The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 231 Blind Ji Ba
As the New Year was approaching and the weather was freezing cold, Wanli suddenly had an idea and asked the soldiers of the Shenjiying Camp to take the craftsmen to explore for minerals.

To be honest, Qi Jiguang was a little confused.

At about 5 p.m. that afternoon, when it was almost dark, Wanli ordered someone to rush to the Wanshou Palace and asked him to go to the imperial study for an audience.

He thought something big had happened at the border.

Unexpectedly, after the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, Wanli actually asked, "Yuan Jing, is it okay to recruit 10,000 soldiers from the Shenji Camp now?"

Did something happen in the capital?
Upon hearing this, Qi Jiguang said solemnly, "Your Majesty, the Shenji rear camp is stationed at the Xingzhou Five Guards near Gubeikou. It can be considered the rear area. Moreover, there are border troops from Jizhou Town stationed at Gubeikou. Recruiting 10,000 troops should be no problem. If that's not enough, 20,000 troops will be fine."

That's great. Gubeikou is only a hundred miles away from the Mountain Resort. The five guards of Xingzhou are only a few dozen miles away from Gubeikou, and the ones farthest are only a hundred miles away. The soldiers of the Shenji Camp can take the food carts and reach the Mountain Resort in less than two days at the fastest, and less than three days at the slowest.

Wanli thought about it carefully and said decisively: "Send a fast horse tomorrow morning to pass on the order, ordering the soldiers stationed in the Five Guards Shenji Rear Camp in Xingzhou to send 2,000 soldiers and 200 grain carts from each guard city to rush to the Summer Resort.

Tell them that they don't need to wait for 10,000 troops to gather before rushing over together. They can come in batches. Those who are closest should set off first, and strive to reach the Summer Resort within three days."

Summer resort?

What is this for?
Qi Jiguang asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, I dare to ask you why you sent them to the Mountain Resort?"

Wanli said without hesitation: "I want them to pull the grain carts and take the craftsmen to explore for minerals. Last time, didn't I ask the father-in-law to make the drill bit? Now the drill bit is made, and mass production will begin tomorrow, 100 sets a day.

You can have the soldiers of the Shenji Camp use grain carts to pull drills and craftsmen to explore for coal in the mountains near the capital. Each grain cart carries a set of drills and a craftsman, and they will disperse to drill in the mountains."

Uh, prospecting?

Can minerals be found in this icy and snowy place?

His Majesty must be trying to find some minerals.

Qi Jiguang thought about it carefully, then said carefully: "Your Majesty, should we determine the areas they are responsible for in advance, so that we can explore all the areas near the capital."

Do you think I just want to explore the coal mines near the capital?

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "Well, first divide them into ten teams. Each team will take one hundred craftsmen and explore the ten counties surrounding the capital. When they follow the craftsmen in the exploration, they must also learn from them. In the future, I will send them to the Beijing Xingdusi and the nine major border towns to teach the soldiers of the Beijing camp and the border troops how to explore."

what?
Are you planning to explore all of the Beijing Xingdusi and the nine border towns?
How long will that take?

If His Majesty wants to investigate, then let him investigate!
Upon hearing this, Qi Jiguang quickly bowed and said, "I obey your order."

Wanli pondered again and said, "Tell the artisans and the soldiers of the Shenji Camp that there will be a reward for discovering a mine. Whichever team finds a coal mine will receive a minimum reward of ten taels per person. The exact amount depends on the size of the mine. The larger the mine, the greater the reward."

With this reward, those guys will definitely run into the mountains like crazy.

The question is, can coal mines be found in this icy and snowy environment?
Wanli was simply messing around with Ji Ba.

However, the prospecting equipment now is much better than before.

Not only do they have newly crafted drills, but the soldiers of the Shenjiying Camp also have telescopes.

Moreover, the efficiency of prospecting is much higher.

In the past, when craftsmen went prospecting, two or even one person would carry a hoe and search in the mountains. If they found a mine underground, it would take at least two or three days to dig, and they could only dig a pit several feet deep.

Now they are sitting in the grain cart of the Shenjiying, scanning the area with binoculars. If they feel there is a mine, they can just take the soldiers of the Shenjiying with the drill.

There is another more critical issue, that is, there are still wild beasts roaming in the mountains these days, and one or two craftsmen with hoes may not be able to defeat the wild beasts.

Therefore, craftsmen were very nervous when they went into the mountains to explore for minerals. They did not dare to go too deep into the mountains, as they would be finished if they encountered ferocious beasts such as tigers and wolves.

It’s different now. The soldiers of the Shenji Camp are equipped with muskets and spears. If the tiger dares to get within a hundred steps of them, it will be shot with holes all over its body. If it dares to get closer, it will be pierced into a sieve by the spears.

If they followed the soldiers of the Shenji Camp into the mountains, they would not have to fear wild beasts at all. If wild beasts came, they would just be a snack for them.

Moreover, the soldiers of the Shenji Camp were much stronger than them, and they pushed the drill bit very quickly. Within an hour, they could definitely drill a hole five meters deep.

It is no problem for their team to explore five places in a day.

This is just a small team. One hundred small teams would mean five hundred places, and one thousand small teams would mean five thousand places.

In other words, even if the success rate of prospecting is only one in ten thousand, they can still find a coal mine in two days. Of course, this is only if there is a mine. If there is no coal mine in the area they are exploring, they will not find anything even if they explore for two hundred days.

This is purely a matter of luck.

Because the prospecting team started from the Summer Resort, the first two teams of 1,000 people explored the mountains near Miyun Summer Resort and Huairou.

It turned out not to be.

Next, the second group of 2,000 troops explored Changping Prefecture and Shunyi.

Still nothing.

Next, the third group of two thousand troops explored Tongzhou and Sanhe.

The result is still no!

It's been more than ten days since we went back and forth, and the New Year is almost here. With six thousand men and six hundred sets of drills, we haven't found a single coal mine!
Wanli was about to despair.

Aren’t there any coal mines near the capital?
impossible!

Next, the fourth group of two thousand troops explored Daxing and Wanping.

The twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month is the day of Guihai, which is the Little New Year.

According to custom, Wanli ordered the imperial kitchen to prepare a large table of delicacies in Kunning Palace, and had a gathering with his favorite concubines and princes and princesses.

The meal started at around noon. The kitchen was bustling with activity. The eldest prince and Princess Rongchang could stand up to pick up their dishes by themselves, while the little prince and princess were still babbling in their mother's arms.

When Wanli saw this, he felt extremely warm.

However, he had no appetite.

This has consumed almost half a month's time, with eight thousand men and eight hundred sets of drill bits, and I don't know how much effort has been put into it, but we haven't even found a single coal mine!
Qi Jiguang seemed to know that he was anxious. At this moment, the soldiers of the Shenjiying Camp and the craftsmen were still prospecting for minerals in the snow and ice, and they had not even celebrated the New Year.

Can't we find any minerals by drilling everywhere?
He was casually eating and drinking when Li Xuancheng suddenly poked his head in and said, "Your Majesty, Duke Peng requests an audience."

He is definitely not here to wish New Year's greetings at this time.

Upon hearing this, Wanli waved his hands and said, "Quick, tell someone to bring some bowls and chopsticks so Duke Peng can come and eat with us."

Soon, Duke Peng Qi Jiguang walked in quickly.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, he couldn't help but say excitedly, "Your Majesty, they finally found a coal mine."

Finally found it.

Upon hearing this, Wanli asked him to sit down and said excitedly, "Great! Where did you find this?"

Qi Jiguang explained in detail: "It is in Wanping County, west of Beijing, in the mountain valley west of the Yongding River, less than 30 miles away from Fuchengmen."

So close?
And it’s also by the Yongding River!

Upon hearing this, Wanli was overjoyed and said, "That's great! With the transportation costs down, we can finally make a lot of money selling coal. By the way, how big is the coal mine they find? I will double their reward."

Discovering the coal mine during the Chinese New Year was a double blessing, and he was so happy.

Qi Jiguang pondered, "Your Majesty, according to the craftsmen who led them to explore for coal, the topography of the mountains along the Yongding River seems to be similar. There must be a mineral vein there. They are continuing to explore westward along the Yongding River. The exact size of this coal mine is still unknown."

Can a mineral vein be discovered next to the capital?
Wanli personally filled Qi Jiguang's glass with wine and then raised his glass and said, "Very good. Tell them that if they find a vein of minerals, I will give them a reward of 200 taels each."

This time they can be considered to have made a small fortune.

Two hundred taels, the military reward for killing four enemies. Drilling a few holes is much easier than killing four enemies.

Qi Jiguang quickly raised his glass and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace."

(End of this chapter)