Bringing the Railway to Daming

"Are your children all married?"

"They are married now, but our youngest daughter only got married two years ago, and we gave her a dowry of six or seven strings of cash. Fortunately, the young couple is doing well now. Last year, they gave birth to a grandson for us, and our second son-in-law is also very filial to us."

"Where is my eldest daughter?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked as if he were having a casual conversation with an ordinary person.

Old Man Li's expression darkened, and he said, "My eldest daughter got married more than ten years ago. At that time, our family was poor, and her husband's family was poor too. After my eldest daughter got pregnant, she was not taken care of properly and had a difficult childbirth. Her husband's family saved the child, but our eldest daughter died."

"It's pitiful that she started helping with chores at home when she was only three or four years old. She suffered even after moving to her husband's family home. She was pregnant and still helped with hoeing the fields... She was so lucky, but she died so young."

“We have resentment in our hearts, and we don’t have much contact with our eldest son-in-law’s family anymore. They only come over with their grandson during holidays.”

Zhu Yuanzhang never expected that a casual question would bring up such a sad story about Old Man Li, which reminded him of the two concubines who died in childbirth, and he was quite saddened.

"Brother Li, the dead cannot be brought back to life—fortunately, your family is doing well now, and your second daughter has found a good husband. Try to take it easy."

“Master Huang is right. Life is full of hurdles. Whether you overcome them or not, you have to take it easy.”

As they talked, they downed another drink.

"Where are Brother Li's son and daughter-in-law?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked again.

"My son works at a nearby quarry, and my daughter works as a weaver in a textile factory in the state capital."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly and said with a smile, "Brother Li is very fortunate. His son and daughter-in-law are both able to make money, especially the weavers in the textile factory. I heard they earn quite a lot. No wonder they can build these three large tile-roofed houses."

Old Man Li said, "If you're talking about being lucky, there are many more lucky people in our village—it's all thanks to Emperor Hongwu, who not only drove away the Tartars who oppressed us, but also made our lives better and better."

Upon hearing this, Li Gui, the guards, and even Liu Chang'an and Liu Ruoyue inside the room all wore strange expressions.

Zhu Yuanzhang, however, was secretly pleased: It felt really good to be praised by the common people to their faces!
Old Man Li continued, “Take the work at the quarry for example. We did it when we were young. But back then, quarry work was rare – there weren’t as many quarries in Chuzhou as there are now. If there were legitimate jobs available, men from all around would scramble to do them.”

"But even a legitimate quarry can only earn a hundred or so coins a month, and they don't even provide meals."

"That's considered good. If you're unlucky enough to be tricked into working in that heartless quarry owned by the boss, you'll become a mine slave. Forget about earning a living; you'll be dead within a few years."

"Nowadays, the government strictly controls quarries. Whether they are government-run or private, quarry workers are paid no less than one guan a month, and many even have food and lodging provided."

"The most important thing is that there are many quarries nowadays, and many workers are needed. Otherwise, my son might not have been able to get this job."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled upon hearing this and then asked, "Are there still any illegal quarries around Chuzhou?"

"Look at what Master Huang is saying. When will there be no illegal mines? It's just a matter of how many there are. Although the government is cracking down hard these days, we've heard there are still a few deep in the mountains."

At this point, Old Man Li glanced subconsciously at the door, then pointed upwards and lowered his voice, saying, "They all have connections in high places. I heard some of them even have ties to noble families."

"I see." Zhu Yuanzhang's old eyes narrowed slightly, a barely perceptible glint of cold light flashing within them.

Old Man Li then whispered, "Actually, the illegal quarries are nothing compared to what we've heard about. We've heard there are also black gold mines in the mountains. They say if you go in and come out alive, you can earn at least a hundred or so strings of cash!"

“Our silly son once wanted to go, but we stopped him—some money you might earn but not live to spend. Our family is living much better now than it was a decade or so ago, so we should be content.”

Upon hearing these words, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes grew even colder.

If illegal quarries are a minor matter, then illegal gold mines are a major one—only the imperial court is authorized to mine gold in the Ming Dynasty; private mining is tantamount to stealing the nation's wealth.

After regaining his senses, Zhu Yuanzhang ate a few bites of scrambled eggs and asked, "Brother Li, why don't you mention your daughter-in-law?"

"Daughter-in-law?" Old Man Li, probably drunk, said with a flushed face, "We're embarrassed to say it—her weaving skills are not as good as my wife's, but I never thought she would be hired by the textile factory and get paid more than two strings of cash a month."

"Although we found it strange at first, we didn't think much of it and just assumed we had found a good employer. Later we found out that the manager in charge of recruitment at that textile factory was a scoundrel who only recruited young and pretty girls to take advantage of them."

"After I found out about this, I wanted my daughter-in-law to quit that job, but she insisted that it was only a few girls in the factory who were having affairs with the managers, and that most of the female workers were doing legitimate work, including her."

“Master Huang, tell me, with such a manager in the factory, how can the female workers have a good reputation? Sure enough, not long after, we heard the villagers laughing at our daughter-in-law for having an affair, and we were so ashamed we had nowhere to put our faces.”

"If it weren't for the fact that she's the mother of two children, and that we had thoroughly inquired at the factory and confirmed that she hadn't been involved in any of those bad things, we would have had our son divorce her long ago!"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and said, "Since your daughter-in-law is doing her job properly, you can't blame her. The blame should be placed on the supervisor who seduced the female workers—why don't you go and complain to the employer?"

Old Man Li shook his head, "That man is the employer's brother-in-law, he won't care."

Zhu Yuanzhang then said, "Has that man ever committed adultery with a married woman? If so, you can report him to the authorities."

Old Man Li shook his head again, "We don't know about that... Even if there is, it's not worth it for us ordinary folks to sue him over something like this."

Zhu Yuanzhang and Old Man Li ate slowly, while the others, who weren't chatting or drinking, finished their meal in no time.

Suddenly, they heard Old Man Li's wife's voice rise several octaves, "Why do you want money again? Didn't you just give me fifty coins yesterday?!" Zhu Yuanzhang looked in the direction of the voice and saw Li Zheng bowing his head in front of his grandmother, clutching the hem of his clothes and remaining silent.

Old Man Li overheard this and said unhappily, "What's wrong? If the school asks for money, just give it to them. It's not like we can't afford a few dozen coins!"

Old Man Li's wife said, "Husband, you don't know, yesterday we said the school asked for fifty coins for extra classes, but today they want more. When we asked him what it was for, he couldn't say."

Old Man Li beckoned Li Zheng to his side and, reeking of alcohol, asked, "My dear grandson, tell your grandfather, why do you need another fifty coins? Did you lose the money you gave me yesterday? Or did you spend it on something?"

Li Zheng shook his head.

"What's going on? Say something!" Old Man Li snapped, slamming his fist on the table.

Perhaps frightened, Li Zheng pouted and cried, "Wang Hutou and his gang took the money, boohoo..."

Old Man Li frowned and asked, "What do you mean by 'Wang Hutou took it'? Who is Wang Hutou? Do you owe him money?"

Li Zheng sobbed and said intermittently, "Wang Hutou is a third-year student with several followers. He bullies people at school and even demands protection money from us."

"Such a thing happened?" Old Man Li exclaimed in surprise. "If he bullies you, won't you fight back? Won't you tell the school teacher?"

Li Zheng wiped away his tears and said, "Wang Hutou is already twelve years old and tall. No one in the school can beat him. He's also the principal's nephew. He said that if anyone tells a teacher, the school will expel them."

"This...this..." Old Man Li was so angry that his beard trembled. He slammed his fist on the table and said, "Isn't this bullying?!"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and said, "It is indeed bullying—Brother Li, you should take your child to the school and tell the teacher what happened, and see how they handle it."

Although Old Man Li was a bit drunk, his mind was not confused. He said, "If Wang Hutou really is the principal's nephew, I'm afraid the school will not punish Wang Hutou even if they don't expel our grandson."

"Moreover, if this matter embarrasses the principal, my grandson might not be able to stay at the school."

"Forget it, let's take the child to school this afternoon and pay the money. From now on, whenever there's a fee to pay, we'll just take the child there. It won't be a big deal."

When Li Laohan chose to settle the matter peacefully, Zhu Yuanzhang did not try to persuade him further.

After eating for a while, he suddenly remembered something and asked, "Brother Li, what was the matter with the child mentioning paying for tutoring earlier?"

Old Man Li said, "The tutoring fee is for the extra class that the school teachers will give students after school. It's not part of the school's schedule, so you naturally have to pay for it."

"Although it's supposed to be voluntary, all the other kids are getting extra lessons. If your child doesn't, how will they keep up with their studies?"

"Speaking of which, the tutoring fees are expensive, but that's not a big deal. However, the school teachers insist that the children use paper and pens from that shop in town—that shop's paper and pens are 30% more expensive than others. In our opinion, it's probably owned by some sage of the school."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's face darkened, and he lost his appetite.

He never expected that he would discover so much after only arriving in Chuzhou and visiting just the first village.

Aside from the uncertain existence of a black gold mine, everything else was considered minor. However, it was precisely these minor issues that revealed problems with the local government and schools. While not exactly rampant corruption, there were certainly a number of corrupt officials and bureaucrats.

After putting down his chopsticks, Zhu Yuanzhang ignored Old Man Li's earnest attempts to persuade him to stay and left the village, citing his need to continue his journey.

Back in the carriage, Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Summon Chengji here!"

Li Gui gave the order, and soon a middle-aged man with an ordinary appearance and a shrewd and reserved demeanor came over, but he was wearing the official robes of a Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) deputy commander.

The current Jinyiwei is much larger in scale than it was in principle, and its organizational structure is more rigorous. Therefore, it has four assistant commanders under the commander.

When Zhu Yuanzhang visited various places, he would definitely need to use the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Therefore, one of the four commanders of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Cheng Ji, led a group of elite Embroidered Uniform Guards to accompany him.

After Cheng Ji bowed, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately ordered, "The first thing is to send people to secretly investigate the situation of the illegal mines in Chuzhou, to see how many illegal mines of various kinds there are, and whether there are any black gold mines."

"In addition, we should try our best to find out what relationships are behind the owners of these illegal mines."

"If there are any connections with officials or nobles, it is also necessary to investigate whether they know about the illegal mines and whether they have any relationship with the owners of the illegal mines."

Cheng Ji's expression hardened upon hearing this, and he thought to himself: This time, quite a few people are probably going to be in trouble.

Zhu Yuanzhang then said, "The second thing is to send people to investigate the officials and teachers in various schools in Chuzhou to see how many cases of abusing their power for personal gain or bullying others exist."

"As for the third matter, send someone to investigate the brother-in-law of the owner of the Wang family textile factory in Chuzhou City, find out what bad deeds he has committed, and whether he has violated the law."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Ji couldn't help but mutter to himself: How could the Emperor (as he was commonly known) concern himself with such a trivial matter?
He readily agreed and then dispatched the elite Imperial Guards spies who accompanied him to carry it out.

Zhu Yuanzhang then joined the main force and headed towards Chuzhou City... (End of Chapter)