Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 766 Mining

Zhang Luan returned to the courtyard and entered the main hall. Suddenly, he felt a pang of regret, and then, as if in great pain, he sat in a chair for a long time, unable to come to his senses.

"Am I just being idle? His Majesty hasn't assigned me the task of raising military funds, my son hasn't said he can help me, and Li Zi Province is too busy to take care of itself. How can I be so confident as to say that I can raise another batch of money and grain for the court? Do you think my money grows on trees? When did I become so confident?"
"Oh dear, oh dear, it's all my son's fault for leading me astray!"

Muttering to himself, Zhang Luan became increasingly depressed.

At this moment, Qi Niang walked in from outside and asked curiously, "Master is back already?"

Zhang Luan said with a bitter face, "Yes, I came back naturally after we finished talking about the matter. As soon as Eunuch Qin came up, he brought up the issue of the soldiers' pay in the Northwest and said that he would transfer 500,000 taels of silver from the imperial granary to pay them."

"Tell you...?"

Before she could even finish speaking, Qi Niang keenly realized that her husband was not some incompetent fool, but the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue of the Ming Dynasty. Zhang Luan was in charge of more than half of the Ming Dynasty's finances.

Zhang Luan, with a mournful face, said, "I was out of my mind. I knew there were some things beyond my control, but I still took them on myself. I even promised to raise another batch of money and grain for the court to reward the soldiers on the front lines... Sigh, this is really a headache!"

"you……"

Upon hearing this, Qi Niang gasped and immediately reminded him kindly, "Master, don't forget that there is an old friend of yours in the south who is waiting for you to raise money and supplies to help him! Can you keep making promises to so many people?"

“I am not worried about the Yellow River project. My son says he can do it, so I believe he can definitely do it.”

Zhang Luan said with some annoyance, "But this time, I was just making trouble for myself... It's a pity my son isn't in the capital right now. Maybe I should really discuss it with him before making a decision... Alas, I was so foolish!"

"..."

Qi Niang was speechless for a moment.

I thought to myself, you're still the best!
You dare to promise to raise money and grain for the court so casually. But considering that you have gained such a high position in such a short time, if you don't step up when the emperor is in trouble, who will?

"Sir, are there any more arrangements to make tonight?"

"I asked cautiously," Qi Niang asked.

Zhang Luan frowned and said, "What kind of talk is that? It's not like I'm being asked to raise money and grain today. What conflict is there between the affairs of the imperial court and the affairs of this courtyard? Make arrangements, make arrangements for me thoroughly!"

"Huh? Didn't you say before..."

Qi Niang wanted to remind Zhang Luan that he himself said he should calm down and cultivate his character, not want women who were too beautiful, and even less should he do anything too outrageous.

Zhang Luan got up and walked towards the inner courtyard like a stubborn old man, saying as he walked, "I'm just bored. I made a promise, so I can't go back on it, can I? I'm going to be busy soon, so I need to relax a bit beforehand! Consider this a prelude to the busyness ahead."

Qi Niang smiled and said, "Isn't everything in this courtyard decided by you, Master? I'll arrange it for you right away, and I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

……

……

Forbidden City.

The main hall of the Qianqing Palace.

Qin Ji relayed Zhang Luan's words truthfully.

Zhu Youcheng was greatly encouraged and even moved after hearing this. In front of several eunuchs from the Directorate of Ceremonial, he praised, "My father-in-law has the nation at heart. Is there anyone more loyal to the Ming Dynasty than him? Even I did not expect that he would still have such ambitions even when he was seriously ill. He is truly thinking of the soldiers on the frontier!"

With a look of empathy on her face, Qin Ji echoed, "Yes, when I heard these words from Mr. Zhang, I was also deeply moved. Everyone else only wants to take, but Mr. Zhang is different; he always steps forward and takes the initiative to share His Majesty's burdens!"

When Zhu Youcheng and Qin Ji looked at each other, there was a sense of mutual appreciation in their eyes, as if they had both found a long-lost sense of belonging in Zhang Luan.

This left Li Rong, who was watching from the sidelines, completely stunned, his jaw practically dropping to the ground.

What's wrong with Zhang Luan?

Even though there was still the much-needed Lizi Province waiting for him in the Central Plains, he dared to take on even more responsibility and wanted to increase the military pay for the soldiers in the Northwest.

Is this crazy?
Li Rong cautiously said, "Your Majesty, at this point, requesting the nine border garrisons to pay in full is already the best outcome. Why... create more trouble?"

Zhu Youcheng snapped out of his daze, glanced at Li Rong sideways, and shook his head, saying, "After all, the amount hasn't been fully paid. Besides, not all military towns have petitioned for the supplementary payment of military pay. Places like Jizhou haven't submitted any petitions. If we're going to do something, we should treat everyone equally and not favor one over the other."

"Yes."

Qin Ji hurriedly said, "The squeaky wheel gets the grease; the court must treat everyone fairly."

Li Rong then kindly reminded him, "But this bowl of water is already not full; it's already difficult enough to keep it level. If you try to force it to be full, wouldn't that be..."

Zhu Youcheng laughed upon hearing this: "Isn't my father-in-law here? If he says it's okay, then it's definitely okay. I have faith in him, so let's proceed with the plan!"

……

……

In early February, hundreds of merchants gathered at Xishan.

Although everyone knew that there were at most a dozen or twenty mines up for auction, they couldn't help but hear that rich mines had been discovered near the capital, and that Zhang Xiaoguojiu had a special method to greatly increase the efficiency of coal, a fuel that is not easy to burn and is prone to use risks, while ensuring safety.

Everyone wanted to know what had happened, and so many people responded.

At the foot of Xishan Mountain, Zhang Yanling had already had houses built in advance to facilitate receiving guests from all directions. At the same time, he also set up some factories around the area to manufacture honeycomb briquettes that could be put into use by the people immediately.

After the merchants arrived, most of them did not go directly to Xishan, but instead explored the surrounding area. They were also eager to know the output of the mines that had already started production before them...

When they learned that there were already powerful officials of the Ming Dynasty who had opened coal mines here, and that the output was not low, they immediately realized that this was originally a business exclusively for the powerful and wealthy, and now that the opportunity had fallen into their laps, it was a rare opportunity.

The common people cannot fight against the officials. If merchants want to make a profit without any risk, they must first find a powerful backer to ensure that their business is not stolen.

On the contrary, the Zhang family has a very good reputation among merchants, especially among the Huizhou merchants. They all feel that the Zhang family is both disciplined and capable of developing many new industries from scratch. Furthermore, Qin Zhao, the current leader of the Qin family, a leading Huizhou merchant family, speaks for the Zhang family, which adds to their credibility.

On the fourth day of the second lunar month, Qin Zhao led a group of merchants with whom he had a good relationship to the mountain to find Zhang Yanling.

At this time, Zhang Yanling had just discovered a new mineral vein.

He had nothing else to do in Xishan but keep discovering new coal mine sites... You should know that over the next few hundred years, Xishan was already riddled with holes from coal mining, and it wasn't until the 2020s that the government finally shut down the coal mines there.

However, those historical relics remain on this mountain.

"Second Young Master, the auction will begin tomorrow. Today I brought people up the mountain to check on the situation in various places, so that they are well-informed."

Qin Zhao offered a reasonable explanation for his actions.

Merchants never fight battles they are not confident of winning.

The Huizhou merchants, led by Qin Zhao, naturally understood that they should invest in the most suitable industries at the most opportune time. If they wanted to make money, they could not just listen to what others said, but had to see it with their own eyes before daring to invest capital.

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "People started working here last winter. I recruited a lot of miners, drilled a lot of holes, and made simple blasting devices for each newly discovered mineral deposit... I'll take you to see it later and you'll see..."

"Explosive device?"

Qin Zhao looked somewhat surprised.

Zhang Yanling pointed to a spot not far ahead and said, "I just found a new mine and am about to blast it to see what the coal reserves and quality are like. Let's go find a relatively safe place; someone will set up the explosives here."

Qin Zhao asked with curiosity, "How much gunpowder would it take to blast open the top layer of rock? To test the reserves and quality, it would probably take thousands of kilograms of gunpowder."

"That depends on what kind of gunpowder is used."

Zhang Yanling smiled, casually agreed, and led Qin Zhao and a group of merchants to a huge rock about two or three hundred meters away.

Immediately, people began to set up gunpowder, but it was not ordinary black powder... rather, it was the yellow powder developed by Zhang Yanling, which was made by manufacturing nitroglycerin and combining it with diatomaceous earth, which could fix its components and make its activity more stable.

Actually, manufacturing nitroglycerin wasn't difficult for Zhang Yanling; he had already produced it in his laboratory. However, this substance was extremely unstable and couldn't be stored or transported for long periods. Later, when Zhu Youcheng ascended the throne, Zhang Yanling used the emperor's trust and the connections of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to mine and transport large quantities of diatomaceous earth from Liaodong and other places. He used this to stabilize the properties of nitroglycerin, finally creating the powerful yellow gunpowder.

……

……

"boom!"

A deafening roar followed.

In the blink of an eye, it seemed as if the entire mountain had been cleaved in two, with black smoke and dust filling the air, along with dense coal ash that drifted in the wind, practically blotting out the sun.

This thunderclap in the clear sky shook the entire Western Hills; the sound could be heard even several miles away.

As the blasting ended, the Imperial Guards who were specifically responsible for the operation and had immediately concealed themselves emerged from their bunkers to check on the excavation. Once they found the results satisfactory and the danger averted, they began to call Zhang Yanling and his group forward to inspect the situation.

"Master Qin, please."

Zhang Yanling extended the invitation with a smile.

Qin Zhao was still in shock and had not yet come to his senses.

She clearly hadn't expected that Zhang Yanling would use such a powerful new gunpowder not for military purposes, but rather for civilian mining.

Although she found it incredible and even believed that this thing must have enormous market potential, she also understood that it was not something that she could access in her capacity.

Zhang Yanling walked in front.

Qin Zhao and the group of Huizhou merchants behind him all looked pale and cautious, clearly not yet understanding the situation.

Someone asked in a low voice, "Master Qin, may I ask you something? Was this an earthquake?"

Qin Zhao glanced back, shook his head and sighed softly: "This is a powerful gunpowder invented by the young imperial uncle of the Zhang family. When it explodes, it is earth-shattering... If you didn't know, you would really think the earth was shaking."

"Then..."

The people behind the scenes also wanted to ask if, after we contracted the mine, we would also have the opportunity to use such powerful gunpowder to mine.
Qin Zhao quickly dispelled their thoughts, saying, "Right now, it's just that the Second Young Master is impatient and wants you to know the quality of the coal underground as soon as possible, which is why he's using this new type of gunpowder... This thing is so powerful, would you dare to use it normally?"

"That's true."

An old merchant, speaking with a heavy Huizhou accent, said, "Normally, we just use ordinary gunpowder for mining, haha... This second young master is indeed extraordinary; he makes a big move right away."

The other merchants were also discussing it.

Many people initially felt that contracting a mine was like throwing money down the drain, just spending money to buy a concept. Many people didn't believe that Xishan could discover so many coal mines at once.

However, after witnessing the power of the new gunpowder, they immediately had the thought, "If others have such powerful stuff, why can't they mine it?"

The group arrived at the mine pit.

Previously, a specialist had slid down a rope into the newly blasted pit, and after a detailed exploration, he looked up and shouted: "The vein runs north-south, and all you can see is coal, of extremely high quality, with no water seepage! To the east, we should be able to drill a few more pits."

The man then tied the rope around his waist, and the people above pulled him up.

"They're up! They're up!"

"Push harder, it'll be done soon!"

Those specifically in charge of the work were all dressed in the robes of the Imperial Guards. It seemed that these people did not care at all about getting their shiny clothes dirty, or rather, they wanted to use their uniforms to make merchants from all over the country realize that the business had been fully guaranteed from the beginning.

By contracting the project and investing in mining, we can at least ensure that you won't be bullied by local bullies. After all, this is right under the emperor's nose, right at the foot of the imperial city, where the Embroidered Uniform Guard represents everything.

Of course, if you think the Embroidered Uniform Guard will exploit you, you don't need to worry about it. At least for now, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has not developed to the point of openly extorting money.

The reputation of the Embroidered Uniform Guard became infamous in the mid-to-late Jiajing reign, when the emperor rarely attended court and the imperial guards and secret police were in complete control of the country.

Zhang Yanling peered down into the mine pit, then turned to Qin Zhao with a smile and said, "Master Qin, what do you think?"

"It really is a good mine."

Qin Zhao looked down and saw that the middle and lower layers of the crater were all filled with black coal. His eyes lit up. "There are thick coal seams down there, but they are only two or three zhang below the surface. How could you, Second Young Master, deduce that there is a mine down there just from the surface?"

Zhang Yanling shrugged and laughed, "There's nothing I can do, it's just a bit of family tradition."

Qin Zhao naturally didn't quite believe it.

She was thinking, "You keep talking about your family's academic heritage, but I've never seen you take a compass or anything and search all over the mountains and fields. Instead, you use something that looks like a telescope to observe everywhere, and you even study the surface features by comparing them with a geomantic map. You also arrange for a lot of people to cut down trees."

There are practically no deep mountains and forests around the capital; the Western Hills are one of the few places with tall trees.

After all, people these days basically have to chop firewood for cooking, and the consumption of firewood is enormous.

Because Xishan is close to the Ming Dynasty imperial tombs, and the surrounding area is designated as a reserve site for future imperial tombs, the government basically prohibits people from logging on the mountain... Of course, unauthorized logging still occurs repeatedly.

But this time, Zhang Yanling's mining operation can be described as a very thorough development, aiming to turn the Xishan area into an industrial zone in one fell swoop.

Zhang Yanling said, "Now that we've finished looking at this place, I'll take you to the next location... that place was demolished yesterday."

Qin Zhao asked, "Is it also a new mine?"

"Yes."

Zhang Yanling nodded and said, "I just found it after coming here... Speaking of which, last time I came, I didn't go to the west slope. Within a radius of twenty miles, there are difficult places to walk everywhere like this. I will go to look for new mines in the future."

Qin Zhao laughed and said, "Second Young Master is truly capable. He came to Xishan in just two or three days and probably earned tens of thousands of taels of silver..."

"Ah."

Zhang Yanling quickly waved his hand and said, "Master Qin, don't flatter me too much. It seems that I have made money, but there are prerequisites... If this mountain hadn't existed before and contained minerals, I wouldn't have been able to make money. You can't just conjure it up out of thin air. Besides, every place we discover is one less to be found; it's not an endless supply."

"Yes."

Although Qin Zhao acknowledged Zhang Yanling's statement, he was still deeply shocked.

For thousands of years, no one had discovered so many mineral deposits in this place, yet Zhang Yanling discovered so many on only two visits, and even used powerful gunpowder to mine them…

Every time we met, I discovered something amazing about Zhang Yanling, and each time it was different.

She always thought he was amazing at doing one thing, but the next time he would come up with something even more amazing, making her feel that her thinking was not enough and she could not keep up with Zhang Yanling's pace at all.

At this moment, a merchant walked over and asked, "Young Master, may I ask if this mine will also be auctioned off tomorrow?"

"of course."

Zhang Yanling nodded and asked, "What do you think of this mine?"

The merchant said, "That would be great, but... is it a starting price of ten thousand taels?"

"Yes."

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "The rules have been set long ago. The advantages and disadvantages of the mine will be explained in detail during the auction, and the reserve price is also set. Naturally, the highest bidder wins. If you think it's suitable, you can come and try bidding. After winning the bid, you can recruit your own manpower. We can also provide you with the mining technology unconditionally, as well as the method for making honeycomb briquettes. In addition, we will ensure a certain sales channel."

The merchant asked with a curious look, "Such a good thing, aren't you... going to keep it?"

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "This mine is good, but there are even better ones on the mountain. If it's the kind with an exceptionally large output, I would naturally prefer the imperial court to mine it. However, I can guarantee that there will be at least twenty or thirty mines of this quality at tomorrow's auction. Of course, there will also be some inferior ones; you'll have to judge for yourselves!"

(End of this chapter)