Chapter 1141 Exploring Copper Mines
"A treasure was found so quickly!" Chen Yixin took the ore from Tian Yeyou, held it in his hand and turned it over, looking at it, and said: "With this thing, the daily expenses of the Zhifu Island base can also be solved. Part of it!”
"Not that fast." Tian Yeyou shook his head and poured cold water on Chen Yixin mercilessly: "Even if we know that there are copper mines buried under the ground, we still have to build mines, smelters, and miners' living quarters first, and also There are the most important transportation lines. In addition, the various steam machinery required for copper mining will also have to wait for transportation from the south. Until these facilities are in place, the production capacity will not be very high, and the copper produced by the Fushan Copper Mine will not be high in the future. The ingots must be transported back to Hainan for storage before they can be converted into corresponding funds and allocated to your military. Also, don’t forget that the mines are now under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry, and the mining costs are also covered by the Ministry of Industry. The profits generated at that time must be divided first, and they will not be exclusive to your military.”
Chen Yixin frowned and said: "This copper ingot has to be transported back to Hainan for storage? It would be too troublesome, right? Why can't it be settled and processed on the spot?"
"Copper is now a strategic material, and its production and use are all arranged by the Executive Committee. At present, the copper we have is basically used in industry, and the relevant production workshops are all in Hainan, and none of the colonies north of Guangdong have them. The corresponding processing capacity, of course, must be shipped back to Hainan before it can be stored in the warehouse." Tian Yeyou explained: "Including various copper ordnance and weapons used by the navy and army, they are all produced in Hainan, and Zhoushan, Zhejiang has already started. An arsenal has been built, but it will definitely not be put into production this year. Maybe some copper ordnance can be produced nearby in the future.”
For Haihan, the only copper producing areas currently controlled are Shilu Iron Mine and associated mines of Taipei Jinguashi Gold Mine. The existing copper production is far from meeting the needs of industrialization development. Fushan Copper Mine is a The mineral deposits near the coastline are definitely a source of resources that Haihan must capture. The subsequent mining will not be a small-scale workshop-style production, but will be operated according to an industrialized model in order to increase the production capacity of this copper mine.
Determining the location of the copper mine is only the first step in formulating a mining plan. The information Tian Yeyou has is only paper data. Next, it will take a lot of time to determine the approximate scope and burial depth of the veins, and then choose the corresponding mining method. Then calculate the number of materials and personnel required to implement the plan, and formulate construction schedules for related supporting projects. The transition from exploration to formal production of the Fushan Copper Mine will not be as fast as Chen Yixin imagined.
The three of them camped on this mine that night. They were used to performing tasks in the wild all year round, so they didn't feel any discomfort. Moreover, there were nearly two hundred army troops outside to protect them, so they slept quite soundly that night.
In the next two days, everyone excavated and collected ore specimens in this area according to the mining points designated by Tian Yeyou. However, Tian Yeyou gradually discovered that something was wrong. More and more people began to gather outside the area where they were mining ore. Tian Yeyou was secretly on guard and informed Morgan and Chen Yixin of the situation.
"I guess they are here to watch our treasure hunt, waiting to pick up the missing ones." Chen Yixin was not too nervous. He smiled and comforted Tian Yeyou and said: "With our troops here, nothing will happen. Anyway, we will recruit miners locally in the future. Now let's It’s okay for them to look at it.”
Tian Yeyou asked in confusion: "Do these people think we are digging for some treasure here?"
"Gaoqiao Nan's troops just wiped out the remnants of the Wanjia Army two days ago and captured the dog-headed military advisor who was in charge of the accounts. According to folklore, the treasures of this group of bandits are buried in certain places in Fushan County, and the amount is too large to be estimated... ..." Chen Yixin pointed to the people watching from a distance and said: "If they see us digging in this barren mountain for several days, they will of course mistakenly think that we are hunting for treasure here. If we withdraw now, we will probably. They will dig up the land for miles around.”
"Hey, with such a good spirit, why don't you open up wasteland and grow food? Or come and work for us!" Tian Yeyou said with emotion: "Why don't you find someone to ask them if they are willing to help us work for a few days? ? Just say that if you find gold and silver, you will give them a share.”
Of course, such jokes can only be said in words. Even if these people are willing to accept such false exchange conditions, Haihan will not trade his reputation. It is difficult to gain the trust of local people, but it is easy to lose this trust. Since Haihan entered Fushan County, he has acted more cautiously and tried his best not to conflict with local people's interests. Haihan had already inquired about the location of the Fushan Copper Mine and determined that the area around the mine was unclaimed wasteland, so he directly sent troops to occupy it.
The next day, more and more people came to watch nearby. There were more than a hundred people visible within the field of vision. Many of them came with hoes. It looked like they really planned to come here to dig for food. . However, many Haihan soldiers with loaded guns and ammunition were deployed on the periphery of the exploration site to maintain order. These people were intimidated by Haihan's reputation and did not dare to get too close, so they could only watch from a distance. Whenever Tian Yeyou and others dig out ore in the ground and hold it in their hands to observe carefully, onlookers from a distance will let out a burst of admiration, as if what they dug out of the soil is not a stone, but a shining gold ingot. .
That night, the sentry on duty captured several people trying to enter the cordoned area. Chen Yixin got up from the tent to interrogate them all night, but the results made him dumbfounded. These people just wanted to sneak in at night to see what the Haihan people were digging. Honey, I plan to go into several dug mines to look for any "treasures" that have been missed.
In fact, these people have no bad intentions. They just want to make some unexpected wealth, but they are afraid of offending the Haihan people, so they can only do some small tricks secretly. However, these small moves are difficult to achieve in the face of the vigilance of the professional army. These people were discovered by the sentries as soon as they entered.
Those who were caught knew that they were in the wrong, and knew that Haihan's methods of dealing with local bandits were quite ruthless. They were worried that they would be taken away as prisoners, so they kowtowed desperately and begged Chen Yixin to forgive them for their moment of confusion. They also know that the Fushan County Government turns a blind eye to the Haihan people's actions and does not interfere much. If the Haihan people really want to take action, the government will probably pretend to be deaf and dumb and will not step in to stop them.
Now that things have happened, Chen Yixin also feels that he must find a way to curb the bad momentum of this matter, otherwise it will cause trouble sooner or later if it continues to develop. He remembered Tian Yeyou's joke before and decided to teach these guys who were getting bolder and bolder some lessons.
"The death penalty can be avoided, but the living crime cannot be escaped. You have done something wrong, so you must be punished!" Chen Yixin glanced at these people's faces one by one, and saw their frightened or panicked expressions, so he took his time. He said: "Don't worry, we won't break the rules, and we won't fine you any money. We will only punish you to work here for three days. After three days, you will be free. Don't you really want to dig here? Then dig one. Good enough!" So after dawn, there were several more migrant workers on the construction site, and these people used the tools they brought themselves. It didn't take long for them to realize that the Haihan people were not digging for any gold and silver treasures, because even if they dug up inconspicuous stones, they had to be picked out from the mound and shown to the Haihan people. The Haihan people are obviously very interested in these stones. After getting them, they will clean the floating soil on them and look over and over at these inconspicuous stones. If there was really any treasure buried here, the Haihan people would obviously not pay so much attention to the stone anymore.
The crowd of onlookers soon discovered that several companions who were among them yesterday actually appeared at Haihan's excavation site today, and were still helping the Haihan people dig the ground. They couldn't help but talk about it for a while.
Chen Yixin sent two soldiers to announce to the onlookers the mistakes they had committed and the punishment they had received. At the end, he also told the onlookers that there was no gold or silver treasure buried here. Interested people could apply to join the digging team, but they must follow Haihan's command and arrangements. Participants can decide whether to take away what they dig up, but Heihan will not be paid for it.
When smart people hear these conditions, they naturally know that it is unlikely to dig out anything valuable from under the eyes of the Haihan people. I am afraid that there are no valuable treasures at all in this place. The real purpose of the Haihan people digging here is probably It's completely different from what I imagined. But there are also people who are resigned to death and are hoping for luck, thinking that the Haihan people may have deliberately come up with such conditions to trick everyone into giving up. At this moment, more than a dozen people still boldly signed up.
As a result, Tian Yeyou's previous joke became a reality, and there really was such a small group of people serving as voluntary labor force. But Haihan had already made it clear that there was no treasure buried here, so it couldn't be said that he was deliberately deceiving. What's more, most of the onlookers chose not to make such a foolish attempt, and in the end not many people would think that Haihan's measures were a deceptive act.
This wasteland, which had been neglected for hundreds of years, was dug into pits in just a few days, with pits half a man deep everywhere. After working as free migrant workers for Haihan for a few days, these people who were greedy for petty gains naturally knew that they could not get any benefits here, and they all left the construction site one after another. However, people with some knowledge have already guessed that the Haihan people were prospecting here, but they are not sure what kind of ore the stones they dug out are.
After confirming the mineral veins here, Tian Yeyou has notified Zhifu Island through the radio. In the past few days, migrant workers have begun to bring a large amount of building materials and labor tools, and have begun to build the necessary infrastructure here.
I want to follow Changhua's approach here and build a railway from the seaside directly to the mine. It seems impossible to achieve it at present, but at least there must be a loess road to ensure the various building materials, tools, and living supplies needed for the early construction. , can be transported to the location of the mine relatively smoothly. Therefore, while building living facilities, a road construction team of about 500 people also began to build a special road for the mining field in sections leading to the nearest coast. However, even if this road of 20 miles is just an ordinary loess road, its other The amount of work cannot be completed in a short time.
Since the labor force that can be mobilized is not at the same level as that of Haihan, the progress of the early infrastructure construction of this mine will be relatively slow. In the eager anticipation of the Haihan people, the first batch of more than 800 immigrants from Pi Island finally arrived.
Pidao is still relatively trustworthy. According to the previous agreement, the immigrants selected are mainly young and strong. After arriving locally, they only need to recuperate and rest for a few days before they can start working at various construction sites. According to the transaction terms agreed upon by both parties, it is expected that three to four thousand people can be exported from Pi Island to Zhifu Island before winter.
This also puts forward relatively high requirements for Zhifu Island’s acceptance capacity. According to the current situation, it is estimated that the number of Haihan people who will spend this winter on Zhifu Island, including immigrants, will be about 5,000. Just the supplies needed for so many people to keep warm and protected from the cold in one winter is a large amount. At present, the number of barracks on the island is not enough, and construction and expansion are still ongoing.
On October 15, Haihan received an official document forwarded by the Fushan County Government. The sender was the Dengzhou Government Government. The content requested Haihan to immediately stop the large-scale construction of mines in Fushan County, and stated that Fushan All resources in the county, including underground minerals, belong to the Ming Dynasty and are not allowed to be interfered with by outsiders. If you do not listen to the advice and continue to act recklessly, you will be regarded as invading the territory of the Ming Dynasty and be punished accordingly.
The wording of the official document is relatively strong, which is contrary to the previous ambiguous attitude of Dengzhou Prefecture. This also makes Zhifu Island Command feel a little confused about the change of attitude of Dengzhou Prefecture. The security department did not receive any news of large-scale personnel changes in Dengzhou Prefecture. This sudden change in political attitude also made Haihan somewhat unable to cope with it.
"Did Governor Chen take the wrong medicine or something? He was fine before, but now he has fallen out!" Wang Tom was also very dissatisfied after reading the contents of the official document. He slapped the document on the table and said : "It would be too good of a thought to take over our mine with just a piece of paper!"
"Speaking of which, they are quite well-informed. They actually know about our mining in Fushan County." Sun Changmi said with a smile: "Why don't you let the prefect also come to invest in stocks? As long as you get the benefits, don't be afraid of him. Refuse to give the green light.”
Hao Wanqing said: "It looks so ugly. I think it's a bit like what the Dengzhou Ming Army did. They have been playing against us since we came here. Do you think that we are easy to talk to and are easy to bully? I think you can find a way to do it." These guys hit it hard and let them know what they can and cannot do.”
(End of chapter)