Da Ming: Father, step aside, I'll be the prime minister!

Chapter 172 How could the ledger be wrong?
Li Mingxing sat upright in the middle, with no one beside him, suggesting that he had passed the age of such enjoyment and was now very concerned about his life.

He tapped the floor with his cane as was his habit, and looked at Fan Yongdou as he spoke.

"How is things on the Emperor's end?"

Fan Yongdou, looking confident, patted his chest and said.

"Don't worry, Mr. Li. Just as you predicted, the emperor has no reason to refuse. No matter how good your childhood friend is, can he be better than your own brother?"

Our newspaper, the *Gyeonggi Ilbo*, will be printed soon.

"Not bad." Li Mingxing nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Wang Dengku and asked, "How's your mine?"

Wang Dengku chuckled and said with equal confidence.

"Old sir, there's no need to worry. Zhang Shiyuan is trying to squeeze us out of the coal mining business with low prices, but little does he know that we are the originators of this kind of trick!"
His intentions have long been seen through by us.

Their aim was simply to dump coal at low prices and quickly seize market share in the Beijing coal mining industry. Once our coal couldn't be sold, the Beizhili mines would naturally become a hot potato.

He will then make another acquisition, using the same methods as Xishan, to mine coal from mines in various places where there are no water seepage problems!

"The coal mines throughout Beizhili are all firmly in our hands. Even if they rot and stink, and no one wants them, we will never lay a hand on them!"

Li Mingxing nodded and said, "This kid is quite clever. An ordinary person would have fallen for his tricks, but we were prepared, so we can naturally remain invincible!"

Then, with a serious expression, he addressed the dozen or so merchants on the pleasure boat.

"Everyone, perk up!"
From this day forward, we will buy as much coal as there is from Xishan!

Li Mingxing grinned maliciously again.

"But we won't take all of it. If we get past the 80-coin mark, we won't take a single coin and will even sell some of it."

“Zhang Shiyuan is thinking of taking over our business, but we will not let him succeed. If we work together, we will definitely be able to control the price of this briquettes!”
Let it be expensive, and it will be expensive; let it be cheap, and it will be cheap!

"How many days can Zhang Shiyuan hold out? We can afford to wait, but he can't. By then, he'll have spent all the Emperor's and the court's money, causing chaos among the refugees in Xishan."

"That means Zhang Shiyuan will die without a burial place!"

Li Mingxing stroked his beard, looking quite content.

"And we can sit back and relax. This briquettes are a good thing. When the Xishan coal mine is depleted, we can slowly sell them off, or even sell them to the area beyond the Great Wall."

You can make a fortune then!

"Hahahaha~"

Wang Dengku burst into laughter and said.

"Whether we advance or retreat, we win. How can we possibly lose?"

Half a month later.

Inside the coal ore workshop, in the dimly lit office, Zhang Siwei was engrossed in handling various accounts.

To be honest, Zhang Siwei didn't quite understand why Zhang Yunxiu would entrust him with such an important matter.

The complicated accounts and paperwork made Zhang Siwei feel a little dizzy.

But he had no choice but to do it. That damned Zhang Yunxiu—if he didn't do it, he wouldn't have anything to eat, and even his monthly allowance of five hundred coins would be withheld.

If there are any problems with the accounting documents, and they are discovered by the clerks dispatched by Zhang Yunxiu, they may even have to deduct the monthly salary!
After a few months, Zhang Siwei's desire to engage in underhanded tactics had been completely extinguished, and he had come to understand some principles.

The reason Zhang Yunxiu was able to hand over these accounts to me with such confidence was that it was difficult to discern the overall situation of the briquettes from just a few of the accounts.

Given Zhang Siwei's abilities, he was initially a little unaccustomed to these documents and accounts, but within a few days he became very familiar with them.

Sometimes, Zhang Siwei even felt that living out his days alone in Xishan would be a wonderful thing.

The monotonous daily routine actually calmed his restlessness.

After finishing organizing all the accounts, Zhang Siwei looked around. Everyone else in the duty room had already finished their shifts, so he secretly took out a copy of the "Jingji Daily" from his pocket.

Since the beginning of the past two weeks, this "Gyeonggi Daily" has suddenly appeared. Although the content is not the same, its layout and format are almost a one-to-one replica of the "Wanli New Daily".

Even the Gyeonggi Ilbo was sold for one coin less than the latter.

Relying on the channels of Shanxi merchants, backed by the Prince of Lu, and even with royal investment, they were able to establish a presence in the market.

In just half a month, the Jingji Daily was thriving and rivaled the Wanli Xinbao.

Compared to the Wanli Xinbao, which he used as a seatbelt, Zhang Siwei looked at the Jingji Daily as if he were seeing an old friend.

The former usually publishes vernacular novels, folk tales, and introduces some court policies in a popular way.

He only mentioned the Xishan Workshop a few times.

The latter is completely different. It contains some relevant content, but it appears more "high-class" and caters to the tastes of the literati class. The content it disseminates is also quite different.

Zhang Siwei crossed his legs and began reading the "Gyeonggi Daily" with great interest.

The most captivating section of the newspaper was a column about Xishan Workshop.

With the recent continuous price increases in briquettes, Xishan Workshop has clearly become a hot topic.

"That Zhang Shiyuan is truly courting death!"

After reading that article over and over again, Zhang Siwei had already discovered from the "Records of Mines in the Western Frontier of the Capital Region" that there were water veins under the Western Mountain.

Since then, Zhang Siwei has been in a great mood and has stopped acting crazy. Instead, he has started living a happy life in Xishan.

This time, the article in the Gyeonggi Ilbo entitled "On the Development of the Seosan Mineral Vein" not only analyzes the issue from the perspective of feng shui, but also from the perspectives of practical application and commerce.

In the past, such articles usually only appeared in the Wanli Xinbao newspaper, and Shanxi merchants would naturally not let go of this very persuasive article format.

They even learned to add annotations to articles, indicating the sources of various data and citations.

This article immediately caught Zhang Siwei's eye. Compared to the content of "Records of Mines in the Western Frontier of the Capital Region", the article was obviously more accessible and included a lot of information about merchants that Zhang Siwei was not familiar with.

The article, written from the perspective of an old merchant, carefully analyzes the logic behind the actions of the Xishan workshops. It does not mean that Zhang Yunxiu's actions are not a long-term solution. If this continues, not only will the refugees in Xishan lose their livelihoods, but the Xishan mines will also be exploited to the point of depletion.

At first glance, this article seems unbiased and even well-reasoned.

But how could Zhang Siwei, a seasoned veteran, not see through it? It was clearly an attempt to sow discord between Zhang Yunxiu and Zhang Siwei.

"These Shanxi merchants do have some tricks up their sleeves; they managed to bring Prince Lu into the fold."

Zhang Siwei sighed with emotion, and hope slowly rose in his eyes again.

Even though he deeply resented the Shanxi merchants' betrayal, people always have a tendency to rely on certain paths. Rather than seeking refuge with Zhang Yunxiu, he might as well hope that the Shanxi merchants would assist him as they had in the past!
After reading the newspaper, Zhang Siwei immediately felt a surge of energy within him, ready to burst forth.

The article contained a lot of data that outsiders had speculated about, which Zhang Siwei had some recollection of when dealing with the accounts over the past month.

If we compare the two, can we know whether the Xishan Workshop is already in decline and at its last gasp, just as the article says? Overwhelmed with emotion, Zhang Siwei's last bit of caution vanished. He gritted his teeth and turned his gaze to the cabinets containing various accounts not far away.

Zhang Siwei was aware that he was acting discreetly, but little did he know that all of this was being watched through the crack in the door by two Imperial Guards standing outside.

In the eyes of the two Imperial Guard captains, Zhang Siwei tiptoed around, took out a spare key, opened the cabinet in the duty room where various accounts were stored, and skillfully took out several account books.

"That old bastard! He's still not behaving himself!"

One of the Imperial Guards, somewhat annoyed, cursed in a very low voice and tried to go in to stop the other party.

However, he was stopped by another Jinyiwei captain, who was obviously much calmer and advised his companion.

“Old man! The magistrate has already given instructions, clearly stating that no rash actions should be taken, unless this old man is trying to escape or colluding with the White Lotus Rebellion.”

Even if he's having secret dealings with outsiders, it's none of our business.

"But!"

These days, the Imperial Guard captain had had enough of this old codger's stubborn and obstinate behavior.

He didn't quite understand why Zhang Tongzhi insisted on giving this person so many opportunities.

Wouldn't it be faster to just drag him into prison and subject him to severe torture?
The Jinyiwei captain named Wang Yong was more composed. He narrowed his eyes and said.

"I'll stay here and watch. You go and report this matter to the Assistant Magistrate, and he can make a decision. Go quickly and come back soon!"

Zhang Yunxiu is at the Xishan workshop today, so finding him shouldn't be too difficult.

After thinking for a moment, the Jinyiwei captain named Lao Tiao calmed down and nodded.

"Keep a close eye on things, and don't let him leak any information!"

After saying that, Old Tiao moved nimbly and quickly ran out of the workshop, making almost no sound.

As the surroundings gradually quieted down, Wang Yong approached the crack in the door and asked loudly into the room.

"What are you doing, old man? It's so late, don't you want to eat?"

His tone was impatient, just as usual.

Zhang Siwei, inside the duty room, shivered and instinctively covered the ledger. He then forced a smile at the door and said in a fawning manner.

"Hey, hey, hey~ Captain, don't be in such a hurry. I still have some accounts to check. It would be bad if something went wrong. I'll treat you two to a drink later. I'm really sorry."

"Hurry up, hurry up, you old geezer!"

A sound came from outside, which sounded like a captain sitting impatiently on the ground.

Once the noise outside subsided, Zhang Siwei's ingratiating smile gradually faded.

In the past, with the titles of Junior Tutor and Crown Prince's Tutor, as well as Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion, which ordinary Imperial Guard wouldn't treat him with utmost respect?

But now, they dare to boss him around!
This discrepancy made Zhang Siwei even more resentful. He gritted his teeth, took out the account book again, and began to carefully compare it.

In the dimly lit duty room, the kerosene lamp flickered, but even so, it was much brighter than the candlelight of the past.

Zhang Siwei skillfully reached out and gently adjusted the lampshade, and the originally dim light suddenly became bright.

The air was filled with the stench of kerosene.

Zhang Siwei even went to look through ancient books, and it seems that this stuff is called "naphtha" or "fierce fire oil".

I wonder which ancient book Zhang Yunxiu found the method for making kerosene lamps from, which greatly improves the brightness of nighttime lighting.

Despite his deep resentment towards Zhang Yunxiu, Zhang Siwei still highly recognized Zhang Yunxiu's talent for tinkering.

He gradually pulled himself out of his thoughts and focused his attention on the accounts, but the more he looked, the more something seemed off.

I took out that copy of the Gyeonggi Ilbo again and read through the articles.

Claims included that "Xishan Coal Mine is suffering from severe water seepage," "Initial production was rapid, but will inevitably decrease gradually," and "The price of briquettes will inevitably rise."
These words seemed exceptionally jarring to Zhang Siwei.

His disbelief was palpable, and his hands trembled slightly. After flipping through the accounts again and comparing the relevant entries, he was completely shocked.

"Impossible! This is impossible!"

Zhang Siwei's eyes widened, and he looked almost frantic.

"How can we increase the amount of clay used?!"

To make briquettes, two raw materials are indispensable: coal powder and clay.

Mix the two in a 9:1 ratio, put them into a mold, or dry them in an oven or by air drying.

Zhang Siwei naturally didn't have an exact quantity of the coal powder.

However, he could easily calculate the amount of clay used by observing the recent comings and goings of oxen and horse-drawn carts at the Xishan workshop, and thus estimate the output of the briquettes.

According to previous records and some descriptions in the "Records of Mines in the Western Frontier of the Capital Region".

A rough estimate suggests that the Xishan coal mine will be unsustainable within three months at the latest due to water seepage.

This is only a conservative estimate.

Zhang Yunxiu has more than 10,000 workers under his command, which is much larger than the previous mining scale. Even with the improvement of technology, the accounts should have decreased by now!

However, Zhang Siwei calculated it repeatedly, but only came to the same conclusion.

The use of Xishan clay has not decreased, but rather shown an upward trend!

This may indicate that, over the past three months, the production of Xishan coal briquettes has not decreased, but rather shown a continuous upward trend!

However, the analysis report that Zhang Siwei saw in the "Gyeonggi Daily" stated that the amount of briquettes received by the capital had been decreasing almost every day for the past month!
Where did the extra briquettes go?
Was Zhang Yunxiu bluffing, or did he have other methods up his sleeve?
The stark contrast made it hard for Zhang Siwei to believe this fact.

"This is impossible! How could Xishan increase its production? In fact, it's increasing even more! This doesn't match the description in the 'Records of Mines in the Western Frontier of the Capital Region'!"

"For the past hundred years, everyone who has mined the Xishan Coal Mine has followed this principle, so why is Zhang Shiyuan an exception?"

"Fake! It's all fake!"

"Zhang Shiyuan! How dare you falsify the accounts!"

"You're still playing me for a fool! You damned bastard!"

Standing at the door, Wang Yong inside was carefully observed, his brows furrowed tightly.

"Is this old man going crazy again?"

(End of this chapter)