Chapter 115
Lu Hanzhi frowned and said, “Isn’t this… crude oil?”
No wonder the system had only bound him to a dozen or so square meters—so it was crude oil?
Lu Hanzhi was astonished. He did not understand whether this setup was reasonable. How could he casually have access to such abundant resources here?
Kaolin was available, and now crude oil too—did geological resources really distribute themselves this easily?
He Ming and Yu He exchanged glances, then wiped the oil from their faces and asked, “Young Master, what exactly is crude oil?”
Lu Hanzhi explained, “Crude oil… also called petroleum or pitch. What perfect timing this is!”
If only he hadn’t had the ballista transported so early—he could have refined this crude oil into incendiary oil and sent it along. Using it with the ballista would have had even greater effect!
It was just a pity that, as the finest raw fuel in the world, the crude oil couldn’t be fully utilized to its utmost potential.
Hopefully there would be a chance in the future.
Lu Hanzhi’s face lit up with excitement. “Yu He, He Ming, take Young Master to see it!”
With incendiary oil, he could design a proper incendiary oil launcher!
This would be the earliest known flamethrower-type weapon in the world, with a maximum spray distance of six meters, as the records said.
The more Lu Hanzhi thought about it, the more thrilled he became. Since the system had bound this area to him, the crude oil reserves here must be substantial.
Before leaving, Yuwen Jue noticed him rushing out and asked, “Han’er, where are you going?”
Holding Ah Chan, Lu Hanzhi handed the child over to his second sister-in-law. “Second Sister, take care of Ah Chan for me. I’m going to the estate.”
Yin Yi swooped from the rooftop with a soft whoosh—likely to stay close and protect Lu Hanzhi.
Yuwen Jue was curious but didn’t follow.
He was about to give birth but still had to maintain the pregnancy.
He had married Lu Xuzhi only two months into hia pregnancy, so the baby absolutely could not arrive early.
Even if it were a preterm birth, it had to be at least seven months—so as it stood, it would only be six months.
He needed to keep the pregnancy for at least another month.
He wanted to time it just after Princess Zhaoyun, so no one would suspect anything.
Yuwen Jue called after his disappearing back, “Be careful, don’t run too fast, watch your step.”
Lu Hanzhi shouted back, “I won’t, Second Sister… eh…”
The flag went up too fast and fell just as quickly.
He tripped on the threshold and was about to fall when Yin Yi bent swiftly, catching him on his back with lightning speed.
Then, with a gentle push from his sword, Lu Hanzhi was back on his feet.
Blushing, he gave Yin Yi a thumbs-up. “Wow, Brother Yin, your lightness skill is incredible!”
Yin Yi didn’t reply and vanished again.
With He Ming’s assistance, Lu Hanzhi boarded the carriage and headed to the southern estate.
The dozen-square-meter area had been enclosed by mounds of earth. Ancient wells were dug by hand, making the process cumbersome.
A large amount of dirt had piled up around, forming a natural enclosed pit.
Within the pit, thick black liquid was bubbling up.
Lu Hanzhi could now confirm that this black liquid was indeed crude oil, or what ancient people called “pitch water.”
Excitement spread across his face. Yu He noticed and knew the young master had unearthed something valuable.
Yu He asked, “Young Master, should we transport it to the capital?”
Lu Hanzhi suddenly felt a bit nauseated from the smell of this oil. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to cover his nose. “Yes! Seal it for transport, and absolutely don’t let anyone catch wind. This is valuable stuff—we can’t reveal it just yet.”
Even if the news got out, no one could know he had this much crude oil.
Later, he would certainly use this oil for business, but the quantity sold had to be controlled.
For civilian use, crude oil could only be used in oil lamps.
Burning it produced thick smoke, so it was not used for cooking.
And in ancient times, there were no machines to burn crude oil, making sales somewhat tricky.
But Lu Hanzhi was not worried—he had already completed earlier missions easily, so this crude oil pit would be manageable.
Oil lamps would certainly sell, especially since candles were expensive in ancient times.
Beeswax, in particular, was affordable only for wealthy households.
Ordinary people worked from sunrise to sunset, using torches coated with animal fat for nighttime lighting.
With such abundant crude oil, he would have a price advantage.
Moreover, bamboo could be used for oil lamps. Adding brass plates and wicks would create a high-volume, low-profit product.
Following Lu Hanzhi’s orders, He Ming transported four large barrels of crude oil back to the capital.
Yu He, following Lu Hanzhi’s instructions, surrounded the huge oil pit with brick walls, built a structure, and assigned personnel to patrol it.
No open flames were allowed under any circumstances. Lu Hanzhi repeatedly emphasized that not even a spark could be permitted, even during night patrols.
Yu He carried out the orders and passed them down the chain.
Returning to Prince An’s residence with four barrels of crude oil, Lu Hanzhi was overjoyed.
Yuwen Jue had just finished lunch and was playing with Ah Chan and Ah Shu.
Lu Hanzhi noticed that, though Ah Shu was somewhat slow-witted, she shared plenty of common interests with Ah Chan.
After making the small wooden figures last time, Ah Shu had made miniature wooden oxen, dogs, and mechanical pigs for Ah Chan.
Lu Hanzhi thought Ah Shu was truly a master crafter. If she hadn’t had her soul stolen by Su Wan’ning, she might have become an excellent physician.
Even Sacred-Handed Lin said that Ah Shu had an impressive understanding of human anatomy and a deep memorization of medicinal knowledge.
It was a pity that she could only recite knowledge points now and could not apply them practically.
Seeing Lu Hanzhi return, Yuwen Jue immediately got up and asked, “Han’er, have you eaten?”
Lu Hanzhi waved his hand and said, “Too excited, I’m not eating! Second Sister, I found treasure!”
Yuwen Jue knew that, since he had dashed out in such a hurry, he must have discovered something valuable.
Yuwen Jue asked, “Oh? What treasure did you find?”
Lu Hanzhi said, “Second Sister, come and see for yourself!”
Yuwen Jue brought the two little ones and entered the side courtyard that Lu Hanzhi had set up.
But he still didn’t give up on persuading him to eat. “You should have something to eat before you get busy! Just a little. I’ll have the little kitchen prepare some mountain delicacy noodles for you.”
Lu Hanzhi pouted. “After smelling that incendiary oil all morning, I have no appetite at all. We’ll make up for it tonight!”
Seeing that he was determined not to eat, Yuwen Jue had no choice but to have Luan Feng bring him some honey water.
Luan Feng carried the honey water over, and Lu Hanzhi drank a lot of it, probably terribly thirsty.
The cart carrying the incendiary oil came into the side courtyard through the back gate, and He Ming unloaded barrel after barrel.
Lu Hanzhi opened the barrels and said to Yuwen Jue, “Second Sister, look!”
Yuwen Jue stepped closer and saw barrel after barrel of black liquid.
He leaned in, puzzled, and immediately smelled the strong scent.
He frowned and asked, “Han’er, what use is this stuff?”
Lu Hanzhi practically jumped with excitement. “The use is huge! Come, Second Sister, I’ll show you a wild dance of the fire dragon!”
He ordered someone to fetch a long hemp rope and then soaked it thoroughly in the incendiary oil.
After finishing, Lu Hanzhi had He Ming light it.
Sure enough, the rope flared up like a blazing dragon!
Lu Hanzhi held the unlit end and swung it around—the rope truly looked like a frenzied, dancing fire dragon.
The oil burned for quite a while before dying down, and the rope had turned into a pile of black ash.
The spectators were stunned. He Ming remarked, “No wonder Young Master had us forbid open flames near the oil pit. If this caught fire, it could burn for ten or fifteen days!”
Yuwen Jue was equally amazed. “This is… really astonishing. Han’er, this is the fire oil you mentioned?”
Lu Hanzhi nodded. “Second Sister, imagine using this in marching and battles—wouldn’t it be like adding wings to a tiger?”
Yuwen Jue said, “Of course! Normally, using fire is risky—it gets blown out easily. Even with calm weather, it takes massive manpower to carry fuel. Because the returns were so minimal, it was never widely applied. But with this, it’s truly like adding wings to a tiger.”
Lu Hanzhi smiled—things couldn’t be better.
However, to use it effectively in battle, he would need the proper tools.
Combining it with the Eight-Ox Ballista was one thing, but the incendiary oil cabinet also had to be ready.
Lu Hanzhi spent the entire afternoon working on these ideas.
By the time night fell and Yuwen Jue brought him food, he was still drawing design schematics.
That afternoon, he had accomplished a lot.
He designed oil lamps, kerosene torches, and the incendiary oil cabinet.
Finally, while looking at the coal ash scattered across the courtyard, he remembered someone named Shen Kuo, who had once used petroleum ash to make ink. It was said to be even better than pine soot ink.
And it had earned praise from the famous calligrapher Su Shi, who called it a masterpiece among inks.
In ancient times, ink was essential for scholars, and a good block of ink could sell for a lot.
But making ink was complicated—it involved burning soot, collecting it, adding glue and medicines, mixing, steaming, pounding, and refining over a dozen or twenty steps.
Moreover, the ingredients were meticulous. High-quality ink often included musk, plum petals, camphor, and more—creating what people called fragrant ink.
Given the difficulty, the price was naturally high.
So reading and writing was an expensive pursuit in ancient times.
With ink-making technology now available, Lu Hanzhi included petroleum-based ink in his plans.
If he could make it, he could sell it alongside the stationery in his shop.
After handing the design work to He Ming, Lu Hanzhi realized he should eat, though it was already completely dark outside.
He ate a little, but the food had no flavor.
Even though it was his favorite food and Yuwen Jue took great care of his meals, he couldn’t bring himself to enjoy it today.
Frustrated, he pushed the food aside, the smell of oil still heavy on his nose.
When Yuwen Jue came to collect the dishes and saw he had eaten almost nothing, he frowned and asked, “Hanzhi, what’s wrong? After a whole day of work, is this all you eat?”
Lu Hanzhi slumped on the table, glum. “I don’t know! I can’t eat. I feel like vomiting—the fire oil probably disgusted me.”
Yuwen Jue frowned. “Disgusted? You mean… you feel like vomiting?”
Lu Hanzhi raised his head. “Now that you say it, I really do feel like throwing up.”
After saying that, he suddenly jumped up and ran out the door.
He went to a tree by the wall, leaned against the trunk, and vomited.
Great. He hadn’t eaten much all day, and now he was empty, feeling even weaker.
Lu Hanzhi leaned against the tree, feeling a bit wronged.
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