There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 395 Eight Banners
Hunan, Tongjianguan Factory.

The miners in the mine were sitting in small groups, eating and chatting in the shade.

"Damn it, it's so hot today! Especially down in the mine, it's unbearably hot."

"You can argue with that. If it weren't for the fact that our second child also needs to go to school, we would have liked to take a couple of days off."

"Hehe, Lao Liu, if you really dare to take a break, your wife will probably make you miserable."

"She dares?"

“What’s there to be afraid of? We’re neighbors, I know you too well. Whenever your wife gives you the cold shoulder, you always come to my house to have a showdown.”

"..."

"You scoundrel, you don't know what a good wife is. You're older than me, and you still haven't found one."

"Why bother finding a wife? Looking at you guys, I think it's great not having a wife, haha."

"Alright, enough about the woman. Look, those few barbarian bastards have come to eat again."

The miners who had just been discussing their wives suddenly turned their attention to a deserted, shady spot not far away.

Fuzhina, carrying his rice bowl, sat down in the shady spot they always met and began eating as if no one else was around.

He was oblivious to the disdainful looks from the other miners around him, or rather, Fuzhi and the others had long since become numb to it.

During his first year at the mine, Toshina did consider running away.

The mining bureau where Fujina worked was an official copper bureau of the Han Dynasty, mainly responsible for mining steel ore and casting new coins. It was heavily guarded.

The followers of Fuzhi had long been scattered and resettled by the Han, and were unable to form a complete organization and combat force.

Moreover, even though the original steel mine was an official copper mine, there were indeed cases of mistreatment and enslavement of miners since the Han Dynasty had just taken over.

However, after several miners' complaints and internal rectification, and after a complete replacement of the mine supervisors, the situation has improved considerably.

Even today's "slave mines" no longer exploit and abuse convicted miners without restraint; they are still fed. However, the work in "slave mines" is often more dangerous than in regular mines, and there is little safety protection for convicts going down into the mines.

Although Fuzhina was a Tartar, he had helped the Han Dynasty to deceive and conquer many large cities, which was quite an achievement. Therefore, Nie Yu did not kill them, nor did he make them work in the "slave mines". Instead, he settled them in several government-run mines nearby.

However, although he was spared death because of his meritorious service and was assigned to work in the government-run mine supervision, so he didn't have to worry about dying in the "slave mine", who said that the government-run mine supervision was a good place?
In places like mines, given any other option, almost no one would want to work there mining.

Even with legitimate government-run mine supervisors, few miners are mild-mannered. These days, most of those who can work in the mines are ordinary mountain people.

The Han dynasty distributed land, but the mountainous terrain was barren. Even after the land was distributed, it was still not enough to cultivate. Mountain people with surplus labor would often come to work in the mines.

Coincidentally, all the Tartars assigned to the mine supervisory office in Fuzhi had the same style of pigtails, which naturally made them the target of the mountain miners' guns.

These mountain miners didn't fight or brawl; they were simply deliberately trying to disgust and humiliate them, including...
But it wasn't limited to pulling braids and playing with yo-yos, making these Tartars kneel and pay their respects, or deliberately kicking over their rice bowls during meals, forcing them to eat food on the ground like dogs...

You disagree? Then keep it to yourself!

As long as the miners don't go too far and don't kill or injure anyone, the mining officials usually turn a blind eye.

The mine supervisor was worried that if these Tartars' hair grew out, no miners would bully them anymore, so he arranged for a special barber to come and shave and trim their braids every month to ensure that they could keep their coin-tail braided hairstyle.

After several years of working as a mine supervisor, Fu Zhina has gradually gone from being dissatisfied and resentful to becoming numb.

At least they're still alive; they weren't beheaded and turned into a mound of skulls.

Fuzhi had already heard that in any Manchu city captured by the Han army, all able-bodied Manchu men over ten years old, regardless of whether they were Manchu soldiers or not, were beheaded and their bodies were burned. Although mining was hard work, the copper mine was not a "slave mine," so there was no need to work all day long, and there was not much danger. Even the food provided by the mine was quite oily.

Without sufficient incentives, miners will lack the energy; forcing them to continue will exhaust them.

Discrimination is discrimination, but it's better to live a miserable life than to die!

Fuzhina was afraid of death back then, so he surrendered with his men and then helped the Han army conquer cities and territories. Now that he has endured humiliation and hardship for several years, he naturally dares not die easily.

Fuzhi picked up his chopsticks, swallowed the greasy fatty meat in the bowl in one gulp, and a satisfied expression immediately appeared on his face.

In the past, if the food was made so crudely, and it was made with so much fatty meat, he would have dragged the cook out and whipped him a couple of times.

After all, he was a general highly regarded by Master Fukang Anfu, and a member of the noble Manchu Eight Banners. Even if he couldn't eat delicacies in the military camp, he could still have chicken, duck, fish and meat.

You should know that when Grandpa Fukang'an was fighting in western Hunan, he enjoyed all kinds of delicacies and fine wines. After each battle, more than half of the military pay requisitioned from various provinces ended up in Grandpa Fu's pocket.

This was also the first major crime that Jiaqing convicted of when he settled accounts with Fukang'an after killing Heshen—taking advantage of the war to amass wealth excessively!
After finishing his food, Fuzhi prepared to get up and get another bowl. He needed to continue working in the mine in the afternoon, and he would get hungry if he didn't eat more.

Where is Tomishina?

Just as Fujina stood up with the empty bowl, he heard someone calling his name loudly.

"exist!"

Fu Zhina instinctively stood at attention and reported.

This has become a habit; if they don't report it when someone calls them, they'll go hungry.

It's not that they don't give you food, but that they starve you. They give you very little food, just enough to keep you alive.

If you get sick from hunger, the copper mine has special doctors who can treat all kinds of difficult and complicated diseases and save your life to the greatest extent possible!
After several attempts, Fuzhi finally calmed down.

The feeling of being hungry is so unbearable, and the worst part is that it won't starve you to death, it just makes you feel uncomfortable from hunger.

Fu Zhi stood ramrod straight, his expression blank as he watched the group of people walking towards him. These people were all officials in charge of the copper mine, and behind them were several unfamiliar figures.

The visitor glanced at Fuzhina, then compared him to the portrait in his hand, and nodded slightly: "You are Fuzhina, a Manchu Plain Red Banner from the puppet Qing dynasty, a Qing dog Tartar whose ancestral surname was Hesheli?"

Fuzhina showed no resentment or anger. Instead, he bowed and scraped, saying, "Your Excellency is right. This servant is Fuzhina, a Qing dog and a Tartar from the pseudo-Qing side!"

"As expected of a lowly Qing lackey," the man sneered, then continued, "His Majesty the Emperor has now shown mercy and issued an imperial decree that you no longer need to toil away mining here. Come with me!"

Fushina didn't dare ask where they were going and just followed the person who came up with them.

Not only was Fuzhi taken away, but all the Tartars scattered in several nearby government-run mines who were still alive were rescued by the same group using an imperial edict.

They were all summoned to a military camp, where they received their brand-new cotton armor. After dressing themselves properly, with the money-rat tail braid at the back of their heads, they looked exactly like Manchu barbarians.

Fuzhi looked completely bewildered, having no idea what was going on, but he didn't dare ask any more questions.

He dared not speak, nor did his former subordinates and soldiers.

They put on their cotton armor, boarded the official boat provided by the military camp, and then headed north along Dongting Lake.

According to several noble Han soldiers on the ship, it seems they are to be taken down the river to the sea, to Jeju Island.

Jeju Island?
What is that place?
……

(End of this chapter)