Chapter 353: We Came to Mine Coal

Chapter 353: We Came to Mine Coal

Departing from Gaojia Village, they first traveled along a cement road to Zhengjia Village. After that, only the S-shaped earthen mountain road scraped out by Li Daoxuan with a metal scraper remained. Following this path down the mountain, they entered the territory of Heyang County.

Continuing east along the dirt road led to Yang Village in Heyang County.

A large number of porters were already busy with road construction in Yang Village, paid wages by Gaojia Village, creating a scene bustling with activity.

Gao Yiye, seeing this, felt quite pleased: “The common people of Heyang County now have work and food, just like our folk in Chengcheng County. Wherever the Deity reaches, everyone can live a good life.”

Qiu Ju remarked, “Isn’t that so? The Deity is truly a good man—ah, no, a good god.”

Dong Xue added, “Without the Deity’s help, we’d still be living those hard lives in the brothel. Thinking back now, it feels like a lifetime ago.”

Gao Yiye reached out and clasped the hands of the two girls, Qiu and Dong: “Rest assured, that time has passed.”

Both girls nodded.

Their procession was actually quite conspicuous. Over a hundred fully armed militiamen provided escort, flanking a large cart in the center. The cart’s curtain was slightly lifted, revealing a beauty gazing out the window.

The Heyang County laborers working on the road couldn’t help but whisper amongst themselves.

“Whose wealthy lord’s family is that?”

“Shh, you don’t know? That’s the Saint Lady of the Dao Xuan Deity.”

“What? What ‘Dao Xuan Deity’?”

“Did you forget? Who did Daoist Priest Ma Tianzheng beseech for rain last time?”

“Ah! I remember now! The great deity who invited the Four Sea Dragon Kings to bring the rain!”

“Now you’ve got it. When drinking water, don’t forget who dug the well. The fact that we received rain here is all thanks to the Dao Xuan Deity inviting the Four Sea Dragon Kings.”

“Our daily jobs paying three jin of flour also depend entirely on the Dao Xuan Deity.”

“Show respect to the Saint Lady!”

The laborers’ whispers quickly spread the news. Soon, wherever Gao Yiye’s cart passed, all the laborers on both sides of the road knelt in reverence. They had no direct way to thank the god, so seeing the Saint Lady representing him approach, they naturally expressed their gratitude.

Qiu Ju glanced out the cart window and turned back: “Saint Lady, the common people are all bowing toward our cart.”

Gao Yiye smiled faintly: “Just how benevolent the Deity is, they’ve now experienced it for themselves. I truly wish all the common people under heaven could have such a day too.”

Beyond Yang Village, the group turned southeast, crossing the flattest farmland area in Heyang County. Li Daoxuan had taken turns bringing rain to this whole region. Farmers were busily at work in their fields.

It was already the spring of the Third Year of Chongzhen, the season for spring ploughing.

The Deity’s timely rain brought everyone immense joy. Farmers desperately tilled their land and planted their crops. Signs of flourishing vitality filled the entire plain.

The distance from Yang Village to Heyang County was over twenty li. The terrain was flat, so the procession took only a little over one shichen (roughly two hours). They hadn’t sent any messengers ahead, so Heyang County Magistrate Feng Jun had no idea they were coming and was completely unprepared to receive them.

The two old soldiers guarding the city gate were startled by the sudden appearance of a large troop armed to the teeth and almost sounded the alarm gong.

Fortunately, local folk who had gotten the news rushed in first, hollering at the gate guards: “That’s the Saint Lady of the Dao Xuan Deity! The Dao Xuan Deity who sent us the rain!”

Only then did the veteran soldiers lower the mallet they were about to strike the gong with, flung the city gates wide open, and extended a warm welcome.

Yamen runners swiftly ran to inform Feng Jun. He hurriedly put on his official garments, straightened his official hat, and came out to greet them.

Seeing Gao Yiye, Feng Jun paused in surprise. He had met this young lady before – last time, she had claimed to be Madam Li, the master’s wife. Now she arrived as the Dao Xuan Deity’s Saint Lady?

But he wasn’t stupid. His mind raced. The Dao Xuan Deity’s true name was Li Daoxuan. And a “Saint Lady” was essentially positioning herself as the god’s woman. So calling herself “Madam Li” still made some sense.

In any case, this person represented Gaojia Village and must be treated with importance. Saint Lady or not, thinking of her simply as the Gaojia Village Chief wouldn’t be wrong.

Feng Jun performed a formal salute: “Madam Li, Steward Thirty-Two, what brings such esteemed guests here? What guidance do you offer?”

Gao Yiye no longer needed Thirty-Two to relay words when speaking to the Magistrate. An air of the master’s wife was evident now: “We came to Heyang County this time to mine coal.”

“Oh? Mining?”

This request genuinely surprised Feng Jun.

“Yes, mining,” Gao Yiye replied with a smile. “We want to contract the coal mine at Jinshuigou.”

Feng Jun’s expression instantly turned awkward.

Since its founding, the Ming Dynasty strictly forbade private mining. There had even been several revolts by miners and clashes with officials due to illicit mining operations.

However, by the mid-Ming period, the imperial court’s control over private mines had relaxed significantly. By the Chongzhen era, maintaining control became nearly impossible. Private miners began operating in various areas – near the capital, the Jiangnan Region, Shanxi, etc. Private owners would develop a mine shaft and hand over a quarter of the proceeds to the court as mining tax. The court, content to collect the money, essentially outsourced coal mine operations to private bosses. This was one aspect of the early stages of capitalism emerging in late Ming.

Of course, the “quarter” claimed was seldom the actual amount collected. There was no reliable way to audit how much coal a private pit actually produced. How could local officials possibly know?

Therefore, the final amount of tax paid depended entirely on negotiations between the mining pit boss and the supervising official. If the coal boss had powerful backing, the tax could be very low, even waived entirely.

Within this context, wealthy merchants in the Jiangnan Region colluded with officials, evading nearly all mining taxes, depriving the central treasury of revenue.

This situation persisted until one formidable figure emerged: Wei Zhongxian.

Though this “Nine Thousand Years Old” eunuch made many questionable decisions, he implemented one brilliant strategy: taxing the coal mines operated by officials in the Jiangnan Region. He forbade them from further skimming profits or padding their own coffers, forcing them to cough up the quarter share for the imperial treasury.

This single move essentially offended all civil officials in the Jiangnan Region…

Thinking of this, Feng Jun’s nose blood started pouring out!

Gao Yiye was startled: “Lord Feng, your nose is bleeding!”

“Huh?” Feng Jun wiped his nose roughly with his hand. The streak of blood on his face formed a wavy line, betraying how violently his hand trembled as he wiped.

He spoke in a stiff voice: “Madam Li intends to contract the Jinshuigou coal mine in our Heyang County? This matter… I fear… This official may speak frankly. Since the death of Wei Zhongxian, the new policies the court issued regarding mine taxes are somewhat… cough… this mine business might be… tricky to handle.”