Aside from Third Fatty Tong's ancestors, almost no one knew that there was a gold mine in Mount Luzhou. This was the Tong family's secret and could not be casually revealed. If not for Third Fatty Tong's drunken slip of the tongue, Nan Jiyun would not have known about it.
It was still dawn, and the stars were still high in the sky. Nan Jiyun rode a fast horse and left Gourd Cave, heading towards Luzhou City.
Thirty li wasn't too far, but it wasn't too close either. By the time Nan Jiyun arrived at the gates of Luzhou City, the sky had already begun to brighten and the sound of bells and drums could be heard from the city.
This meant that a new day had begun. The gates of the city and the gates of the city were opened one after another, and the people waiting outside the gates entered the city one after another.
Nan Jiyun was not in the mood to enjoy this scene. He urged his horse into the city and went straight to Third Fatty Tong's residence.
At this moment, Third Fatty Tong had already gotten up. Businessmen did not wake up early if there was no profit to be made. As the shopkeeper of three taverns and five bronzeware shops, he had too many things to take care of personally. Some core matters, such as finances, could not be left to anyone else. He could only be at ease if he was in charge of them himself.
He had not gone to the copper mine outside the city for a while, and it was time for him to go and supervise it. In addition, he was planning to build a brewery. This way, his three taverns would not need to rely on other people's breweries to get their goods. This would undoubtedly save him a lot of money.
The greed of man was endless. The poor wanted to live like the rich, and the rich wanted to have more money. Everyone was constantly chasing after benefits, and their lives were unknowingly held hostage by greed. Third Fatty Tong was clearly such a person. His mind was filled with thoughts of how to get rich, how to seize more benefits.
"Alang, Nan Jiyun is here."
Third Fatty Tong, who was thinking about how to open a brewery, was startled. He asked in surprise, "What is Nan Jiyun doing here?"
When he thought of how he had forgiven Nan Jiyun's fifty strings of string of cash a few days ago, he felt an inexplicable pain in his heart.
"Alang, Nan Jiyun seems to be in a hurry. I'm afraid something big has happened."
Third Fatty Tong was shocked again. He felt a little uneasy. "If it's a blessing, it's not a curse. If it's a curse, we can't avoid it. Tell him that I'll be there soon."
As a businessman who paid attention to his image, Third Fatty Tong had to tidy up his clothes before meeting customers. It would be rude to go out in white underwear.
"Nan Jiyun, what a rare guest! Bring me some tea!"
Third Fatty Tong felt uneasy, but on the surface, he was all smiles and politeness.
"Third Fatty Tong, you're up pretty early."
Nan Jiyun's personality was relatively straightforward. Seeing Third Fatty Tong come out to greet guests so quickly, it was obvious that he had woken up early.
Third Fatty Tong had a helpless look on his face. "I'm born to be a worrier. I have to worry about three taverns and five copper shops. There's nothing I can do about it. Isn't it all for survival?"
Nan Jiyun had a disdainful look on her face. "Third Fatty Tong, you're already rich enough. You don't have to pretend to be poor in front of me."
Third Fatty Tong pursed his lips and smiled awkwardly.
Nan Jiyun took a sip of tea and went straight to the point. "Third Fatty Tong, it's really hard for you to run so many taverns and copper shops. If you were to mine the gold mines that your ancestors once mined, you would definitely be earning more money than now."
"That's true. The profits from gold mines are much more than that. If I could find a gold mine, I wouldn't have to work so hard." Third Fatty Tong replied casually. Suddenly, he was startled and looked at Nan Jiyun in surprise. "What gold mine? Since when did my ancestors mine gold mines?"
Seeing Third Fatty Tong's wandering eyes, Nan Jiyun had a look of disdain. "Third Fatty Tong, you don't have to hide it from me. You told me all this yourself when you were drunk."
"When I was drunk!"
Third Fatty Tong had a crying face. He clasped his hands together and prayed. "Ancestors above, this unfilial descendant …"
"Alright, Third Fatty Tong, pack up and follow me to Gourd Valley. General Li wants to see you."
"General Li wants to see me!"
Third Fatty Tong thought for a moment and suddenly realized something. His eyes lit up. "Gold mine? Did you find a gold mine?"
Nan Jiyun didn't hide it. "That's right. We found it in Gourd Valley."
"So it's in Gourd Valley. People used to live here, and there are hundreds of families. How come no one found a gold mine?"
Third Fatty Tong was filled with regret. Gourd Valley had always been inhabited, and he never thought that there would be a gold mine there. Thus, he never went to explore it. Although the gold mine had reappeared, he wasn't the one who found it. At least, he couldn't take it for himself. This made him feel a bit regretful.
Third Fatty Tong left Luzhou City with Nan Jiyun with complicated feelings. They set off for Gourd Valley.
"Nan Jiyun, did General Li want me to be in charge of mining the gold mine?"
Third Fatty Tong couldn't help but ask on the way.
"General Li only told me to find you. He didn't say anything else. However, you can work hard to get it."
Third Fatty Tong nodded and secretly made up his mind to get the mining rights for the gold mine. This was a gold mine, and the gold mined was much more valuable than copper.
Thirty miles didn't take much time to travel on horseback. Soon, they entered Gourd Valley and headed straight for the cave in East Cove. Nan Jiyun knew that Ang Lee must be near the cave at this moment.
"Where is the general?"
Nan Jiyun asked softly as he looked at the Dragon Martial Army's general guarding outside the cave.
"Nan Jiyun, you're back so soon."
Ang Lee was walking out of the cave with a few generals when he heard Nan Jiyun's voice.
"General, Third Fatty Tong is here."
"Third Fatty Tong greets the general."
Third Fatty Tong was full of smiles.
"Third Fatty Tong, what's your real name?"
Third Fatty Tong was stunned. "General, I'm called Third Fatty Tong. My mother has been calling me that since I was young."
"Haha, that's a good name too."
Ang Lee smiled and looked at Third Fatty Tong. "I heard that your ancestor was a gold officer of the Shu Kingdom who mined gold in the Luzhou area. Is that true?"
"General, this has been passed down for generations. It can't be wrong."
Third Fatty Tong patted his chest and promised.
Ang Lee nodded. "Nan Jiyun has already told me some things, but he doesn't know much. I still have many questions that I can't answer. I hope you can tell me everything about the gold mine."
"Yes, General. I dare not hide anything."
Third Fatty Tong didn't dare to refuse and told him everything about the gold mine.
As the Shu Kingdom's gold officer, Tong Tie, the ancestor of Tong San Pang, could be said to be extremely competent. He seriously mined gold and provided an endless stream of wealth for the Shu Kingdom's imperial court. This ensured that Zhuge Liang's six expeditions to Mount Qishan and Jiang Wei's nine expeditions to the Central Plains had a sufficient financial foundation, making great contributions to Shu Kingdom.
However, with the destruction of the Shu Kingdom, their fate changed. After Jiang Wei surrendered to the Wei Kingdom, he wanted to revive the Shu Han Empire. He hid the matter of the gold mine and asked Tong Tie to continue mining, providing him with the foundation of wealth to revive the Shu Han Empire. Tong Tie also followed Jiang Wei's request and imagined that the Shu Han Empire would be revived one day. However, Jiang Wei did not succeed. His efforts failed and he died in the chaos.
With Jiang Wei's death, the Shu Kingdom no longer had any hope of reviving. What should they do with the large amount of gold and the mines? Should they surrender to the Wei Kingdom or continue to fight against the Wei Kingdom?
For a moment, the three hundred Yuan Army crossbowmen and a thousand miners were all in a state of panic. There were all kinds of people, but no one could convince anyone.
Some loyalists believed that as citizens of the Kingdom of Shu, they should be loyal to the Kingdom of Shu and should not surrender to the Kingdom of Wei. They swore to protect the dignity of the Kingdom of Shu with their lives. However, there were also capitulators who felt that the unification of the world was inevitable. The late Emperor Liu Bei and Prime Minister Zhuge had passed away many years ago, and the late Emperor Liu Chan was far from the virtuous officials. The fate of the Kingdom of Shu had come to an end, and there was no need for them to compensate for the Kingdom of Shu. After all, even the Emperor Liu Chan had knelt down and surrendered, and went to Luoyang to enjoy life.
Everyone loved their country, but at the same time, they were also afraid of death. This was human nature. In a situation where there was no hope for the Shu Kingdom, most people weren't willing to be buried with the Shu Kingdom. They were more willing to surrender to the Wei Kingdom and continue to live a carefree life.
Out of the three hundred Yuan Army crossbowmen, less than a hundred were loyal to the Shu Kingdom. The thousand miners all wished to continue living. Whether they were citizens of the Shu Kingdom or the Wei Kingdom was not important to them. As the commoners of the lowest class, they didn't care about these things. They only wished to live.
Most people requested to surrender to the Wei Kingdom. This was a necessary condition for them to continue living. The voices of the few loyal people were very small. Although they were very angry, there was nothing they could do.
Lieutenant Tong Tie was a loyal member of the Shu Kingdom. The destruction of the Shu Kingdom made him extremely hostile to the Wei Kingdom. He would rather destroy the gold mine than let the Wei Kingdom obtain this wealth.
After careful consideration, he found nearly a hundred loyal members of the Shu Kingdom and hatched a cruel plan. He wanted to take his 1,300 subordinates and disappear with the gold mine. This would completely cut off the possibility of the Wei Kingdom obtaining the gold mine.
The loyal members were extremely determined. They swore to protect the secret of the gold mine even at the cost of their lives. They decided to take action the next day.
People's hearts were made of flesh, and sometimes, it was inevitable that they would be soft-hearted. That night, Tong Tie told his wife and son to leave as soon as possible, as far away as possible, and never come back. Thus, his wife and son became the only survivors.
His wife and son were halfway there when they had a premonition that Tong Tie might do something stupid. They immediately rushed back. When they returned to the mine, they heard a loud rumble and the entrance of the mine collapsed.
The woman and son were unable to move so many huge rocks. They could only cry outside. At the same time, they vaguely heard the sound of weapons colliding. Then, thick smoke floated out from the cracks of the rocks at the entrance of the mine, accompanied by the smell of burnt corpses.
As for what exactly happened inside, only the thousand or so corpses inside knew.
In order to let Tong Tie die in peace, the woman and son never revealed the matter of the mine. They didn't even tell their descendants the exact location of the mine. They only said that it was in the mountains near Luzhou.
After listening to Tong San Pang's introduction, Ang Lee and the others suddenly realized that Tong San Pang's ancestor was a loyal official of Shu. This made Ang Lee admire him.
However, there were still some questions that Ang Lee had to continue asking.
For example, the copper Zhuge Repeating Crossbow and its arrows. Also, why were the arrows made of copper?
Tong San Pang also explained these questions. The copper Zhuge Repeating Crossbow was given to Tong Tie by Zhuge Liang. He also told him that if the Yuan Army's crossbowmen dared to disobey orders, they could be killed with the crossbow. Killing first and reporting later was a symbol of power. However, Tong San Pang's ancestors had always passed down that the crossbow was a golden crossbow. They didn't expect it to be made of copper. Gold was too expensive.
As for the large number of arrows, Tong San Pang also explained that it was because Shu was lacking in resources. Almost all of the pig iron had been sent to Hanzhong to make weapons for the Northern Expedition. There were many copper mines in the South. Furthermore, copper didn't rust easily. In places that didn't need to be used often, it was more cost-effective to use copper.
After clarifying the series of problems in the gold mine, Ang Lee finally heaved a sigh of relief. Although these things didn't affect the mining of the gold mine, there were still so many corpses inside. Ang Lee felt uneasy if he didn't know the reason.
"Third Fatty Tong, there are more than a thousand corpses in this mine. Your ancestor should be among them. Although I can't tell who your ancestor is, these people died here because of your ancestor. They were all your ancestor's subordinates and your seniors. Why don't we bury them all together and build a big tomb in the East Cove Higher Cove Higher Cove Higher Cove Higher Cove?"
Tong San Pang nodded excitedly. "I didn't think that I would be able to see the remains of my ancestor. Thank you, General, for building the tomb. I will hold a memorial ceremony for my ancestor and his subordinates."
Ang Lee looked at one of the Dragonmartial Army officers. "Immediately dig a big hole there and move all the corpses inside. Build a big tomb."
"Yes, General."
The Dragonmartial Army officer accepted the order and immediately mobilized his subordinates to start work.
After moving all the corpses out of the mine, the next step was naturally to mine the gold mine. Ang Lee looked at Tong San Pang and said softly, "This morning, I asked my subordinates to find Mine Owner Li. He said that the cost of mining the gold mine is at least half of the price of the gold. He's willing to split the remaining profits 40-60 with the court."
Tong San Pang's heart skipped a beat. It seemed that someone had beaten him to it. He hurriedly asked, "Is it Mine Owner Li from the south of the city?"
"Yes, it's him."
"General, he's too greedy. Gold mines are different from copper mines. The cost of mining is at most 20% of the price of the gold. It might not even be 20%. He actually said that he wants half. This person is dishonest. You can't give the gold mine to him."
Tong San Pang curled his lips and spoke ill of Mine Owner Li.
Ang Lee grinned and said softly, "If that's the case, the cost is only 20%, the court will get 30%, and Mine Owner Li will get 50%. That's even more than the court."
"That's right. That Mine Owner Li is too greedy. He actually got more than the court."
Tong San Pang said with certainty.
Ang Lee was completely amused. He was starting to doubt Tong San Pang's intelligence. How could he be fooled by a random hole he dug?
"Tong San Pang, we'll split it 30-70. After deducting 20% of the cost, you'll get 30% of the remaining profits. The court of the Tang dynasty will get 70%. Alright, it's settled. Go find people and get ready to start work."
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