Upon receiving the report, Eunuch Zheng immediately dropped everything he was doing. He hastily gathered a few trusted subordinates, mounted swift horses, and galloped straight for the Yiluo Coal Mine.
The mine lay over seventy li from Luoyang. Even at full speed, the journey consumed a fair amount of time. By the time Eunuch Zheng arrived, Bai Yuan's people had already sealed off the area. The mine entrance was surrounded by multiple layers of guards, posted with unmistakable seriousness.
It was clear they were preparing for something big.
No sooner had Eunuch Zheng approached than a guard stepped forward and blocked his path.
"Danger zone," the man said curtly. "Unauthorized personnel are forbidden beyond this point."
Eunuch Zheng snorted.
"I represent the Prince of Fu's Residence! This entire mine is leased from us. How dare you call me unauthorized?"
The guard looked him up and down, eyes filled with suspicion.
"You look like a shifty, middle-aged fat man. Not like anyone important. I don't believe you're from the Prince of Fu's Residence."
Eunuch Zheng exploded on the spot.
"Outrageous! I am Eunuch Zheng of the Prince of Fu's Residence! Go—inform Bai Yuan immediately, or you'll regret offending me!"
The guard appeared startled, muttered an apology, and scurried off inside.
A moment later, Bai Yuan emerged with a warm, genial smile.
"Ah! Eunuch Zheng! What an honor. Please forgive the lack of reception. That guard is merely a temporary worker and failed to recognize you."
Eunuch Zheng had never heard the phrase "temporary worker" before. It sounded humble, even pitiful, and his anger dissipated instantly.
He had no idea that Gao Family Village had deliberately assigned an impudent greenhorn to guard the perimeter—specifically to knock him down a peg.
Bai Yuan led him inside.
Before Eunuch Zheng stood a bustling scene. Workers crowded the mine entrance, and in their midst loomed a colossal contraption—an iron beast of unfamiliar shape.
A boiler sat at its heart. Thick pipes extended forward from it like the limbs of some mechanical monster.
The workers shouted in unison.
"One! Two! Three—heave!"
"One! Two! Three—heave!"
Together, they lifted a long iron pipe and slowly lowered it into the yawning black mouth of the mine shaft.
The shaft swallowed the pipe whole. Its depths were pitch-black, unfathomable.
Eunuch Zheng had no intention of peering inside such a filthy place. He stood at a distance, watching as the men disappeared into the shaft and reemerged some time later.
"Done!" someone shouted. "The pipe is fully submerged!"
Bai Yuan raised his hand.
"Begin pumping."
With a thunderous roar, the boiler came to life. Steam hissed violently. Gears spun, wheels turned—and suddenly—
Whoosh!
A thick torrent of murky yellow water blasted out of the pipe and poured into a pre-dug drainage channel, rushing away in a steady stream.
The workers erupted in cheers.
"The water's coming out!"
"It's working!"
Eunuch Zheng stood frozen.
"Huh?"
Though he had never seen such a machine before, he instantly grasped what it did.
This thing… was extracting water.
And since the pipe reached deep into the mine shaft—
It was draining the flooded mine.
His jaw slackened.
He had imagined hundreds of laborers hauling buckets day and night, bailing water by hand for weeks, even months. He never would have dreamed Bai Yuan possessed such a miraculous device.
That thick pipe gushed endlessly.
At this rate, the shaft would be dry in mere days.
Don't panic, Eunuch Zheng told himself.
Even if the water is drained efficiently, it only restores the mine to its former condition. The output will remain the same. The Prince's Residence still gets its fixed lease. No loss. No loss at all.
Several days later…
Another report reached Eunuch Zheng.
"Eunuch," a subordinate said, "Bai Yuan is doing something strange again at the mine."
Eunuch Zheng frowned.
"Again?"
He mounted his horse and rushed out once more.
After enduring another humiliating encounter with yet another "temporary worker," he finally gained entry.
This time, he saw workers laying down narrow iron tracks—single rails fixed onto wooden sleepers—stretching from the mine entrance straight into the depths below.
On the track sat a small cart, secured by an iron chain.
A worker gave it a push.
The cart rolled forward slowly—then suddenly accelerated.
Whoosh!
It vanished into the darkness.
Eunuch Zheng, still unwilling to enter the mine, waited anxiously outside.
Before long—
Ding!
A small bell rang.
"Ready!" someone shouted. "Pull it up!"
The boiler roared again. The same machine that had drained water now operated as a winch. The chain tightened, rattling loudly.
Moments later, the cart emerged.
It was full.
Coal piled high.
"Unload!"
A worker hooked the cart's side panel. With a sharp pull, it swung open, and the coal spilled cleanly onto the ground.
The panel was resecured. The cart was shoved forward.
Whoosh!
Gone again.
Eunuch Zheng was struck dumb.
He finally understood.
Miners no longer needed to carry coal out on their backs.
They simply dug, loaded the carts, and let gravity and machinery do the rest.
This wasn't just an improvement.
This was revolutionary.
The output wouldn't double.
It wouldn't triple.
It could be ten times. Twenty times. Thirty times!
If only he had known…
If only he had insisted on profit-sharing instead of a fixed lease—
Aaaaah!
Eunuch Zheng clutched his chest, nearly unable to breathe.
Suddenly, he turned to his subordinates, face grim.
"Listen carefully," he said in a low voice.
"The Prince must never be told about this."
Every man present froze—then nodded vigorously.
As long as the Prince remained ignorant, he would believe the lease fees were an incredible gain.
Thus, everyone would "profit."
No one would suffer a loss.
His confidants swore immediately.
"Rest assured, Eunuch. We will die before speaking a word."
Eunuch Zheng nodded solemnly.
"Good. Good. I have devoted my life to serving His Highness with utmost loyalty. A filthy mine like this is beneath the Prince's dignity. I shall… oversee it on his behalf."
His subordinates bowed.
"Eunuch Zheng speaks with great righteousness."