Chapter 757

The miners holding shovels snapped out of their shock and immediately pushed the cart forward, beginning to shovel rocks into a massive elliptical strange furnace.

This thing was made of fired clay, but the contents inside were strange, and the exterior was strange too.

It hung suspended in midair, held by two clay pillars, with wheel-like devices on top.

When the ore was poured in, Seeing Miao Zhen touched a mechanism at the top; the elliptical furnace flashed once, the front and rear lids rose, sealing the furnace perfectly, and light instantly spread across the entire column, followed by a gurgling sound as the iron blades inside spun rapidly, crunching and cracking the rocks.

Those waiting outside could clearly hear the sound of rocks shattering.

When it stopped, the lids opened, the column tilted, and the crushed stones spilled out—the rocks had been reduced to powder, with only a tiny fraction as large as a child's fist.

As the workers collected the crushed residue, they idly picked out those larger pieces and tossed them aside, smashing them into chunks with a heavy hammer.

The workers poured the crushed residue into another horseshoe-shaped furnace.

Beneath it was a specially built hearth, already fired and heated; after being heated, the residue emerged split into two types—one high-grade, one low-grade.

This was the first trial, and to ensure success, Pan Yun and the others were present the entire time.

By the time Kuang Ping arrived upon hearing the news, it was already the next morning, and the ore had passed through several stages and reached its final step.

This production line split into two paths: one extended outward for silver refining by the ash-blowing method, the other for mercury amalgamation and retorting.

The molten silver flowed into molds, gradually taking shape by afternoon.

Kuang Ping stared blankly as the workers hammered out the silver bricks and laid them one by one on stone platforms.

He asked dully: "How long did it take to smelt this?"

Pan Yun: "Since work never stopped at night, it took twelve hours."

"How much manpower was consumed?"

Pan Yun's lips curled slightly: "Twenty people."

"Including those crushing the rocks?"

Pan Yun nodded: "Including those crushing the rocks."

Kuang Ping murmured: "It can save so much manpower…"

He had already planned to submit a memorial to the imperial court, requesting workers be sent over—for both mining and smelting, vast numbers of laborers were needed.

Mining was brutal, so he planned to ask the court for two thousand convicts, thinking the empire's places of exile could now offer more options.

For the most vicious criminals, there was no need to keep sending them to Datong and Lingnan—why not send them to Japan too?

He had already written the memorial, when Pan Yun presented this device…

Kuang Ping was calculating how many workers he could reduce.

Pan Yun glanced at him and said: "My lord Kuang, you're not thinking of reducing the number of men assigned, are you?"

Kuang Ping replied: "Convicts sent here must be escorted by soldiers, and additional guards are needed here—if this device can replace manpower…"

"The Emperor doesn't want just ten or twenty thousand taels of silver, nor even a hundred or two hundred thousand—he wants one to two million. Do you think how much manpower that will require?"

Kuang Ping fell silent.

Pan Yun said: "We will need to transfer workers from within the empire, but not all from within—Japanese can be hired too. Pay them well, treat them generously. I believe people will come to mine."

Kuang Ping hesitated: "But…" "Can the silver mountain be hidden forever?" Pan Yun said: "By the way, has the imperial envoy's delegation arrived in Japan yet?"

They arrived long ago—Yang Shan had not only arrived but met the nine-year-old shogun and behind him, Oda.

He is Japan's current de facto representative.

Unlike before, this time Yang Shan came with a large army; upon landing, they nearly clashed with Japan, for over the past few years, Japan had been profoundly disrespectful to Great Ming: last time they came to Jingcheng to pay tribute, they received abundant gifts, yet at Quanzhou, they still pretended to be bandits, looting civilians and seizing vast wealth before fleeing.

Great Ming deeply despised Japan, and thus, the biennial tribute, once scheduled, was never actively pursued—Great Ming repeatedly refused Japan's requests to send tribute.

Because of these tensions, Japanese soldiers once believed Great Ming had come to wage war—especially since last year, Japanese had raided and burned Great Ming's territory, and this year, Great Ming's people had stormed Japan to do the same.

Pan Yun's raid on the Uesugi clan had spread throughout all of Japan.

The Uesugi were one of the shogunate's key ministers, and the shogunate's soldiers were deeply resentful; now, seeing the Great Ming envoy, their eyes burned with fury.

Yang Shan's anger burned even hotter—he immediately berated the nine-year-old shogun, then fixed his gaze on Oda and demanded: "Japan has repeatedly incited its people to kill and plunder subjects of the Celestial Empire—do you intend to rebel?"

Oda, aware of the shogunate's unstable situation, knew that despite the strait separating them, he didn't believe Great Ming's army could truly cross over—but he still wished to avoid conflict, so he lowered his eyes, speaking on behalf of the shogun to pacify Yang Shan, claiming the raids were the work of pirates, not the shogunate's doing, and that they too were innocent.

Yet the pirates raided because they deeply admired Celestial Empire culture—its silk, tea, and porcelain.

Precisely because they loved them so much, and Great Ming restricted exports, they resorted to theft.

Even Yang Shan, seasoned and worldly, was so infuriated he laughed bitterly.

When Pan Yun asked, Yang Shan was currently quarreling with Japan's rulers inside the shogunate.

He had come with a mission.

Didn't Japan always crave Great Ming's silk, tea, and porcelain?

Fine—open your ports!

But these ports won't be opened casually—how could the glorious Middle Kingdom open its ports just because Japanese pirates stole from it?

It is solely because the Emperor pities the people of this vassal state that he has specially granted permission to open them.

So, shouldn't your vassal state show some gratitude?

Yang Shan demanded Oda open several seaports, exempting Great Ming merchants from tariffs, and stationing troops at one of them.

The ports Pan Yun intended to submit to the court—Zhang Weigang and Onsen Jintinggang—were merely the imperial court's second choice.

They could have demanded one first, and only mentioned these if refused.

But according to the blueprints Xue Shao brought back, Onsen Jintinggang is indeed very close to the silver mountain—yes, this port cannot be ceded; it must be controlled.

Besides seaports, Yang Shan also demanded Oda grant them a plot of land to station Great Ming officials handling Japanese pirates and maritime trade.

Yes, the Emperor thought Japan was too chaotic.

Yang Shan stated that Japanese pirates ran rampant precisely because Japan was divided north and south—with two courts, daimyo attacking each other, and civilians displaced—hence the proliferation of pirates.

The Emperor not only loves his own subjects but also pities the people of foreign lands, so he has decided to send envoys to mediate, assist the Ashikaga shogunate in governing the region, and prevent further large-scale pirate raids.

Oda strongly opposed it—Japan, though nominally a vassal of Great Ming, had always been independent, even deciding the succession of its rulers without Great Ming's approval—how could it allow Great Ming to interfere in its internal affairs?

But the nine-year-old general immediately agreed the moment Yang Shan spoke.

Shibata: … (End of Chapter)