Luoyang City, Henan Prefecture, is eighty miles south.

This place is under the jurisdiction of Yanshi County, Henan Prefecture.

It is famous because it is located under Songshan Mountain and has the Shaolin Temple sitting on the top of the mountain.

However, the incense on the mountain is prosperous all year round, but it has nothing to do with the people below the mountain.

In fact, half of the fields in Fudian Town under the jurisdiction of Yanshi County have been gradually returned to the name of the Shaolin Temple on the mountain over the years and have become temple fields.

Less than twenty miles away from Songshan Shaolin Temple in a straight line, there are several foothill villages located in the northwest corner of Songshan Mountain and Huanglongdong Mountain, where the three mountain ranges intersect the river.

Foguang Village and Anle Village are separated by a mountain trail.

On the mountains surrounding the two villages, among countless green forests, there are mining areas exposed like scars.

The blue-gray rocks can be seen at a glance from a distance, even from a distance of more than ten miles.

Especially the mountain on the north side of Anle Village extends from the northwest mountain pass to the northeast side. The entire mountain slope is covered with bluestone mines that have been mined for countless years.

In the entire Fudi Town, especially the villages such as Foguang Village and Anle Village that are close to Songshan Mountain, there is almost not much land for farming.

Quarrying.

It has become the main source of income for these villages.

The government is also happy about this. The court or the government always repairs various cities and forts every year. People from Foguang Village and Anle Village are here to continuously mine stones from the mountains. The court and the government can also save a lot of trouble.

Ten miles south of Fudi Town is Niuyao Village, which is surrounded by mountains and is a mountain pass.

After passing Niuyao Village, there are several villages located behind several mountains surrounded by mountains.

The troops quietly divided into three groups. Sun Cheng, the envoy of Fusi Town of Jinyiwei North Town, who led one group, and more than a dozen of his subordinates, disguised themselves as a group of merchants and thugs.

Sun Cheng rode a thin horse with mixed hair, and his subordinates behind him drove several carts, slowly walking along the dirt road toward the mountains.

A subordinate who was also riding a horse took a look around and whispered: "Zhenfu, further in there is the place. The bluestone strips and gray stone bricks used on the rivers in Henan Prefecture are all taken from here. Your Highness Chu Chu

After deciding on river management, the Ministry of Industry also built a cement factory here, and the Ministry of Industry and the Henan Prefecture sent people to sit in and call on the surrounding people to work."

Sun Cheng frowned. He had checked the sources of various materials on the river in the past two days and found no problems.

Now only the source verification of cement and stone in Henan Prefecture remains.

But.

Can there be problems with stone quarried from mountains?

Or will there be a problem with the cement produced by the imperial supervisor?

Sun Cheng was a little hard to predict for a while, as both places were places where there was absolutely no chance of anything going wrong.

After thinking about it, Sun Cheng still said in a deep voice: "Check the cement factory first. If there is a problem, it is most likely that there is a problem with the cement."

How is cement made?

Sun Cheng recalled what he saw when he went to the cement factory with His Highness Taisun when he was in Yingtian.

It seems that the rock is mined and then calcined?

Among them, there are many things to be added.

It's just that he doesn't understand these things.

But since there are so many steps added in the middle, there will definitely be some fraud.

In a short while, everyone had already crossed the mountain pass.

The cement factory covers an extremely large area and can be seen from a distance.

The chimneys that kept spewing thick smoke seemed to never stop.

Sun Cheng sat on the horse and forgot to take a look at the mountains to the southeast.

I don’t know what the masters on the mountain over there will see when they look up at the sky now.

soon.

The group of people arrived outside the cement factory.

The official stationed here by the Henan Prefecture's Yamen immediately walked out from behind the long gate.

"Who are you?"

The official looked at Sun Cheng and others carefully. The cement factory is now used by the government and is not sold to the outside world.

Nowadays, the cement factories built by the entire imperial court are not enough for the imperial court and local governments. Whatever they produce can be used up, which cannot meet the needs of the outside world.

Sun Cheng looked calm and drove his horse forward.

I saw his palms retracted into his sleeves, and then displayed in front of the official.

The official's expression suddenly changed.

He was about to clasp his fists and bow.

Sun Cheng, who was on horseback, said calmly: "Forgive me, I don't want to attract the attention of outsiders."

The official nodded repeatedly: "What Shangguan said is absolutely true! Shangguan wants to go into the factory to take a look? The factory is full of cement dust. I'll take some mouth and nose masks, so Shangguan can wear them and enter the factory."

Sun Cheng nodded and got off his horse when he got to the door.

"Just say that we came from Kaifeng City to work for the palace."

When the official thought of the plaque he had just seen, he didn't dare to say anything and just nodded vigorously.

Sun Cheng and others entered the factory gate.

The official had also taken out several mouth and nose masks sewn with thick cloth.

Sun Cheng held it in his hand and didn't know how to use it for a moment. However, he saw that the official was also a smart man and demonstrated how to put it on in front of him. Then he remembered it in his heart, but he didn't put it on immediately.

.

And his subordinates all put on mouth and nose masks one by one.

Enter the factory.

The officer leads the way sideways in front of his head.

Sun Cheng stared around cautiously, and just entered the factory. Within a few steps, the air was filled with floating dust, with a little excitement.

Without any further reminder from the official, Sun Cheng had already quietly put on his mouth and nose mask.

Only then did the official say: "I didn't know it at first, but as time passed, many people started coughing for no reason. Then I realized that I had to wear this nose mask to reduce some coughing. But, many people started coughing for no reason.

The people who work here will still have lumps of black ash in the thick phlegm they cough up."

Sun Cheng couldn't help but move his eyes as he listened to the official introduction.

However, just when Sun Cheng was leading people deeper into the cement factory.

At the foot of a mountain outside the factory, from a distance, several people who seemed to be from the foothills had long discovered the whereabouts of Sun Cheng and his party.

"Did you see clearly? The man just showed his hand to the officials in the factory and entered the factory."

One of the leaders squinted his eyes and looked thoughtfully at the empty factory door.

Another person beside him had nervous eyes and whispered: "Except for our people, only people from the government can enter the factory..."

The leader turned his head with a gloomy look on his face: "Then why do these people from the government dress up like businessmen?"

"Brother Zhicheng! Could it be that the government found out about us?"

The youngest person here immediately asked nervously.

The leader, a villager from Anle Village named Li Zhicheng, couldn't help but glare at the young man: "Sanshi! If the court finds out what we did, do you think they can keep us till now? They can go to the factory instead of going straight to

Our Anle Village?"

Li Sanshi thought for a while, nodded but still worried: "Brother Zhicheng, I'm just worried."

Li Zhicheng became a little impatient, waved his hand and slapped Li Sanshi on the head, and glared: "Our method has been used for many years! Who has discovered it? Who can find out?"

After being beaten, the young man did not dare to speak anymore. He just stared at the horses and carriages tied up outside the cement factory in the distance, feeling panicked and uneasy after all.

Li Zhicheng looked at the brothers who were almost all grown up together in the village, and whispered: "You two go up the mountain and tell them that people from the government may come over. The others stay here. Sanshi and I will go back to the village."

trip."

Several people nodded.

Li Zhicheng took Li Sanshi along the path at the foot of the mountain, hiding his whereabouts and heading to the village.

The mountain pass is not far from Anle Village, less than a quarter of an hour's journey.

Walking a little further in, you can see Anle Village located in the mountains in the distance.

A small amount of land cannot feed an entire village.

The mining areas on the north side are the guarantee for Anle Village to support its family.

Almost to the entrance of the village.

Li Zhicheng slowed down his steps: "Three stones."
To be continued...