden box from his arms, and handed it to him.

"Oh?" Roland took the box with great interest and opened the lid. I saw two sparkling gems lying in the box, and the light of the torch made it reflect the brilliance of red and green, which was dazzling. He couldn't help but be stunned, "This...... It's a multicolored stone?"

"Yes, Your Highness, they are the finest of the gemstones of the most authentic texture, and they are also treasured by the family from a hundred years ago. Denver stroked his chest and said, "The Ke Lian family is honored to serve the new master of the Westlands. ”

Roland didn't listen to the other man's second half of the sentence at all, his attention was all focused on the gem, this light was so familiar that even if he didn't know anything about minerals, he had heard of the name of this type of stone.

Compared with the ornamental name of multicolored stone, in later generations, it has another more popular name - diaspore. (To be continued.) )

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