Chapter 474 Danyang Iron Mine
Chapter 474 Danyang Iron Mine
In the afternoon, Xiao Xia returned to the mansion. Cui Yu brought Xiao Ai to see her husband. Xiao Xia recognized her at a glance, "You are... Xiao Ai!"
Xiao Ai quickly saluted, "Your Highness still remembers me!"
"Why don't I remember that you are the first female warrior of Jinling Xiao Clan? What are you doing?"
Cui Yu smiled and said, "From now on, Miss Xiao will be the supervisor of our third female guard group."
Xiao Xia was overjoyed, "Welcome! Welcome!"
He took another close look at Xiao Ai and said in surprise, "Miss Xiao has achieved a pill!"
Xiao Ai nodded, "Thanks to the Heavenly King Pill formula that Your Highness gave to the Jinling Xiao family, I successfully broke through the foundation building stage. I am currently at the sixth level of internal strength, and Xiao Xian is at the seventh level."
"How is Xiao Xin now? I haven't seen him."
"He is now serving as the magistrate of Luo County in Baling County."
Xiao Xia nodded silently. Xiao Xin's life trajectory had not changed. It seemed that he would become a southern warlord sooner or later.
"Where is Zhang Jue? Is there any news about him?" Xiao Xia asked again.
"I only heard Xiao Xin mention it once, but I don't know whether the news is true or not. It is said that he was a guard beside the King of Qi, but he has changed his name."
Xiao Xia was stunned. How could it be possible that Zhang Jue worked for the King of Qi?
Xiao Xia immediately understood that Zhang Jue might still want to find a chance to assassinate Yuwen Shu. If he became the bodyguard of King Qi, he would have the chance.
Xiao Ai went down, and Xiao Xia said to his wife, "I will be out on patrol the day after tomorrow for about half a month. I feel more at ease with Xiao Ai around."
Cui Yu was already used to her husband going out on patrol, she nodded, "Let A Qiao go with you!"
Xiao Xia shook her head. "She will go to Beijing in early March to see my elder brother. She can stay in the mansion! She doesn't need to go out with me."
"When you go out, my husband, please take care of yourself!"
On the second day of the second month, the dragon raises its head, indicating that the earth has awakened and people everywhere begin to busy themselves with farming.
During the Sui Dynasty, Jiangnan was mainly populated by two crops a year, spring wheat and late rice. This was the reason why Jiangnan was so prosperous. Rain and heat were in the same season, there was sufficient sunlight and water resources, and the land was fertile and the people were hardworking. After the migration of the northerners to the south, a large number of people from the north moved south, and Jiangnan gradually became the economic center of successive dynasties.
However, during the Sui and Tang dynasties, Hebei was always the tax champion. It was not until after the An-Shi Rebellion that the Jiangnan region became the richest region in the world, and it has remained so until now.
Entering early spring in February, all parts of Jiangnan Province become busy. Winter wheat has begun to grow, and this is the time when farmers need to weed, apply fertilizer and irrigate. Therefore, farmers in Jiangnan have a saying, "On the Spring Equinox, the wheat starts to grow, and every moment is worth a thousand gold coins."
The Jianghuai Plain in the central part of Jiangdu County was also planting black beans and alfalfa. Twenty thousand soldiers from Jiangbei County who were not involved in agriculture gathered in Jiangdu and began to busy themselves with spreading fertilizer, turning the soil, and planting beans and grass.
Since last year, all parts of Jiangnan Province have used war horse manure as fertilizer. Of course, you have to pay to buy it, but if you can provide black beans, the government will purchase them and give away 20 kilograms of manure for every 100 kilograms of black beans.
On the fourth day of February, Xiao Xia left Jiangdu and began his spring inspection.
The theme of Xiao Xia's tour this time is pig iron, which can be called the Pig Iron Trip.
Two days later, his fleet arrived at its first stop, Jiangning County, Danyang County.
The previous governor of Danyang County was Wang Lan, who was the county magistrate of Jiangdu County at that time. Liu Wenjing was his county doctor. He was Su Wei's student. At the end of last year, his term of office expired and he was transferred to be the governor of Ruyang County. The new governor had just taken office for less than ten days. He was also an old friend of Xiao Xia, Pei Xuanji, the eldest son of Pei Ju. At that time, Xiao Xia was the military commander of Zhangye County, and Pei Xuanji was the county magistrate of Zhangye County. He came to Zhangye County to gain experience. After returning, he was promoted to the fifth-rank doctor of the Ministry of Works. Now he has been promoted to the fourth-rank governor. It can be said that his career is prosperous.
I have to add one more thing here. Xiao Xia's brother-in-law Cui Huan also went to Zhangye for training. He was transferred back last autumn and appointed as a fifth-rank doctor of the Ministry of Rites. After two years of training, he was promoted one level.
Pei Xuanji led the county officials to welcome Xiao Xia at the dock.
"Envoy Pei, it's been many years since we last met!" Xiao Xia walked off the boat with a smile.
Pei Xuanji hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, "Greetings to His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin!"
Xiao Xia nodded and asked with a smile: "When did you take up the position?"
"On the twenty-fifth day of the first lunar month, I should report to the General Administration Office before taking up my post. I will go to the General Administration Office in the next two days!"
"I know you are in a hurry to take charge of the Jiangning Charity Granary case. I wonder what the situation is like now?"
The charity granary is equivalent to a grain bank. People deposit their excess grain at home in the granary, which is managed by the government. If there is a disaster, they can withdraw their own grain to survive the disaster. This is entirely out of the people's trust in the government.
At the end of last year, there was a family named Xie. Because both his parents died of illness, according to the regulations of the charity granary, they could take out the grain that their parents had deposited in the granary. However, they found that it was completely wrong. His parents had deposited two shi of grain, but the government only allowed him to withdraw two dou, which was ten times the difference.
After the man surnamed Xie buried his parents, he started to make a commotion in the county government office. Word gradually spread and many farmers in Jiangning came to the charity granary to check their grain reserves. They found something wrong, either ten times or five times less.
The matter became a big deal. The people protested in the county government office and almost turned it into a hornet's nest with stones. When the news reached Jiangdu, Xiao Xia immediately ordered Zhang Yunqiu, the judge of the Supervisory Office, to come to Jiangning to investigate the matter.
Pei Xuanji sighed and said, "President Zhang is still investigating, and the county magistrate has been suspended. I don't know the specific situation."
"Is it related to the former governor Wang Lan?"
"It's hard to deny the connection. Judge Zhang went to Lishui County to investigate a few days ago. He will probably be back tomorrow."
Xiao Xia came to Danyang County not because of the Yi Cang case. Although he could ask about the case, he had more important things to do at the moment.
"Go to the county government office first. I have something important to tell you."
Pei Xuanji invited Xiao Xia and his party to the county government office. Xiao Xia asked the official to unfold a map. Xiao Xia pointed at the official and introduced him to Pei Xuanji: "This is Zhang Wentao, the director of our newly established Mining and Metallurgy Bureau. Let him tell the envoy the purpose of this trip."
Zhang Wentao was about thirty years old. His father was a mine supervisor in charge of prospecting in the Chen Dynasty. Zhang Wentao followed his father to prospect for mines in various places in Jiangnan since he was a child. Later, he served as the county magistrate of Qu'a County. This time he was transferred to the General Administration Office. He took the initiative to ask for prospecting. Gao Jiong discovered his talent, recommended him to Xiao Xia, and he was appointed as the director of the newly established Mining and Metallurgy Bureau.
Zhang Wentao bowed and pointed at the map, saying, "A year before the fall of the Chen Dynasty, someone discovered iron ore near Caishi Town, a hundred miles west of Jiangning. Because the Chen Dynasty was about to fall, no one took it seriously, and now there are no clues on the map. Your Highness arranged for me to lead a dozen of my men to form a prospecting team, but we hope to get support from the Danyang County government."
Pei Xuanji nodded and said, "Of course the local government will fully support us. Where should we start?"
Xiao Xia certainly wanted to find the Ma'anshan Iron Mine. It was close to the river, so it was very convenient for mining and smelting. Xiao Xia smiled and said, "It's still difficult to find mines in the mountains, but we have a clue. Someone found the iron mine in the eighth year of Kaihuang. We'd better find this person. We need the help of local officials. There is another advantage. This iron mine may have been mined on a small scale, so more than one person knows the location of this iron mine. But it would be best to find the mine owner. He may have more discoveries."
Pei Xuanji looked at the map and said, "The nearest place to that place is Cai Shi Town. Miners should all live in that area. I can ask the county lieutenant to take people to Cai Shi Town to inquire. It's only been a dozen years, so there should be clues."
Xiao Xia said happily: "This is a good idea. Let the county lieutenant set off for Cai Shi Town early tomorrow morning. Officer Zhang, you should also bring your men with you."
(End of this chapter)