"Master, the money has been paid." On May 2, 1696, in a village outside Lanzhou City, Yuan Baodi was having a drink and chatting with several acquaintances. After three rounds of drinking, the atmosphere gradually became warmer. A personal servant also walked behind Yuan Baodi and reported quietly.

The money he mentioned just now was a reimbursement of military supplies, totaling 10,000 taels of silver. It was quite a lot, which made Yuan Baodi very heartbroken. But what could he do? Gansu Province has not been peaceful recently, especially in Hezhou, a place where many ethnic groups live together. Several riots have occurred in succession. A Huihui named Ma Jian gathered thousands of people. It is said that they are all from a sect and sect. They use blood ties and religion as a link to cause chaos everywhere, attacking the officials and civilians of the court, and destroying the property of gentry.

Lintao Prefecture and Hezhou Guards dispatched Green Camp troops several times, but because Ma Jian's headquarters was extremely mobile and held a musket he had got from somewhere, they had good combat power. The official army was repeatedly lost and many people were killed. Gansu Admiral Zhao Liangdong heard the news.

He was furious, so he mobilized more than 4,000 troops of the new army to help with the suppression. It took half a year before the Hui army was finally wiped out. The bandit chief horse was built on the bank of the Yellow River and was awarded the title of head.

As soon as the new army was launched, it naturally meant a lot of expenses. The consumption of grain, fodder and medicinal materials was all a little bit, and the cost of bullets and silver was the big one. However, the new army in Gansu was in financial difficulties and still relied on the cooperation between Qin and Jin provinces. After another half a year of war, the finance could not bear it at all, so it had to send donations to the merchants and gentry in the province. As a big businessman who relied on Zhao Liangdong, Yuan Baodi naturally donated 10,000 taels of silver, although he really didn't want to pay the money according to his original intention.

Of course, Yuan Baodi was a smart man. Although the instinct of a merchant made him feel heartbroken about the money he paid, reason told him that although Gansu Province is rich in resources, the people of all ethnic groups live in mixed ways, and each has his own demands. Hezhou Huihui has caused troubles many times since the late Ming Dynasty, and it is still restless after this dynasty. Especially when the Junggar Khanate is right next to him, these people are easily incited. Yuan Baodi used a lot of Huihui in the coal mine west of Lanzhou City, many of them were still brought by indescribable means. Therefore, he was also afraid that these people would cause trouble and affect the normal operation of the coal mine.

Therefore, when the old man Zhao decided to dispatch a new army and asked Yuan Baodi to donate, he paid 10,000 taels without saying a word, which played a good lead. It is said that Lord Zhao admired this very much and praised him for "knowing the general" in front of people close to the left and right. This made Yuan even more excited. This was a big bonus. He said that he could not do business in the future and could also make more convenience.

Speaking of which, I decided to invest in a coal mine that year. Although I was very optimistic, the initial investment was really not small, and it was not all my own money (many were investments from powerful people), so the pressure on my shoulders was very great. But now it seems that this vote really made Yuan Baodi fight right. The coal mine has steadily produced coal, and can provide net profit of 50,000 or 60,000 taels of silver a year. Moreover, with the increase in the number of workers and proficiency and the gradual promotion of machinery and equipment, there is still a lot of room for coal output to grow. Naturally, this profit also has a lot of room for growth.

After seeing that the coal mine has become a hen that lays golden eggs, many people envied it. Of course, they did not dare to take Yuan Baodi, a businessman with a foundation in Lanzhou and Xi'an, but it was okay to follow him to find and invest in new coal mines. So, starting last year, merchants from Qin and Long provinces in the northwest have sent people to search for mines. Some have gained something and started to recruit workers and buy machines, but some have nothing to gain, and their capital has been vain. Even in Jin Province to the east, there are many people buying machinery and doing industrial mining. These people have strong capital, and it is said that behind them are the famous money shop tickets, which are extremely powerful competitors of coal merchants in Long Province in the future.

Although Yuan Baodi is also very strong, he does not intend to compete with these people. To be honest, he is a little worried that after everyone rushed to mine, coal production will increase sharply, but the price will fall. This risk has to be considered. After all, although the horsepower of steam engines in China has been slowly increasing and other places where coal is used, is this demand consistent with the growth rate of output? I am afraid it may not be necessary. Therefore, once coal production is seriously oversupply, many people who follow the trend may lose the bottom.

Of course, Yuan Baodi didn't want this. Therefore, he decided to take a different approach and enter the downstream industries of coal, such as the manufacturing of honeycomb coal and coal ball stoves. He once carefully learned that urban residents in Denglai generally use coal ball stoves and honeycomb coal to cook water, and the daily consumption is huge. The company responsible for supplying coal balls made a fortune, which is really a good business.

In addition, the people of Xuedong used the coal dust and clay washed from the coal washing plant to burn strips of bricks together. Nowadays, Gansu (including some areas of Qinghai, with slightly different administrative divisions from today) to build a large number of bricks in various places. In addition, the imperial court intends to advance to the Junggar Khanate, so many cities were planned in the area west of Suzhou City, which all require a large amount of brick supply.

Therefore, he has decided to basically suspend subsequent investment after the coal mines at his hand to meet market needs, and instead invest money in the honeycomb coal and brick and tile manufacturing industry to enrich his factory's product line, avoid risks and obtain greater investment returns. He has discussed these with the admiral's commander, and also communicated with all shareholders. Because of his good performance in coal mine opening, Yuan Baodi successfully convinced everyone that he has begun to prepare for these industries, and he will see his prospects next year.

As we all know, the first thing to do is to start a business is capital, and the second is naturally to do manpower. This is not a problem if it is in Henan, Hebei, Shanxi and other places. These provinces have been in peace for many years, their population has grown rapidly, and they have abundant labor to drive.

But it was a bit difficult in Long Province! The imperial court stationed a large army here and actively prepared for war. The strong men from local prefectures were drawn every three days. It was not easy to use a sufficient number of workers who could work for a long time and stably. Before, Yuan Baodi took the lead and recruited many workers to start work in the mine. Even so, more than half of the workers in his mine (or slave labor is more appropriate) were the captured Turpan Khanate and various places. For this reason, he paid a certain fee to the officers every month. Now that industries in various places are flocking to rush and rob people everywhere. Yuan Baodi does not have the confidence to recruit enough people to work, so he still has to think of a solution.

According to the latest administrative divisions of the Qing Dynasty, Gansu Province currently has Lintao Prefecture (including Taozhou, Minzhou), Gongchang Prefecture, Pingliang Prefecture, Ganzhou Prefecture (including Xiningwei and other places), Suzhou Prefecture, Ningxia Prefecture (formerly Ningxia Prefecture villages), Qingyang Prefecture, and the provincial government is located in Lanzhou. The rest of the part is still under the jurisdiction of Shaanxi.

The seven prefectures in Gansu are actually more prosperous than Gongchang and Pingliang, Qingyang, Lintao and Ningxia. Compared with them, there were not many people in Ganzhou and Suzhou before and during the Ming Dynasty, they were all bitter and cold places for military camps and border areas. Although some mainland people have been moved over the past ten years, they are still underpopular.

Therefore, if Yuan Baodi wants to get enough people to go to his mine and work in his factory, he still has to find a way in Gongchang and Pingliang. But this is not difficult! You should know that in agricultural society, people are generally bound to the land and have a direct personal dependence relationship with the landlords. Unless it is influenced by external forces (such as strong government promotion, natural disaster outbreaks, etc.), this inherent order is difficult to break. Although Gongchang and Pingliang's two prefectures are relatively wealthy, the more prosperous the place, the smaller the local farmers may go to other places. Therefore, if you want to recruit workers, you can try these places, but don't have too much hope.

Yuan Baodi had sent some confidants to recruit people there before. Xu's wages are not low, and the result is not known yet. Of course, he would not put the eggs in a basket. He also focused on the key issues in our mansion (Lintao Mansion), mainly taking the military route, and this is why he came to this village today.

The village is located in the northeast of Lanzhou, not very far from Ningxia Guards. It was originally only a few hundred soldiers. However, after Galdan invaded the Qing Dynasty, Beijing ordered the renovation of the fortress in the border area and sent more soldiers here. Currently, more than 3,000 horse and infantry are stationed in the village, led by a participating general.

Coincidentally, the general of the sect was also named Yuan Weiting, and was from Tianjin. Yuan Baodi had a good relationship with him, so he could barely reach such a little relative. Therefore, the relationship between the two parties was very good. Not only did they become sworn brothers, they often walked around during festivals and festivals, and also helped each other in politics and business, Yuan Baodi helped Yuan Weiting speak nice things in front of Zhao Liangdong, while Yuan Weiting took care of the trade between Yuan Baodi and the Mongols. Today, Yuan Baodi came to Yuan Weiting's village for no other reason, just wanted to find a way to get some people from him, a group of special people.

"Second brother, I really can't do this time. The coal ball bureau's venue and machines have been purchased, and now there is a person left. How about it, I'll hand over the chaos of Ma Qilin to me? Don't worry, the benefits of my brothers are indispensable, I can save this." Yuan Baodi also blushed when he drank, and he asked his ally with the intention of drinking.

The "rebellion" he mentioned just now was a group of Hui Hui from Ningxia Prefecture, who started a crime because he was dissatisfied with the imperial court's levy and intensive taxes. The leader was a local garrison officer named Ma Qilin. He led a team of about two or three thousand people to attack everywhere, relying on the support of the locals, and constantly dealing with the Qing court. Yuan Weiting had been ordered to lead troops to assist in the suppression, and defeated one, and captured more than 400 people. Now Yuan Baodi's idea is obviously these more than 400 prisoners who want to take them away and work in Lanzhou. Of course, he will sponsor a military expenditure for this.

"Since my elder brother has come to me, what else can I say? Take it. I will go north soon. I don't know when it's time to see you again. If you can, please help me." Yuan Weiting raised his neck and drank a bowl of wine, then said in a breath of wine: "The emperor defeated Galdan in the east. According to reliable information, Galdan had an attempt to escape west, so he ordered the soldiers and horses of the fortresses on the edge to gather, and then go north to intercept Galdan. In the past two days, except for hundreds of people left to guard the house, I will take the other three thousand tigers to Huamachi."

"Hiss" Yuan Baodi slapped his thighs and said, "This Galdan was majestic a few years ago, but now he has become a phoenix for hair removal. It's so pitiful and lamentable!"

In fact, it was not surprising that Yuan Baodi was surprised, because Galdan was indeed too fierce before, defeating Mongolian in the northern desert, defeating Tong Guogang in the field, and threatening Zhangjiakou, which once panicked the entire Great Wall. However, the rebellion of his nephew Cewang Alaband destroyed everything, and the replenishment of troops, guns, ammunition, medicines and food from Mongolian in the western desert were cut off, and they could only rely on a few Mongolian tribes who were still loyal to him to provide intermittent support. In addition, they were replenished local supplies in southern desert and northern desert, but this undoubtedly aroused the resistance of local Mongolian herders, and even the lamas were a little disgusted. At this point, Galdan had already lost politically.

The military defeat gave Galdan the last blow. Although the Qing army was not good at first because of underestimating the enemy or not adapting, after slowly adjusting, especially the new Han army, the Qing army, which had more mature tactics and more advanced equipment, gradually regained the initiative. They contacted Cewang Alabandan to launch a joint attack. In addition, the three Mongolian tribes in Mobei who surrendered to send people back to incite the rebellion, the Galdan tribe was soon exhausted and his morale was low, and the final failure was not difficult to understand.

As the saying goes, the birds were full of good bows. After defeating Galdan, the original ally Cewang Alabutan basically lost its value and even gradually turned into an enemy of the Qing Dynasty. Kangxi saw it very clearly that Galdan's nephew was also an ambitious person. Galdan had only more than 30,000 cavalry, and even if it was completely destroyed, it would not hurt the Junggar Khanate. Therefore, if the Mongolian grasslands were to be safe and stable, it would be inevitable that the Manchu and Mongolian integration could be maintained, and the Western Expedition to wipe out Cewang Alabutan would be inevitable.
Chapter completed!