There are many coal fields in Datong Prefecture-Hunyuan Prefecture, the largest of which is the Daxigou Coal Field, with a total of 128 large and small coal mines, and more than 15,000 coolies working in them.
At dawn, the sky was still dark and the morning star had not yet disappeared, so work began in the Daxigou coal yard.
On the east side of the coal field, in an inclined shaft more than two hundred feet deep, Xiao Daniu and a group of coolies were digging coal.
There was no daylight in the inclined shaft, and it was only illuminated by a few small oil lamps. The light was very dim. Even if you opened your eyes wide, you could barely see the situation five or six feet in front of you. The further away, it was pitch black.
The coolies each had an iron pickaxe and dug hard at the coal. When they felt that they were almost done, they put it into a large wicker basket and carried it out along the slope.
A basket of coal weighed a hundred and fifty kilograms. The slope was steep and long, and the space was very small. The coolies gritted their teeth and used all their strength to carry the coal out. They were all tired. He was sweating like rain and panting like an ox.
Just after taking a few breaths, a vicious overseer carrying a whip came over.
"Pah, pah... you are a bunch of bastards, you dare to be lazy, hurry up and continue digging coal. If you don't dig enough coal today, you won't be able to eat. You deserve to starve to death!"
"Yes, yes, go down right now, go down right now!"
The whip struck the body, leaving a bloody gash. The coolies trembled in pain, but did not dare to resist. They could only drag their tired bodies down to the inclined shaft to dig coal, and then carry it back up again and again, and the cycle continued. .
During this period, two coolies fainted in the inclined shaft due to overwork. When the supervisors found out, they ordered the other coolies to drag them up. After a brief look, they dragged the two coolies who were still breathing to the coal mine. On the west side of the field, it was thrown into a shaft that had been abandoned for many years.
The shaft is dozens of feet deep, and the surroundings are smooth and slippery. If anyone falls down, he will definitely die.
Seeing this scene, the coolies around them just sighed a few times, and then continued to dig coal under the whips of the supervisors.
And this kind of thing happens almost every day!
"Boring...boring...boring!"
After finally making it to noon, with the sound of a gong, it was time to eat.
The coolies emerged from the wells one after another, covered with soot, and lined up to receive food.
Lunch was very simple. It was just a bowl of sorghum rice porridge so thin that it could reflect a human figure. It was about the size of two fists. It was made of wild vegetables, grass roots, Guanyin soil, and miscellaneous grains. It was worse than what the animals pulling the cart ate.
Even so, after the coolies received the food, they all ate it hungrily. After eating, they had to lick the bottom of the bowl clean so as not to waste any rice soup. At the same time, they were wary of the surroundings, fearing that someone would rob them.
In this hell-like place, there is no sense of propriety, justice or shame at all. Fighting over food is common, and killing is not uncommon!
After lunch, there was a short break. Xiao Daniu slumped down on a pile of coals, trying to recover while recalling the past.
I am from Yanggu County, Yanzhou Prefecture, Shandong Province. I have two parents, four brothers and two sisters. They make a living by cultivating more than ten acres of thin fields. The whole family works hard every day and saves money. Considered wealthy, he could barely make ends meet.
Unexpectedly, three years ago, a once-in-a-century drought occurred in Yanzhou Prefecture. There was not a drop of rain for more than half a year. All crops died and no grain was harvested.
In the face of the disaster, instead of providing food relief, the government continued to increase taxes. Officials like tigers and wolves came to the village every day to urge payment, which made the villagers have no choice but to do something. They sold their houses and land, some sold their children and daughters, some went out to beg... and some simply hanged themselves.
The same was true for the Xiao family. Everything they could sell was sold. In the end, they couldn't even drink porridge with wild vegetables and whole grains. The whole family was in danger of starving to death.
When they were at a loss, several businessmen came from Shanxi and said they were looking for long-term coal diggers. As long as they went to work, food and accommodation were included, and they were paid one tael of silver per month.
This is absolutely great news for the Xiao family, who are already in dire straits.
After some discussion
After that, it was decided to leave the youngest brother and two sisters to take care of their parents. Xiao Daniu took his second and third brothers to sign up, and then left his hometown with more than a hundred young adults in the village, following the businessmen. We came all the way to Shanxi - Hunyuan Prefecture - Daxigou Coal Field.
I thought that if I came to work in the coal field, I would not only be able to eat well, but I would also be able to earn one or two silver dollars a month. If I could send the wages home, my whole family would have a way to survive.
It turned out to be a scam.
After arriving at the coal field, he was first forced to sign a life-death contract, and then was driven down the well to dig coal and became a coolie.
The coolies lived a life of working with cattle and horses, eating pigs and dogs, being paved with rotten straw and covered with sacks. They were so hungry that they were trembling with cold. As for their wages, they had no wages at all.
If you want wages, all you get is a beating, and quite a few people die from the beatings!
I remember that a total of 118 young men in the village were deceived into working as coolies in the coal mines. After three years, there are only 38 people left. As for the others: some were killed when the coal shaft collapsed, and some were exhausted. Some died of illness, some starved to death, and some were beaten to death by the overseers.
After the coolies died, not to mention the coffins, they couldn't even be laid to rest. They were thrown directly into an abandoned shaft on the west side of the coal yard. Over the years, it was filled with bones and countless innocent souls!
Life in the coalfields was hell, so why didn't the coolies escape?
It's not that I don't want to run, it's that I can't run away.
There are more than 800 supervisors in the mine, all of them are strong thugs, equipped with weapons such as knives, guns, and sticks. They also have hundreds of vicious dogs, patrolling back and forth day and night.
The roads around the mine are also equipped with checkpoints and are guarded day and night.
The coolies who escaped were basically caught, and then they were beaten to pieces with a whip, or beaten to death directly, and then thrown into an abandoned shaft and turned into white bones.
According to the old people in the mine, countless coolies have escaped in the past twenty years, and only one succeeded.
That was more than four years ago. A pair of Xiong brothers, who were born with supernatural powers, killed more than 20 supervisors and more than a dozen vicious dogs with just two fists, and escaped through various levels of checkpoints.
………
It seems that sooner or later, I will die here and become a skeleton in the shaft. I will never be able to return to my hometown, and I will never see my parents and sisters again!
Just when Xiao Daniu was feeling sad, he heard chaotic sounds coming from the entrance of the coal yard, and then a large group of soldiers wearing black cotton armor rushed in, all holding gleaming weapons in their hands.
"Stop, who are you? How dare you barge in? This is the coal mine run by the Fan family. You are not afraid... Ouch... Ouch!"
"Nao Nao, tie them all up!"
"promise!"
The overseers tried to stop them, but they were all knocked to the ground and tied up with ropes. Then the soldiers rushed around and soon took control of the entire coal yard and gathered the coolies.
Then a young man who looked like a general walked out, surrounded by evil aura, making people afraid to look directly at him.
"You have heard clearly, the Jurchens have invaded, and the battle ahead is tense. We urgently need a group of manpower to help dig trenches and build barriers for the army.
My general's surname is Qin Mingfeng, and I have come here to recruit men under the orders of the Commander-in-Chief. If you can serve in front of the army, I will ensure that you have three meals a day, and that you will be well fed.
When the work is completed, each of you will be rewarded with another ten taels of silver and twenty kilograms of dry food. You will also be given a customs clearance guide and allowed to go home to reunite with your relatives. Have you all listened? "
…
Qin Feng shouted the same words three times in a row, but the coolies below did not respond at all and still stood like logs.
The long-term suffering has made these people mentally numb. They simply do not believe that good luck will come, thinking that this is another scam.
what to do?
After thinking for a while, Qin Feng had an idea.
"Come here, open the granary here, make a fire and cook!"
"As you command!"
The overseers' quarters
Next to the house, there was a warehouse full of ingredients. The soldiers broke open the door and brought out a large amount of rice, noodles, vegetables, eggs... and bacon.
Then he put on the big pot and started cooking.
After the food was cooked, it was distributed among the coolies. Everyone devoured it and the food was extremely sweet. Some even cried after eating it!
"I am willing to serve the General... I am willing to serve the General!"
After eating and drinking, the coolies had energy in their bodies and sparkle in their eyes. When Qin Feng shouted again, they were immediately greeted by bursts of cheers.
The coolies finally believed that good luck had come and it was brought by this young general.
Then Qin Feng ordered that all the coolies be taken away from the coal yard, as well as all useful things in the coal yard.
At this time, Xiong Da and Xiong Er approached Qin Feng and asked, "General, what should we do with these supervisors?"
"There are overseers there, why didn't I see any of them, General? Did you see them?"
"No, even the low-level officials didn't see it!"
Xiong Da and Xiong Er were not smart people to begin with, but after several years of training from Qin Feng, they have become somewhat enlightened.
Since my general said there are no supervisors here, that means there are none.
If there is, then there is no.
Thinking of this, Xiong Da and Xiong Er commanded their soldiers and drove a group of supervisors to the west side of the coal yard. They remembered that there was an abandoned shaft here, which was filled with the bodies of coolies, which made this gang lose their conscience. Come down and accompany me!
