Chapter 687: Don't Tell the Prince
Upon receiving the news, Eunuch Zheng abandoned his current tasks, hastily gathered a few subordinates, and galloped on swift horses towards the Yiluo Coal Mine.
The Yiluo Coal Mine lay over seventy li from Luoyang City, a journey that demanded significant time even on the fastest horses. By the time Eunuch Zheng arrived, he found Bai Yuan's men had already encircled the mine entrance, forming dense layers of guards.
They had set up an elaborate operation, poised to clear the flooded mine shaft.
No sooner had Eunuch Zheng and his entourage arrived than they were halted by a guard at the perimeter. "Danger zone," the man declared. "Unauthorized personnel are forbidden beyond this point."
Eunuch Zheng snorted. "I represent the Prince of Fu's Estate! This entire operation is leased from us. How dare you call me unauthorized personnel?"
The guard eyed him suspiciously. "You look like a shifty, middle-aged fat man, not a person of good standing. I don't believe you're from the Prince of Fu's Estate."
Eunuch Zheng exploded. "Preposterous! I *am* Eunuch Zheng from the Prince of Fu's Estate! Now go, inform Bai Yuan at once, or you'll regret my displeasure!"
The guard seemed startled into submission, then slowly shuffled inside to report.
A short while later, Bai Yuan emerged, a cheerful smile on his face. "Ah, Eunuch Zheng from the Prince of Fu's Estate! What an unexpected honor! Please forgive my failure to greet you properly. The guard was merely a 'temporary worker' and didn't recognize you. I trust you'll overlook his indiscretion."
He followed Bai Yuan into the bustling construction site.
Before him, large groups of workers were already assembled at the mine entrance, and amidst them stood a truly massive machine.
The contraption appeared to be fitted with a boiler, from which long pipes snaked forward.
The workers chanted in unison: "One, two, three... heave! One, two, three... heave!"
With synchronized effort, they lifted the long pipe and lowered it into the dark maw of the mine shaft.
The shaft was a gaping black hole, its depths utterly invisible.
A man of Eunuch Zheng's refined sensibilities was, of course, disinclined to venture into such a place, leaving the inner workings unseen. He observed the pipe-carrying crew disappear into the shaft, only for them to emerge a considerable time later, calling out loudly, "Done! The pipe is submerged!"
Bai Yuan raised a hand. "Begin pumping!"
Immediately, the massive boiler roared to life. Amidst the insistent hiss of steam, the machine's wheels began to spin furiously, and with a sudden whoosh, the connected pipe discharged a powerful stream of yellowish water. It plunged into a prepared drainage ditch, swiftly flowing away.
The workers cheered, "The water's finally coming out!"
Eunuch Zheng blinked. "Huh?"
Though he had never laid eyes on a water pump before, he grasped its function instantly. This peculiar contraption could actually extract water from its pipe, and since that pipe reached deep into the mine shaft... it meant it could pump the water out of the mine shaft!
"Holy cow!" Eunuch Zheng was utterly floored. He had envisioned weeks, perhaps months, of men bailing water with buckets, shouldering loads out of the shaft. He never would have guessed Bai Yuan possessed such a miraculous machine.
That monstrously thick pipe, steadily gushing water, would likely drain the entire shaft in mere days.
Don't panic!
Eunuch Zheng reassured himself: *Even if you can easily pump out the water, it only returns the mine to its pre-flood state. The coal output will remain the same as before. Our Prince of Fu's Estate will still receive the same lease fees. No loss, we won't lose money.*
A few days later...
Eunuch Zheng received another report from his subordinates. "Eunuch," they said, "Bai Yuan is up to new tricks at the mine entrance."
Eunuch Zheng frowned. "What now?"
He quickly spurred his horse again, rushing to witness the new spectacle.
After enduring another round of torment from a different 'temporary worker' guard, he finally gained access to the site, only to find a large crowd once again encircling the mine entrance.
They were busy assembling strange, narrow tracks—a single rail laid on wooden sleepers, stretching from the entrance deep into the mine shaft. On this track rested a small mine cart, bound with an iron chain.
A worker pushed the small mine cart into the shaft.
The cart began a slow descent, but then, with a whoosh, it accelerated, vanishing into the shaft's dark interior. Eunuch Zheng, still reluctant to brave the depths of the mine, waited outside, utterly mystified by the cart's unseen activity.
Before long, a small bell mounted on the track chimed.
The workers outside laughed. "Ready! The cart can be pulled out now!"
A worker engaged the steam engine—the same boiler machine that had pumped water now functioned as a winch. He tugged on the iron chain, hand over hand, and a low rumble echoed along the tracks. Before long, the small mine cart, which had slid into the shaft's depths, was hauled back into view.
The cart was laden, brimming with raw ore.
"Unload!"
A worker, still shouting, came forward. He snagged the cart's side panel with an iron hook, and with a swift pull, the panel unlatched and swung open.
The cart body tipped gently, sending its entire cargo of coal tumbling to the ground.
Then, the worker re-secured the side panel, gave the cart a push, and with another whoosh, it slid back into the mine's depths.
Eunuch Zheng's eyes widened. He was speechless.
He understood. Bai Yuan's innovative coal mine no longer relied on miners to shoulder heavy loads of coal from the earth. Instead, these small mine carts achieved astonishingly high transport speeds.
Consequently, the workers no longer needed to tirelessly shuttle back and forth. Their sole task was to continuously dig underground, depositing the excavated ore into the small mine carts, which would then resurface in the blink of an eye.
This... this... this is how they're mining coal now?
Unbelievable!
Eunuch Zheng suddenly realized the coal mine's output wouldn't merely increase a fewfold. It could easily be ten, twenty, even thirty times greater!
If only he had known! He should have demanded a thirty percent share for the Prince of Fu's Estate, instead of signing a rigid, fixed-rate lease. Aaaah!
Eunuch Zheng was so heartbroken he could barely breathe.
Suddenly, a thought struck him. He turned to his accompanying subordinates and said in a low, grave tone, "Regarding this coal mine's output, the Prince must *never* be told. Every one of you, keep your mouths sealed tight."
His few confidants instantly understood.
It didn't matter that they had lost out; as long as the Prince remained ignorant of the new mine's true capacity, he would continue to believe the lease fees represented a staggering profit.
Thus, they would create a world where "everyone profited!" No one would suffer a loss.
His confidants quickly pledged their loyalty. "Rest assured, Eunuch," they chorused. "We will die before breathing a word of this. The Prince will not learn a single shred of news from us."
Eunuch Zheng nodded. "That's good, that's good. I am, after all, profoundly loyal to the Prince, having devoted my entire life to serving him unto death. A dirty, foul-smelling mine like this is hardly suitable for a noble person such as the Prince to concern himself with. I can simply oversee it on his behalf."
His confidants affirmed, "Eunuch Zheng speaks the truth."
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