Changhua County is Changjiang Li Autonomous County of Hainan Province in later generations, the Han people are concentrated near the seaside county, far less than the Li population, there are only a few hundred Han people in Shilu Town, the mining area is still a barren land in the original state, and it is a very complicated project to open a mine and build a factory here.

However, there are abundant copper and iron resources here, Li Si organized a preliminary exploration of manpower, and several huge surface mines have been discovered, which can be mined in a hundred years with the existing technical means, and all the difficulties have become insignificant in order to develop this huge treasure. (Shiroku Iron Mine is the largest open-pit iron-rich mine in China, with magnetite reserves of more than 42% iron content of nearly 300 million tons, and also associated with cobalt, copper, nickel, silver and other ores.) ）

The mining of surface mines is not difficult, miners only dig with primitive means, without the need for any mechanical assistance, and each person can extract several tons of ore in a day...... The key difficulty in the development of Shilu iron ore lies in the ore transportation, because Changhua County does not produce coal, all iron ore must be transported out of the mountainous area for smelting, although the straight-line distance from the mining area to the sea is only about 50 kilometers, but the terrain is complex, there is no road for vehicles to pass, and not much ore can be transported.

"There is no other good way but to build a road to Changjiang and then go out to sea by water."

Li Si spread out a map and pointed at it: "From Shilu to Shuiwei, then cross the Russian Ridge to Chahe Village, and then take the land route to Changjiang Laolie Wharf, this is the most reasonable route, this road has to cross a total of seven mountains, build three bridges, and transfer by water, the total length is about fifty miles......

on the map. The straight-line distance from Shilu to Changjiang is only more than 20 li, but there are neither tunnels through the mountains nor viaducts in this era. The length of the road planned by Li Si has doubled in length by turning around in the ravine, but this plan has made full use of the Changjiang waterway, greatly reducing the amount of work, and if you build a road to the sea, the difficulty is unimaginable.

Even so, Zhu Ji was also taken aback: "Fifty miles? This road must not be built for two years? ”

Li Si smiled and shook his head: "It won't take that long." Most of this road is a mountain road of Li Min, and there is no need to dig holes in the mountain, as long as the road is widened and leveled. If the manpower is sufficient, it can be completed in half a year at most. ”

"Can you finish it in half a year?" Seal Ji still didn't believe it.

"No problem, you go back to Hong Kong, it's changed a lot. Wharves, roads, and houses are beginning to take shape. Those Luzon monkeys recognized the leather whip, and it was still very easy to use the work, and it was a big deal to give Luo Jing a few thousand taels of silver, and catch some more Luzon monkeys to work hard, and he would definitely be able to repair this road within half a year. ”

The pirate-turned-Lo Ching captured many laborers from Luzon and Vietnam, each costing less than a tael of silver on average, and was used as slaves to build Hong Kong, and these laborers worked intensively in harsh conditions. Living conditions are poor and mortality rates are extremely high. But Hong Kong's pace of construction is also astonishingly fast.

Seal Ji was silent, a little unbearable in her heart, but she didn't say anything.

The conditions in the Shilu mining area are worse than those in Hong Kong, in order to repair this road, Li Si is ready to carry out death-type construction, with thousands of lives to fill the ditches and ditches along the way, and the road construction is only the beginning, after the Shilu iron mine is put into production, it will definitely use those Luzon laborers to mine and transport the ore, after many years, this mine will be covered with white bones.

"Is it just a dirt road? What to do if it rains? Zhu Ji looked at the surrounding environment and raised an important question, Hainan has an oceanic climate, and there is a lot of rain all year round, and the dirt road is washed by rainwater and cannot be used.

"When the weather is good, it will be more lucky, and it will rest when it rains, and this road will have to be maintained after it is repaired, at least 100 people, and after the rain, the road will be re-leveled, and slowly paved with stones, it will definitely get better and better."

Li Si said with a smile: "It's actually nothing to build this road, the things behind it are really troublesome, the mining area, the wharf, and the iron factory must be built in the same way, vehicles, equipment, ships, food supplies, personnel deployment, safety guards, there are too many things to worry about, the little sister came from afar to rest for two days, and then take care of the preparation for the construction of the iron plant, you can't wait for the ore to be shipped out, but you can't open the furnace to make iron......"

The development of Shilu iron ore is a major event related to the fate of Chuxun Group, and the relevant detailed plans must be sent to Wang Kefan for approval, but Wang Kefan is far away in Huguang, and Li Si has to take ideas for many specific things.

"Where is the ironworks going to be located? Changhua County or Hong Kong? Tsujime asked.

"Wang Junmen has already made it clear that the iron mill and copper mill must be placed in Hong Kong, and the Hongmaoyi in the South China Sea has been unstable, and Changhua cannot send too many defender ships, and after the pig iron is smelted, it must be sent to various craftsmen to be processed to make iron, and Changhua can't eat such a large amount of pig iron." Li Si was very excited, and when it was initially put into production, this mine would be able to produce millions or tens of millions of catties of copper and iron a year, and he would no longer have to worry about silver.

"Big brother, don't be too happy, I'm afraid this matter will have to be delayed." Seal Ji suddenly poured a scoop of cold water.

"For what?" Li Si was like a cat that had been stepped on by the tail, and almost jumped up.

"Wang Junmen is in urgent need of food and salary, and we need to raise 150,000 taels of silver within two months." Seal Ji took out a handwritten letter from Wang Kefan.

The Chu army is the backing and cornerstone, and it has the highest priority in the Chu Xun group, and everything must make way for it, Li Si heard that the Chu army was short of salary, and immediately realized the seriousness of the problem, took the letter and read it in a hurry, and his brows furrowed into a Sichuan character.

"150,000 taels of silver is too much, if it's 30,000 or 40,000 taels, you can still squeeze it out." Li Si was reluctant to delay the construction period and wanted to find the best of both worlds.

"Little sister has an idea, it's better to give up the business of the imperial merchant to 30%, and you can borrow 150,000 taels of silver." Zhu Ji has long considered that Long Maochang has made meritorious contributions to the rescue, and has the background of the Chuxun Group, and has become the imperial merchant designated by the Longwu Imperial Court, enjoying the privilege of salt monopoly and providing various commodities and materials for the imperial court.

"No, no, no! The imperial merchant is the golden rice bowl of the descendants of all generations, how can he give it to others! Li Si shook his head again and again, resolutely disagreeing.

"It's not all given to others, it's just 30% to find someone to cooperate." Zhu Ji smiled: "The eldest brother should take a long-term view, are you still afraid of the lack of silver with Wang Junmen?" As long as the imperial merchants occupy the lion's share, it is a good thing to make a few more friends. ”

"Well, I'll think about it again." Li Si was a little shaken.

……

In Huguang, after the Chu army jumped out of the encirclement, it entered the Jinggangshan area to rest, and Lucketthun did not dare to rashly enter the mountains to chase and suppress, so he had to retreat suddenly, and turned around and went straight to Chenzhou with a stomach.

Although Fu Shangrui had already planned to surrender to the Manchu Qing Dynasty, he still wanted to bargain and sell himself for a good price, but unexpectedly, Luck Dehun suddenly pressed the border with a large army and ordered him to surrender with an extremely tough attitude, which disrupted Fu Shangrui's plan.

The Ming army in Chenzhou Prefecture was divided, part of it followed Fu Shangrui to surrender to the Qing Dynasty, and part of it retreated to Liangguang to temporarily avoid the edge, and the two sides fought a battle before parting ways, Fu Shangrui had more troops, wiped out thousands of Ming troops, and made a contribution to the Manchu master before he shaved his head.

Meritorious work will be rewarded! Kong Youde personally summoned Fu Shangrui, gently appeased, encouraged and exhorted, and promised to promote him as the governor of Hunan...... Death for a confidant! Fu Shangrui was moved to cry bitterly, and made a heavy oath on the spot to be loyal to the Manchu Qing Dynasty for generations and build an iron bucket for the Qing Dynasty!

The generals who surrendered with him were also promoted, and they were entrusted with important tasks by Kong Youde to guard various territories in Hunan.

Seeing Fu Shangrui and these people so beautiful, Liu Chengyin's heart was extremely dissatisfied, when he surrendered, he could bring 30,000 horses and horses, and also dedicated them to the two cities of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, but now he is almost mixed with the generals under Fu Shangrui, and the most elite soldiers have also been transferred, which shows that Kong Youde does not trust him.

"Tartars are really not good things! Lao Tzu turned a hundred times, and he had to be controlled by Fu Shangrui's house, what a fucking heartbreak! There was no one else in the room except for his younger brother Liu Chengyong, and Liu Chengyin spoke without scruples.

"Fu Shangrui's subordinates are all straw bales and rice buckets, and the Tartars are not afraid of them making trouble, but there are more than 20,000 elite soldiers under the command of the eldest brother, and Kong Youde is guarding against you." Liu Chengyong was a bystander, and his analysis hit the nail on the head, and he asked: "Has the eldest brother ever thought about opposing the Qing Dynasty and returning to the Ming Dynasty?" ”

"Alas......, there is no turning back from the bow, it's too late." Liu Chengyin's expression was very complicated, he almost betrayed his relatives in order to surrender to the Manchus, but he didn't get the desired result, and this big gamble in life was lost after all.

"If the eldest brother is unwilling to oppose the Qing Dynasty now, he must also arrange a few back-ups, lest the Tartars turn their faces and can only be caught ...... with their hands tied."

"It's not that simple, Kong Youde is not He Tengjiao, I have to report if I mobilize more than one sentry now, and the slightest disturbance will cause trouble." If the strength is not enough, there is no qualification to support the army and self-respect, Liu Chengyin tapped the table with his fingers, frowned and thought for a while, and said: "You just don't have an official body, it is much more convenient to do anything, let's take our mother back to my hometown to save relatives tomorrow, don't come out after staying in the countryside for a year and a half, the silver I have saved over the years is not small, you can also bring it back together, at least leave a way back." ”

Liu Chengyin has already faintly felt that Kong Youde will seize his military power sooner or later, and when the time comes, the situation will change, and one wrong step will be shattered, and it is much safer to send his family to the countryside, even if he can't get along in the last place, he can escape alone and become a rich man. (To be continued......)