After breakfast, Bai Gui came to the waste mountain in the south, accompanied by his third brother-in-law and others.

The waste mountain to the south, the mountain is not very high. But! Rolling and steep, the mountains are steep. Because it is a waste mountain, plus it is in the north. So! The mountains are uninhabited.

If you can't survive, no one will come here to live and live in seclusion.

The south side of the mountain should belong to the territory of the Qin State. It's just that! Because it is barren, there is no human being. Although the area is large, it is wasteland. Just like the land of Zhongshan Guolan Gongzi, it is a waste land, and no one else wants to give it to others for nothing.

Furthermore! Because of the war, the population of the Qin State was very small.

The population of Zhoudi is already small, so! Those who survived chose a good place to live. A barren place, a place where the soil is not good and crops do not grow, there is no one to live in. Let alone! On the top of this mountain, there is no water except in the ravine.

Water is the source of life, and without it, no one wants to live here.

Because there are a lot of coal mines buried under the mountain, so! There is no water source on this mountain, and the water seeps into the ground. Because of this, the rivers here are seasonal. When spring comes, the snow and ice melt on the mountains, and for a while there is a source of water. In the rainy season, there is a source of water again. As soon as the rainy season is over, there is no water here.

The more this happened, the more certain Baekyu was that there must be abundant coal mines buried under the mountain.

It looks very close, but it walks far away. I saw that the mountain was not far ahead, but I walked for a long time before I came to the foot of the mountain.

The group did not ride again, but set aside the horses and sent someone to guard them. The others, all with digging tools, went up the mountain.

"Attention everyone! Our eyes shine a little, and where there is black soil and black sand, we will go. Where grass doesn't grow and no shrubs grow, we go. And then! Find a suspicious place to excavate! Bai Gui waved his arm and commanded.

"White officials! We get it! We'll look for coal mines! The third brother-in-law and the others agreed.

Most of the people in Luyuan went to the mountains to dig coal. However, because the road is too far and the transportation is not convenient, not everyone comes to dig coal.

The crowd spread out from the shape of the fan, and a few of them began to dig up before they had walked a few dozen steps. Under the leadership of a few people, everyone worked hard.

Bai Gui was no exception, when he came to the bottom of a slope, he saw that the ground seemed to be full of waste cinders, so he started digging.

It's a pity! After tossing for more than half an hour, I dug up the rock below, confirmed that it was not coal, and had to give up.

Others are the same, either digging into rocks or silting soil, but they find nothing.

Tossed several more places, but there was no gain. Seeing this, several of Bai Gui's guards lost their patience.

Bai Gui is also in a hurry, but what's the use of being in a hurry?

This! He was determined that he would not return to Zhou until he found the coal mine. If you don't find the coal mine, you won't leave Linquan Castle. If the coal mine is not found, the smelting plan and the copper casting plan will be frustrated.

After lunch and a short rest, everyone began to look for it again.

"Don't worry, everyone! Don't rush! Where did you deer park people dig up the charcoal before? We're looking for terrain like that, too. Anyway! Where there is black sand on the ground, where there are black stones, there should be an open-pit coal mine! Let's not rush! I'm here to spend a few months. Believe! You'll find it. ”

Bai Gui said that he was not in a hurry, but in fact, he was more anxious than anyone else.

It's not just about finding the mine, it's about where the mine is. If the coal mine is too far away from Linquan, deep in the mountains, or on the top of the mountains, it is not convenient to transport it back.

He hoped that somewhere at the foot of the mountain, it would not be just a "chicken nest mine", but a vein. Digging down from the ground, not into the ground, but horizontally through the mountain.

It would be great if it were such a vein.

With the mining technology of the Warring States period, only horizontal veins were adopted. Mining vertical downward veins is too costly.

"White officials! I promise! Definitely not a few months! Few days! It will definitely not be more than ten days and half a month! We'll be able to find the mines! Look again! The third brother-in-law cheered up.

"White officials! Feel relieved! Definitely not in a few days! We, the deer park people, can dig casually in the mountains, and we can dig coal. And we! I came here on purpose, so how could I not find it? ”

"Yes, yes, yes! White officials! We're digging up the whole mountain, and we're going to get the coal. Coal! Right! It's coal! I'm digging coal! ”

The people of Luyuan are used to calling coal, and they are not used to letting them call coal.

The guards also said: "White officials! No hurry! You rest! Where you say dig, we'll dig there! I won't stop until I dig out the coal. ”

"White officials! Maybe there's no coal on the hill here? Or otherwise? Let's go to the mountain where the people of the deer park dig coal. How is it? ”

"Yes, yes, yes! They can dig it up to the deer park, why can't we? ”

"Yes! White officials! Open-pit coal mines should not be available everywhere. Should be! There you are! There's an area there. Not there! Not a single area there! ”

"Yes! Oh, yes! White officials! Let's go to the boundaries of the deer park to see 1"

Seeing that everyone unanimously requested, they went to the mountains on the other side of the deer park to dig coal, thinking that there might not be one here.

Bai Gui shook his head with a wry smile and said, "From here to the deer park, it will take at least three days!" I've also thought about it, there must be an open-pit coal mine over there, and it must be easy to find. But? I don't want to look for it over there! I'd like to put the smelter on the side of Linquan Castle. Such! It's easier to manage! It's on the side of the Deer Park tribe, and it's not convenient to manage. ”

The smelter is an important strategic resource processing plant, and if there is no key protection, the smelting technicians are easily snatched away. Technicians are your diehards, and if people can't get people, they will kill people.

Especially in Zhoudi, the smelting plants were heavily guarded. The family members of technical personnel are also the key objects of protection.

Just like in modern society, high-tech talents must be protected. Otherwise! You can't do your research.

If the smelter is placed on the side of Linquan, it will be convenient to manage. In terms of security, there is security.

"White officials! So that's the case? The third brother-in-law thought for a while and said, "Or else?" We built the factory here, and the coal mine was dug from the deer park and transported over. I believe! We'll definitely find a coal mine over there in Deer Park. When the time comes! Let's build a smelter. And then! Look for it slowly on this side of the mountain! How is it? ”

Bai Gui nodded and agreed, "So be it! We're here today for an afternoon. Tomorrow! Divided into two classes, one here and one there! We can only build a smelter if we first find our own coal mine. There is no coal mine of its own, and it is useless to build a smelter. ”

(End of chapter)