Lin Ming originally wanted to ask people to demolish the archway to avoid the displeasure of the Australians. After all, this "loyalty" was loyal to the Ming Dynasty. He was worried that the local gentry would definitely object when he mentioned it - after all, he was considered half
It is no joke for the Foshan natives to offend these "elders".
He looked at the majestic "Commander Xi" who was carrying a long knife and wearing a thin, straight gray woolen military uniform with a bamboo pole feel that was tightly wrapped around his waist.
Put most of it away.
Xi Yazhou didn't come to Foshan for sightseeing, of course - speaking of it, he came to Foshan a lot back then, but it was nothing like Foshan in the 17th century. Even the ancestral temple in the Ming Dynasty was very different from what he remembered.
difference.
"I heard that smelting and casting are very developed in Foshan. Where are they?"
After walking for a while, there were many shops and guilds, and some small handicraft workshops. However, none of the legendary smelting workshops was seen. When Lin Ming asked, he found out that these workshops were mainly concentrated in the Shexia area. That is to say, Foshan developed earlier.
Area.
Lin Ming said that in the past, these smelting and blacksmithing workshops were concentrated in front of the ancestral temple during the Xuande period. Because of the smoke and fire, it was easy for the fire to spread to the ancestral temple, and it was not good for Feng Shui, so they were all moved away.
"Take me to see these workshops," Xi Yazhou said, "and call a few local practitioners over."
Lin Ming wondered what was so interesting about this iron smelting workshop. It was dirty and hot. Although no furnace was open now, there were piles of iron, charcoal, and ashes inside. Not to mention touching it, even if you walked around you would get it.
It's full of gray and black. If you stay there for a while, your saliva and nose will turn black.
But he had been to Lingao and knew that the chiefs liked "Baigong" the most, and even praised the skills of Baigong to the sky. So he was very sensible and simply agreed. He called a servant and asked him to bring the skills of the local furnace room guild to the top.
The meeting leader called.
The leader of the local furnace industry is Wu Xianlong, who is in his fifties. He has been working in the furnace industry all his life, and his family is one of the top in the furnace industry in Foshan. The smelting and casting industry in Foshan is booming.
Although pig iron and ironware are considered cold goods in traditional commerce, the furnace rooms in Foshan are always in full swing. As long as the goods are made, there is no need to worry about not being able to sell them.
However, in recent years, the furnace room in Foshan has been having a hard time because of the arrival of Kuntie.
At first, there were some ironware made in Australia on the market, which was not only exquisite and easy to use, but also more durable than local products. However, the price was quite high, which did not hinder the sales of local products. However, in the past few years, thieves suddenly began to dump various ironware on the market in large quantities.
The Australian ironware is not only of high quality but also of various varieties, eclipsing the local products. The most terrible thing is that the price is much lower than the local products, which will kill the life of the furnace room - the price of ironware on the market has echoed
The collapse caused many small furnace houses to collapse, and shopkeepers jumped into the river, hanged themselves and escaped. Fortunately, although Australian iron is easy to use, it does not reach a large area in Guangdong. Prefectures and counties far away from Guangzhou still use it habitually.
Foshan Products. The Big Furnace House relied on old sales relationships in various places to maintain its operation. In addition, the government had made many cannons in recent years, and it was finally able to barely maintain its business.
As the leader of the association, Wu Xianlong was so worried about the furnace industry in Foshan that his hair turned completely white. The Australians suddenly arrived in Guangzhou, and all land and water transportation was interrupted for a while. The finished goods could not be shipped out, and merchants could not enter.
Come on, especially if there are several companies that make cast iron pots for foreign merchants. If the goods are ready and cannot be shipped out, the overseas shipping date will be missed. This is terrible. Even if the iron pots are stored for a year and a half, it doesn't matter.
, at best, keep it for next time, but the credibility of these years will be destroyed in one fell swoop.
In some furnace rooms, shopkeepers or accountants went out to collect payments, but the traffic was cut off and there was no news at all. They didn't know where they were or what their luck was. The family and friends were all panic-stricken, and they all came to him to ask for advice.
Wu Xianlong himself was at a loss as to what to do, so he could only use words of comfort to deal with it.
Shopkeeper Wu has been living in the club since the opening of the surrender, just so that he can negotiate with the mayor appointed by the Australians. He only knows that the Australians have always had strict military discipline. When they first attacked Guangzhou, the Clippers had many times
When passing through Foshan, as long as there is no hostilities, the lives and property of the gentry and people in the villages and towns are not in danger, and the cost is only a small amount of "reasonable burden". This time the Australians want to send people to be local officials. I don't know what it is.
How many ways? Shopkeeper Wu was very unsure.
Fortunately, Lin Baihu, the Jin Yiwei in the town, turned out to be a lurking "fake Kun". Shopkeeper Wu had often dealt with this Lin Baihu in the past. In short, he was an official who was easy to talk to and willing to do things when he was paid. He became a "fake Kun"
"Liaison Officer", Shopkeeper Wu was somewhat relieved - it would be easier if he had an acquaintance!
However, this Lin Baihu only maintained the situation and did not make any decisions. It was said that he had to wait for the "town mayor" appointed by the Australians to come. As for the "kun thief" who wore an Australian alias and spoke Shandong dialect.
"Officer", there's nothing much to say about that.
When Wu Xianlong heard "The chief has invited me", Wu Xianlong immediately became energetic. He knew that the so-called "chief" was the "true Kun", the most noble person among the Kun thieves. He immediately asked the servants to bring the guest clothes.
Put it on.
"Are you the leader of the local furnace room?" Xi Yazhou glanced at the leader Wu who was bending down in front of him, "waiting for instructions," and handed the red name card to the side.
"It's just a villain." Wu Xianlong found out that the "chief" in front of him was actually a "military master", and couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat - Qiu Ba has been the most difficult to offend since ancient times, and he couldn't explain why. "This is all because of the praise of his peers."
Look around again, it's on the street - what kind of way is this? Since the "chief" sees me, whether it's a few "instructions" to echo the story or a heart-to-heart talk, it has to be in the house, how can we talk on the street?
? However, he did not dare to ask any more questions, and he bent down and waited for instructions.
"Since you are the leader of the furnace room industry, the furnace room must be quite big."
Wu Xianlong was startled by these words. What kind of meaning did he say? Could it be that the thief Kun was interested in his furnace room? He couldn't figure out the direction of the "chief" in front of him, so he carefully considered the words and said: "The small furnace room
He is not the biggest in the local area, but he is just a few years old. He can be said to be more or less willing to be listened to by colleagues in the industry, so he was promoted to the leader of the meeting..."
"Even if there is a furnace room, please take me to take a look." Xi Yazhou said, "I heard that Foshan is famous for its smelting and casting. Come here today to take a look."
"Yes, yes." Wu Xianlong couldn't refuse, so he had to agree.
The furnace room for smelting copper and iron is different from the furnace room for gold and silver casting in big cities. It only needs a high roof and an open roof. Because the size of copper and iron castings is generally relatively large, it requires a lot of fuel, copper and iron materials and molding materials, so
There must be a large open space for operating and stacking materials. Therefore, furnace rooms are mostly located on the tidal flats where rivers used to flow. Firstly, the land price is cheap and secondly, water can be obtained nearby.
As the group headed south, Xi Yazhou saw that the buildings in this area began to become sparse, and the houses were not elegant. There were many long bamboo fences along the streets. Lin Ming said that these were furnace houses.
Looking through the gap in the bamboo fence, there are actually very few so-called furnace houses, only a few rooms. They are made of bricks and tiles - for fire protection, iron materials, charcoal and castings are piled up in large open spaces. In the middle of the open space stands a
Several iron-smelting furnaces and iron-melting furnaces of different sizes are now simmering on fire, slowly emitting smoke.
Xi Yazhou asked about the production situation, and Wu Hanlong took the opportunity to sigh: The war broke out, and land and water transportation was blocked, so business could not be done. Goods could not be shipped out, and iron materials and charcoal could not be transported in. Even if they wanted to start work, they could not
Dare to do it.
"...The furnace room can't work, and the craftsmen and servants don't have food to eat. If it weren't for the National Army guarding the place and the daily porridge provided by the meeting, these cunning and unscrupulous people would have gotten up to cause trouble and plunder."
Xi Yazhou was disgusted with their attitude towards the craftsmen, but he also knew that Shopkeeper Wu was not telling lies. The barriers and wariness between craftsmen and capitalists were completely naked.
"...Half of the people in our Foshan Fort eat this iron meal. This thing cannot be transported out. It cannot be eaten or worn. Everyone is very worried. Besides, there is not much food in the local area, so it is just enough to survive.
Just one or two months."
"You can rest assured that we will restore order and smooth roads soon. In less than ten days and a half, traffic in all counties in Guangzhou will be restored soon. Next, we will restore the main traffic in the province within three months.
," Xi Yazhou said, "You have to organize furnace owners to resume production as soon as possible."
"Yes." Wu Hanlong responded. He was a little surprised. He originally thought that the Australian Council of Elders, like the Ming Dynasty's bureaucrats, would just follow the story and say a few empty words. However, the chairman not only answered his question directly, but also made it clear that he needed days.
Don't be perfunctory or put on airs.
"With these words from the chief, the hearts of the little ones will be settled."
As he spoke, he had already arrived in front of the Wu family's furnace house. This house was no different from what he had seen before: a large tidal flat surrounded by bamboo fences, covering an area of seven or eight acres, with a small brick courtyard inside.
Standing at the door were two strong men with fierce faces and round waists, holding whistle sticks in their hands. Wu Hanlong said they were the guards he hired.
"How many nursing homes have you hired?" Xi Yazhou walked along the way and saw that almost every household had such nursing homes. He thought that the wealthy people here actually put a lot of money into their own safety!
"Seven or eight." Wu Hanlong said with a bitter smile, "If we talk about the expenses, it is really not small. But it can't be done without hiring. There are bandits and bandits outside, and the craftsmen and servants are not easy to deal with. It doesn't count if they call for a break at every turn.
If there is a reason, they get up and cause trouble."
When the steward of the furnace room saw his boss coming back, he hurried out to greet him. When he saw another "True Kun" coming, he was so frightened that he quickly knelt down and kowtowed.
Wu Hanlong motioned for him to go down: "Make tea for the chief and Lin... liaison officer."
"There's no need to make tea. Just show me the furnace room."