Chapter 861 Binotta Mine

When Zhang Heng was looking at Daichiusi, Daichiusi was also peeking at Zhang Heng.

He had already read Zhang Heng's appointment letter and knew that the Eastern man in front of him was Commodus's newly appointed consultant, who came specifically to deal with the unfavorable construction period of the bronze statue.

Daichiusi wiped off the cold sweat and took the initiative to say, "There is actually no problem on the craftsman's side. We have already cast the model. We just need to pour the bronze solution into it, and then wait for the solution to cool down before adding the outer layer." Just break it into pieces, but the Binota mine that has been supplying us with copper ore recently had an accident. The mine tunnel collapsed, burying about twenty slaves. The remaining slaves are still cleaning the mine tunnel. We We don’t know when they will be able to restart operations, and we can’t continue without the ore.”

"What about changing to another mine? Do you have any alternatives?" Zhang Heng asked.

"Yes, there are four mines on the outskirts of Rome. Binotta is just a small mine. We have also signed an agreement with another mine. If Binotta cannot satisfy us, then the other one will transport the copper ore. Give us the stone, but..." Daikius stopped talking.

"but what?"

"But His Majesty the Emperor is minting new copper coins recently, and the ore produced by other mines has been given priority to supply there, and they have no extra ore to give us." Daikiusi said, spreading his hands.

"What about the copper mines produced in other cities?"

"In addition, the transportation cost is nearly twice as expensive, and it takes time to transport it. I'm afraid it's a little too late in terms of construction time." Decius also seemed very helpless. He was not the legitimate son and could not inherit his father's seat in the Senate. , so his father worked hard to get him this job in order to prevent him from starving to death. He originally thought that if he worked hard, he would be appreciated by Commodus and get a stable job in the future.

The result was that this job, which was impossible to do no matter how hard it looked, was about to be ruined by him. Decius was also quite aggrieved. He didn't get a kickback, and he didn't treat the people below him harshly. He was always trembling, but the ship capsized inexplicably. It can only be said that his luck was a bit too bad.

However, the new consultant in front of him didn't seem to think so. After hearing that there was no way to avoid overdue delivery of the bronze statue, Zhang Heng asked Daichius, "You said there was an accident at the Binotta Mine. It was you who witnessed it." Did you see it?"

"Ah?" Daichius was dumbfounded when he heard this, "Do you still want me to see this matter? According to the contract between us, if you fail to deliver the goods within the time limit, you will have to pay a penalty."

"How many?"

"Well, it's about 20 oris per day. This is not a small sum. After delaying it for so many days, I'm afraid they have no profit to speak of this time. If they delay it further, they will probably have to lose a lot of money at the mine. money."

"For 20 olis a day, even if the mine cannot afford it, there are many people in this city who can afford it." Zhang Heng said lightly, but he did not go on to say more about the overt and covert struggle between Commodus and the Senate. Obviously, it was not something that a small character like Daichius could know. Zhang Heng just said, "Do you know where the Binota Mine is? Let's take a trip together."

"Now?" Daichius was a little embarrassed when he heard this, "But it's not time to call it a day yet."

"Are you working now?"

"No...no." Decius said matter-of-factly.

"Then prepare the carriage." Zhang Heng finally made the decision.

"…………"

Although Daichiusi didn't understand why Zhang Heng had to go to the mine, he still dutifully introduced Zhang Heng to the Binota Mine and the owner behind it. From the information provided by Daichiusi, The owner of the Pinotta Mine is a large landowner named Cobb.

He came from a very ordinary background, just a powerless commoner, but unexpectedly fell in love with a girl named Manyia, whose father was very rich and owned a large field and two mines. Ta is one of them. Manyia's father looked down on Cobb and always opposed his daughter's association with this poor boy. However, he died of illness before he could choose a satisfactory son-in-law.

After Manyia married Cobb as she wished, and her father had no other children, Cobb became the new owner of this large field and two mines, and he also got a lucky Cobb. Bu's nickname.

"I've known Lucky Cobb for a while," Daichius said. "I bought a batch of grain from him before for my family. That guy doesn't talk much, but he's quite reliable. I don’t think he would lie about the mine accident and it wouldn’t do him any good.”

Zhang Heng was noncommittal upon hearing this, and just continued to ask, "Then do you know who he usually interacts with more often, or who his biggest buyer is?"

"Well, Cobb basically spends most of his time patrolling the farmland, or wandering around the two mines. Although he is not a bad person, he is not the kind of person who particularly likes to make friends. As for his biggest buyer, I heard that he sold all the wheat he grew to the senator Divaubraile, who owned more than half of the grain stores in Rome."

"who?"

"Divebraye, what, do you know him?"

Zhang Heng raised his eyebrows. He didn't expect that he actually heard the name of an acquaintance. Divobraye was the person the Jewish Gang and the Golden Crown asked him to deal with. It was precisely because Zhang Heng agreed to this request that he got the patrol team. In terms of development rights in the southeastern city, the three major forces in the southeastern city even helped him pass the assessment perfectly.

However, Zhang Heng didn't know for the time being whether this incident was related to Divaubraye, and if so, how deeply Diveubraye was involved, but Zhang Heng's intuition told him at the first time that he might You can also use this incident to drag Divabraye down.

Daichiusi on the other side still looked envious. Zhang Heng was simply his idol. He was a gladiator, but he had climbed all the way to the position of consultant. Moreover, he seemed to have met many big names in the short time he had just entered the political arena. Although Vaubraye is not as influential as Dior in the Senate, he should not be underestimated. Moreover, Dvobraye, an old fox, will not choose sides unless he has to, so he will not offend people very much. I have many friends.

Decius was thinking about how to get Zhang Heng to introduce him to Divobraye, so that he would have a way out if he failed at this job and would not be as miserable as a civilian.

But before he could speak, the carriage had already driven out of the path in the woods, and ahead was the Binotta Mine, the destination of their trip.