Chapter 48

Zhang Dongyun was not lying when he said that Mister Black Cloud would stay in the fortress and be in charge of the mine.

The secret cave of Heavenly Wolf was important, but so were the mineral veins of the turquoise crystals right now.

The latter was related to the second upgrade and expansion of Chang’an Fortress.

The old bloody shadow demon took away most of the experts in the fortress with it, but talented people in handling state affairs remained here, and it did not affect Zhang Dongyun’s deployment to the mine.

He gave the simplest digging and mining work to a group of captives with cultivation.

Transporting what the captives dug out was left to the people of the fortress.

Truthfully speaking, this was also heavy work.

Fortress Lord Zhang did not flatten the mountain ridge below the fortress, nor did he make the ground of the fortress ‘low’ enough to be close to the mineral veins.

Therefore, the mineral resources were more than a thousand meters away from the entrance above.

Even though Fortress Lord Zhang had designed some simple machinery, he still needed the miners’ hard labor.

Of course, mining accidents could never happen under his protection.

When Mister Black Cloud, who was temporarily in charge of state affairs, gave the order, Hui Tianyu and the others immediately got busy.

At first, the recruitment of workers did not go smoothly.

The people in the fortress were grateful to Chang’an Fortress for taking them in and providing food.

But when they heard that it was now looking for miners, they all felt scared.

“Back then, Yushu Prefecture captured people all over to go to the mines, and none of those people came back alive. I heard the longest someone lived was only for three years.” In the marketplace, an old woman’s face was full one fear. “Some didn’t even make it to a year.”

“Yes, yes! Er Niu from the next village was taken to the mines a few years ago and died that year!

“Er Niu is filial. If he were still alive, he would have carried his blind mother on his back, and she wouldn’t have had to wait for death!”

“I heard that the two young and old ones of the Hai family in Dazhuang Township were also captured, and the family became extinct…”

The crowd at the side echoed the same sentiments.

In front of them, Hui Tianyu sighed inwardly.

It was no wonder that the people were terrified.

The death rate of miners in the past was indeed too high.

Dangers like mining accidents were hard to foresee and prevent.

To put it bluntly, human lives were not taken seriously…

Hui Tianyu could not vouch for what would happen in the mine of Chang’an Fortress either.

A group of cultivators was thrown into the deepest part of the mine to dig and mine, and there were two sides to this matter.

To put it nicely, this was being compassionate to ordinary people, as the prisoners were doing the heaviest work.

To put it badly, since these cultivators could be used as miners, and their lives were not even within their control, what about ordinary people?

Did Chang’an Fortress accept so many refugees just for mining?

Hui Tianyu shook his head in his heart.

He was willing to believe that Chang’an was not such a shady place.

Rather, it was a paradise that gave people hope.

The one-eyed young man coughed and looked around at the people.

Everyone gradually quieted down.

Hui Tianyu’s voice was calm and steady. “Under the Eastern Tang Dynasty, under someone else’s rule, everyone did not have enough food and had to flee, but what has happened after coming here?”

The surrounding people looked at one another, and the fear in their eyes gradually dissipated.

Hui Tianyu added, “Those who are farming outside the fortress do not need to take part in the recruitment.”

Upon hearing this, everyone completely relaxed.

However, Hui Tianyu continued, “Those who earn a living in the fortress need not participate in the recruitment.

“But all those who are idle, go to the mine!”

As soon as he said that, some people grinned from ear to ear, while others turned pale from fright.

Some tried to leave secretly on the spot.

But how could they escape from the eyes of Hui Tianyu and others? They were immediately taken down.

At this moment, Zhang Dongyun himself was standing in the crowd.

He could not help but cover his face as he witnessed this.

Hui Tianyu and the others were really crude and violent.

It did not differ from catching able-bodied men.

Some of them shouted for help, but no one stepped forward.

It was not only a day or two since these idle people had been a nuisance.

Life in Chang’an Fortress was great with few rules and regulations, and they soon returned to their old ways again.

Now that they were forced into the mine to work, many people applauded.

The few who had pleaded for mercy mostly had relatives among these people.

However, they did not dare to stop them.

Facing a cultivator like Hui Tianyu and the authority of Chang’an Fortress, no one dared to go against them.

“You are abusing your authority! This is persecution! The Chang’an Fortress Lord cares for his people and won’t let you do whatever you want! You will be punished for your deceitfulness!” someone who was being dragged away shouted.

Then he was immediately hit on the back of the head, knocked unconscious, and dragged away.

Zhang Dongyun sighed.

Strictly speaking, idling and avoiding work was certainly not a crime.

In the past, Fortress Lord Zhang’s own ideal in life was to wake up naturally and count cash endlessly.

It would be best if he could do nothing and still be able to eat, drink, and play.

The ordinary prisoners were still too few to meet the demand for labor in the mine.

Right now, he had no choice but to grab some spongers first.

The mine would not mistreat them, nor would they be overworked. There would be no danger of a mine accident, and they would be well paid.

After they experienced all this and told the others in the fortress, people would take the initiative to go to the mine.

As for idle people in Chang’an Fortress, just the Fortress Lord alone would be enough.

Zhang Dongyun coughed and straightened the front of his clothing.

However, when it came to the issue of prisoners…

Zhang Dongyun’s heart moved slightly as he walked to another corner of the fortress.

Many people here were crowding in dilapidated houses.

The people of the fortress either shunned them or looked at them with hatred.

A child threw a stone this way, and the next thing he knew, the adults from his family carried him away.

The people in the shack were very numb to this.

They were still wearing the robes of the Tang Dynasty army.

A middle-aged man walked out.

Some people around him bowed to him respectfully, while others looked on with indifference.

The middle-aged man made his way to the marketplace and approached Hui Tianyu. “Mister Hui, is the mine short of people? We can help.”

The one-eyed young man looked at him.

A fifth-realm martial artist was being respectful toward a third-realm martial artist.

“General Gao, please hold on. I was planning to come here later,” Hui Tianyu replied.

The middle-aged man nodded. “Okay, I will wait for your arrival.”

Zhang Dongyun looked on from a distance.

The middle-aged man was General Gao Qi, a commander of the Tang Dynasty army who had led an attack on the fortress before.

He was the Great Xuanwu General Du Kun’s right-hand man.

After the first and second batch of Tang Dynasty troops had been captured, they were responsible for an extensive amount of labor for the construction of Chang’an Fortress.

Punishment for them was naturally necessary.

However, Zhang Dongyun did not intend to keep wasting them.

In terms of personal feelings, Zhang Dongyun did not have much ill will toward soldiers who took orders from commanders.

These people could also become the people of Chang’an Fortress.

Therefore, when considering miners, Zhang Dongyun did not treat them as prisoners.

However, many Tang Dynasty troops, including Gao Qi, were willing to remain as prisoners.