I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 329 Salt Production from Seawater
Hatred can motivate people to strive for improvement.

The next day, at the crack of dawn, Tang Zhao had already washed and dressed, and set off for Rudong County with great pride and high spirits.

Upon receiving the news, the magistrate of Rudong County hurriedly led his men to wait at the county gate, standing on tiptoe and craning their necks in anticipation. It wasn't until the sun was directly overhead that a troop of men galloped in.

The magistrate of Rudong County strode forward, lifted his robe, and knelt on one knee. "Your humble servant, Wang Yuan, the magistrate of Rudong County, respectfully welcomes the Commander!"

Tang Zhao dismounted and said, "Lord Wang, please rise."

"Thank you, sir," Wang Yuan stood up. "I have already prepared a small feast at Anyuan Tower to welcome you and wash away the dust of your journey."

"No need for a meal," Tang Zhao waved his hand, "Official business is more important."

Wang Yuandao said, "As you have instructed, I have designated two plots of land, Juegangchang and Fenglichang, for your use."

"Have you recruited any workers?"

"All 8,000 workers are in place."

Tang Zhao nodded in satisfaction.

At the excavation site, five thousand workers were sitting on the ground chatting in twos and threes when they suddenly saw their county magistrate following closely behind a woman dressed in a bright red official robe who was extremely ugly. They all stood up and bowed.

Looking at the southern men who were all shorter than her, Tang Zhao missed the burly men of the Northwest.

Even with their physiques, she couldn't bear to exploit them.

Tang Zhao sighed deeply.

The village headman's heart tightened, and he quickly looked pleadingly at the county magistrate.

Wang Yuan spoke well of the people under his rule, saying, "Sir, don't be fooled by their thin and frail appearance; they are actually quite strong and can do any kind of physical labor!"

Tang Zhao glanced at the tense expressions on the workers' faces and forced a smile. "I didn't mean anything by it, I'm just worried about the lack of manpower."

Five thousand people and still not enough manpower? Wang Yuan was surprised, but his surprise was quickly replaced by joy.

A shortage of manpower means hiring more people, and hiring more people means that more people under his jurisdiction will have an additional livelihood!
Wang Yuan tentatively asked, "Sir, how many more people do you think would be appropriate to recruit?"

Tang Zhao glanced at the sallow and emaciated people of Rudong County, and estimated on his fingers, "Let's recruit another five thousand people."

"Yes!" Wang Yuanchong nodded to the county constable and registrar behind him. The two immediately understood and ran back to the county to recruit people.

As the first saltworks in Suzhou, Tang Zhao personally directed the workers to excavate evaporation ponds and crystallization ponds. Half a month later, the seven-stage evaporation pond and the three-stage crystallization pond were successfully completed.

Tang Zhao chose a sunny day to officially begin salt production.

Workers in the first-stage evaporation pond use the force of the rising tide to introduce seawater into the evaporation pond. Under the scorching sun, the water in the seawater in the evaporation pond evaporates rapidly. After evaporation through seven stages of salt ponds, the seawater in the evaporation pond reaches the standard concentration.

The workers worked together to push open the iron plate between the seventh-stage evaporation tank and the crystallization tank. Under the scorching sun, salt continuously precipitated out of the crystallization tank.

Workers shovel the salt out of the crystallization tank and put it into the second and third crystallization tanks, stirring it repeatedly to precipitate coarse salt.

The coarse salt was shoveled into sacks and transported to the factory. Inside the factory, dozens of huge iron pots were filled with boiling water. The coarse salt was poured into the hot water, along with pre-prepared wood ash and washed seaweed. The mixture was stirred continuously, and then the impurities and seaweed were filtered out. After all the water had evaporated, only fine salt remained in the pot.

Wu Yier urged, "What are you waiting for? Scoop out the salt!"

The workers quickly took out shovels and carefully scooped the fine salt into a burlap sack. Once the sack was full, they tied it securely and carried it to the warehouse for storage.

Wu Yier then filled a small bowl with fine salt and took it to the seaside for Tang Zhao to taste.

Tang Zhao dipped his chopsticks in some salt and was about to put it in his mouth when Wang Yuan hurriedly stopped him, "Sir, you can't eat salt made from seawater!" Tang Zhao turned his head to look.

Wang Yuan explained, "Sea salt is poisonous and can cause severe diarrhea after consumption."

Tang Zhao's expression was indifferent. "Why didn't Lord Wang say anything when I was drying salt?"

Wang Yuan smiled awkwardly. Although he didn't know what Tang Zhao was planning at first, he figured it out after watching for a while. He wanted to tell Tang Zhao that this method wouldn't work, but considering the daily wage of one hundred coins, Wang Yuan kept quiet, thinking that the people could earn money one day at a time.

But if they don't speak up now, and Tang Zhao gets poisoned from eating sea salt, not only will it be impossible for him to make a living for the people, but his own head and official hat will also be in danger.

Wang Yuan's face turned red after he finished speaking.

Tang Zhao found it amusing; indeed, even the most honest person has their own little tricks up their sleeve.

"Don't worry, Lord Wang, this salt is non-toxic, or rather, I have already removed the poison from the salt."

Wang Yuan looked up immediately, "Is what you said true, sir?"

"Of course, why don't you try it, Lord Wang? Does this salt taste different?"

Wang Yuan couldn't wait to pick up his chopsticks, dip them in salt, and put them in his mouth. To his surprise, he found that there was no bitterness, only pure saltiness.

His eyes lit up. "You are truly a divine being!"

Tang Zhao accepted Wang Yuan's praise without any modesty.

"I'll leave the rest to Lord Wang. I have other matters to attend to," Tang Zhao said. "Lord Wang, remember, on July 12th, all prefectures and counties in Suzhou will begin selling fine salt."

"Your subordinate obeys!"

Tang Zhao hurried back to Suzhou Prefecture, while Gu Ci, Zhao Hui, and Chao Yi rushed back to the Salt Transport Office on the evening of July 11th to report on the construction progress of the salt fields in Ganyu County, Xiangshui County, and Binhai County.

"The salt fields in Xiangshui County have been built according to the blueprints and have been put into trial use. It has been confirmed that the salt produced meets the standards," Gu Ci said after drinking a large bowl of tea and catching his breath. "The salt produced has been examined by doctors and confirmed to be non-toxic."

Zhao Hui continued, "My subordinates have already sent people to deliver the salt produced in Ganyu County to the neighboring prefectures and counties, ensuring that every household in the area can buy at least three catties of salt."

Chao Yi lowered his head and said, "I am ashamed. The magistrate of Binhai County ignored the orders issued by the Salt Transport Commissioner under the pretext of inspecting the farmland under his jurisdiction. The saltworks that I recruited in Binhai County have not yet been completed."

Tang Zhao asked, "Have you left someone to keep an eye on things?"

Chao Yi nodded, "I will leave Gu Yi to keep an eye on things at the saltworks."

Gu Ci frowned. "Should we transfer salt from the other three counties to supply the prefectures and counties near Binhai County?"

"No need," Tang Zhao said. "I already have a plan."

Binhai County, the back hall of the county government office.

Magistrate Zhu Bing was about to rest with his newly acquired concubine when he heard a knocking on the door. "My lord, my lord, something terrible has happened!"

Zhu Bing stormed into the door and shouted angrily, "What's the commotion?"

"Sir, you'd better hurry to the county government office!" the registrar shouted from outside the door. "The Salt Commissioner has sent someone!"

what?
Zhu Bing threw aside his clinging concubine, not bothering to straighten his clothes, hurriedly put on his shoes, and ran to open the door. As he walked towards the county government office, he said, "The Salt Commissioner's man? Are you sure?"

“Confirmed,” the registrar said, following behind him. “That man has the token of the Salt Commissioner!”