Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 542 Crimson Crystal Lake

On September 2, 1642, the sun blazed down on the central California peninsula.

On the azure Pacific Ocean, an exploration vessel flying the red five-star flag is slowly approaching a vast lagoon.

The ship gently rose and fell with the waves of the Pacific Ocean, its bow cutting through the azure waters and leaving a long white wake.

"Lower the sails!"

"Slow down!"

"Watch out for underwater shallows!"

Captain Tang Shujiang shouted loudly from the helm.

The sailors skillfully manipulated the ropes, and the canvas fell with a sound, gradually slowing the ship's speed.

"Hmm, this should be about right." On the deck, Sun Zeping, the head of the expedition team, looked up at the terrain around the lagoon while checking a map to confirm the landing point.

“Lord Sun…” Tang Shujiang turned his head and looked over, “The water conditions of this lagoon are unclear, and the depth is unknown. For safety’s sake, shall we switch to a smaller boat?”

"Alright, let's switch to a smaller boat!" Sun Zeping rolled up the map and put it into his bag. Then he looked back at the expedition team members who had gradually come onto the deck. "Get your belongings ready, let's take the smaller boat and explore the depths of the lagoon."

The exploration ship docked near the Guerrero Negro Lagoon, in what is now northwestern Baja California, Mexico, the site of the world's largest salt mine.

The expedition team included geologist Chen Wenming, mineral expert Zhao Qirui, geographer Zhu Licheng, plant expert Li Quansheng, as well as Second Lieutenant Zhuang Shaocheng and sixteen fully armed soldiers responsible for escorting the team.

Everyone standing on the ship's railing was captivated by the lagoon view before them. The azure Pacific Ocean surged with waves, yet was gently held back by several naturally formed sandbars, creating this lake with an area of ​​nearly a thousand square kilometers.

The lake displays a magical color transformation, with emerald green shallows near the shore, gradually turning blue-green in deeper areas, and a deep blue in the center.

Most remarkably, in some of the edge areas, the lake water displays strange shades of pink and red, as if Sun Wukong had spilled the dye from the Heavenly Palace.

The expedition team members boarded two small boats and rowed towards the lagoon. The salty sea breeze hit them, carrying a strong smell of salt.

The edge of the lagoon is covered with large areas of bare mudflats, which gleam with white salt frost under the scorching sun.

"I've never seen lake water this red before!" exclaimed Zhu Licheng, a young geography surveyor, marveling at the sight. "Could this be caused by the halophilic algae that biologists have mentioned?"

Zhao Qirui nodded: "Exactly. This type of algae only proliferates in extremely saline water, which indicates that this body of water has a very high evaporation rate and extremely high salinity. Yes, that's the salt mine we're looking for."

The two small boats cautiously paddled forward at a slow speed, with several crew members constantly using sounding hammers to measure the water depth and mark the navigation channel.

After about an hour, the small boat reached the southern shore of the lagoon, and the team members set foot on this unfamiliar land.

Underfoot were white salt crystals, sparkling in the sunlight.

Looking up, the lagoon is vast, with its outer side connected to the Pacific Ocean and its inner side consisting of shallow water areas surrounded by sandbars and mudflats.

Zhuang Shaocheng was the last to disembark. He habitually observed the surrounding terrain first: "The terrain here is flat, lacking natural barriers. To establish a foothold here, it would likely require building a fortress and numerous defensive works to hold out for a long time."

Zhu Licheng had already opened his tools and begun drawing a topographic map: "This lagoon covers an area of ​​over a thousand square kilometers, with natural sandbars on the outer side serving as a barrier, and vast mudflats on the inner side, making it truly an ideal place for salt production."

Zhao Qirui crouched down and took out his tools to examine the salt crystals on the ground: "Judging by the quality, the purity is extremely high! Tsk tsk, if the entire lagoon area were of this quality..."

His voice trembled slightly with excitement, "This will be the largest salt mine we've ever discovered!"

Sun Zeping bent down, picked up a pinch of salt crystals from the ground, put them in his mouth to taste, and then quickly spat them out: "Ptooey... This salt is not bad, its purity is comparable to the sea salt we boil."

Zhao Qirui took out a small shovel from behind him and skillfully dug a small pit. In no time, the water that seeped out was already saturated with salt.

He stuck out his finger, tasted it, and grinned, "Mmm, this is really good salt! It's comparable to the salt we boil in Xinhua Bay. The sunshine here is plentiful, the wind is strong, and the evaporation rate is so high—it's practically a natural salt-producing field."

Sun Zeping breathed a sigh of relief: "The officials from the Ministry of Geology and Mineral Resources were right after all. You see, this lagoon is vast, with most areas only a few meters deep. If we divide this area into evaporation ponds and draw seawater into them, we can obtain sea salt through natural evaporation."

As he spoke, he mentally calculated for a moment, then his eyes lit up: "If we can build enough evaporation ponds, the annual output could probably reach tens of thousands of tons. This would not only meet the salt needs of the entire Xinhua region, but also have a surplus to sell to other countries and regions."

"Hehe, we've really struck gold!" Zhao Qirui stood up and clapped his hands. "The annual catch of salmon in Xinhua Bay and the surrounding waters is nearly 10,000 tons. Apart from a small portion that is eaten directly, most of the salmon requires a huge amount of salt for pickling and processing."

“If we develop this lagoon salt field on a large scale, we won’t need to spend time and effort building salt-boiling plants anymore. The natural sunshine and sea breeze here can produce an inexhaustible supply of sea salt for us!” “Can this really be developed into a large-scale salt field?” Zhuang Shaocheng picked up a small handful of salt crystals from the ground.

“Of course!” Zhao Qirui said confidently, “Moreover, it’s a salt field with production costs that are almost zero.”

"If that's really the case, then we've struck it rich!" Zhuang Shaocheng laughed. "In previous years, the Dutch fought the Spanish to the end in order to obtain the salt mines on Curaçao. Even though they suffered huge casualties and development was very difficult, they still gritted their teeth and insisted on occupying that small island."

"How much salt could the small island the Dutch seized produce? At most, a few hundred or a thousand tons a year." Sun Zeping scoffed upon hearing this. "Given the conditions of this lagoon, with sufficient manpower, it could produce at least hundreds of thousands of tons of sea salt annually (in later years, this salt field produced eight million tons of sea salt, accounting for almost 20-30% of global production)!"

"One hundred thousand tons?" Zhuang Shaocheng was taken aback. "That would require pickling so many fish!"

Sun Zeping laughed and said, "It's not just pickled fish. Salt is a strategic resource. It can preserve food and can also be used in chemical production."

He crouched down, grabbed a handful of salt crystals, and said, "Although we haven't conducted detailed testing on the salt mines yet, just this rough look suggests they may contain byproducts like sodium sulfate and potassium salts. We can then separate them based on differences in solubility at different temperatures. Hehe, these separated minerals are all valuable chemical raw materials."

Over the next few days, the expedition team conducted a detailed survey of the area surrounding the lagoon.

Zhu Licheng led the surveying team to draw up a precise map, marking the best location for establishing settlements, as well as the future salt mining areas and water diversion routes.

Zhao Qirui collected water samples and a large number of salt mineral samples to test salinity and composition: "The salt is pure with few impurities. Some are even suitable for direct consumption and industrial use."

Chen Wenming focused on the geological structure: "The geological conditions here are stable, with a moderate thickness of clay layer, suitable for large-scale excavation of evaporation ponds. We can start with a small scale and gradually expand."

Li Quansheng surveyed the surrounding vegetation: "The area is rich in salt-tolerant plants, which can be used as fuel initially. However, freshwater is the key issue; we need to drill deep wells for water."

He also collected specimens of several salt-tolerant plants, "These halophytes may be used to stabilize salt pan dikes."

Zhuang Shaocheng explained it from a military perspective: "This place is less than 400 kilometers away from Black Shark Island in the northwest. If we set up an armed outpost here, it can form a pincer movement, and we can support each other from afar to ensure the safety of our southern waters."

He conducted a detailed survey of the various high points and further suggested: "A watchtower and gun emplacements should be set up at the entrance to the lagoon to control the navigation channel."

The soldiers discovered traces of wildlife during their patrol: "Small herds of deer and wild sheep have been spotted nearby, which could provide initial meat supplies. However, caution is needed to guard against attacks from wolves (i.e., coyotes, which are found from the northern forests to the southern deserts)."

On the evening of the fifth day, the expedition team sat down again to summarize their findings and discuss future development plans.

“I believe…” Sun Zeping began, “our expedition team should immediately report this discovery to the mainland and recommend that we occupy and develop this area as soon as possible. The value of this salt mine is no less than that of a rich gold mine, and it’s inexhaustible.”

Zhao Qirui added, "Salt mine development can be carried out in stages. The first phase will involve building 200 mu of evaporation ponds, with an estimated annual output of 1,000 tons, which is sufficient to meet the needs of the Yongning Bay reclamation area. Further expansion will follow."

Chen Wenming offered suggestions from a geological and water source perspective: "In the initial stage, several freshwater wells need to be dug, and seepage-proof dikes need to be built to ensure that saltwater does not seep into the settlement area. In addition, relevant agricultural experts should be dispatched to improve the local soil quality so that it can be suitable for planting a small amount of fruits and vegetables to solve the problem of supplementary food supply."

Zhu Licheng displayed his map: "The lagoon entrance is the most suitable location for building a wharf, with enough water depth to accommodate medium-sized cargo ships. The salt fields can be developed along the south bank, where there is the longest sunshine and the terrain is flat."

Li Quansheng raised ecological considerations: "During development, attention must be paid to protecting the lagoon ecosystem, especially the red algae. Perhaps valuable dyes or medicines can be extracted from them in the future."

Sun Zeping concluded: "Okay, we will summarize these suggestions and form a detailed investigation report to submit to the Ministry of Geology and Mineral Resources. My personal suggestion is that, based on the sheer size of this salt mine and the several copper and phosphate mines we explored in the northern part of the peninsula, it is necessary to incorporate this long and narrow peninsula into Xinhua's territory."

"Lord Sun is right!" Zhao Qirui nodded in agreement. "With this salt mine, Xinhua will have an inexhaustible supply of salt, whether for people's daily needs or for industrial raw materials. We can mine as much as we want. I think that even if we negotiate a ceasefire and peace with the Spanish in the future, we should try every means to take this place for ourselves!"

“That’s right!” Sun Zeping nodded. “By controlling this peninsula, we control the shipping lanes on the eastern coast of the Pacific; by developing this salt mine, we will possess almost unlimited salt resources, which will greatly enhance Xinhua’s economic strength and strategic position.”

"By the way, what should we name this lagoon?"

"The lake is so colorful, and it reflects the clouds in the sky. How about we call it 'Colorful Cloud Lake'?"

"It is beautiful, but it is too poetic and lacks grandeur."

"How about calling it 'Salt Marsh'? It's straightforward and clear, highlighting the value of this place."

"Too straightforward. Such a precious place deserves a name that not only reflects its unique characteristics but also carries a meaningful connotation."

"How about calling it 'Red Crystal Lake'?" Sun Zeping suggested. "Red means red waves, symbolizing our Xinhua; crystal means salt crystals, representing the local products. It has both a symbolic meaning and highlights the unique features."

"Excellent!" Everyone praised, "Red is the national color of Xinhua, and the word 'crystal' refers both to the shape of salt crystals and to the preciousness of this place, like crystal. This name is both grand and fitting. Very good!"
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(End of this chapter)