Wang Rentong's daughter Wang Yuner was not afraid of Li Tong's intimidation. The sixteen-year-old girl took advantage of the soldiers' unpreparedness and rushed past the wall to Meng Bochang's horse, shouting to Meng Bochang who was sitting on the horse: "As long as you can forgive your father, I am willing to repay your kindness for my slave for three lifetimes." Meng Bochang did not answer with a cold face. The soldiers used guns and Wang Yuner immediately threw herself into the mud and water. She collided with the commander in front of the formation, and the crime was unforgivable. The central army guard stepped on her back and raised her knife to stab her.

Yang Hao hurriedly shouted, "Stop!" He turned over and dismounted to protect her, and the central guard retreated in disappointment. Wang Yuner raised her head and shot a firm and unyielding gaze in her eyes. She shook Yang Hao away and stretched out her hand. She bit her lips and stared at Meng Bochang. Her chest rose and fell for a while, and then knelt on her knees and kowtowed.

Yang Hao sighed and retreated blankly. Meng Bochang looked at him squintedly and sneered: "Do you fall in love with her again?"

Yang Hao looked at Wang Yuner who was kowtowing continuously, and felt sad, so he said, "It is easy to kill Wang Rentong with one knife, but I am afraid that this mine will be ruined from now on. Instead of killing chickens to get eggs, it is better to raise chickens and lay eggs." Meng Bochang thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I will leave the person to you for disposal. You might as well raise this nest of chickens."

Meng Bochang's intentions to attack Meishan Coal Mine were two. One was to recruit troops. The Tiande Youjun suffered heavy losses in the battle of Fengzhou. Nearly 800 were killed in the battle with the left army. Meng Chu defected after suddenly died. When he gathered the remaining troops to attack the city, the Right Army, the City Camp and the Guards, had only less than 3,000 people left. Among these 3,000 people were separated by Han Sui. When Zeng Chongyang left the city and moved to Feng'an, Meng Bochang had only less than 1,000 people left. After Zeng Chongyang left, Meng Bochang served as deputy envoy of the Tiande Army, and recruited soldiers on the list. In three days, he recruited only 58 people.

There was no choice but to evacuate Fengzhou City overnight. On the way to Yongfeng City, he heard that there were 3,000 miners in Meishan Coal Mine, and more than 90% were coolies abducted by human traffickers. The coal mine work was extremely heavy and the living conditions were extremely bad. All those who could survive here were strong and able to endure hardships. Save them out of the sea of ​​suffering and let them devote themselves wholeheartedly. With troops in their hands, he could be as a deputy governor.

It is natural to be a soldier to eat food. It is natural to support an army of thousands of people without sufficient food and salary. When the Fengzhou Incident was in trouble, the city's food warehouse was burned to ashes. Although the silver warehouse fell into his own hands, the silver warehouse had long been transferred. Meng Bochang faced the dilemma of no food and no salary at the beginning of his tenure. Instead of going to Yongfeng to get some leftovers, it would be better than doing it yourself to have enough food and clothing.

Capturing a coal mine is not difficult, but Meng Bochang also knows that the reason why this coal mine that can eat people and not spit bones can flourish is related to the shelter and indulgence of officials at all levels in Yongfeng. It is related to the interests and life and death. Attacking the Meishan coal mine means a complete break with the Yongzhou bureaucratic group. But Meng Bochang did not retreat. He had to continue to do it drastically - the knife was in his own hands, and he was afraid that they would turn the world up?!

The miners who suffered from bullying and exploitation and lived a life of cattle and horses almost without exception wanted to throw away the pickaxe in their hands, but most of them did not want to pick up swords, guns and eat food to join the army. Meng Bochang became angry and simply ordered all miners to join the army, otherwise no one was allowed to leave Meishan.

...

This is a cellar where a miner lives. Four earthen platforms are built in the seven-foot-square cellar, eight miners are squeezed, and a broken clay pot containing shit and urine is placed at the entrance. When Wang Rentong came in on the first day of the first day, he was almost fainted by the smell of smell. The cellar was dark and wet, as cold as an ice cave. For three days and three nights, no one said a word to him except for two meals.

When he was used to eating the dishes made by famous chefs in Beijing who were hired by high salaries, Wang Rentong couldn't swallow this dark and sticky batter. He didn't eat a bite of it two days ago. On the third day, he realized that this batter suddenly became a rare delicacy in the world. With food in his stomach, Wang Rentong's thinking became clear. Although he was a prisoner, he could not just admit defeat. He still had cards in his hand, and only by fighting could he survive.

Early in the morning of the fourth day, the door of the cellar opened. Wang Rentong was lying among the pile of rotten quilts full of lice. He heard the sound, and he hurriedly jumped up, put on his clothes and stood with his hands down.

The visitor was Yang Hao, and he had a smile on his face when he entered the door. The servant put a leather mat on the earthen platform. After Yang Hao sat down, he signaled Wang Rentong to sit down and speak. Wang Ren thanked the passage, but still stood drooping.

"Ninety-nine percent of miners in the mine are trafficked. With this one, your boss Wang needs to die 4,600 times." Yang Hao's tone was very plain when he spoke, and there was a smile on his face. Wang Rentong nodded, but he did not deny it.

"We found 1,300 corpses in a pit in the back mountain. If these people die, you, Boss Wang, are afraid that you will not be able to escape from them." Yang Hao said that this was already a mask of cold frost.

The cellar was as cold as an ice cave, but sweat oozed from Wang Rentong's forehead: Yang Hao's data was very accurate, and it was obvious that he had not been in vain in the past three days.

"Wang deserves to die for thousands of crimes." Wang Rentong wiped his sweat, raised his head, and showed his begging eyes, "Please give the general a reward for a way out. As long as he can save the lives of the whole family, Wang Rentong is willing to sacrifice his entire fortune."

Yang Hao didn't say anything. He looked at the pile of messy max on the dirt platform, so he stood up and walked to the door with his hands on his back. He looked up at the sky above his head and said slowly: "I heard that the wages you give to miners are not small. Each person has to increase two cents a month, and every year they have to work hard for two years. If a person works hard for two years, he can save hundreds of taels of silver, go home to buy a few acres of land or do some small business."

Wang Rentong opened his mouth in surprise. He couldn't figure out what Yang Hao meant, so he said carefully: "Wang is not a stingy person. If they saved enough money, they could redeem themselves..."

"Yes, I have heard of this too. However, in the seven years since Meishan Mine was opened, no miner has redeemed himself. Boss Wang, can you tell me why this is?"

"Maybe, maybe it's because there's too much fun in the mine, and they can't stand the temptation, so..." Wang Rentong said this with a stuttering moment, and suddenly Yang Hao was staring at him with a knife-like gamble. For a moment, he was panicked and bowed his head without saying a word.

"So many of them have exhausted their savings and cannot redeem themselves for their entire lives, right?"

Wang Rentong hesitated for a moment and said stutteringly: "Wang is guilty and let the Lord deal with it."

"Don't Boss Wang want to defend himself? For example, those miners who were abducted and sold were bought by the Ghost Gang without you, and you were completely kept in the dark. You set up a restaurant, a bathhouse, a casino and a brothel in the mine. Although you sell a liang of a roast chicken, you are willing to sell the other one, and no one forces anyone to buy it. In order to save those lonely ghosts who died in a foreign land, you even invested in building a small temple in the back mountain and raising two monks to recite the rituals for them. If your Boss Wang says that, how can I condemn you?"

Wang Rentong snorted coldly, lowered his eyes and said, "Mr. Wang said, is the general's letter?"

"What you said is reasonable, what reason do I have to believe it?"

"Oh..." Wang Rentong opened his eyes and looked up, bowed to Yang Hao, "Please give orders to the general."

"Since the mine owner is a smart person, I won't go around in circles." Yang Hao paused slightly, "First, hand over the shareholder list. Second, burn the abducted person's contract to give them freedom. Third, help us capture the ghost gang leader. Fourth, take out 500,000 taels of silver to reward the army. Fifth, allow miners to form gangs and govern themselves. Sixth, pay pensions to disabled miners, and those who are willing to return home will be given enough money."

Wang Rentong replied: "I can't take out the 500,000 taels of silver. I will take 100,000 taels to reward the army, and then honor the general with 100,000 taels."

"You take 200,000 taels to reward the army, and the remaining 300,000 taels will be regarded as the capital I invested in."

"Then from today on the general will be the major shareholder of Meishan Coal Mine." Wang Rentong smiled slightly, then changed his subject and asked, "How can Wang believe what the general said today? After all, you can turn your back on your face at any time."

"We can sign a contract with you, and you can also make it public. We should be faith-based when dealing with people and things. If we want to gain a foothold in Yongfeng, we will naturally gain trust from others."

"In this way, Wang is willing to work hard for everyone."

...

Meng Bochang was quite dissatisfied with the contract reached by Yang Hao and Wang Rentong. He threw the twenty-page paper-thick contract to the ground and asked Yang Hao in a mocking tone: "Are you idle or are you fascinated by his daughter? Just let him go?"

Yang Hao bent down and picked up the document, took away the dust, and handed it to Meng Bochang again. Yang Hao originally planned to enter the government office to enter into this contract with Wang Rentong, but Wang Rentong refused. He insisted on signing the contract with Yang Hao and Meng Bochang, and the two must sign and seal it to be valid.

"I checked it. Meishan coal mine is worth 800,000 taels, and Wang Rentong has 300,000 yuan in cash. After killing Wang Rentong, we only earn 300,000 taels of silver and a coal mine that we will get out of business at some point."

Meng Bochang interrupted him roughly: "What a joke! If I can't take off my hands, can't I do it myself? He, Wang Rentong, can't dig out coal, but I can only dig out stones?"

"My good brother! You can dig out coal, but who do you sell the excavated coal? Wang Rentong's connections accumulated over twenty years have been working hard, but we have darkened our eyes. In Hedong, the official coal mines in the pass cost ten cents per hundred kilograms, but Wang Rentong's coal can be sold for 100 kilograms of 30 cents! Can you do it without him?"

Meng Bochang said angrily: "Then let him go, hire him as a manager, and give him a few thousand taels of silver every year. Why bother to let him be the second shareholder of the coal mine? You don't admit that you like his daughter."

"Pursuiting profit is the nature of a businessman. It is more beneficial for us to give him some sweetness and let him manage the mine well. The world is full of profit, God..." Meng Bochang glared at him viciously, and Yang Hao hurriedly swallowed the second half of the sentence and said with a smile, "As for why he had to give him so many shares. After all, he was founded. When he was invented, he sold his ancestral property and borrowed a lot of usury. It was not easy for so many years to go through ups and downs. In addition, as far as I know, Tiande Army has several such coal mines and iron mines. Treat Wang Rentong well and can also stabilize them, so as not to lose people."

After hearing this, Meng Bochang sneered: "You are so contemptuous."

Yang Hao took the opportunity to speak again: "Now we have few soldiers, and it's enough to save tens of thousands of taels of silver a year. If there are too many people in the future, then..." Meng Bochang waved his hand impatiently: "Okay, okay, I know what you mean: it's long-lasting, and it won't kill chickens to get eggs. It seems that if you want to command the army, you really have your talents and knowledge. I think it's better to recommend you to be the governor of Yongfeng."

Yang Hao smiled and said, "I am afraid that the 16-year-old governor of the Three Hundred Prefectures of the Tang Dynasty is not yet a sixteen-year-old governor?"

Meng Bochang said: "You are quite self-aware. OK, I have a seal from Judge Fu. Letting you get on the horse and control the army and the people will give you enough face."

"I have another matter to ask the deputy envoy to make clear."

"explain!"

"Wang Rentong is willing to increase his wages by 20% to recruit miners, and he promises to rebuild the shed and improve the food. In my opinion, the new recruits are willing to go back to be miners. Alas, listen to me. We set up a labor gang among miners, with our people leading the way, one for autonomy, the other for training, and the other for waving. In this way, the soldiers are used to protect the people and save a lot of military pay."

Meng Bochang snorted coldly, and did not speak, but actually agreed.

"There is another thing, I don't know whether to talk or not."

"speak!"

"Qing'er said it is inconvenient to live in Beiying to buy vegetables, so she wants to move out."

"Oh, then what do you think?" Meng Bochang became interested.

"I think I'll just rely on her. You should live in the house in Lu Benzhong."

"You have to find a yard next to the governor's mansion. It will be more convenient for them to see you, the judge, in the future."

The two of them laughed at each other.

—————
Chapter completed!