The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 278 There is no way out
The moment Baili Sheng saw the Han army find the gold mine, it was as if he had seen a long-lost relative.

He recounted his experience of being abducted by Hu merchants with resentment.

After arriving in Hami City, he suffered a brutal beating.

The Hu people's methods were simple and brutal.

If they are unwilling to work for them, beat them until they are willing to work.

Moreover, he was monitored 24 hours a day, so he couldn't even commit suicide.

I was tormented for half a month before I couldn't take it anymore.

Once he recovered, the Hu people urged him to get back to work.

King Chungshun's original intention was to find iron ore in Hamiwei to forge weapons.

But Baili Sheng's luck was just too incredible; he found that gold mine in less than three months.

Even the best iron ore can't compare to the value of gold.
King Zhongshun then ordered Baili Sheng to lead several hundred miners to work in the gold mine.

Bailisheng was not only skilled in mineral exploration, but also had expertise in iron smelting and metallurgy.

Now, King Chungshun was even more reluctant to kill or let go of such a talented person.

He has lived near the gold mine under constant surveillance, 24 hours a day, until now.

He spent countless months in the mine, and he had no idea how many years he had lived there.

In the end, she became as aggrieved as a child and burst into tears.

After crying, he tried his best to show everyone his talents, and in the end, General Gan naturally kept him on.

And now, it has come in very handy.

Although coal mines are different from metal mines, Baili Sheng knows far more about them than the average person.

At this moment, he was directing hundreds of soldiers to dig deeper from different locations.

After two days of investigation and calculation, Baili Sheng's conclusion is:

The coal in this Gobi Desert is of such high quality and so abundant that even with the current mining efficiency, it would take 10,000 miners a hundred years to mine it all.

General Xiong listened intently, his eyes wide, his mind racing with calculations:
Each miner can dig five stones a day, so ten thousand miners would dig fifty thousand stones!
In previous years, the market price of coal was around 130 wen per stone.

The daily profit was a staggering 6,500 taels of silver!
That adds up to 195,000 taels in a month!

A year, how much is a year!

Oh dear! Two million three hundred and forty thousand taels of silver!

So, they can keep harvesting for a hundred years?!
The more I calculated, the more excited I became.

Wow!
The gold mine that had just landed in his hands twenty-odd days ago suddenly lost its appeal!
Yellow gold is nowhere near as appealing as black gold.
Unfortunately, the fatty meat was right in front of me, but I couldn't eat it right away.

Without it.

With such a vast expanse of Gobi Desert exposed to the elements, the operation of mining by tens of thousands of people would inevitably attract attention from all sides.

Before a practical and feasible plan is developed.

This large open-pit coal mine still needs to be covered with stones and coarse sand.

Isn't that worrying?!
Apart from the vanguard battalion and a few core generals of Hami Guard, the news of the discovery of a large coal mine is currently under top-level secrecy.

In the past two days, the most discussed topic among the relevant generals has been how to extend the defense line of Hamiwei to the west.

Someone suggested:

"It would be best to build a long city wall in the Gobi Desert, and then mount hundreds of cannons on it! Among firearms, the most powerful are still cannons, which are very effective against the Hu people's archer cavalry!"

Some people countered: "With no natural barriers in the vast desert, where would the city wall even begin to be built? How much manpower and resources would be consumed just to construct the wall?"

"Then let's build a city on the Gobi Desert to enclose the entire coalfield, and put a few battalions of Hami Guard troops in this city to guard it."

The others pondered for a while.

This method might work!

"But building such a large city would take at least three to five years! Does that mean we can't start mining coal before the city is finished?"

The bear was really anxious:

"We can't wait! The military farms need a lot of farming tools, and we also need pots and pans for daily life. Our weapons also need to be replaced in time! Master Craftsman Baili Sheng said that there are several iron mines in the snow mountain. Coal smelting for iron is urgent!"

“General, there’s no way to hide troops in this Gobi Desert. The enemy’s scouts can count the number of people guarding the area and the number of people working here with their eyes over a thousand miles.”

Some people wondered: "Even if the Hu people saw it, did they know the wonderful uses of coal?"

"As early as the Western Han Dynasty, the Hu people of the Western Regions had already mastered the technology of smelting bronze with coal. Do you think that if the various countries of the Western Regions learned that there were large mines here, they would join forces to plunder them?"

The answer is obvious!
The argument continued until the next day.

The discussion then turned to how to secretly carry out a plan under the noses of the Hu people.

They dug tunnels from hidden locations in Hamiwei to secretly mine coal.

The construction schedule was all set at night, with work being carried out quietly at night, and so on.
Gan Minglan couldn't listen anymore; these people seemed to only understand defense when it came to border defense.

"Whether the Hu people know that Hamiwei has coal or not will not affect their attack on Hami City!"

Everyone: "."

She continued:
"We have recaptured the Seven Guards of Kansai! We even have a prince and dozens of nobles on their side waiting for ransom in our hands."

There were also tens of thousands of Huozhou garrison soldiers who died in battle, and the leaders, big and small, whom we plundered for three days and three nights!
Each and every incident demonstrates that we have unilaterally declared war on the Kashgar Khanate!

Xiong Zhen stroked a beautiful Hetian jade ring and replied, "According to General Gan, do we need to continue the western expedition?"

"It's not just a need, it's a must-fight! The Hu people's army might already be on its way to Hamiwei right now."

Although the seven garrisons in Kansai have been recovered, the original sites of the garrisons have all been destroyed, and it will take some time to rebuild the defense system.

This land has no natural defenses to protect it!
Even if we manage to hold on...
They fought the enemy's horse archers to a standstill, resulting in heavy losses for both sides, with neither able to gain the upper hand.

But how are we supposed to live from now on?
If Kashgar Khan puts pressure on the surrounding small states and tribes, the grain and livestock from the Western Regions will not flow eastward.

Not only are we, our military families, and hundreds of thousands of immigrants waiting for food, but the people of the border town and Huaiqing Prefecture are also hoping that we can give back to them.

Let us not forget our original purpose in launching this westward expedition to subdue the barbarians!

Everyone was drenched in cold sweat.

The past month has been going too smoothly; I've even earned more money than I could ever earn in a lifetime, and I'm getting carried away!

The recapture of lost territory appears to be just the beginning.

Once they lose the strength to contend with the Kashgar Khanate, the Seven Guards of Kansai will become the target of everyone's attacks!

Xiong Zhen was no longer as calm as before; he firmly stated:

"The military families are coming soon. The Seven Guards of Guanzhong must not be turned into a battlefield! For the sake of the elderly and children, and for the future peace of the Seven Guards of Guanzhong, the main force of the Kashgar Khanate must be eliminated."

Soldiers:
There is no way out!

"Fight! Fight them to the death!"

(End of this chapter)