1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 32 Cooperation
"The sheds at the mountain site haven't been set up yet, I need some manpower," Peng Gang said after regaining his composure.

"You want to hire my soldiers?" Xie Bin asked. "For labor or to garrison the mountain?"

Xie Bin was indeed an anomaly among the Green Camp officers, but he was not an inflexible and rigid person.

Although Xie Bin did not have the bad habit of drinking soldiers' blood, it was not that he did not want to drink soldiers' blood and strive for advancement with his superiors.

But at his level, there was simply nothing left to drink.

The soldiers in Shangdongtang were barely struggling to survive. If Xie Bin were to ask these soldiers for money again, not only would the new local soldiers not submit to him, but the four old brothers he brought from Longzhou Hall would also likely break off relations with him.

Since Peng Gang was willing to provide employment opportunities for the soldiers stationed at Shangdongtang and improve their lives, and even take a cut for himself, Xie Bin had no reason to refuse.

Of course, this is on the premise that the job content and compensation can be negotiated.

“I’ll do some work like building sheds, meals will be provided, and I’ll earn seventy copper coins a day,” Peng Gang replied.

In Xunzhou Prefecture, ordinary day laborers only earn fifty or sixty coins a day, without meals provided, yet many people still scramble to do the work.

Peng Gang offered a very generous wage, which made Hou Jiyong and the two soldiers in the yard very interested. They couldn't wait to run to Honglianping to work for Peng Gang and earn money to supplement their family income.

Peng Gang wasn't going to suffer a loss either. His mountain territory had already been targeted, and he did need some soldiers who could look intimidating to keep things under control.

The extra wages are considered payment for the security duties of these soldiers.

"Fair." Xie Bin had no objection to the price Peng Gang offered, but he wanted more than just that.

"But if I give you a short-term job building a shed, you can only work for a month at most."

I know this mountain land belongs to Master Qiu. Master Qiu's words carry weight in your county, but not so much in Guiping County. Don't blame me for not warning you; once your shed is built, more and more eyes will be on your mountain land.

Xie Bin is a martial artist, and he speaks quite bluntly. What he meant was that Peng Gang was in charge of such a large area of ​​the mountain, and he could help Peng Gang to take control of it as well.

“From now on, I’ll give you 60% of the market price for the charcoal produced in Honglianping,” Peng Gang said after a pause.

"In addition, I can give 10% of the 900 mu of dry shares in Honglianping to Manager Xie."

Jiangkou Market was the most important distribution center for goods in Xunzhou Prefecture. Located at the mouth of the Dahuang River, it was one of the largest commercial market towns in Guangxi, and its prosperity was comparable to that of Xunzhou Prefecture City.

The prices of goods in Jiangkou Market were basically a barometer for the prices of goods in Xunzhou Prefecture.

Currently, Peng Gang has limited manpower, and the twenty or so young men from Honglianping cannot transport all the charcoal produced out of the mountains to sell at Jiangkou Market.

Why not sell some charcoal to the soldiers at Shangdongtang first? This way, we can quickly turn it into cash, saving us the trouble of transportation, and we can also gain favor with the soldiers at Shangdongtang.

As for giving Xie Bin a 10% share, it's simply a way to get him on board. The goal is to get Xie Bin to work for them and resolve the safety hazards in the mountain area from the beginning.

Although Xie Bin held a lowly position, his words carried considerable weight within a radius of thirty or forty li around Shangdongtang. After all, Xie Bin commanded troops, and these troops appeared to be capable and effective. In any case, they were more reliable than the businessman garrison commander of Bitan.

Of course, now that Peng Gang is a member of the God Worshipping Society, it's not impossible for him to seek protection from Xiao Chaogui, Yang Xiuqing, and others in Mengchong and Jintian. They would certainly be happy to send charcoal burners from Zijing Mountain to Honglianping to help.

But the nature of the relationship is different. His relationship with Xie Bin is one of equality and mutual benefit, where each takes what they need. However, when he seeks the protection of Xiao Chaogui, Yang Xiuqing, and others, it becomes a superior-subordinate relationship.

Given his current situation, if he were to bring Xiao and Yang's forces into Honglianping, he would immediately be sidelined by them.

While this measure provides temporary security, it will inevitably lead to subordination and control over Xiao and Yang in the future.

This was not the outcome Peng Gang had hoped for.

What he wanted was to cultivate his own power, not to assist Xiao and Yang. It was better to crown himself than to pave the way for others.

"light and spacious!"

Xie Bin was very satisfied with the cooperation price offered by Peng Gang. Peng Gang not only took care of him, but also the soldiers in his pond. With this income from Honglianping Mountain, the lives of the soldiers in Shangdongtang will be improved to some extent.

However, Xie Bin still had doubts. The cooperation between the two parties had gone too smoothly. The kid in front of him didn't seem stupid. Could it be that he had been set up?

“However, Commander Xie has to grant me a small request. If Commander Xie agrees, then our deal will be considered done,” Peng Gang said, putting down his chopsticks.

"What are the conditions?" Xie Bin asked, frowning.

Xie Bin thought to himself, "Sure enough, this kid is waiting for me here. Oh well, as long as the conditions he proposes aren't too unreasonable, I might as well agree for the sake of the money and the 10% share."

"I want six muskets, twenty catties of gunpowder, and twenty catties of lead bullets," Peng Gang stated his conditions.

Of course, Peng Gang knew in his heart that Xie Bin would not agree to these conditions.

Last time, Shi Zhenlun asked Chen Xingwang for gunpowder at a high price, but he only managed to buy twenty catties of gunpowder from Chen Xingwang.

Peng Gang set the price so high so that it would be easier to negotiate with Xie Bin.

"Six muskets? There are only six muskets in the whole pond! You can have them all, so I can patrol the mountains with fire pokers to scare away bandits from now on?"

Upon hearing Peng Gang's proposed conditions, Xie Bin almost spat out the rice wine he had just drunk.

"Four muskets, eight pounds of gunpowder, and fifteen pounds of lead bullets!" Peng Gang, looking like he had suffered a great loss, made a concession.

"I'm a rough man, not good at bargaining. At most, I can offer you two shotguns, eight catties of gunpowder, and six catties of lead bullets." Xie Bin reluctantly parted with some gunpowder and lead bullets.

"But you have to promise me that you can only use the musket in the mountains and you can't take it out of the mountains to cause me trouble. You have to lend it to me during the annual and autumn inspections."

"You're being so petty. It's just a few broken bird guns, isn't it?" Peng Gang complained.

In his eyes, these bird guns used by the Green Standard Army were no different from fire sticks.

If it weren't for the fact that there were no conditions for making flintlock muskets by hand, he really wouldn't have looked down on those few broken bird guns in Shangdongtang.

"A few broken muskets? You make it sound so easy. I might not be able to save up enough money to buy even one broken musket in a year!" Xie Bin retorted, unconvinced.

After reaching an agreement, the four people at the table poured drinks for each other, and soon they were all quite drunk.

Peng Gang also wanted to sow discord between Xie Bin and Chen Xingwang, who were in a superior-subordinate relationship.

However, Xie Bin has not yet gained much substantial benefit from the cooperation; instead, he has already put in two bird guns and some gunpowder and lead balls.

He and Xie Bin were only acquaintances who had shared drinks and meals; it was a major taboo to speak too intimately with someone you didn't know well, especially since they hadn't yet finalized their exchange of benefits. Now was not the time to sow discord between Chen Xingwang and Xie Bin, so he abandoned the idea.

Unable to let go of his concerns about the mountain, and seeing that it was about time, Peng Gang got up to say goodbye to Xie Bin.

Seeing that Peng Gang and Xiao Guoda were walking unsteadily, Xie Bin worried that Peng Gang might not be able to find his way back to Honglianping or might fall asleep in the deep mountains on the way.

He had Hou Jiyong, Zhou Songqing, and another soldier carry two bird guns and the gunpowder and lead bullets he had promised Peng Gang, and send Peng Gang back to Honglianping.

On the way back, with the chilly mountain winds of Lingnan in early spring blowing, Peng Gang gradually sobered up. He told Hou Jiyong about the bandits who had come to Honglianping to scout the area the night before.

Hou Jiyong patrolled the nearby mountains year-round and knew the local mountain people very well.

After Peng Gang said that, Hou Jiyong had a pretty good idea of ​​who had come to scout out Honglianping late at night.

Hou Jiyong patted his chest and assured Peng Gang that he could handle the matter, allowing Peng Gang to continue quarrying without worry.

(End of this chapter)