Waist badges, keepsakes, pens, ink, paper and inkstones, money... except for clothes, all personal belongings were taken away.
Huang Boying and Xu Yuan didn't even look at Song Zhengchen and turned around to leave.
The officer was not polite and kicked Song Zhengchen to the ground with one kick. Then he kicked Song Zhengchen seven or eight times and said to the tall and sturdy man who came over, "Supervisor Liu, this is a waste."
Flower fertilizer should naturally be used in the soil.
As soon as these words were spoken, it was already decided that Song Zhengchen would have no way out.
Supervisor Liu nodded with satisfaction. There are always not enough manpower in the construction of the palace, and there are still a lot of lazy people who are lazy and slack in the work. From time to time, they have to squeeze out the fertilizer before burying it.
"Come here, let him carry the stone."
Supervisor Liu arranged.
After walking out of the two palace guards, they carried Song Zhengchen and walked inside until they reached a stone platform square, where hundreds of craftsmen were carving beside the stones, and some migrant workers were moving original stones, already carved stone statues, and discarded stones.
"Carry these waste stones out, dump them on the waste rock pile in the west of the city, and give him a basket."
One of the guards ordered without refusal.
Song Zhengchen glared at the guards and shouted loudly: "I am the imperial censor. If you act so boldly, the imperial court will definitely unleash the wrath of thunder!"
"Snapped!"
A whip struck Song Zhengchen's face, leaving a blood-red mark that made people tremble.
"Supervising the censor? Damn, there are no censors here. If you dare to talk nonsense, be careful I will cut off your tongue!" The guard looked at Song Zhengchen impatiently, threw the basket aside, and said sternly: " Either carry a rock or die! Your choice!"
Song Zhengchen felt that his whole head was numb, his right ear was buzzing, and burning pain burned his soul. As soon as he stood up, he was kicked again.
"Did you hear clearly? Carrying stones!"
the guard shouted.
Song Zhengchen stood up, shook his head, stared at the two guards holding whips, and looked around. No one, whether it was craftsmen or migrant workers, stopped what they were doing, and no one cared about their own life or death.
"I'm not afraid of death, but I'm afraid of not completing my mission."
Song Zhengchen's mouth moved slightly, and he stretched out his hand to straighten his backpack.
We must not let what happened in Qingzhou continue to be covered up, and we must not let the people of Qingzhou remain enslaved. We must live and spread the news!
Pick up the broken stones and throw them into the basket.
Some of the gravel was so sharp that it cut the palm of my hand, and blood seeped out and stained the stone.
"hurry up!"
The whip rose into the air and made a sound.
Song Zhengchen ignored the pain in his hands and quickly put the waste rocks into the basket. Soon, the basket was filled to the top.
But……
Song Zhengchen couldn't carry it. He really couldn't carry it. He had neither exercised nor worked in the fields for more than 20 years. How could a person who had never even done a sit-up be able to carry seventy or eighty kilograms? stone?
It doesn't matter if you can't carry it, there is a whip to take care of you.
After being whipped several times, Song Zhengchen exerted all his strength and finally lifted the backpack off the ground. Just past his calves, Song Zhengchen was already sweating profusely and veins were popping out of his neck.
"ah!"
Song Zhengchen tried his best to put the basket on his back, but as soon as he took a step forward, his center of gravity suddenly lost balance, and the basket fell down, knocking Song Zhengchen down.
His back fell heavily on the backpack, and the edges of the stone scratched his skin. Fortunately, the stones scattered and did not hurt his head.
"Get up and pretend to be dead?"
The guard snapped.
Song Zhengchen looked up at the sky. At this time, the sun was about to set and the light was about to disappear completely.
Taiyuan Shanxi.
Chang Baiye did not go to the Chief Envoy's Yamen immediately after arriving in Taiyuan. Instead, he arranged for the shopkeeper, craftsmen and clerks to go out to inquire about information. One was to search for places where there might be coal mines, and the other was to inquire about the court's immigration situation.
In a courtyard, Chang Baiye was examining the map.
Shopkeepers Chang Jin and Chang Shao came hand in hand with happy faces.
"Great steward, good thing, good thing."
Chang Jin shouted excitedly.
Chang Baiye folded the map to one side, greeted the two of them, and said, "Uncle Eight said good things, it must be gratifying news."
Although Chang Jin and Chang Shao are the shopkeepers of the Chang family, they are also close relatives of the Chang family. They have worked hard for more than 20 years and contributed half of their lives to the Chang family. Therefore, Chang Baiye is extremely polite to them.
Although the two of them had taken the initiative several times to ask Chang Baiye to call him the shopkeeper, it could be seen that Chang Baiye had never changed his words, so they accepted it.
"Chief steward, the old craftsman sent news that a coal mine was discovered in Yangqu County."
Chang Jin smiled.
Chang Baiye's eyes lit up and he quickly asked: "How much are the reserves?"
Chang Jin didn't speak, just looked at Chang Baiye.
Chang Baiye knew that he had lost his composure and blamed himself: "My two uncles were laughing at me. Baiye is still young, and his temperament is not good enough. He cannot express his emotions and anger."
Although he has gone through a lot, Chang Baiye thinks he has a good character, but he is still a little anxious in the face of the Chang family's hundreds of years of foundation.
From the discovery of coal mines, to the determination of reserves, to whether it is suitable for mining and transportation, this cannot be done in three or two days.
Chang Baiye calmed down and reminded: "The situation of the Huang family in Xinzhou must not fall on our Chang family. Regardless of whether it is suitable for mining and transportation, the Chang family needs to get the land deed, and it needs to be a perfect deed, without any mistakes."
Chang Shao took the initiative to request the order: "I am familiar with Yangqu, the chief steward. I have dealt with the magistrate there several times, so it shouldn't be a problem to get the land deed."
"Then I'll give Uncle Twelve a hard time and take a trip."
Chang Baiye gives courtesy.
Chang Shao avoided it, returned the courtesy, and walked out of the room first.
Chang Jin gave Chang Baiye some tea and said, "There should be a lot of coal mines in Taiyuan. Good news also came from Yuci a few days ago. If we successfully capture the coal mines in Yuci and Yangqu, we will But we can gain a foothold in Taiyuan. It’s just a transportation problem that needs to be planned in advance..."
Chang Baiye nodded heavily.
Both Yangqu and Yuci have water conservancy available, but there is an unsolvable problem, that is, it is difficult to sail boats during the dry season. Moreover, Shanxi's shipping industry is not developed and its ships are limited.
Therefore, if we want to solve the problem of coal transportation, we must have a camel team.
Chang Baiye also wants to build a horse-drawn carriage team, but the price of a horse these days is enough to feed an ordinary family for decades. Horses are treasures, and they are fine for showing off on weekdays. He probably can also build a horse-drawn carriage team to transport coal. Will be beaten to death by Chang Qianli.
Mules are also good, but in terms of cargo capacity and cost, camels are obviously more advantageous. Moreover, there are many camels in Shanxi, Shaanxi and other places. Some people who do not have donkeys at home will also find camels instead.
The Chang family has a camel team, with a total number of more than 800, but more than half of them are in Datong, and the remaining 300 or so are scattered in other states and counties. As far as Taiyuan Prefecture is concerned, the camels in Chang Baiye's hands are Only twenty.
This quantity simply cannot support the mission of coal mine transportation.
"The subsidiaries purchase camels, but they should not make too big a move to prevent camel prices from rising."
Chang Baiye understands the principle that rare things are valuable. If the Chang family makes a big move, not to mention it will increase the price of camels in the surrounding area, it will cost more money, and it may also attract the attention of other Shanxi merchants.
Once other Shanxi merchants get involved in the Taiyuan Coal Mine, it will take a lot of effort for the Chang family to compete with them.
"Okay, I will arrange for people to go to the surrounding areas to purchase, and when the time is right, we will gather in Taiyuan."
Chang Jin said seriously.
Chang Baiye nodded, spread out the map, and asked: "Uncle Eighth, do you think Shanxi immigrants will succeed? After all, the population is half a million, not a small number."
Chang Jin did not answer immediately, but thought for a long time before saying: "I can't explain the big manager's affairs clearly, but since Jianwen came to the throne, the depressive atmosphere of the Hongwu period has been swept away. The new emperor worked hard to improve the agricultural tax. We have also launched a new business strategy, which was something we wouldn’t even have thought of two years ago.”
"Although Emperor Jianwen was not as powerful and decisive as Taizu, he could still be called a promising king. He intended to immigrate to Shanxi and appointed cabinet minister Ru Yu as the governor of Shanxi. He heard that many granaries had been built along the Taihang Mountain Station , Henan, Beizhili and other places have even hoarded a large amount of grain, which shows that the imperial court has been preparing for large-scale immigration."
"Since so many preparations have been made, it is absolutely impossible for the imperial court to let the immigration efforts go to waste. Moreover, this immigration strategy is extremely tempting. Anyone with insight and heart will definitely respond to the immigration strategy. It's just that. Because they did not trust the imperial court and it was difficult to leave their homeland, they were afraid to take the first step in the early stages of immigration."
Chang Baiye looked at Chang Jin in admiration. The mall had seen through it all, and his grasp of the overall situation was much better than ordinary people. His insights definitely surpassed most of the countless officials in Shanxi who were waiting for the court to laugh.
Those people still don't understand what the general trend is and think that if there are difficulties in front of them, they will definitely not succeed.
But Chang Baiye doesn't think so. Regardless of preparations and governors, there is only one reason to conclude that immigration will definitely succeed, and this reason is:
The immigration strategy was a plan designed by Zhu Yunwen himself.
Zhu Yunwen, the emperor, was ambitious. Judging from his vigorous and resolute behavior, including his somewhat impatient reform policies, he was an emperor who wanted to do a lot of things.
The current domestic peace of the Ming Dynasty can support the ambitions of this young emperor.
He does what he says and will never give up halfway.
This is Zhu Yunwen!
Chang Baiye knew this and determined that Shanxi immigration would definitely be implemented.
"Since the people dare not take the first step, let us businessmen take the first step. Send someone to inquire about the whereabouts of Governor Ru."
Chang Baiye's eyes were deep and he ordered calmly.
Chang Jin took a deep breath and went directly to Governor Ru Jinru. This was a cruel move.
However, there is nothing that can be done about it. According to the original plan, the Chang family will first convey the Chang family's voice through the relationship with the Chief Envoy, Right Councilor Li Bin. However, Li Bin is currently busy with the transformation of the post office into a post office. He was not in Taiyuan Mansion at that time.
Things have changed. If you still stick to the original plan and don't know how to adapt, that would be foolishness. Chang Baiye is not a foolish person.
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