"… Later, he ordered me to deliver food to the people at the bottom of the cliff. I didn't want to agree at first, but he threatened and tempted me, so I had no choice but to do what he said. My lord, I really don't know what they are doing! If I knew they were mining iron ore, I would not do it even if I died!"
He Gui burst into tears. He didn't expect that he had fallen into Xu Youdao's trap from the beginning. Later, he figured out why Xu Youdao wanted to find him. He was probably attracted by his accounting skills. In fact, he did rely on his accounting skills to cover up his tracks over the years.
"In other words, you have never met the owner of Datong Commercial Bank? The only person in charge of this matter has been Manager Xu?" Pei Che asked.
He Gui nodded repeatedly: "I have always followed the orders of Manager Xu. I have never met the boss and I don't know who he is! But..."
He hesitated, not knowing whether he should say it.
"But what?" Pei Che asked. He had a feeling that He Gui might know something.
"One time when I delivered the account book to Butler Xu, he was talking to someone, and I heard him mention a surname." He Gui recalled, "At that time he said that someone overestimated his own abilities and dared to bring bad luck to our Liu family." The viciousness in those words makes He Gui shiver when he thinks of them even now.
"His name is Xu Youdao, but he claims to be from the Liu family. Is his pass fake?" Pei Che suspected that Xu Youdao was actually a pseudonym.
He Gui shook his head: "Impossible, I've seen his pass before, it has the government seal, and the name and other things on it match his." He Gui has been with him for a long time, so he was not too wary of He Gui's manager Xu.
The government seal? Pei Che suddenly had an idea and asked, "Which government seal is this from?" The characters on each government seal were different. For example, the one in Cangzhou was the city seal of Cangzhou.
He Gui scratched his head, trying to recall. Suddenly, he slapped his thigh and shouted, "I remember now. The words engraved on the official seal are the seal of Xinyang County!"
"Xinyang County? But is it Xinyang County of Nanyang Prefecture?" asked Prefect Lin.
He Gui said, "It should be there." Now that he thinks about it, when Manager Xu spoke, he seemed to have a bit of the accent of that place.
"Master Lin, have you ever been here?"
Prefect Lin said, "What a coincidence. The first time I was assigned as an official, I was sent to Nanyang Prefecture. However, it was not in Xinyang County, but in Qujiang County."
"I see. No wonder you knew it as soon as you heard it." Pei Che said, "Then have you ever heard of the Liu family in Xinyang County?"
Prefect Lin said, "Xinyang County is attached to Nanyang Prefecture, which is more than three times larger than our Chengtian Prefecture. There are countless wealthy people in the prefecture. I only know that the richest man in Nanyang is named Gu, but I have never heard of the Liu family."
"However, it is not difficult to find out. When I was in Qujiang County, I also made many good friends. Wait for me to send a letter and ask around before making a judgment."
"Then I'll trouble you, sir!" Pei Che bowed to him, and Prefect Lin smiled in return.
"He Gui, do you have a way to contact Manager Xu?" Pei Che turned to He Gui and asked. If they really wanted to know what was going on, they would have to wait until Manager Xu was captured to find out.
The guards at the mines couldn't stand the punishment and confessed that they were only responsible for digging out the ore and putting it away. Every few months, a team would come to transport it away. When Pei Che asked when the last time was, the group said it was last winter.
Pei Che was a little puzzled, but he understood after thinking about it. It was not that those people did not want to come and transport the ore, but because Pei Che had sent yamen runners to guard the exit of Cangzhou, and they would strictly check the identity of everyone entering and leaving. If they sent a convoy over, it would definitely not be hidden from the eyes of the government.
"Sir, how can I contact Manager Xu? Whenever he needs instructions, he always sends someone to deliver the letter directly."
The clues ended here again, but Pei Che was not discouraged, because the big fish had already surfaced, and it was only a matter of time before he could find out the rest.
He Gui was taken away and his fate will be decided once everything is revealed.
After discussing with Prefect Lin, Pei Che decided that Prefect Lin would report the matter to the Emperor and have someone draw pictures of Steward Xu and the caravan members and send them along, which could be used if a nationwide wanted notice was needed.
After having dinner at a restaurant near the government office, Pei Che took Prefect Lin to the mine at the bottom of the cliff to check it out. Pieces of ore that had been excavated but not yet transported were piled up on the open space at the entrance, and there were special people guarding it to prevent anyone from causing trouble.
He had heard of Cangzhou Green before, but in his impression, Cangzhou was still a poor place. He had no interest in the tea sent from such a place, so he just gave it to the people below. Thinking about it now, he still regretted it a little.
"That's right. Cangzhou green tea is clear, mellow and sweet. Many tea merchants praise it, and it also benefits the people of Cangzhou. This year we decided to plant more, and it would be best if Cangzhou could become a tea town in the north, so that we don't have to rely on tea gardens in the south for supply." Pei Che naturally couldn't be too modest about the local specialty that hadn't yet become famous. He didn't know anything about doing business, but he learned a lot from Jiang Miao and learned some tricks.
"The tea town of the north? Hahaha, good, you have great ambition. If Cangzhou becomes the tea town of the north, Chengtian Prefecture will rely on you to lead the way in the future." Prefect Lin stroked his beard and laughed loudly. He also drank the tea, and it was just as Pei Che said. If he was not used to drinking other teas, he would definitely buy some of this Cangzhou green tea to taste it carefully. If they could be self-sufficient by selling tea, it would certainly be a great thing for Prefect Lin.
Cangzhou was the poorest place under the jurisdiction of Chengtian Prefecture. Not only did they fail to pay their annual taxes, they also had to write letters seeking relief at any time. It was a pity that Chengtian Prefecture itself was not rich, and it was dragged down by this place. The annual performance evaluation could only be rated as medium at best.
Thinking that Cangzhou already had tea mountains and would soon have an iron mine, Prefect Lin had an idea and suddenly felt that he might be able to move up a level with these political achievements.
The two were chatting excitedly when suddenly there was a commotion outside. Pei Che asked someone to go out and find out that someone had accidentally discovered a new mine nearby. But it wasn't new, it was actually a mine pit abandoned after these people dug it. Just a casual dig would reveal that there were actually many ores that had not been excavated.
Pei Che immediately ordered them to continue searching around to see how many places these people had dug.
After a few days of searching, Pei Che discovered that this was not the first mining location. They also found two abandoned mines in other places. One of them was very close to the official road, and the two were only a few dozen meters apart. However, because the mountain wall was too high, it could not be seen at all.
After Jiang Miao heard about this, he immediately linked it to the mountain wall collapse seven years ago.
"I was wondering, there are many trees and mountains in Cangzhou, and there has never been an earthquake, so how could a collapse happen? It turns out that they were mining here! Those who were unfortunately buried underneath in the past few years were purely due to man-made disasters, not natural disasters! What a sin!" Jiang Miao was very angry. When he heard what the old man said, he felt that those people were very pitiful. They were doing business well but ended up dying in a foreign land. He was also one of those who survived in a foreign land, so how could he not feel sad? Now that he knew that these people should not have died, he felt even worse.
Pei Che patted his shoulder to comfort him: "They won't be able to escape for long. When everything comes to light, the evildoers will naturally pay the price."
"I hope so. But what if they paid a price? The dead will never come back." Jiang Miao sighed.
Pei Che didn't know what to say. After a long while, he said, "It is true for the deceased, but catching those people can save more people from harm."
Jiang Miao thought of the people trapped at the bottom of the cliff mining and nodded in agreement: "You are right."
"Do you still remember Zhang Da?" Pei Che began to change the subject.
Jiang Miao thought for a moment and said, "It's Zhang Quan's father, right? What happened to him?"
"A few days ago, I sent someone to bring a message to Zhang Quan. The kid was so happy that he packed his bags and came to see his father that day. His father was also very excited. When the father and son met, they hugged each other and cried for a long time. Zhang Da has been full of energy since he saw his son. In the past two days, he took Zhang Quan to identify ores and taught him mining techniques."
Jiang Miao was a little surprised: "Why teach him these?"
Pei Che smiled slightly: "Although Zhang Da is a woodcutter, he has a longer-term vision than others. This iron mine has caused him pain in the past few years, but it is a good thing for Cangzhou. According to Old Tan, although those people have been digging here for more than seven years, they dare not make it public for fear of being discovered. They are just doing small things and the ore they have dug is just a drop in the bucket. After the case is settled, the court will send people to take over this iron mine. By then, they will definitely recruit many people from Cangzhou."
After Pei Che's explanation, Jiang Miao understood instantly. He just thought about going home and living happily after the father and son were reunited, but he didn't think about what would happen to the iron mine in the future.
"Can the profits from this iron mine belong to Cangzhou?" If so, Cangzhou will be transformed from a very poor household into a wealthy tycoon in the future!
Pei Che shook his head: "No matter what kind of mine it is, it belongs to the court. However, Cangzhou is not without benefits. If they want to buy and sell ore or ironware here, all commercial taxes will belong to Cangzhou. In addition, Cangzhou is a poor place. Now that they have made great contributions, they may be able to reduce various taxes."
Jiang Miao sighed: "I thought Cangzhou could become a big man in one bite! But this is not bad. With the iron mine, more people will come here. Once the trade route is opened, the economy will be revitalized. By then, mountain products and Cangzhou green can be sold at a good price. In their spare time, they can work in the mines to make money. The lives of the people should be much better than before."
At least now compared with a year ago, people's lives have improved greatly.
(End of this chapter)