Chapter 60: Miners

In front of the county yamen treasury, the clerk in charge of money and grain, Chen Decheng, had men carry out the tax silver from the storehouse box by box.

Then, holding the account book, he walked up to County Magistrate Lu and said softly, "Sir, the newly collected tax silver in the storehouse and the sum allocated by the prefecture are all here. Together they total 13,200 taels and some.

Here is the account book; please review and affix your seal."

County Magistrate Lu's cheek twitched slightly. He took the account book, and without even looking at it, pressed his seal onto it. Then he raised a hand and ordered the Green Standard soldiers who had long been waiting, "Take it all away."

"Zha!"

The red-eyed Green Standard soldiers roared in response and rushed at the silver chests like wolves and tigers. Three to five men to a chest, they carried all the silver out to the three horse carts waiting outside.

As the Green Standard soldiers were carrying the silver, Chen Decheng still felt uneasy and said in a low voice to County Magistrate Lu, "Sir, with this much silver, if the prefecture investigates, it will be hard to account for."

County Magistrate Lu turned his gaze to Clerk Chen's face and asked him, "When the rebel army attacks the city, does this county need to organize able-bodied men to defend the walls?"

"Naturally it does."

"And should those able-bodied men on the walls be rewarded with silver?"

"Only with generous rewards will there be brave men. The reward silver is of course indispensable."

"In that case, the destination of this silver is clear. What is so hard to account for if the prefecture asks? Could this silver possibly matter more than the gain or loss of Deqing city?"

After County Magistrate Lu finished speaking, he shifted his gaze to the three horse carts. No trace of emotion showed on his face, but the look in his eyes as he watched the silver was somewhat hard to read.

The carts had just reached the city gate when Tang Sanshui's personal guard Jia Da jumped down excitedly. "Sir, the brothers have brought the silver!"

"How much is there?" Tang Sanshui, who had been sitting, sprang up nervously.

"13,200 taels, plus the 5,000 taels sent earlier — 18,200 taels in all!" As he said the figure, Jia Da's eyes gleamed, and he looked utterly radiant.

That much?

That much silver actually made Tang Sanshui's heart thump, and he felt somewhat uneasy. But then greed overcame him, and he hardened his heart: Since I've already done it, what is there to fear? The more silver, the better, of course!

After circling the three horse carts once, Tang Sanshui decisively ordered Jia Da, "Send one of the carts back to the county yamen."

Hearing this, Jia Da was stunned. "We just brought it back — why send it back again?"

Tang Sanshui glanced at him and said meaningfully, "In this world, those who hog everything come to no good end. When benefits are shared, everyone has a share — and then no one has a share. Understand?"

Jia Da suddenly understood and chuckled. "This humble subordinate understands. I'll take men and deliver it right away!"

Tang Sanshui grunted in acknowledgment and added, "Do it quietly. Don't let anyone see."

"Rest assured, sir. This humble subordinate will make sure the matter is done without a soul knowing!" Without another word, Jia Da called two soldiers and, under cover of night, sent one of the carts back again.

After standing there thinking for a moment, Tang Sanshui raised a hand and beckoned the soldiers below the city gate over. He said to them, "Carry down two chests and take them back to share among the brothers."

"Many thanks for the Battalion Commander's reward!"

The Green Standard soldiers all cheered and scrambled onto the cart, hauling down two large chests. Good heavens, they were heavy — probably over 2,000 taels. Each man would get more than ten taels!

After arranging for the soldiers to take the two chests of silver away, another of Tang Sanshui's trusted subordinates, Song Qian, came to ask for instructions. "Sir, shall we send the 5,000 taels to the Ming army as well?"

Tang Sanshui glared. "Send what? Find a few reliable men and haul it to my residence."

Song Qian was taken aback, then quickly responded, "Zha!"

"All 118 prisoners from the jail have been delivered to your esteemed army. In addition, more than 600 people were seized in the city. At last, the number of people has been made up!"

"More than 600 people seized?"

Zhou Shixiang was somewhat surprised. Tang Sanshui really was bold — he had simply seized the residents of Deqing and handed them over to him. Wasn't he afraid someone would report him?

The messenger saw Zhou Shixiang's puzzlement and hurriedly explained, "General, rest assured. Those seized were all refugees from other places who had fled famine.

The locals have never gotten along with these outsiders. When they saw my master send troops to arrest them, they were only too happy — how could they cry out on their behalf?

Besides, my master arrested them in the name of colluding with the bandits... oh, no, I mean, in the name of preventing enemy spies from your esteemed army among them. That being the case, no one dares to gossip."

Zhou Shixiang smiled. He did not care how Tang Sanshui did it, as long as he got the job done. Then he asked the messenger, "And the silver?"

The messenger hesitated, then said, "My master told me to ask the General: does the General want all silver, or all grain, or half and half?"

"What, does your Deqing Green Standard have a great deal of grain?"

"Not all that much, but last month a batch of military grain arrived from the prefecture. It's piled up and might go moldy..."

"Go tell your master this: if he has grain, I'll take it. I won't take advantage of him either — I'll pay market price. In addition, if he can also provide some military equipment, the price is negotiable."

"Very well, this humble one will go back and report at once!" Seeing how easy Zhou Shixiang was to deal with, the messenger could not help relaxing.

Zhou Shixiang, however, gestured for him not to rush off, and asked, "By the way, what about that County Magistrate Lu? Why hasn't he sent anyone to negotiate with me?"

"This..." The messenger hesitated for a moment, then said with some difficulty, "Magistrate Lu has caught a chill and is unwell. In any case, the General can surely understand the difficulties involved."

Zhou Shixiang smiled knowingly. "I understand. You may go back."

After the messenger left, Shao Jiugong arrived with several of his men and reported, "Commander, as you instructed, I had all the people checked over. A few may be of use."

"Which ones?"

"There's one called Tie Yi. He did blasting work at a mine. According to him, he can lay charges himself."

A miner, and he can lay charges?

Somehow, these two key words made Zhou Shixiang think of the Taiping Army of later ages. It seemed that many of the Taiping Army's main-force Guangxi veterans had been miners, and Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, also seemed to have come from a mining background.

Compared with ordinary folk, miners risked their lives year-round under near-death conditions, so their tolerance for the fear of death was far stronger than ordinary people's.

Their organization and discipline were also stronger than ordinary people's, and their physiques far surpassed those of ordinary people. If some miners could join the Taiping Camp, it would undoubtedly be a great boost to the camp's growth.

Moreover, miners also knew how to lay gunpowder. With a little adaptation, they would be the best combat engineers of this era.

At this thought, Zhou Shixiang grew eager and ordered Shao Jiugong, "Bring that Tie Yi over. I have questions for him."

Shao Jiugong immediately sent someone to fetch Tie Yi. While waiting, he gave Zhou Shixiang a rough account of how Tie Yi had gotten into trouble.

Hearing that the man had killed someone to avenge his dead master, Zhou Shixiang could not help sighing inwardly. This man was somewhat similar to himself — only not as wretched as he was.