Chapter 276 Coal and Iron Forced Cause

It is time-consuming and labor-intensive to transport pure iron ore, and it is only valuable after smelting into iron. After thousands of years of mining in Laiwu, it is definitely unrealistic to use firewood as smelting material. It is one of the few county towns around Laiwu that appeared in this era.

Coal and coke are the first choice fuels, and Laiwu does not produce iron, but there are many coal mines in Jiningzhou, Yanzhou Prefecture. Since the Yuan Dynasty, coal has been transported to Laiwu by water and land, and provided for iron ore for use.

Once the coal supply stopped here, there was no reserve. The production and operation of the Laiwu Iron and Steel Institute immediately became difficult. The ambassador of the Iron and Steel Institute did not dare to delay and hurried to seek the mining supervisor Ding Xu to report.

Although Jiaozhou Camp has not had many troops in Yanzhou Prefecture, its control over such commercial transactions is even greater than that of other prefectures, because on that day, Qingyan, private salt, and fragrant salt were established to the Xiangyan Salt Shop behind, and until Lingshan Trading Company was always closely linked to Shandong's commercial center and Jiningzhou, the hub of canal transportation.

Wenru Trading Bank, Bamin Trading Bank and other large businesses inside and outside Shandong, as well as the big families behind these big businesses, have also had unusual relationships with Lingshan Trading Bank. In recent years, the power of Jiaozhou Camp has increased greatly, and the status and capabilities of Lingshan Trading Bank have naturally risen.

Although there are a lot of coal mines in Yanzhoufu, the sales are also average, and transportation is a problem. Moreover, there is no need for large-scale use except iron ore and some workshops. In winter in Shandong, poor families in the north cannot afford coal, so they usually look for some ordinary firewood, and in winter in the south, there is basically no need to special heating.

Because of this, no one pays much attention to this. The weapons manufacturing bureau of Jiaozhouying in Fengmeng Town has a great demand for coal mines, and Lingshan Trading simply controlled the purchase and sale of coal mines in Yanzhou Prefecture.

It may not have been thought of that day, and Li Meng probably did not have thought that after the establishment of Lingshan Trading Company, there would be one day to fight economic war with others. Li Meng also lamented that he had good luck.

Without coal, iron cannot be produced, so naturally there is no way to make profits. After Lingshan Trading Company cut off the coal mine, it did not do any pretentious and disgusting things. The shopkeeper of the Trading Company came to the door to report that in the chaotic times, a large number of cargo transportation requires hiring a large number of people and animal power, but the manpower is insufficient, and the wages hired have increased throughout the day. The mining supervisor Ding Xugong was also asked to publicly express his gratitude to increase the coal price.

Although Ding Xu, the mining supervisor, has a high status, but not many people with sufficient status, and he has to directly participate in many things. After hearing the words of the shopkeeper, he almost spit out blood. The people in Shandong Province are concentrated in whom the labor force is concentrated, and the people who are promoted to Dou Dou may not know, but no one in Shandong has a slightly prestigious person. Shandong General Li Meng has a close relationship with the Tuntianzhuang. Otherwise, the latest recruits will be the Tuntianzhuang Ding, the Tuntianzhuang's production will be supplied to the Jiaozhou camp army.

Originally, in this year of disaster, life was the least valuable. Ding Xu was also preparing to give a big price reduction for the labor workers in Laiwu Iron and Metallurgical Institute. Anyway, there were a lot of people who were about to starve to work to save their lives. Who would have thought that because of the military farm recruiting refugees and annexing the land, and the Kong Mansion and other big landlords were all unsatisfactory imitations. Instead, the expected situation of the mining supervisor Ding Xu did not occur. As a result, because Fengmeng Town came to poach, Laiwu Iron and Metallurgical Institute had to slightly increase the treatment to retain people.

Others say that it is a shortage of labor, but Ding Xu still believes that it is General Li's subordinates who say that it is a shortage of labor. This is a clear mistake.

Let’s not mention Ding Xu’s anger and helplessness. Now there are no more than fifty people in Shandong who can be called a big landlord, and Li Meng and the Kong family far exceed the other ones. These big landlords have merged land for income. According to previous practices, they have bought land and waited for the land to increase value in the good year after the land was added. Now there are many disasters. Although there are continuous mergers, the annexed land does not generate value is also a heavy burden.

When the military farm built in Jiaozhouying first started, the rest of the people were laughing at the kindness of women, and sooner or later they would be dragged down by this kindness. Who would have thought that the farm in Jiaozhouying dispatched comprehensive manpower, repaired water conservancy, and built various agricultural reclamation facilities to ensure a certain output in this disaster year. After all, even the land of the next few levels will be profitable in the farm.

The rich families who were watching jokes on the side were just aware of this, but some people figured out the truth. For example, a child of the Confucius Mansion wrote in the notes that in the early stage of the Wanli year, there were still governments in Shandong to organize water conservancy repairs, and then it gradually became deserted. The collapse of the irrigation system brought about a decrease in farmland income, and the decrease in farmland income brought about a decrease in fiscal revenue. The decrease in fiscal revenue led to a significant reduction in investment in the construction of water conservancy and a series of projects that required the government to invest. In the usual years, it was thought that it would be maintained. When the disaster year comes, when the country has major events, this maintenance will be immediately broken. Natural disasters, wars, and civil strife, which directly caused the financial collapse of the Ming Dynasty's court, and made this vicious cycle continue to intensify.

If there are big families who can only call on the government to concentrate their manpower and repair various agricultural reclamation facilities, they may have just issued a motion and will be imprisoned and beheaded by the government and the army for their crime of being ulterior motives and being invited to buy people's hearts.

Now it is different. The world is in chaos. The entire center of the court is on civil strife and foreign enemies. There is no time to take care of Shandong. Other provinces are disrupted. However, the existence of the Jiaozhou camp has barely maintained peace and tranquility in Shandong. In an environment similar to an independent kingdom, it can play a role by combining manpower and material resources, building water conservancy and various measures to benefit the people.

There were many precedents in ancient times when Zhou Yang used it to use it. After discussing with Li Meng in depth, Li Meng told Zhou Yang about his modern superficial knowledge of the large-scale construction and collective farms during the founding of the People's Republic of China, as well as some experiences in the collective labor of the army, as well as some experiences in the collective labor of the army.

Combining the two, it becomes the current system of farmland farms. Of course, this pure institutional thing does not have any technology and concepts beyond the times. People around them realize this benefit and cannot not learn or imitate.

Other landlords and wealthy families in Shandong, especially the Confucius Mansion, started to follow the example. Although there are many places that have not been learned well, they have improved. At least in the year of great disaster, the people's livelihood in Shandong is like a paradise compared to the nearby Henan.

However, such changes are subtle and are carried out step by step. Everyone thinks it is natural. It doesn’t seem abrupt. Even Li Meng himself thinks it is no different.

But in fact, this is the change he brought about. A person who does not belong to this era will bring about a slight change, or a ray of light, to this era that should have been extremely dark. Although it is not so dazzling, things are changing in a good direction after all.

When he returned to the Laiwu Iron and Metallurgical Office, Ding Xu was not a kind person. On the ground of Laiwu, only Eunuch Ding had always been the only one who had to blame others for his quarrel, but today he was knocked on the door by someone else. The shopkeeper of Lingshan Trading Company spoke up and said the reason. In a flash, Eunuch Ding understood the whole story.

He was a man who was fearless, but was indeed a bachelor. He sat upright in the hall and snorted coldly, and said in a scream:

"Since you said that, Laiwu can only stop production and shut down the furnace. The Ming Dynasty's Iron Government is the lifeblood of the country. All the father-in-laws of the Sili Supervisory Commission and the ministers of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War are all concerned about it!"

The people below also understood that you don’t give me coal. OK. Behind this iron ore are the Sili Supervisor, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue. You Lingshan Trading Company must consider it carefully to avoid provoking opponents you shouldn’t be offended. If an ordinary merchant is shocked by the names of these big yamen that are rarely heard of, it will inevitably become weaker in momentum. However, the shopkeepers of the Lingshan Trading Company are all people with only General Bing Li and Boss Hou, so they care about this.

Someone said now:

"Oh, I remember General Li's uncle is a guardian of Nanjing, and that is also an amazing role among the internal officials!"

Lingshan Trading Company has always refused to admit or deny that Shandong General Li Meng is their boss behind the scenes. The two people sitting below deliberately asked and answered questions. The other person also responded in surprise:

"Tsk tsk, this is the first time I have heard of this. The Nanjing guards are not at a low position, right?"

"It's neither low nor low. It is said that he also worked as a eunuch in Silijian that day."

This news is not news to many people, but it is the first time that Ding Xu, the mining supervisor who has been staying in Laiwu, knew that his expression had not changed. On his round and fat face, it was very difficult to see the corners of his eyes twitching. After a short while, Ding Xu, the mining supervisor, said shrillly:

"Our family is the admiral and supervisory mine directly under the current jurisdiction of the Wansui Emperor. The memorial was handed directly to all the father-in-laws in the Silijian. Nanjing guards the Jiangnan border and has no obstacles to our side."

After saying these words coldly, Ding Xu, the mining supervisor, couldn't pretend to be calm, stood up from the chair and pointed at the shopkeepers of Lingshan Trading Stores below, shouted angrily in a sharp voice:

"You guys kill me. The gold and silver that our family has accumulated over the years is enough for several lifetimes. I won't sell this iron. There are irons in Nanzhili and Henan. You can sell it in your business! Get out, get out!!"

Despite the repeated shouts of anger, Ding Xu, the mining supervisor, was also somewhat escorted like a wolf or a tiger in the hall, but he could still bear it when he heard what the people in Jiaozhou Camp said just now and did not ask anyone to come up.

The shopkeepers and accountants of Lingshan Trading Company were walking everywhere in Shandong, and it was not an exaggeration to use the word "rampant". They were constrained on weekdays and the behavior was still abiding by the merchant's duties. However, today, the Jiaozhou Camp was so verbal and the pressure on Jiaozhou Camp was so stressed, and some young and energetic couldn't help but feel angry. The price increase of coal mines was ineffective. It didn't matter if they used the power of the Nanjing guarding Eunuch Liu to suppress the other party. They had the reserved capital, so they had to use it at this time.

The shopkeeper of Lingshan Trading Company this time, the leader walked to the door of the lobby and suddenly turned around and said with a smile:

"Eunuch Ding, when the villain entered the city, he saw that the public security in Laiwu City was unstable, bandits were rampant in the daytime, and the civilians and gentry in the city were in a miserable way."

Ding Xu, the mining supervisor, stood there and snorted coldly. He was disdainful to answer, but he still started to speak:

"This kind of thing will be handled by Laiwu County, what does it have to do with you?"

The shopkeeper bowed and smiled again, and said slowly:

"Eunuch Ding doesn't have to worry. In the current year of the disaster in Shandong, the Governor's Office has issued a clear statement, requiring all localities to rectify public order. The Governor also thought that the yamen runners in various places might be weak, and also said that if the prefectures and counties cannot handle it, the higher yamen will send personnel to deal with it."

After saying this, Ding Xu, the mining supervisor, was a little confused and thought to himself what the other party meant. However, a commoner was so relaxed and comfortable facing the admiral mining supervisor from his center. Even if there was no conflict just now, it would be unhappy.

Ding Xu snorted coldly, ignored him and turned around and entered the inner hall.

When the shopkeeper of Lingshan Trading Company said that "bandits are rampant", the mine guards standing inside and outside the lobby all looked unhappy, and some of them had a hot temper even wrote their anger on their faces. They were originally recruited by the mine manager Ding Xu for the desperate bandits. When they heard the shopkeeper of the shop, they said it directly, and thought that they were just a businessman, who was so arrogant. When they left Laiwu City, they wanted you to be beautiful.

Ordinary civilians, the gentry in Laiwu City, and even the officials who retired at home, kept a distance from these so-called mine guards, for fear of being infected with these evil stars. However, the shopkeepers of the Lingshan Trading Company were not in a hurry to leave after getting off the lobby.

Instead, he looked as if he was watching the scenery in the garden. He had no fear of these terrifying bandits, and his eyes were full of unremitting and teasing. This posture made these guards unable to understand the details.

When these people from Lingshan Trading Company left, someone in the yard was clamoring that they would ride horses out of the city to set up an ambush, which would teach these merchants who didn't know how to be tall and rich.

However, the person who knew the background immediately revealed the background of the Lingshan Trading Company. The yard became quiet immediately. No one dared to say anything big. There were also a few clever ones who didn't say much. They ran away directly with the soft gold and silver when everyone was not paying attention.

Although Zhou Baxi is famous in the green forests of Shandong, he is a newcomer. It is not his turn to be a worker for such a personal guard. So after that, he still has no news.

The servants of the mining supervision office knew that Eunuch Ding had a big temper today, smashed the toys and decorations in the side hall, and cursed them without any scruples in the house. After this eunuch was physically disabled, it would be fine if he cultivated his character, but most people were quite paranoid.

Especially when it comes to gold, silver and wealth, logically speaking, the conditions proposed by Jiaozhou Camp were calculated, Laiwu Iron and Metallurgical Institute and Ding Xu, the mining supervisor, made some money in some cheap ways. If it were to calculate a long-term transaction, it might be better to get more. However, when a person was greedy, his eyes became short-sighted. Ding Xu, the mining supervisor, only saw the losses in front of him, so how could he have such a long-term calculation?

But then again, in this end of the world, no one will consider this "long-term". If the long-term is considered, the big landlords will not have to wait for the Jiaozhou Camp to demonstrate, and they will start working first, because they don't know what the world will become ten or even one year later, so everyone is short-sighted.

After getting angry, Ding Xu, the mining supervisor, was helpless. Since he used business methods to tug at the other party, the methods used by Lingshan Trading Company were also commercial means, and he pinched your neck on the raw materials. One side was the admiral mining supervisor and the other side was the Shandong general, and there was a deep background behind it. Instead, he could not use his power to suppress others.

The Lingshan Trading Company's talk about the Nanjing custody Liu Fulai today still surprised Ding Xu, but the backer he relied on was better than Liu Fulai, so he was not worried.

After getting angry, Ding Xu called the account and the minor official in charge of the Iron Smelting Institute to ask about the coal storage. The minor official was worried about this matter on weekdays. When he saw his master's inquiry, he quickly reported to the truth that in Laiwu's official iron ore and the blacksmith's workshop, coal can only be used for another five days.

Ding Xu was helpless when he heard this, but if he asked him to make concessions with Lingshan Trading Company, he could not. He could only order to stop the production of the iron smelting station in a few days and wait for the results of negotiations here.

On the second day after the negotiations between the two sides, Huntianlong Zhou Baxi was sleeping soundly in the small house he rented, running desperately on the ground in Shandong in a very embarrassing manner. He had to change several places to sleep at night. After coming to Laiwu City, he had a place to sit, relaxed in his heart, and slept a little more at ease.

Yesterday, when the Lingshan Trading Company came, Zhou Baxi also learned some news. Although he was not clear about what he had discussed, he ended up in the end. However, he knew that Lingshan Trading Company was a peripheral institution of Li Meng Jiaozhou Camp. Zhou Baxi, who had worked under Huang Ping, knew more about the natural way than others.

When Zhou Baxi heard the two sides had a very stumble, he became more and more happy. This way he had the opportunity to survive in the cracks, his mentality became more relaxed, and his sleep became more pragmatic.

However, no one thought how fast the Lingshan Trading Company was doing this time. Early that morning, a yamen runner who had sealed letters from Jinan Prefecture came to the gate of Laiwu City. These seal letters were genuine, so the guards at the city gate naturally had no other opinions.

Who would have thought that as soon as these yamen runners entered the city gate, they immediately took out a few official documents, with black and white words on them, and also had the seal of the Jinan prefect, saying that the bandits in Laiwu City were rampant, so they specially sent the yamen runners from Jinan Prefecture to Laiwu City to guide the officers and soldiers to wipe out.

There were more than a thousand officers and soldiers in Laiwu City, as well as their own yamen runners. When they heard that these people from Jinan Prefecture were going to do this, they were anxious. However, everyone was still in the face of officials and it was difficult to use swords and guns. When they were stalemate there, the soldiers who had been waiting outside for a long time entered the city.

This unit is the Jiaozhou Camp troops stationed in Jinan Prefecture and Qingzhou Prefecture. The person who led the team was Zhang Jiang, the nephew of Zhang Lin, the old officer who taught the Jiaozhou Camp horse team's combat skills. The departments and institutions under Li Meng have good relationships with each other, and he also did his best to cooperate with this kind of cooperation.

There was still a dispute at the city gate, and the garrison in Laiwu City did not expect to concentrate on defense. When they watched Zhang Jiang's men swarm and rushed in from the city gate, it was too late.

At present, Jiaozhou Camp is expanding its troops significantly, and there are more than 2,000 troops left to guard Jinan Prefecture. One is Zhang Jiang, the other is Wei Li, who has made great contributions. The two are stationed in the north and south of Jinan Prefecture, and there are also armed salt and other personnel to cooperate.

Wei Li's improvement was considered rapid, and there were some rumors in the Jiaozhou Camp that after the expansion of the army, Wei Li would lead the battalion alone, which could be considered as his own world.

Others have nothing to say about such an promotion. Wei Li's first achievements are even more dazzling compared to the subsequent encounter in Qihe County. Just as Shandong Governor Yan Jizu wanted to promote Li Meng's victory, Wei Li should be established as a typical example for Jiaozhou Camp.

However, Wei Li's improvement put a lot of pressure on Zhang Jiang, who is also in Jinan Prefecture, and also has a lot of motivation. First, the rising stars are about to catch up with their position, and second, Zhang Jiang also thought it through. Wei Li is a role model for everyone, which means that as long as he makes contributions, he will definitely improve accordingly.

He was promoted very quickly in the Jiaozhou Camp system. Seeing that the Jiaozhou Camp was about to expand its army, if he made any contributions, his future would be limitless. He was extremely diligent in doing errands. After Lingshan Trading Bank issued the assistance document, Zhang Jiang prepared early.

They were all official troops of the court. At present, Zhang Jiang's group had procedures and documents to verify what they did, so naturally they could not fight after entering the city. Once they entered the city, several teams of ten people began to run towards the remaining city gates and went to the city gates. One was to show their identity, and the other was to show the documents and letters from the governor of Shandong, the general of Shandong, and the prefect of Jinan, and ordered the city gates to be closed.

What happened suddenly this morning caught these soldiers guarding Laiwu off guard, and there was no contact and communication at all the city gates. At this time, no one had notified the garrison of the Laiwu City garrison, Laiwu County Magistrate and Mining Supervisor Ding Xu, and no one had made any decisions. The other party was justified in doing business, but he had no choice but to obey the orders and closed the city gates everywhere.

The Laiwu army soldiers with a little knowledge can see that the Jiaozhou camp soldiers and horses who came in were full of murderous aura and well-dressed clothes and armor. Such powerful soldiers were beyond their reach, so they should do things in accordance with the rules.

Some of the brave men looked around and saw that something came out from somewhere, covering their faces with thick felt hats. The braver ones walked directly to the Jiaozhou camp soldiers. They didn't know what they said. The Jiaozhou camp soldiers immediately divided up a team of fifty or one hundred people, followed the man with felt hats and went to the city.

Huntianlong Zhou Baxi is worthy of being a person who has been living in life and death for many years. When he heard the noise outside surging, he woke up from his deep sleep. As the sound approached, he had already copied the big knife beside the bed in his hand.

Some people led the way in Jiaozhou Camp. Although it was the first time to come to Laiwu City, they were familiar with whom they were clearing the road. A group of people walked to the courtyard where Zhou Baxi lived. Someone kicked open the gate. Several people alternately covered and knocked open the door, but there was no one inside.

Seeing the back window wide open, I could see Zhou Baxi wearing a small suit just about to climb over the back wall. The soldiers of Jiaozhou Camp were not vague. Someone there was holding a musket and blew the fuse on the clamp, then put the musket on the window frame.

With a loud "Bang!", the people's eyes inside the house were blocked by smoke. A group of people did not dare to delay in the house, and hurriedly turned out to chase after him.

There were only a few sharp eyes, but after seeing the gunshot, Zhou Baxi's body softened and had fallen off the wall. Several people in the room were wandering over, but they saw that Zhou Baxi was already limp on the ground. A soldier holding an axe and gun cursed:

"You boy, blind cat, hit his waist when he met a dead mouse!"

The musket soldier was also very proud and said:

"I'm good at shooting skills, don't be jealous."

At this time someone asked:

"What should I do if Zhou Baxi is caught?"

"These people just need their heads, no matter how they live or die."

After hearing this, the axe and gunman took a step back, compared the axe and gun in his hand, and simply cut off Zhou Baxi's head. In fact, this was a kind of compassion for Zhou Baxi. He was hit by the musket, but in fact, all the organs in his spine and waist seemed to be smashed into pieces by a sledgehammer. Before cutting off his head, Zhou Baxi was already in pain and could not speak.
To be continued...