Ezhou was originally a well-known metal ore rich area in the Jinghu area. Since the beginning of the Three Kingdoms, Sun Wu has mined gold and silver on a large scale here. Before the southern crossing, it was almost the most important mineral export area in Hubei, and Yue Wumu was stationed in Ezhou, and his subordinates' sophisticated weapons and iron armor all relied on Ezhou's well-developed mineral mining and artisanal metallurgy.

But times are different. After the southern crossing, the politics of the imperial court walked on a downward line, and the drawbacks were reflected in all aspects of the country's operation. The greed and lawlessness of the miners, the recklessness of the foremen, and the attitude of the imperial court to pursue production and ignore the life and death of the miners all seriously catalyzed the contradictions between the miners and the government.

More serious is the other side. With the migration of a large number of people from the north to the south, the Song Dynasty faced population pressure with less than half the original land area and did not abate. A large number of landless young adults are increasingly flocking to cities, dental shops and mines. Taking Ezhou as a small example, when the imperial capital was still in Bianliang, there were only tens of thousands of men engaged in mining in the entire Ezhou. Today, the number of miners mining various mineral deposits in Ezhou has increased rapidly to more than 100,000.

But there are not so many mines to grab in Ezhou. From Nandu to the present, the metal output of the entire Ezhou has declined year by year. Many of the famous gold and silver caves have been depleted, and iron and copper mining is still doing some good things but facing the prospect of scaling down.

As a result, the wages of the miners were lowered, a large number of miners lost their jobs, and social order began to be chaotic. All the problems that come with it quickly breed.

And that's not all. The chaotic mine soon clashed with the residents of the surrounding villages, and a large number of idle miners came down to steal chickens and dogs, and the news of picking quarrels and provoking troubles soon spread throughout Ezhou. The government was not willing to interfere in these illegal acts, because in general, the operation of the mines in the Song Dynasty was mainly the responsibility of the transshipment envoys, and the operation of local security depended on the state government yamen.

The miners gathered in groups, and they were very strong. The government has neither the power nor the desire to govern this group of troublemakers.

The fight has become the only choice for the people around the mine. All towns and villages have gathered for group exercises, patrolling day and night to catch and arrest thieves who cause trouble. When it comes time to negotiate with the mines, it is often the strong men from several townships who gather hundreds or thousands of people to go up the mountain together to make a strong noise.

When things got to their worst, a large-scale fight took place with thousands of people. The two sides took out sticks, nail rakes, dustpans, hammers, shovels, and flat poles, and fought viciously for a whole day and a night, losing dozens of people in each.

When the government heard the news, they hurriedly sent troops to suppress it. However, the more than 100 officers and men were caught in the middle of tens of thousands of people who had lost their minds.

The angry villagers gathered again, and this time almost all the townships in Ezhou sent people to participate, and even the villagers in Huangzhou on the other side of the river, the public security in the south, and the villagers in De'an Mansion in the north also rushed to support. There were tens of thousands of people, claiming to capture the mines and drive all the miners out of Hubei.

The mine also gathered companions from Yiling, Xingguo, Daye and other places, and also gathered tens of thousands of people, and they themselves were mine workers, and their equipment was much better than that of farmers who only had farm tools in hand.

The Shouchang Army, which governed Ezhou, was anxious, and the Shouchang Army itself did not have many troops. The only ones he could rely on were the 3,000 guards seconded by Meng Heng, the capital commander stationed in Huangzhou, and the 1,000 soldiers forcibly borrowed by Jiangling Mansion, and the other was Zheng Yunming, a powerless white-faced petty official sent by the Jinghu Transit Envoy.

"Who's over there?" Zheng Yunming saw the crowd in the distance on the left-hand side, and it seemed that he was not standing with the locals.

Shou Changjun's counselor said: "The boat gangs and fishermen in Taihu Lake, who make a profit by transporting ore for the mine, are often suppressed by the mine and default on ship fares, and the conflict with the mine has long been deep. This time, the villagers made trouble, and they also took the opportunity to take revenge. Damn, it's good to deal with the people of Ezhou alone."

"It doesn't matter, let's solve it one by one." Zheng Yunming saw that it was past noon, and the tsunami-like shouting and scolding of the two mountains had subsided slightly, and the time had come for him to do things.

"Just take advantage of this time to find this hill for the villagers and the leaders in the mine to the official, and explain any grievances to the face, and listen to the verdict of the Shouchang Army Yamen and the Transshipment Division!"

The accompanying soldiers had already set up their tents on the hillside, and the tents were fully furnished with tables and chairs. He Yuanshou, the commander of Huguang, who led the soldiers and horses of Huangzhou, sat on the chair in front of the tent and calmly looked at the situation of 100,000 people.

Zheng Yunming complimented: "The general is really worthy of the demeanor of a general. ”

"It's just a peasant fight, and it's all useless." He Yuanshou waved his hand: "Just let my three thousand foot soldiers rush in formation, and keep the essence of letting this group of wild monkeys run within half an hour." ”

"That's natural, but we take care of the people instead of the emperor, and it is the best policy to solve it peacefully."

While the two were laughing and talking, the soldiers led two groups of people up the hill to meet them.

The general representative of the villagers was a burly black-faced man, about forty years old, with big ears and a beard. Gorgeously dressed, he carried a heavy black axe in his hand.

The representative of the mine craftsmen was unexpectedly a withered old man, coarse in white, with a large head that did not fit on his withered body, gloomy eyes, and a bamboo cane in his hand.

Zheng Yunming was slightly surprised, it stands to reason that the positions of these two people should be changed, so as to conform to the image of the villagers and miners in his imagination.

The sergeants divided the two groups of men into two sides. Officials from the state capital and the Department of Transit sat separately in the center.

Shou Changjun and the officials of Jiangling Mansion all looked at Zheng Yunming. The magistrate has been mediating this case for a long time, and this time the mediation will be held again to see the attitude of the Jinghu Transit Division.

Zheng Yunming didn't push back, got up and said: "This is not a court trial, come here, give a seat." ”

"Seats are a small matter," the black-faced man shouted, "but today we must tell the miners to give an explanation." ”

"It's the same on our side, the ancients said that being an official is like being a parent, and your lords are equivalent to being the spokesperson of the Son of Heaven in our Ezhou. Today, no matter what, we must give justice to the hundreds of thousands of miner brothers who have no way out. ”

Zheng Yunming said: "Zheng Yunming, the official Hubei Transit Division, Cao Counselor, has just rushed over from Xiangyang Mansion, and he has never understood the local rights and wrongs. Before you speak, can you tell me your names? ”

The black-faced man arched his hand and said, "The villain is Cao Wenqi, the head of Taiping Township, Junyang New County, Shouchang. ”

The thin old man also said: "The villain is the blacksmith of this Ezhou Baishi Cave, named Xu Shiqing. ”

As he spoke, a sergeant brought a black lacquered stool for the two to sit down. Zheng Yunming said: "The Hubei Transit Envoy has received a lot of reports of conflicts between Ezhou miners and local villagers, but there are many rough and untruthful places. Exactly what the conflict is about, both of them can talk about it separately. ”

"What is there to say. This group of mining gangsters is the biggest scourge in my Ezhou! The little brother of the counselor has nothing to do, you can go to our counties to visit, which township and which village has not been angry with this group of birdmen! They dug holes in the mountains, angered the gods, dyed all the mountain streams red and could not be quoted, they cut down many trees on the mountains for smelting, and threw the residue of the alchemy on the road, blocking the road to and from it. Which village has not been robbed by them of chickens and ducks, and looted vegetable gardens? What village hasn't lost money for no reason? We've had enough of it over the years! I'm going to give us an explanation no matter what! Either they go on their own, or the big guys drive them out! ”

"Don't be impatient, the Transshipment Division will definitely give you a satisfactory answer." Zheng Yunming gently comforted the angry Cao Wenqi, turned to the old man Xu Shiyu and said, "What do you have to say about Cao Wenqi's statements?" ”

"The first thing I want to say is that what these villagers say is exaggerated and untrue. Second, even if there are some things that offend the place, the lord must forgive us, because the blacksmiths in Ezhou have had a really hard time in the past few years! ”

"A few years ago, the Jin people invaded, and the war also spread to the mines here, and many experienced old people fled, and almost all the mines were destroyed by the soldiers. Over the years, everyone has worked hard to repair, and the output is not as much as half of the previous one. However, because of the rebellion in the north, more and more people fled to Ezhou to work as artisans, and the imperial court was also anxious to restore production, and inexperienced homeless people were all incorporated into artisan households without screening. Some of these people have never held a pickaxe for a day, nor have they been on the stove for a day, so they can only refine a lot of waste residue! The production of good iron is becoming less and less, but the share collected by the imperial court is increasing day by day. In the past three years, there has been no money-making blacksmith shop, and almost every family is struggling with a little savings. ”

"There are few mines, but the number of miners is increasing every day, and more and more people have nothing to do, either drinking and fighting, or going down to the mountains to cause trouble. As for the other people who can work, they have to pay their share of the apportionment, and those who do the work are bankrupt and sell their children and daughters. People who want to do things but can't find things to do. If you continue to toss like this, it won't take a few years to work, and I'm afraid that this huge Ezhou city won't be able to produce one or two irons! ”

Zheng Yunming clasped his hands and listened quietly as the two poured bitter water into each other. After both sides stopped, he said loudly: "We have a general understanding of the suffering of the two sides, and the two sides will step aside for the time being, and the ruling will be made after the government has discussed." ”

When the two groups of people all walked out of the tent, the only people left in the tent were the representatives of the governor of the state capital and Zheng Yunming, the representative of the Hubei Transit Division.

"Now there are no outsiders here, and there is something to talk about." The general judge counselor of Huangzhou said: "For the conflict between the miners and the villagers in Ezhou, the state government and the prefect have done a lot of work, but almost no results have been achieved. ”

"So the key to solving the problem still lies with the head of the transfer department."

If an official from the Transit Division were replaced, it would inevitably be seen as a shirk of responsibility. But Zheng Yunming thought that what the counselor of Huangzhou said was indeed the truth.

"Xia Guan has not yet been given the final decision-making power. However, as the representative of the Transit Division, I would like to express the official opinion of the Transit Division. ”

"The crux of the problem is that there are too many miners. The current Ezhou mine is far from needing more than 100,000 miners, and the redundant miners gather to make trouble, so it causes conflicts with the local government. ”

(The ranking officials are still asking for red votes and support!) ）