Chapter Eleven: Mining and Railways, No One Can Stop Them
At the end of 1886, Liu Ye's coal mine and gold mine were built simultaneously. Talent is talent, this surname Zhou from Henan not only knows how to mine coal but also gold, silver, copper, and iron, it's all a skill, as his old father who had just recovered from a serious illness said, the key is in the word "mine". To thank Liu Ye for saving his life, Old Zhou almost went to build the mine with his body still recovering, fortunately, Liu Ye stopped him early on, saying that there was no rush these few days and that he would have plenty of time to repay the favor later. Old Zhou thanked Master Liu again for his kindness, saying that he couldn't go himself but could send his son, as his two sons had already learned the true skills from him, from exploration to construction to excavation, a one-stop service.
Zhou Lao Die's real name was Zhou Yancong, a very artistic name. He had two sons: his older brother, Zhou Shuyuan, who was over 30 years old and married to a woman named Feng, but they didn't have any children; and his younger brother, Zhou Shuqing, who was just 20 years old and single. Liu Mo assigned the task of building a coal mine to his older brother and the task of opening a gold mine to his younger brother. Each person was given five Green Camp soldiers as assistants, while the rest had to fend for themselves. However, Liu Mo had one requirement: since mining was a dangerous job, he didn't want them to skimp on wages or food, and also emphasized the importance of ensuring the safety of the mine tunnels by using thicker and denser wooden beams to reinforce them, in order to avoid tragic accidents like being buried alive.
The Zhou family has been mining for generations, so they naturally understand how to find a way. However, understanding is one thing, and actually being able to do it is another, because there's the issue of cost. But Liu Ye said, "I'm not short on money, I'll just pay out silver to see the effect, you guys figure out the rest, if you're short on anything, just come find me."
With the Dong family's statement, especially as the third son of Taiwan's governor, Zhou Yancang was deeply moved and said that Liu Fei had a Bodhisattva heart. Having benefited himself, he couldn't let others suffer, so with Liu Fei's consent, Zhou sent his eldest son to urgently return to Henan and bring back all the old comrades who had followed him to dig coal mines years ago, along with their families.
In 1887, quietly arrived amidst the hustle and bustle, before the Lunar New Year festival, the over 20-kilometer stone road was finally completed, starting from what would later become Keelung Harbor and ending at the foot of the Jinguashi gold mine mountain, with a fork in the middle leading to the Badouzi coal mine.
The coal mine and gold mine have been built almost, and small-scale trial mining has begun. According to Zhou Lao's personal estimate, if the labor force is sufficient, the Badaizi Coal Mine can produce 300,000 tons of good coal per year. If machines are used for mining, it will at least increase by five times. The gold mine in Jinguashi can produce 10,000 liang (a unit of weight) per year without any problem. As for the copper mine, which is a by-product mine, accurate estimation is not easy, but an annual output of 50,000 tons is the minimum.
Liu Mo listened to the overall situation of the mine and immediately sent a telegram to David in Europe, roughly describing the scale of the mine and asking him to adjust the purchase of mining equipment on his own. In just a few days, David sent back a telegram, indicating that the order had been placed, and some of the initial cement and mining equipment had already been shipped to Taiwan, with an estimated arrival time of about 2 months later.
Taiwan is in a good shape, and Liu's mood is also quite comfortable. During the holidays, schools, mines, and garment factories are all closed, and holiday allowances are distributed per capita. Even the green camp soldiers who guard the dock get one share each. Of course, Liu Fu, Liu Da Gui, foreign teachers, and Zhou Yancong's family are all considered experts, so their red envelopes are much bigger. Originally, Liu wanted to give a few foreign employees a home leave, but after thinking about it, it would take half a year for them to come and go, so forget it.
In March 1887, the city of Taiwan was still immersed in the joy of the just-passed festival. However, on the coast 20 kilometers east of the city, a different scene unfolded. The imperial court had approved Liu Mingchuan's request to build a railway, but the funds were not sufficient and he had to think of ways to raise them himself. What was Liu Mingchuan thinking? His own son, Liu Ye, was wealthy and had founded schools and mines, so building a small railway would be no big deal for him. And so, the task of building the railway fell on Liu Ye's shoulders. Liu Ye didn't mind at all; in fact, he had long wanted to build a railway but had no reason to tell his father. Now that it was all settled, he didn't have to worry about the funds from his father; what mattered most was that his father provided him with a team of engineering technicians, including many talents who had studied abroad in Europe and America. What Liu Ye lacked now was not money but people.
Historically, this railway was from Hsinchu to Taipei to Keelung, with a total length of 99 kilometers. It took six years to complete and cost 1.3 million taels of silver. These tourist brochures all say it very clearly, but Liu Mo gave the British engineer in charge a deadline: three years to complete, or else. For every month completed ahead of schedule, the chief engineer would be rewarded with 50,000 taels of silver, and other technical personnel would also get a share. Under the threat of the silver cannon, people from any country generally wouldn't put up too much resistance. This British engineer didn't even resist, but directly agreed, then like a duck herder, urged dozens of technicians to hurry up and work.
Give the old man 1 million taels of silver to purchase equipment and recruit workers, Liu Mei will let go, this is a national construction project, he wants to take on the contract but can't, specific things have his own father to deal with.
Apart from the construction of the Keelung railway, Liu Ye also hired several hundred strong laborers from both local and mainland areas to start leveling the wasteland near the future Keelung harbor according to the map. The exact location of the harbor still needs to be determined by the expert found by David, but the general location is already marked on the map. They will level it first anyway, as factories for steelmaking, shipbuilding, oil refining and power generation all need land, which can't be wasted.
