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Just when Jin and Zang Ba were opening the road in Yunmeng Ze, Liu Jing also visited the largest copper mine in Jiangxia. This copper mine is called Lu Tongshan, located on the south side of Wuchang County, opposite Qichun County, which is today's Daye, Hubei.

Green Copper Mountain is not an isolated mountain, but a general term for a hilly mountainous area. As early as the Warring States Period, the Chu State mined alchemy here. During the Han Dynasty, it was an important copper mineral source.

Lutong Mountain is not close to the Yangtze River, and is nearly fifty miles away from the Yangtze River. However, there is a narrow lake called Xisai Lake to the east. The lake is connected to the Yangtze River. More than 20,000 prisoners of war spent a month digging a small canal that was ten miles long, connecting the mine to Xisai Lake, leading to the Yangtze River.

This canal is important and can ensure that copper ore is transported from the mine and directly to Xiakou. This is because the smelting center of Jiangxia is located in Xiakou. The coal transported from Bashu and the iron ore transported from Jiangnan are concentrated in Xiakou to smelp pig iron. More than a thousand craftsmen continuously smelted high-quality steel for the Jiangxia army.

When Liu Jing arrived, the canal had been built. Twenty-five thousand prisoners of war dug ore from huge mines, transported it to Xisai Lake by small boats, and then transferred it to Xiakou by large ships.

More than 25,000 prisoners of war were under the supervision of Qianjiangxia Army, and there were also more officials responsible for the management of the food, camps and ore transportation of prisoners of war. Qianjiangxia Army was commanded by general Xing Daorong, and the officials were managed by smelting commander Li Zhengfang.

Li Zhengfang, also known as Li Yan, whose courtesy name was Zhengfang. After fleeing from Xiangyang to Jiangxia, he became a hired staff member. He was soon promoted to the Jiangxia Army's warehouse manager and was in charge of logistics and food. Li Yan had strong abilities and broad-minded ideas, and was a pioneering official, especially suitable for developing new careers. It is precisely for this reason that Liu Jing appointed him as a smelting envoy, responsible for the mining of copper mines.

In the morning, Liu Jing, accompanied by Li Yan, came to the mine. The reason why it is called Lutong Mountain is indeed that the entire mountain is green and coppery. There are no trees on the mountain, and the rocks are exposed, only covered with dense bushes. There are several huge mine caves distributed on the mountain that is more than ten miles long, and the veins are hidden in the mountain.

The miners first burned the cave with fire and then poured cold water on it, and the ore exploded and became easy to mine. The miners used iron chisels to pry out the huge ore, transported it out of the cave and dumped it directly down the mountain. The ore rolled down the mountain and cracked into gravel. The dense prisoners of war miners collected ore on the mountain more than ten miles long, carried baskets of crushed ore down the mountain with baskets and transported them to the warehouse.

"I remember the mines in the past were not here." Liu Jing looked at the mine cave above his head and asked Li Yan in confusion.

Li Yannian is about ten years old, with a medium figure, dark and thin skin, and full of energy. He bowed and smiled slightly, "The original mine was still more than twenty miles west, and there were huge mines there. However, after five or six years of mining, it was no longer easy to mine, and the canal inside was far away, making it inconvenient to carry it.

So we decided to mine the mine here. The mine here has been mined for nearly 50 years. The conditions are relatively good and the ore level is also high. Not only does it have copper, but also gold. The key is convenient transportation."

As he said that, he pointed to the ore storage warehouse not far away. It was a large warehouse built with huge trees. It was a little simple, with air leakage on all sides. There were hundreds of thousands of kilograms of ore piled up inside. The warehouses were built on the river bank, about one foot higher than the riverbed. The iron sheet was used to create a smooth discharge outlet. The miners only needed to shovel the ore to the iron funnel in the warehouse, and the ore could slide along the smooth iron sheet into the canal boat in the river, which was very convenient.

Liu Jing nodded and asked again: "How did the prisoners of war arrange for them to be there, it seems that there are only seven or eight people working here."

"Reporting to the provincial governor, in order to ensure the physical strength of prisoners of war, his subordinates divided more than 25,000 prisoners of war into mining and transportation, of which 21,000 mining people were divided into diligent, with 7,000 working hours for four hours, and the remaining two were resting. In this way, they could work day and night, and not let the prisoners of war be overworked and let them be able to mine with peace of mind. In this way, most people could go home safely after the New Year."

Liu Jing smiled and said, "It's good and thoughtfully. In addition, you might as well consider giving them some wages so that they can hope that they won't cause rebellion or cause trouble."

Li Yan nodded, "Zhou Mu said yes"

At this time, a team of trough ships were loaded with ore and were about to set off. Liu Jing smiled and said, "I'll go to Xisai Lake with the boat to see what's going on there."

Li Yan hurriedly said, "I'll make arrangements now."

He ran away, stopped the fleet, and gave a few instructions. Liu Jing took a dozen soldiers and Li Yan to board the ship. The fleet went down the water and slowly sailed eastward.

If you don’t consider the mine, the scenery in this area is simply beautiful. There are green mountains and valleys, clear waters and waves, and the rocks on both sides are beautiful. In the distance, the huge rocks on one side are like an axe. The walls are stairs high and covered with strange grass and vines. The top of the mountain is surrounded by clouds and mist. A group of cranes can be seen flying towards the top of the mountain, just like a place where a god is living.

Liu Jing was refreshed and could not help but smile with his hands behind his back, "It's so beautiful that the egrets fly in front of Xisai Mountain, the peach blossoms flowing in the water, the mandarin fish are fat, the green straw raincoat, the green hat, the slanting wind and drizzle are not required to return."

Li Yan next to him couldn't help but praise: "The governor of the state is so beautiful, but Xisai Mountain is still on the riverside to the east. It is Zhaoyue Mountain. The stone walls are like a mirror and the moon is full of shadows. It is also a place of beautiful scenery."

Liu Jing smiled, "In the future, you can build a palace on the top of the mountain, come here to escape the summer heat, or come here to fish for mandarin fish in spring, and experience the artistic conception of the slanting wind and drizzle."

Li Yan hurriedly bowed and said, "If the provincial governor allows him, his subordinates will arrange for people to go up the mountain to find a place to build the palace tomorrow. Complete the construction of the palace before winter. Next spring, the provincial governor will be able to come."

Liu Jing glanced at him and saw that he looked serious, so he shook his head and smiled, "I'm just saying that the world is not yet peaceful, and it's still far from time to enjoy."

"I understand, my subordinates understand." Li Yan smiled bitterly in shame.

.........

One hour later, the fleet entered Xisai Lake. The lake water was about ten miles from east to west and two miles wide from north to south. It was actually a river bay on the Yangtze River, which was very suitable for a port. More than a dozen huge ore warehouses have been built on the south bank of Xisai Lake. Seven ore-eight large ships of thousands of stones are moored on the shore, loading ore.

The use of hanging towers to load ore is also an invention of Majun Jiangyuan. It has been popularized on various docks such as Xiakou and Wuchang. A hanging tower several meters high is erected and the principle of fixed pulleys is used to lift goods onto the ship. The other one uses animal power to pull it away by five cows.

Li Yan accompanied Liu Jing to Xisai Lake Wharf, but had another suggestion, "The governor of the state, has an idea that may be twice the result with half the effort and is more conducive to copper mine mining and smelting."

"What suggestions do you think?" Liu Jing asked interested.

"I want to build a rough refining workshop here to smel rough copper ingots, and then the fleet will transport the rough copper ingots to Xiakou and refine them. Isn't this more savings in transportation capacity than transporting ores?"

Liu Jing saw that the scenery on both sides of the strait was picturesque, with beautiful mountains and rivers, and it was like a paradise. Unfortunately, he built several warehouses and some high-wood shelves, which was a bit regrettable.

He shook his head and smiled, "Isn't it a big shame to build a smelter here? I suggest building a rough refining workshop directly in the mine, what do you think?"

Li Yan was overjoyed and bowed quickly and said, "It's because my subordinates are not considerate. Since the provincial governor agrees, my subordinates will immediately prepare for the construction of a rough refining workshop in the mine."

Seeing Li Yan's decisive behavior, Liu Jing did what he said, and couldn't help but admire his pragmatic style very much. He nodded slowly and said, "Li Chanjun is indeed a talented person. Please join the army to sort out the mining system as soon as possible. I will have another appointment."

.........

After leaving the mine, Liu Jing returned directly to Wuchang. At this time, Sun Quan had returned to Wuhu. Since he had finally decided to join forces with Jingzhou to fight Cao, Sun Quan had a new idea. Once Cao Cao was defeated in Jiangxia, he would lead his army to attack from the eastern front, attack Hefei, and expand Jiangdong's power to the north. This is also a rare opportunity.

At the same time, 50,000 troops from Jiangdong also entered Jiangxia Zhukou, dozens of miles away from the Jiangxia naval army. The two armies echoed each other and supported each other, which was also conducive to joint practice of surface combat.

Xisai Mountain is very close to Wuchang. In just half a day, Liu Jing's boat arrived at Wuchang Wharf. The harbor on the side of the wharf was full of civilian ships. The Jiangxia army had issued a ban on sailing order, starting from Puqi in the west and reaching Chaisang in the east. No civilian ships or fishing boats were allowed to sail on the river thousands of miles away. The Jiangxia navy patrols the river. Once civilian ships violate the order, they will be severely punished, so only official cargo ships and military ships appear on the river.

Private trade activities have also been stopped at the dock, and only the army or official cargo ships are loading and unloading goods. Compared with the bustling and prosperous past, it is much deserted.

Liu Jing got ashore and saw more than a dozen official thousand-stone cargo ships loading grain. Like Xisai Lake, more than a dozen crane towers several meters high were erected on the Wuchang Wharf. There was a pulley on the top of the crane. As long as the grain was put into the leather pocket at one end and the iron chain was pulled on the other end, bags of grain could be sent to the large ship.

No longer relying on manpower to get on board the boat as before, it not only greatly improves loading and unloading efficiency, but also no longer requires so many dock workers, which will help alleviate Jiangxia's labor tension.

Ma Jun's invention was unanimously praised by the officials and people of Jiangxia. Even Jiangdong sent officials to learn from it. It can be imagined that in the near future, countless towers will appear on major docks in Jiangdong.

At this time, Liu Jing unexpectedly saw Ma Jun. He and more than a dozen brothers were standing in front of a hanging tower discussing something. This is Ma Jun's usual style. He will continue to improve his inventions so that it can work more.

Liu Jing walked up with a smile. Ma Jun also saw Liu Jing coming, and hurriedly took his brother forward to salute, "See the governor of the state."

Although he was still a little difficult to say a long sentence, he no longer stuttered in the short sentence. Compared to the past, he seemed more confident. Liu Jing asked with a smile: "Are you discussing what you want to improve the tower?"

“It is, we are thinking about how to save more effort”

Liu Jing suddenly became interested and said with a smile: "You might as well talk in detail."

Ma Jun winked at his elder brother, who stepped forward and clasped his fists and explained: "We are considering installing an iron slider on the crane tower, which is about two meters long. Only by putting the other end on the ship, the grain buns can slide directly from the crane to the cargo warehouse of the ship by itself, which saves more effort. However, this is also inconvenient. It is to transform the leather pockets on the crane tower so that the grain can slide down in sequence. We have no solution yet."

Liu Jing nodded and smiled, "Actually, it is very convenient to have a hanging tower. Just install a hook on the boat and just hook the leather bag to the warehouse entrance, and there is no need to install any iron sliders."

Liu Jing thought about it and suddenly thought of the slide bucket on the mine, and smiled and said, "But the iron slide bucket can be loaded on the ship and directly deliver the cargo into the cargo hold."

Ma Jun laughed and said, "The state governor can go to the craftsman to be his teacher."

In fact, what Liu Jing thought of was belt transportation, but it still made no sense if he didn't solve the power problem.

At this moment, he suddenly saw more than a dozen people pulling iron chains on the other side of the tower. He frowned and asked the dock officials: "I saw five cows pulling iron chains at the mine dock. Why are people pulling here? Why don't you use animal power?"

The dock official smiled bitterly and said, "Report to the provincial governor, in order to prepare for the war, most of the animal power was sent to Xiakou, so he could only use manpower temporarily."

Liu Jing nodded, so that's it. At this time, the official said carefully: "I have a suggestion from Huyi, I don't know if it can be said."

"What suggestions do you say?"

The official said carefully: "Last time the provincial governor went to Qichun, he brought back a baby elephant. Beizhi knew that there were many such elephants in Jiaozhou and Nanman areas. Can you find a way to buy some of them back so that they can be used on the dock and save more animal power."
Chapter completed!