Chapter 124: Arena
After the Yang Yuanji case was over, Song Yuzhu focused his attention on investigating the illegal mines.
In the corridor of the backyard of Jizhou government office, Cheng Jin's brows were knitted into knots, and he had been walking here for an hour with his hands behind his back.
Seeing this, the attendant beside him couldn't help but step forward and said, "Master, how about you have a cup of tea and sit down to rest for a while?"
"How can I have time to rest!" You won't know until you check. You will be shocked to find that half of the 17 counties under the jurisdiction of Jizhou have illegal mines.
He had heard people talking about the illegal mines in the county before, but he had always thought that it was just a small-scale family-run mining operation and had not taken it seriously at all.
Who would have thought that they would cause such a big fuss, and actually secretly bought people from all over the country to work in the mine. The largest illegal mine in Gaoyang County has detained thousands of miners! In the past two years, there has been no news at all. They have kept it a secret!
After Cheng Jin learned about this, he immediately conveyed orders to all counties, asking them to shut down the illegally mined mines within three days, release the detained laborers, and arrest the people involved. If they did not do so, they would be beheaded!
He was really anxious this time. After returning from Beijing, he had a lot of blisters on his mouth, couldn't eat or sleep, and lost weight. If he didn't make some achievements after making such a big mistake, he might even lose his head, let alone his official position.
County magistrates from all over the country were embarrassed after receiving the order. The private mines contributed a lot of silver to them every year. This time, not only did they have to shut them down, but they also had to arrest the people. Isn't this asking too much?
Besides, how could these people be so easily arrested? They all had evidence of bribery in their hands. If they were really arrested, I'm afraid they would be killed too.
After the order was issued, only the magistrate of Handan County closed down the two local illegal mines and arrested the people involved and sent them to the government office. The other county magistrates did not take any action.
Cheng Jin was so angry that his eyes turned black. This was going to kill him! If that was the case, then he would have no chance of survival.
He immediately sent troops to capture all the county magistrates from other counties and bring them back to Jizhou Prefecture, preparing to bring them to the capital to meet the emperor seven days later. If they were to die, they would die together, and no one could escape!
When the county magistrates saw that they could no longer conceal the truth, they began to plead for mercy and reported all the illegal mines in each county.
Finally, all the illegal mines were closed down seven days ago, hundreds of thousands of taels of silver were confiscated, more than 190 people involved were arrested, and more than 3,000 miners were released from the mines.
These miners come from all over the country. Some were sold here, some were deceived here, and once they come here, they can't leave.
They walked out of the mine in tattered clothes, looking at the scenery outside with numb faces.
When Cheng Jin loudly told them that they could go home, these people showed their emotions. They first talked in low voices, then gradually their voices became louder and louder, and finally they burst into tears.
These people knelt on the ground and kowtowed, shouting: "The Lord of Heaven has opened his eyes!"
"Finally they rescued us!"
"I will offer you a longevity tablet when I return!"
Cheng Jin felt extremely ashamed. If it weren't for his negligence, they wouldn't have suffered so much.
Many people suffered from various diseases due to long-term hunger and fatigue. Some even died in the mines and were buried in the nearby sand and gravel piles, never to return home.
Cheng Jin also sent people to find more than ten doctors to treat these people for free, and gave each of them ten taels of silver from the confiscated money and sent them back to their hometowns.
When he returned to Beijing seven days later, Cheng Jin reported the results of his handling.
After reading it, Song Yuzhu put down the memorial and asked, "Do you admit your guilt?"
"I deserve death."
"I originally wanted to chop you off, but I spared your life because you handled this matter properly. However, you are no longer qualified to be a prefect, so I will demote you to a governor and send you to exile in Lingnan."
Cheng Jin fell to the ground and choked up, "Your Majesty, thank you for not killing me."
With the previous experience of Jizhou as a lesson, Zhongzhou, Jinzhou and other prefectures all began a comprehensive investigation from top to bottom. All mines that were not approved by the government were closed, the silver was confiscated, and the imprisoned miners were compensated for their labor and resettled back home.
In the past, I had turned a blind eye to it, but now that they dare to do nothing about it, I will be crowned the end of myself.
After a month of rapid investigation, the illegal mine incident finally came to a close.
In order to prevent these illegal mines from resurfacing, Song Yuzhu ordered the Ministry of Justice to include illegal mining in the criminal law.
Anyone who privately mines more than 500 stones of minerals will be given a warning by being caned 30 times. If he mines more than 1,000 stones of minerals, he will be caned 50 times and exiled 1,000 miles. If the miners are detained, they will be exiled or sentenced to death depending on the circumstances.
Only with the regulation of criminal law have these illegal mines been completely stopped.
*
Time flies and it is already the end of May.
It had been raining for a few days, and several pigs on the boat fell ill. Zhao Xiao ordered the sick pigs to be taken care of separately from the healthy ones. Although the doctors could not treat animals, they could follow the instructions and feed them some traditional Chinese medicine to regulate qi and strengthen the body.
Today was a rare good day, the sun shining on the sea water, making it sparkle. Taking advantage of the good weather, the soldiers drove the piglets to the deck to bask in the sun.
After leaving Bristol, the Hope returned along the original route. However, due to a malfunction of the steam engine, the ship switched to a backup engine and sailed much slower.
Yao Qing held up the telescope and said, "We will reach Anduntep Harbor in a few hours."
Ge Zhongshun held a lamb in his arms and said, "Why does it feel like the boat is getting slower and slower? At this rate, I'm afraid we won't be able to return this year."
Chen Jing smiled and said, "Otherwise, I won't be able to go back this year. The general said he plans to stay in Andon Tepu for three months."
"Ah?!" Ge Zhongshun was so frightened that the lamb in his arms bleated. He quickly let go of the lamb and put it back on the ground. The lamb angrily hit his knee.
"Shuanzi, go play somewhere else." He pushed the naughty lamb away. The lamb seemed to understand. It bleated twice, turned around and ran towards the flock of sheep in front.
Chen Jing chuckled: "You call it Shuanzi? Who gave it the name?"
Ge Zhongshun said: "Its mother died of complications during childbirth, and I felt sorry for it so I gave it a name that is easy to raise."
"General, why do we have to stay in this damn port for so long?"
Zhao Xiao was leaning against the side of the boat basking in the sun. Hearing this, he said, "Collect the seeds."
“Can’t you just buy the seeds?”
"Some of them are available for purchase, but a few are not." Among them are peppers and tomatoes. According to Lao Qiao, the locals call these two things the devil's fruit. No one dares to plant them, and they almost all grow naturally, so there are no seeds for sale.
Ge Zhongshun looked disappointed, "I really want to fly back to Daqi."
Chen Jing patted him on the shoulder and said, "Okay, stop complaining. You can go back sooner or later."
*
Soon the Hope arrived at Anton Tepe. This time, the locals were no longer frightened by its arrival. Instead, they cheered and greeted it, chanting, "Silk! Silk!"
"What are they talking about?" Zhao Xiao held the dagger at his waist and cautiously dodged several enthusiastic women.
Song Yutang said, "They are shouting for silk."
Zhao Xiao didn't know that silk imported from the East had become popular here. Every rich noble would buy a piece of silk to make clothes to show off their status.
Old John raised the price of silk to one hundred gold coins per piece, but the demand still could not keep up with the supply.
Some local businessmen even began to study how silk is woven, but after studying for a long time they could not find the same silk thread as the cloth.
How could they have guessed that this thing was actually silk spit out by an insect.
"Oh, my dear old friend, we meet again at last!" Upon hearing that the Hope had docked, Old Joe hurried over in a carriage.
He was wearing a well-fitting silk gown, a tall hat, and holding a cane in his hand. He looked completely different from the disheveled look he had when we first met.
When the people along the way saw him coming, they immediately parted ways to make way for him.
Zhao Xiao looked at him in surprise: "It seems this kid is doing well."
Old Joe hugged a few people affectionately and said, "I thought it would take a few months for you to come back. Is there any cargo on the ship?"
Song Yutang said: "The silk has been sold out, but there are still some porcelains."
Although porcelain is not as popular as silk, its subsequent value may be much higher. Lao Qiao decided to take over this batch of goods and invited Zhao Xiao and his party to visit his manor.
As they walked, they realized that this was not where his brother lived before. At that time, Reynold sent someone to kidnap them, and the two sides had a very unpleasant quarrel. They didn't want to have anything to do with this man anymore.
Song Yutang asked in confusion: "Qiao, what do you mean by bringing us here?"
"Don't get me wrong, my brother has passed away, and now I am the owner of this castle."
We have to thank them for this matter. At the beginning, Reynold refused to cooperate with the Orientals and sent rangers to hijack them. He didn't expect these people to be so powerful that they killed all the rangers.
Reynold was frightened at the time. He was afraid of revenge from the Orientals, so he locked himself in the castle for a whole month.
When they came out, they found that the Orientals had left long ago, and Old John had done a business with them. The silk he bought increased four or five times and he made a fortune.
Because his younger brother helped in the introduction, he also received a portion of the commission, but he didn't make a penny. The meat that was served to him was spit out by him.
Thinking of this, Reynold felt regretful and angry, and soon fell ill.
Western medicine in that era was not very reliable. After the doctor gave Reynold sixteen enemas, he finally couldn't bear it and died.
Reynold had no son, so it was natural for Old Joe to inherit his business and become one of the three giants here.
I still feel a little sad when I mention my brother Old Joe, but that sadness is nothing compared to the huge manor.
Song Yutang: "Does the seeds you promised to collect for us still count?"
"Of course, I am an honest businessman! But the seeds will not mature until August. Before that, please allow me to invite you, my most distinguished friends, to stay here and rest."
After Song Yutang finished translating for Zhao Xiao, Zhao Xiao nodded. It was much more convenient to live here.
After entering the manor, everyone found that the place had almost changed its appearance. The original magnificent decorations had all been replaced and the walls were repainted snow-white.
The portraits of beauties hanging on the wall were also replaced with landscape paintings. Zhao Xiao looked at them as he walked. These paintings were quite interesting. Although not as exquisite as Da Qi's paintings, they were quite interesting when viewed from a distance.
Old Joe said, "This is the sea painted by Funikon. If the general likes it, he can take it back."
Zhao Xiao shook his head. A gentleman does not take away what others like, and he didn’t particularly like it anyway.
At noon they enjoyed lunch in the castle, and in the afternoon Old Joe invited them to the Colosseum to watch a fight.
Their family not only owned a manor, but also a tavern, a brothel and two arenas.
In ancient Rome, people worshipped gladiatorial combat, which was divided into fights between animals and humans, and of course there were also fights between humans and wild beasts.
After the fall of ancient Rome, gladiatorial combat was banned in other places, but this place was not under their control, and the Colosseum was still popular. Many nobles traveled thousands of miles to come here to watch the fights.
The nobles spent money like water, which was one of the reasons why Anduntep Port was so prosperous.
(End of this chapter)
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