Chapter 159: Mining Operations; Han Chao

The silver ore reserves are nearly three hundred tons — that is a total of several million taels of white silver. However, compared to later ages, the Great Ming’s mining capacity at present is low, the extraction techniques are complex, and it still requires a huge input of labor. Extracting and smelting it is no easy matter.

Especially in the current situation, if Wang Dou wants to smelt white silver, he must take a great risk. The Great Ming’s controls over iron, coal, and similar mines are relatively lax, but its controls over gold, silver, copper, and similar mines are extremely strict. The extraction of gold, silver, and such mines has always been handled by the Ministry of Revenue and the Chief Surveillance Bureau sending special personnel to manage the silver tax. As a mere Garrison Commander, if he privately mines gold, silver, or such ores and someone with ill intent finds out and reports it, the charge would be enormous.

Therefore, although Wang Dou had long known that these several silver mines existed within the borders of Bao’an Department, he had hesitated to act until he was promoted to Garrison Commander and possessed a certain strength, and the pressure of silver and funds became extreme. Wang Dou had no choice — this risk, he had to take whether he wanted to or not.

Wang Dou remembered that some of the Great Ming’s rich mines could produce around thirty thousand taels of white silver annually. If he managed it well, over the course of a year, the Shangjinggou and other sites could probably yield ten to twenty thousand taels of white silver. Even if it were only ten thousand taels of white silver a year, a steady and continuous supply would still be an enormous fortune that could solve many of Wang Dou’s difficulties. This risk was worth taking.

Hearing Wang Dou’s words, Han Chao was also greatly startled: “A silver mine?”

His voice even trembled slightly. Han Chao of course knew what privately mining a silver mine meant. Although he did not know how the Garrison Commander had learned that Xiangguang, Shangjinggou, and other places held silver mines, the fact that his lordship entrusted such a momentous matter to him fully demonstrated Wang Dou’s trust in him. He clasped his fists and bowed, saying, “My lord, rest assured — even if it be a mountain of blades or a sea of flames, your subordinate will handle this matter well for you.”

Looking at Han Chao, Wang Dou nodded with satisfaction. Han Chao had followed him from the earliest days and was steady and calm by nature — entrusting this matter to him was indeed choosing the right man. If it were Han Zhong, Gao Shiyin, or the others, they would have jumped up the moment they heard this news. Wang Dou did not doubt their loyalty, but their temperaments made them incapable of handling such an important matter.

Wang Dou gave him detailed instructions: “Go to Shunxiang Fort. Seek out the master craftsman Li Maosen and have him bring some men to go with you to survey the area.”

……

Han Chao took his orders and departed, and was gone for over ten days. It was not until the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month that he returned to Bao’an Department city. Accompanying him were the master craftsman Li Maosen, the old craftsman Wu Shihuan, and others. The group was travel-worn, their faces dark and gaunt, covered with cracks split open by wind and snow — ample proof of the hardships of their survey.

Han Chao reported to Wang Dou that he had already led men to verify the facts: at Xiangguang in Huiyao Fort and Shangjinggou in Luanzhuang of Wubao within Bao’an Department, several silver mines were indeed distributed. These places were desolate and uninhabited, sufficient to allow quiet mining without attracting attention.

Next, the old craftsman Wu Shihuan explained the circumstances of the ore search over those days. All told, Wu Shihuan had followed Wang Dou since the eighth year of Chongzhen, and his interests were now tightly bound to Wang Dou. At present, he was in charge of various civil engineering matters at Shunxiang Fort, mainly leading the various craftsman households in building irrigation waterwheels and such. Over the past two years, he had accumulated a considerable family fortune, even wealthier than some military officers, and was among the first group of craftsman households to become prosperous. Seeing his example, the various craftsman households were all brimming with confidence — if Master Craftsman Wu could live a good life, so could they.

Two years had passed, and Wu Shihuan’s hair had grown whiter, but his voice was still like a great bell and his spirit hale and hearty. He could be considered an all-round talent — weapon forging, civil engineering, ore prospecting and mining — he was proficient in everything. When Han Chao secretly sought out Li Maosen, Li Maosen then found Wu Shihuan. The two, knowing the gravity of this matter, each selected their most trusted close kin and nephews from among the craftsman households to accompany Han Chao to Xiangguang and other places to search for ore and survey. The matter had finally yielded results.

Wang Dou rewarded Li Maosen and Wu Shihuan with a chair to sit on each, stirring gratitude in their hearts. Though the Garrison Commander’s position was gradually rising in rank and authority, he remained just as he had been at Jingbian Fort and Shunxiang Fort — so amiable toward them, his subordinates, and now even entrusting them with heavy responsibilities. Both men harbored the thought of dying for one who truly knew their worth.

Wu Shihuan said, “My lord, the humble ones followed Battalion Commander Han to the places you mentioned — Xiangguang, Shangjinggou, and others — to survey. There are indeed silver mines there, but the ore veins in that area run slanting and crisscrossing like tree branches. Mining and smelting the silver will likely not be so easy, and I fear it will require a great deal of manpower.”

According to Wu Shihuan, the silver mines at Xiangguang and other places were not open-pit rich mines; they could only be worked mainly by underground mining, opening vertical shafts along the strike of the ore body.

He estimated that after some shafts were opened, the vertical depth could reach fifty zhang and the horizontal length could reach sixty zhang. Even some of the smaller shafts would likely need to be ten zhang deep. Moreover, this silver ore was mixed with a large amount of associated materials, such as lead and zinc, and smelting it into silver would require enormous effort.

Li Maosen also said, “This humble one has examined it. The grade of the silver ore in that area is not high; I estimate that eight dan of ore will yield only seven taels of silver. To smelt the ore into silver, one must pound and grind the ore into powder, then add lead into the furnace. The silver dissolves into the lead, and only then can the white silver be separated. The various labor hours involved are not few.”

A worried expression appeared on his face: “Places like Xiangguang are desolate and uninhabited. Although that can conceal things from prying eyes and ears, the local conditions for food and lodging are harsh. What this humble one fears most is the risk of mud and rock slides from the surrounding high ground.”

Li Maosen was responsible for forging the various military weapons at Shunxiang Fort. He and Wu Shihuan divided the work — one in charge of weapons, the other in charge of civilian implements. Among the craftsmen at Shunxiang Fort, he was even wealthier than Wu Shihuan and had already built a large mansion within Shunxiang Fort, making others endlessly envious. His interests, too, were tightly bound to Wang Dou.

He voiced his worries. Wang Dou pondered for a long while, then said, “The mining of the silver ore must proceed!”

He said to Wu Shihuan, “Master Wu, this silver mine matter shall be your responsibility. You will select the mining craftsmen. Their food, clothing, and rations will all be generously supplied by this official. They need only labor for a few years, and they will have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of their lives. To allow the miners to work with peace of mind, their families shall also all be gathered and moved to Xiangguang and the other sites.”

He looked at Wu Shihuan and smiled: “I hear that Master Wu has four sons, each with outstanding skill — a cause for celebration.”

Speaking of his several sons, Wu Shihuan also grinned from ear to ear.

Wang Dou said, “Starting next year, Shunxiang Fort will be establishing a woodworking factory, a logging camp, a stone quarry, a lime kiln, and other workshops. Your several sons can fully take charge of the operation of these factories and mines.”

Wu Shihuan was overjoyed and hastily bowed in thanks to Wang Dou.

Wang Dou said to Li Maosen, “Next year, Shunxiang Fort will likewise establish an arquebus and cannon factory, a gunpowder factory, an ironworks, and other workshops. Master Li, I have also decided to entrust the operation of these factories and mines to you to handle.”

Li Maosen was equally overjoyed and repeatedly knelt to kowtow to Wang Dou.

After seeing off Wu Shihuan and Li Maosen, Wang Dou said to Xie Yike, “Make a trip to Shunxiang Fort and summon Zhong Diaoyang here.”

……

Very soon it was New Year’s Eve, and a new year began.

On the sixth day of the first month of the tenth year of Chongzhen, Han Chao finally married. The bride was Mistress Zheng of the Wanshenghe Rice Shop in Bao’an Department city. Compared to two years ago, the Wanshenghe Rice Shop was now much larger in scale. The reason was that after Wang Dou led his troops to the department city, all the rice and grain he needed was purchased from Wanshenghe.

The food and drink for nearly a thousand troops under Wang Dou’s command alone was no small sum. Such a large customer base caused the scale of Wanshenghe Rice Shop to swell like an inflated balloon. Now, Wanshenghe had already opened several branch shops within the department city. To meet the grain and rice supply for these soldiers, the clerks of Wanshenghe Rice Shop bought grain everywhere, which also brought Wang Dou a great deal of intelligence from other regions.

Han Chao’s residence in the department city was located in Cheng’en Ward in the Xun corner of the city, not far from the residence of the Grain Supply Officer Zhang Gui. This mansion covered a considerable area, but Han Chao could afford the sum of silver. Like each of the battalion commanders beside Wang Dou, Han Chao had only been allocated one hundred fifty mu of farmland. Relying solely on income from the land, buying this mansion would probably not have been so easy.

Han Chao’s income mainly came from the distribution of rewards from killing enemies and seizing spoils. Wang Dou distributed rewards quite generously. Over these two years, he had not issued a single wen of grain pay, yet every time they suppressed bandits or killed enemies, many ordinary soldiers received silver in hand that alone matched a year’s grain pay for ordinary Ming troops. Officers received even more generous rewards. This made the soldiers of Shunxiang Fort different from Ming troops elsewhere — they all looked forward to going into battle to kill the enemy. It was by relying on these distributed rewards that Han Chao had the means to buy a house in the department city.

At this moment, his mansion was decked with lanterns and festoons, brimming with joy. From early morning, people offering congratulations came in an unending stream. Han Chao and Han Zhong, as brothers, were trusted subordinates of the Department City Garrison Commander Lord Wang, and both held the rank of Battalion Commander. Now that Han Chao was marrying, who would not want to use this opportunity to come and curry favor?

The Department City Grain Supply Officer Zhang Gui came; the Battalion Garrison Commander Tian Chang came; Squad Commander Wen Fangliang came; the Judicial Officer Chi Dacheng came. Also, a group of old acquaintances from Shunxiang Fort — Garrison Commander Lin Daofu came; Vice Battalion Commander Sun Sanjie came; Vice Battalion Commander Gao Shiyin also came. In addition, military officers from the various forts of Bao’an Department, and the local gentry and merchants from all around, all sent congratulatory gifts in succession, packing Han Chao’s residence to the brim.

Gao Shiyin, in particular — he had now actually become a relative by marriage to Han Chao. He had married Mistress Zheng’s third younger sister, Zheng Xiaoyun, as his wife, while Han Chao had married his own wife’s elder sister. What exactly his relationship to Han Chao was, Gao Shiyin could not quite sort out for the moment.

However, the moment he entered the house, he burst out laughing and said loudly, “Brother Han, my son is already running around, and you are only now taking a wife… Well, it’s not too late now either.”

He looked at Han Chao, dressed in the full regalia of a bridegroom, and commented in an elderly, self-important tone: “Not bad — now you finally look like a man with a family.”

Han Zhong stood beside his elder brother, also dressed very festively. Over the past few days, he had been bustling about inside and out, utterly exhausted and frazzled.

He lived together with his elder brother. With his elder brother marrying, he, as the younger brother, naturally had the inescapable duty to assist. At this moment, he glared and said, “Gao Manzi, you only married a year earlier than my elder brother, and you’re already using that lecturing tone?”

Gao Shiyin cried out, “Brother Han the Second, you’re not young anymore either — it’s time you started a family.”

Amidst the general laughter and merriment, Gao Xun stood quietly to one side. Lord Han’s wedding was a joyous occasion, and Han had also shown him the kindness of introduction. He had discussed it with his wife, Madam Tian, and gritted his teeth to prepare a gift. Though not lavish, it was a token of his regard.

At this moment, watching Han Chao’s face brimming with the pride of success, Gao Xun felt envy in his heart, and at the same time secretly swore: one day, he too would be like Lord Han, so proud and successful, and in the end, bestow titles upon his wife and children and bring glory to his ancestors.

※※※

Old White Ox:

Thank you all for your concern. I’m ashamed to say that my wife weighs ten jin more than I do. She tries desperately to lose weight but just can’t, while I try desperately to gain weight and just can’t either.

I reckon it’s because I smoke too much — three packs a day, sometimes four. A man supporting a family is tired. Last night I dreamed that I had quadruplet daughters again. Alas.