The largest salt mine in the alliance is located not far south of the capital, and small salt mines can be found everywhere. The eastern area of Lake Texcoco is divided by a dam, where there are saltwater lakes with high salinity. There are many high-quality salt mines in the surrounding mountains and deep valleys.
The distribution of salt springs is also a product of volcanic activity.
The Mexican Union never lacks salt. Salt is an important trade item for Mexicans, and their income is extremely rich. There are many salt-making villages from the east bank to the south bank of the lake area. The large salt mines were also developed from salt-making villages.
.It is closest to the prosperous capital city in the lake and has extremely convenient transportation. Therefore, it has a dense population and the largest production capacity, capable of supplying the salt needs of hundreds of thousands of people.
Not long after traveling south, we arrived at the large salt mine. The white salt piles shone brightly in the sun. They were exposed to the wind and sun, and were mixed with soil, giving them a light gray color. Hundreds or even thousands of salt workers were there.
There are only forty or fifty warriors working and supervising here. From time to time, businessmen in cloaks come with slaves in a low-key manner and leave in a hurry loaded with goods.
Looking around, there is a vast expanse of white between the mountains and trees. When the breeze blows, fine salt powder is rolled up, and the salty wind blows in front of you, as if you are on the vast seaside.
Shulot stopped, looked at this spectacular scene, and sighed: Salt was the real wealth in the Middle Ages!
"Kouod, how many salt workers are there here? What is the daily salt output?" The young man's eyes were bright.
Hearing His Highness's question, Kuaud sighed secretly and had a headache. His Highness was good at everything, but he always asked him about specific numbers. There were very few people below who really knew how to count, so how could he answer accurately.
After thinking for a moment, the craftsman director cautiously responded.
"There are nearly a thousand salt workers here. According to the latest market standards, each person produces at least several liters of salt per day. In total, there are always several thousand liters of salt. All of this salt belongs to the alliance."
Then, he thought for a moment and lowered his voice.
"Of course, the actual output is probably far more than this. Salt is a necessity, even the tribal people in the mountains and forests need it. Salt workers and supervisors will sell it privately, and there are also businessmen who trade privately and secretly take away part of the output."
Shulot was slightly surprised.
"Why doesn't the Alliance strictly control an important product like salt and collect tribute?"
Kuaud thought for a moment and continued talking in a low voice.
"The Alliance is rich in lake salt and rock salt. If this place is strictly controlled, merchants will naturally gather in other salt-producing villages. Rather than letting them move to the fiefdoms of the great nobles, it is better to trade in the royal territory here. What's more, privately
The large profits from the transaction flowed into the hands of nobles at all levels."
Shulot frowned slightly. He thought for a long time, then slowly nodded helplessly, suppressing the dissatisfaction in his heart.
The two were talking. From a distance, the overseer warrior in charge of management came hurriedly, his round face full of smiles.
The guards had already stepped forward to show their identity, and the overseer warrior knelt down respectfully and shouted loudly towards Shulot.
"Your Highness, you are truly blessed by the patron saint to come here! I am willing to die for your great Highness!"
The shouts dispersed far away, and other overseer warriors also heard the sound. The overseers knelt down and saluted one after another, and Shulot looked at them expressionlessly. When the overseers' performance was over, the young man looked at the salt field again. I don't know why.
By then, the businessmen in cloaks had disappeared.
Shulot lowered his eyes slightly, then opened them again, smiling to accept the flattery of the overseers. Then the young man waved his hand and told them to return to their posts. Then, the young man strode forward, surrounded by the warriors, towards the bustle and bustle
The salt workers walked away.
The tools used by salt workers are very simple: stone shovels for digging, stone hoes for loosening, and stone picks for digging mineral salt. They use jute sacks to load the salty soil, and then use large clay pots to
Deliver clean water for washing salt.
Hulot stood beside the salt workman and watched quietly.
The salt workers first dig out the salt-rich lakeside soil, underground salt soil, or salt spring soil. Then they mix the soil properly and thoroughly. Next, they build the salt soil into a mound waiting for leaching, with sand and lime next to it.
Made of shallow concave pool.
Immediately, the salt workers slowly poured the clean water from the clay pots down from the top of the salt soil mound, allowing the clean water to flow through the salt soil at a constant speed, dissolving and taking away the salt in the soil. The salt water gradually flowed out from the bottom of the soil mound, along the designed
The earth channel slowly flows into the concave pool. This process of melting and filtering out the salt is quite slow and requires sufficient physical strength and long-term patience.
Some concave pools are wide, conical pits with a depth of half a meter and a diameter of one meter. The salt workers then take out the salt water from the concave pools and boil it in a clay pot to obtain crystallized salt. The crystallized salt is dried in the sun.
Afterwards, it can be sold as table salt.
Another type of concave pool is a shallow evaporation pool spread out flatly. The salt water is evenly spread in the evaporation pool, and quickly turns into crystal white powder under the sun exposure of the tropical plateau. The evaporation pool has a shallow filtration setting, although it is slightly
Slow, but the quality of the salt will be better.
Shulot stepped forward, pinched some salt grains with his fingers, and put it into his mouth to taste. Similar to the table salt he usually uses, the output here is coarse salt. The larger salt grains fell into the tip of his tongue, giving him a salty taste.
The feeling burst out in the mouth. The boy tasted it carefully again and determined that it was gray salt. It has a strong taste, full of mineral salty aroma, and full of moisture. It is very suitable for making barbecue or cooking beans.
Shulot nodded slightly. Then, he looked away and observed the noisy salt workers gathered in several groups around him, looking here from time to time.
Similar to the gold miners, the salt workers have lean bodies and sharp facial contours. They also come from nearby villages and settlements, hug each other and support their respective salt workers leaders. However, they are different from the simple temperament of the gold miners who are strictly restrained.
Differently, the temperament of the salt workers is more fierce and aggressive.
Even if a big shot came to the salt field, the salt workers were still pushing and scolding each other. Shulot vaguely heard words like "South, salt road, get rich". He frowned slightly, his previous dissatisfaction was still there.
With thoughts in his heart, the young man looked at Bertard majestically.
The warrior commander bowed his head in salute, and then waved solemnly forward. The elite warriors accompanying him immediately pulled out their war clubs, trotted forward neatly, and shouted at the salt workers, "Kneel down, be quiet!". The salt workers took a few steps back in fear.
Most of them hurriedly crawled to the ground. A few salt workers cursed angrily and fought back, but were then mercilessly knocked down by the samurai with long sticks and blunt wooden sides.
Shulot observed for a moment that the resisting salt workers' martial arts skills were not worth mentioning, and they had no power to fight back against the oncoming warriors. However, they would subconsciously cover each other, gather into a team that supported each other, and then be attacked together.
This kind of instinctive tacit understanding is one of the most important qualities in team combat, and it is also the key to the coordination of the gun formation.
The young man nodded secretly. He looked at the group of salt workers who were finally knocked down, and pointed at the leader of the salt workers in the center. Immediately, two leather-armored warriors came forward and dragged the leader of the salt workers. Behind him,
A dozen salt workers still struggled to rescue the leader, but were immediately beaten with sticks again and rolled on the ground in pain.
The leader of the salt workers was probably in his early thirties, with a fierce face, and an unconcealed unruliness on his face. He was dragged to Shulot, and he raised his head and boldly looked at the young man's clothes, and even looked at the young man's face.
Stay for a moment.
Seeing this scene, Bertard's eyes turned cold. The warrior commander took two steps forward, pinched the back of the salt worker leader's neck, and then quickly hit the opponent's armpits and abdomen several times. The leader's eyes flickered first.
He opened his eyes wide, then his pupils contracted violently, and he let out a low scream. Then, he leaned forward, fell to the ground, and fell into the salty salt soil. Drool leaked uncontrollably from the corners of his mouth.
After a while, he came to his senses and knelt down in fear to salute, not daring to raise his head again. The ferocity had disappeared from his face. Sweat seeped out from his face, condensed into sweat beads, and dripped on the same salty face.
A faint but clear sound splashed out from the smelly salt earth.
Shulot watched all this calmly. There was a sense of solemnity and silence in the salt field. The supervisors and warriors also knelt down and saluted. Only fifty or sixty elite warriors in armor subdued thousands of salt workers. Untrained salt workers
No matter how fierce they are, they are just civilians without armor.
The deathly silence lasted for two quarters of an hour, and the salt workers were as motionless and silent as stone. The young man smiled slightly. As long as the coercion was enough, the discipline of the salt workers was actually quite good.
"You are the leader of the salt workers' rebellion? What is your name?"
"Ah! Dear senior priest, I am not the leader of the salt workers, and we dare not resist you! I am just... I am just the leader elected by the village. There are many leaders like me. Just now
Brothers, on impulse, please..."
"What's your name?" A cold voice came from above.
"I'm Moreno." Moreno didn't dare to raise his head, his abdomen was still in severe pain.
“How many salt cubers are there among the salt workers in nearby villages?”
"These... more than a dozen villages are making salt privately, including men, women, old and young. There are hundreds of people, dozens of people, plus the thousands of people in the big salt mine, there are more than 3,000 salt cubes.
I can’t figure out the specific number either.”
Moreno had sweat on his forehead and didn't know what the noble man in front of him wanted to do.
"Moreno, if I give you warriors and property, how many salt cubes can you attract?"
"This... Sir, do you want to deal with the salt? Sir, please forgive me! We are all small businesses. Even if we secretly sell a little salt, most of the income will be given to the nobles in the capital. With that little wealth, do you do this?
To a great nobleman, they are nothing but the legs of an ant!"
"Moreno, let me ask you again, how many saltmen can you summon for me?" came the majestic voice, with some ups and downs, and seemed to be a little unswerving.
Moreno trembled slightly. He could not see the expression of the nobleman, so he could only guess the mood and thoughts of the nobleman. He spoke hesitantly.
"Our village... has a maximum of three hundred people. All the salt they produce will be dedicated to you."
"Well, then you're useless. Someone, drag him out and sacrifice him to the gods!"
The warriors immediately stepped forward and grabbed the leader of Yanding's arm.
The cruel fate fell from the sky, and Moreno's body became cold for a moment, and he shouted with all his strength.
"My lord, my lord! If you want wealth, I have a way here. It's a huge deal. I guarantee you will be satisfied!"
Xurot waved the warrior to stop. He looked at Moreno with interest.
"explain."
"Dear Priest, the big businessman of Tarasco was recently executed in the capital. It seems that he offended a certain noble. As soon as he died, a big gap suddenly appeared in the originally saturated southern salt road. The brothers all wanted to seize it.
This is an opportunity to make a fortune. The relationship between the saltmen has been tense recently, and the shouting just now was for this reason, and I did not mean to offend you."
"The Southern Salt Road? To Mixtec and Tlaxcala?" Shulot thought of something and asked in a deep voice.
"Your Excellency is so wise! As long as you give me fifty, not thirty elite warriors, and a little protection, I can take my brothers to participate in the southern trade, and 70%, no, 80% of the income will be handed over to you!
That’s a real river of white gold!”
Moreno's voice was slightly excited. He couldn't help but raise his voice.
Hulot frowned. The southern trade to the Mixtec and Tlaxcala was not under the control of the alliance. Nobles and foreign business groups from all over the country were involved. The hostile Tlaxcalans could always use the Mexican
The Canadian Alliance obtained important strategic materials, including salt, cotton cloth, and even copperware.
Shulot once again looked at the kneeling salt leader. He dared to participate in this kind of trade route. It was obvious that he had deep roots in the local village. The young man pondered for a moment and asked again coldly.
"Moreno, let me ask you one last time, how many salt cubes can you summon for me?"
"Ah, this, my lord...I...as long as you give me fifty warriors and enough cotton cloth, I will control all the saltmen in the villages for you! There are always two thousand people! But you
If you want to stand up to the nobles in the fiefdom in the capital, they are a bunch of greedy hyenas!"
After hearing this, Shulot finally nodded slightly with satisfaction. The young man stretched out his left hand.
"Looked up."
Moreno raised his head for the first time and saw the expressionless face of the young priest, and then saw the young man's slender left hand. He hesitated for a moment, scanned the surrounding warriors' equipment again, and thought hard about the family crest on it, but in the end he didn't know enough.
Can't recall.
He glanced at the overseer warrior who was also lying on the ground, then gritted his teeth and took a few steps forward on his knees. Then, he bowed his head respectfully, imitating the samurai's show of loyalty, and let the young man's left hand fall into his hair.
"Dear priest, I am willing to die for you!"
Hulot held the hair of the leader of the salt workers. After thinking for a moment, he took out the long dagger he carried with him and cut off a lock of Moreno's hair.
"Moreno, under the witness of the Lord God, the 'Inspired One' accepts your allegiance! I will throw your hair into the sacred fire of the priest's temple and report your loyalty to the omnipotent patron saint. Connect the talisman,
Report to the High Priest’s Mansion tomorrow!”
Bertard took out the jade talisman engraved with Xiulote's name and handed it into the hands of the leader of the salt workers. Moreno trembled slightly. He looked at the young man in front of him in disbelief, and then he prostrated on the ground with real respect.
Shulot nodded silently. He looked around the white salt field for the last time, looked deeply at the samurai who could supervise the work, and then left surrounded by the guards. After he left for a long time, the salt workers crawled from the ground.
They stood up and looked at each other without saying a word.
The salt field is still snow-white, and the salt water seeps quietly, gathering into unknown shapes in the salt pond. Moreno covered his abdomen, lowered his head, and silently stared at the reflection in the salt pond. After a while, he smiled bitterly and shook his head and sighed. Saltmen
They also gathered around him and looked blankly at the salt pond.
In the white salt pool, the clear salt water is slowly flowing, and the reflected figures are unpredictable, just like the future that is unpredictable to everyone.
