In a large courtyard with bright lights, there is a post every three steps, and a sentry every five steps. Men in black press their hands on the hilts of their knives, staring at the surroundings with cold eyes, exuding a cold aura.
The red candles in the main hall were dancing. A bald man sat upright, playing with a dagger in his hand. His triangular eyes flashed fiercely, and he calmly looked at the people sitting on both sides, all of whom were wearing smart clothes.
It was so fierce and sinister, everyone was silent, and the atmosphere was depressing.
After a while, the bald man asked in a cold voice: "Go and have a look. Why hasn't the person who inquired returned?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a man hurried in, cupped his fists and said, "Third Master, the young one is back."
"Tell me, what's going on?" The bald-headed man asked excitedly with a fierce light in his eyes.
"Third Master, our people have successfully blended in. They are all strangers. Shopkeeper Song does not know and will never be exposed. The situation has been found out. It is people from the Protector's Palace who came to mine salt mines. Two principals, five
Ten guards, ten carpenters to remodel something, and others to build thatched houses, three hundred miners, and a few cooks."
"Only fifty guards?" The third master was a little surprised.
A bearded man sitting below said in a loud voice: "Third Master, just fifty guards dare to come here to mine. You are too arrogant and arrogant. You simply don't know how to live or die. The title of Lord Protector may be useful in Chang'an.
The weather in Lizhou is not working well, and it is up to us, the Third Master, to have the final say."
The third master waved his hand and signaled the inquirer to go out first. He looked down at a man dressed as a scholar and asked, "Xiucai, please tell me."
The man named Xiucai clasped his fists and said: "Third Master, the entire salt industry of Shannan West Road and Jiannan Road belongs to the Third Master's family, and Lizhou belongs to the Third Master. Does the Third Master know why the Song family gave the salt mine to
The Protectorate's Mansion?"
"What do you mean?" Mr. San's eyes flickered.
"That's right, Third Master is wise."
The man named Xiucai flattered him first and then continued: "The Song family's business does not include the salt industry. The salt mine is compensated by others to the Song family. Once the Song family mines it, it means that they will become enemies of the Third Master family.
Is the Song family the rival of the Third Master family? Therefore, they did not dare to mine on a large scale for half a year. They only made a small fuss. The salt they mined was only used by themselves and was not sold. However, the relationship was forged after all, so the last time we entered
Chang'an donated the salt mine to the Protector. Not only did he make good friends with the Protector, but he was also able to borrow a knife to kill people. That's an old fox..."
The third master interrupted impatiently: "Don't talk such nonsense, just ask what should we do now?"
The scholar was not annoyed, and said with a smile: "There must not be a grain of salt in Lizhou leaked out without the hands of the third master, otherwise the elders of the third master's family may have objections to the third master."
The third master's eyes were cold and he didn't answer.
The scholar continued: "There is another point. There are floods in the south of the Yangtze River, constant banditry, and chaos along the coast. Salt cannot be transported. Not to mention the lack of salt in Chang'an, there will be a salt shortage in the whole world. It won't be long before the price of salt will skyrocket. I would like to suggest three
Don't do anything now, wait until they mine it and prepare to transport it away, kill people and silence them, and die without any evidence, just pick up a batch of salt for nothing, and then transport it to Chang'an, you will definitely make a lot of money."
"Hahaha, good, you are worthy of being my aide, this plan is very good." The third master was overjoyed.
A cold man suddenly raised his hand towards Third Master and solemnly reminded him: "Third Master, after all, we are the Protector of the Country. Once we trace him in the future, it will be very troublesome."
The third master was not stupid, he nodded and looked at the scholar.
The scholar looked full of wisdom and smiled nonchalantly: "I heard that the bandits in Niufushan are having a hard time. As long as we let the news out, we will definitely be tempted and let them take the lead. Let's have an oriole behind us. Then the third master will lead the troops.
If you go up there, you can still get credit for suppressing the bandits. As for the salt, find a place to hide it, and then let the outside world know that the rescue is not enough, and the heroes of Niufushan will transport it away first. The third master will lead the troops to Funiu Mountain again.
If you kill that group of bandits in one pot, you can make another fortune. The bandits in Funiu Mountain have been around for several years and they must have a lot of money. As for the salt, just say that they haven't found it. Who can do anything?"
"Hahaha, okay, this is a good idea. I am still the commander-in-chief of Lizhou Prefecture. I am in charge of two thousand soldiers and horses in Lizhou. What are the little bandits? This is a great plan, but you have to calculate every step carefully and make no mistakes.
We can't leave any excuses, let's discuss it carefully." The third master said excitedly, his triangular eyes flashing with greed.
…
Deep in the mountains, in a big pit.
Everything was quiet, snoring rose and fell, and piles of bonfires danced, licking the night and illuminating the surrounding area.
In a cave, Qin Huaidao sat by the bonfire with his eyes closed and meditative. His mind was filled with lotus flowers, and his smiles and smiles were warm and heartwarming. Gradually, the figure of Li Xueyan appeared in his mind, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Su Dingfang was standing guard nearby. More than 300 miners were outside. If something happened, the consequences would be disastrous. The village guarding team was divided into two and took turns to stand guard. No one was allowed to approach easily.
After squinting for a while, Qin Huaidao felt no sleepiness and motioned to Su Dingfang to come and sit down. The two chatted for a while. Qin Huaidao changed the subject and whispered: "It seems there is no danger here, but you can't be careless. Two teams are arranged to disperse around every day."
, to see who comes over to peek, and announce to the public that they are going to get game, fruits, etc."
"Understood." Su Dingfang solemnly agreed. As a soldier, he naturally understood the importance of scouts.
The two chatted for a while about the upcoming mining issues and ate some barbecue. Qin Huaidao felt sleepy, so he lay down by the campfire and fell asleep.
Early the next morning, Qin Huaidao was awakened by the noise.
After eating something casually, Qin Huaidao came to the big pit outside the cave and saw many people carrying four huge trees and lowering them to the bottom of the pit. When he looked up, he saw that they were iron birches with extremely hard wood. This kind of tree material
It is hard and usually used to make axles, etc., but now it is suitable for use as load-bearing columns.
The wood was as thick as a man's arms, and the hole on the stone platform had not yet been dug. Once the hole was dug, the iron birch wood was put in as a stake, and it was absolutely stable. Qin Huaidao was completely relieved.
One day later, four large holes were dug out on the stone platform. The iron birch wood was put in and erected. Then small stones were used to fill the surrounding gaps to stabilize the wood. The carpenters began to connect other wood, and the scaffolding was erected in less than an hour.
OK, looks very sturdy.
When the cave was being dug on the stone platform, someone was building a wheel on the ground, which was completed almost at the same time as the scaffolding. At Qin Huaidao's request, everyone tied up a stone weighing hundreds of kilograms with a thick hemp rope and easily pulled it up through the rollers on the scaffolding.
The scaffolding and the scaffolding were then lifted to the ground with no signs of loosening. The experiment was successful and everyone cheered.
Those who mined rock salt also cheered, which meant that everyone did not have to risk their lives climbing rope ladders.
No one wants to die if they can live.
Everything was ready to start mining and refining salt. The carpenters finished their work and were ready to go back. However, Qin Huaidao left everyone behind and asked everyone to help burn charcoal. Of course, the wages were not included.
In an era of underdeveloped science and technology, if you want to purify table salt and remove impurities, charcoal has a strong ability to absorb impurities and purify. It is the best material and indispensable.
When they were offered wages, the carpenters happily agreed.
Mineral salt is different from sea salt. It can be made by direct sunlight. It needs to be boiled into brine, then evaporated and then fried. The refined salt is called green salt. It also contains certain impurities, but it does not affect the consumption.
Production requires a large amount of firewood, which is time-consuming, labor-intensive and costly.
Qin Huaidao did not interfere at this stage and allowed everyone to cook the salt.
After the first batch of green salt was made, the charcoal was burned and brought over, and stored in a separate cave. This cave was classified as a forbidden area and no outsiders were allowed to approach.
Qin Huaidao asked Su Dingfang and a group of villagers to make two earth stoves in the cave, put in a large pot, poured the green salt that everyone had refined into a large pot, put in the underground river water to melt it again, and then made another
Put a thick layer of finely chopped charcoal into the wooden barrel with a partition at the bottom. Pour the melted salt brine into it, purify it, filter it and flow it into another large pot. Continue to boil the dry water, leaving only fine snowflake salt.
Everyone was stunned when they saw this magical scene, staring at the snowflakes and salt with incredible expressions.
Su Dingfang picked up some with his fingers, tasted it, and exclaimed: "It's so salty, and has no other taste at all. Young Master, what a trick, are we done?"
The team members protecting the village were also eager to try it, but they didn't dare. They all looked at Qin Huaidao, full of desire.
Qin Huaidao understood everyone's thoughts and said with a smile: "Try them all."