When Roland got up from the bed, the sky was already bright.
He put on his coat and walked to the window. The white buildings had already revealed their respective background colors, and the red tiles and gray walls were mixed together to form a vibrant variegated color. Although it is still cold indoors, if you face the sun, you can feel a little mild warmth.
The ground has melted.
Walking into the office transformed from the study, there was today's breakfast on the table, a fried egg, two pancakes, and a cup of hot water, just like in the small town, obviously Nightingale helped him prepare it.
"Thank you," Roland said to the empty lounge chair.
"How do you know I'm here?" Nightingale's figure gradually emerged.
"You can't sit if you can lie down," he smiled, sandwiching the eggs between two pancakes and bringing them to his mouth, "and the back of the chair is sunken, I don't know if there is a ghost."
"No, I also like sitting," she dodged, appeared directly at the desk, turned over and sat on the edge of the table, "like here."
This set of actions is so smooth that it is always endless to see, Roland thought, especially the process of escaping into the fog and then getting out in a flash, it is like a transition.
"You seem to be in a good mood and have a good dream?"
She raised her eyebrows, "Well, it was a good dream."
"That's good," Roland swallowed the "egg burger" in a few bites, "you have to follow me today."
"Because of the assassination?"
"Well," he condensed, "if it is true that the list of gems was activated by Tifeko, there may be other secret games in the Western Region, and we can't review everyone." These are not loyal to the royal family. Second, courageous and resourceful people should not be wasted on assassination, they could have put their abilities into more promising positions. Thinking of this, Roland further strengthened his determination to eradicate the Tifeko forces as soon as possible.
"As you wish, Your Highness," Nightingale smiled, "Where are you going today?"
"Mine caves and salt wells, that's one of my main reasons for coming here."
…
After summoning Pei Luo and a group of related personnel to the castle, the inspection team headed out of the city in a mighty manner.
Although Roland is more concerned about the iron mines located in Maple Leaf and Briar Rose, the gem trade is also the pillar industry of Changge District, and it is also the closest to the fortress, so the first stop of the inspection was this famous Five-color gemstone mine.
Due to the melting snow, the ground became muddy and the carriage could not pass through. The group could only ride on horses slowly, and it took most of the morning to reach the edge of the Desolate Mountains. Roland was once again convinced of the truth that if you want to get rich, build roads first. There is no hard road leading to the mining area. Once it rains, the ore cannot be transported smoothly, and the output is useless.
The ore vein is located in a natural cave. After passing through a short narrow passage, the interior is suddenly enlightened. Nearly a hundred bunches of turpentine torches can only give an overview of the scene in the cave. Roland looked up and asked, "Is this cave formed naturally?"
"Yes, Your Highness," Peiro nodded, "it is rumored that it was even discovered by accident: this was originally a smooth rock wall, but when the earth shook more than 300 years ago, the rock wall collapsed, revealing the present The entrance of the cave. At first, the local hunters only used this place as a shelter from the rain, but as the exploration continued to deepen, they discovered the existence of five-color gems.”
"You know very well," Roland laughed.
"These stories are well-known in the Western Region," Pei Luo waved his hand, and let a man in the team come closer, "His name is Denver Kelian, and he is the manager of this mine. You can ask him about specific matters."
"Are you from Duke Ryan?"
"No, Your Highness, the Kelian family does not belong to any lord," the man known as Denver bowed and saluted. He was in his thirties, but he spoke like a calm old man, "Our world They have lived around this mine for generations, and the hunter who discovered it is also one of the ancestors of the family. The family has served three dukes successively, and the map of the mine has been drawn up to a person's height. No one knows the mine as well as Ke Lian. ."
It can be seen that he is very proud of this, even if he is facing the Prince of Graycastle, he can still talk freely. And that prudent temperament is exceptionally outstanding, coupled with a self-cultivating black uniform, it is like the old butlers of those thousand-year-old families that are performed in the movie.
Since this group of people passed Nightingale's review before departure, Roland was not worried that he was a lurker, "Why is there no one mining in the mine now?"
"Because the evil moon has just ended, Your Majesty," Denver replied without thinking, "the snow in the mountains will melt into the mountains and flow to the lower part. Although the mines have drainage ditches and water wells , but the speed of water collection is much faster than that of people, and the ore veins at the bottom are temporarily inaccessible. According to the past practice, it will not be able to be mined normally until the summer.”
"Is it the same for the iron ore in the Maple Leaf and Wild Rose Territory?"
"I haven't been there, but I heard that the iron mines of the two mines have higher terrain and the mine tunnels extend upwards, which is much better than here. But if you want to resume production, you have to wait at least a month later."
"It seems that you need to set up a few more steam engines to help pump water." Roland shrugged.
"Steam... engine, what is that?" Denver looked puzzled.
"A machine that can make the mine never rest all year round," the prince couldn't help raising the corner of his mouth. "There are still many things you need to learn about mining in the future."
The other party's expression seemed to be quite unbelievable, and his lips moved, but he did not refute in the end.
Roland didn't take it to heart. The rail mine car and the steam engine pumping and traction system have been used very proficiently in the North Slope Mine. He even sold a set to the ore tycoon in Yinguang City. Sooner or later, it will be replaced with a more efficient system. Gao's steam equipment is just that he is not interested in gems, and will definitely prioritize the development of iron ore.
"In that case, let's go to the next inspection site." Roland turned around and said.
"Wait, Your Highness... This is a little thought from the Ke Lian family," Denver probably didn't expect the prince to leave immediately, he took two steps forward, took out a small wooden box from his arms, and handed it to him.
"Oh?" Roland took the wooden box with great interest and opened the lid. I saw two crystal clear gems lying in the box. The light of the torches made it reflect the brilliance of overlapping red and green, which was so dazzling that it made people dazzled. He couldn't help but be taken aback for a moment, "This... is it a multicolored stone?"
"Exactly, Your Highness, they are selected from the most precious gemstones, and they are also treasures collected by the family a hundred years ago." Denver stroked his chest and said, "The Ke Lian family is honored to serve the new owner of the Western Territory."
Roland didn't listen to the second half of the other party's words at all. His attention was completely focused on the gem. This light was too familiar. Even if he knew nothing about minerals, he had heard the name of this type of stone.
Compared with the ornamental name of colorful stone, it has another more popular name diaspore in later generations. (.)