Chapter 2384
According to the mineral resources information available to the Executive Committee, Shandong has the highest gold reserves in the country, and most of these veins are concentrated in the Jiaodong Peninsula. It is distributed in Zhaoyuan, Yexian, Pingdu, Rushan, Mouping, Qixia and other places. Among them, the mineral veins in Zhaoyuan and Pingdu are the most concentrated, and the shallow burial is convenient for open-pit mining.
According to historical records, as early as the fourth year of Jingde in the Northern Song Dynasty, that is, at the beginning of the 11th century AD, Song Zhenzong sent Minister Pan Mei to the Zhaoyuan area to supervise the mining of the Linglong Mountain gold mine. At that time, the annual gold output of Denglai and Denglai states was nearly 10,000 taels, accounting for about 90% of the national gold output. In the Yuan Dynasty, the imperial court further increased the mining of Jiaodong gold mines, and the output was more than double that of the Huangyou period, the peak period of gold production in the Song Dynasty.
In the Ming Dynasty, the gold mines in this area were naturally inherited. Ming Shenzong also sent a large number of eunuchs to supervise the gold mining in the local areas. However, these supervision measures did not play their due role. Instead of improving the output of gold mines in the Denglai area, it dropped to only about one-sixth of the highest output in the Yuan Dynasty. During the Tianqi period, Xizong also sent Wei Zhongxian to Dengzhou to supervise mining affairs, but it also failed to have any practical effect. The Denglai Rebellion that occurred in 1631 destroyed almost all the mines in this area. Although work has slowly resumed in recent years, the serious loss of relevant technical personnel during the war led to a decline in production efficiency. , today’s production capacity has dropped too much compared to before.
However, many of the miners who originally made a living from mining in this area have fled to Fushan County one after another in recent years and have become miners working for Haihan. There is no other reason, but because Haihan provides better treatment, which can ensure the livelihood of the miners.
Through these miners who switched jobs, Haihan gradually learned information about the status of gold mining in the Zhaoyuan area. After hundreds of years of mining in the old veins, the mineral deposits have gradually been depleted, and the gold production has gradually exceeded the income, making it difficult to maintain the normal operation of the mine. The government was unable to explore new mineral veins, so the gold mining industry in Zhaoyuan gradually declined.
However, such information is obviously inconsistent with the situation grasped by Haihan senior officials. Even after hundreds of years, the gold mines in the Zhaoyuan area are far from exhausted, except for Linglong Mountain, which was mined by government organizations in previous centuries. In addition to gold mines, there are thousands of gold veins scattered in Fushan, Luoshan, Jinhuashan and other places in Zhaoyuan County, many of which are high-grade veins with large reserves, high grade, shallow burial and easy mining. It's just that at this stage, the government's prospecting capabilities are almost non-existent, so the scale of mining is also shrinking year by year. This undoubtedly provides a stage for Haihan to display his methods.
Of course, considering that the geographical location of Zhaoyuan County is far away from Fushan County controlled by Haihan, and the large number of people involved in the mining, it is difficult to keep it a secret. Once Haihan mines a new gold mine in the area, it will soon be If it arouses the attention of Ming Dynasty, there will be a fight for the ownership of the mineral veins, or even an armed conflict will break out, which will also be a troublesome matter for Haihan.
Therefore, although this matter has been put on the agenda, Haihan's senior management did not make a hasty decision. They still had to make complete preparations before considering taking action.
Judging from the geographical environment, it is difficult for Haihan to completely replicate the previous operation method in Fushan County and occupy Zhaoyuan County, which is located in an inland mountainous area. Moreover, the two places are more than a hundred miles apart, and there are almost all mountains and hills in the middle. Land transportation is not convenient, and it is a troublesome matter to transport supplies or deploy troops.
If you want to achieve your goal through military occupation, then Haihan needs to invest too many resources in this area. It is impossible for Ming Dynasty to sit back and watch Haihan make such a big move in Shandong. Once a large-scale armed attack occurs, The conflict will affect the diplomatic relations between the two countries. This is not a situation that Haihan wants to see.
Compared with the huge benefits that trade between the two countries has brought to Haihan in various fields, the value that mining gold mines in Zhaoyuan can create is limited to the economic aspect. Which is more important, Haihan's senior officials naturally see clearly. Even if the Zhaoyuan gold mine is to be mined, it must be done under the premise of maintaining existing diplomatic relations.
It is not technically difficult for Haihan to find unexploited mineral veins in the local area. The database contains various gold mining sites in this area in later generations. Send more professional personnel to the local area to search according to the map. To find a Getting to the right target is nothing more than a matter of time.
The real problem is how to exploit mineral veins while maintaining a good relationship with the local government and not falling out over the ownership of the mineral deposits. To create such a situation, the only way is to bribe local officials in advance and reach an alliance of interests.
Of course, such a highly involved matter cannot be left to ordinary people, so the Ministry of Security took over this task. Hao Wanqing had visited Zhaoyuan County many times as a wealthy businessman before, and established a relationship with the local Guzhi County. He confirmed that this person could be bribed with money, and then slowly worked out an operation plan together.
Haihan first finds a suitable mineral vein, and then the Guzhi County will come forward in the name of the government to include the mineral vein in the "official mine" list, but the specific mining affairs will be handled by Haihan. A certain amount of gold will be handed over to Daming through formal channels every year to ensure the legality of relevant mining activities.
Of course, Guzhi County will also receive considerable dividends from the annual gold output in a certain proportion. He will be responsible for handling various supervision measures formulated by the court to ensure that Haihan can work quietly in Zhaoyuan County. mining activities.
Of course, even with the cover of the local government, the scale of Haihan's mining here cannot be as public as that of the Fushan Copper Mine. Otherwise, it will not be hidden from interested people at all, and conflicts with Ming Dynasty will inevitably arise. Moreover, it is still completely unknown to what extent the cover provided by the Zhaoyuan County Government can be achieved. Many unforeseen problems will inevitably arise in this operation, and the risk is actually not small.
But just as Haihan was gradually advancing the matter, the Qing army invaded Shandong. The entire Shandong Province fell into chaos in a short period of time. The states and counties were too busy to take care of themselves, and no one cared about Haihan's small actions at this time.
Hao Wanqing hoped to seize this window of time to eliminate as many unrest factors as possible in Zhaoyuan, such as engineering technicians and supervisory officials sent by the imperial court. If these people discovered the secret of the new mine, they reported it to the Ming Dynasty. Ministry of Industry, then all efforts will be wasted. The current chaos in Shandong can provide the best cover for Haihan's secret operations.
However, the impact of the war in Shandong was too great, and Hao Wanqing had to suspend the task at hand and sent Gong Shiqi and others to Jinan Prefecture to collect intelligence on the war situation. It wasn't until Gong Shiqi returned to Zhaoyuan County that he took the time to retrieve the quarried ore samples from the predetermined location, just in time to send the samples back to Zhifu Island within the time limit of the task, so that professionals could complete the next step of inspection work.
Of course, it would be difficult for the Ministry of Security to handle such a big matter with just the manpower of the Ministry of Security. It was only a matter of time before the military intervened. When Gong Shiqi was talking to Sun Zhen, he mistakenly thought that the other party already knew about these arrangements. In addition to guiding the refugees to Fushan County, he also followed up on matters related to the gold mine, so he revealed it.
Although Gong Shiqi later discovered that this was a misunderstanding, he also knew that there was little point in hiding the matter from Sun Zhen, and it would instead lead to misunderstanding by the other party, so he decisively explained the whole story to Sun Zhen. He believed that Sun Zhen, as the battalion commander of the special operations group, would definitely understand the importance of this matter after listening to it. He would consciously keep this secret without having to emphasize it any more.
When Sun Zhen heard Gong Shiqi briefly explain the reason, he was greatly shocked. He didn't expect that at a time when the world was in chaos, the Ministry of Security was secretly operating such a big plan. However, he doesn't think there is anything wrong with doing so. The current situation in Shandong has proved that even though Ming Dynasty has the world's wealth, it is still unable to resist foreign enemies and save the people of Li. Even if the gold buried underground is mined and collected into the Ming Dynasty's treasury, it will probably only benefit the Manchus in the end. If Haihan obtains this gold, at least part of it can be used to attack the Manchus and save those in need. Helping the people of Ming Dynasty is obviously of more practical significance.
Sun Zhen asked: "Since the matter in Zhaoyuan County has not been settled yet, will Brother Gong have to come back soon after returning to Fushan County?"
Gong Shiqi said: "Just let my men send these ore samples back to Fushan County. I will stay here to cooperate with Brother Sun. This will also make it easier to coordinate with the county government on refugee matters."
Compared to Sun Zhen, who had just arrived, Gong Shiqi was obviously more familiar with the situation in Zhaoyuan County. With him staying here to help, Sun Zhen could save a lot of trouble.
Early the next morning, Gong Shiqi's men packed up and prepared to leave. Sun Zhen ordered a carriage to be delivered to them to carry the ore samples. This could effectively reduce the load on their mounts and make the trip back to Fushan County faster.
Gong Shiqi reciprocated and asked his men to bring only enough food and grass to return to Fushan County, leaving all the excess rations for Sun Zhen's troops. Although the quantity is small, in the current environment where supplies are inconvenient, even just a few kilograms of food is a very important resource.
After the men from the Ministry of Security set off, Gong Shiqi said to Sun Zhen: "I will go to the county town later to urge them on their grain supplies. I estimate that there should be at least five or six thousand kilograms of grain in the official warehouse in the city. Let's try it. We cannot let Guzhi County be left to us.”
Sun Zhen said: "Then we have to leave some food rations for the people in the city, right?"
Gong Shiqi smiled and said: "The conditions for those who can take refuge in the county at this time are not too bad. They must have much more food than the official warehouse. It is estimated that they can last for two or three months. Since Guzhi County The person who promised to provide us with food must have already calculated it, so there is no need to worry.”
Sun Zhen didn't say anything more after hearing this. Gong Shiqi took the horse and headed towards the county seat without letting Sun Zhen send anyone to follow him. Although the county seat currently does not allow idlers to enter and leave, since Gong Shiqi has a relationship with Nagu County Magistrate, he must be able to enter the city after reporting his identity.
In fact, those who took refuge in the county at this time were not necessarily all gentry and landlords, but also many common people. However, when Gong Shiqi saw that the gate of the county seat was closed and the government did not organize an outing to raise food, he concluded that the food reserves in the city should be sufficient, so he took the initiative to go to the county seat to beg for food.
Whether it is the task of guiding refugees or the gold mining task in charge of the Ministry of Security, allowing Sun Zhen's troops to stay in Zhaoyuan County for a longer period of time will obviously be more conducive to the execution of these tasks. To do this, all it takes is enough food and grass.
From the standpoint of the local government, although the presence of the Haihan Army here is tantamount to an invasion, if it can resolve the local refugee crisis, then the government will naturally be happy to turn a blind eye to its existence, even like the magistrate of Gu County. It’s no surprise that stakeholders have taken the initiative to provide food.
Naturally, Sun Zhen was not idle either. While sending rangers to the southern part of Zhaoyuan County, which has a relatively flat terrain, to check the influx of refugees, he also stepped up the production of road signs and prepared to deploy them on important roads throughout the county. Even if one hundred refugees could Having a literate person would also make it easier to guide them to the correct escape route.
Gong Shiqi returned safely to the Haihan Army's station in the afternoon of the same day, and the news he brought back boosted the morale of Sun Zhen's army. The county government is willing to provide them with a total of 6,000 kilograms of food in batches. In order to cooperate with Haihan's refugee guidance plan, the amount of porridge given to refugees outside the city will be gradually reduced from tomorrow. Only in this way can we force those refugees who are hoping to survive in Zhaoyuan to leave voluntarily and go to Fushan County to find a chance to survive.
Of course, doing so will inevitably cause some refugees to die of starvation, but if the increasing number of refugees are not evacuated, and Zhaoyuan County lacks the means to resettle refugees, it may fall into civil strife among the refugees in a few days.
In fact, signs of such chaos have already begun, and there have been some incidents of snatching property and food in refugee settlements. Fortunately, it is still a sporadic incident. Once someone starts to form a gang and control other refugees in a gang way, large-scale riots will not be far away.
For security reasons, Sun Zhen did not send anyone into the refugee area for continuous surveillance, but he has been paying attention to their movements. If he discovers some bad omen, he must send troops as soon as possible to extinguish the hidden danger.
That night, based on the returns from various places, Sun Zhen made an estimate of the number of new refugees entering Zhaoyuan County. At the end of the day, at least four figures of refugees had poured into Zhaoyuan County. According to reports from some refugees, the number of refugees gathered near Laizhou Fucheng, a hundred miles away to the southwest, is at least ten times that of Zhaoyuan County. The local area has no way to accommodate such a large number of refugees, so there are a large number of refugees at this time. On the way east to Dengzhou.
(End of chapter)