The total number of laborers who came to collect sulfur was about two thousand. Based on the estimated total collection volume of one million kilograms, each person would need to collect an average of five hundred kilograms.
It doesn’t seem like a lot, but if it needs to be completed within a day or two, the work is still very intensive, mainly because it has to be transported from the mountain to the seaside.
Although this volcano is located on the southern coast of Kamchatka Peninsula, it is still some distance away from the real beach, whether it is far or close.
In the absence of many carriages and horses to help transport, all the sulfur had to be carried on people's backs and shoulders. This was indeed a serious physical activity.
It is not easy to transport sulfur from the foot of the mountain to the seaside with baskets and poles, but it is just manual labor. The really dangerous work is collecting sulfur from the crater.
Although the volcano has not erupted, and the attitude is very friendly, the crater is filled with smoke. The smoke is not ordinary smoke and dust, but toxic sulfur gas.
It may be okay to smell it for a while, but over time, it will definitely damage human organs. Regarding this point, a certain prince has already made a key point in the content related to sulfur mining.
In order to deal with this problem, Chongwang Zhu Youfan decided to replace a new group of people every half hour to collect sulfur from the crater to ensure sufficient mining volume and ensure the personal safety of Zimin.
As long as the mining scale of five hundred people is maintained at all times, so that each person mines two hundred kilograms of sulfur every half an hour, five hundred people is one hundred thousand kilograms, and the expected total mining volume can be reached in about five hours.
Since the absolute time is still relatively long, he needs to stay overnight in the mining area, so Zhu Youzhen is not in a hurry to return to his noble city, not to mention that the capital city is just a name at the moment, and there are no buildings in it.
According to weighing calculations, the current mining speed per half hour is between 70,000 and 80,000 kilograms. If calculated at this rate, it would take about seven hours to reach expectations.
However, Zhu Youqi is very optimistic about this. Now that the sulfur mine has been found, there is no need to worry. The volcano will not move, and the sulfur mine will naturally not follow it.
Zheng Zhiwan's fleet can stay at least two more days, which can already allow the fleet to fill up with sulfur and return home. It is considered a worthwhile trip and the trip to Kamchatka Peninsula is not in vain.
Regarding how to distribute money to the miners, Zhu Youfan felt that if one million kilograms of sulfur were mined, the total price would be ten thousand taels of silver. He would keep two thousand taels of silver, leaving eight thousand taels left.
It is said that there is no need to worry about nothing, but there is injustice to worry about. Why not give each person four taels of silver, and he will naturally fill in the shortfall. This can be regarded as a happy move for everyone.
After hearing about King Chong's benevolent act, the miners were naturally extremely happy. They danced with joy and shouted in unison, "A thousand years old! A thousand years old! A thousand years old!"
You know, in the Ming Dynasty, even a ninth-grade official could not earn four taels of silver in two days!
Following King Chong to the new fiefdom, you can earn your first money, up to four taels of silver. How can you not make everyone extremely excited?
Four taels of silver!
That's right!
It’s so exciting!
Thinking of getting so much money, everyone became more motivated and their hands and feet became more diligent.
It's a great deal to work for Prince Chong. The prince is so generous, so people will naturally not be lazy and slippery.
When Zhu Youfan heard the sound of surrender like a roaring mountain and a tsunami, he couldn't help but feel happy, saying that the eight thousand taels of silver flower land was really worth it.
Originally, he planned to make 20% of the profit, and distribute the remaining 8,000 taels to the miners, which can be regarded as a welfare for Zimin after arriving in the new fiefdom.
Unexpectedly, Zimin's reaction was so strong. It seems that Minxin is still useful. In this case, as long as he complies with Min Xin, Chongguo, which is located in the eastern part of the "Northland", can develop steadily.
There is also a small problem, that is, the smallest silver ingot weighs five taels. Just now Zhu Youfan decided to give each miner four taels, and the difference of one tael will be very difficult to deal with.
Generally speaking, as long as it is loose silver, it needs to be cut out with scissors and then weighed before it can be issued. Otherwise, it can only be issued in copper coins.
However, this did not trouble Zhu Youfan, and he was not as "wise" as Emperor Hui of Jin.
Isn’t it easy to get together five taels?
As long as an additional 250,000 kilograms of sulfur is mined and averaged to each person, wouldn't it be equivalent to earning an extra tael of silver?
What is the brain for?
Isn’t it just for moving!
Zheng Zhiwan has no objection to this. If the fleet can install it, it can be installed. If it can't be installed, it can wait until next time.
This thing is not suitable for eating or drinking. If you keep it by yourself, you will be poisoned, and it is impossible to run away with long legs.
Just mine it from the volcano crater and pile it on the beach. It won't hurt if it is exposed to wind and sun.
Zhu Youfan believes that although sulfur and gold have the same color, their values are very different.
Moreover, sulfur cannot be exchanged for silver on the island, and miners are not stupid enough to take it home secretly.
Because of its special properties, this makes the mined sulfur very safe.
Anyone who dares to bring sulfur back to Sublime City is either mentally ill or wants to poison others.
If a doctor wants to use sulfur, he can go to Zhu Youqi to apply for it. As long as it is to treat illnesses and save lives, he can apply as much as he wants.
Zhu Youqi can pat his chest and guarantee that there is nothing else in his fiefdom, and the sulfur will definitely be enough!
It's a bit of an exaggeration to say that the world is rich because of sulfur, but to create an output value of 10,000 taels of silver in two days is the real truth.
If the fleet comes more frequently in the future and makes a trip to Kamchatka Peninsula every two months, then the sulfur business alone will allow Chongguo to earn 60,000 taels of silver.
With this money, there is no big problem in supporting at least 5,000 Chongguo people. Excluding Zhu Youfan's commission, the average amount for one person is nearly 10 taels.
A person can pocket ten taels of silver just by mining sulfur. If this news spreads to the mainland of the Ming Dynasty, it will definitely make most people shake their heads.
Of course, this is also a bit of speculation. It would be good if the fleet can come three times a year, totaling 30,000 taels, which is half of the income, but it is still very good.
On average, each person earns nearly five taels of silver. Chongguo will use this money to purchase daily necessities from the Ming Dynasty, and his life will be quite good.
For a family of six people, the total amount is close to thirty taels. If you spend 20 taels of silver to buy four stones of food, and use the remaining ten taels of silver to buy some utensils, you can basically live a healthy life.
In the mainland of the Ming Dynasty, a family earning thirty taels of silver per year was definitely considered a rich farmer. Not only did families who reached this level not starve to death, but they also lived a decent life.
This is the wish of almost every household, but in the Ming Dynasty where exploitation and extortion were everywhere, the wish could only become an unattainable luxury.
It's completely different when you come to Kamchatka. There is no need to pay taxes for reclaiming wasteland in the short term. King Chong will also put the seafood caught by people's hair in place.
For the people who followed King Chong to the new fiefdom, this was simply unimaginable. It was as if their lives had improved overnight.
The people didn't know that a certain prince told Chong Wang Zhu Youfan that as the king of a country (a vassal state is also a country, and a vassal king is also a king), the most important thing is to let the people below see hope.
Even if there is only a little bit, they will not rebel without starving. As long as this is remembered, the vassal country will not perish.
The vassal king's strategy of cherishing wealth as much as his life at home would not work well in overseas fiefdoms. If he was stubborn and stuck to the rules, the vassal country would not be able to grow.
As a vassal king, you must first know how to share the resources in the fiefdom with the prince, subordinates, and common people, so that everyone can benefit equally. Only in this way can it play the role of appeasement and sealing.
If the people have meat to eat and houses to live in, they will not rebel. Even if the subordinates have ulterior motives, they will not be able to influence the current situation. If this is the case, when the news reaches the capital, the imperial court will send troops from the mainland to help suppress it.
However, this cycle will be relatively long, probably close to half a year, so vassal kings in various places must implement benevolent policies, focusing on light taxes and less exploitation.
Some vassal kings disagreed with this. The decrees implemented by the imperial court in the local area were almost contrary to what a certain prince said. Isn't this evading the important and taking the easy?
However, the situation in the Ming Dynasty was completely different from that in the overseas vassals. What was the strength of the enemies faced by the overseas vassals? It's almost a matter of comparison.
If the vassal state's soldiers and horses equipped with artillery and muskets can't even defeat the native savages armed with spears, then don't leave the vassal state and just come back.
If you don't plan to come back, you will have to be beaten to pieces by the native savages. In the end, you will either kneel down and beg for mercy, or you will choose to wipe your neck and hang yourself!
The enemy's strength is not very good, and the products in the vassal state are very rich. You can hunt on the shore and fish in the water. You still look like you can't survive under these conditions. Who are you showing it to? ? ?
If you squeeze too hard, can the people still treat you as a vassal king?
In such a world, in their eyes, the feudal king is nothing!
How did the previous dynasty fall?
How did I, the Ming Dynasty, gain the world?
As a vassal king, who dares to say that he doesn't know?
If you tell a bunch of vassal kings this truth, how much they can listen to it is their own business.
Even if he is really killed by the people of the feudal kingdom in the future, it will be his own fault!
A certain prince would not pay condolences to some vassal king who had lost his wits because of his power. That would be too depressing.
As far as the overseas affairs of the feudal clan are concerned, it is the decree of the imperial court, and how to survive is the feudal king's own business.
In short, the court can equip the feudal king's soldiers and horses with advanced firearms, and the feudal king himself has to do the rest.
If you do it well, life will be very good. The feudal king is actually equivalent to the overseas emperor.
If you don't do it well, you'll have to carry around your food without being able to eat, and you won't be able to walk around. You'll be responsible for all the consequences.
As the first batch of vassal kings to enjoy the benefits of moving overseas, a certain prince was very optimistic about Zhou Wang Zhu Gongqi and Chong Wang Zhu Youfan.
The former is more open-minded, experienced and steady, and very pragmatic.
The latter are young and vigorous and are more willing to accept new things and new knowledge.
Although the location of the two feudal princes' fiefdoms was not very good, there was no threat from stronger enemies.
As long as you can establish a firm foothold in the new fiefdom, the difficulty in development is not too great, and you can achieve some success within three to five years.
No matter how other vassal kings manage their own affairs, Chongwang Zhu Youfan wants to shape himself into a wise king.
Although Chongguo's current national strength is relatively weak and its geographical location is relatively remote, this is also relative.
There are no rogues, no Donglu, and no Rakshasas here. The native savages are simply vulnerable.
After on-site investigation, it was found that the climate was not as bad as imagined, but it was found that the land near the volcano was extremely fertile.
The fishery resources are even more jaw-dropping, which is a huge surprise.
Of course, don’t forget the important thing, that is the volcano!
After successfully mining sulfur, Zhu Youqi felt that this was no longer a volcano, but a huge silver mountain!
There are countless volcanoes in Chongguo. If they were all like this, wouldn't the entire peninsula be covered by silver mountains?
Thinking of this, Zhu Youfan couldn't help but get excited again.
Because he heard the prince say that all mountains of gold and silver can be mined, but sulfur is different.
Sulfur is erupted from volcanoes. As long as the volcano "doesn't go out", sulfur can be mined for hundreds of thousands of years.
The prince learned from the fairy world that the volcanoes on the Kamchatka Peninsula could still "survive" for more than a thousand years, so Zhu Youqi was very relieved.
The sulfur of one volcano is worth one million taels of silver, so isn’t the sulfur of one hundred volcanoes worth one hundred million taels of silver?
Are there so many volcanoes in Kamchatka Peninsula?
I think there must be some!
Doesn't this mean that overnight, he became the richest clan in the entire Ming Dynasty?
Thinking of this, Zhu Youfan couldn't help but feel ecstatic!
This peninsula is simply a giant cornucopia!
Not only Zhu Youfan thinks so, but the brothers Zhu Youza, Prince of Huai'an County, and Zhu Youcai, Prince of Heyang County, also think so.
This was Zhu Youqi's territory. The two of them didn't earn a single tael of silver from mining the sulfur mines, but they were extremely excited.
Because they also know that Kamchatka Peninsula is full of volcanoes, and mining a volcano in two days can make a net profit of two thousand taels of silver.
Looking at the entire Ming Dynasty, there are few purchases that make money faster.
Zhu Youza, the king of Huai'an County, went to the west coast of the peninsula, while Zhu Youcai, the king of Heyang County, decided to go to the east coast of the peninsula.
However, the two brothers' specific goal is also very clear, that is, they must be close to the volcano, and the volcano must be close to the sea.
This makes it easier to mine sulfur ore and transport sulfur. Just don't get too close, otherwise it's easy to eat volcanic ash.
This time it was all about learning. After understanding the entire mining process, the two princes were full of confidence in becoming mine owners.
The prince made his fortune from oil, coal, and gold mines in his own country, controlled the court and cabinet, and stabilized the current situation.
So as the prince of the Ming Dynasty, he can naturally follow the example of a cat and a tiger. There is no gold mine, and he can still support his family with sulfur mine.
The prince once said a wise saying, and now the three brothers deeply believe it.
That is - don’t panic if you have the mine in hand!
Zhu Youfan looked at the rolling mountains in the distance, feeling so happy that he couldn't help but feel deep in his bones!
Kamchatka is such a good place, you can eat seafood and mine!
Thanks to the hard work of the miners, the fleet was soon filled with one million kilograms of sulfur and officially returned.
Although Zhu Youfan still wanted to keep Zheng Zhiwan for a few days, he knew in his heart that only if the fleet returned early could he come quickly next time.
Zheng Zhiwan was also very interesting. Before leaving, he left all the small boats and damaged large and medium-sized ships in the fleet to Chongwang Zhu Youfan.
In this way, the people of Chongguo can continue to engage in their fishing business, and will not start to go hungry a few days after the fleet returns.
The sailors in the fleet are even more looking forward to returning to Kamchatka Peninsula than Zheng Zhiwan, because here they can eat and drink for free.
In the Ming Dynasty, even in Fujian, a table of seafood would cost several taels of silver, but in Chongguo, you didn't need to pay a single copper coin.
After eating and sleeping for several days, Zheng Zhiwan finally discovered that after a trip to Chongguo, which was thousands of miles away, not only did his sailors not lose weight, but a handful of them began to gain weight.
It’s no wonder that, apart from fishing at sea, a group of sailors would go to bed after eating, eat as soon as they opened their eyes, and eat again when they were on the table.
In the words of the prince, seafood is a nutritious and high-protein food, which is equivalent to eating eggs, which directly causes many people to gain weight very quickly.
King Chong Zhu Youfan didn't mind this at all, but welcomed the entire fleet to visit Chongguo again. There was nothing else here but seafood!
