Chapter 1092: Copper Shortage

After the meeting, Johann Adam Schall von Bell and his fellow missionaries were confined to the firearms works area. That entire section of the firearms works had been completely sealed off. Aside from Louis, his master and servant, and Old Mai, all other foreigners were strictly forbidden from leaving the area.

Yet this house-arrest-like existence was not harsh. The food and lodging were quite excellent, and the surroundings were very clean. What Schall and the others found hard to get used to, however, was being questioned every single day — about the situation in Europe, about the knowledge they possessed, about everything and anything they knew. Though the questioning was conducted very politely, someone was recording it at all times, which constantly reminded the clergymen of courtrooms and prison interrogations.

During this tedious question-and-answer process, the clergymen could clearly sense that whenever they spoke of their knowledge of astronomy and mathematics, their interrogators were often impatient, but the moment they mentioned firearms manufacture and mechanics, the men across from them immediately grew interested.

The single most uncomfortable thing for the clergymen was that Louis, who came from Europe and shared their faith, showed not the slightest sense of being a fellow countryman and brother in Christ. He took part in the questioning many times, and his tone was even harsher than that of the Han people here in Xuzhou, showing no mercy whatsoever.

Their guide Liu Wei, who had traveled with them from Macau, was of little help. In his own words, the Xuzhou before their eyes now seemed otherworldly — nothing at all like the Xuzhou he remembered or had heard tales of. Perhaps the officials from the Great Ming who had come from the capital would know more, but they had not seen those officials even once since arriving in Xuzhou.

Had those officials been expelled? Or placed under house arrest? When the clergymen discussed this among themselves in private, all sorts of conjectures arose, though they all avoided contemplating the worst possible outcome.

Schall and the clergymen traveling with him did not know — nor did the officials and others captured alongside them — that after they left Qingjiangpu, on the section of the Grand Canal north of Qingjiangpu, somewhere between Qinghe County and Taoyuan County, several grain tribute boats had capsized.

This section of the canal was also the northern terminus of winter grain transport, for beyond Siyang the canal was already frozen solid. The river water at this time of year was not deep, but the people on the boats were unlucky — all of them drowned in the river.

The tribute soldiers and transport troops on the boats, perhaps fearing punishment, had vanished without a trace before the sunken boats were even discovered. Heaven knows where they fled to. The Jiangbei region of South Zhili was the home base of these tribute soldiers; they covered for one another. Finding them was hopeless, and offending the Tribute Office would be an even greater disaster.

When it came to cases on the canal, the yamen of Qinghe and Taoyuan counties would scramble over ones with profit in them, while shirking and passing the buck on those without. This time, however, with several dozen floating corpses in the canal and not much in the way of valuables, the constables of both counties were surprisingly efficient.

One by one, the floating corpses were fished out, and the cannons sunk in the river were also hauled up. Seeing those iron monsters weighing several thousand catties, everyone more or less guessed the cause of the capsizing.

Grain tribute boats have a high center of gravity, and during that period the Jiangbei region of South Zhili was experiencing strong winds. Most likely, a gust of wind made the tribute boat rock. With those several-thousand-catty cannons on board, once the rocking grew too violent there was no way to stop it. The momentum became too fierce, and the people on the boat had no time to react. Judging by the looks of those on board, none of them likely knew how to swim. It was already fortunate that the tribute laborers and boatmen managed to escape.

As for why the other boats capsized too, nine times out of ten it was because the wind and waves were so strong that the boats collided, leading to this dreadful tragedy. It was truly too pitiful to behold.

After the tribute boats were righted, they were moored at the bank. The two great cannons were also dragged ashore, where a shed was erected on the spot and guarded by local militia. Quite a few commoners came to gawk at the novelty, clicking their tongues in amazement — that cannons could be this huge. What couldn't you do with all that iron, they said; why go to the wasteful trouble of making these?

As for the corpses, they caused an even greater sensation across both counties. There were actually foreign barbarians from across the ocean — those barbarians with high noses and deep-set eyes who looked almost like demons and monsters. Though the bodies had bloated from soaking in the water, you could still tell them apart. Didn't these barbarians believe in some god or other of their own? And didn't they forbid people from making offerings to their ancestors and the like? Well, retribution had caught up with them this time.

By rights, in the cold of winter, corpses could be preserved for a long time while waiting for the coroner and criminal investigators from the superior yamen to arrive. But then another strange thing happened. The militia guarding the corpses insisted that the bodies of those barbarians had undergone a corpse transformation, and that the other drowning victims looked peculiar as well.

Once this news spread, Qinghe County and Taoyuan County were instantly thrown into an uproar. They were supposed to be enjoying the New Year in peace — how could they let these foreign demons and monsters bring them ill fortune? Moreover, once a corpse transformation occurred, if those several dozen fiends and monsters started running amok, a great calamity would befall the region. The nearest ritual master would have to be summoned from Cloud Mountain Temple in Xuzhou — distant water could not quench a nearby thirst. The most effective method was to burn all those corpses in one great fire; once reduced to ashes, they could never cause trouble again.

Since barbarians were involved, and it was said that among the fished-out Great Ming subjects there were some wearing official robes, this case was of the utmost gravity. Not to mention the Grand Coordinator of Fengyang, even the Nanjing Ministry of Justice might very well send someone. But with the local populace seething with righteous indignation, who could stand against such momentum?

Besides, these were all fellow villagers and neighbors, and this corpse transformation business directly affected their own turf. The constables and runners put up only a half-hearted resistance, and some even secretly lent a hand.

And so, after all this back and forth, the shed where the corpses lay was piled high with firewood and kindling and set ablaze until nothing remained. To ensure the monsters were thoroughly eradicated, they even poured oil over it. The raging inferno burned everything to ashes.

The local authorities made no attempt to conceal any of this. The entire sequence of events was clearly laid out in official dispatches. Whether the Huai'an Prefecture, the Grand Coordinator of Fengyang, the Nanjing Ministry of Justice, or even the relevant bureaus from the capital came to investigate, the story remained the same: the corpses, along with their clothing and luggage, had all been reduced to ashes; the boats and cannons remained.

After the news traveled south and north and went through a fair amount of twists and turns, the capital finally confirmed that this was the party sent to Macau to purchase cannons. All the dispatched officials and eunuchs were dead — this was indeed somewhat suspicious. But strange and bizarre occurrences were far too common in the provinces, and with everything burned to ashes, there was no way to investigate too deeply. And truth be told, the tribute boats were still there, and it could be verified that this party had hired them in Hangzhou. The cannons were still there — cannons didn't have to worry about being soaked in water — and once transported to the capital, they could be replicated and put into actual combat as quickly as possible.

In the official dispatches, and in the eyes of the officials who came to inspect, both of these cannons were simply great cannons. No one noticed that the two cannons on site were twelve-pounders — and flawed, failed twelve-pounders at that. The smoothness and depth of their barrels were both substandard. But these were things that no one without expert knowledge could possibly discern.

Since the cannons were still there, they had to continue being transported to the capital. It was said that many in the inner court eunuch staff and the Ministry of War were quite regretful — if the cannons had vanished as well, everyone could have made another purchasing trip, seizing yet another opportunity to line their pockets.

"These foreign monks know quite a few things we don't, but nothing earth-shattering — a few tricks, a few insights, a few improvements. But Louis and the others say these foreign monks understand calculation, which will be of great benefit to our works in the future, and they can teach classes for our student-workers." Regarding the arrival of Schall and his party, Xu Housheng did not think it was anything particularly special.

"Those two eighteen-pounder long guns are truly of great use. Now that we know the dimensions and specifications, we can make our own clay molds and cast them according to this pattern. This will be tremendously useful! Listening to these foreign monks, the seagoing ships of their countries carry even larger cannons — we can find ways to make those too." Xu Housheng's appraisal of the two captured eighteen-pounder long guns was extremely high.

Hearing Xu Housheng speak of this, the faces of the several men in the room were all wreathed in smiles. Zhao Jin nodded. Below him, Meng Zhiqi, the deputy commander of the Firearms Regiment, was grinning so wide his mouth nearly split open. Ji Xiang and Zhang Hubin were both smiling as well.

The only one not smiling was Wang Zhaojing. He pondered for a moment, then said, "Right now, the firearms works has an enormous demand for copper. Everywhere in the Jiangbei region of South Zhili, one tael of silver can only be exchanged for a little over six hundred copper cash — the price has been driven up entirely by our purchasing. If we are to build more cannons, we still need to consider buying more copper material. The other day I discussed this with Mister Cao, and Mister Zhou also wrote to say that if we continue concentrating copper coinage at this rate, the markets in Xuzhou, Yutou Town, and Qingjiangpu will likely see turmoil. The exchange ratio between silver and copper cash is growing wider and wider. If we could use iron for casting cannons, that would save a tremendous amount."

Although Wang Zhaojing held the post of Chief Steward, he had been deeply involved in every aspect of Cloud Mountain Trading and the estates from the very beginning, and his understanding of economic principles ran deep.

The Xu family of Jingshan dealt in coal and iron in bulk, but produced no copper. Yet the larger the caliber of the cannon, the more it needed to be cast from bronze. A single cannon weighed several thousand catties — the sheer quantity consumed was easy to imagine.

Moreover, the firearms works of the Zhao Camp was different from anywhere else. In addition to production, it also conducted extensive trial manufacturing, which consumed even more bronze.

Although bronze was not produced locally, the raw material was easy enough to find. One simply collected the copper cash circulating in the market and smelted it down. By offering a slightly higher price, one could amass a great deal of it, especially in a place like Qingjiangpu where wealth and goods converged.

But now the Zhao Camp's consumption was simply too enormous, and the Great Ming itself minted insufficient coinage to begin with. This copper cash still needed to circulate in the marketplace. Cloud Mountain Trading could only acquire copper cash by continuously raising the price, which in turn caused the market ratio of silver to copper cash to rise incessantly, threatening to affect normal business everywhere.

Hearing Wang Zhaojing's words, Xu Housheng gave a dry chuckle and continued, "Third Brother needn't worry about that. The Zhao Family Furnace has already begun production. Our own master craftsmen and those foreigners have all examined the iron stock and say it's top-grade material — it can be used for casting cannons. Guns of six pounds and under can use this."

Wang Zhaojing shook his head and said gravely, "Cannons are vital instruments of the state and military — their manufacture must not be delayed. I am merely saying we must consider the matter of copper supplies. Even the men on the tribute boats now know that bringing copper cash to our Qingjiangpu to exchange for silver has become a rather profitable business. It is very difficult to purchase copper in bulk anywhere in the Great Ming; we can only collect copper cash and bronze utensils. Those copper mines are all in the hands of the government — not easy for us to deal with."

"This is a matter of great importance. Assign it to all our departments that deal with the outside world. Have everyone search. We can disregard a higher price for this," Zhao Jin said solemnly. Wang Zhaojing acknowledged the order and swiftly noted it down on paper.

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