After a while, the yamen sent by Wang Xiancheng met Deng Guanshi of the Sigelai Mountain Mine. The yamen got Wang Xiancheng's instructions, and naturally told the other party that the person who came was from the Zhennan Palace. Although Guanshi Deng was in doubt, he rushed over immediately.
It's been an hour and a half...
That steward Deng was a man nearly forty years old, dressed in a brown robe, short but capable, with a shrewd mustache on his face.
He was taken outside the house to wait, secretly cast his gaze into the house, and looked at Nangong Yue inside. As soon as he arrived at the station just now, he had already heard from Wang Xiancheng downstairs that the Second Young Master Xiao came here on purpose. It is not easy for the military to purchase iron ore...
Nangong Yue had just finished her snacks, she was taking the tea from Baihui, rinsed her mouth, and said casually, "Call someone in."
Only then did Wang Xiancheng bring Guanshi Deng into the house, and after saluting, he said respectfully: "My lord, this is Guanshi Deng from Fang's mine."
Nangong Yue responded casually, shifted her gaze to Guanshi Deng, looked him up and down, as if she had just noticed his existence, and said, "I heard that the mine on Mount Sigle is under your management?"
"Yes, Second Young Master." Steward Deng bowed and took a step forward, deliberately addressing him as Second Young Master, "Young Master Wang said that Young Master wants to purchase iron ore for the Southern Border Army. Military affairs are of course important, but..."
As soon as she heard the word "just", the faint smile on the corner of Nangong Yue's mouth disappeared immediately, and her whole face turned gloomy like turning over a book. She put away the fan suddenly, and the sound of "snap" was loud and clear in the room.
"My lord is purchasing military supplies, don't you dare to refuse with excuses?!" Nangong Yue raised her voice and angrily said, "My lord has heard about it for a long time. Merchants are greedy for profit, and some mines think that the price of military supplies is not high, so they use all kinds of excuses." Sophistry!" As she spoke, she pointed her fan at the opponent's nose and said, "Don't you think I dare not punish you for neglecting military affairs!"
Seeing the concubine Shi Zi's acting so vividly, Lily's stomach hurts from laughing so hard, this time it's really worthwhile to come out with the concubine Shi Zi, it's so much fun!
But her face remained calm, and she even looked at Guanshi Deng with disdain, her haughty expression seemed to say, how dare you gossip in front of our young master!
Seeing that the young master did not deny his identity, and the servants serving in the house also took it for granted, Steward Deng could finally be convinced that this is really Xiao Luan, the second son of Xiao, that would be difficult!
If the other party insists on making things big, it will be very detrimental to him.
It's better to coax this big Buddha back quickly!
"Second Young Master, even if you have the courage of a bear, you don't dare to neglect military affairs or you, Second Young Master?" Steward Deng bowed his head and explained with an apologetic smile, "I mean because the mine just happened two days ago Send out a batch of iron ore, and the iron ore that has been mined is not much. The small one wants to ask how much ore the second son needs? The small one should go back quickly and let the miners catch up with work... "
He thought this answer would satisfy the other party, but he didn't want this troublesome son to frown displeasedly: "I just asked you, why do you have so many questions?! Do you think I can buy things without looking at them?" Take a look? I haven’t seen it with my own eyes, how can I know the quality of the ore in your mine! Who knows if you will intend to fool me with inferior ore?!”
"My lord, how could it be?!" Guanshi Deng twitched his brows, sighing inwardly that this young master is really hard to serve. If he provided the Southern Border Army with low-quality iron ore, even if he could fool the Second Young Master Xiao, he would not be able to fool those old masters... How could he do such a stupid thing!
Guanshi Deng was about to explain, but the young master came up with another idea unexpectedly: "No, I have to go to the mine to see the goods in person! Choosing a day is worse than hitting the sun, you take me to the mine now Check it out!"
This is not acceptable! Steward Deng was terrified when he heard that, and hurriedly said, "Second Young Master, you can't do this! The mine is too dangerous, there are often falling rocks, and even the mine is in danger of collapsing. This is not a small nonsense." After a pause, he carefully looked at the face of the other party and suggested, "Second Young Master, how about this, I will bring a batch of ore to you for inspection first, what do you think?"
Anyway, Xiao Ying had successfully sneaked into the mine, Nangong Yue didn't have to go there by herself, she just wanted to trick him. It seems that he is very unwilling to go by himself... Nangong Yue frowned on purpose, nodded and said: "Then I will wait for you to bring samples over to have a look."
Guanshi Deng finally breathed a sigh of relief, his back was already wet with sweat, and he said in a hurry: "Of course!" Then, he changed the subject and said flatteringly, "...Second Young Master, you came from a long way, but unfortunately our town is really remote It's very remote, and there's no place to eat and play, so I'm sorry for you. But the small one got a box of pearls not long ago, each one is the size of a baby's fist, and they're all the same size. It’s good to make it into jewelry, or play with it casually…”
Nangong Yue raised her eyebrows slightly, showing a hint of interest, and asked: "You have such a mountainous place, and such a pearl?"
Seeing the other party's interest, Deng Guanshi said with a smile: "It's also just a coincidence. Last time, the young one met a Nanyang caravan by luck. When the young one goes back later, I will send it to you, young master, so that young master can send it to you." You taste and taste..." He winked at Nangong Yue, the so-called tasting is naturally to offer treasures.
Nangong Yue shook her fan and laughed heartily. For a while, the atmosphere in the room relaxed a lot, as if the tense atmosphere had never existed before.
Steward Deng's heart, which had been hanging high for more than an hour, was finally half relieved. It's okay, okay, although this Second Young Master Xiao is troublesome, he should be just a young master who doesn't know much about the world.
Guanshi Deng left in a hurry, and in the evening, he ordered someone to deliver a box of precious pearls to Nangong Yue, and Bai He accepted it for her master without hesitation.
And that night, someone came forward to report.
Because the matter was not in a hurry, after receiving Zhou Dacheng's message, Baihui didn't bother her master to rest until the early morning of the next day, and said, "Shizifei, a truck full of iron ore came here in the middle of the night yesterday. Carriage, the carriage hastily entered the mine..."
The 100 elite soldiers they accompanied were all stationed outside the city. Yesterday Nangong Yue ordered Zhou Dacheng to order several people to keep an eye on Sigle Mountain and the surrounding area of the town.
Sure enough, there is a harvest!
Lily was waiting for Nangong Yue to comb her hair. Hearing this, the movements of her hands couldn't help but paused, she tilted her head and said doubtfully, "Why did that steward Deng transfer the iron mine from outside?"
The corner of Nangong Yue's mouth curled into a half-smile, even if it was true as what Steward Deng said, the ore had already been transported away, but what she wanted to see was just a sample, and such a large mine couldn't come up with anything to look at temporarily sample
Unless, what this mine produces is not iron ore at all! but something else...
She originally just wanted to investigate the situation this time. After all, this happened more than ten years ago, and she might not be able to find out what happened in just three or two days.
After Nangong Yue finished her breakfast leisurely, Guanshi Deng came to see her and brought a carriage of iron ore.
Upon hearing the news, Nangong Yue took Zhou Dacheng and others downstairs to check in person.
It was a cart of yellow and gray stones. Large and small stones were piled up together. At first glance, it seemed to be no different from ordinary stones.
Nangong Yue frowned, covered her face with a fan in disgust, and then cast a wink at Zhou Dacheng.
Zhou Dacheng immediately stepped forward to check the quality of the ore. He picked up a few pieces of iron ore and weighed them. After trying it with a magnet, he reported to Nangong Yue, "My lord, it is the best iron ore."
Nangong Yue nodded in satisfaction, closed the fan, and said decisively: "Okay, then this batch of military supplies orders will be placed for your mine, Lao Zhou," she looked at Zhou Dacheng, and asked casually, "Old Zhou , How much iron ore do we want this time?"
Zhou Dacheng replied respectfully: "Master Hui, this batch is two hundred stones."
Seeing that the Second Young Master Xiao came out to purchase military supplies but didn't even know how much iron ore he would need for this trip, one can imagine how sloppy he was in handling things. On the one hand, Guan Shi felt disdainful, but on the other hand he secretly complained: two hundred shi ? ! Thirty jin is a jun, and four jun is a stone. That is 24,000 jin of ore! Where did he go to raise so much iron ore? !
But after two rounds of dealings, Deng Guanshi felt a little bit of the temper of the second son Xiao. The other party was the second son of the palace. It is estimated that no one would dare to say no to him except Zhennan Wang and Shi Ziye. If you want to send this great Buddha away, you can't go against his will...
Send people away earlier, and this matter can be settled sooner!
Steward Deng gritted his back molars, and said, "Second Young Master, there are so many iron mines and the small ones can't be collected in a short while, how about this? Please allow a few days for Second Young Master, and the small ones will go to prepare immediately. When it's done, I'll personally send it to Luoyue City for you, what do you think?"
As Guanshi Deng said, he carefully observed Nangong Yue's expression.
Sure enough, the other party was still dissatisfied, put away the fan and said: "No! Steward Deng, I will give you five days, and after five days, I will take the two hundred stones of iron ore back by myself." As she spoke, her tone was deliberate There was a hint of urgency, and then squinted at Guanshi Deng, with a hint of danger in his tone, "If you embarrass me, don't blame me... Humph!"
Guanshi Deng's face straightened, he heard that Prince Xiao had achieved great victories in the south, the Second Young Master Xiao was probably in a hurry, and also wanted to earn face in front of the prince and make a military exploit. That's why I personally came here to purchase this mere iron ore... Hey, I can only blame myself for being unlucky to have such a plague god!
No matter how much dissatisfaction he felt in his heart, Guanshi Deng didn't dare to show it. After bowing and saluting, he hurriedly withdrew.
After leaving the post station, Steward Deng got on his horse, led two of his men straight out of the town, and then rushed all the way back to the mine in Mount Sigley. At the foot of the mountain, the big man guarding the gate opened the iron gate as soon as Guan Shi came back.
A man of medium height had already been waiting behind the door, greeted him, and saluted nervously: "Guan Shi Deng..." He wanted to ask Guan Shi Deng if things were going well, but he knew it from Guan Shi Deng's face. I'm afraid it's a little troublesome.
After Steward Deng got off his horse, he casually threw the rope to one of his subordinates. With his face sinking like water, he strode up the mountain road and asked, "Old Song, what's the production these days?"
The man known as Lao Song hurriedly followed, and replied, "Guard Deng, basically this month, we can mine an average of 20 shi per day."
"Only twenty stones?!" Guanshi Deng frowned, "Compared to last month, the output has dropped again!"
Lao Song hesitated for a moment, then asked in a low voice: "Guan Deng, you said, this mine has been mined for more than ten years, is it going to be finished soon?"
Guanshi Deng's face became even more ugly, and after a while, he said: "The second young master Xiao wants two hundred stones of iron ore in total, you should find a way to get it together quickly! Get as much as you can!" Second Young Master started to question, so he could delay it for a while.
Two hundred stones of iron ore? ! Lao Song took a deep breath, where did they conjure up two hundred stones of iron ore out of thin air! But the Second Young Master Xiao couldn't be killed, couldn't be forced... There was no other choice but to cooperate!
"Yes, Director Deng." Old Song accepted the order with his fists clasped, and then he turned his head and went down the mountain.
Director Deng continued to walk along the winding mountain road, feeling extremely troubled: Now that His Highness the First Prince is far away in the capital, where should they go to collect the two hundred stones of iron ore with their manpower? !
give up here? ... No, this is a treasure! Besides, without the order of the eldest prince, they could not easily retreat.
After Guanshi Deng walked tens of feet expressionlessly, he suddenly stopped, his eyes lit up, and he narrowed his eyes.
correct! There is also the sixth prince, he can send someone to find the sixth prince for help!
After the false king ascended the throne, although the sixth prince has been under house arrest in the prince's mansion, with the strategy of the sixth prince, he will not sit still.
As for here...
Steward Deng raised his eyes and looked ahead. In the huge mine, there were busy miners coming and going. From time to time, miners pushed wheelbarrows full of ore from the mine, and knocking and hammering sounded one after another in the mine. Voice…
Not far away, seven or eight young men in gray coarse bunts stood timidly in a row. In front of them was a tall and strong man, with his head raised and his chest raised, and he was talking nonsense.
A subordinate behind Guanshi Deng followed Guanshi Deng's gaze and said, "Guan Deng, these are newcomers, Master Tiger is teaching them how to behave."
Steward Deng narrowed his eyes, and said, "Go and tell Ah Hu that more people are going to mine here!" The mine was so abundant that he couldn't believe it was really exhausted. If he continued to dig deeper, there must be more mines left. mine!
After finishing speaking, Steward Deng strode towards the study, while that subordinate hurriedly ran towards Master Hu who had his back turned to him. Master Tiger was still yelling at the new miner:
"My uncle pricked up his ears to hear clearly. The rooster crows every day, and work is over at Haishi."
"After waking up every morning, there is still You hour, and each has a stick of incense time to eat."
"Each person must mine at least five jun ore every day, otherwise there will be no dinner!"
"If the ore mined is less than three jun, ten lashes will be given!"
"Anyone who wants to escape will be shot with a stick..."
"..."
The more Mr. Hu talked, the more excited he became. At the end of the talk, he rolled up his sleeves in a demonstration, and saw that the muscles on his arms were bulging, strong and strong.
Xiao Ying, who was standing on the far right of a row of miners, looked back indistinctly after Deng Guanshi left, and raised the corners of her mouth with interest.
It's fun, it's fun!
At least five jun per person per day! The mine mines an average of 20 shi per day, and there are 600 shi in a month, but the manager thinks that the output of the mine is not enough, and because of the 200 shi of iron ore, he has a headache like the sky is about to fall...
This mine, and the people here, are just so much fun.
Xiao Ying's eyes flashed, and she had an idea in her heart.
Now just waiting for dark...
Night fell slowly in Xiao Ying's eager anticipation, and the miners were busy until the hour of the day before finishing their work. In an instant, the whole mine fell into silence, there was no more sound of ore mining, no sound of wheelbarrow rolling, no The tired yells and sighs of the miners... only the tired snores of the sleepy miners remained.
On the cold and dirty ground, tattered straw mats were simply laid out. The miners were all sleeping on the ground, covered with gray sackcloths, and they seemed no better than beggars on the roadside.
Amidst the sound of thunderous snoring, Xiao Ying, who had been sleeping with her eyes closed, suddenly opened her eyes, her eyes as black as obsidian shone brightly in the pitch-black shabby room.
Convinced that everyone in the room was sleeping like a dead pig, Xiao Ying quickly jumped up, and then walked to the door like a ghost, through the crack of the door, one could see a guard outside the door yawning lazily , for Xiao Ying, a character like this is just a piece of cake.
He did not know where to find a blow dart, and he blew on the crack of the door, and a silver needle shot out from the crack of the door. The silver light flashed and pierced the guard's neck, and the guard lazily fell down...
The drug on this silver needle was enough for him to sleep until dawn.
With a wicked smile on Xiao Ying's handsome face, he quickly opened the door and stepped out. Of course, he also remembered to take away the silver needle on the guard's neck.
Even though he has only been here for more than a day, Xiao Ying has already figured out the layout of the mine, except for the mine here, which he has never had the opportunity to enter. Novices like them have to learn the rules from Master Tiger for a few days, doing sweeping, coolie and so on.
Since the other party didn't give him a chance, Xiao Ying had no choice but to come here by himself.
All the lights in the mine were extinguished at night, only the bright moon in the sky sprinkled wisps of silver light barely illuminating the road ahead. The dark mines are bottomless, like huge beasts opening their bloody mouths.
Xiao Ying wasn't picky either, he just picked the nearest mine and slipped in, his figure was swallowed by the darkness in the blink of an eye...
The stars in the night blinked and blinked, silently taking in everything that happened on the land below...
By the time Xiao Ying came out of the mine, sneaked down Mount Siglei quietly to avoid people's eyes and ears, and rushed to the post station in the town, it was already three o'clock.
Being in a strange inn, this trip came here in disguise, Nangong Yue had always slept in clothes, so when she heard that Xiao Ying was coming, she immediately got up and asked Baihui to help her re-tie her hair and put on her clothes again. He took off a cloak and went out to the main room outside.
"Concubine Shizi!" Xiao Ying clasped her fists respectfully and saluted, smilingly took out a gray stone from her bosom, handed it to Baihui, who then presented it to Nangong Yue. "This is the ore my subordinate took from the mine in the mine."
Anyone with eyes can see that this gray ore looks very different from the truckload of iron ore that Manager Deng sent during the day.
Nangong Yue turned the ore through a veil, and raised the corners of her mouth thoughtfully.
She didn't know much about ores, except that there were many kinds of iron ores, but if this ore was iron ore, why did Steward Deng go so far to find a cart of ores for her.
"Concubine Shizi, I still have something to report..."
Then, Xiao Ying truthfully relayed the conversation between Steward Deng and Lao Song to Nangong Yue. There was a lot of noise in the mine at that time, and the distance between them was not too close. I only learned it after reading the lips of Deng Guanshi and Lao Song.
Nangong Yue's expression became more serious.
She still remembered what Sun Xinyi said, that a person with a Baiyue accent appeared at the Fang family back then and tried to seize the Fang family's mine in Sigelai Mountain. But whether it succeeded in the end, Sun Xinyi didn't know.
But now, no matter the county magistrate or even the people in this town, they all regard the mine as belonging to the Fang family.
Even Zhou Dacheng, when he mentioned Mount Siglei earlier, said that it belonged to the Fang family.
Whether it is or not, it is obvious that this kind of ore is very important to Deng Guanshi and his group, and their demand for it can be said to be so hungry that even a monthly output of 600 stones cannot satisfy them.
What could it be? !