My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 129 Private Mining
This is an open-pit coal mine.

It was a small operation, with only seven or eight tents inside and out, and not many warriors were on guard. They stood on various high places, watching the prisoners who were mining.

A short man was leading the man beside him on a tour of the place, talking as they walked.

"Look, we don't need many people to supervise this area. There are the best positions on these three sides, so we only need three people to keep an eye on a large area. If you're still worried, there's an exit over there, so we can put two people there, and we guarantee no one will go out!"

"This person is readily available!"

“We have friends in the government. For a small amount of money, we can get these prisoners to work. They don’t eat much, and with all the expenses, it costs less than a hundred coins a month per person!”

"And look, this is all top-quality coal. Do you know how much it cost when I transported it to Zhuojun last year? At least this much!"

The short man was quite eloquent, and he kept telling the man next to him how worthwhile the mine was.

The man beside him, dressed in a rather luxurious manner, tilted his head back, seemingly unconcerned.

This man was none other than Zhang Du.

The Sui Dynasty allowed private mining of small-scale iron and coal mines, while copper mining was prohibited. Iron and coal were not subject to much regulation, as long as money was paid on time. As a result, there were many private mines, especially in the Hedong region, where they were extremely common.

They even devised many new methods, such as borrowing criminals from the government to engage in mining activities.

Zhang Du looked around, his face full of disdain.

"This is the large mine you were talking about?"

"There are only a few people, and they only make a little money. In a year, it's not even enough for me to buy a good horse to play with. Forget it, forget it."

Zhang Du turned to leave, but the short man got anxious and quickly blocked his way.

"Master Zhang! Please don't leave yet!"

"You don't know the situation here. Those big mines are all in the hands of people you can't mess with. Those people aren't just merchants; the guards they send are all armed with crossbows! Do you think they'd sell them?"

“This mine is a bit small, but I can guarantee that there’s a lot more here than this. I’m just a small business owner and can’t afford to continue exploring. But you’re different. If you buy it, you can make a fortune.”

"Besides, you won't find this location or quality anywhere else."

Zhang Du was ordered by the Lord to come to the region to find private mines. To make things easier, he pretended to be a wealthy outsider and negotiated the purchase of the mines. The local powerful families of Loufan had either died or left due to previous wars, so it was usually outsiders who came here to mine.

Some people find it troublesome and simply buy it from someone else.

Zhang Du then spent money to change his attire, because he had seen many noble people before and could imitate them quite well. With many followers, he really did look very convincing.

He spent some money to clear a path and finally met the businessman who was eager to sell his minerals.

This short man, surnamed Qu, was also not a local. However, he had been here for quite some time, and Zhang Du wanted to get some information out of him.

Zhang Du interrupted him again, "If this place is really as good as you say, why would you want to sell it?"

The short man gave a wry smile. “It’s just that my family background isn’t prominent enough. I used to have someone to rely on, but now that person is gone. I’m powerless to do anything but take action early. However, this certainly won’t be a problem for you.”

Life is tough for everyone these days, even for the powerful clans. Although the sage has many flaws, there is one thing that is commendable: he bullies everyone, not just the common people, but also the powerful clans. He treats everyone equally.

Although these heavy corvée labor and taxes did not fall on the heads of the powerful clans, their impact would still harm their interests.

In this day and age, the background of someone who can still come so leisurely to buy a large mine is quite something.

Zhang Du looked troubled and hesitated.

The short man stopped trying to persuade him and instead invited Zhang Du to his home for a banquet. This time, Zhang Du did not refuse and went to his home with him.

This manor is located outside the city and looks quite nice.

There were many servants in the manor, so the banquet was quite lavish.

Zhang Du shared some drinks with him, and the atmosphere gradually became more relaxed. "Mr. Qu, it's not that I look down on you, it's just that your mine is really too small. To be honest, I'm just doing this for someone else. Tell me, how am I supposed to explain myself if I buy this small mine?"

"Ugh."

Zhang Du sighed deeply, his face full of sorrow. "We used to have mines, but they were iron mines. In recent years, the taxes paid on these iron mines have been increasing, and eventually, they became unprofitable and most of them were abandoned."

Hearing Zhang Du's sighs, the short man also felt somewhat distressed.

"And isn't coal the same?"

"If we can't sell them locally, we have to pay money for every step we take to ship them out. By the time they reach their destination, we've already lost all our money. It's practically robbery!"

The two men drank and complained to each other for a while, and the shorter man then told the truth.

"To be honest with you, I won't make much money selling this mine. But the reason I'm doing this is because I don't have any connections at the top. If I did, do you think these lackeys on the street would dare to ask for money?"

"If your family has that kind of status, then you don't need to worry. As for the size, if you can buy my small mine, I can help you connect with those who have large mines!"

Zhang Du suddenly grabbed his hand, looked ahead, and gestured for his men to go out.

Seeing this, the short man also called his servants to go out.

After everyone left, Zhang Du lowered his voice, "I really do have that kind of connection."

"I'd like to know if you have any connections to illegal mines? You know what I mean."

The short man was startled and quickly pulled his hand away. "Master Zhang, you're drunk. Who would dare to mine without informing the authorities these days? That's a serious crime."

"Don't try to hide it from me. It's the same everywhere. If you can help me get in touch with private mines, I'll not only give you money, but you can also use my family's name in the future, and no one will make things difficult for you anywhere."

"I'd be willing."

The short man hesitated for a moment, then shook his head again, "It's impossible to sell."

"No way."

"Even if someone is mining privately, they won't tell anyone. The miners are all their own people, and no one knows the location except themselves. If you're interested, you should mine it secretly yourself. How could you sell it? It's impossible."

Zhang Du's drunkenness lessened somewhat, and he said, "When I came in just now, I saw that your manor was extremely large and quite luxurious. However, there were no cart tracks on the road, and the places where horses were tied up were overgrown with weeds. There were many servants in the manor, but I saw that many of them looked dissatisfied and were huddled together in twos and threes plotting."

"And this food, you certainly prepared it with care, but it's all meat, I don't see any fruit."

"Qu Jun, it seems you've been struggling financially lately. You've sold your horses, your servants aren't getting enough to eat, and you're only able to afford to slaughter livestock for banquets. You can't even afford to display fruit, and yet you're in such a hurry to sell that coal mine. You must be in a lot of debt."

Qu Qiusheng was stunned for a moment, his face turned red, and his lips trembled.

"These bandits. They're just openly robbing us. The mineral resources listed on the documents are completely different from the actual output. They keep demanding taxes from me, coming again and again. I've sold everything I could, but I still can't raise enough money. They..."

This is the moment Zhang Du has been waiting for.

He suddenly laughed, shook his head, and said, "So what if we sell the mine?"

“Those people will still come to our door and keep demanding. Even if they do something else or go somewhere else, will they not encounter these kinds of people? If no one protects them, they will eventually go bankrupt and die in a foreign land.”

Before the other party could say anything more, Zhang Du took something out of his pocket and placed it in front of the two of them.

Qu Qiusheng was stunned for a moment, then looked down at what Zhang Du had taken out—a small wooden plaque.

Zhang Du continued, "With this item, one can freely enter and exit the prefect's residence."

Qu Qiusheng shuddered and slowly looked at the important person beside him.

(End of this chapter)