Chapter 86

Zhang Han rushed through the rain to Lingqiu City. Soon after entering the city gate, the rain stopped.

The main street of the county town was paved with bluestone slabs. The sound of hooves echoed as they stepped on the stones. Everyone first arrived at the mansion Zhang Han had bought in the city, where Zhang Xuezeng also lived. Upon meeting, Zhang Xuezeng praised Zhang Han, saying, "I thought you, Wenlan, would not be able to resist a major confrontation with the Han family. It's good that you can restrain yourself and seek mediation from the county magistrate."

The brothers Jiang both wore expressions of disapproval, thinking Zhang Xuezeng was too pedantic.

Zhang Han smiled and said, "Uncle, what you said is very true. We shouldn't always think of fighting. If we can talk it out, we should."

At this moment, Li Dayong and a few others also arrived. After meeting, Li Dayong naturally flattered Zhang Han, praising his temperament and ability to endure what others could not. He also criticized Han Tong for being too excessive and not behaving like a human being.

These words sounded like praise, but they were actually inciting. Zhang Han, however, remained calm and only smiled, saying, "I am truly grateful for everyone's efforts. I feel somewhat ashamed. Tonight, I will host a banquet at Feiyan Tower. Please do me the honor of joining me."

Sun Anle frowned and remained silent, while Sun Jingtong, holding his sword, smiled and said, "Mr. Zhang, if the Han family continues to be aggressive, what do you plan to do?"

Zhang Han smiled and said, "I don't plan for things that haven't happened yet."

Sun Jingtong raised an eyebrow and said, "Failure to plan is planning to fail. Mr. Zhang, you are an educated man; surely you know this?"

"Another saying goes, 'Cross the bridge when you come to it.' Planning for something that hasn't happened just disrupts your own plans."

"Mr. Zhang, you are indeed broad-minded..." Sun Jingtong's face showed a hint of helplessness, and he continued, "But it might be difficult to recruit more miners for your ironworks."

"What difficulty?" Zhang Han still smiled and said calmly, "My first furnace is almost ready to start. For now, the workforce is sufficient. We will continue to recruit. The treatment for my miners should be the best in Lingqiu, whether it's monthly pay, food, housing, or other benefits. With such examples, I don't think it will be hard to recruit more people."

Sun Anle and Sun Jingtong exchanged glances. They had heard that the Heiyusheng ironworks was different from others, but due to their status, they had never been able to visit. Sun Anle gave a signal, and Sun Jingtong, thick-skinned, said, "Mr. Zhang, may I visit your ironworks? Our Dongshan Association can also learn and treat our miners better."

"Of course not," Zhang Han smiled and said, "I originally planned to invite all the owners to visit after the first batch of iron is produced. If Brother Jingtong wants to come, please feel free. I will welcome you with open arms."

Sun Jingtong felt Zhang Han's sincerity and was not just paying lip service. He smiled and said, "In that case, I will certainly take you up on your offer."

During this time, Zhang Han had also inquired and found that the Dongshan Association was indeed a self-help organization for miners, as people said. Sun Anle and Sun Jingtong had shares in a few furnaces. Due to the pressure, the small mine owners organized themselves into this association. The organization was quite loose, with only a few dozen core shareholders and some brave miners who could fight. This was how they managed to establish themselves. No wonder, with thousands of members, they could only restrain Han Tong, whose power was still greater.

This could be considered a version of a "union" in the Ming Dynasty. Although Zhang Han was not particularly interested in this matter, he knew that similar organizations existed along the Grand Canal, like the Qingbang in the late Qing Dynasty, which was similar to the Dongshan Association in the late Ming Dynasty. However, after the Qing Dynasty, they first opposed the Qing and sought to restore the Ming, and later supported the Qing to expel the foreigners. Essentially, they were just poor laborers banding together for warmth. Even the Boxers had the shadow of the White Lotus Sect, which seemed mysterious but was actually nothing more than that.

"Alright, the county magistrate has sent someone to urge us. Everyone, please come along."

Li Dayong urged them to set off. Zhang Han rode at the front, and Zhang Xuezeng and the others followed. Li Dayong deliberately lagged behind and whispered to Sun Anle, "It seems our plan has failed."

Sun Anle said, "Zhang Han, though young, is very steady in handling affairs... I have heard that he has several hundred bodyguards, many of whom are brave and fierce. Zhou Wu, who roamed Daliang Mountain for years, was also captured by his men. His head is still hanging above the east gate of Xinping Fort. With such strength, he can still restrain himself, which is truly admirable."

Li Dayong gritted his teeth, feeling frustrated.

Stirring up a deadly fight between the Han and Zhang families, then taking advantage of the chaos to strengthen themselves... absorbing Han family miners and occupying a few high-quality ore veins. If the Han family was in trouble, they could easily be dealt with by offering good conditions. As for the Heiyusheng ironworks, Li Dayong and Sun Anle had no intention of taking any advantage. The furnaces were new, the ore veins average, and the miners average. But in their eyes, Heiyusheng was a strong dragon, with Zhang Han's background, strength, and powerful military force. Who would have thought that Zhang Han would slip through their fingers and not fall into their trap?

Li Dayong thought for a moment and asked, "Are the people you sent reliable?"

"Don't worry about that," Sun Anle said. "We've been fighting for decades, and it's hard to plant reliable people in his organization. How could I control the Dongshan Association?"

Li Dayong felt somewhat relieved. Looking at Zhang Han's back on the horse, he felt a tingling in his teeth, but he still had to pretend to be a good person and participate in this "mediation." The frustration in his heart was indescribable.

...

The group arrived at the county yamen, entered through the side door, passed the main hall and the six offices, and then entered the second hall.

Neither Han Tong nor the county magistrate had arrived. Everyone sat down to drink tea and chat. Zhang Han learned a lot about the various ironworks and furnaces, gaining some understanding of the other families' situations.

The profit from the iron in Jin was not particularly high. The Dongshan Association had the most furnaces, seven in total. The Han family was second with six, followed by a man named Ma Huaxian with three. Li Dayong's family had one. Taking Li Dayong's furnace as an example, a small furnace producing 2,000 pounds of iron per day, operating 150 days a year, would produce 300,000 pounds of iron annually. At six fen per pound, the annual income from selling iron would be 18,000 taels. After deducting logistics and sales costs, the net income would be less than 1,000 taels. With 300 workers, including food, salt, and other costs, the total would be nearly 7,000 taels. The largest expense was the cost of coal, with 300,000 pounds of iron requiring about 2,000 taels of coal. Adding other miscellaneous expenses, the annual net profit would be about 5,000 taels. This amount of silver seemed substantial, but it was equivalent to the net profit of 6,000 to 7,000 acres of land, which produced 7 to 8 fen of silver per acre annually. However, Li Dayong could not keep all this silver. Setting up an ironworks and building a furnace required certain connections, which were bought with silver. Even a family like the Hans could not avoid this expense. The provincial administration, the governor, the inspector, the circuit intendant, the military commander... in other places, ignoring the military commander of Shanxi might be fine, but in an area with many ironworks, the order was to strictly prevent miners from causing trouble. If the military commander was not bribed, he could use the pretext of mixed-quality miners to force the closure of the mine.

Finally, there was the county magistrate, the deputy magistrate, and other officials, as well as the local patrol officers and the county magistrate's secretaries and attendants. One would not know the number of connections that needed to be maintained until they did business.

Each place required a bribe, ranging from a few hundred to a few dozen taels. After bribing dozens of places, Li Dayong would only have about 2,000 taels left. Most of the net profit went into others' pockets.

He had worked hard to set up the furnace and hire workers, bearing many worries and hardships, and had to worry about sales and recovery of payments. Others could sit at home and the silver would naturally fall into their pockets. This income was almost legitimate, and how many corrupt officials had been punished in the Ming Dynasty?

During the reign of the Hongwu Emperor, officials who embezzled 60 taels were flayed and stuffed with straw. Now, even officials who embezzled tens of thousands of taels a year were not uncommon, but if they were too greedy, they would be restrained by the scholar-officials and local gentry. The most severe punishment for corruption was to be dismissed and sent home with the silver.

"The situation in recent years has become increasingly worse. Officials oppress the people, large families swallow up middle and small families, and small families go bankrupt and become refugees..."

Zhang Xuezeng was indeed somewhat pedantic. Everyone spoke in a restrained manner, but Zhang Han, though shocked, still smiled. Zhang Xuezeng, an outsider, expressed much indignation.

At this moment, the sound of footsteps and voices came from outside. Zhang Han quickly interrupted Zhang Xuezeng and smiled, saying, "Uncle, with a wise and enlightened emperor, we should not say too much."

"Hmph."

Zhang Xuezeng coldly snorted, clearly disagreeing with Zhang Han's reference to the "wise and enlightened emperor."

It was said that the Qing Dynasty followed the Ming system, but in Zhang Han's eyes, the Ming and Qing were very different. At least, the scholar-officials showed little respect for the emperor, unlike in the Qing Dynasty, where criticizing the emperor was dangerous and would not be supported by public opinion. In the Ming Dynasty, criticizing the government and the emperor was not only safe but also fashionable.

The public opinion of Emperor Wanli was better in the south than in the north. After opening the sea for several decades, the economy in most parts of China had developed significantly, but the western and northern regions along the Great Wall were still impoverished. In Zhang Xuezeng's view, the emperor, who was angry with the scholar-officials and neglected state affairs, was utterly useless. He ignored all government affairs and delayed everything. They, the gentry, could see the government gazettes. The chief grand secretary, Fang Congzhe, worked tirelessly, but the emperor mostly ignored his memorials, let alone those of other officials.

In short, Emperor Wanli was far from the wise and enlightened emperor in Zhang Xuezeng's heart. Fortunately, he understood that Zhang Han was telling him not to say too much in front of others, which was a good intention. He then remained silent with a cold face.