Daming heir

Because of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's wrath, within half a month all the Jinyi guards throughout the Ming Dynasty learned about the Emperor's quiet departure from the capital.

For a while, there was no movement in the place publicly, but privately, countless people were quietly looking for traces of His Majesty the Emperor.

In the direction of Wuchang City, after Zhu Yunxi guessed that the old man might have brought Wuchang here, he not only sent out all the Jin Yiwei in Wuchang City to search downstream along the Yangtze River.

Taking advantage of the [-] Beijing troops entering the city, they secretly sent thousands of people, like casting a fishing net, in the direction where Zhu Yuanzhang might come.

But no one knows.

How happy Zhu Yuanzhang was at this moment.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who brought his two eldest grandsons with him, stayed in Huangmei County for three full days and listened to the drama to his heart's content. Then he continued on his way to Huguang Road with unfinished content.

A few days later, Zhu Yuanzhang and his people quietly left Beijing, crossed Guangji County and Qizhou County in Huangzhou Prefecture, crossed the Yangtze River on a riverside fishing boat, and entered Daye County in Wuchang Prefecture.

Daye County is adjacent to the Yangtze River, with water and land crisscrossing the territory. It is already the hinterland of Huguang's granary. In addition, Daye is rich in mineral deposits. Silver, copper and iron have been mined since ancient times, making Daye even richer than elsewhere.

But in the past, this wealth belonged to wealthy families and officials, and had nothing to do with the common people.

Zhu Yuanzhang chose to cross the border from Daye to Wuchang City. The first reason he came was to see how well the Hongwu New Deal was implemented in Huguang Road.The second reason is to see what the lives of the people under its jurisdiction are like in a prosperous place like Daye County.

Tieshan Town is located only thirty miles northwest of Daye County.

As an important iron ore production site in the Jiangnan region of Ming Dynasty, Daye was responsible for almost half of the production volume.

Tieshan Town in Daye County is responsible for about [-]% of the entire Daye iron ore output.

This is a town that already has a primary industrial base.

Standing at the southeast corner of Sifeng Mountain, looking towards Tieshan Town in the northwest corner.

Tieshan Town is located in the southwest corner of Sifeng Mountain. Compared with the lush Sifeng Mountain, Tieshan Town is a bare area.

Large tracts of land were cleared and the ground was uncovered.

Mines of all sizes are scattered all around Tieshan Town.

A huge coal mine pile is piled in a corner of the town where it connects to the river.

Countless coal mines were delivered from various places every day and then sent into the smelting furnaces, providing the imperial court with a continuous supply of raw steel materials.

As outsiders approach Tieshan Town, their noses will be filled with the strong smell of coal and sulfide.

In the surrounding small rivers, what flows is no longer clear water, but turbid liquid filled with metallic sediments.

Such a place is no longer suitable for growing crops.

Further away from Tieshan Town, you can see crops growing in wild fields.

If you are human, you won’t think this is a good place.

The same is true for Zhu Yuanzhang.

Even though he knew that Tieshan Town was a mining area, he still felt uncomfortable with the environment here.

Standing on the road into the town, Zhu Yuanzhang raised his head and looked at the workshops in the town that were set up in the mines. The chimneys were spewing thick smoke day and night, just like a forest.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned slightly: "Looking at the chimneys here, they are somewhat similar to those workshops outside Yingtian City."

When he was in Yingtian City, Zhu Yuanzhang, who had often slipped out of the palace and wandered around in the past two years, was very familiar with the chimney in front of him.

Zhu Gaochi will answer this question.

He took a step forward, came behind the old man, and explained in a low voice: "When the imperial court began to implement the New Deal, one of them was to re-explore and rebuild local mining areas.

Daye County is an important copper and iron producing area along Huguang Road and even along the Yangtze River in the south of the Yangtze River, and Tieshan Town is within the scope of the reconstruction.

Nowadays, the ore mined in Tieshan Town can be completely smelted directly in the town, and then transported all the way down the Yangtze River to the capital.

According to the plans of the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Household Affairs, there will be further reconstruction here, striving to transform Tieshan Town from an ore mining and smelting area into a production area integrating mining, smelting, and forging in the next few years. "

Zhu Yuanzhang looked curious, with a bit of doubt in his eyes: "Just like the coal mine reconstruction that has started on Shanxi Road?"

After the chaos in Shanxi Dao was settled, Shanxi merchants were completely wiped out by the imperial court, and Shanxi Dao began a brand new reform.

As the most important coal production area in the Ming Dynasty, Shanxi Road is undergoing a large-scale industrial reform.

Led by the Ministry of Industry, several important coal producing areas in Shanxi Province began to integrate manpower and material resources to integrate coal mining, cleaning and production.

The imperial court's goal was to use the coal mines in Shanxi Road as the core to supply the entire northern Ming army's heating consumption in winter in the next few years.

Zhu Gaochi nodded and said: "Absolutely the same. It's just that in Daye County, the Ministry of Industry will probably only transfer farm tools, copper and iron products needed by the people, as well as some weapons and weapons needed by the army to Tieshan Town.

As for the more important crossbows, armor, and firearms, they will still be manufactured in Yingtian Mansion. "

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, having a more detailed understanding of Tieshan Town.

At this time, he saw a group of people coming out of the town.

It's not summer yet, so the temperature isn't cold, but it's not hot either.But these common people were all wearing short-sleeved shorts and a pair of thick-soled cloth shoes.

The common people had cloth strips wrapped around their waists, a burden on their shoulders, and an empty basket hanging in front and behind.

"Hello fellow fellows, I wonder where you are going?"

Zhu Yuanzhang stepped forward to stop the group of people and asked with a smile, just like when he met people elsewhere.

The common people looked at Zhu Yuanzhang's appearance and tone, knowing that this old man must be from a wealthy family, so they stopped one after another, and even clasped their fists respectfully and bowed.

"Sir, the young men are going to the mouth of Qiantou River to pick up coal and get off the boat."

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows and pointed to the east: "But that river at the foot of the mountain in front?"

One of the leading men nodded and said, "That's right over there."

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang turned back to look at Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Shangbing.

As usual, Zhu Gaochi came forward with a smile on his face and led Sun Gouer to give each of these people a broken piece of silver.

"Excuse me, everyone, my family is in the iron business. Knowing that the imperial court has made many renovations in our Tieshan Town, my old man wanted to come and take a look in person."

This is pretending to be the merchant's home.

When the people saw it, they felt that it was quite different.

Otherwise, ordinary people, who have a lot of money, will give money to anyone they meet.

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang and his group seemed to have something to ask, the leading man nodded to his companions, and then looked at Zhu Yuanzhang: "Old man, the coal boat at the mouth of the river will arrive soon. We are very pressed for time. , If you have anything you want to ask, feel free to ask, as long as we know something, I will definitely tell you."

A smile appeared on Zhu Yuanzhang's face, and he even stepped forward and patted the man's shoulder: "He is quite strong and tight."

The man chuckled: "If you're not strong, you can't do our job."

Zhu Yuanzhang had already led a few people to sit on the roadside, and then continued to ask: "Who do you work for?"

I'm afraid I need to find an owner over there at the iron mine so that I can do business more easily.The man then said: "Who else can we work for? Of course we work for the imperial court and the government. Who dares to occupy the mine now and mine privately in violation of the law? If the officials in the county knew about it, it would be a serious crime of confiscating the family and exterminating the clan. .”

From the beginning of the Ming Dynasty to the present, the private iron industry has never been liberalized. All matters involving iron ore mining and smelting must be run by the government.

It's just that all the laws of the imperial court are often ignored by those who are greedy and secretly explore, mine and smelt iron ore.

Zhu Yuanzhang became interested instantly and raised his eyebrows: "Oh? So, there were originally private mines here?"

The leading man immediately shut his mouth and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang very carefully for a while.

The companions beside him also looked at Zhu Gaochi and others with vigilant eyes.

After a while, the man smiled and said: "Old man, of course this kind of thing couldn't be banned in the past. Even though several large iron mines in our Tieshan Town used to be run by the government, remote places are not. Some people still mine it secretly.

But starting in the past few years, it was said that the court was enacting some new policies, and the officials in the county had changed a lot, and then all the people in Tieshan Town who were secretly mining were beheaded.

The place where the head was beheaded still smells like blood. Who dares to mine secretly? "

My second son is fair and strict!

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but praise in his heart.

Obviously, the heads in Daye County must have been beheaded by Qin King Zhu Ping.

Zhu Gaochi asked from the side: "So you all work for the government now? Can you still work in farming now?"

The man looked sideways at Zhu Gaochi.

This somewhat chubby young man has a good look.

A smile appeared on the man's face, he was very cheerful, and he clapped his hands and legs and said: "Not all of us work in the mines for the government. Everyone is busy from the beginning of the year to the end of the year, so there is no time for farming.

Our Tieshan Town is different from other places. Most of the original land is now mined, or factories are built, and ores and coal are piled up.

There is still some land left, and the elderly and children in the family do not have to be so busy as in the past. It is just that the family no longer has to go out to buy rice to eat. "

When the man mentioned that the fields in Tieshan Town were now occupied by mines and stockpiles, Zhu Yuanzhang frowned visibly.

But soon he was relieved.

Zhu Gaochi also noticed the old man's change at this moment.

This is the nature of the old man. He just thinks that people still need to have land in their hands and work peacefully in farming in order to keep their lives.

It's just that the old man probably saw the smiles on these people's faces, so he didn't feel that their lives were not good.

Zhu Gaochi immediately asked: "How much do you earn from working for the government now? Can you feed the whole family?"

"That's not!"

The man immediately lengthened his voice, and the smile on his face grew stronger.

The companions around him all started laughing.

Obviously, these people make a lot of money working in the mines!

It was only at this time that Zhu Yuanzhang's face showed a smile again.

The man also went on to explain: "We don't know how to count, so we asked the little teacher in the town to do the math. In this year, we will make more money working in the mine than we did working in the fields for a whole year." There are many more..."

Having said this, the man naturally closed his mouth and just kept smiling.

Zhu Gaochi blinked.

This is quite in line with the appearance of these common people.

No matter how much they earn, it is impossible for them to name a specific figure.

Zhu Yuanzhang was very happy.

As long as he hears people saying that they earn a lot and live a good life, he will be happy from the bottom of his heart.

Zhu Yuanzhang clapped his hands: "So in the mines in this town, are there managers who deduct everyone's wages? Or are they in arrears?"

The man obviously paused at this time and stared at Zhu Yuanzhang carefully again.

A weird smile appeared on the man's face, and he winked at Zhu Yuanzhang: "Old man, are you really here to do business in our Tieshan Town?"

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately raised eyebrows: "Can this be false? If these little guys are not in trouble, why would I, an old man, have to come out personally?"

The man didn't believe it, and laughed twice: "Old man, you don't sound like you are here to do business...but more like...it seems like those officials in the government came out to investigate the case in disguise."

This old man is the official in the government.

Those two young men must also be officials, and the other, older one, is probably the master's master.As for the remaining people, they must be servants in the government.

The man felt that his guess was correct.

Zhu Yuanzhang was about to explain.

But the man waved his hand and said, "We don't dare to ask what your identity is. But you don't have to worry about our wages being deducted by someone."

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately showed curiosity: "Why is this?"

This old man must be an official in the government!

The man became more and more certain.

But he still explained: "In the past, our Tieshan Town only had officials from the county and the government send people to keep an eye on it, and they were often not here.

But things are different now. Since then, many officials in the county have been beheaded.Now people from the government and county are keeping an eye on the mine all day long, and they dare not leave during the holidays.

We also heard that there are officials from other places watching the mine, but I don’t know which yamen they are from.

There used to be a steward who paid us wages one day late because his old father died and he went home to deal with the loss. I heard that he was beaten ten times with a stick and fined several months' salary when he came back. "

This is a heavy code.

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but turn his head and glance at Zhu Gaochi behind him.

Zhu Gaochi couldn't help but subconsciously touched his nose.

If we go by what this common person said, then his tax office must have sent people to keep an eye on this in Tieshan Town.

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed, clapped his legs and stood up.

"Okay! It seems that everyone is having a good time!"

………………

Monthly Pass Recommendation Ticket (End of Chapter)