Taiheiki

Chapter 154 Salt
"Captain, the sun is too strong outside. Why don't you go inside and rest for a while? I'll keep an eye on things here!" Qian Wen, who had only been the Pursuit Commissioner of Hepu County for a few days, said respectfully to Wei Cong.

“No need, there are some things you don’t understand!” Wei Cong waved his hand. He stood by the ship’s railing, staring intently at the coastline in the distance. As far as the eye could see, there were only vast stretches of barren beach, with occasional protruding reefs. For a long time, there wasn’t a trace of human habitation, but Wei Cong stared intently, as if searching for some treasure. Qian Wen didn’t dare to urge him, so he could only send someone to fetch an umbrella and open it to shield Wei Cong from the sun, while he stood by his side to keep him company.

As evening approached, the ship had passed through the Leizhou Strait and entered the western side of the Leizhou Peninsula. The beach became gentler, with large stretches of flat sand visible, but there were still very few villages. Only occasionally could one see a few small fishing boats, but as soon as they saw Wei Cong's ship, they would flee in panic.

"Does this place belong to Xuwen County?" Wei Cong suddenly asked.

"Probably?" Qian Wen's tone was somewhat uncertain. The population of Hepu County was mainly concentrated in the area where the Nanliu River and Qinjiang River flowed into the sea. The land there was fertile, agricultural conditions were relatively good, and there were also ports for foreign trade. In comparison, the Leizhou Peninsula area was far less developed and less densely populated; many areas were simply undeveloped and neglected by the various counties. As a newly appointed pursuit officer, he was indeed not very clear about the situation.

“This beach is a treasure!” Wei Cong laughed. “When you get back, put in some effort with the magistrate of Xuwen County, even if it costs some money, and get this beach!”

"A treasure land?" Qian Wen looked at the coastline not far away in surprise. Apart from large stretches of sandy beach that had been bleached white by the sun, there was nothing else. If there was any resource here, it might be some fish. But the problem was, where in the coastal counties of Hepu and Nanhai did they not have fish? In Panyu, fish caught could be sold to the citizens and processed into various kinds of fish sauce, fish floss, and fertilizer. Here, there wasn't even a soul in sight. No matter how many fish were caught, they would just rot away.

"What? Is it difficult to take over this beach?" Wei Cong frowned.

"No, no!" Qian Wen quickly denied, "Nobody wants this kind of land. If Your Majesty wants it, I can just talk to the magistrate of Xuwen County. It won't cost any money."

"That's good! Take care of it when you get back, don't delay!" Wei Cong nodded in satisfaction: "Continue north along the coastline, hmm, what a beautiful beach! We haven't seen a river for so long, it's truly a treasure!"

"My lord!" Qian Wen finally couldn't contain his curiosity and asked cautiously, "Without river water, wouldn't it be impossible to irrigate? How can it be considered a treasure land?"

"Hehe!" Wei Cong laughed. "You're right. It's definitely not suitable for farming here now. But it's the perfect place for salt production. The weather is hot, there are many sunny days, and few strong winds. There are no rivers flowing into the sea, so the seawater has a high salinity. This is a salt field made in heaven!"

"Sun-dried salt?" Qian Wen asked in surprise. "Isn't salt always boiled or boiled?"

“Boiled food can certainly produce salt, but it consumes a lot of firewood and the yield is too small. How can it compare to the sun in the sky!” Wei Cong pointed to the sky: “Without expending any effort, we can simply bring seawater into the fields, dry it, and extract the salt! This saves manpower and produces a large amount of salt. With salt, we can exchange it for various minerals from Yulin and Cangwu counties, smelt and process them in Panyu, and thus, trade will flourish!”

Qian Wen has been in Jiaozhou for some time now. He is a meticulous person and knows that the largest export of goods from the two coastal counties of Jiaozhou, Nanhai and Hepu, to the inland is salt. Especially for the barbarians in the mountains, they can cultivate and weave on their own, but apart from a very few areas that produce rock salt, the rest can only rely on salt imported from the coastal areas.

Therefore, the most common tactic used by the governor of Jiaozhou, located in Guangxin, to deal with the mountain barbarians was to control the import of salt, using this to divide, attack, and weaken those unruly enemies. Wei Cong's plan was clearly somewhat different, but the primary issue was not how to manage salt, but rather whether the salt-making method he just mentioned was feasible.

"That beach up ahead is quite flat, let's dock there first and give it a try!" Wei Cong suddenly shouted.

Qian Wen looked in the direction Wei Cong was pointing, and sure enough, the beach in front of him was surprisingly flat, as if it had been smoothed out by an invisible giant hand from heaven. He was also a little curious about the salt-making method that Wei Cong had mentioned earlier, so he smiled and said, "Alright, let me broaden my horizons!"

About half an hour later, Wei Cong and more than a hundred people took small boats ashore. Wei Cong looked carefully on the beach and drew a line in the highest area where the tide could reach: "Let's dig a pool here first, so that a lot of seawater will be left in the pool when the tide goes out!"

Given Wei Cong's current status, his words were naturally carried out with great authority. In just a short while, he had dug a pool about twenty paces long, thirty paces wide, and about two feet deep. After finishing, Wei Cong walked to the top of the pool, then down another five or six meters, pointing to the ground and saying, "Dig another pool here, only half a foot deep, forty paces wide, and sixty paces long!"

Once the second pool was dug, Wei Cong ordered his men to lay a layer of pebbles on the bottom and walls, followed by cement. After it hardened, they poured the seawater from the first pool into it. After six or seven days of exposure to wind and sun, the water in the second pool had become much shallower. Wei Cong dipped his finger in the water, licked it, and laughed, "Qian Wen, try it. Isn't this much saltier and more bitter than seawater?"

Qian Wen tried it and found it to be bitter and salty, much more so than ordinary seawater: "I know this is brine. Should we pour it into an iron pot and boil it?"

"I told you, this is the sun-drying salt method, no boiling required!" Wei Cong smiled. He ordered another identical pool to be dug next to it, and lined the bottom and sides with pebbles and cement. The brackish water from before was poured into it, and after sun-drying for several days, a lot of white powder could be seen in the pool. Wei Cong took some and let everyone taste it, and sure enough, it was the salt they usually ate.

"How is it?" Wei Cong laughed. "This salt-making method is quite good, isn't it? No fuel is needed, and the salt workers don't have to endure the scorching heat of charcoal fires. Once more salt fields are built, each pool won't require manpower; just dig ditches and use windmills to pump water! There are at least dozens of miles of shallow water like this here. If all of it is developed into salt fields, the salt produced will not only be enough for the people of Jiaozhou, but even the people of Jingnan and Yuzhang counties can eat Jiaozhou salt!"

"It's all a brilliant idea from our lord!" Qian Wen was now completely convinced. Having come from a poor background, he knew that salt was like money among the common people. No, for many mountain tribes who ate only a little, salt was a more valuable currency than copper coins. After all, people could live without money, but not without salt. If Wei Cong's discovery of copper mines could be explained by a treasure map inherited from his ancestors, this salt-making method was nothing short of a magic touch. During the Han Dynasty, China generally used the boiling method for salt production. The biggest cost of boiling salt was fuel, and the most labor-intensive task was transporting buckets of brine to the boiling pots. A slight mistake could result in overcooked salt that tasted bitter. Wei Cong's salt-making method, however, was much cheaper, more efficient, and produced salt that was a game-changer compared to traditional methods.

"As long as the method works, who cares who came up with it!" Wei Cong laughed. "Qian Wen, you'll take on another post as the Salt Field Commissioner. When you get back, work with the Magistrate of Xuwen County to acquire all these mudflats. Remember, it has to be hot, sunny, and windy, and there shouldn't be any rivers flowing into the sea nearby. Once you've bought the mudflats, prepare to start building the salt fields and try to start salt production before June!"

"Here!"

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In Nanchang County, at Jingxu Temple, Lu Ping arrived to cheers from the city walls, while others sounded horns. A troop of spearmen, their heads wrapped in scarlet turbans, emerged from the city to welcome her. Her guards, clad in lamellar armor and scarlet cloaks, wore bronze helmets topped with proud white feathers, and their spears adorned with white tassels, appearing both imposing and magnificent.

"Chancellor Lu has returned in triumph once again! Truly, a woman who is no less capable than any man!" Jiao He stood at the city gate, his face beaming with smiles. He was a strong, balding man, a renowned chieftain of Danyang County. Since the Moth Rebellion, his troops had achieved successive victories in battles against the government forces, and his prestige and strength had steadily increased, surpassing many Celestial Masters leaders who were far more senior than him. He had become one of the leaders of the 'martial faction' among the Moth Rebellion. Ever since he met Lu Ping, he had been captivated by her beauty and had repeatedly expressed his admiration for her, but this only made Lu Ping more disgusted.

"It was just luck!" Lu Ping suppressed her annoyance and cupped her hands in greeting to Jiao He: "General Jiao, is there something you need?"

"I have prepared a banquet to welcome the chief priest and wash away the dust of his journey!" Jiao He flattered.

"No need, I'm already very tired from the journey back. I'll accept General Jiao's kindness another day!"

"Hey!" Jiao He stopped Lu Ping's mount: "Wait!"

"Hmm?" Lu Ping raised her eyebrows slightly, a hint of anger already appearing in her eyes: "General Jiao, are you forcing me?"

"I wouldn't dare!" Jiao He's heart skipped a beat when he saw this. This woman was no weak woman who couldn't even kill a chicken. He quickly stepped aside and said, "My men brought back a batch of treasures from the Gan River a few days ago. I picked out a few nice ones from them. Please accept them, Chief Minister!" With that, he took a small wooden box from his men and presented it with both hands.

As the saying goes, one cannot hit a smiling face. No matter how much Lu Ping disliked him, she could not refuse to give face to a powerful figure like Jiao He. She could only cup her hands and say, "Thank you for your kindness, General!" After saying that, she took the wooden box, handed it to the maid beside her, thanked Jiao He again, and then headed to her residence.

Watching Lu Ping's departing figure, Jiao He revealed a lewd smile: "The box is full of good stuff, I don't believe this woman won't be tempted at all!"

Back at her lodgings, Lu Ping immediately went into the bathroom. After all, she was a woman. In the wooden tub filled with warm water, she closed her eyes, rested the back of her head against the tub wall, and felt as if she were merging into the water, completely relaxing.

After an unknown amount of time, Lu Ping opened her eyes again and returned to the real world. She stepped out of the wooden tub, had the female slave dry her body, wrapped herself in a comfortable Shu brocade robe, and leaned against the brocade couch, listening to her confidante report what had happened during her absence.

"Our army fought the government forces twice in Guangling and was defeated both times. We learned from the prisoners of war that the court has appointed Lu Zhi as the governor of Guangling!"

"Lu Zhi has been appointed Prefect of Guangling!" Lu Ping sat up straight instinctively. "I've long heard of his reputation. I only knew him as a master of Confucian classics, but I never imagined he could command troops? This is troublesome! What are the plans of the Great Teacher of Virtue?"

"The Great Teacher ordered his troops to divide and defend Liyang and Niuzhuji, preventing the government troops from crossing the river!"

"Hmm!" Lu Ping nodded. "What about Jiaozhou? Any news?"

"There's no new news, only rumors that the five prefectures of Nanhai, Cangwu, Hepu, Zhuya, and Yulin have surrendered to Wei Cong!"

"What about Jiaozhi Prefecture?" Lu Ping asked.

"There's no news from Jiaozhi!"

"Alas—!" Lu Ping sighed deeply, "If Wei Mengde had agreed to my request back then, our army would probably be besieging Wancheng by now! How could we be in this situation now!"

This trusted confidant had followed Lu Ping since childhood and knew something about the complicated relationship between her and Wei Cong. Not daring to interrupt, she remained silent. After a while, Lu Ping shook her head: "Forget it, let's not talk about these useless things. Bring me that wooden box from earlier!"

"Yes!" the confidant replied, bringing over the wooden box. Lu Ping casually opened it, revealing it to be filled with precious jewelry. She picked out a pearl necklace and examined it, saying, "These pearls are of good quality and all of similar size; they are quite rare!"

"Chancellor, would you like to try it on?" the confidant asked.

Lu Ping waved her hand, put the pearl necklace back in the wooden box, and then took out the jewelry one by one to examine it. Suddenly, she let out a soft "Ah!", held the bracelet in her hand in the sunlight to examine it carefully, smelled it, rubbed it with her hand, and put it aside. She then took out a headdress and necklace of the same material as the bracelet from the box, examined them carefully, and then suddenly snorted coldly, her face showing anger.

"Chancellor, what's wrong?" the confidant asked cautiously.

“These items are all made of tortoiseshell, along with ambergris and pearls—all rare treasures found only in Jiaozhou and the South China Sea!” Lu Ping exclaimed angrily. “How dare Jiao He rob a merchant caravan from Jiaozhou! Doesn’t he know our special relationship with Wei Cong? He’s utterly ignorant of his own limitations!”

(End of this chapter)