Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

Yanzhou Coal Mine.

Zhang Chunping chased away Master Zhao and the officials from the Zhaomo Division, still feeling indignant. "Fuck! The Qing Dynasty won't last much longer. What the hell? I just installed the equipment for the coal mine, and it hasn't officially started production yet, just trial runs, and already this Yanzhou official is asking for a bribe. Three thousand taels of silver! Damn! They actually dared to say that!"

Three thousand taels of silver—that was bought with a mountain of coal! That's all the hard work of the laborers! Why should I give it to a bunch of you, a bunch of leeches and bloodsuckers? I'm not leading troops anymore. If I still do, I'll chop your heads off!

Shi Qiang, the coal mine manager standing nearby, frowned and said worriedly, "Brother Chunping, I'm afraid this isn't the right thing to do. After all, a powerful dragon can't overpower a local snake. We're in Yanzhou, after all. If our relationship with the Yanzhou prefectural government gets strained, we'll be hampered in every way. Everything else is fine, but if we delay the governor's plan, we can't afford to offend him..."

Zhang Chunping snorted coldly and replied, "Okay, Lao Shi, this is not a big deal. What's the matter? Is Lu Mingsong the emperor, or the emperor emeritus? Why should I pay him tribute? Dream on! This is the property of the governor. If he dares to cause trouble, I will make him pay the price!"

Shi Qiang whispered, "Brother Chunping, that's wrong. Even if it's the Governor's property, isn't he no longer in office? Furthermore, the Governor's killing of Hebitha has just happened, and the situation hasn't settled down yet. If he causes any more trouble, I'm afraid the Governor won't be able to explain himself to the court..."

Zhang Chunping angrily said, "Lao Shi, if you're afraid of death, then get out of Yanzhou Coal Mine. I brought you here because I treat you as a brother and asked you to help me. Instead of contributing, you're holding me back."

Shi Qiang stamped his foot in anger and said angrily, "Alright, I don't care anymore. I don't care. This is a coal mine. The governor has invested a lot of money, nearly a million taels of silver. Think about it yourself. If something goes wrong, how will you explain it to the governor?"

While the two were arguing, Lu Mingsong arrived at Yanzhou Coal Mine with the third shift of yamen runners in a threatening manner.

"Zhang Chunping, get out here!"

Lu Mingsong was not polite and started scolding directly. He said that he was a fourth-rank official of the imperial court. Even when Zhang Chunping was at the highest level, he was only a fifth-rank military officer, which was far inferior to him. How could your group not give him face? It was outrageous. I will demolish your Yanzhou coal mine today!

Zhang Chunping and Shi Qiang looked outside and saw Lu Mingsong fighting in public, with dozens of people standing around him, each of them looking like a ferocious monster.

Ok?

Zhang Chunping frowned, and Shi Qiang beside him turned pale. Sure enough, Lu Mingsong would never give up. As the prefect of a prefecture, if he wanted to cause trouble for those below, wouldn't it be a matter of a word?

"Lao Shi, gather the guards immediately. I'm afraid we won't be able to end this peacefully today..."

Zhang Chunping said in a deep voice.

Shi Qiang secretly groaned. This Zhang Erlangzi was still as stupid as when he was in the Green Camp. Now was not the time to compete with others, but in Yanzhou Coal Mine, Zhang Chunping was the top boss. All matters had to be handled according to his will. He had to carry out Zhang Chunping's orders. This kid turned his face and didn't recognize his relatives.

Zhang Chunping shook his sleeves and walked outside. He looked at Lu Mingsong and bowed slightly, saying, "How come, Prefect? ​​You're so free today that you actually came to my coal mine to hang out? You seem to have the leisure time..."

"Stop talking nonsense to me!"

Lu Mingsong said harshly, "Zhang Chunping, don't refuse a toast and then drink a forfeit. In this small piece of land in Yanzhou Prefecture, my words are the imperial decree. Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself? I only want your word. Three thousand taels of silver, will you give it to me? If you miss this opportunity, you will never get it again. If you want to make a comeback later, don't even bother going to the prefectural government without five thousand taels!"

Damn it, Lu Mingsong is trying to rob me openly!

Zhang Chunping sneered, "Lu Mingsong, I, Zhang Chunping, abide by the law. I never force anyone to buy or sell anything, and I never withhold wages. You expect me to hand over three thousand taels of silver for nothing? Are you still asleep? How can you be so arrogant? You're bigger than a pig's butt! Forget three thousand taels, I don't even have three taels! The Governor's Office has issued an order that all factories and mines will be exempt from taxes for three years. Even if I wait until the third year, I will only pay one percent of the tax, and that will go to the Tax Collector's Office. It has nothing to do with you, old man!"

Lu Mingsong's face turned pale with anger. Damn, this kid really won't give up until he reaches the Yellow River!

"Zhang Chunping, the current governor of Shandong is no longer Liu Ye. He is now just a small prefect of Dengzhou. It is not his turn to manage the affairs of my Yanzhou Prefecture! Let me tell you clearly, Zhang Chunping, someone has gone to the prefectural government to file a complaint, saying that the Yanzhou coal mine is illegally mining, damaging the earth's veins, destroying Yanzhou's feng shui, and causing the loss of wealth..."

"fart!"

Zhang Chunping was both angry and amused. This Lu Mingsong really knew how to make excuses. Damaging the earth veins, violating the feng shui? Can you come up with an even more ridiculous excuse?

Zhang Chunping said calmly, "Lu Mingsong, don't say that useless thing. All the land of this Yanzhou Coal Mine was bought by the coal mine. No one has any control over it. Not to mention that it didn't damage the feng shui, even if it did, it's our own feng shui. What does it have to do with others? What does it have to do with you? Don't make a mistake, kid. Otherwise, you won't be able to wear your official hat anymore. It's hard to say..."

Lu Mingsong was so angry that he was fuming. He shouted fiercely, "Come here, seal off the Yanzhou Coal Mine immediately and take all the personnel, except the foreigners, back to the prefectural yamen for interrogation. I want to see who is more stubborn, their words or my plywood!"

At Lu Mingsong's command, dozens of yamen runners behind rushed towards Zhang Chunping in the middle!

"stop!"

Behind, Shi Qiang ran over with a guard team. These people were all from the training army and were responsible for protection. This was the treasure of the governor, and there must not be any mistakes!

When everyone heard that someone was coming to cause trouble, they all jumped up and said, "Damn it, Lianjun, there have never been any cowards under our command, Liu Futai. If anyone dares to cause trouble in our place, we will beat them up and knock them all down!"