While Zhang Heng was looking at Decius, Decius was also peeking at Zhang Heng.
He had read Zhang Heng’s appointment letter and knew that the Asian man in front of him was the newly appointed consultant of Commodus. He made the trip here to investigate the reason why the construction of the bronze statue was delayed.
Decius wiped away the cold sweat confidently, proclaiming, “There is no problem with the craftsmen. We have already cast all the models. All we need to do next is to pour the molten bronze into the model. After that, we’ll just need to wait for it to cool down before shattering the outer layer. Unfortunately, the Binota mine that has been supplying us with copper ore has recently encountered an accident. The mine tunnel collapsed, burying more than twenty slaves. The remaining slaves are still cleaning the mine tunnel. I don’t know when they can resume their work. Without the ore, we can’t proceed with our work.”
“How about seeking another mine to supply you with the ore? Do you have a backup plan?” Zhang Heng asked.
“Yes, there are four mines at the outskirts of Rome. Binota is just a small one. We also have an agreement with another mine. If Binota can’t supply us with enough copper ore, then the other mine will deliver theirs. But…” Decius stopped halfway.
“But what?”
“But recently, His Majesty, the Emperor, is casting a large number of new copper coins. Copper ore produced by other mines has been given orders to prioritize the coin minting. Hence, they do not have any extra copper ore to deliver to us,” Decius said.
“What about the mines from other cities?”
“Coupled with the cost of transportation, the price of copper ore is nearly doubled. And it takes time to transport them over. I am afraid that we might not be able to meet the dateline.” Decius seemed very helpless. He wasn’t of pure blood and wasn’t allowed to inherit his father’s seat in the Senate. To ensure that he would not starve to death, his father had to pull many strings to get him this job. Initially, he thought that as long as he worked hard, Commodus would appreciate him and grant him a stable job in the future.
It was almost impossible to fail this task, but now it seemed like it was on the verge of falling apart. Decius was frustrated that he could do nothing about it. First, he did not ask for any kickback. Secondly, he had never treated his workers harshly. He had always been very cautious when carrying out his given tasks, but somehow, this time, he failed. Recently, it seemed his luck had taken a great dive.
However, Zhang Heng did not seem to agree with what he said. He then asked Decius after he heard that it would be inevitable that the delivery of the bronze statue would be delayed. “You said that there was an accident at the Binota mine. Did you see it with your own eyes?”
“Huh?” Decius was a little taken when he heard Zhang Heng’s question. “Do I really need to go there and assess the situation myself? According to the contract, if they fail to deliver the goods to us before the deadline, they will have to pay a fine.”
“How much?”
“Well, it’s about twenty Aureus per day. This is not a small amount. They have delayed the delivery for a couple of days, and I am afraid they’ll be earning no profit this time. If they drag it any longer, they will start losing a lot of money.”
“Twenty Aureus a day… even if the mine cannot afford it, there will be someone in this city that can,” Zhang Heng said casually. However, he did not go on about the battle between Commodus and the Senate. This wasnt something a nobody like Decuis should know about.
“Do you know where Binota mine is? Let’s take a trip there together.”
“Now?” Decius felt terrible, “but it is not time yet to get off work.”
“Are you working now?”
“No… no,” Decius answered honestly.
“Then prepare the carriage,” Zhang Heng said.
“…”
Although Decius did not understand why Zhang Heng had to go to the mine, he still did his best to introduce the Binota mine and its owner to Zhang Heng. According to the information provided by Decius, Binota Mine’s owner was a powerful landlord named Cobb.
Hailing from a very ordinary background, he was just a powerless civilian. However, he fell in love with a girl named Mania, whose father was extremely wealthy. He owned a large field and two mines. Binota Mine happened to be one of them. Mania’s father despised Cobb and was always against his daughter from courting this pauper boy. However, the man died of illness before he could choose a son-in-law that he liked.
Afterward, Mania married Cobb as she wished. Since her father had no other children, Cobb became the new owner of this large field and two mines. Hence, he was also given the nickname Lucky Cobb.
“I have known Lucky Cobb for some time,” Decius said. “I’ve bought a batch of grain for my family from him. He doesn’t talk much, but he is pretty reliable. I don’t think he will lie to me about the mine accidents. Besides, he won’t gain anything from lying.”
Zhang Heng was noncommittal when he what Decius said. Instead, he kept asking.
“Then, do you know who he usually interacts with? And who is his biggest customer?”
“Well, Cobb spends most of his time patrolling the farmland or wandering around the two mines. Although he is not a bad person, he is not the kind who likes to make friends. As for his biggest customer, I heard that he sold all the wheat he cultivated to the senator, Divo Braille. More than half of the grain shops in Rome are run by Divo Braille.”
“Who?”
“Divo Braille. Know who he is?”
Zhang Heng raised his eyebrows. He did not expect to hear about someone he knew here. Divo Braille was the one that the Jewish Gang and the Golden Crown had asked him to deal with. Zhang Heng promised that he would get rid of him in exchange for the patrol team’s growth in the southeast city. The three major forces in the southeast city even helped him to pass the assessment perfectly.
However, Zhang Heng couldn’t be certain for now if this incident was related to Divo Braille. And if it was, how deep was Divo Braille involved in this? Zhang Heng’s intuition told him that he might be able to take advantage of this incident to bring Divo Braille down.
On the other side, Decius looked like he was envious of Zhang Heng. He now treated Zhang Heng as his idol. He was born as a gladiator, but he had managed to climb his way to becoming a consultant. And he seemed to have quickly gotten to know a large number of powerful men in a short time after entering the political world. Although Divo Braille was not as influential as Dior in the Senate, one should not underestimate him.
Moreover, the cunning Divo Braille would choose not to choose a side unless it was his last resort. Hence, he did not offend too many people in the political playground. As a result, he ended up having many allies and friends in the Senate.
Decius was thinking about getting Zhang Heng to introduce him to Divo Braille as a backup plan after he was done with this job. He did not want to end up a plebian.
But before he could talk to Zhang Heng, the carriage had already driven out of the path in the woods, and their destination lay before them.
