Chapter 266 Mine Improvement, Divine Guidance

"3600 pounds per day?"

Shulot suddenly turned pale. He looked at Necali in shock. As the main copper producing area in the feudal country, the daily output of a thousand miners is only 3,600 kilograms of copper, and only 30% of the people can actually participate in the excavation. This production efficiency was far lower than he expected. You know, the copper produced here not only supplies the entire feudal country, but also almost half of the world!

Seeing the king's shock, Necali looked proud.

"Yes, Marshal. Under my management, the miners worked tirelessly and worked hard! The amount of mining per person of the diggers has reached the highest level in the Kingdom of Tarasco in the past ten years! "

Hearing this, Shulot looked at Ezpan, who had been following him but rarely spoke.

"Your Highness, the person in charge of the mine has managed it very well. The output is indeed very high."

Ezpan looked sad as he recalled the past memories. He stayed in this mine for a long time, and many things were deeply imprinted in his mind like instinct.

"In this mining area, it is impossible to excavate in July and August, when the rainy season is at its peak. In June and September, when the rainfall is heavy, at least half of the people are required to drain water, and in April, May, October, and November, at least 30% of the manpower is needed to drain water. . Only in the dry season of December, January, February and March can we fully exploit the underground spring water. At that time, the output should be at the highest level of 6,000 kilograms of copper per day, and on average in the rainy and dry seasons of the year. It’s 4,000 pounds per day for one thousand people.”

Shulot said nothing. He lowered his eyes slightly, thinking of the mining efficiency in modern Europe, and suddenly felt dissatisfied.

"How can the output be so small? How can the efficiency be so low!"

In fact, it was Shulot who misunderstood this time. Mining is a highly cooperative group work that requires high technology and management. Excavation of hard copper ore is far more time-consuming and laborious than mining of coal. In the classical era when machinery was lacking, the number of excavators who could actually participate in excavation in the mines was usually less than half of the total number of miners.

In the Ming and Qing Dynasty's Yunnan Copper, even with high-quality ironware and mature technology, the daily output of excavators was only 20-30 kilograms of copper ore per ding. Of course, this is also because Yunnan copper has many poor ores, is difficult to excavate, and is of low quality.

In fact, eight of the world's top ten copper mines are located in the western Americas along the Pacific Rim, with six in Chile and Peru in South America. Compared with them, the reserves and quality of Tianchao's copper mines would make the emperors who were short of money burst into tears.

Shulot looked serious and said nothing, and the surroundings became silent. He looked up at the sky, carefully considered the film and television and written materials in his memory, and determined to make improvements to the mine's production facilities. After a moment, he stretched out his hand, and the samurai commander brought him paper and pen.

Necali bowed respectfully and stood aside, eyes wide open, looking at His Highness's "divine revelation" in awe.

"First, go down a straight vertical shaft, and then extend inclined shafts and flat tunnels at different heights according to the direction of the rock formation. At intervals, or in unstable rock formations, wooden derricks must be used to ensure the stability of the mine structure. . The wooden frames were riveted to each other, and sometimes the tips were nailed into the stone walls.”

Schlott first drew a simple shaft, and then focused on the supporting wooden frames of the shaft. He thought about the underground caves he had visited before and emphasized again.

"The reinforced wooden frames must be neat and uniform. In the inclined shaft, the wooden frames must be nailed into the stone wall to prevent slipping. In the broken mining belt, stones often fall, so the wooden frames must be kept closed."

Necali looked at the picture and nodded with blank eyes, obviously not understanding.

Seeing this, the king pondered for a while and said seriously.

"My warrior, these pictures contain the truth of the gods! The God of vegetation is the child of the Mother Earth, who bears His mercy and protects the lives of miners. The wooden frame can stabilize the underground world and is The most important foundation in excavation. You must follow the diagrams I gave you as carefully as you would when building an altar, and make sure the support is strong!”

The samurai captain's face became solemn and he solemnly promised.

"Yes, Marshal! You are a divinely inspired priest, and I will do as you say!"

Shulot smiled faintly. He then drew a vertical ventilation shaft above the extended alley.

“Only Tlaloc, the powerful god of wind and rain, can restrain the evil underground and bring vitality to the underground mines. As the mine tunnels extend, there must be a special shaft hanging down from the surface to access the power of the wind god. Multiple ventilation shafts can be dug at different heights to create convection under different wind pressures. You can also light torches, charcoal, and sacrifice plants under the ventilation shafts to artificially heat the underground air and create convection."

"What, you ask what is convection? Convection is the wind that connects the underground and the surface. It is the flow of divine power that brings the life from the surface into the underground."

Shulot thought for a while and drew another mine blast box, which was similar to the iron smelting bellows, only larger.

"It is difficult to dig ventilation shafts in some places. You can use this to blow in the air and the power of the wind god. It just takes some manpower."

Nekali nodded heavily, memorizing this mysterious knowledge into his mind and implementing it as a precept of faith.

"The next step is to improve lighting. In each group of miners, someone must wear a special wooden helmet, and a half-open pottery oil lamp is hung on the wooden helmet. This is to pray to the Lord God to bless the miners' work and prevent them from doing anything. Fear. If the oil lamp dims or goes out quickly, it proves that there is evil ahead. You need to retreat quickly and use the power of the wind god."

"Yes, Marshal! But with so many religious ceremonies, should we arrange two priests in the mine? I'm afraid the miners don't have the ability to communicate with the gods."

Hearing this, Shulot's expression changed and he said with a smile.

"Okay! I will send several priests here to preside over these important ceremonies. The number of miners is huge, and they really need priests to guide their faith and appease their hearts. And with the prayers of priests, the miners can better overcome the problem of going down the mine. Sometimes, the only thing that scares you is fear itself."

"Then, labor-saving lifting systems need to be built at certain heights in the mine. Relying solely on the backs of miners, the ore transported is slow and small. A lot of manpower is wasted on transportation."

As Shlott spoke, he drew a windlass for fetching water.

"A windlass is built in the mine to be responsible for transportation from bottom to top. The current depth of the mine is more than ten meters, and a single windlass is enough. As the mine becomes deeper and longer, graded windlass must be built later, layer by layer. Transporting ore saves manpower to the greatest extent.”

Seeing this, Necali finally looked enlightened. The windshield saves effort, he naturally knows it.

"Finally, the most important thing is drainage improvement. Remember, balance the power of the God of Wind and Rain to drain away water and turn it into wind. The windlass responsible for lifting the ore can also be added with buckets to draw water. In the low-lying areas of the mine where water accumulates , you can also build additional drainage wells, and of course, there is another useful drainage device for you.”

Having said this, Shulot paused. He recalled the pressurized water wells in rural areas in later generations, which were simple manual reciprocating pumps, or hand pumps. The principle of this thing is that the reciprocating motion of the piston creates negative pressure to absorb water, and then presses it out from the water outlet at the upper end. Applying the pump principle and using bamboo tubes to make a similar water diversion device is the "bamboo dragon".

Necali braced herself and looked carefully. He watched as His Highness first drew an irregular bamboo tube and opened an opening on one side of the upper end of the bamboo tube. Then I drew a nested movable round stick inside the bamboo tube, and finally I drew a strange hand crank. The whole picture is simple and abstract, like a sacred and mysterious priestly symbol.

"That's roughly the shape."

Shulot looked at his rough sketch and pursed his lips. His painting skills really needed to be improved.

"The nested bamboo tube is easier to make, even without this labor-saving hand crank. The operation is also very simple, just lift and press to pump the water up. If there is damage or loose place, you can use the rubber of a football Just stick it together for a while.”

"Okay, reinforcement, ventilation, lighting, lifting, drainage, five items in total, do it as I say! Necali, there will be priests to help you calm people's hearts. What you have to do is to improve the facilities and equipment, dig deep The rich mines here, try our best to increase the production! I will give you a small goal, first increase the average monthly production by half, to 6,000 kilograms per 1,000 people!”

"Ah, 6,000 pounds for a thousand people? I obey, Marshal! I obey your will and I am willing to die for you!"

Necali received the order loudly and bowed to the ground, as if receiving military orders on the battlefield.

Shulot nodded with satisfaction and reached out to hold the other person's hair again. The advantage of using loyal officers as managers is that they can follow the orders of their superiors and execute them without hesitation. Their disadvantage is that they are not proficient in their majors and find it difficult to think for themselves.

"Well, I'm going to summon Chalape when I get back and send two miners from the metal family to assist."

Shulot's thoughts changed and he looked at the warrior commander again. The facilities of the mines need to be improved and the size of the mines needs to be further expanded.

"Bertard, how many working men can the nearby villages provide?"

Bertard thought for a while. There were too many villages in the Lake District, but he couldn't remember them at the moment. He took out a photo album he had with him, flipped through it and read.

"Your Highness, there are seven or eight settlements within a radius of more than 20 miles, with a total population of more than 15,000. If the village's autumn wealth is transported to the mine nearby, it can provide labor for three to four thousand people. This distance The mountain roads are rugged and labor must be recruited from the villages to transport grain.”

Shulot thought for a moment and then ordered.

"Collect taxes and labor from nearby villages to support the Qinganbat mining area! Contact the village priests and reduce part of the tribute. Then from the resting troops on the south road, two thousand people will be mobilized to rush to the mining area. By the end of October, the mine will have three Thousands of people are digging, and by the end of December, the copper production in the mining area will be tripled! Necali, are you confident?”

"Yes, Marshal! The capacity of the main mine is limited and needs to be improved. There are several small mines around, and I will develop them all!"

Nekali's voice should be. Then he whispered.

"Marshal, mining has always been regarded as a dangerous way, and the status of miners is also very low. The soldiers have held weapons, formed battalions, and some have blood on their hands. Forcing them to be miners will be difficult to manage. These people are both There is a risk of rebellion, and there is also the ability to rebel. Can it be replaced with a slave that is easy to use? "

Hearing this, Shulot thought for a moment and shook his head.

"Necali, what you said is right, but the people in the feudal country have already set up camps, and I don't have any slaves for you. Well, there will be officers and priests close to the alliance in the surrender army to help appease them. In a few months, When the legion is dispatched, the canine descendants captured from the north will be sent here!"

The king thought about the organization of the surrendered army again. There may be some warriors who are good at fighting among them, so the risk is indeed not small.

"How about this, I'll give you two more battalions, 400 warriors! 600 warriors manage 3,000 miners, which is exactly the limit of the supply of the nearby villages, Nekali, do a good job! From today, I will promote you to the commander of the warrior battalion, and you will be in charge of these people!

"Thank you, Marshal! I am willing to be your wing!"

Nekali was overjoyed and knelt down again to accept the order. The king also smiled. The two of them agreed and established the rules and requirements of the mine.

The sun set in the west, leaving a golden and red afterglow on the rolling mountains. The curling smoke rose from the mountains, interweaving with the red clouds faintly, like the dancing laces of the gods. Unknowingly, it was time for dinner.

Bertard had no time to see the magnificent sunset mountain scenery. He just watched the miners who gathered and started to make fires to cook. Soon, thick smoke rose from the corner of the back camp. The smoke was very thick. If you follow the common sense of the warriors , just like preparing meals for three or four thousand people.

The samurai chief frowned. He said something to His Highness, then pulled out his war stick and went to check with more than a dozen guards. Hundreds of cooks were busy in the rear camp, preparing fragrant corn cakes for the warriors and enough grains for the miners. There were also several garrison warriors supervising nearby.

Bertard made a brief inspection. In order to ensure safety, His Highness's food was brought from the palace by the guards, and these cakes were mainly supplied to some of the accompanying troops. He looked at it for a moment, nodded, and then his attention was attracted by the cooking stove.

"Come here, what is this? "

The chief warrior asked with some curiosity. What was burning under the stove was not firewood, but black stones. The fire was very strong and produced a lot of smoke. The cook in front of him was still adding this fuel.

Faced with the question, the cook took a step back and knelt on the ground in awe. The flames of the black stone raised thick smoke, which had already blackened his face.

"Master, this is the solidified blood of the underground demon we dug up. It contains the dead fire of the world of the dead. Although it is regarded as unclean by the priests, it can burn. Master. "

Hearing this, Bertard took out a piece of black stone and examined it carefully in his hand. This kind of black stone is soft in texture, and a slight pinch will cause powder to fall off. Soon, the black stone stained his hands black. The chief warrior frowned, held the black stone, and walked towards the divinely inspired His Majesty.