Chapter 753: Temptation

Xue Hua and the others spent this period surveying and marked several convenient mining sites.

Kuang Ping first led the Ministry of Works' craftsmen to select one site and began mining.

Then Wang Cong chose his own.

Xue Hua and the rest divided up the remaining mining sites among themselves.

Those who arrived with the ship immediately claimed their own power points and began mining with loud clangs, while also assigning personnel to build smelting furnaces.

Pan Yun gave everyone ample time to prepare, so all had craftsmen capable of smelting.

As for the independent miners, lacking the ability to smelt, they began contacting various factions, planning to sell the mined silver to them or entrust them with smelting, then split the refined silver by agreed proportions.

Only Kuang Ping, representing the imperial court, refused; all other factions agreed.

Thus, the Ishii Silver Mountain began clanging and clattering with mining activity.

To avoid detection by local villagers, they deliberately chose mining sites deep within the mountains.

Villagers at the mountain's base occasionally heard the sound of hammering stone, but assumed they were quarrying rock for temple construction, unaware it was mining.

Pan Yun selected an auspicious day and brought out the three divine statues from the spiritual realm, placing them atop three massive boulders halfway up the mountain.

She tied red cloth around them, and all the Daoist Priests from the Academy changed into Daoist robes to perform the opening ritual for the statues.

Not only did villagers come to watch, but the monks from the Qing Shui Temple on the opposite hill also came over to observe.

After the red cloth was unveiled and the statues' eyes painted, the monks joined the crowd in paying respects, then crowded around Pan Yun: "Master Pan, I heard that in your homeland, Buddhism and Daoism are one and the same—is that true?"

"Indeed, there are many shared principles," Pan Yun said. "The Great Dao is one, but the paths to it differ, hence their varied expressions."

The monks hoped Pan Yun would teach them, letting them experience the Dao of the scholars from the superior land.

Pan Yun was only too happy to oblige, summoning all the Daoist Priests in the group to take turns debating the Dao with the monks.

Today they held their discussions halfway up the mountain beneath the Three Pure Ones; tomorrow they would go to the temple across the way.

After some time, everyone stopped noticing the clanging from the mountain, instead focusing entirely on the Dao debates—even attracting monks and Shinto priests from other parts of the island, and even from Kyushu, who came specifically to witness them.

Masuda Shintaro stared in astonishment as the bustling village of Omori grew ever more lively.

Xue Shao said: "Given time, this area could become a major town, even a city. Masuda-kun, haven't your Masuda family long desired to possess a city?"

Masuda Shintaro's gaze flickered; he suppressed his excitement and said: "But Omori Village has little flat land and much mountain, and access is far less convenient than Onsen Jintinggang. To build a city here…"

Xue Shao said: "During my idle days, I wandered the surrounding area repeatedly and discovered that from another path in Omori Village to Onsen Jintinggang, it's only about five li. If we clear that road, the city can be built on your Masuda clan's land, with Onsen Jintinggang lying just outside its walls, and Omori Village serving as its suburb."

Masuda Shintaro paused, then said: "But there's a mountain between them…"

"Just a small hill," Pan Yun put down her teacup and took over. "I can brew gunpowder. With gunpowder, we can blast through the mountain—half the effort, double the result. Once leveled, the land can be divided for farming. Then, Masuda-kun, you won't hesitate to part with the mountain's land, will you?"

When they met again, Pan Yun had been negotiating land purchases with Masuda Shintaro. He had already gifted her the mountain, but with so many people here, they still needed to buy arable land for cover.

Yet Masuda Shintaro refused to sell.

Xue Shao urged beside her: "Masuda-kun, you've seen it yourself—farming doesn't bring much profit; commerce does. If we open the road to Onsen Jintinggang, monks and Shinto priests from everywhere will come more easily. Build fewer shops and inns here, and they'll have no choice but to stay in Onsen Jintinggang or your Masuda clan's land. Add to that the merchants drawn by Haigang's prosperity… Masuda-kun, people bring wealth. With both people and wealth, a city won't be far off."

Unlike Great Ming, where every county is a city, here, clan settlements are merely large villages.

The Masuda clan serves under the Yamana clan, governing this vast territory, yet the population is scattered across small hamlets.

The largest village here is the Masuda clan's own.

To Pan Yun and Xue Shao, they resemble the wubao system prevalent during the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

Coincidentally, Japan is currently in its Northern and Southern Dynasties period.

Turning a wubao into a city is no easy task—it requires people, wealth, and military strength; only when all are present can a city slowly take shape.

The Uesugi clan once developed this way, eventually threatening the Yamana clan.

As one of the Yamana clan's most trusted vassals, could Masuda Shintaro have never dreamed of becoming like the Uesugi, replacing the Yamana?

That was impossible.

A soldier who doesn't wish to be a general isn't a good soldier; a vassal who doesn't wish to replace his lord isn't a good vassal.

Masuda Shintaro aspired to become the foremost vassal under heaven.

Xue Shao whispered: "Masuda-kun, how long would it take to accumulate people and wealth through farming? The Uesugi clan grew fastest when they took to the seas as pirates and intervened in Japan's maritime trade."

Now, you have even better conditions—you need not commit the crimes of piracy, yet you can accumulate wealth equal to theirs. With Great Ming as your backing, how much wealth and population could you not amass?"

Pan Yun promptly pushed a cup of tea toward him and said softly: "Masuda-kun, one must look far ahead."

Masuda Shintaro lifted the teacup and drained it in one gulp, making his decision: "Fine! I'll build this road!"

Thus, they began selling gunpowder to Masuda Shintaro, and Pan Yun's mining team openly began using gunpowder as well.

Wang Cong saw this and realized making gunpowder was even more profitable than refining silver. He urged Pan Yun: "Little Xiao Shishu, bring my junior brothers and sisters here. For making gunpowder, Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He are absolute masters—they're better than me. Let them come to earn some pocket money. Don't let the profits go to outsiders."

Pan Yun: "You're good at ordering people around."

She calculated with her fingers and realized she had been here twenty days. She asked: "How much silver have you refined?"

Wang Cong said: "Together with the Ministry of Works' mine, we've refined over nine thousand eight hundred taels."

Pan Yun frowned: "That's far too little."

Wang Cong: "... Little Xiao Shishu, shouldn't you go see Kuang Ping? Look how thrilled he is. He says last year, Yunnan produced barely over fifty thousand taels of silver in a full year—we've nearly reached ten thousand in just twenty days."

Pan Yun: "Given the richness of the Ishii Silver Mountain, this output is still too low. In short, mining volume is insufficient, and smelting capacity is inadequate."

"True—not only is smelting capacity insufficient, the purity is also poor. Ultimately, the techniques are too crude; many ores haven't been fully refined." Wang Cong admitted this.

Hearing this, Pan Yun immediately felt pained: "Not fully refined? How could they not fully refine them? I'll go take a look."

Wang Cong led her to see.