In future generations, if someone says that his or her family owns a mine, countless people will be envious, sighing and sighing as to why they have no life in the mine.
But in ancient times, having a mine was not necessarily something to be envied.
First of all, miners are the ones who do the mining, and the status of miners is not as good as that of farmers. Complimenting your family as a miner may very well imply that you are of low origin, so don't just smile happily.
Secondly, you need to sell the minerals after digging them out. Not to mention that businessmen have no status. If you sell minerals, you need to pay taxes.
It says one tax for thirty and one tax for fifteen, that’s from the top, but the local officials below, who doesn’t want to make some money? You mined and destroyed the trees, so you need to pay some tax. If you pass by this road, you have to understand. Well, it’s the New Year and the holidays, do you want to do some planning?
It doesn't matter if you don't do it. You are all stealing minerals without the permission of the court. So what? The principal culprit is caught and beaten with a hundred sticks. Why, you don't want to be beaten. It doesn't matter. Bring the money. Ten taels of silver are free of fifty sticks. , there are five of you in total, let’s add them together...
Finally, mining kills people...
There is no way, after some old mines have been continuously excavated for a long time, the surface of the mines is basically the same.
For example, the famous swords "Ganjiang" and "Moye" that appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period were the swords made by Ganjiang and his wife Moye.
Some classics record that "it takes three years to harvest the iron essence from the five mountains" and "it takes three years." It seems very impressive, but if you think about it carefully, it is probably not the case...
The situation that is closest to reality is that the shallow iron ore in these five mountains has almost been dug. If there is no good iron ore after digging in this mountain, then we will dig on another mountain and dig five mountains in succession. , just barely enough materials, euphemistically called it "Iron Essence".
In the Spring and Autumn Period, it was no longer easy to find shallow mines. Later dynasties had no choice but to seek mines underground. By the Song Dynasty, some mines were already 123 feet deep underground. In this case, if you continue to dig deeper, it is very likely that It was buried directly inside.
Burying people is nothing to these wealthy locals. At most, they only pay for a few donkeys.
But the problem is, if too many people die and the mines cannot be mined, there will be no way to make money. A human life can be paid for by a donkey, but a donkey cannot be used as a human being. It cannot mine...
Fortunately, China has a vast land and rich resources, with many mountains and mineral resources. In addition, local officials are familiar with the Chunqiu writing style. We may not see a report of mining disasters throughout the year. However, this kind of thing exists objectively after all, and it is a bit pitiful. Yes, this kind of problem occurs more in government-run mines...
Landlords can find some leeway by asking ordinary people to mine. They can let people farm the land when they are busy. But in government mines, there is no leeway. How much should be dug this month? If it is not enough, the whip will help. , If you still can’t come up with it, your wages will be deducted.
But for ancient times, mining was really tiring.
The general process is as follows:
When it's dark, the gong sounds. After packing up, we start going down to the mine. We put down the hammer, bring the chisel, carry the pickaxe, and move along the zigzag or straight mine tunnel. Then we work in groups. This one takes the chisel and puts it in the mine. On the ore wall, the hammer hit the chisel cap directly, making a clanging sound. After hitting it several times or more than ten times, I could always get some broken ore out.
A dedicated person held a bamboo basket and used an iron pick to shovel the broken ore into the bamboo basket, and then dragged it into the mine below the pulley, hung up the rope, and the person above shook the pulley, which was similar to fetching water, and slowly transported the ore. Out of the mine
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Hole.
Piece by piece, this is the basic operation of mining, and it has been like this for a long, long time.
However, in the Ming Dynasty, another method has appeared, and the process of this method is a bit interesting, roughly like this:
When it's dark, the gong sounds. After packing up, we start going to the mine. Don't put down the hammer, bring the chisel, and carry the pickaxe... So what, don't be busy going down to the mine yet. There is a pile of firewood here, so carry it down.
A group of people went down to the mine carrying firewood, then piled the firewood on the ore wall, threw a fire, and burned it.
If there's a fire, it's natural to carry water.
When water comes, hurry up and put aside the firewood. Instead of watering the firewood, water the rocks...
At this time, I heard the sound of the stone exploding. The cracks were one after another. When I hit it with a hammer, the ore came down...
This is the famous burning and explosion method, and it is also a representative of the ancient mining wisdom.
The principle is very simple, heat - expansion and contraction, the stone fights with itself, and finally breaks...
This kind of burning and explosion method has not been fully used in the Ming Dynasty, but Zhu Yunwen does not plan to promote it. It is not a problem for a group of old men to fight the two worlds of ice and fire every day. To solve the problem, we still need to find other methods.
Huang Fu didn't know what Zhu Yunwen could do to solve the mining problem. If the mining speed could keep up, what else would the Ming Dynasty have to worry about? If there is a forest of magical cannons, then it is not impossible for Datong City to copy the performance of Diaoyu City and kill a big sweat or something.
"Your Majesty, what can I do..."
Huang Fu followed Zhu Yunwen all the way and saw that this man had arrived at the Meridian Gate. If he didn't ask clearly, he would have to go back to eat with his wife and children.
Zhu Yunwen waved, motioning for Huang Fu to come closer, and then said softly: "Have you not seen the power of the divine machine cannon? This matter can be resolved by the Second Artillery Bureau."
Huang Fu stared at Zhu Yunwen's carriage entering the imperial city, and returned to the Ministry of Industry in great depression.
Zheng Ci was reading a memorial. He knew it was good news from the smile on his lips. As soon as he picked up the tea, he saw Huang Fu's dead face. He couldn't help but frown and said, "It's just a trip to Long Island." Jiang Shipyard, how come you got cold just like you fell into the Yangtze River?"
Huang Fu shook his head and said with a frustrated look: "The emperor is slapping his head at the Longjiang Shipyard and wants to build a pure iron ship..."
"puff!"
Zheng Ci took a sip of tea, coughed a few times, widened his eyes and asked, "Iron, pure iron ship?"
Huang Fulian nodded repeatedly, and then told the story, "Now it's a matter of iron supply from the Ministry of Industry, but Sir, there are only so many mines in the world. To supply military supplies and for civilian use, this requires shipbuilding, isn't it? It will cost too much iron, so where can we mend this hole?”
Zheng Ci thought for a while and asked, "The emperor arranged errands for the Ministry of Industry and didn't say anything else?"
Huang Fu spread his hands and said helplessly: "The emperor said that the divine machine cannon is extremely powerful. How is this possible? The divine machine cannon cannot be used in mountains and mines. Transportation is a problem, and if this cannon continues, how many hits can it take?" Come down with a stone?"
Zheng Ci thought for a while, and based on his understanding of Zhu Yunwen, the emperor would never joke about this kind of thing. However, the divine machine cannon is so powerful that it cannot open mountains. You know how many divine machine cannons there are, and it is very likely that they can even break down the city wall. If it can't be blasted away, how can it possibly shake the mountain?
"Perhaps what the emperor said was not
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Not a divine cannon. "
Zheng Ci suddenly thought of something and said slowly.
Huang Fu was stunned for a moment, looked at Zheng Ci in confusion, and asked, "What is it if it's not a divine machine cannon?"
Zheng Ci looked around and saw that there was no one else, so he whispered: "The emperor's words are not directed at the divine machine cannon, but at the gunpowder inside the divine machine cannon!"
"gunpowder?"
Huang Fu looked at Zheng Ci in surprise and figured it out instantly.
Naturally, it is impossible for this divine machine gun to fire stone bullets or cast iron bullets to open mountains, but if gunpowder is used, things may be simpler. Make a hole in the stone wall of the mine, or chisel a few times along the cracks, insert gunpowder, and the explosion will be powerful enough to crack mountains and crack rocks!
“If feasible, this will greatly speed up mining!”
Huang Fu became serious.
Compared with the knocking, burning and explosion methods, gunpowder does not require so much time to open a mountain, nor does it require so many processes. As long as the explosion point is selected, the surrounding support is done, and the explosion is accurate, the rest is a matter of outward transportation.
Zheng Ci nodded solemnly and said quickly: "Since the emperor has given you permission, go to the Second Artillery Bureau immediately to prepare a batch of gunpowder for the experiment. If it is really feasible, this will be a great achievement!"
Huang Fu didn't waste any time, turned around, left the Ministry of Works, and ran to Houhu.
Zheng Ci squinted and thought for a while, then shook his head and sighed: "The Emperor's wisdom is beyond our reach."
He lowered his head and continued to browse the documents. Song Li praised the performance method in the document and proposed that the Ministry of Industry introduce performance methods in other fields.
Because of the existence of this law, many people sent letters to their families and brought some silver back with them. They simply told their families that they would not be going back for the time being and that they would either hire people to harvest in the summer or their families would take more care of them.
In this way, more manpower is always available for dredging the Huitong River, and the progress is guaranteed.
Zheng Ci put the documents away. Such documents were not memorials and did not need to be handed over. However, whether the Ministry of Industry needs to introduce performance methods in more aspects needs to be carefully considered.
The tasks of the Ministry of Industry are so heavy that Zheng Ci can hardly breathe. Now that a Qingjiang shipyard has been added, the Ministry of Industry still needs to take the lead in this matter...
Before Zheng Ci could finish writing the documents and explain the matters related to the Qingjiang Shipyard, an oral instruction came to the Ministry of Industry: "Select old craftsmen from among the people and explore the world for mining."
Zheng Ci reluctantly agreed.
Zhu Yunwen was in the Wuying Hall, flipping through "Several Chapters of Guanzi Di" and chanting softly: "If there is Dansha on the top, there is gold on the bottom; if there is Ci Stone on the top, there will be copper and gold on the bottom; if there is mausoleum stone on the top, there will be gold on the bottom. Lead, tin, and red copper; those with ocher on top and iron on the bottom. This mountain is known for its glory..."
This is a summary of the ancient people's experience in prospecting. They used simple language and left countless wealth to future generations.
"Your Majesty, Concubine Ning is here to ask when she will leave?"
Shuangxi came over and asked in a low voice.
Zhu Yunwen patted a wooden box on the desk and said to Shuangxi: "Did you remember clearly which instructions should be taken out when?"
Shuangxi nodded heavily and said, "I remember everything clearly."
Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly and said: "You have been with me all the time, and you will be responsible for this matter. The Security Bureau will keep an eye on it, and ordinary matters can be left to the cabinet. If a major matter is not decided, Gu Sanshen will know What will be done? Updates in the capital will be reported every three days without delay."
(End of chapter)
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