Can Old Man Meng prospect?

I was shocked. In the original society, there were special geological bureaus for exploration. In the current Dazhou, in addition to the relevant departments of the imperial court, there were also some talented people among the people. They could judge what kind of mines were around through certain plants in this area, and they could also distinguish whether it was a rich or poor mine. I originally thought that these people existed like legends, but I knew that the disabled old man had such skills.

Could it be that the disappearance of the entire village is also related to this matter? This thought came to my mind.

So I asked quickly, "What happened later?"

The old man showed a hint of anger on his face and said, "After the beast knew the news, it disappeared for a few days. Later we found out that he brought not only this news back in the past few days, but also confirmed the location of the mine veins of Jinshan Gold Mine. When he returned to the village again, he led a large group of men, women, and young men in the village into the mountains. There were a few young people in the village who wanted to resist, but..."

The old man said this and sighed quietly. I also knew that most of these people were killed on the spot.

After a while, he continued, "Old Man Meng also came forward to stop him, but his legs were broken by the beast on the spot!"

"Isn't anyone going to report to the official?" I asked quickly.

"Report to the official?" The old man's face showed a trace of decline and said, "One or two people have also gone, but they have not come back yet, so they probably have suffered a tragic accident."

I was shocked. From the old man's words, I vaguely felt that this matter was done by bandits on the surface, but it had something to do with the prefect of Jiangzhou. According to the law of the Great Zhou, it is possible to convict death. These bandits arrested the villagers and opened the mines, and this one alone could convict them of death. Now that the mine has been open for more than a year, the government has not responded at all. There are only two reasons for this situation. One is that the government does not know it, and the other is that the government colludes with bandits, and it is also the mastermind behind the gold mine. I basically denied the first type, which is only a day and a half away from Jiangzhou, and there are people in the village who have been to Jiangzhou, so the government cannot not know it. The second situation is the most suspicious. Only under the protection of the government can the gold they produce be covered with legal cloaks, so that they have no worries.

Thinking of this, I had another doubt in my heart. The old seventh person, who clearly knew that I was an official of the court, so how did he know me? And who was he?

I tried to figure out some clues, but the more I was, the more confused I became. I couldn't help but see the picture I just drew on the ground. Not only did I have a question in my mind: Since those people already know where the mine veins are, why do they still want to catch Old Man Meng? What are they talking about?

So I asked, "This morning they came to catch Mr. Meng, and mentioned something, but I don't know what it was?"

The old man saw me thinking about things just now, but he didn't disturb me. When I asked this, his face changed slightly. He stared at me carefully and knocked on me. His eyes, which were originally a little cloudy, were very energetic at this time, as if he wanted to see through me.

But I was discomfortably seen by him. This feeling was like I was not a thief, but I was regarded as a thief, and the old man opposite was a policeman from the police station.

After a while, he sighed and said, "Forget it, this is not a secret anyway. What they are looking for is the map of the mine vein that has been probed out by Old Man Meng, his father and grandfather for three generations."

"What!" I was shocked and stood up from the ground in a flash, with an unconcealed excitement in my tone, "Are you talking about the map of the ore vein that is hundreds of miles in this radius?"

"Yes!" the old man nodded affirmatively and said, "That's right, it's indeed the mineral vein diagram of these hundreds of miles. Old Man Meng's unique skill in mine exploration is inherited from his ancestors, while Old Man Meng's three generations have used this skill to the extreme. Three generations have gone through seventy years and traveled all over the mountains and rivers of Jiangzhou to complete this mineral vein diagram. But the only regret is that the incense was cut off when he arrived at Old Man Meng's generation. Old Man Meng saw that he was old and was eager to find a successor, and because of this, he was blinded by the beast. Fortunately, he did not get the mineral vein diagram, otherwise the consequences would be even more unimaginable."

I nodded, then realized a very important question and asked quickly: "Have you seen this mineral vein map?"

He sniffed and said, "Not bad!"

Then he smiled again, "This old man Meng is my husband's close friend. I saw this picture by chance after I stepped down. I still clearly remember that the first page of the picture is the gold mine vein behind this Jinshan. When I saw it, I was even more excited than you now."

I also understood why yesterday we went to Old Man Meng's house, and there was nothing inside, and we were paralyzed in bed but didn't starve to death. It turned out that the old man in front of us was always helping him.

But then there was another problem that bothering me, that is, if they had the ability to prospect, they would definitely be recruited by those big families. This life of abundant food and clothing is inevitable, and no one would dare to touch them. Then why did they live in seclusion in this relatively closed village? So I raised my own question.

The old man smiled slightly and said, "The Meng family was indeed quite glorious when they were old man Meng's father, but in his generation, they began to decline. The bad thing lies in his bad temper. He often insisted on his own things and did not want to listen to other people's words. And if he didn't speak, he would offend people as soon as he said it. In the end, no one hired him for reasons, and there were almost no other friends except me. In addition, he was addicted to alcohol and had a few bets. Not long after, he worshipped this property. After I retired and returned to my hometown, he also moved here."

"Oh!" I sighed, then said what Jian Rufeng saw, and asked, "Don't you know if there is any other way inside?"

The old man thought about it and said, "The place you mentioned is called Yishitian, which is a road leading to the Jinshan Valley. I don't know much about the other roads. However, once, Old Man Meng joked that he dug through Jinshan while looking for a mining trip, but he didn't know whether it was true or false."

My heart moved. If it was true, then we would be suspicious and dived in without knowing it. Even if it was fake, at least we could find a way again. Anyway, we were prepared for this in our hearts.

After saying this, the old man suddenly asked, "I have told you everything I know and can tell you. I wonder if you can do me a favor?"

From the old man's mouth, I basically got the information I wanted, so I couldn't refuse the old man's request. So I said, "If you have any, just give me some instructions. As long as I can do it, I will definitely not refuse!"

"Okay!" the old man said seriously, "If you can rescue the arrested villagers, I will make the decision for Old Man Meng and give you that mine vein diagram?"

"Give me the mine vein diagram?" I was shocked, then smiled slightly, and said, "How do I know if what you said is true or false?"

"Oh..." the old man shook his head and said, "Then I'll show you!"

After saying that, I took out a book from my arms and handed it to me. I picked it up and saw some graphics on it. Although I didn’t know what it meant, some of the marks on it said, “What is the mountain, what mines are there, etc..”

After reading it, I returned the book to the old man and said, "Aren't you afraid that this book is fake?"

"Scared!" I answered with certainty, "But I've already planned to interfere in this matter anyway. Even if you don't give me this book, I will still make the whole thing clear. As for saving those arrested, it's called "stop."

After hearing what I said, the old man showed a look of surprise on his face, then a smile appeared, and said, "I did not read the wrong person."

I also smiled and asked, "I'm also very curious. If you are so generous, you should take out this mineral vein map. Are you not afraid that I will snatch it away and then kill someone to silence me?"

The old man shook his head and said, "You can't?"

I pointed at myself and asked, "You're so sure, don't I look like a bad person?"

"It doesn't matter whether you look like a bad person or not!" the old man smiled and said, "The key is that you can't be a bad person?"

"Where are you talking about this?" I was very curious about the old man's evaluation of me.

"The key is still on you." The old man pointed at me and said, "I am a seventh-rank official at your age, but you are already a third-rank official. If you can achieve this, you are either talented or have a strong relationship in the court. At the same time, the current emperor can give you this gold medal, which means that he appreciates you very much, and the people the emperor admires are either true gentlemen or real villains. No matter which kind of person you are, you must do enough on the surface, and you will never do those things that damage your reputation. Even if you do it in a hidden way, if it is spread that day, no matter whether it is true or false, it will damage your reputation. On the contrary, if you do this and spread it, you will not only have a reputation, but also this mineral vein map. Will you refuse the matter of fame and fortune?"

I listened to the old man's narration in amazement, and then said, "It seems that you are very confident in your own eyes?"

"Of course!" he smiled and said, "Don't forget, I have been an official for decades, and I have seen more things in the officialdom than you."

I was speechless. As for being an official, I was just a junior brother. Although I had a relatively large official title, a third-rank civil servant and a third-rank military officer, but the time I had been in office for less than a month. Compared with the person in front of me, I was far from the person I saw, so I sighed and said, "You are right! I might as well tell you that I have been an official for only half a month!"

"What?" This time it was the old man's turn to be surprised, "You have been a third-rank military officer for only half a month?"

"It's strange?" Seeing his appearance, I decided to hit him and said, "I'm still a third-rank civil servant."

After hearing this, the old man stood there, then raised his head and laughed, saying, "God is open!"
Chapter completed!