Cao Jin, an old ore hunter in Jiangxi, Xu Xiake, a travel expert, and Abel Tasman, an explorer of the East India Company, have led an exploration team for several years.
People often pick up the dog's head gold, two or three counties in a radius have been explored. A few gold veins have been found, but they are all low-quality. It is estimated that the gold dug out can barely recover the mining cost.
The only work result is that Xu Xiake wrote a few more travel notes, recording the mountains, rivers, topography and customs of those counties.
Until last year, the exploration team finally discovered high-quality gold deposits in Changning County, Hengyang Prefecture.
Historically, this gold mine was discovered in the Qing Dynasty. It was mined secretly by the people at the beginning, and it was nationalized at the end of the Qing Dynasty. In the 1980s of New China, the second exploration of the old mine was carried out, and the largest gold mine in the country was discovered at that time!
?As a reward, both Cao Jin and Xu Xiake were given land, and served as the principal (the seventh rank) and the deputy (the eighth rank) respectively in the Prospecting Institute of the Ministry of Industry.
Abel Tasman also obtained Nanjing household registration, and Zhao Han also negotiated with the governor of Batavia, ordering him to send Abel's wife and children here. As a result, the East India Company sent a letter saying that Abel's wife had remarried and agreed to send Abel's son with him when trading horses next time.
When this guy was sad, he married a village girl in Changning County.
The village girl's family still looked down on him, thinking that he was too ugly with red hair and green eyes, and he had no official status and no land.
Abel had no choice but to write a letter to Zhao Han, requesting that he be given an official status, which can be regarded as an advance payment for the next reward. Zhao Han didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and felt that this person was useful, so he gave it to a low-level official from the ninth rank.
"Dang Dang Dang!"
Workers of the prospecting team are digging earth and rocks with shovels.
This time it was Xu Xiake who discovered the relevant position, and Cao Jin and Abel determined the excavation site.
A piece of gravel was dug out. Cao Jin, an old craftsman, picked it up to observe, then struck the knife in his hand, and said happily, "It's a magnet, and there is either copper or gold underneath!"
"Guanzi Dishu Chapter": "Whoever has a magnet on the top, there is copper and gold on the bottom."
This is a prospecting method used in China for two thousand years, and it is useful for vertical ore bodies. Some kind of ore in the outer layer is called "mine seedling" or "mine lead", which has an indicative effect on the minerals in the inner layer.
In addition, it can also be identified by plants, some plants absorb minerals and change color or shape.
Although Abel Tasman, a self-confident and experienced explorer, brought a set of European prospecting methods, he learned more in China.
Prospectors continue to dig below, and the next step is to try their luck.
Good luck, rich mines, everyone is happy; bad luck, poor mines, nothing.
The workers were doing physical labor, while the three leaders sat by to rest and observe.
Abel skillfully took out the Chinese tobacco rod, stuffed the shredded tobacco into the pot, and said in Chinese: "Old Cao, borrow a fire."
Cao Jin had already smoked it, and handed over the unextinguished fire.
? Xu Xiake is also puffing up his breath. He should have died last year. He suffered from foot disease while traveling in Yunnan, and was carried back to Jiangsu by the chieftain.
Cao Jin asked: "Lao An, how old is your son?"
Abel Tasman's Chinese name is An Siwen. He replied: "Nine years old, living in Lao Xu's house, and still learning to speak Chinese."
Cao Jin proudly showed off: "My eldest grandson is fifteen this year. Yesterday, I received a letter from my family saying that more than 300 people passed the provincial examination."
Jiangxi was the first to open elementary and middle schools. It has the largest number of students, the highest quality of students, and the most difficult exams. It is already very impressive to be able to take more than 300 exams.
After all, it is the land of Longxing, and there are many candidates, so the top 100 students in Jiangxi this year can go to Nanjing to study as official fee students.
It will not work next year. Nanchang University is about to be completed. From now on, Jiangxi government fee students can only study in Nanchang.
Cao Jin asked Xu Xiake again: "Does Mr. Xu's family also have children taking exams?"
Xu Xiake flicked the shredded tobacco with a dead branch, and replied: "The eldest grandson and two grandnephews are all taking the provincial examination this year, and I don't know how much they passed."
Cao Jin said with a smile: "It happens that the reward silver hasn't been spent yet, so it's all used to pay for grandson's tuition. I've heard people say that Jinling University is the Imperial College of the previous dynasty, and as long as you go to study, you will be a good husband."
Occupying Hubei was relatively late, and now there are only primary schools, and secondary schools will be established next year¡ªthe first batch of primary school students will graduate.
The areas north of the Yangtze River in Jiangsu and Anhui provinces are similar to the situation in Hubei. This time, all the students who participated in the provincial unified examination were students from the south of the Yangtze River, and all of them were grade skippers. Including Jinling Mansion,The Xu family that I married off has been split into nine shares, at least one more split before I can rest assured.
The Fei family will also be dismantled, and a few will be dismantled and sent to Shandong and Henan.
The two royal families have been dismantled, and the rest of the big families dare to chew their tongues?
It was getting late, when Xu Xiake and others went down the mountain to return to the village, they just ran into a group of criminals escorted by officials.
Xu Xiake was quite surprised, and asked: "At such an old age, you are still fined to be a miner?"
The officer pointed to the dozen or so people and said, "They are all big traitors. This is Hong Chengchou, this is Zuo Liangyu, this is Sun Dingliao, and this is Meng Xiongbi"
Cao Jin spat: "Bah, shameless!"
Xu Xiake looked over curiously, Hong Chengchou raised his hand to cover his face, but Zuo Liangyu was in a trance.
"Cough cough cough"
Zuo Liangyu suddenly coughed, and when she covered her mouth, her palms were covered in blood. He didn't get the plague, but he was really sick, and he probably died in the mine within half a month.
The official officer pointed to Hong Chengchou's braid, and said with a smile, "Look, everyone, the money rat tail. His Majesty forbids them to cut off the braid. There are people watching all the way. This pig tail is so ugly. I don't know what the Tartars think." of."
Hong Chengchou covered his face, but he couldn't cover his braid, because his hands were shackles.
Cao Jin stepped over, grabbed the braid and pulled it, and said with a smile: "It's really similar to a pig's tail."
Hong Chengchou's head was pulled back, and he felt a great shame in his heart. He was afraid of death, so he surrendered to the Qing Dynasty; he was afraid of death, so he was captured by the Datong army; he was afraid of death, so he was escorted all the way to Jiangxi.
But now, he finally wants to commit suicide, and find a chance to finish it off.