Unlike the capital, which is densely covered with reefs and has turbulent undercurrents, five years have passed since Sanshen Garden changed its name and changed its owner. In these five days, the new owner Gao Pragmatic has gained something.
Not only did he initially organize a fifty-man guard body based on the original amateur militia, but he also simply transformed Shenyanyuan into a soap factory and started trial production. At the same time, he personally led people to the southwest of Sanshenyuan.
Start looking for coal mines - this is the location of the famous Muchengjian coal mine in the capital in later generations.
Not surprisingly, coal mines suitable for open-pit mining were directly discovered there. What is unexpected is that there is about ten miles of mountain road from Muchengjian to the Yongding River. If you want to get to Sanshenyuan, you have to cross the river and walk another five or six miles.
Whether it is ten miles or fifteen or sixteen miles, it is only a few minutes' drive in later generations. As a resource-producing area, it can be said to have convenient transportation. But this situation was a bit troublesome in the Ming Dynasty, let alone cars and trains.
Well, the key is that there isn’t even a serious path.
When Gao Pragmatic led a group of people there, they walked between two mountains, which was a bit like a long valley. However, this valley was not straight, but had several big bends. The total mileage was somewhat different.
increase.
So if you want to develop this coal mine, you must first build roads. Sanshenyuan's human resources are quite sufficient, and the main cost of building roads is labor and food. Gao Pragmatic made a simple estimate in his mind. If he just builds a compacted dirt road,
It will take about three months to repair and cost close to a thousand taels of silver. If you want to build a solid bluestone street, it will cost at least 2,500 taels.
After thinking about it, I decided to forget about dirt roads. After all, the straight dirt roads built by the Qin Dynasty could last for two thousand years. No one walked on them and no grass grew. Although I don’t have that ability, after all, the current official roads and post roads are just dirt roads.
I haven't seen anyone say that the road is too bad to be used. After all, there are no big trucks these days, and the road repair is solid and it won't be so easy to get bad.
But the road still can't be started immediately, because Gao Pragmatic only has five or six thousand taels on hand. After coming to Sanshenyuan, he spent two or three hundred taels to give everyone a wave of small benefits. Now there is another one called Jia Ding.
The gold-eating beast of the escort team, excluding the initial investment of the soap factory and the cost of purchasing raw materials... In short, there is no spare money, so road construction and mining must be postponed.
But that afternoon, Cao Gan, the former Bailixia bandit master "Bald King", brought good news to Gao Pangshi.
After he returned to Bailixia, he persuaded a group of bandits and his own wife, Mrs. Liu, and Bailixia basically surrendered. The bandits and their families only left more than a hundred people, and among them, only serious bandits were able to fight immediately.
After more than 30 trips, the loss was not big.
However, the certificate of investment he brought to Gao Jingshi was actually pure dry goods. The entire Bailixia, including people and materials, was packaged and invested in Gao Jingshi's name, and this was by no means an insignificant small amount:
There are 925 serious bandit horses in Bailixia (those who are adults and under the age of 50 and can ride and fight), 117 bandit boys aged over ten and under sixteen who have been trained in riding and fighting, and 400 farming men.
Seventy-nine people, including 1,863 female dependents who can do various kinds of work or chores, 347 infants and young children, and 96 severely disabled and unemployed elderly people - a total labor force of 3,000
Three hundred and eighty-four people, with a total population of 3,827.
In addition to one large village, three small villages and the personal belongings of each family, Bailixia also has a large amount of money and materials, as well as living animals: 1,262 war horses, 573 draft horses,
There are 167 mules, 249 donkeys, 204 cattle, 398 pigs, 257 sheep, and about 4,000 chickens, ducks, geese and other poultry.
There are even twenty-three sika deer that are kept for unknown purposes.
In terms of money, it was a big surprise. There were more than 1,400 taels of gold, 117,346 taels of silver, and about 12,600 taels of copper coins. There were also jewelry, antiques, calligraphy and paintings.
A small amount exists, but it is difficult to calculate the value at the moment. In addition, there are 3,427 pieces of silk and brocade produced in various places, and more than 6,500 pieces of cloth.
In terms of supplies, there was no concession. There were more than 400 large and small cargo carriages and ox-carts, more than 200 large and small yurts (yurts), and more than 400 simple military tents; saddles, stirrups and other inventory could be equipped with 4,300 horses.
Many horses.
What surprised Gao Pragmatic even more was that according to Cao Gan's report, Bailixia could still produce a small amount of low-grade silk, about a hundred pieces per year. Although it was not much, it was better than nothing. After all, China's silk industry had long been prosperous in the south and declined in the north.
. As for ordinary fabrics, Bailixia's production capacity is pretty good, with an annual output of six to seven hundred pieces. In addition, Bailixia can also manufacture various furniture every year, whether it is beds, wardrobes, desks, chairs and stools.
Or something else, not only can it be self-sufficient, but the surplus can also be taken to Xuanfu or even around Datong to sell in exchange for other supplies that the Mongols prefer.
However, after Gao Pangshi asked, he found out that the production model in Bailixia was very backward, whether it was silk, fabric or furniture. Every household did it alone. Cao Gan, the big boss, was just using a relatively reasonable method.
They just bought it at a unified price and then resold it. This made Gao Pragmatic sigh: If I had given you guidance earlier, your production capacity would have at least doubled.
But in any case, Bailixia's strength and wealth still surprised Gao Pangshi, and he was secretly delighted: He originally thought that he had gone out to pick up a piece of silver, but after taking a closer look, he discovered that this
What is a piece of silver? This is simply a piece of nugget of gold!
Needless to say, the strength and combat effectiveness of Bailixia, just in terms of wealth, can even be said to be far above Sanshenyuan! Sanshenyuan does have more fields than the ravine in Bailixia, but the output of the fields
How much rice and noodles are there, and how much is it worth? A small "foreign trade-type" production base like Bailixia is the chicken that can really lay golden eggs!
If it weren't for the fact that Bailixia is nearly a hundred miles farther from the capital than Sanshenyuan, Gao Pragmatic would even wish he could just move his hometown there. But after thinking about it carefully, he felt relieved - Sanshenyuan
Having a coal mine is an important initial base for its future industrial development. Although Bailixia has a good foundation now, due to geographical limitations, it will definitely not develop as fast as Sanshenyuan in the future, and will definitely be overtaken by Sanshenyuan in the future.
Gao pragmatically praised Cao Gan with a smile on his face, so much so that his bald head turned red. Only then did he realize that there was a child younger than himself standing behind him, and he suddenly thought of Cao Gan leaving Sanshen.
Yuan mentioned the incident before returning to Bailixia. He slapped his forehead and said with a smile: "This child... is your son?"
"Yes, yes, it's Quanzi." Seeing that he finally remembered this, Cao Gan excitedly pulled the child forward and said, "Ke'er, it's not long to meet the young master!"