Back to Ming Dynasty with Industrial Revolution System

Chapter 1083 Receive Iwami Ginzan
In the forested area in the eastern part of Iwami country in Dongyingyuan, an infantry team is escorting geological and mineral experts to Iwami Yinshan.Surrounded by lush forests, the mine can only be reached through trails, with occasional steep mountain roads.

"Iwami Ginzan can be said to be the largest silver mine in the local area. It was originally owned by the Mori family. Later, during the Sekigahara War, because the Mori family lost to the Tokugawa family as the general of the Western Kingdom, Iwami Ginzan was dispatched by the shogunate. Officials are directly under the jurisdiction, and the officials who manage it are called Yinshan Magi. The Mori family was deeply dissatisfied with the Tokugawa family.

The local guide of Iwami Ginzan introduced the situation here to the special geologist.

After occupying Japan, the new government had not yet established order in various places, and the Kyushu Army couldn't wait to send a small team to receive the Jinshan Silver Mine to plunder a large amount of gold and silver as a strategic reserve, and at the same time to make up for the cost of sending troops and subsidize finances.

"Although this Iwami Silver Mountain has a huge output, it is located in the deep mountains and old forests, and there are only mountain roads, so it is inconvenient. I have been walking for so long since I landed from Tomogaura." An official from the Audit Office who accompanied him complained.

He did not go through the pain of field investigations by mineralogists and geologists. He just came to supervise the mining of Iwami Yinshan. After entering the mountainous area, he could not even ride a horse. Everyone could only walk, and the horses carried luggage and shovels and other inspections. utensils.

"This area is almost all mountainous and forest-covered. Iwami Ginzan is already easy to mine. It is close to the sea, and the mined can be transported to various places by cargo ships through Tomogaura and Okinawa. In addition to the port, there is also a mountain road that crosses it. The mountains in the whole of China go straight to the Seto Inland Sea, we call it Yinshan Street, using your unit, Yinshan Street is hundreds of kilometers long, and it was mined by the first Yinshan executive of the shogunate." The local said the guide.

"It's so strange, why is it necessary to spend a lot of manpower to open up Yinshan Street near the sea?" the official of the Audit Office asked in puzzlement.

"It is very likely that the strong winter monsoon on the sea affected the sailing of silver ships. In order to ensure that the mined silver can be transported to various places in winter, the shogunate dug a channel from the silver mine to the Seto Inland Sea, which can be used all year round. It also shortened the shipping schedule to Osaka and Edo by sea, and the possibility of encountering a storm is less. Once the silver transport ship encounters a storm and is sunk, the loss will be greater than the cost of opening the mountain road.” The geologist who came to explore Iwami Yinshan speculated.

"My lord's guess is correct. The northeastern wind blows from the main road in winter. It is difficult for our silver ship to go to sea smoothly. Not only is it slow to sail, but it is also easy to be sunk by wind and waves. The Seto Inland Sea is relatively calm." said the guide.

A group of people continued to walk along the densely wooded mountain road while chatting.

After everyone approached the Iwami Silver Mine, they found that the trees gradually became thinner, and there were tunnels like ant nests everywhere, all of which were dug out by manpower.When passing through some low tunnels, everyone even had to bend over to pass.

There is a river flowing through the mountains and forests, and on both sides of the river are Ginzan Monarch, samurai residences, shrines, and residences of mining workers, stretching for more than one kilometer.Small towns clustered near silver mines were formed because of the output of silver mines.

"There are nearly 500 tunnels in total, also known as intersteps." The guide said.

The shogunate dispatched Ginzan Goshin to supervise the mining work of Iwami Ginzan. After the outbreak of the Japanese Civil War, he was expelled by the Maori family.

After the establishment of the new government, the Maori family will also be under the jurisdiction of the new government, and the supervisor of the Iwami Silver Mine will also be appointed by the government.

The retainers of the Maori family came to welcome the exploration team with dozens of heavily armed warriors.These samurai were required to oversee miners mining silver mines.After they heard the government's abolition of the knife order, there was no rebellion, because the new government still needed a group of supervisors to supervise the miners and prevent people from hiding silver nuggets out of the mining area.They can still receive the salaries given by the government.

The exploration team arrived at Iwami Yinshan, and Yinshan of the Maoli family took care of them, and then took them to the mining site and purification site.

"Our mine improved the ash blowing method passed down from Goryeo 100 years ago, which greatly increased the output of Iwami Ginzan." Yinshan Bong introduced to everyone.

"What is the ash-blowing method?" asked the accompanying civil servant.

This time without Yinshan’s explanation, the mineralogist said: “The silver content in the mined silver ore is very low. To increase the silver output, it is necessary to enrich the silver in the ore and purify it. The ash blowing method is to The lead is melted, and then the ore ball is put into the molten lead, so that the lead and silver melt together to obtain crude silver, and then put into the furnace to make the temperature in the furnace reach the boiling point of lead, which is about 1700 degrees Celsius , and the boiling point of silver is higher. When the lead is completely vaporized, only pure silver is left. Of course, this pure silver is not [-]% silver, but the fineness is already very good. It was used in the Central Plains of the Han Dynasty in China The ash blowing method was later spread to Koryo, and then to Japan. It is said that it originated from West Asia."

Not only the accompanying civil servants, but also Yinzan Mahogei, who supervised the mining of Iwami Ginzan, did not fully understand the speech of the mineralogist.

"The mining and purification of silver mines have to face the dangers of radiation and lead poisoning, and the average miner does not live long." Mineralogists have a set of opinions on silver mining and purification, and they know that living in this area is based on mining. A living miner is mining silver with his life.

"You said that the miners of Iwami Ginzan used to live longer than 30 years old, and their relatives and friends would even have a banquet to celebrate. Now the poisoning incidents are much less, and the miners wear a mask called 'mianfu' , The interlayer of the mask is covered with a layer of paste made of perilla leaves and pickled plums, which has a certain anti-virus effect." After listening to the translation, Yinshan Fengxing told the mineralogist and the people who came to receive Iwami Yinzan Said.

"There is such an ingenious mask? Could it be that perilla leaves and plums can sterilize bacteria?" The mineralogist was also a little surprised this time.

The exploration team stayed in Iwami Silver Mine for a period of time. During the period, they conducted detailed research on the life of the miners, the output of the mine and the reserves, and concluded that Iwami Gin Mine is still the largest local silver mine, with an annual output of ten tons of silver. The above, but the conclusion that the output is declining year by year, cannot be compared with the annual output of 30 tons in the heyday, and it is estimated that the output will be in danger of drying up after 30 years.

The exploration team investigated Iwami Ginzan, and then proceeded to another important Jinshan——Sado Jinshan.

(End of this chapter)