The moonlight was like water, leaking from the cracks in the straw on the roof of the shack, and sprinkled on Wang Gaoqiu's tattered linen bedding. The frayed corner of the bedding exposed the white cotton, making it shabby and cold.
Wang Gaoqiu couldn't sleep. Thinking about what Han San said during the day, he felt a little restless.
Because his eldest brother from the same clan was a general in the Guards, Wang Gaoqiu knew the benefits of this title.
They don’t kneel before officials, and they don’t pay for their four or five acres of land. Officials come to see them every year and festival, and they even send their nephews and nieces to study in martial arts halls. Who doesn’t envy them from all over the country, even Jinshi magistrates?
Very envious.
It would be great if I could find special gold.
It's a pity that this place is just a broken coal mine, and there is no gold of any kind, let alone the special gold that can lead to knighthood.
It would be great if I were not trapped in this broken coal mine. I could also look around. There might be such gold in the hills where our Lao Wang family lives.
Wang Gaoqiu regretted it as he watched an opportunity for a knighthood slip away from his eyes.
"save……"
A cry for help suddenly sounded outside the shack.
Wang Gaoqiu was stunned for a moment. Another person escaped and was caught?
This coal mine is located in the northernmost part of the Rouran Prairie, and is considered outside the jurisdiction of the imperial court. It is deserted for hundreds of miles, and there is no way to escape.
Those black-hearted thieves who guard the coal mine can catch the escapees by riding a horse and running around.
Everyone who was not captured was beaten to death.
Thinking about the tragic situation of the last miner who was killed, Wang Gaoqiu became even more upset. A good opportunity for a knighthood was ruined by these black-hearted maggots.
There was the sound of footsteps walking outside the shack, and it was noisy. There must be a lot of people there.
The sounds of cries for help, the sounds of knives cutting into flesh, and the sounds of weapons hitting each other made Wang Gaoqiu lose his sleep all at once.
Is this a fight between black-hearted maggots?
With this in mind, Wang Gaoqiu stuck his head out and looked at Sakon, wanting to see if he could steal a horse and escape. With a horse, the black-hearted maggots would definitely not be able to catch up with him.
That's an opportunity to be knighted.
Wang Gaoqiu was thinking this, and as soon as he got up from his tattered bed, he saw two men in black walking into the door of the shack carrying knives.
"What?"
The man in black in front raised his sword, pointed at Wang Gaoqiu and shouted.
Wang Gaoqiu was startled, he shrank back on his bedclothes, and stammered:
"I, I, I need to pee urgently."
"endure"
The man in black snorted coldly and pointed at the other people in the shack.
"Give me a good sleep. Whoever dares to come out should be careful with his head."
After saying that, the man in black turned around and went out. After a while, the same voice sounded from the shack next to him.
Wang Gaoqiu didn't dare to go out anymore, so he retreated into bed, thinking about the men in black just now. Their voices seemed to be wrong, and they seemed different from the black-hearted maggots.
The frightened Han San cursed:
"Damn, these grandsons just chopped someone down, and there's blood dripping from the swords."
Only then did Wang Gaoqiu notice that where the man in black was standing, there were a few drops of black blood scattered on the ground. Looking from a distance, they seemed to be laughing at Wang Gaoqiu's bold behavior just now.
With a feeling of uneasiness, Wang Gaoqiu had an uneasy sleep under the tattered quilt and almost suffocated to death.
The next day, after receiving permission, Wang Gaoqiu was the first to leave the shack, ran to the latrine, opened his trousers, and poured some refreshing water.
After leaving the hut, Wang Gaoqiu saw Han San carrying a rice bowl and two steamed buns in his hand.
"Where did your grandson get the cornbread?"
Wang Gaoqiu asked in surprise, these black-hearted maggots were always only allowed to eat one meal, where did Hansan, the grandson, come from?
Han San saw Wang Gaoqiu stunned and cursed:
"Grandson, why don't you hurry up and get your share? I'm kind-hearted and let you eat in the morning."
Food is given out.
Wang Gaoqiu ran to the shack. He arrived late and had nothing to eat.
Wang Gaoqiu was very surprised when he looked at the men in black who were serving the meal. These people looked so weird. They looked different from us Han people, Rouran people, and Thule people.
After receiving the steamed bread and drinking the soup, Wang Gaoqiu followed Han San and was driven towards the coal mine.
"Hey, Han San, these people look different from us."
Han San glanced around and said in a low voice:
"Nonsense, those are the snow barbarians from the North. Look, if we don't want to die in the future, I'm afraid it won't be possible."
Wang Gaoqiu was stunned. Is it impossible not to die?
How could this happen? I still haven't received a title, and I haven't married a wife to continue the family line. Why am I about to die?
When the group arrived at the coal mine, a man in black stood in front of the miners holding a piece of yellow coal.
"Look for this kind of coal. If you find it, you will be rewarded heavily."
After giving the instructions, the men in black dispersed and drove the miners up the mountain in search of coal.
The morning passed quickly, and a large group of miners only found a piece of coal that the man in black said.
Wang Gaoqiu raised his head and looked at the sky. If he couldn't find it again in the afternoon, he might not be able to go back in the evening. Judging from the importance the man in black attached to the coal, it would be impossible for him not to die.
"It's time to eat, it's time to eat."
The voice of the man in black sounded on the ground.
Wang Gaoqiu looked down and saw men in black carrying several large buckets and placing them on the ground. The buckets were steaming, and they were obviously rice soup and the like.
"I will die if I have enough to eat yesterday."
Wang Gaoqiu muttered something and climbed down.
Soon, the miners lined up in a long line, and Wang Gaoqiu received two steamed buns and a bowl of soup.
Sitting on a rock, Wang Gaoqiu drank soup and gnawed steamed buns, feeling full of regret. Now that he was in charge of the mine, his life suddenly got better.
I must work hard in the afternoon and try to find a piece of yellow coal.
After a busy afternoon, Wang Gaoqiu found a similar piece and handed it to the man in black.
The man in black rewarded Wang Gaoqiu with a soft bun on the spot.
With the reward, the miners became more motivated. In one afternoon, six miners actually found yellow coal.
In the following days, a group of miners excitedly found yellow coal.
That night, Wang Gaoqiu woke up in the middle of the night and saw Han San holding a piece of yellow coal and hiding under the quilt to study it.
This is a soft bun.
Wang Gaoqiu slipped out and grabbed Han San's coal. Just as he was about to scold Han San, Han San made a quiet gesture to Wang Gaoqiu.
"I don't think this is coal."
Han San's words immediately stunned Wang Gaoqiu. This is not a piece of coal, what else could it be?
Taking the coal from Wang Gaoqiu's hand, Han San pointed to the yellow spots on it and said:
"I doubt it's gold."
Han San's face flashed with excitement, and his tone was full of pride:
"I heard from those Snow Tribe people that this is gold."
Snow people?
Wang Gaoqiu looked at Wang Gaoqiu strangely, could it be that those people were really from the Snow tribe.
Han San glanced outside the shack and said in a hoarse voice:
"I used to be a businessman in the Xue tribe's territory. I met these grandsons and heard them speak the Snow tribe's dialect. Damn, it's the same."
A thought suddenly flashed through Wang Gaoqiu's mind:
Why do the people of the Snow Clan come to our Han Kingdom's territory to dig for gold? Aren't they afraid that the prince will send a large army to capture them?
At this moment, the sounds of fighting suddenly sounded outside the shack, and the sounds of horses neighing continued one after another.
"It turns out that the gang of mine managers are back."
Han San blurted out, wrapped the tattered linen around his body, and glanced at Wang Gaoqiu: