Unlike the capital, which is densely covered with reefs and turbulent undercurrents, five years have passed since Sanshen Garden changed its name and owner. In these five days, the new owner Gao Pragmatic still gained something.
Not only did he initially organize a fifty-man guard body based on the original amateur militia, but he also simply transformed Shenyanyuan into a soap factory and started trial production. At the same time, he personally led people to the southwest of Sanshenyuan. Start looking for coal mines - that is the location of the famous Muchengjian coal mine in the capital in later generations.
Not surprisingly, coal mines suitable for open-pit mining were directly discovered there. What was unexpected was that there was about ten miles of mountain road from Muchengjian to the Yongding River. If you want to get to Sanshenyuan, you have to cross the river and walk another five or six miles.
Whether it is a ten-mile road or a fifteen- or sixteen-mile road, it is only a few minutes' drive in later generations. As a resource-producing area, it can be said to have convenient transportation. But this situation is a bit troublesome in the Ming Dynasty. Let alone cars and trains, the key is that there is no serious road.
When Gao Pragmatic led a group of people there, they walked between two mountains, which was a bit like a long valley. However, this valley was not straight, but had several big bends. The total mileage was somewhat different. increase.
So if this coal mine is to be developed, roads must be built first. Sanshenyuan has sufficient human resources, and the main costs for road construction are labor and food. Gao Pingshi made a simple estimate in his mind. If he only built a compacted dirt road, it would take about three months to build and cost close to a thousand taels of silver; To build a solid bluestone street, it would cost at least 2,500 taels.
After thinking about it, I decided to forget about dirt roads. After all, the straight dirt roads built by the Qin Dynasty could last for two thousand years. No one has walked on them and no grass has grown. Although I don’t have that ability, after all, the official roads and post roads nowadays are not just dirt roads. I haven’t seen anyone say that the road is too bad to be used. After all, there are no big trucks these days, so if the road is well repaired, it won’t be so easy to get bad.
But this road still cannot be started immediately, because Gao Pragmatic only has five or six thousand taels on hand. After coming to Sanshenyuan, he spent two or three hundred taels to give everyone a wave of small benefits. Now there is another one called Jia Ding. The gold-eating beast of the escort team, excluding the first batch of investment and raw material purchase costs of the soap factory... In short, there is no spare money, so road construction and mining must be postponed.
But that afternoon, Cao Gan, the former Bailixia bandit master "Bald King", brought good news to Gao Pangshi.
After he returned to Bailixia, he persuaded a group of bandits and his own wife, Mrs. Liu. Bailixia basically surrendered to Bailixia. The bandits and their families only left more than a hundred people. Among them, only serious bandits were able to fight immediately. After walking more than thirty people, the loss was not big.
However, the certificate of investment he brought to Gao Jingshi was actually pure dry goods. The entire Bailixia, including people and materials, was packaged and invested in Gao Jingshi's name, and this was by no means an insignificant small amount:
There are 925 serious bandit horses in Bailixia (those who are adults and under the age of 50 and can ride and fight), 117 bandit boys aged 10 and under 16 who have been trained in riding and fighting, and 400 male farmers. Seventy-nine people, including 1,863 female dependents who can do various kinds of work or chores, 347 infants and young children, and 96 severely disabled and unemployed elderly people - a total labor force of 3,000 Three hundred and eighty-four people, for a total population of 3,827.
In addition to Dazhai, Sanxiaozhai and the personal belongings of each family, Bailixia also has a large amount of money and materials, including living animals: 1,262 war horses, 573 draft horses, There are 167 mules, 249 donkeys, 204 cattle, 398 pigs, 257 sheep, and about 4,000 chickens, ducks, geese and other poultry. There are even twenty-three sika deer that are kept for unknown purposes.
In terms of money, it was a big surprise. There were more than 1,400 taels of gold, 117,346 taels of silver, and about 12,600 taels of copper coins. There were also jewelry, antiques, calligraphy and paintings. There is a small amount, but it is difficult to calculate the value for a while. In addition, there are 3,427 pieces of silk and brocade produced in various places, and more than 6,500 pieces of cloth.
In terms of supplies, there was no concession. There were more than 400 large and small cargo carriages and ox carts, more than 200 large and small yurts (yurts), and more than 400 simple marching tents; saddles, stirrups and other inventory could be equipped with 4,300 horses. Many horses.
What surprised Gao Pragmatic even more was that according to Cao Gan's report, Bailixia could still produce a small amount of low-grade silk, about a hundred pieces per year. Although it was not much, it was better than nothing. After all, China's silk industry had long been prosperous in the south and declined in the north. . As for ordinary cloth, Bailixia's production capacity is not bad, with an annual output of six to seven hundred pieces. In addition, Bailixia can also manufacture all kinds of furniture every year, whether it is beds, wardrobes, desks, chairs, stools or anything else. Not only can it be self-sufficient, but it can also be sold to Xuanfu and even around Datong with a lot of surplus. Go sell it and exchange it for other supplies that the Mongolians like more.
However, after Gao Pingshi asked, he learned that the production model in Bailixia was very backward, whether it was silk, fabrics or furniture. Each household was doing it alone. Cao Gan, the big boss, was just using a relatively reasonable method. Just buy them at the same price and then sell them. This made Gao Pragmatic feel very emotional: If I had given guidance earlier, your production capacity would have at least doubled.
But in any case, Bailixia's strength and wealth still surprised Gao Pangshi, and he was secretly delighted: He originally thought that he had gone out to pick up a piece of silver, but after taking a closer look, he discovered that this What is a piece of silver? This is simply a nugget of gold!
Not to mention the strength and combat effectiveness of Bailixia, in terms of wealth, it can even be said to be far above Sanshenyuan! Sanshenyuan does have more fields than the ravine in Bailixia, but the fields produce only a little rice and noodles. How much is it worth? Small "foreign trade-type" production bases like Bailixia are the chickens that can really lay golden eggs!
If it weren't for the fact that Bailixia was nearly a hundred miles farther from the capital than Sanshenyuan, Gao Pragmatic would have even wished he could just move his hometown there. But after thinking about it carefully, he felt relieved - there are coal mines here in Sanshenyuan, which is an important initial base for his future industrial development. Although Bailixia has a good foundation now, due to geographical restrictions, it will definitely not be as good as Sanshenyuan in the future. It is developing so fast that it will definitely be overtaken by Sanshenyuan in the future.
Gao pragmatically praised Cao Gan with a smile on his face, so much so that his bald head turned red. Only then did he realize that there was a child younger than himself standing behind him, and he suddenly thought of Cao Gan leaving Sanshen. Yuan mentioned the incident before returning to Bailixia, slapped his forehead, and said with a smile: "This child... is your son?"
"Yes, yes, it's Quanzi." Seeing that he finally remembered this, Cao Gan excitedly pulled the child forward and said, "Ke'er, why don't you meet the young master soon!"
