Li Junche handed the rain-wet cloak to the eunuch and entered the royal study wearing a black robe with gold threads.
"You asked the Ministry of Personnel for a twenty-day leave. You don't plan to go to the palace on New Year's Eve. Are you going to Nancheng?" The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel sent Li Junche's leave letter to the emperor, so he called Li Junche over.
Li Junche admitted, "Yes, Jinhe is alone in Nancheng and will not return to the capital during the New Year. My son is going to Nancheng to celebrate the New Year with her."
After the emperor was silent for a long time, he said, "Three months have passed, and I don't know the construction status of the cross-river dam. You can just go over and help me take a look. Please pay attention to safety on the road."
A hint of surprise flashed in Li Junche's eyes, "Yes."
When leaving the capital, Li Junche rode on horseback and followed him with ten guards.
Mu Mingqian stood on the busy and noisy street. The cross-river dam was still under construction. Princess Che recruited many people to start building the infrastructure of Nancheng.
The city walls were torn down and rebuilt, roads were paved with cement, dilapidated houses were torn down and rebuilt, and even ditches in the fields had to be dug again. The money spent every day was a headache for me.
It's almost the Chinese New Year, and there's no holiday.
"Stop being so sad. The better Nancheng is built, the more comfortable you, the prefect, will be after the cross-river dam is built and the princess leaves with her people." Song Zhiyuan was wrapped in a thick cotton coat and said in his mouth He was fuming as he spoke.
Since coming to the north, my body has become stronger, but my whole body has become very rough, like a military attache who plays with weapons all day long.
Mu Mingqian's eyes flashed, and he leaned closer to Song Zhiyuan and muttered: "Sir Song, when we come to Nancheng, we can be considered brothers sharing weal and woe, and you are also King Che's cousin. Help me say something nice in front of King Che, and wait until the princess leaves. You can take me back with you."
He was simply implicated by his father. There was a conflict between him and Princess Che. It was none of his business!
Song Zhiyuan covered his hat and covered his ears, "The princess only has a fiefdom in Nancheng. They have a deep relationship as husband and wife. You are already the princess's right-hand man. This is more promising than the Hanlin Academy. Think about the coal mine." Mountain, how much money per day.”
Mu Mingqian blinked, "But it's too cold here and far away from the capital. I can't reunite with my family. No matter how much money I earn, it's not mine."
Song Zhiyuan: "When Nancheng is completed, you can just bring your relatives over."
In the room at the inn, there was a thick layer of water vapor on the windows, and there was a huge temperature difference between the inside and outside of the house.
Wen Jinhe's legs were covered with a thin quilt, and Man Dong was sitting on the table nearby. The two of them were calculating the money they would get from selling anthracite coal until February next year.
Since this is a necessity for every household in the cold winter, and the price is low, the demand is very high, and it is easy to get money.
But the expense of not being able to support Wen Jinhe is also high.
The construction of the Yuehe Dam and Nancheng were carried out at the same time. The sum of the money spent every day was calculated in the tens of thousands.
Staring at the data on the paper, Wen Jinhe rubbed her temples, "They say I'm rich, why can't I, the princess, see that?"
Man Dong raised his head and glanced at her, then lowered his head and continued. With Man Qiu's absence, her workload increased significantly.
The horses' hooves stepped on the frozen dirt road, even slipping where the puddles froze.
The cold wind blew against Li Junche's exposed eyes and forehead, and his long eyelashes were covered with a layer of frost.
After traveling all night, they finally entered the north on December 27th and could reach Nancheng in two days.
"Princess, three people from the Snow Country came around the mine and said they wanted to see you." Song Zhiyuan's steps were a little hasty, and his eyes looked at Wen Jinhe hesitantly.
Wen Jinhe raised his eyebrows in confusion, "I've never heard of people from the Snow Country."
In addition to Beidi Kingdom and Linyue Kingdom, are there other countries?
Song Zhiyuan explained: "I don't quite understand. They said they came from the Snowy Glacier."
The expression on Wen Jinhe's face became a little serious. She knew that the Snowfield Glacier was a place where the people of Linyue Kingdom and Beidi Kingdom had never set foot.
It is said that the place is covered with ice and snow all year round, and the temperature is so low that no one can bear to live there.
"Place people in the front hall, I'll go there later." An unfamiliar country name made Wen Jinhe feel a little wary.
Usakana was only wearing two thin clothes, and his back was still sweating. Looking at the anthracite burning in the corner, he wanted to drink a pot of tea to put it out.
Song Zhiyuan sat aside and looked at the three of them. He was tall and big, and the chair under his butt seemed to be unable to accommodate their huge bodies.
Wen Jinhe walked in through the small door in the front hall.
Looking at the petite and thin Wen Jinhe, Usakana and the other three stood up and saluted Wen Jinhe, placed their right hands on their chests and lowered their heads.
Wen Jinhe glanced at the faces of the three people. Their eye colors were different, and they should all be over two meters tall, taller than Li Junche.
"I wonder what you call the three of them?"
Zhao Bi and He Shi stood outside, keeping an eye on the situation in the room.
Usakana said: "Usakana, they separate Usazi and Usano."
Hearing that the three of them had the same last name, Wen Jinhe asked, "Are you brothers?"
Usakana shook his head in denial, "Our entire people in the Snow Country are named Usah, and that is the surname of our royal family."
"So that's it. The snowfield glaciers are covered with snow all year round and the weather is cold. We thought no one lived there. We don't know when the Snow Country was established?" Wen Jinhe stared at Usakana and continued to ask.
Usakana answered with pride: "It has been a hundred years since the founding of our Snow Kingdom, and the throne has changed three times. Although the snowfields and glaciers are extremely cold, God has given us the body to withstand the cold since we were born. In weather like this outside, we should wear a coat outside. Mink fur, no need to wear clothes underneath.”
Wen Jinhe looked at the long gown worn by the people of Beidi Kingdom in autumn, and her cheeks flushed red from the heat, "What is the population of Snow Kingdom?"
After thinking for a moment, Usakana replied: "I haven't counted them, but millions of people should be no problem."
Wen Jinhe even stayed with them for lunch.
After some conversation, it was revealed that Usakana and the three of them were businessmen from the Snow Country. They set out from Guse City, the royal capital of the Snow Country, to the Beidi Kingdom a few months ago.
Wen Jinhe once asked them why no one had ever set foot in the Snow Country since it had been established for more than a hundred years.
The answer given by Usakana was that the places outside the Snowfield Glacier were called foreign territories by them and were not protected by the gods. Therefore, in order to protect their people, the royal family of the Snow Kingdom ordered that no one should leave the Snowfield Glacier.
However, this imperial order was abolished half a year ago. The three of them left the snowfield glacier purely because they were curious about the outside world.
I asked to see her because I saw the benefits of anthracite for heating. Snow country people are naturally able to withstand the cold, but the bodies of newborn children are not that strong yet, so they have to be sent to the Fire City to be raised until they are three years old before they can go home.
With this anthracite, those children could grow up beside their parents. They were businessmen and discovered the benefits, so they wanted to do business with Wen Jinhe.
