Early this morning, the Iwami Silver Mine, hidden deep in the mountains, was operating as usual.

Inside the silver mine, the dim light of the mine barely tore through the thick darkness, and the light and shadow of the bantu were reflected on the dusty faces of the miners.

The air was filled with the smell of ore, mixed with the dull sound of mining in the depths, as if it were the low roar of the earth.

The miners, naked, sweated in the cavern, their breath echoing through the narrow tunnels, mingled with the sound of hammers hitting the rocks.

The silver ore was violently struck by the hammer and fell off the ore body, and then the pieces of silver ore were transported by hand to the outside of the mine.

"If you don't work faster, believe it or not, Lao Tzu will kill you now!" Zheng Yu waved the leather whip in his hand, but scolded viciously.

An old miner's legs and feet were obviously not good at ropes, and although he struggled to drag the twine to drag the ore to the workshop not far away, he walked relatively slowly.

Suddenly, a mine supervisor raised his whip and struck the old miner on the back.

The whip made a "snapping" sound in the air, but after a whip, it did not stop, and another whip fell on the violently trembling body of the old miner.

The red whip marks on the old miner's back were clearly visible, and blood was running down his skin. However, he did not shout or resist, but gritted his teeth and silently endured the pain.

The surrounding miners saw this scene, and their hearts were full of anger and helplessness.

What can they do? These mine supervisors include both the Ouchi family and the Zheng family, the founder of Jiangnan Firm, but they are all forces that cannot be disobeyed.

They could only watch in silence as it all happened, silently enduring these humiliations and pains.

The old miner got up from the ground, his body looking weaker and weaker, his back already red with blood, and sweat constantly sliding down his forehead.

Only by continuing to move forward can he have a way to survive and hope to return to China.

Finally, the old miner fell to the ground, and his body was at its limit. He gasped and struggled to breathe, and there was silence around him.

But the old miners fell, and another miner was driven forward, and then the basket of ore was smoothly transported into the tall workshop on the edge of the silver mine.

The division of labor in the mine was clear, with someone in charge of mining silver ore in the caves, someone transporting silver ore, and finally someone refining silver from the silver ore.

In the dimly lit silver smelting workshop, a silversmith named Li Tie, with long bangs, was engrossed in the silver extraction operation.

He was dressed in a blackened short-sleeved cotton shirt, and his face was covered with soot, but his eyes shone with determination and concentration, which could not hide his exquisite skills.

Li Tie held a long-handled iron tong, flexibly picked up a piece of ore rich in silver and lead, and then put it into the blazing charcoal fire. The ore melts rapidly at high temperatures, and the silver-lead alloy liquid shimmers mysteriously in the firelight.

From time to time, he struck the cup-shaped crucible with a hammer, heating it at a high temperature while mixing the liquid with the alloy.

Over time, the lead in the alloy liquid begins to oxidize, producing a layer of off-white lead oxide. This is the most critical moment to deal with, Li Tie took a deep breath and blew it towards the iron pipe.

A strong air flow passes through the iron pipe, blowing away the lead oxide floating on the surface of the alloy liquid. These gray-white impurities drifted around under the impact of the air current, revealing the pure silver liquid beneath.

It seems to be a simple set of practices, but it contains the wisdom of the Chinese predecessors, and it is the soot blowing method of refining silver that the Japanese have not been able to control.

Now that history has quietly changed, Jiangnan Firm not only helped the Japanese mine silver, but also brought the most advanced silver mining technology from China.

Li Tie continued to skillfully blow soot, blowing away the lead oxide floating on the surface of the alloy liquid until there was no longer a trace of impurities on the surface of the alloy liquid.

At this time, his face was already covered with sweat, but his eyes showed satisfaction and joy. He knew that after all this hard work, he had finally obtained pure silver liquid.

Next, Li Tie poured the silver liquid into the pre-prepared mold.

Since these silvers were intended to be used in the Ming Dynasty, Yinbao molds were selected. As the silver liquid cools and solidifies rapidly in the mold, it forms a white silver treasure, which looks very beautiful.

Li Tie picked up a piece of silver treasure, because there was a little problem with his eyesight, so he needed to get closer and take a closer look.

In the dim light, this silver ingot exudes a soft and captivating luster, as if to speak of its value and beauty.

As long as anyone can bring this batch of freshly baked ingots back to Daming, let alone solve their own food and clothing, even if they raise a few women.

Just as Li Tie was dreaming of making a fortune with the silver ingot, a sturdy young man pushed open the door and walked in, his eyes also noticing the silver that had just been refined.

Li Tie glanced at the man who came out, and immediately scolded arrogantly: "This is not where you can come in, get out immediately!" ”

"You'd rather teach the soot blowing method to the Dongying people than teach your two apprentices, you really are a lackey of the Dongying people!" Zhao Jia looked at this alchemy master who usually had no one in his eyes, but he sneered coldly.

Li Tie's self-esteem was damaged, and he immediately said angrily: "Even the lackeys of the Dongying people are 10,000 times stronger than your coolie, get out of the fire immediately, and clean you up in the evening!" ”

"Do you really think that the imperial court can't even clean up your little Jiangnan business? Do you really think that this Iwami Silver Mine will change its surname to Jiangnan so easily? Zhao Jia no longer has the timidity and fear of the past, but has restored his arrogance.

Li Tie saw that the temperament of Zhao Jia, who was in charge of burning the fire, had changed greatly, and he immediately asked vigilantly: "Who are you?" ”

"Zhao Jia, the deputy squad leader of the first shift of the night department!" Zhao Jia no longer hides his identity, but exposes his identity.

He was originally born at night, but after being incorporated into the night department by the military department, he received secret training from the imperial court. Because of his outstanding performance in several missions, he was promoted to the deputy squad leader of the first shift in the dark night.

Because he learned that the Jiangnan gentry group actually intended to infect the Iwami Silver Mine, he also entered the Iwami Silver Mine in disguise and became an extremely ordinary member.

Li Tie didn't know about the existence of the dark night, but guessed in a panic: "You are from the Ming Dynasty?" ”

"Not bad! Since you are my Ming people, you have done such a traitorous thing to seek glory, you really deserve to die! Zhao Jia had already seen Li Tie's various evil deeds, but he accused him angrily.

At this time, there was already a sound of shouting and shouting from behind, and there were some cries for help.

Li Tie realized that there had been a major change outside, and immediately asked in horror: "What's the matter?" ”

"The Iwami Silver Mine originally belonged to our Ming Imperial Court, and today is just cleaning up your little rats who have occupied the Ming Silver Mine!" Zhao Jia snorted lightly, looking playful.

Li Tie knew that the miners below hated them to the core, but it was impossible to help them resist the Ming army: "I am a silver refiner, I can serve the imperial court!" ”

"We don't need scum like you, and we're not ready to mine silver ore yet!" Zhao Jia stepped forward with a knife, but replied playfully.

Perhaps the Iwami Silver Mine is a gold mountain in the eyes of Jiangnan merchants, but in the eyes of their current Ming court, it can also be said that it is no different from scrap iron.

Now that the Ming Dynasty is actually going to clean up the small Ouchi family, it is natural that there is no need to rush to mine the Iwami silver mine, but to slowly hammer this Japanese daimyo who will take revenge.

"Help!"

Li Tie didn't care about the big fork in his bangs, so he was holding the silver ingots and wanted to seize the door.

Burst!

A flash of light flashed, Li Tie reached out and touched his neck, looked at the blood on his hands in disbelief, and the whole person fell down unwillingly.

At the same time, the silver alchemists in each workshop were slaughtered one after another, and Da Ming did not need this kind of person who ate inside and outside. The miners of the silver mines may have been lured by high salaries, but these silver smelters are insiders.

Huo Hai stood on the high place of the silver mine, and also read out loudly: "Pass on Your Majesty's holy message!" This is the Ming Emperor Mine, whoever dares to mine with the Ouchi family will be copied and beheaded! ”

The Ming Dynasty only gave up on the Iwami Silver Mine strategically, but now it can be said that it was a sudden whim, so it decided to bloody the little mice of the Iwami Silver Mine.

"Kill them, let's go back to Daming and be good citizens!"

Although the oppressed miners were keen on wealth, they also cherished their families, not to mention that they were already unwilling to be oppressed, so they rose up one after another.

A burly miner burst out of the mine and swung his pickaxe at a fat mineman, who made a sharp arc in the air and slammed it on the fat mine's shoulder.

The fat mine warden screamed in pain, and the leather whip in his hand fell to the ground.

The miner didn't give him any respite, and then swung a pickaxe and slashed at the fat mine's head, splattering blood instantly.

Other miners followed suit, and they used their iron picks, hammers and other tools to fight to the death against the mine supervisors, and the bitterness of nearly half a year exploded at this moment.

"Have you rebelled? If you dare to go against our Zheng family, there is no place for you in the entire Jiangnan! Zheng Yu saw the uncontrolled scene, but threatened loudly.

A miner avoided Zheng Yu's leather whip, but instead of retreating, he rushed forward with an arrow, and then swung the flat pole in his hand and smashed it on Zheng Yu's knee.

With a crisp "click", Zheng Yu's kneecap shattered in response, and then he fell to the ground in pain while holding his injured leg and rolled up.

Burst!

The bullied old miner came here with a hammer in his hand, and in Zheng Yu's frightened afterglow, the hammer fell heavily on Zheng Yu's head, and blood splattered everywhere.

Huo Hai thought it would take a little effort, but when he saw the scene in the mine, he took pity on these weak mine supervisors, and they were unilaterally slaughtered by the miners.

Zhao Jia noticed Huo Hai, only nodded slightly, and then led his subordinates into the forest in front of him, disappearing here as if he had never appeared.

The riots in the mining area were not small, and the blood was scattered with the wind, so the news here was quickly known to Iwami Kuni, and then passed on to Yamaguchi Castle as soon as possible.

When the news reached Yamaguchi Castle, it was Ouchi Yoshixing who was meeting with the Ming envoy Xie Qian.

"You did this?" Ouchi Yoshixing suddenly realized that Da Ming might not be as bad as he thought, but he asked angrily.

Xie Qian already knew that Da Ming had already launched an operation, and he was not surprised by this news: "Can't we do this?" Don't forget, the mining rights of Iwami Silver Mine are in the hands of our Daming, and there is also a family emblem seal of your Ouchi family as a basis! In order to avoid our unpleasantness, I advise you not to send people there again, otherwise you will be bloodied again! ”

Although he didn't know the emperor's overall plan, the Ming Dynasty took the initiative to make friends with the Ouchi family when he set up the East China Sea Governor's Mansion on Senzhi Island, for the sake of this Iwami silver mine.

Originally, the relationship between the two sides was harmonious, and the Ming Dynasty had already started the mining plan in Iwami Province.

Due to the turmoil at the Great Dynasty Meeting on New Year's Day this year, and the Jiangnan firm made an obstruction, which eventually led to the complete friendship between the Ming Dynasty and the Ouchi family, and the Iwami Silver Mine was "changed hands" by the Ouchi family.

It's just that the Ming court never said that it would give up the mining rights of the Iwami Silver Mine, and it still held the seal of the Ouchi family in its hand, so the mining rights of the Iwami Silver Mine still belonged to the Ming Dynasty, and the Jiangnan firm was just a latecomer.

"Your Ming Navy cut off the strait to prevent us from contacting Kyushu, and you dare to return to the Iwami Silver Mine?" Kurada Masayori thought of Daming's "evil deeds" and immediately asked angrily.

Xie Qian didn't answer, but looked at Ouchi Yixing with a smile and said, "Young family master Ouchi, is the family crest of your Ouchi family not counting?" ”

Ouchi Yoshixing's brows couldn't help frowning, this matter was related to the century-old reputation of their Ouchi clan, so it was naturally not good to openly go back on his word.

It's just that I didn't know the value of Iwami Silver Mine before, but after contacting Jiangnan Firm, I knew that Iwami Silver Mine was enough to buy the whole of China.

Ouchi Yoshixing's head was nimble, and even though he jokingly ridiculed: "You dare to sneak attack our mine personnel this time, and you dare to mine in Iwami Province?" ”

Xie Qian shook his head lightly, and said lightly: "We are just a little mouse on the silver mine this time, and we should have withdrawn to Daming City by now!" ”

"You love silver as much as your life, how can you not mine! Young master, please allocate 2,000 people immediately, and I will lead people to the bloody stone to see the silver mine! Kurada Masalai didn't believe it at all, but he immediately asked for his life.

Ouchi Yoshixing is a teenager, and when he said, "Okay! ”

Xie Qian saw that the other party didn't believe it, and saw Zangtian Zhenglai striding away, so he shook his head helplessly.

"I don't know what your intention is to come here this time?" Tao Qiandao personally went to the capital to see the strength of the Ming Dynasty, but he inquired with some respect.

Ouchi Yoshixing realized that Xie Qian had not revealed his true intentions, and couldn't help but look at this personable Ming envoy curiously.

"We have the virtue of a good life! I heard that the silver in your Ouchi family's current treasury is as high as one million taels? Xie Qian asked with a slight smile.

Before Ouchi Yoshixing could speak, a retainer next to him said in a strange manner: "Your Daming news is well-informed, so what?" ”

Because the ore mined by the Iwami Silver Mine is now on the surface, it is much easier to mine, and there is the foundation laid by the Ming Dynasty, so the silver produced in the past half a year has been continuously produced.

Although half of the silver produced belonged to the Jiangnan firm, in order to show the sincerity of the cooperation, the Jiangnan firm also handed over the silver to the Ouchi family to transport the silver to the kiln of Yamaguchi Castle for storage.

"If you give us all the million taels to Da Ming, we Da Ming can give you 10,000 stone essence grain to replace!" Xie Qian looked up at Ouchi Yixing, and said amazingly.

As soon as these words came out, there was silence everywhere.

Everyone looked at Xie Qian in disbelief as if they couldn't believe their eyes.

Although 10,000 stone essence grain is a lot, it costs a million taels of silver to buy it, which is simply a big joke in the world. Not to mention that silver is the official currency of the Ming Dynasty, even if silver is not valuable, it can easily be exchanged for a large amount of grain.

Not to mention that their Ouchi clan can produce their own food, and now with the help of Jiangnan merchants, they only need to nod slightly, and a large amount of cheap Korean rice will be transported to their Ouchi family's territory.

Ouchi Yixing has a strong talent for arithmetic, and immediately said with a mocking face: "You Daming sell one stone of refined grain for one hundred taels? You're crazy, aren't you? ”

"The word has arrived! Whether you want to trade or not, it's up to you! Xie Qian seemed to have guessed this reaction, and said goodbye very calmly.

The goal of his mission this time was not to lobby the Ouchi family, but more to convey their attitude and trading conditions of the Ming Dynasty, and most importantly, the Ming Dynasty decided to impose a complete economic blockade on them.

In fact, the most important thing in this era has never been gold and silver, but food.

Xie Qian hoped that after the Ouchi family experienced this time, they would be able to understand the insurmountable gap between them and the Ming Dynasty, in fact, it was a gift for them to send Ouchi Saeiko to the dragon bed. (End of chapter)