Chapter 481 Iron Mine Warning
Chapter 481 Iron Mine Warning
Yetang Town is very close to Wu County, and it only takes more than an hour to get there by horse. It has been the iron smelting center of Jiangnan since ancient times. It is also the hometown of sword-making masters Gan Jiang and Moye. Over the past thousand years, many famous craftsmen have emerged here. Among the thousands of Southern Dynasty weapon craftsmen abducted by the Sui Dynasty, 40% came from Yetang, Wujun.
Unlike the Megan Ironworks in Qiupu County which focuses on pig iron smelting, Yetang in Wujun is a combination of smelting and forging. Xiao Xia came to Yetang Town accompanied by Wujun Sima Lu Heming, who is Lu Xieting's father.
But it was a bit strange. Lu Heming was very silent all the way and hardly spoke to Xiao Xia. It seemed as if he had something on his mind. It didn't seem like the two families were getting married at all.
Xiao Xia and his party arrived at the entrance of the town, where Changshu County Magistrate Qian Zhao had been waiting for a long time.
"Your Highness, please look!"
County Magistrate Qian Zhao pointed to the river that runs through the town and said, "This is Guantang River. It connects to the Grand Canal in the south and the Yangtze River in the north. Copper and iron ore are transported here continuously by water."
Seeing that the river was deserted and there was no boat in sight, Xiao Xia asked in confusion, "Is it the off-season now?"
County Magistrate Qian Zhao was a little embarrassed, and after a while he said, "Yetang Prison used to be directly under the imperial court, and now it is directly under the General Administration Office. The local government cannot interfere, and my humble position is actually just a general one."
Xiao Xia then walked into Yetang Town. There were thousands of households in Yetang Town, and most of them were craftsmen, including smelters and forgers. A main street ran through the town. Most of the shops on both sides of the main street were craftsmen's shops, as well as restaurants, inns and grocery stores. However, the town was also deserted. No sound of iron hammering could be heard, and most of the shops were closed. Not even a single person could be seen.
This was not the way a leader should look when conducting an inspection. County Magistrate Qian Zhao was embarrassed and said quickly, "I will go find the Horse Supervisor!"
Xiao Xia nodded, and Qian Zhao hurried away.
At this time, Xiao Xia saw that the door of an ironware shop next to him was open, with a sign of "Wang's Ironware" hanging on the door. Xiao Xia was a little puzzled. This was a government-run shop, so how could there be ironware for sale?
Xiao Xia waved his hand and asked others to wait outside. He walked into the iron shop alone. The shop was deserted, with no customers. There was only an old man sitting at the counter.
When the old man saw a customer coming into the store, he quickly stood up and greeted him, "Welcome to our store, young master!"
Xiao Xia saw that there were not many ironware in the shop. There were a few swords and some iron farm tools hanging on the wall, and a few swords on the counter. Xiao Xia picked up one and slowly pulled it out. He shook his head secretly. It was loose in density and low-end goods. It would break in two or three hits in actual combat and could only be used as a decoration.
"Shopkeeper, could this sword be made in Yetang?"
The old man smiled awkwardly and said, "You may have misunderstood, young master. Yetang Town and Yetang Prison are not the same thing. Among the thousands of artisans in Yetang Town, half are government-run and half are privately-run, just like the official and private kilns of porcelain."
"No wonder! I was wondering why there was a shop selling ironware in Yetang Prison. Are all the ironware here produced by private ironware shops?"
"Basically, if you are willing to pay the price, I can also get one or two swords produced by the official supervisor. They are definitely of first-class quality."
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "I don't quite understand why the swords made by official craftsmen are of good quality, while the swords made by civilian craftsmen are of poor quality. Is it because of the level of skill?"
"My lord, you don't know that the level of technology is only part of the problem. The quality of the ore is the key. The ores here are all purchased by the government. The top-quality ores are given to official craftsmen, and the middle and lower-quality ores are sold to civilian craftsmen. If the impurity content is too high, the quality of the iron smelted will be poor."
"I see. Do they use wood or coal for smelting here?"
"Of course it's firewood. There's no coal produced in Jiangnan. If it's shipped from the north, the price will be expensive."
Xiao Xia nodded and asked, "But I found that the town was deserted, with almost no one around. It seemed that only your ironware shop was open. What's going on?"
"We have been out of food for more than a month. We are a blacksmith shop, and we still have some goods from last year to sell. All blacksmith shops have closed down long ago, including those run by the government."
Xiao Xia was stunned. "You mean, there is no more iron ore?"
"It was cut off in November last year. We were able to survive with a little inventory. After the Chinese New Year, there was no inventory left, so we had no choice but to close down."
Xiao Xia was really surprised. He turned around and saw Lu Heming appear in front of the store, so he turned around and walked out.
"Has the order not come yet?"
Lu Heming pointed forward and said, "They are coming!"
Xiao Xia saw the county magistrate Qian Zhao running hurriedly towards him with a middle-aged man.
After a while, the middle-aged man ran up to him, panting and bowing, "I, the humble Yetang Supervisor, Ma Menglin, pay my respects to Your Highness!"
Xiao Xia looked him up and down and asked calmly, "How many years has the Horse Supervisor been here?" "Your Highness, I took office in the 17th year of Kaihuang, and it has been almost ten years."
Xiao Xia said coldly: "You have been an old supervisor for ten years, and you have actually encountered a situation where the ore is cut off. You are really competent!"
Ma Menglin blushed as he said, "Your Highness, this is the first time it has happened. It was cut off without any signs. I asked the General Administration Office for help at the beginning of the year. The General Administration Office has already transferred some ore from Megan Supervision to support us. It will arrive in the next two days."
"What do you mean it broke without any warning? Where did you get the ore from?"
"It's iron ore shipped from Dongyang County in the south."
The iron ore in Dongyang County is mined along the Fuchun River. They are all private mines and the reserves are not very large.
Xiao Xia frowned, "Are all of them shipped from Dongyang County?"
Ma Menglin nodded. He knew what His Royal Highness Prince Jin wanted to ask, and quickly explained: "Your Highness, the iron ore in Xuancheng County is not of good quality and does not meet the requirements of the official supervisor. Some of the iron ore produced in Dongyang County is of very high quality and can be used to make high-quality weapons. In the past, the court had very high requirements for the weapons of Yetang Supervisor, and they were all used exclusively by the palace guards and Wuhou Guards. We have no choice."
The iron ore producing areas in Xuancheng County are in Nanling County and Qiupu County, which is today's Tongling, famous for its copper production. It is also a famous copper producing area in the Sui Dynasty. However, copper and iron are inseparable. Where there is copper, there is iron. Nanling County also produces iron, but the main iron producing area in Xuancheng County is still Qiupu County. Meganjian is located in Qiupu County, but the quality of the iron ore is indeed not high.
Xiao Xia asked again, "You just said that the iron mine in Dongyang County stopped supplying iron without any warning. What does that mean?"
Ma Menglin sighed and said, "I am very familiar with the owners of several mines in Dongyang County. They will inform us in advance of any situation. In the second year of Renshou, a mine collapsed and more than 20 miners died. It was closed for a time. The mine owner notified us in advance and then used the inventory of ore to meet our needs. Although the mine was closed for two months, our ore supply has always been guaranteed.
But this time it was very strange, it was cut off without any reason given, I was very confused, I sent people to ask, they didn't tell me the reason, they just said it would be restored immediately, and it ended up being cut off from October last year to January this year, I couldn't wait any longer, so I asked for help from the General Administration Office. "
“Has the mining of the ore stopped?”
"no!"
Ma Menglin shook his head. "I sent people to check the situation at the mine last December and found that they were mining desperately, and the output was several times higher than before. That is to say, they sold all the iron ore to others. This is the real reason for the supply cut."
"And then what? You didn't negotiate with the mine owner?"
"We have sent people to negotiate, but I have been there for more than a month and there is no news at all. It is very strange."
Xiao Xia suddenly thought of something and asked, "Who are the mine owners?"
"There are actually only two mine owners, the Yan family and the Wang family. Dozens of mines in Dongyang County are owned by these two families. I'm afraid they have a history of fifty years."
Xiao Xia turned around and asked Lu Heming, "Excuse me, Sima Lu, are these two families considered powerful families in Jiangdong?"
Lu Heming nodded, "Of course they count. The two great tyrants in Dongyang County are these two families. In the tenth year of Kaihuang, Wang Wenjin of Dongyang County rebelled and proclaimed himself emperor. Wang Wenjin was the head of the Wang family in Dongyang. As a result, most of the Wang family members were killed by Yang Su, and the rest fled into the mountains. Later, the court issued an amnesty order, and the Wang family survived, but they have kept a low profile since then."
"Is it the same for the Yan family?"
“Almost. The two families were intermarried and had a complicated relationship. Yang Su implemented the order of collective punishment, and many people from the Yan family were killed.
Xiao Xia noticed that Lu Heming called Yang Su by his first name without any respect, and was afraid that the Lu family had also suffered misfortune in the past.
But this is not the point. The point is that the iron ore in Dongyang County suddenly ran out. Who did they supply it to? Xiao Lin advised himself not to go to Yuhang County, fearing that the situation in Yuhang and Kuaiji was not good.
The assassination in Piliang County was indeed not an isolated incident. At this moment, an alarm bell sounded in Xiao Xia's heart.
Xiao Xia nodded, "I understand. Let's stop here for today! Once the ore from Xuancheng County is delivered, we will start working immediately and go all out to build weapons and armor."
Ma Menglin quickly bowed and said, "I obey your orders!"
Xiao Xia didn't have the heart to continue his inspection, and he hurried back to Wu County. Xiao Xia had a hunch that Xiao Lin might know something else and didn't tell him.
(End of this chapter)