201: Chapter 201 Smokeless Coal and Honeycomb Coal Heating Stoves

"My Lord..."

Lu Jia said with a look of worry, "The Xiongnu people have a massive amount of wool. If they all use wool to exchange for grain with us, I'm afraid we won't be able to keep up with the supply."

From the enthusiasm shown by Jin Tu and the others in exchanging wool for grain, it was clear that they were more than happy to make the trade.

Their grain production simply couldn't match the sheer volume of the Xiongnu's wool. Furthermore, the 1.7 million people they had in Shangjun also required a vast amount of food.

Although the Lord had purchased a large quantity of grain before coming to Shangjun,

at this rate of consumption, a food shortage was bound to occur.

This would be detrimental to encouraging more Xiongnu Tribes to surrender to the Lord.

Thinking of this, Lu Jia grew increasingly anxious.

"My Lord."

Lu Jia proposed, "Perhaps we should raise our requirements."

"Let us demand fifty, or even a hundred catties of wool from the Xiongnu people in exchange for one catty of our grain."

"I believe the Xiongnu people would still be willing to trade with us!"

Zhao Fusu shook his head and said, "What I want is to quickly occupy the wool purchasing market."

"The wool business is also a vital means for me to divide the Xiongnu people."

"Once the purchasing price of wool drops, it will have a massive impact on this strategy of mine."

Lu Jia understood this logic all too well.

He said worriedly, "But if all the Xiongnu people bring their wool to exchange for grain, we won't have enough to give them!"

This was the core issue of his concern.

"It's fine,"

Zhao Fusu said with a smile.

He had already considered the problem Lu Jia was thinking about.

He didn't intend to use only grain to exchange for wool with the Xiongnu.

After entering November, the weather was getting colder and colder.

Especially at night, temperatures could drop to six degrees below zero, and the water vats left outside were frozen solid.

His current location was further south than the Xiongnu territory, and it was already this cold.

The Xiongnu territory would only be even colder than here.

They would certainly be desperate for warmth.

Thus, the honeycomb coal made from anthracite, along with the honeycomb coal heating stove, would have a massive market.

He intended to use these to trade for wool from the Xiongnu.

Besides providing heat, the honeycomb coal heating stove could be used for cooking and boiling water, and it came equipped with a chimney for smoke exhaust; selling it for two thousand coins was quite reasonable.

Since the Xiongnu had plenty of wool anyway, he would let them exchange two thousand catties of wool for one honeycomb coal heating stove.

And two catties of wool for one catty of honeycomb coal made from anthracite.

Zhao Fusu had such ideas because, naturally, through his system check-ins, he had obtained a distribution map of industrial anthracite and the manufacturing methods for honeycomb coal.

Shangjun was a desolate place with little grain, but it was not far from Shanxi, and the coal resources here were extremely abundant.

According to the industrial anthracite distribution map, he saw that the anthracite production in Rujigou was very rich.

The anthracite produced there also featured low ash, low sulfur, and high calorific value.

With low sulfur and phosphorus content, combustion pollution was minimal.

Burning honeycomb coal made from this anthracite not only produced little smoke and less dust, but the odor was also not that strong.

During the days Lu Jia was traveling to the Tuan Tribe, Zhao Fusu had dispatched a large number of men to Rujigou to mine and process anthracite.

Additionally, he had gathered a group of blacksmiths to produce the honeycomb coal heating stoves.

This type of heating equipment using honeycomb coal as fuel was widely used in the past for household heating, especially in areas without centralized heating.

Even now, in the rural areas of the north, honeycomb coal heating stoves were still in use.

The honeycomb coal heating stove mainly consisted of the stove body, the stove core, the stove door, and the chimney.

The stove body was made of iron and had certain thermal insulation properties.

The stove core was where the honeycomb coal was placed, lined with refractory materials to withstand high temperatures.

The stove door was used for adding fuel and cleaning out slag, while the chimney was used to exhaust the waste gases produced by combustion.

By lighting the honeycomb coal, it would burn thoroughly within the stove core, generating heat.

The heat would radiate into the room through the stove body, achieving the goal of heating.

At the same time, the chimney's role was to form a ventilation channel, allowing air to enter the stove to provide oxygen for combustion, ensuring it continued, and discharging waste gases like carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide outdoors.

When using a honeycomb coal heating stove, one must maintain good indoor ventilation to ensure waste gases are promptly exhausted; otherwise, the carbon monoxide produced could be lethal.

"Ziming, come into my main tent."

With that, Zhao Fusu led Lu Jia into the main tent where he had installed a honeycomb coal heating stove.

Upon entering the tent, the first thing Lu Jia noticed was the newly added honeycomb coal heating stove.

"This is?"

Lu Jia looked toward Zhao Fusu with curious eyes.

Clearly, this strange object was another creation of his Lord.

"This is a honeycomb coal heating stove."

Zhao Fusu explained to Lu Jia with a smile.

He walked up to the stove and opened its vent.

Whoosh!

Instantly, flames surged within the honeycomb coal heating stove.

"This!"

Lu Jia found it quite miraculous.

He had clearly seen that the stove wasn't lit just a moment ago.

How did the flames suddenly become so large just by opening it!

Zhao Fusu laughed and said, "The stove was already lit; I had just temporarily sealed it."

"I do this because honeycomb coal is not easy to ignite."

The reason Zhao Fusu explained it in such detail to Lu Jia

was that he needed Lu Jia to promote this honeycomb coal and the heating stoves to the Tuan Tribe.

For Lu Jia to persuade the people of the Tuan Tribe, he first had to understand these items himself.

"When this honeycomb coal burns, there's little smoke, the heat is very high, it lasts a long time, and it's not expensive."

"It is a divine tool for keeping warm in the dead of winter!"

Lu Jia listened carefully, silently committing everything to memory.

Based on his understanding of his Lord,

the Lord would certainly not say so much to him for no reason.

Earlier, he had told the Lord that if the Xiongnu all used wool to trade for grain, the pressure on their food supply would be too great, and they might not be able to manage the turnover.

If this honeycomb coal and stove were divine tools for warmth, then not only would the Great Qin soldiers guarding the border need them, but the Xiongnu, whose lands were even colder, would need them even more.

Lu Jia instantly understood Zhao Fusu's plan.

Presumably, the Lord wanted the Xiongnu to use their wool to exchange for this honeycomb coal and these heating stoves!

Seeing Lu Jia's eyes light up, Zhao Fusu knew that Lu Jia had grasped his intention.

The corner of his mouth curled up.

"My Lord, how do you seal the stove?"

"And what is the purpose of sealing it?"

Lu Jia had never used a honeycomb coal heating stove and did not understand how it worked.