I studied in modern times

Chapter 244 The Call of Gold (1)

Not two days after Queen Mother Xiang's birthday, Zhao Xu got a younger brother.

Yes, Emperor Ying Liewu Shengxiao had another prince half a year after his death.

When this younger brother was carried and brought to Zhao Xu.

Zhao Xu looked at the crumpled little guy in his swaddling clothes and laughed: "The emperor's brother is so cute..."

Then she shed tears: "If my father were here, I don't know how happy I would be..."

Both sides lowered their heads.

Zhao Xu laughed again and ordered: "Order the Imperial Medical Bureau to send an imperial doctor to work day and night to take care of the emperor's younger brother..."

"Yes..." Feng Jing accepted the order.

So, Zhao Xu ordered his newly born fourteenth brother to be carefully sent back to his biological mother, Lin, for the care of him.

And his brother's love ends here.

See you again later, it’s time to confer names and officials.

Zhao Xu returned to Funing Hall and continued his reading journey.

"Book of Rites" could not trouble him, but Li Gou's articles had to be carefully thought out.

Personality is something that needs to be maintained.

And it cannot collapse. If it collapses, others will see the reality.

The biggest taboo of an emperor is for others to know his true and false status.

Therefore, Zhao Xu has been working hard recently. In his spare time, he summons the ministers sent to Shen Kuo from time to time to inquire about the progress of the bureau, which specializes in manufacturing weapons.

Among those ministers, a guy named Tong Guan came into Zhao Xu's sight.

Zhao Xu summoned Tong Guan twice. After listening to Tong Guan's report, he knew that this minister Guan was very observant and thoughtful. He was worthy of being the later Captain Tong.

Therefore, he was promoted to the director of the Firearms Department, and he was asked to assist Shen Kuo and preside over the preparations for the Firearms Department.

Zhao Xu never cares about the personal ethics of capable people.

Time flies by like this, August flies by in a blink of an eye, and September is here in the blink of an eye.

Zhao Xu followed the instructions and played his role.

The ministers in the court were already making final arrangements for the funeral of Emperor Ying Liwu Shengxiao.

On Renchen in September (the first day of the lunar month), Dou Shixuan, the envoy of Zuozang Treasury in Xijing and the governor of Gaozhou, Zhao Shichang, the chamberlain guard, compiled a guard of honor for Da Shengzhi. Shi Deyi, the deputy capital magistrate, inspected the capital when he entered the capital. Xiuzhou governor Xiang Zongliang, Shi Lin, deputy envoy of Zuozangku, inspected Dashengzhi.

On September Guisi (the second day of the lunar month), the posthumous title of the Daxing Emperor was officially promulgated in the military states of the world.

According to the Ministry of Rites, Emperor Yu of Daxing returned to the capital and went to Qionglin Garden to pay his respects. According to the story, he begged the Empress Dowager for a welcome ceremony.

Respectfully.

On the first day of September (the third day of the Lunar New Year), Miao Shue, the deputy capital commander of the Ma Infantry Army and the observation envoy of Rongzhou, was appointed as the guardian of Shanling. A line of managers.

After these personnel appointments were issued, in addition to the Shanling Envoy Cai Que, the Etiquette Envoy Han Zhongyan, the Honor Guard Envoy Wang Cun (formerly Huang Lu, Huang Lu Ge, changed to Wang Cun), Lu and Lu were already appointed at the beginning of the death of Emperor Ying Liewu Shengxiao. Bo envoy Xu Jiang and Qiao Daodun envoy Cai Jing.

All the ministers attending the funeral and attending the funeral were in place.

Therefore, the two palaces issued an edict: On the eighth day of this month, all ministers gathered in the Funing Hall to listen to the filial son and heir Emperor Xu Gong's announcement of the mourning book of the martyrdom of the Yingwu Shengxiao Emperor.

The mourning book jointly written by the Ministry of Rites and the Hanlin Academy was then presented to Zhao Xu.

……

Zhao Xu looked at the mourning book on the imperial case.

It is made of stepped jade, each volume contains sixty strips, and a total of fifty strips are written on it.

The jade album is plated with gold and silver, with ridges and Luo flowers all over the place, and is decorated with a coiled dragon. It is covered with a red brocade holder, and a silver ribbon is used to thread the couplet. In addition, two flowers are knotted with silver wire at both ends of the jade album to line the album. Use a brocade mat.

Zhao Xu stretched out his hand and touched it for a moment, then closed his eyes and asked Shi Deyi beside him: "Has Yousi chosen the day when the spirit chariot will be launched?"

Shi Deyi bowed respectfully and said, "I want to inform you that an auspicious day has been determined: Dingmao day in October (the sixth day of the lunar month), and the spirit will depart from Jingling Palace..."

"All the concubines and ministers sent Yongyu Mausoleum together..."

"How is Shanling?" Zhao Xu asked.

"Youxianqingdu, it is said that it is very spectacular and has beautiful geomantic omen..." Shi Deyi replied.

Zhao Xu nodded and let out a breath.

He knew that his era had begun.

After his father was buried, Lord Yu returned to the capital and completely became a god and the late emperor.

In two months' time, even Yuanfeng's reign name will be changed to the already chosen Yuanyou.

……

Song Yongchen rode his horse and came out of the mountain forest in disheveled clothes, surrounded by dozens of horsemen and entourage.

Although he was embarrassed and exhausted, his face was full of excitement!

According to the decree, he has already surveyed the mountains and rivers of Laizhou and Dengzhou.

Sure enough, as everyone said, the gold mines in Laizhou and Dengzhou are not limited to Linglong Mountain.

Instead, it exists widely in the mountains, rivers, and valleys of Laizhou and Dengzhou.

Not only that, he also discovered rich mineral resources such as coke, iron ore, and lead ore during his exploration in the past month.

And many of these mineral veins were found in the direction everyone named, or even directly at the place everyone named.

Song Yongchen was just thinking about the exploration experience in the past ten days, and he was still in a trance.

Everyone is sitting in the deep palace, and they can actually know the location of Deng and Lai's mineral veins!
Is it...

When you dream at night, do you get guidance from gods?
In Song Yongchen's understanding, there is only one explanation.

It is a gift from gods and humans, so we can have this gift of wisdom and knowledge.

Only then can we know where the mineral veins between Dengzhou and Laizhou are.

Song Yongchen knew that he had to keep these things in his heart unless everyone asked him to tell them.

……

Bingshen (the fifth day of the lunar month) in September of the eighth year of Yuanfeng.

When Zhao Xu came down from the banquet, Feng Jing had already sent a wax-sealed secret report to him.

When Zhao Xu took it into his hand, he knew it was Song Yongchen's handiwork.

He opened the letter and smiled.

"Good!" He praised: "Finally found the bait!"

Dengzhou and Laizhou have been known to everyone as golden places since the Song Dynasty.

During the Jingde reign of Zhenmiao, general Pan Mei presided over the development of the Linglongshan gold mine in Laizhou. This gold mine is still the main official gold mine in the Song Dynasty.

During the reign of Jingyou in Renmiao, gold mines in Deng and Lai flourished. There were more than 2 homeless people from all over the country. They abandoned the farm and dug up mulberry trees. There were more than [-] taels of them in pieces, which was inexhaustible. The county officials asked about buying them. Thousand taels' - During this gold rush, at least more than [-] taels of gold were mined, but only [-] taels fell into the hands of the court, and the rest flowed into the private sector.

Therefore, in the Song Dynasty, everyone knew that there was gold in Dengzhou and Laizhou.

But why is no one mining it?

This is because the Linglongshan gold mine discovered during the Jingde period of Zhenmiao has been gradually depleted with mining in the past dynasties.

Nowadays, only a few hundred taels of gold can be produced every year.

During the reign of Renmiao Jingyou, the super natural gold rich mine discovered was sealed by an imperial decree and mining was prohibited!
why?
Because Renmiao felt that this gold mine should be used as a reserve for Jingdong Road.

Only when natural disasters occur, people are allowed to go in and mine.

This is called mine disaster relief!

The effect is indeed very good - because those who can go gold mining must be young and strong, and those who can lead people to gold mining must be "dynamic people" with prestige and appeal in the countryside.

These people plunged into the gold mine, and Chen Sheng and Wu Guang disappeared.

Once the disaster was over, even Chen Sheng and Wu Guang could only be obedient subjects of Zhao Song.

It is precisely for this reason that the rich gold mine in Laizhou can be preserved to this day.

Of course, Zhao Xu cannot destroy this ancestral system.

Fortunately, Denglai has more than one gold mine!
Moreover, until now, the largest gold mine is still lying quietly in the mountains of Ye County (Zhaoyuan) in Laizhou, and no one knows about it.

Zhao Xu sent Song Yongchen there just to find it.

In addition to gold mines, local iron ore and lead mines are also important resources.

This time, they were all found!
Today's gold price is roughly one to ten or twelve to the silver price.

If mining is carried out on a large scale, even with today's technology, the gold income will be at least 1 taels in the first few years.

Worth hundreds of thousands!
But Zhao Xu did not want the government to take the lead but wanted private people to mine.

But he couldn't find a way to inform the world by issuing an edict.

and so……

Zhao Xu put away the letter in his hand and told Feng Jing: "Call Shi Deyi... I have something to tell you!"

……

Dingyou (the sixth day of the lunar month) in the ninth month of the eighth year of Yuanfeng.

On an ordinary morning, as usual, Wang Daqiang staggered out of the alley next to the martial arts school. He leaned on the wall, rubbed his overwhelmed waist, and cursed: "What's going on in the half-closed door?" Girls, you really can’t afford to offend me!”

"It's not just money, it's also my life. I'd better come less often in the future..."

He touched the money bag which already had few copper coins.

Even if I wanted to come, I couldn't afford it.

The girls in the half-closed door are half cheaper than the ones in the tiled fence.

But a night of fun would cost three to five hundred yuan!

For someone like him, it is a high consumption.

Wang Daqiang took out all the copper coins in his pocket and counted them.

There are only a few dozen coins left, so I have to find a job.

He thought for a moment and looked in the direction of Bianhe River.

Going to the stacking yard in Bianhe to fight against the baggage was the basis for a small person like him to survive in Bianjing City.The salary ranges from 150 to [-] cash per day, but the employer doesn't care about food and accommodation, and has to pay a sum of money to the person who introduced and guaranteed the job.

If you calculate it, the daily salary you get is actually only [-] cash.

After working for a few months, after deducting food expenses, you can save up to five or six guan at most.

It's not enough to live happily in a tile for half a month.

Thinking of this, Wang Daqiang spat and planned to go home to find his mother or elder brother to see if he could get some money to spend.

He had heard that recently, his mother-in-law and his eldest brother's wife took several children to weave sacks for the officials and made a lot of money.

The eldest brother followed Captain Miao to Hebei for disaster relief.

I heard someone said that because he discovered a dangerous situation, the Taiwei directly rewarded him with a reward of fifty guan!

With this thought in mind, Wang Daqiang walked toward the outer city where his home was located.

When I walked to Nanxunmen, I happened to meet the butchers under Nanxunmen, driving thousands of pigs into the city.

Thousands of pigs were driven into the city from the "Pig Gallery" under Nanxun Gate at the same time.

The pigs were grunting and dirty, even carrying a lot of feces.

But the big and small butchers in Bianjing City did not dislike it at all. Instead, they stood in the fences on both sides of Nanxun Gate, looking at the pigs that were driven into the city with their eyes like they were looking at beauties.

They are selecting the largest, fattest pigs with the highest meat yield.

It's a technology!
Without more than ten years of experience, it is impossible to learn.

Wang Daqiang was blocked by the pigs on his way out of the city. He had no choice but to curse and was forced to stay in the fence, waiting for the pigs to be driven into the pig pen inside Nanxun Gate.

At this time, several children, holding a large pile of tabloids that still smelled of ink, also arrived at the fence.

"Selling newspapers... selling newspapers... today's latest Bianjing News..."

Wang Daqiang looked at the children wearing ragged clothes and saw money bags hanging on their waists.

The copper coins inside jingled.

He swallowed, and the evil thoughts in his heart began to spread, but he soon got the idea and lowered his head, not daring to look at those children again.

Because most of these children are orphans.

There are no adults at home anymore.

But they also carry money bags with them, and the jingling of copper coins makes people's hearts beat.

Therefore, the 'heroes' in Bianjing City will naturally not let go of those who are most likely to rob the rich and give to the poor.

however……

Anyone who dares to attack these children will end up in a miserable situation!
Just a few days ago, in Tonghuafang in the outer city of Bianjing, the once most famous hero was arrested by the Kaifeng Prefecture with his fists raised.

I heard that the officials of Kaifeng Prefecture, with almost no interrogation, directly accused him of "robbery and wounding" and sent him to Xihe Road.

The prisoners who assassinate their spouses have to do the hardest and most tiring work.

Ren is a hero, but if he doesn't have a backer to take care of him, he won't be able to survive for three to five years.

And Zhang Da Fist was not the first person to be hit hard by Kaifeng Mansion.

These days, there are at least a dozen similar unlucky guys in Bianjing City who have been assigned to Xihe or Lingnan. There is even a good man who has been directly assigned to Salmon Island.

That is a place known as hell on earth, the Hall of Yama on earth.

People who go there almost never come back!
And these heroes all died for the same reason - they robbed these children who were selling newspapers on the street!

The man who was assassinated on Salmon Island was said to have seriously injured a child selling newspapers.

But now the Ming Dynasty scholar Cai from Kaifeng Prefecture can't tolerate sand in his eyes. He hates people who bully orphans and hurt kind-hearted children the most.

Legend has it that the Ming Mansion personally issued death orders to the Kaifeng Mansion's promotion officials and the left and right inspection officials, requiring that as long as a child selling newspapers reported to the government, they should be dealt with immediately, severely and quickly!

Therefore, when the heroes inside and outside Bianjing see these children selling tabloids on the streets, they dare not take action even if they know they have money in their pockets.

Faced with the lesson of more than a dozen people, no one inside or outside Bianjing City dared to touch these walking wallets.

Of course Wang Daqiang didn’t dare!

“A new large gold mine has been discovered in Ye County, Dengzhou!”

The cry of a newsboy attracted Wang Daqiang's attention.

Dengzhou, gold mine?
He swallowed and thought of the old legend about gold mining in Dengzhou.

That's not gold mining, it's gold picking!
It is said that the founder of Zhang San Fruit Shop, one of the Shezhe families in Bianjing City, was the same family who picked up more than [-] taels of dog-headed blond hair in Dengzhou during the Qingli Period.

When Wang Daqiang thought of this, he immediately stepped forward and said to the child, "Give me a copy. How much does it cost?"

"Five cents!" The child opened his mouth and laughed.

Wang Daqiang was about to curse when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the soldiers of Kaifeng Mansion standing on the fire watch tower not far away.

So he immediately laughed and counted five Yuanfeng Tongbao from his pocket, handed them over, and said boldly: "Give Sajia one!"

The child took the copper coins, counted them carefully, and then handed a copy of the "Bianjing News" that still smelled of ink from his hand to Wang Dagun.

Wang Daqiang took the tabloid and read it in front of his eyes.

He is naturally literate - his father is a member of the Tianwu Army of the Fourth Army.

The Imperial Guards of the Upper Fourth Army were the best treated in the Song Dynasty.

Moreover, there are only two brothers in his family, so he can naturally spare the money to send them to study.

After all, since the True Temple, everyone in the country has known that scholars are the best!
The people of Bianjing will support their children to study whenever possible.

However, their brothers are not study material.

Especially Wang Daqiang, who only went to private school for a few years and then couldn't get into it anymore. The private school teacher even scolded him for being stupid and refused to teach him any more.

Having said that, Wang Daqiang became literate.

At least there is no problem in understanding the content of this Bianjing New Newspaper - this is also the reason why this Bianjing New Newspaper can quickly sweep Bianjing - anyone with basic literacy skills can understand it!

This is very popular with Bianjing people!

After reading the tabloid in his hand, Wang Daqiang swallowed.

The content in the tabloids made his heart surge.

Especially the words of the so-called commentator named Hu Feipan made him shake his mind: Lao Hu heard that during the Jingyou and Qingli years of Renmiao, the Dengzhou gold mine was booming, and he could pick up ten or twenty taels of gold at will... Now I don’t know how many people want to get rich!
Compiling the tabloid tightly in his hand, Wang Daqiang took a deep breath.

He knew that he had finally waited for the opportunity to change his destiny!

"I knew it, how could a hero like me be useless!?"

Now, the only question for Wang Daqiang is where to get the money?

……

Wang Daqiang's home is in a river bend outside Nanxunmen.

This used to be a Custodes camp.

Later, the imperial troops stationed here were transferred to the edge and never came back, so the place became empty.

Since it was an unclaimed land, the Tianwu officers and soldiers nearby were naturally not polite and immediately turned it into their own home.

Officials have always been benevolent and saintly, and naturally they will not argue with their loyal Forbidden Army soldiers.

Over time, this place became a residential area.

Wang Daqiang's father was very helpful during his lifetime, so in addition to the house, he also obtained two one-acre vegetable gardens behind the yard for his family.

Don’t underestimate these two vegetable gardens!

In each vegetable garden, at least ten vegetables are grown every year and sold to vegetable vendors!
Therefore, these two vegetable gardens are the foundation of the Wang family.

The Wang family will fight whoever wants to touch them!
Wang Daqiang pushed open the door of his house. When his old mother saw him, she turned away in disgust, and her sister-in-law immediately returned home.

Wang Daqiang touched his head angrily. He knew that his sister-in-law disliked him and his mother was disappointed in him.

Only the eldest brother still treats him as a younger brother and helps him a little from time to time.

"Mom! Brother, are you at home?" Wang Daqiang asked.

His mother asked angrily: "Why did you come back? Ask your elder brother for money again?"

"I'm telling you, don't even think about it!"

"Brother You's money should be reserved for Sanlang and Shilang at home to study... and also to prepare dowries for the eldest and second sisters! It's not for you to squander in Bianjing..."

In the Song Dynasty, after a woman married into her husband's family, her status was often linked to her dowry.

Therefore, when you give birth to a son, you smile from ear to ear, and when you give birth to a daughter, you feel dejected.

Wang Daqiang said: "Mother, look at what you said..."

"How could I come back just to ask for money?"

"I just heard that eldest brother has made great achievements, so I came to celebrate..."

Hearing Wang Daqiang mention this matter, his mother finally had a good face: "No! The commander said that my son can be an official in the future!"

At this time, a strong man like an iron tower walked out of the house. He was holding a big ax in his hand. It was his weapon and he had to maintain it every day. This strong man was naturally Wang Daqiang's eldest brother, Wang Daxe.

When Wang Daqiang saw it, he immediately stepped forward and laughed: "Brother..."

"Yeah!" The strong man hummed, put down the ax in his hand, and said to Wang Daqiang: "Brother, are you back?"

"Brother..." Wang Daqiang clutched the tabloid in his hand and approached mysteriously, saying, "There is something I want to discuss with you?"

"What's the matter?" Wang Daxu asked.

Wang Daqiang handed over the tabloid in his hand: "Brother, please take a look... The gold mine in Dengzhou is booming again..."

"This is my time to make a fortune!"

"So, I want to borrow some money from my eldest brother..."

"I only want twenty strings..."

"When I get rich, I will definitely repay my brother ten or a hundred times!"

　I owe you one chapter today. Counting the three chapters from last month, there are four chapters in total.

　　After the [-]th, after paying off last month’s monthly pass debt, that’s all.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)