Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2148 Lanzhou City

April 1691, 6, sunny.

"Mr. Liu, nice to meet you, nice to meet you!" In a teahouse in Lanzhou City, the great businessman Yuan Baodi bowed his hands and greeted an old man in long gown with white beard and hair.

"Brother Yuan came early." The long-clothed old man also cupped his hands, sat down with a smile, and greeted Xiao Er to serve tea, while asking with a smile: "You are a person who can't afford it early. Call me today. But for that?"

"Isn't it just for that!" Yuan Baodi slapped his thigh with his right hand, and said, "Mr. Liu, to tell you the truth, there are too many people staring at that coal mine now, so you have to help me this time."

Hearing the words, the old man in the long robe heheed twice, and said, "Brother Yuan, I didn't mean you. What time is it today, and you came to see me? Why did you go so early? I'll tell you the truth, Lintao Mansion will be closed soon. It’s going to belong to Gansu Province, if you want to make an idea of ​​that coal mine, you have to go to Ganzhou to find someone from the Gansu chief envoy.”

"This..." Yuan Baodi was first surprised when he heard the words, and then overjoyed, but he didn't show it on his face, and asked: "Mr. Liu's words are serious? Lintao Mansion is doing well, how could it happen?" What about returning to Gansu?"

Lintao prefecture governs three counties, two prefectures and one prefecture, with a large area and sparsely populated areas. Only the prefectural cities of Didao and Lanzhou are a little more prosperous. The rest of Weiyuan, Hezhou and other places are actually so-so, not really good places. .

Of course, to say that Lintao Mansion is not a "good place" depends on who you are talking to?Compared with Hanzhong, Gongchang, Fengxiang, Xi'an and other places in the hinterland of Shaanxi, it is certainly not as good, but it is much better than those places in Gansu in the west.Therefore, if the imperial court put Lintao Mansion under the management of Gansu, it would really be a big pill for Gansu.

"Lintao sees the world and supplies money and food to the Xining Wei in Gansu, so why can't it be subordinated to Gansu Province?" Liu Yuanwai asked rhetorically.

Yuan Bao also laughed when he heard it at first.Gansu is poor, its products are not abundant, but the military pressure is still high, and there are many troops stationed there. It is a border province where pure consumption exceeds output, and it needs cooperation from the mainland.Because of its proximity, Shaanxi bears a large proportion of money and food.Take the Xiningwei they mentioned just now as an example. There are currently [-] infantry and [-] cavalry stationed in this frontier fortress. Because there is not much money and food output in the area, most of the food and wages need to be paid by neighboring Lintao, Shaanxi. , Gongchang two government support.Every spring and autumn, the two places have to send a large amount of food, military equipment, cloth, and money to the Acropolis of Xining, and sometimes conscript masters to build the city wall, which is still a heavy burden.

Of course Yuan Baodi's smile was actually a wry smile.Although Shaanxi and Gansu are now under the same governor, Lintao Prefecture is part of Shaanxi and is a different province from Gansu.If this becomes a province, the degree of oppression of Lintao Prefecture will not be able to reach a new level!As a well-known businessman in Lanzhou City, Yuan Baodi subconsciously felt that this was not a good thing.

But just as the old saying goes, good fortune comes from misfortune, and misfortune comes from good fortune.Lintao Mansion was subordinated to Gansu. Although he might be apportioned more money by the government, it also provided convenience for him to get involved in that coal mine.Now everyone knows that the chief soldier in Gansu is Zhao Liangdong, the general soldier, because even the outstanding books in Xi'an value him very much, and his family got acquainted with Zhao Zongbing in Hanzhong back then. New Years and holidays are all about walking.If Lintao Mansion is really transferred to Gansu, then maybe I can really stand out from the many competitors and come out on top.

You know, now that the Qing Dynasty is implementing the New Deal, the demand for coal is increasing day by day.If one can be won and mined steadily, it will be a cash cow and a cornucopia.This is why when a coal field was discovered in the mountains about [-] miles west of Lanzhou City, everyone rushed to mine it. The money is really touching!

Moreover, because of the urgency of the war in the northwest, the imperial court has decided to build a gun manufacturing workshop in Lanzhou, casting cannons and forging barrels nearby, so as to reduce the cost of road transfer.Yuan Baodi once saw it on the notice outside the city wall, and he still remembers what was written on it: "...the system of firearms has gradually become popular. Manufacturing military guns and cannons for military use does not need to be transported thousands of miles every year, and local expenditures can be reduced, which is of great benefit to state affairs..."

Look, this notice made it very clear. There are many troubles in the northwest frontier, and the guns and cannons are extremely heavy. It costs a lot to transport them, and it has become a heavy corvee burden for the people in many places.Therefore, the imperial court planned to open a bureau factory in Lanzhou, specializing in the production of guns and guns, to aid military supplies.

At present, this government-run workshop named Lanzhou Gun Bureau has officially opened outside Lanzhou City.I heard that they also specially hired several Western technicians, who traveled thousands of miles to Lanzhou to guide the installation of the machine.Well, it is said that this machine is also imported from the West. The hydraulic machine is specially used to drill gun barrels, and its efficiency can be twenty times faster than that of the original craftsmen. It really makes people's jaw drop.

And such a large workshop naturally needs a lot of coal as fuel.Westerners said that when they made guns in England, they used coal.However, the northwest is arid with few trees, and charcoal is extremely expensive, so coal has almost become the only choice. This has inspired many officials and businessmen, forcing them to search for coal all over the world.

The coal field at the junction of Lintao Mansion and Xiningwei was discovered not long ago, but it has already been targeted by at least five people.Yuan Baodi thought that his strength was good, but he was not confident that he would be able to win.After all, there is no one who has a strong background these days. Why do you, Yuan Baodi, have such a big face and eat up the entire coal mine?

Yuan Baodi was very worried at first, so he approached the clan uncle of the prefect of Lintao, who is also his business partner, to see if there is any way, but unexpectedly, he heard this amazing news from Yuanwai Liu, and suddenly felt a little nervous. Excited, he thought it was time to go to Ganzhou City, and ask Mr. Zhao for a favor, to see if he could win the coal mine, provided that the information Liu Yuanwai gave was accurate.

As for the labor and equipment required for coal mining, it couldn't be simpler!After years of recuperation in Shaanxi, the population has exploded. As long as the wages are about the same, some people will come to work.At worst, the recent suppression of Huihui in Gansu has been very powerful, and it must have created a lot of people. By then, all of them will go to the wells to dig coal. At that time, He Zhen, Niu Chenghu and others from the Chuangni Ministry jointly defeated them. After the founding of our Qing Dynasty, they still did not want to repent and made troubles repeatedly. Recently, they even colluded with Hamina Hui Hui on the other side is simply an unforgivable crime, and if they are all arrested, they will not be wronged at all.

"Hehe, do you understand?" Liu Yuanwai grabbed the teacup, took a sip, and said, "Actually, I heard that not only our Lintao Mansion is going to be part of Gansu Province, but also the neighboring Gongchang Mansion and Pingliang Mansion. , it will also belong to Gansu. The court’s move this time is really a big move.”

Yuan Baodi was surprised when he heard it, and then he took it for granted.Since the imperial court intends to transfer Lintao Mansion to Gansu Province, there is absolutely no reason to throw Pingliang and Gongchang Mansions aside.You know, in ancient times, this was all Longxi, and it belonged to one area geographically.Moreover, the imperial court began to build official roads from Hanzhong and Xi'an to Gansu many years ago, and even built a section of iron-clad wood track (later, it was abandoned due to excessive consumption of iron materials, so far it has only passed through Hanzhong Fucheng to Lueyang County. Short section), all of these roads pass through Gongchang and Lintao prefectures and then enter Gansu, so it is understandable to transfer the above two places to Gansu province.

The imperial court really attaches great importance to the war in Gansu and the frontiers of the Western Regions!

And thinking of this official road, Yuan Baodi felt a little bit pained again. I heard that the Dongguo people in Denglai had a kind of official road called "Railway", which was pulled by big iron oxen and traveled thousands of miles a day and eight hundred miles at night. , Carrying hundreds of thousands of catties at a time, what a power it is!Those English foreigners from the Lanzhou Gun Bureau didn’t speak clearly. Next time I have to catch them and ask them carefully. Although I probably can’t even afford an iron ox, it’s good to hear this strange story. .

Pooh!Pooh!What do you think about the big iron bull, let's get the coal mine into your hands first.Yuan Baodi shook his head, thinking in his heart that this matter should not be delayed, and he might change things if it is too late.The imperial court is now investing more and more money in Lanzhou. I heard that the Lanzhou Textile Bureau, a textile workshop run by government-supervised merchants, will be established recently. Textile workshops were opened, and some money was earned to subsidize military supplies.There are still a lot of wool in Lanzhou, and there are also private households growing cotton, so we should have some expertise in textiles!And for such a large workshop run by a government-supervised merchant, even if it doesn't use the Laoshizi steam engine, the coal cost will not be low, so I have to hurry up!

Thinking of this, Yuan Baodi felt as if his ass was on fire, and he didn't want to stay in this teahouse for a moment.He can't wait to go home now, pack his bags, and then drive to Ganzhou to get in touch with Mr. Zhao, and eat the coal mine as soon as the official document of Lintao Mansion's transfer to Gansu arrives.I believe that with Mr. Zhao's current prestige in the Longxi area, all the officials of the Gansu Chief Envoy will understand with just a little hint, and then deliver the coal mine they have dreamed of.

Of course, once the coal mine makes stable profits in the future, Master Zhao's share will definitely be indispensable.In addition, it would be more appropriate if some of the profits were used to serve the military supplies every year, and maybe they could be rewarded by the emperor's decree, so as to honor their ancestors, just like those wealthy businessmen in Jiangsu, Anhui and other places who donated silver to support military use. .

(End of this chapter)