Chapter 89

Outside the Great Qing Fort, a large pot of meat soup was boiling, the rich aroma spreading for two miles. As the refugees shivered and received the hot bowls of soup, they took a deep breath of the fragrance, almost shedding tears—this was better than anything they had eaten during the New Year!

The refugees were overwhelmingly grateful to Zhang Ke, thanking him repeatedly, and Zhang Ke smiled warmly, asking about their well-being.

"Everyone, please eat with peace of mind. With me here, your future will definitely be better!"

The refugees were so moved that they almost knelt down, "Thank you, Sir Zhang."

After comforting the refugees, Zhang Ke turned and returned to the Great Qing Fort. As soon as he entered the city, his expression changed.

Tang Bi, Qiao Tieshan, and a group of young men were waiting at the gate, clearly knowing how the refugees had arrived, and they were all indignant!

"Sir, after eating this meat, I can guarantee that the city will be surrounded by refugees within two days."

Qiao Tieshan also said, "That's right, Yongzhen, you can't be a pushover. If you take in all the refugees, the Great Qing Fort won't be able to sustain itself!"

Zhang Ke nodded, "Uncle Tieshan, don't worry, I have a plan. Let's find a place to talk."

Everyone followed Zhang Ke to the study and sat down.

Zhang Ke smiled slightly, "Uncle Tieshan, do we have any good things around the fort?"

"Good things? Yongzhen, what do you mean?"

"Like mines, dense forests, lakes, farmland—anything valuable!"

Qiao Tieshan, who was familiar with the surroundings, frowned and thought for a moment.

"Yongzhen, the area around the Great Qing Fort is quite prosperous. Near the Xi River, there are fertile fields. Outside the Zhenyi Fort, there is a coal mine. I heard that decades ago, there were iron smelting workshops, which were part of the same system as the workshops in Tonghe Bay Village. Furthermore, there is the Shuangshan Platform, which has a gold mine! They can extract about two taels of gold per month by panning in the river valley."

Nothing stimulates the blood like the sight of gold. The young men present all widened their eyes, and even Zhang Feng couldn't help but say, "Uncle Qiao, why didn't you tell us earlier? My brother has been worrying about money for days. If we can get a gold mine, it would be like holding a treasure pot!"

Qiao Fu, his eyes gleaming, said, "Brother Feng is right, let's quickly take over the Shuangshan Platform!"

"Right, right!" Qiao Tieshan gave him a light tap on the head.

"Fool, do you think a gold mine is that easy to get? The court has been watching it for years. Over a decade ago, when you were still in diapers, the court sent a mine supervisor to extract gold."

It turned out the court had already taken control. Everyone looked at each other, realizing they wouldn't get this piece of meat...

Tang Bi suddenly said, "Old Qiao, I've heard about the gold mine at Shuangshan Platform, but it seems to have been abandoned in recent years. Has it been exhausted?"

Qiao Tieshan patted his thigh and chuckled, "Sir Tang, you don't know. The gold mine at Shuangshan Platform hasn't been exhausted; it's still full of gold."

Zhang Ke, hearing about the gold mine, became excited and asked urgently, "Uncle Tieshan, tell me more. What exactly happened?"

"Sure!" Qiao Tieshan nodded, picked up his pipe, and began to narrate while smoking.

It turned out that Zhang Ye's predecessor, the mine supervisor Gao Huai, had vigorously developed mining in Liaodong, including at Shuangshan Platform. At its peak, there were two people mining, and they could extract over a thousand taels of gold annually. However, a large-scale anti-mine supervisor movement soon began in Liaodong, and Gao Huai fled back to the interior, disappearing. After Zhang Ye took over, he became more cautious, only guarding the major mines and ignoring the rest.

Tang Bi frowned and couldn't help but ask, "Old Qiao, I've heard that Gao Huai was notorious for exploiting the people and the miners suffered greatly!"

Qiao Tieshan couldn't help but shake his head, "Sir Tang, I don't know about other places, but at Shuangshan Platform, the miners were treated fairly well. They were given good meals after mining enough gold and received silver during festivals."

"That's strange. If the miners were treated well, why did so many people oppose it?"

"What's so hard to understand!" Qiao Tieshan took a deep puff of his pipe and smiled bitterly, "It's just that some people were envious of the gold mine. They spread rumors that mining was harmful to the people and that the mine supervisors were evil. But even if the emperor didn't mine, the local authorities did, and they were even harsher on the people. For example, at the Shuangshan Platform gold mine, many local gentry and officials joined forces to incite the miners to drive away the court-appointed mine supervisors. The next year, they conscripted the people to mine, and it was even more active than before!"

Zhang Ke, upon hearing this, understood clearly. Mining was mostly profitable and beneficial to the state. However, in the late Ming history, mine supervisors and tax collectors were vilified, accused of causing national disasters and exploiting the people, even linking them to the fall of the Ming Dynasty. Many people rallied and wrote books about it.

They could deceive people for a while, but not forever. In the end, the conflict over mine supervisors was a struggle between the central and local authorities. When Chongzhen foolishly abandoned commercial taxes and mine supervisors, and shifted all the financial burden to land taxes, the vast empire was doomed to fall!

Listening to Qiao Tieshan's explanation, Zhang Ke felt even more沉重 (heavy-hearted).

"Uncle Tieshan, if the gold mine was so prosperous, how did it decline?"

"Ah, it's the cycle of prosperity and decline. With more people mining, more gold was produced. Shuangshan Platform is close to the Great Wall, which naturally attracted the attention of the Tartars. In less than a year and a half, they plundered four or five times, causing many miners to die or be injured. No one dared to mine anymore, and the mine declined. However, in recent years, Xu Dianqian of Zhenyi Fort has secretly mined, but on a small scale."

Zhang Ke, after hearing this, took a deep breath, "Ha ha ha, it's Zhenyi Fort again. The refugees outside the city are mostly from Zhenyi Fort. Xu Dianqian has come to me, so don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Seeing Zhang Ke's spirited appearance, everyone became excited.

"Brother, what's your plan?"

"Ha ha ha, there are so many refugees outside the city. We'll take them back and settle them, and in the process, we'll take over the land and the mine!"

"Brilliant!" Tang Bi was the first to give a thumbs up, smiling, "Sir, you are truly clever. We'll use their plan against them. We'll get both the people and the land, a two-for-one deal!"

Zhang Ke was also pleased with his plan. The Great Qing Fort was too small, and he was worried about expanding his territory. Now, someone was offering it to him, which was exactly what he wanted.

"I plan to mobilize two squads of troops, under the pretext of escorting the people, to seize the land of Zhenyi Fort. The only concern is whether our new soldiers are capable. If they are not strong enough, even the best plan will be useless!"

Mentioning combat capability, many of the brothers present lowered their heads. They had trained hard and fought a few battles, but they were unsure of their abilities.

Even Zhang Ke had some doubts and couldn't help but look at Zhang Feng.

"Ha ha ha, Brother, to be honest, the troops of the Great Qing Fort are very good. After six months of hard training and a few battles, I estimate they won't be worse than Uncle He's troops. They are definitely a strong force. The hereditary soldiers of the Ming Dynasty are not worth mentioning. As long as we are cautious, Xu Dianqian is no match for us!"

With Zhang Feng's assurance, Zhang Ke gained confidence and smiled, "This time, I will lead the troops personally. Tang Bi will guard the Great Qing Fort, and Qiao Gui will stay in Tonghe Bay Village. Everyone else will follow me. We will seize Shuangshan Platform and take the gold mine!"

...

"Refugees, you have come to the Great Qing Fort because you trust me. I promise that when spring comes, we will redistribute the land so that everyone can have their own plot. I will also petition the court to reduce the land tax and poll tax. We will allocate funds to build water conservancy projects. What do you think?"

The group moved slowly, listening to Zhang Ke's words, their heads lowered in thought.

Qiao Tieshan looked at the group and suddenly shouted, "You lazy scoundrels, what more do you want? Do you think you can eat meat every day without working? If anyone thinks that, step forward, and I, Qiao, will give you a whipping!"

He flicked his whip, and the sharp sound made everyone shiver.

"Sir Qiao, we dare not think that way, but most of the land in Zhenyi Fort belongs to the Xu family. Our harvest every year is not enough to pay rent. On New Year's Eve, two families were forced to drink brine. We are suffering..."

The elderly people supported each other, tears welling up in their eyes.

Zhang Ke nodded. No one is born lazy, but when hard work brings no reward, anyone would become desperate, even like a walking dead.

"Refugees, rest assured. As long as you follow me, I guarantee a better life for you!"

Zhang Ke led the group to act overnight. By dawn, they had reached Shuangshan Platform. It was a small fort near the Great Wall, long neglected and in disrepair, with low walls and exposed bricks.

A few lazy soldiers were patrolling. Seeing the large group, they shrank back in fear.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Qiao Fu quickly ran to the city wall and shouted, "Guard Sun, the defense commander of the Great Qing Fort, Sir Zhang, has arrived. Open the city gate quickly!"

Sir Zhang! The soldiers looked at each other, confused.

"We only know Commander Xu, not Commander Zhang. The higher-ups have ordered us not to open the gate without permission!"

"Rubbish! Open your eyes and look. These people are from your Zhenyi Fort. We are kindly bringing them back, and you dare to refuse them entry? Do you want to die?"

Qiao Fu drew his bow and shot an arrow, which hit the lantern on the city wall.

With a clatter, the soldiers shrank back.

"Sir, please wait, I will open the gate."

After a while, the city gate creaked open, and Qiao Fu led the way into the city. The refugees followed closely, quickly taking control of the city gate, and the guards were disarmed.

Zhang Ke, smiling, entered Shuangshan Platform.

"Ha ha ha, since I'm here, the gold mine is mine!"

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