Haruki picked up a gold nugget, put it in his mouth and bit it, and asked, "Big brother, where did you get this?" ”

For Haruki, Atta felt that there was nothing to hide, and now the news would soon spread, after all, many of the warriors of the Kedagran knew the location.

"Do you remember when we explored northeast along the Tamsui River, looking for a way for the ghosts to escape back to the chicken coop? Climb over those mountains, there is a big river, remember? ”

Haruki nodded immediately, several Spanish soldiers guarding Tamsui Fort had contacted the Spanish troops around the chicken coop by land, Atta had personally led people to chase and kill, but no trace of the Spaniards was found, but they found the passage between the Tamsui River and the Chicken Coop River.

Atta went on to introduce that after the Battle of the Holy Mountain, Atta expanded his power while training and arming the army of the Kedagran.

The Atayal retreated deep into the mountains, Atta tried to attack, but suffered some losses, and the Oriental Trading Company had been restricting the sale of firearms to the Kaidagrans. After hearing that the Oriental Trading Company was trading with the Spaniards in the chicken coop, Atta thought that maybe he could go to the chicken coop and buy some arms from the Spaniards, and open up north by the way.

Along that path, Atta achieved some success, annexing several villages around the chicken coop, which had been ravaged by the Spaniards for too long and were relatively weak.

In the exploration, boats were the most important means of transportation, and along the Jilong River, the people of Kaida Gran accidentally found the famous Jinguashi gold mine.

"That was about twenty days ago, and now there are people going there unfettered to pan for gold." Atta said, and when he said this, he hesitated for a moment: "I think that maybe the Eastern Trading Company has received the news that their influence among our Kedagran people is greater than I thought. ”

Haruki also understood where Atta's worries came from, at least in the eyes of the people of Kaidagran, the purpose of the Oriental Trading Company to come to Dongfandi was only gold, and to do other things was also to exchange it for gold, or to make it easier and more efficient to obtain gold.

A gold mine will inevitably arouse the coveting of the Eastern Trading Company, and now that the gold mine is located in the territory of the Kaida Gran people, will this break out a war between the Eastern Trading Company and the Kaida Gran people? If so, how can the Kedagrans win?

"If the big shopkeeper of the Oriental Trading Company is Liu Mingde, Chen Liuzi, or anyone else, I think our people will be in danger, but fortunately, the big shopkeeper of the trading company is Li Zhaoji." Haruki said something to Atta that he couldn't understand.

Atta asked, "Is there any difference?" ”

Haruki pointed to the sea in the distance and said, "The great treasurer said that if there is anything wider than the sea, it is a man's heart." I don't know about others, but the big shopkeeper's heart is broad enough, like the sea. ”

"But I don't think he's going to let us Kedagran own this gold mine." Atta said in a deep voice.

But Haruki's words surprised Atta, and Haruki said in serious terms, "We Kedagran can't own this gold mine. ”

"Why?"

"Big brother, do you think that panning for gold is just to take a bucket or basin to dig mud and wash in the river or in a place with many stones?" Haruki said directly.

Atta was dumbfounded, for he thought so, and perhaps this was what the people of Kaidagran had seen, and Haruki continued, "It was possible to do this in the early days, but sooner or later the gold will run out, and with better tools, you will only get more gold."

When the gold is finished, the mountains must be dug and the mines will be opened, and there will be more gold veins underground. The great treasurer said that in a land owned by the Spaniards called America, there was the most gold and silver, and that millions of slaves died there in order to dig a silver mine.

That's equivalent to hundreds of Kaida Gran tribes, and our people don't know how to mine at all, so they must be taught by Han Fu Lao.

Moreover, the gold mine is a place where wealth gathers, and the ghosts will want it, and if they want to have it, they will also cooperate with a trading company.

That's why I said, why can't we Kaida Gran have this gold mine, whether it is mining or protecting, we have to cooperate with the Eastern Trading Company, fortunately, the big treasurer is a person who takes care of friends, and in the battle of the Holy Mountain and the past cooperation, the Eastern Trading Company, the Kaida Grand people, have established enough friendship. ”

Atta said: "I am afraid that Lee Siu Kee will be influenced by other people, and because of this gold mine, he has the intention of destroying the people of Kaidagran. ”

Haruki waved his hand and gave a very positive answer: "Not really." ”

"Why?" Atta thought that Haruki would answer like this, but he didn't expect him to be so sure.

Haruki picked up a gold nugget and knocked it on the table: "Gold is just gold, you can't eat it, you can't drink it, and it's even too soft to make a golden axe." We had the gold, but we were only exchanging it for more weapons, iron tools, cotton cloth, and other things from the Oriental Trading Company, and the gold would eventually go into the hands of the Eastern Trading Company.

On the contrary, if the Eastern Trading Company starts a war against us, with the help of the vast forests and mountains, they will not be able to wipe out us, and the Jilong River is full of primeval forests, our attack will make the gold mining mines unable to survive, and cooperation is inevitable.

Even if I think of this, the big shopkeeper must think of it. And what I just said is just the immediate reason, and it is not the most important thing in the big shopkeeper. ”

"Is there a more important reason?" Ata's voice was full of surprise.

Haruki said: "The more important reason is that the world is big enough, and the land is big enough. Not to mention a Kaidagran tribe with only tens of thousands of people, even if it is five times as many as this, ten times as much, it can be accommodated.

Brother Atta thought that the gold mine he had discovered was something extraordinary, but to the east and to the world, it was incomparably small. And the whole world is contained in the heart of the great treasurer, and his eyes will not be just fixed on one gold mine. ”

"Haruki, I regret now that I oppose you following the Oriental Trading Company outside, I should let more young people take a look at the outside world." Atta said with regret after listening to Haruki's words.

Haruki nodded: "Yes, the outside world is big and exciting. It is the broadest hunting ground for men, and every talented man can make a fortune and own a land larger and more populous than the Kedagran tribe. ”

Haruki persuaded Atta to get his wish, and publicly informed Lee about the incident, and discussed it with him in person.

In the afternoon, Atta came to Lee Siu Kee's study.

This room is located in Oxhorn Fort in Tamsui City, after Li Zhaoji comes back, he will work here, and at night he will return to the courtyard full of his wife, and the study is not luxurious, even a little shabby, that is because every ornament and every set of furniture in this room is all produced by Tamsui.

The office desk was made of broken ribs when the Shiratori was rebuilt, and because Tamsui could only process iron from Guangdong, and could not make iron for the time being, all the furniture was made of mortise and tenon joints.

Li Zhaoji used a clay pot to make a cup of lotus leaf tea for Atta, and poured some sugar into it, according to the preferences of the people of Kaidagran, which is also the product of processed sugar cane outside Tamsui City.

To Atta's surprise, when the bag of gold was placed in front of Li Zhaoji, when the news of the discovery of the gold mine was told to Li Zhaoji, the big shopkeeper of the Oriental Trading Company did not show the shock and surprise that Atta thought, obviously Li Zhaoji already knew the news.

"That's the Jinguashi Gold Mine, congratulations to you, Atta, you have a mountain of gold." Li Zhaoji said with a smile that in history, the Jinguashi gold mine produced two tons of gold per year at its peak, although it could not be reached with the current technical conditions, but even if it was only one-tenth, it was a great wealth.

Atta took a sip of tea and said, "I have discussed with Haruki, the Great Wizard and others, the Kaida Grand people want to cooperate with the Oriental Trading Company to develop this gold mine, Jinguashi, a very good name, just call it Jinguashi Gold Mine." ”

Unlike in the past, Atta has now learned Chinese and can communicate with Li Zhaoji without the need for a translator.

Li Zhaoji nodded: "What do you want to cooperate." ”

Atta shook his head firmly: "I am a samurai, I don't understand this, in fact, in the entire Kaidagran tribe, no one understands this. Haruki can't either, so I'd love to hear from you, and if you ask me, I'll just ask for a few percent of the gold you're getting. ”

Li Zhaoji laughed and said, "Atta, you are really an honest person. In the past years, we have fought together, faced the threat of Atayal and Fan Oni together, we are friends and brothers, and since you believe in me, I will not treat you badly.

In this way, I put forward the conditions, you listen first, what you think is unreasonable, we can discuss, even if it is discussed, it is only a trial for three months, through practice to find out the mistakes and omissions, and then to improve, what do you think? ”

Atta thought for a moment, "That's good, I firmly believe that gold can't compare to the friendship between the Oriental Trading Company and our Kedagran people." ”

Li Zhaoji nodded and put forward his own conditions.

Lee was willing to see the gold mine as an industry of the Kedagran, but to develop it in cooperation with them, and the management of the mine was left to Atta or someone he trusted. However, the rules and regulations had to be formulated together with the Oriental Trading Company, and as for the share of the gold output, the Kaida Grand people accounted for 5.5 percent, and the Oriental Trading Company had a little less.

Both the Kaida Grans and the Han Chinese were allowed to go to Jinguashi to pan for gold, and both sides ensured that all the gold diggers paid sufficient taxes.

Of course, this is just a share of profits, and Atta has other requirements, that is, unrestricted purchase of firearms, which Li Zhaoji directly chose to agree.

"Even if I don't have a golden melon stone, I'm willing to sell you the firearms you want, because we can already produce our own weapons for muskets and other things, Atta, are you interested in going with me to see it?"