Hainan Island is located in the subtropics, and there are no four seasons, only the rainy season and the dry season. March is the dry season on Hainan Island, so the wilderness is very dry, and the air has a hint of the ocean. Since it is the dry season, probably due to the lack of rain, the weeds on the roadside are yellow and green, showing a bleak scene.

On the brown dirt road, a group of people and horses are moving forward. Pei Gejin hired 10 horse-drawn carriages in Haikou, carrying people and goods, and headed for Changjiang County. Haikou is about 90 kilometers away from Changjiang County, and the route is basically hilly, and the road is relatively easy to walk. The group stayed in Makou Town for a night, and arrived at the county seat of Haiwei Town, Changjiang County before noon the next day.

Changjiang County is an area where the Li and Han ethnic groups live together, and the population is relatively large. In the northwest, Haiwei Town is the center of the coastal zone, and there are many Han people. Going deep into the southeast, the mid-mountainous area is inhabited by Li residents, and because of the stone green iron ore in the county, its mining history is long, which is the main reason for attracting Han people to come here to pan for gold.

A group of people entered Haiwei Town, which attracted people's attention. The county government is located in the center of the town, although the county government is in a good location, and there are many people from afar. The group stopped in front of the county yamen, so lively. The county government official residence looks very dilapidated, there is no one in front of the door, and there is no official guard. Since the county magistrate died of illness while in office, it is now the county magistrate who is in charge of government affairs.

The group got out of the carriage, and everyone talked about it. "Lord Kwong! You see, there is not even a doorkeeper, it's really a poor country, it seems that the officials and masters here are used to being careless," Pei Gejin waved his hand after speaking, and a subordinate stepped forward to beat the drum.

After a while, a servant ran out of it in a panic, this guy was shabby, he looked very sloppy, and he kept playing Harty. The official was startled when he saw a group of fierce people appearing in front of the door, and was about to open his mouth to ask Pei Gejin impatiently: "Damn, are all people dead?" The new county magistrate, Lord Kuang, is here, hurry up and see you! ”

The official was a little confused, "I am the new county magistrate Kuang Jiazhi!" Kwong Jiazhi said peacefully. In the past, in addition to family members, the county commander took office with at most one entourage. And this county magistrate actually brought so many retinues with him, he must not be an ordinary lord. The official hurriedly knelt on the ground and said, "Lord Kuang, the little one doesn't know that the adults are here, please forgive me." "Is there a prefect in the county government?" "Lord Hui, since Lord Lin's death, it is Zhang Xiancheng who is in charge, he does not live in the town in the mansion, and now there are only a few of us officials living in the mansion."

Several officials who lived in the palace also ran out when they heard the news, and immediately knelt aside when they saw this formation. Kwong Jiazhi entered the lobby, and the tall hanging plaque on the front was very dim and dilapidated, covered with dust, and the tables and chairs were also covered with dust. A servant immediately stepped forward to wipe the dust with his sleeve, and then respectfully invited Kwong Jiazhi to take a seat. The other officials waited on both sides of the hall.

Kuang Jiazhi sat majestically in an official robe and said: "Please summon the county officials and county officials, I will officially take over!" "The servants have to order a swarm of bees to run out." Wait! Leave a few people to clean out Lord Kwong's bedroom! Pei Ge stood beside him unceremoniously. About half an hour, several county officials came in in a panic. One of them, a middle-aged man in his 40s, dressed in a shabby official robe, stepped forward and said: "Lord Kuang, we are the county magistrate of this county, and after the death of Lord Lin half a year ago, we temporarily presided over the affairs of the county. ”

"You are Zhang Xiancheng, this is my official document!" Pei Gejin took the official document and handed it to Zhang Xiancheng. In fact, Zhang Xiancheng was already convinced, but he just glanced at it a few times and said: "We didn't receive a report from the prefect, please forgive me for being slow to treat the adults, and then submit the official seal." The handover was completed, and then the treasurer took the account book and reported the accounts of the county government.

After listening to the treasurer's report, Kuang Jiazhi was very depressed, the entire county treasury was zero, and even then he still owed 12,000 taels of tax silver, and the personnel in the county government had not paid their salaries for half a year. Kuang Jiazhi saw Zhang Xiancheng wearing a shabby official mansion, and his heart ached. Pei Gejin saw that Kuang Jiazhi was in trouble, so he stepped forward and listened to him.

Then Pei Ge ordered his subordinates to bring up the box, and everyone was confused. The chest opened, revealing the silver taels of white flowers. Pei Gejin said loudly: "Lord Kuang came to Changjiang to take up the county order this time, to change the poor and backward appearance here and benefit the people. After listening to the report, I know that you are having a hard time. In addition, Mr. Kwong has decided to pay you all your salaries back. Also, Lord Kwong decided to take out 20,000 taels of private silver and put it into the treasury to make up the tax. ”

This move made everyone stupid, this is the first time in the world, it is simply unheard of. Zhang Xiancheng took the lead and knelt on the ground and said: "Your Excellency's kindness subordinates are grateful and have zero thanks, and they will definitely work for dogs and horses!" The crowd chanted. The treasurer then pays each person's salary back according to the roster.

Everyone held the silver taels of white flowers in their hands, and they quickly had a sense of belonging. Everyone's hearts were shocked and surrendered by the new prefectural order. You must know that the dismount of the silver bullet is also huge, and it is true that money can make the ghost grind a little. Zuihou Pei Ge handed over the 20,000 taels of silver tickets to the treasurer in front of everyone. The treasurer's age was about 50 years old, and he probably hadn't seen a silver ticket of 20,000 taels in his life, and his hands were a little trembling at this time, and he carefully put them away.

Kuang Jiazhi glanced at Pei Gejin gratefully, and said with hesitation: "I will live up to expectations when I take office as the commander of Changjiang County." If the bank in the treasury increases, I promise to increase the salary of everyone, and I hope that everyone will work together to help us. "That's too gentle. Pei Gejin said unceremoniously: "Master Kuang is kind-hearted and sympathetic to his subordinates. However, if you do not assist Lord Kwong wholeheartedly, you will be expelled from the county government and will never be hired. ”

"If the adults are above, if the subordinates have two hearts, but there will be no complaints by the punishment of the adults!" The crowd responded in unison. In the afternoon, Kuang Jiazhi invited Zhang Xiancheng to understand the situation, and in the evening, Pei Gejin and Kuang Jiazhi discussed. "Brother Kuang, according to Zhang Xiancheng's statement, the county's agricultural tax has not been calculated, and if you want to increase taxes, you can only levy commercial taxes." Pei Ge is willing to give advice. "But the imperial court clearly stipulated that no commercial tax should be levied! In particular, commercial taxes cannot be levied in remote areas. Kwong Jiazhi was a little troubled.

Pei Ge said solemnly: "Brother Kuang, I am also a layman on how to operate, Mr. Deng's intention is that we can levy a transaction tax, and if you live in it, take advantage of the wharf." Mr. Tang said that the transaction tax may seem insignificant, but commodities are traded every day, and it can be very substantial over time. This time, Mr. Deng sent a man who had worked as a manager in the Shanghai Pudong trading market, and this person was familiar with how to run the trading market. ”

"Great! Mr. Deng is really thoughtful! Brother Pei will leave it to you what to do! Kwong Jiazhi said happily. Pei Gejin said: "The wharf is only 5 kilometers away from Haiwei Town, on the one hand, we want to expand the wharf, and on the other hand, we will build the trading market in Haiwei Town. Also, the limestone is in the territory. Mr. Tang attaches great importance to this iron mine, so we must keep it in our hands. ”

"Mr. Deng wants to set up an iron factory?" Kuang Jiazhi asked in surprise. "Yes, Mr. Deng plans to build an iron-making plant in Dongguan and needs the ore here, do you think we will not be lively here in the future?" Pei Gejin smiled. "Zhang Xiancheng said that the limestone iron ore is privately mined, are we suspected of competing with the people for profit?" "Can you rest assured that we can buy the ore they dig? There will be no conflict. ”

In the following days, Zhang Xiancheng personally accompanied him to the seaside wharf, saying that the wharf was actually a small fishing village. After some planning, the plan for the expansion of the terminal was roughly determined. Then Pei Gejin planned the scale of the farm on the bank of the Liangshui River. It's easy to buy land, and there is a lot of wasteland under the jurisdiction of the government, so it's easy to operate. Pei Gejin preliminarily planned to build two farms first, and the people were ready to prepare for this.

On this day, the new county officials were going out to inspect, and the gong was not lively, and their target was Shilu Town, which is where the Shilu Iron Mine is located. This time, Pei Gejin brought 10 mining personnel, who came from Shanghai and were specially recruited by Deng Zixuan for the stone green iron mine. The county order was slow to make a tour, and it took them two days before they arrived in Shilu Town, and then began to inspect the Shilu iron mine.

Stone green iron ore began to be excavated in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and most of them belonged to small-scale excavations. Since Hainan Island does not produce coal, smelting is extremely limited. Stone iron ore has never been shipped, so nearly 500 million tonnes of ore still lie dormant underground. The word stone green comes from the 47th year of Qianlong, when the iron ore showed the color of malachite, and the key was that the half-lived copper ore showed green, hence the name.

Lilvanite is very shallow and largely exposed to the surface. Stone green iron ore is known as the first iron-rich ore in Asia, and its iron content is almost 50%, and it can be smelted directly into the furnace without beneficiation. In addition, most of the limerite is half-metallic, of which the copper content accounts for a large proportion, so Deng Zixuan attaches so much importance to the limerite.

Shilu Iron Mine is located one kilometer south of Shilu Town, and a group of people came out of Shilu Town in less than an hour. Due to the smelting conditions of Hainan Island, the ore excavated here is very limited, and what catches everyone's eye at this time is the accumulation of ore, and the pits of different sizes and depths everywhere. Due to the limited demand for ore, the amount of excavation here is very low, and very little iron ore is shipped out. Although it is under the jurisdiction of the county government, it is almost unmanaged, since iron ore does not make money at all.

Because of the accumulation of ore excavated, there are few diggers to talk to. The sudden arrival of the county lord caused panic among a small number of miners. The miners who were digging here gradually gathered around, and at a rough glance, there were dozens of people, and they could be counted on their fingers. At this time, several men who followed immediately became excited when they saw the piled up ore, and they ran over to pick up the ore and check it.

One of the men came to Pei Gejin with the ore and said in surprise: "Owner, this is a rare rich iron ore, I have never seen such a haode iron ore in my decades of mining." I dare to guarantee that 100 catties of ore can produce 50 catties of iron, haha is a cornucopia here. "Apparently this guy is a veteran of mining operations." Eldest brother! What do you see this is? A man hurried over with a green stone in his hand.

"Boss, this is copper ore, there is copper ore here!" The man shouted excitedly again. Then the man rushed to the ore pile to inspect it, and everyone was so excited that it was hard to control it. Seeing the miners surrounding him, Zhang Xiancheng shouted loudly: "Ladies and gentlemen, the new county commander Kuang is here, everyone meet!" I saw the miners kneeling on the ground.

Seeing that most of the miners were in rags, Kuang Jiazhi was very uncomfortable and said: "Ladies and gentlemen, this county order to come here to inspect the people's situation is to investigate the people's situation, and from today onwards, the county government will effectively manage this place." "My lord! Will mining be taxed in the future? I can't sell much ore in a month, and if the adults have to collect taxes, the grass people won't be able to live, so please be aware of it! Then the miners talked.

Kuang Jiazhi shouted loudly: "Folks, the government will not collect taxes, but only strengthen the management of planned mining. In addition, the county government is responsible for the purchase of the iron ore you excavate. And I am responsible for telling you that you dig as much as the county government buys, and the price is fair and reasonable! "The miners were a little stupid, they almost didn't believe it was true, but the county magistrate's words, how could it be fake.

Seeing the suspicion on the faces of the miners, Pei Gejin said loudly: "You don't believe it, right, now we have purchased these iron ores, and they are purchased by cash." One of the men in the kung fu miner shouted: "That big brother is holding a green stone in his hand, do you want a green stone?" Without waiting for Pei Gejin to answer, the big man with the green stone in his hand preemptively said: "If you want it, you want as many green stones as you want!" ”