The first lord of the poor family

Chapter 72 The prince behind the scenes
Zhang Xuelong looked confused after hearing this.

He quickly stopped the messenger and asked, "Your Majesty? Which prince are you talking about? When did a prince come to our place?"

The man looked at Zhang Xuelong.

"Are you the magistrate of this county?"

"That's right, it's me," Zhang Xuelong said.

"Oh, since you are here, then come with me. This will save the prince from having to send someone to find you!"

This person didn't take the county magistrate seriously at all.

Although he is just a servant, as the saying goes.

A third-rank official in the prime minister's sect is completely ignored by a mere county magistrate.

The county magistrate did not dare to ask any more questions and immediately called for others to follow him.

He also wanted to see which prince was coming.

If you can strike up a conversation with the prince and gain his appreciation, your future will be limitless.

We arrived at Lin Hai's home together, and Qiaoer was busy boiling water to entertain him.

Lin Hai walked over and saluted: "Student has met the prince."

"Free gift!"

Lin Tiangui's face was filled with joy, Lin Hai was really his lucky general.

We had only met him for a few days and already he had made great achievements for him, and he would soon be able to regain military power in the future.

Zhang Xuelong was shocked when he saw Lin Tiangui's face. Such a famous prince was actually in his territory.

And he had no idea.

He quickly saluted forward.

"Xiaguan County Magistrate Zhang Xuelong has met the prince!"

Lin Tiangui's eyes fell on him, "So you are Zhang Xuelong. I have heard of you. You have done well as an official here.

An iron mine is going to be opened here, and you have to cooperate well with Lin Hai.

This is a major event related to the imperial court and the country! "

"I understand and will definitely try my best to help!" Zhang Xuelong replied quickly.

Lin Hai smiled slightly and said, "The county magistrate should believe this. I am just a commoner, and I don't dare to deceive the county magistrate."

"What do you believe? Is there some misunderstanding between you two?" Lin Tiangui asked with confusion.

"Where, where, it was just a small misunderstanding, it has been completely resolved!" Zhang Xuelong said quickly.

If he said it out and made Lin Tiangui unhappy, he might not be able to keep his hat.

If a prince wants to capture him, he can't just say a word.

"It's a small misunderstanding, but it's my fault. I didn't tell the magistrate in advance." Lin Hai said with a smile.

"I am a little curious. Can you tell me what happened?"

"Well, the prince asked me to explore for iron ore. I was thinking of building a shortcut to the official road, so that transportation would be much more convenient.

Just as we were passing through Beishan, the trees on the road had to be cut down.

So this led to the misunderstanding!

If I had told the county magistrate earlier, he probably would not have come to arrest me personally.

Your Majesty, please don’t blame the county magistrate for this. After all, the county magistrate also does things with care! "

Lin Hai explained.

"So that's it, you should be more thoughtful. Transporting ore and refined iron is indeed very important.

Zhang Xuelong, you must fully cooperate with this matter. "

"Yes, yes, I will definitely cooperate."

Zhang Xuelong quickly agreed.

There were beads of sweat on his head because of the nervousness. Fortunately, Lin Hai remembered his previous friendship and helped him speak.

He felt a little regretful because the price he paid for those tiger skins was too low.

If he had known that Lin Hai had found a powerful backer so quickly, he would not have dared to give him less money no matter what.

"Lin Hai, the imperial court's decree has arrived. Let us start mining and smelting iron as soon as possible. In addition, the imperial court has no money now, so the necessary funds must be prepared on the spot."

"It's a trivial matter. Iron is a commodity in short supply. As long as you sell some, it will be enough to cover the expenses." Lin Hai said.Lin Tiangui nodded: "I think so too."

"By the way, ironmaking requires a lot of coal. Although we also produce coal locally, the price is not cheap. Can you ask the county magistrate to guarantee it?

Bring in the coal first and wait for the settlement at the end of the month.

We are all in the iron-making business, and we guarantee that we will not default on our payment. Lin Hai said.

Money is tight now. If the mine is to operate at full capacity, a lot of money will be invested.

Although Lin Tiangui was able to come up with 10 taels, he was still somewhat stretched.

The best way is to get credit first if you can afford it.

Zhang Xuelong knew that this was an opportunity for him to perform meritorious service.

He immediately patted his chest and said: "No problem, this matter is taken care of by this county. There is less coal sold in hot weather, and the dug coal is piled up for use in winter.

If they could buy in large quantities here, they would be happy with it.

The county must go to the mine owners in person, not only to get credit, but also to guarantee the lowest price. "

"Thank you so much, Lord Magistrate."

Lin Tiangui also nodded slightly, feeling that Zhang Xuelong could be regarded as an official.

If he performs well, he can be considered for promotion in the future.

With the permission of the court, work started immediately.

The whole village got busy, digging for ore and hauling it back to the village in horse-drawn carriages.

It is indeed much more convenient to have a large number of horses.

Not only does it save upfront investment, but villagers can also make money by selling goods.

Zhang Xuelong first scolded He Ershu severely when he returned.

Have someone beat him out with a stick.

He Ersab steals the chicken but loses the rice. He wants to cry but has no tears.He didn't earn a penny and was beaten.

Zhang Xuelong said to the head catcher with some fear: "You are still thoughtful. If it weren't for you, I would have been in trouble today."

The head catcher had a wry smile on his face: "I didn't expect that this person was actually the prince. I was so angry that I didn't dare to take a breath."

"Okay, okay, now that this matter is over. Call the boss of the coal mine quickly. I must ask for a low price and let them deliver the goods quickly."

"My subordinate understands, go and call someone now!"

On the same day, dozens of carts of coal were delivered.This is a big business, and there should be no delay.

Although the price given is a little lower, the usage is large, and you can make a lot of money in a year.

Lin Tiangui waited until night because Lin Hai told him that the first furnace of molten iron could be made at night.

He wanted to see with his own eyes how refined iron was refined in such a large furnace.

How much can the output be achieved?

Is it what Lin Hai said can produce hundreds of thousands of catties a year?

This is a major matter that concerns the court as well as yourself.

Lin Hai specializes in killing pigs and sheep, so he must be very tired on the first day of work.

Let everyone be fed and well fed, which can be regarded as a celebration of the start of work.

By midnight, the flames in the blast furnace were burning brightly.

It feels extremely hot even from a distance of more than ten meters.

The clothes the craftsmen were wearing were soaked through.

But they don't mind, because the wages for the work here are very high, five times higher than others.

Lin Hai calculated that the time was almost up and shouted: "Open the furnace and tap out the iron!"

The craftsman opened the plug under the blast furnace, and red molten iron flowed out.

Use a specially prepared container to catch it.

Lin Tiangui stared at the blast furnace with wide eyes.

He said with great excitement: "The molten iron is coming out, it's really coming out, it's great!"

(End of this chapter)