Duan Youde was startled when he heard this, and then he quickly assured: "Please rest assured, sir, I will strictly discipline them. If anyone knowingly breaks the law, I will punish them severely and will never let down your important task!"
Zhao Hao was very happy to hear Duan Youde's statement: "The governor is a first-rank official, there is no need to call yourself a lowly official."
Duan Youde said hurriedly: "Sir, you have come to Qinzhou on the orders of His Majesty to manage all matters. Youde is also under the command of the Sir. In everything, I will follow the lead of the Sir, so I will naturally call myself a humble official."
Zhao Hao has a very good impression of Duan Youde.
It's pleasing to the eye and pleasant to the ear when he speaks.
Not bad.
Zhao Hao waved his hand and said, "Master Duan, is the food ready? I'm so hungry!"
Duan Youde said quickly, "Oh, I was so busy talking that I forgot about eating. Sir, and everyone else, please come in. The banquet is ready."
Having said that, he quickly made a gesture of invitation to Zhao Hao.
I have to say that the customs of Qinzhou are very different from those of the capital.
This can be seen from the design of the garden.
The style of the Imperial Capital is grand and open, with occasional special touches, and it displays a simple, elegant, spacious and grand style.
On the other hand, it’s different here. The design seems to make effective use of every space.
However, it can fully demonstrate what is meant by staggered arrangement and will not give people a crowded feeling at all.
Every scene complements the other, and gives people a sense of unity whether you feel it from a close distance or from a distance.
After walking forward for a while, a garden rockery appeared. Clear water flowed down from the rockery and fell into a large flower bed.
Not far from the rockery, there is an elegant pavilion.
Inside the pavilion, there is an octagonal table, and outside the pavilion, there are a group of tall women standing.
Each of these women is very pretty and gives people a strong sense of affinity.
Seeing this arrangement, Zhao Hao's eyes flickered and he couldn't help but glance at Duan Youde who was leading the way.
The two men sat down and Duan Youde personally poured wine for Zhao Hao.
"Master, these are two kinds of wine. One is, of course, the best dry wine invented by you."
"The other kind is the local wine from Qinzhou, which doesn't even have a name."
"But the taste is quite unique. Sir, please try it."
Zhao Hao nodded slightly and said, "Master Duan, please sit down. I would like to ask Master Duan to introduce the situation at the mine to me."
Duan Youde said quickly, "Your Excellency has not even drunk a bottle of wine or eaten a bite of food, but you are already eager to talk about official business."
"Your actions of serving the country at this time are truly admirable. Compared with you, my humble servant is ashamed."
Zhao Hao immediately waved his hand and said, "Master Duan, you are too kind. Let's get down to business."
When Duan Youde saw this, he immediately knew that Zhao Hao didn't like to hear such flattery.
His expression immediately straightened up, he put down the wine jug in his hand and sat back in his seat.
"Master, we currently have three mines, one large and two small."
"The three mines are almost in a straight line from east to west."
"The easternmost part is the farthest from our city, which is about three hundred miles away."
"That is also the largest of the three mines, with more than 15,000 miners working there all year round."
"The remaining two mines are similar in size, with more than 5,000 miners working year-round."
"The pig iron produced by these three mines each year accounts for 60 to 70 percent of our total iron production in Dagan."
"About 50,000 jin."
Hearing this number, Zhao Hao was both surprised and not surprised.
There are three mines, and all the miners together should be about 30,000 people.
However, after mining day and night for 365 days a year, the ore mined can only produce 50,000 kilograms of pig iron.
This efficiency is simply unparalleled.
Without taking into account any waste, each knife weighs five kilograms.
The total output for a year can barely make 10,000 knives.
There is not even a little surplus.
The knife was broken and curled, and there was not even any iron to repair it.
I have to say that this output is really too low.
Of course, this inefficiency is reflected in all aspects.
Not only is the mining efficiency inefficient, the refining efficiency is also extremely low.
He came here this time to change this situation.
Hearing Duan Youde's words, Zhao Hao nodded slightly and asked, "The ore mined from the three mines will be smelted directly in the mines?"
Duan Youde said: "My Lord, the first and largest mine has a separate smelting site near it because it is far away and the environment is suitable."
"It's about ten miles from the mine."
“The remaining second and third mines are too close and there is no suitable site within the mines.”
"So, we chose a valley between the two mines as the smelting site."
Zhao Hao nodded and said, "I see. Lord Duan, it's getting late today. I want to go there in person tomorrow to take a look at the three mines. Lord Duan, can you send someone who is capable and familiar with the mines to take me there?"
Duan Youde said quickly, "Sir, I will go with you."
Zhao Hao waved his hand and said, "Don't bother Lord Duan. Lord Duan is the governor of a state and has a lot of official business. I'm just going to take a quick look first. Lord Duan doesn't need to accompany me."
Hearing what Zhao Hao said, Duan Youde pondered for a moment and said, "In that case, I will find someone who knows the mine best to go with you, sir."
Zhao Hao smiled and said, "That would be great!"
After the banquet, Zhao Hao was settled in this garden.
Duan Youde drank another cup of tea with Zhao Hao before saying goodbye and leaving.
Seeing Duan Youde leave, Wu Song stepped forward and said, "Sir, the mine is not close, why don't you let me go check it out first."
Wang Mengyu on the side also hurriedly said: "Yes, Brother Hao, and the mountain road must be rugged and difficult to travel, so you can let Brother Wusong go first."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Hao rolled his eyes at Wang Mengyu and said, "Everyone should go and have a good rest. We are all exhausted after traveling for more than 20 days."
"Take a good rest, there are still many things to do later!"
Everyone went back to their rooms, and Zhao Hao brought Zhuo Ya into the room.
As soon as she came in, Zhuoya grabbed the pipe.
Zhao Hao was startled and said quickly, "It's not that urgent, is it?"
Zhuoya did not answer, but lit the pipe, put it between her lips and started puffing out smoke.
After a while, there were sounds of pots collapsing.
However, Zhao Hao was also rather tired and did not take the initiative too much, so he enjoyed a wave of five-star service.
The next morning, after getting up, washing and having a simple meal, Duan Youde came with a young man.
"Master, this young man is called Shanjia. His parents are both miners, and he grew up in the mines."
“Later, I started to be responsible for transportation.”
"He is very familiar with the three mines. Let him be your guide."
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