Harun’s question about the number of occupants in a building was a roundabout way of asking Alexander how many buildings would he have to build.
And this tactfulness was certainly noticed by Alexander, who internally evaluated Harun as a better statesman than his peers who were much more direct and blunt with their questions.
Then he did some simple internal maths.
‘The current lodgings give each worker a space of just 4 square meters (4m2). So, dividing this by the building’s new dimensions of fifty by twenty-four (50m x 24m) gets me a number close to 300.’ Alexander concluded.
“Two hundred and fifty (250) men per floor, comes to a total of seven fifty (750),” Alexander answered, letting the workers have almost an extra square meter.
How generous he was!
‘*Nod*’ Harun nodded at this number as he then quietly started to calculate the required number of buildings.
‘With the ten thousand (10,000) men under men, that comes to a bit more than thirteen. So instead of fourteen, should I cram a bit more and settle for thirteen?’ Harun wondered if he should skip out on building the last one.
But soon back backtracked, “No, it won’t work. Judging from the pasha’s attitude and the possible future projects, his demand for ores and minerals will only increase. So, more and more workers are bound to join.’
“I will get to choosing the suitable places and start building them as soon as possible,” Harun promised.
“Mmmm, I will rely on you,” Alexander placidly nodded, and continued the climb.
And as Alexander was approaching the top, where the blast furnace was supposedly operating, he suddenly said to the mining leader, “I want to go inside one of those caves and see the conditions for myself.”
“…” Harun’s eyes darted a bit in slight fear at this request as he silently signaled Hemicus to discourage this dangerous act.
And this stoic gentleman seemed to understand what the miner was worried about, which he related to Alexander, “My lord, as you well know, mines are not safes. The temperatures inside are extreme and falling debris and even cave-ins are not uncommon. So, may you should reconsider.”
“That’s right, that’s right,” Harun chirped up loudly, saying, “It’s really dangerous lord Pasha. Every day a few workers will be injured or even die in these cursed places.”
This vehement opposition made Alexander feel slightly displeased.
He felt it was necessary for him to inspect the mines and check if Harun was following the safety procedures diligently, and not just putting on a show.
Hemicus knew Alexander long enough to know when he would do things his own way regardless, but nevertheless, this usually silent guardian felt he had to step in and discourage Alexander from venturing into such perilous places, “My lord, please heed mister Harun’s advice. If something were to happen to you, a thousand deaths would not be enough to save me. Or Zanzan.”
“…..*Sigh*, fine, I will not too deep. Just fifty meters,” Seeing the pleading eyes of his two retainers and feeling that risking his life for some dumb mine inspections was not worth it, Alexander relented.
And this drew if not a full sigh of relief, but at least a half one from his entourage.
Alexander was soon led into an iron min, at the entrance of which Hemicus pointed to two men at the back and said, “You two stay out here and guard the entrance. And if anything untoward happens, immediately go call for help,”
“Yes, sir.” The disciplined soldiers shouted in chorus.
As Alexander went deeper into the mines, the wide external mouth of the mine soon tapered off into multiple narrow tunnels all clinking with the distinctive sound of pickaxes hitting the hard ore veins, joined by the ever-present rhythmic dripping sound of underground water.
Clink! Clink! Clink!
Drip! Drip! Drip!
Alexander’s ears played this strange mix tape as he witnessed the men in linen tunics, all wearing helmets and a large wicker basket on their backs, tolling away in these dark, damp caves as they constantly hit the solid rock face with their bronze pickaxes.
These workers worked very hard, going deep inside these tunnels and working for twelve to sixteen hours a day, slowly chipping away at the rock-hard walls in the darkness, illuminated only by the low, soft glow of lit torches.
And for all that back-breaking work all day long, what would they have to show for it all?
A measly fifteen to twenty (15-20kg) kilograms of good iron ore.
Because manually, using just a pickaxe and a bucket, that was the extent a man would carve out of the rock-hard ore veins.
Alexander stayed inside the mines for only a little while, casually inspecting the mines and finding its architecture adequate with the tunnels being securely supported using thick logs and being appropriately lit using large torches every few ten meters.
“Harun, these bronze pickaxes are too weak. Since iron production has started, slowly change all bronze tools into iron,” He ordered.
“As you order my lord. I will ask the blacksmiths to slowly start replacing them,” Harun promised.
Alexander did not stay in the mines for long as he said, “Well, you people seem very concerned about a possible cave-in. So let’s end it here.”
Alexander used the excuse of safety to quickly exit the mine, though the real reason was because he was already feeling very hot and beginning to sweat and could not wait to get out.
And along the way, he dreaded to think what would one hour feel like in here, much less ten hours.
And to do that every day for the rest of his life.
‘I was lucky to be sold to Nestoras,’ Alexander thanked his lucky stars, as the dangers and perils of a battlefield were far more pleasant to him than toiling away in the mines and dying slowly over years if not decades.
The workers here worked in scalding hot temperatures caused by the underground heat from the rocks, or in cold, damp, miserable conditions caused by leaking underground water, and if fate had made Alexander a slave miner, Alexander felt he would have contemplated suicide.
But these ‘what if’ scenarios only haunted Alexander for a little while, as once he made his way out of the mines, Alexander pushed such thoughts out and instead focused on work, asking
“How many workers have we got here in total?”
And Harun replied, “My lord, you gave me ten thousand (10,000) men who were farming till November.”
And then he gave the breakdown,
“Among them, three thousand (3,000) are in there mining iron, my lord.”
“Another one thousand (1,000) is digging the open pit coal mine we fortunately discovered last week.”
Alexander had been extremely relieved to know that Lady Luck had at least smiled a little bit at him, by letting him get a huge coal deposit right in his backyard.
This was because, although he could have refined iron with charcoal, coal would make his job a few times easier.
Harun was still speaking and at last, finished, “And the rest of the six thousand (6,000) are in the Faika hill mining limestone.” .
The Faika hills were a small part of the huge Cisrian hills and housed one of the largest deposits of limestone in not only Zanzan but the whole of Adhania.
The numbers of workers and their subsequent delegations were already known to Alexander as it was he who had set them up based on his needs
In fact, he later even revised his numbers as initially one thousand (1,000) men were supposed to work the iron mines while nine thousand (9,000) would extract limestone.
So this was only a way for Alexander to confirm that Harun was following his directives.
And then he asked the succeeding question, “And how much are the daily outputs of these mines?”
Harun quickly in a memorized manner readily replied, “We get around fifty-five to sixty tons (55-60 tons) of iron ore per day, sire.”
“As for coal, we get a lot more. That’s because we mine in an open pit and all the coal is extracted just by digging up the ground. So we get close to 2,000 tons a day of the stuff.”
“And lastly limestone. That is much softer than iron and the Faika hills are literally made of it. That’s why we get around 600 tons of it daily.”
“Hmmm,…” Alexander hummed as he did some maths regarding the forecast of future demand for these minerals and found the current production to be adequate.
“Good, you did well,” Harun waited with baited breaths as Alexander finally gave a praise of approval, making the mining leader let out a large grin and say, “All by the grace of the lord. I will strive even harden in the future.”
“Mmmm, work hard. I will put another five thousand workers into the mines soon,” Alexander revealed his further ambitions.
And this number though initially surprised Harun, he quickly got an inkling where they might be allocated.
“Does my lord intend them to work the silver and gold mines?” He cleverly asked.
“Yes,” Alexander said with a nod, reasoning, “Zanzan must soon print its own currency, And leaving such lucrative sources of money empty and without production is stupid.”
Zanzan being the home city of a Pasha for generations certainly had its own huge silver and gold mine which had fueled the extravagant expenses of their and their family’s ancestors for generations, and though the veins had been reduced significantly, there was still enough for Alexander to chew on for a while.