Duke of Zhenguan

Salt is not just a seasoning in life; if you don't eat salt for two days, you will have no energy.

If you don't eat salt for ten days or half a month, even a strong man will become a useless person.

The common people didn't know the reason, but they knew that salt was just as important as grain.

The fact that salt was unavailable in the vast city of Chang'an made most ordinary people realize that something was amiss.

As for the officials and wealthy businessmen, they had already sensed the danger.

Most people were unaware of the undercurrents beneath the calm surface of grain prices, but officials and wealthy merchants knew that those powerful families in Hedong had suffered a complete defeat.

Now that the powerful clans of Hedong have made their move again, everyone's eyes are on His Majesty the Emperor, waiting for him to break the deadlock or compromise.

The Right Guard Army set off overnight, traveling by day and resting by night, and arrived at the salt lake in Guzang County, Liangzhou, in just ten days.

A force of over 10,000 men was stationed near the salt lake in Guzang County. The entire camp was on high alert, and civilians were not allowed to approach within ten miles of the camp.

Besides the soldiers transporting supplies, Cheng Yaojin even refused to see the governor of Liangzhou.

The day after arriving in Guzang County, Lin Chuan arranged for people to cut down trees and make charcoal.

Salt harvesting began on the third day.

Toxic salt minerals are ground into powder, dissolved in water, filtered through layers of charcoal, fine sand, and fine linen, and finally boiled dry to obtain snow-white table salt.

Although this type of salt contains some minerals that can dissolve in water like salt, it is already purer than sea salt.

As for the few minerals in the salt, we can only make do with them.

Because Lin Chuan didn't know a better way either.

The Right Guard had more than 10,000 men, with more than 1,000 responsible for guard duty, more than 1,000 responsible for logging, and the rest all involved in salt mining.

The remaining 8,000 people were divided equally between salt harvesting and transportation.

Nearly four thousand people worked together to harvest salt, and with the assembly line operation arranged by Lin Chuan, the daily production of salt reached tens of thousands of kilograms.

The boiled salt was packed into sacks, covered with straw mats, and transported to Chang'an in a continuous stream.

In early July, many salt shops in Chang'an closed down or changed their business.

The powerful and wealthy were better off, as they still had channels to obtain salt, but ordinary people who lacked salt had no choice but to start using vinegar cloths.

Some people even started consuming toxic salt.

People died one after another from eating toxic salt, and some even took risks to obtain salt.

The number of criminals in the prisons of Chang'an County and Wannian County has surged. In the seemingly peaceful city of Chang'an, heinous crimes have increased tenfold compared to the previous month.

Li Shimin, who was living deep in the palace, looked at the secret report sent by the Hundred Cavalry Commandery. He saw the family of five who had died from eating poisoned salt in the report and wished he could tear those powerful families in Hedong to pieces.

Some officials also submitted memorials to the court, requesting that the salt tax be reduced and that salt merchants be encouraged to transport salt into Chang'an.

Most officials in the court had some intricate connections with powerful families, so they naturally began to put pressure on Emperor Li Shimin.

Li Shimin sat behind his desk every day with a gloomy face, silently watching officials plead with him to be lenient towards the salt merchants.

After the court assembly, he would write down the names of these people one by one on the screen.

On the tenth day of the seventh lunar month, a major disturbance occurred in the West Market.

Several sallow-faced men sneaked into a large salt shop in the middle of the night to steal salt.

When they were carrying salt over the wall, they alerted the guards, and the two sides fought in the darkness. The overturned oil lamps in the storeroom were also set on fire.

The fire attracted hundreds of people.

After discovering a warehouse full of salt, hundreds of civilians angrily killed more than ten guards.

They then rushed into the yard behind the warehouse and beat the shop owner and his family of more than ten people to death.

They then clashed with Wu Hou, who arrived at the scene. Dozens of people were killed and more than a hundred were injured.

Four of Zhuge Liang's men also died.

The chaos was brought under control as dawn broke.

A sudden uproar also caused a great uproar in the imperial court.

Nearly a hundred officials asked Li Shimin to issue an imperial edict to thoroughly investigate the rioters who participated in the killing of the shop owner's family and their guards that night.

Li Shimin was the emperor. Although he knew that the people were blinded by anger, it was a fact that they had killed the shopkeeper. He could only order the magistrate of Chang'an County to send people to arrest the surviving people and put them in the county jail.

After the court assembly, Li Shimin summoned Fang Xuanling, Changsun Wuji, Du Ruhui, and others to a side hall and handed Fang Xuanling an official document that Cheng Yaojin had ordered to be delivered by express courier.

Fang Xuanling took the official document, glanced at it, and immediately stood up excitedly, urgently saying to Li Shimin:

"Your Majesty, is General Cheng's statement true?"

"It's true, he took Lin Chuan with him. If all goes well, the first batch of salt will be able to enter Chang'an in five days!" Li Shimin said in a deep voice.

"Excellent! Haha, Your Majesty, I believe that the matter of salt entering Chang'an must be kept secret..." Fang Xuanling laughed heartily.

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue's treasury still has some refined salt. I believe it is permissible to have it sold discreetly!"

"Your Majesty, I believe we can release the news that the court intends to build saltworks in Jiangnan!"

"His Majesty!…"

Even a skilled cook cannot cook without rice; without salt, the ministers, despite their countless strategies, had nowhere to put them to use.

Now that they had salt, these ministers, who were cunning and scheming, devised countless treacherous plots in no time.

The last grain price war was fought with an open and aboveboard strategy, but this time a conspiracy has taken the stage.

There is always a dark side to human nature. Compared to a righteous and open scheme, revenge through intrigue is undoubtedly more gratifying.

While a group of high-ranking officials were plotting schemes in the imperial court, the Lin family in Tonghua Ward was bustling with activity.

After lying down for a month, Lin Jiu was finally able to stand up with help. In addition, the letter from Lin Chuan's personal guards brought a smile to Li Shi's face, who hadn't smiled for a month.

In addition, Mei Xiang successfully made perfume using the method given by Lin Chuan, so Madam Li had wine and dishes prepared so that everyone could have a lively time together.

After finishing their meal, Er Ya, carrying a delicate little porcelain bottle, left the Lin family home with Wang the blacksmith's daughter, Wang Xiao Liu, and headed towards the Yan family home, which was also located in Tonghua Lane.

Ever since Lin Chuan gave the instructions, Er Ya has brought small gifts every time she visits the Yan family.

When Mei Xiang made the perfume, she immediately took a bottle to give to Yan Liu Niang.

Lin Chuan and Cheng Churou's affair was naturally kept from Li Shi, but Er Ya was unaware of it.

So she thought that her brother must be interested in the sixth daughter of the Yan family.

As the younger sister, she felt she should help her older brother.

Yan Liu Niangzi is so beautiful, kind-hearted, and well-educated. She and my brother are a match made in heaven!

Er Ya was a frequent visitor to the Yan family. Taking advantage of her youth and status as a woman, she felt even more at ease in the Yan family than Lin Chuan had been when he went to the Yan family to study every day.

Upon entering the Yan family home, without needing any servants to entertain them, they found Yan Liu Niangzi's boudoir with practiced ease and said affectionately to her, who was sitting inside reading:

"Sister Yan, this is perfume, it smells like lilies. Before my brother left Chang'an, he specifically asked me to make this perfume and send it to you first. Try it and see if you like it!"