In the mountains north of Yancheng, more than thirty people in tattered clothes gathered together to eat dry food, including a few people in Xianbei clothes. Everyone looked tired.
A short man chewing dry food said: "Boss, these mountains are so huge. Can we find them if we wander around in these mountains like this?"
"The prince said it's in this area, so that's right!" Wei Xiang replied.
This was already the tenth day they entered the mountain. They found a few guides from the Xianbei tribe who were familiar with the mountain, and then divided into two groups to enter the mountain. They agreed to meet at a certain mountain top ten days later. Today happened to be the tenth day. sky.
"But the prince has never been here, how could he know that it is here?" said the short man.
"Hey, I asked you why you are so full of nonsense. Your Majesty told us to look for it, so just look for it for me honestly." Wei Xiang scolded impatiently.
"Boss, it's not that I don't want to look for it, but the problem is that we are looking in the wrong place?" the short man continued.
Wei Xiang ignored the short man again.
At this time, a man in Xianbei costume came forward and said, "Brothers, what are you looking for?"
Wei Xiang looked up at the Xianbei man and muttered in his heart that the prince had said that the Xianbei people should not be allowed to know that we were looking for iron ore.
But they may not know what iron ore looks like. Let alone them, they have never seen it themselves. They still heard from two blacksmiths that iron ore is generally a stone mixed with black veins.
Thinking of this, Wei Xiang said: "Brother, we are looking for a black stone. Have you seen it?"
The Xianbei man scratched his head and said, "There are no black stones on this mountain. Most of them are gray and dark yellow stones."
"If there is no black stone, are there any dark red or brown stones?" the blacksmith next to Wei Xiang asked.
"Brown?" the Xianbei man murmured, "Oh, I remembered, there are brown stones on the other side of this mountain, but those stones are in pieces and easily broken when touched, so they are of no use. Yes." said the Xianbei man.
The blacksmith heard that there were brown stones on the other side of the mountain. He suddenly became interested and excitedly grabbed the Xianbei man's arm and asked, "Is it true?"
"Really, there is a large area with this color." The Xianbei man said looking at the excited blacksmith.
The blacksmith turned to Wei Xiang and said excitedly, "Wei Dutou should be there."
Wei Xiang stood up from the ground, looked up at the mountain road, took a hard bite of dry food and said, "Let's go!"
Then the group started heading towards the other side of the mountain.
"Why are you looking for that kind of stone? It's very brittle and can't build the houses you Han people live in." The Xianbei man asked still puzzled.
Wei Xiang chuckled and said, "Don't build a house, just build a pigsty."
"Build a pig pen?" The Xianbei man looked at Wei Xiang with disdain. He had already seen that these people didn't want to talk, but they had to follow the clan's orders and had to follow them into the mountain.
An hour later, the group came to the other side of the mountain. The other side of the mountain was a relatively flat area and a large platform.
The blacksmith knelt down, picked up a piece of stone on the ground and examined it carefully. He stood up and said to Wei Xiang, "Wei Dutou should be here."
Wei Xiang took the brown stone piece from the blacksmith's hand and looked at it, then turned to the officials behind him and said, "Brothers, dig it!"
A few exhausted government servants dragged their tired bodies and began to dig down bit by bit. The gravel on the surface was easy to clean, and underneath was a layer of slightly harder rock.
After a while, a shallow pit of about half a meter was dug into the ground, revealing the dark brown rock mine below.
The blacksmith took the ore handed over by the brother below and looked at it carefully and said excitedly: "Hahaha, this is it, this is it. I found Dutou. Look at Dutou, this is it."
Wei Xiang looked at the ore in his hand with excitement: "Okay, I finally found it! Great." Everyone else also looked excited, and some were relieved, slumped on the ground, and muttered, "We found it." No need to climb mountains anymore.
For these government officials who wander around the city all day long, being able to persist in the mountains for ten days has already reached the limit of their bodies. Now they can finally take a good rest.
That night, the team camped on the same spot. The night was already very cold. Wei Xiang wanted to light a fire next to the camp, but was stopped by a Xianbei man.
At this time of year, the vegetation on the mountain has dried up, and a spark may cause a wildfire. Then they will all be burned to death in the mountain. At night, everyone can only huddle together and use their bodies to keep warm.
After dinner, the blacksmith came to Wei Xiang and sat down and said, "Du Tou, we have found the things, but how are we going to transport them out? As you have seen along the way, there is no decent road at all.
It's too far from where we went up the mountain. It's not realistic to carry stones down the mountain. We have to find a gentle mountain road. "
"Yes, we are not familiar with this place, so we still have to rely on these Xianbei people. Let's ask them first." Wei Xiang looked at a few Xianbei people not far away.
"Brother Keba, come and sit here!" Wei Xiang shouted to the Xianbei man in the daytime.
When the Xianbei man saw Wei Xiang greeting him, he got up and walked over. The Xianbei man sat opposite Wei Xiang and handed over the sheepskin pot in his hand: "This is our kumiss."
Wei Xiang took the sheepskin pot, took a sip, and then asked: "Brother Keba, is there an easier way down the mountain from here?"
The Xianbei man pointed to the north and said: "It will be much faster to go down the mountain from the north, and the road is relatively flat. There is a plain at the foot of the mountain. If you walk eastward along the foot of the mountain, you can circle back to our tribe, but it will take nearly two days longer. time."
"It doesn't matter if it's far away, as long as it's safe, and as long as it can help us find a smooth road, when we get back to Yancheng, I'll ask His Highness the King of Yan to give each of you five kilograms of salt." Wei Xiang looked at the Xianbei man and said.
"We already have salt. The clan leader distributed salt to each family. I know that this salt was obtained from you, King Yan.
I have been to Yancheng before, but rarely get to Yanba, so we are very grateful to His Highness King Yan. Please keep Yanba and I will help you find a way down the mountain. " said the Xianbei man.
"The salt distributed by your clan chief was given by you in exchange for cattle and sheep, and the salt we gave to you was given as a thank you for your help. These are two different things.
Don't worry, I, Wei Xiang, will definitely keep my word, and I will definitely ask the prince to give you five more pounds of salt each. "Wei Xiang patted the Xianbei man on the shoulder and said.
On the second day, Wei Xiang asked his five brothers to follow the Xianbei people down the mountain, while he led others to clear the vegetation on the mountain and try to clear a road along the marks left on the mountain.
A few days later, in the Yan Palace, the county magistrate Cao Li was reporting to Zhao Bin the news that the first batch of coal had arrived in Yancheng. The guard at the door hurriedly ran in and reported: "Prince Qi, the people brought by Wei Dutou are back. "
Zhao Bin stood up from his chair excitedly and said, "Bring the people in quickly." The guard hurried out and soon led the five government officials into the front hall of the palace.
"Young man, please pay homage to His Highness King Yan." Several people entered the hall and knelt on the ground.
"Brothers, please wake up quickly." Zhao Bin signaled to stand up and speak, "How is it? Have you found the iron ore?" Zhao Bin continued to ask.
"I found the prince," a yamen servant said as he handed over a heavy package. Wang Wu stepped forward to take the package and put it on the table beside Zhao Bin.
Zhao Bin opened the package and saw the blackened stones inside. Zhao Bin took the iron ore and looked around several times. After confirming that it was correct, he handed it to Cao Li, who started to take it. Cao Li hurriedly took it and looked it over. However, He didn't know what iron ore looked like.
"Master Cao, the iron ore has been found, now it's up to you?" Zhao Bin said happily.
"Xiaguan understands. Xiaguan will prepare a corvee notice soon." Cao Li said with a smile.
“You don’t need too many people, just like those who go to Xishan to mine. Transportation and food must be arranged well.
In addition, the weather is getting colder. Let the people bring cold-proof clothes. There are still a lot of sheepskins left before. Buy some coarse cloth and hire women in the city to make bedding and tents for the people who are mining. Take it with you," Zhao Bin said.
But after thinking about it, he said: "Forget it, let Cui'er do this. Master Cao can just draft a notice and post it."
In the afternoon, some government officials rode out of the city and went to various villages and towns to distribute labor quotas. Cui'er set up a desk at the entrance of the palace, and a dozen guards were responsible for maintaining order.
According to Zhao Bin's instructions, sewing a quilt costs three cents, a mattress costs two cents, and a tent costs four cents. The prince's palace pays for the materials. After registering, each of them takes it home to make it, and returns it to the palace within two days.
Cui'er felt that there must be greedy owners who would take advantage and would not return the things they had received, so she added another rule: those who squandered things for themselves and refused to hand them over would be punished without mercy. When the women in the city heard that there were servants available in Prince Yan's Mansion, they came one after another.
Two days later, two thousand tents and two thousand quilts were delivered to the palace. Four thousand people who came to serve as corvees had gathered in the north of the city and were on standby. All materials and tools were put on horse-drawn carriages or ox-carts. After that, a large group of people came Head north.
Since Wang Dayong, the fourth captain of the escort team, followed Myolie to the capital, he had to let the deputy captain of the fourth squad, Xiao Rui, lead a hundred or so escorts to protect the safety of the people.
