Late Ming Dynasty: Special Forces in 1645

After finalizing the industrial development plan, Li Chengming sent people to inquire and investigate where there were mineral deposits nearby the very next day. Any kind of mineral deposit would do. Unexpectedly, they received feedback in less than half a day.

Located a dozen kilometers away from Xinzhou Prefecture, Fenglingtou Town is a small area with seven or eight coal mines of varying sizes.

These coal mines were all controlled by local landlords and gentry. They would dig some coal when someone wanted to buy it, and leave it there when no one wanted to buy it.

Coal mine owners in this era were nothing like the coal bosses of later generations. There was no industry, and ordinary people couldn't afford to burn coal. Wealthy families preferred to burn charcoal. Moreover, this was not the north, so there was no need for heating, and the demand for coal was relatively low.

Because of low demand, the price of coal once dropped even lower than that of charcoal. In addition, with seven or eight coal mines, the competition was fierce, so coal mine owners did not make much money.

Upon hearing the news, Li Chengming and Liang Zicheng were so excited that they took a few people and headed straight to Fenglingtou Town the next day.

Li Chengming was not familiar with the area five kilometers outside Xinzhou City. The Xingfu Army had only captured Xinzhou City and controlled only the city and the area within five kilometers of it; they did not have actual control over the vast area beyond that five kilometers.

Li Chengming also had a headache about how to control other regions. The Xingfu Army was composed of poor people and lacked personnel familiar with civil administration, so governing the local areas was out of the question.

Therefore, for the vast areas outside Xinzhou Prefecture, simply occupying them without governing them would be too costly and not worthwhile. Li Chengming would not easily take actual control until he had figured out how to govern them.

For Li Chengming, governing local areas was more difficult than governing the army and required more caution, so governing local areas required long-term planning.

But there are always exceptions, such as...

After arriving in Fenglingtou Town, Li Chengming changed his mind: He must take real control of Fenglingtou Town and directly participate in its governance!

Because Li Chengming discovered that Fenglingtou Town not only has many coal mines, but also magnetite and iron ore, as well as a large amount of limestone!

Coal and iron mines go without saying, limestone can be used to make cement, and magnetite can be used to make motors and generators.

Li Chengming exclaimed that a single town had solved the problem of raw materials for steelmaking and cement production, making this town a blessed place for the Xingfu Army!

Such a blessed place must be brought under control and managed as soon as possible.

During his visit, Li Chengming also discovered that Fenglingtou Town not only sells coal but also quicklime, but has never sold steel.

Upon further inquiry, it was learned that the iron ore mine was located deep in the mountains and forests, making it difficult to mine. It had been mined a long time ago, but now that no one is smelting iron anymore, no one is mining the iron ore anymore.

Despite the hardships, Li Chengming and Liang Zicheng went to Tongjialing to inspect the abandoned iron mine.

Looking at the abandoned iron mine covered by trees, Li Chengming said, "This place isn't very remote, but the iron mine was blocked by a lot of rocks, making it difficult to mine, so it stopped being mined later."

Liang Zicheng said, "These are not problems for us. We can just arrange more manpower to mine. For those rocks that are really impossible to chisel, we can use explosives to blast them open."

Li Chengming nodded, then looked at the narrow mountain path and said, "We still have three or four thousand prisoners back there. They can be used here. First, we'll build the road, and then we can start mining coal and iron ore!"

Those thousands of prisoners were all seasoned veterans, unsuitable for inclusion in the Restoration Army, but they couldn't be released easily either. It would be perfect to bring them here to mine; all they needed to do was provide food. Why not make use of them?

On the way back from inspecting the iron ore mine, Li Chengming thought of a very important question and asked Liang Zicheng, "Those mines all have owners. How can we get our hands on them? Zicheng, do you have any good ideas?"

Liang Zicheng glanced back at the mountains surrounding Fenglingtou Town, where countless mineral deposits lay hidden, and said, "It's simple, just send troops to occupy them!"

Li Chengming shook his head: "You know, if it were that simple, I wouldn't have asked you. The rules of the Restoration Army are not to plunder or disturb the people! Even if they are officials or wealthy families, we cannot rob their property without reason. I will not deliberately break the rules!"

Liang Zicheng fell silent. Having followed Li Chengming all this way, he knew Li Chengming's methods. Military supplies could be seized from the enemy, but he would never think of plundering from officials, gentry, or wealthy households, let alone extorting food from the common people.

Sometimes Liang Zicheng also felt that Li Chengming's approach was too rigid. Everyone understood and supported not robbing the common people, but while everyone supported the prohibition against exploiting the wealthy, they did not necessarily understand it.

Liang Zicheng voiced his question and subtly implied that many people had the same question.

The "many people" here refers to their other comrades-in-arms.

After listening, Li Chengming said meaningfully, "There are some precedents that cannot be set, and they cannot be set on anyone! Otherwise, if your subordinates are given this kind of power, they might use it on officials and wealthy families today, but on ordinary people tomorrow!"

These words struck Liang Zicheng like a thunderbolt. He seemed to realize something, stood there for a long time, and then nodded heavily, saying, "Captain, you're right! I'll explain your intentions to the other comrades when I get back, and I believe they will understand."

"Yes," Li Chengming said, "A good rule must apply to everyone, regardless of whether they are poor or rich, good or bad!"

Liang Zicheng nodded in understanding. For example, the principle of "a life for a life" should not be applied to the poor or the rich. They should not be allowed to evade the punishment of this rule just because they are pitiful or the rich are powerful. Everyone should be treated equally so that everyone can accept this ironclad rule.

Li Chengming's meaning was clear: he wanted to formulate a law applicable to all people and all forces, through which he could rationally control the mineral resources of Fenglingtou Town.

Li Chengming said, "Tomorrow, we will send a battalion of troops to Fenglingtou Town to take control of the area."

Liang Zicheng continued, "Once we have actual control, we can start collecting taxes—land tax and mining tax can both be collected!"

Li Chengming shared the same idea, saying, "The land in this town needs to be thoroughly surveyed. We can use it as a pilot area to implement the land tax system, with officials and gentry paying taxes together. Wasteland should also be taxed."

As Li Chengming spoke, he organized his thoughts: "Then we'll impose heavy taxes on minerals. Let's see how the mine owners react. Even if they own minerals, they should be taxed regardless of whether they've been mining them!"

Liang Zicheng pondered, "Taxing wasteland and unexploited mines—isn't that going too far? I'm afraid it might cause resentment!"

Li Chengming laughed and said, "I knew there would be dissatisfaction, so there's another law waiting for them: the Restoration Army can offer a suitable price to buy back the wasteland and mineral resources!"

Liang Zicheng was stunned, and after a long while, he gave a thumbs up and said, "You can do it like that? That's ruthless, that's brilliant!"

In this way, the poor are minimally affected, because all previous taxes were primarily aimed at the poor; now it's simply a matter of using the same methods that were used against the poor against officials, gentry, and wealthy families.

Li Chengming did not boast about his idea, but said, "After our Restoration Army redeems these fields and mines... we will also have to pay taxes!"

"Huh?" Liang Zicheng didn't react for a moment and asked, "Why would you deflect your own bullets?"

Li Chengming actually had a deeper thought. Now that he could directly control the redeemed farmland and mineral resources, what would happen after the Xingfu Army expanded its territory?

With such vast land and so many industries, could this redemption system become a tool for subordinates to seek personal gain? Or could it be used to forcibly redeem the land of the common people?

Li Chengming can completely control the Restoration Army now, but what about in the future? When the number of soldiers increases several times, dozens or even hundreds of times, will he still be able to keep an eye on them? Therefore, the law cannot only apply to the common people, but the Restoration Army must also abide by the law. We must first ensure that everyone is treated equally in the design of the system!

Some things are difficult to start, but it's even harder to change things after you've started.

Therefore, Li Chengming wanted to make a good start.