Recently, there are some unstable things outside Yancheng Port.↖

The unstable factor comes not from the sea, but from the inland areas adjacent to it. The East Coast is located in the Salt Marsh District, a small settlement in the Salt Marsh District (located in the later town of Medanos, named after the salt desert area to the west) - a small town clearly stated in the Treaty of Valladolid - a group of Tverches came nearby. These tall Indians (generally above 1.8 meters) ruthlessly expelled some small clans of Crandy who depended on the East Coast, and then took salt nearby and hunted. Although they did not seem to occupy this place for a long time, and they only came once a week or two, they still caused a certain degree of panic to the residents of the East Coast who settled here and made a living by collecting salt.

In desperation, Yancheng Port had to send people to build a circle of tall brick walls outside their settlements, and also set up 6 light artillery pieces on the walls. With these weapons that can be called killing weapons, the local salt harvesters were slightly calmer and continued to mine a large amount of salt locally.

Shao Yuanyi hired several Gao Qiao people as guards in Yancheng Port, and then followed the sandy and soil highway to Yanshan Fort. There were swamps and lakes of all sizes on both sides of the road, and the north and south sides almost extended by dozens of kilometers in width. Since the swamp area had just passed the rainy winter at this time, the ponds of all sizes were filled with water - unfortunately, most of these waters were saltwater or half-salty water, and only a few were fresh water.

The colors of the lakes are different, some are red and some are blue (reflecting the sky). The lakes are full of flocks of flamingos. They feed on crustacean insects or some other small animals in the swamp. Occasionally, some ostrich, swamp deer and other animals come to lick the salt. But they are rarely close to this highway where heavy carriages often pass back and forth.

With the sufficient rain, the salt crust (silt covered with salt) that were originally formed in summer has melted at this time, and the foul-stenched gray-black silt is everywhere. A large amount of snow-white salt is piled up by the salt lake. It looks so white and flat, with a thickness of dozens of centimeters. Under the water surface in the center of the salt lake, the thickness of the salt layer exceeds one meter, which is full of wealth!

According to sampling and testing by Wang Dali and others assigned by the Ministry of Geology and Minerals, the salt purity produced in the salt marsh area near Yanshan Fort that stretches for dozens of kilometers is very high. For example, the pure salt area near the salt lake without sodium sulfate is almost unnecessary to purify the salt. Except for 0.26% gypsum and 0.22% soil, the rest are basically sodium chloride, with an astonishing purity.

"The salt here is piled up here, but except for people from home who come to purchase it, the foreign market is still blank now. They either use the salt collected by the Dutch from the salt lake in Curacao, or use the sea salt made by the Portuguese in Cape Verde." A Corps Fortress cadre who went along the way to Yanshan Fort complained, "We have to change this unfavorable situation, either find a way to sell salt abroad. Or find a way to develop the salt chemical industry, otherwise we will never be rich."

"How do you solve the drinking water problem in the salt marsh area?" Shao Yuanyi suddenly remembered this problem. So he asked. He was really curious about the place where there were salt lakes and salt deserts. How did the workers living there drink water?

"Dig a well, build an artificial reservoir, and find freshwater lakes in the wild..." The academic officer was stunned for a moment, and then quickly replied without thinking: "The well water is not always salty. The well water dug in many places can be drunk, but it is just a little saltier than the local water on the east bank. The artificial reservoir is very simple, with a filtration function, and is currently our main source of drinking water. Because of the cleanliness, these waters either come from rainfall or from streams and streams that flood in spring. In the season when the snow melts in the Andes, the water flowing in these streams will transform from a saltwater state to a freshwater state; in addition, there are freshwater lakes in the wild. The same reason is the same. There are even some aquatic animals living in these lakes, which is quite magical."

"Especially in the rainy winter and spring season, the saltiness in these lakes is very low and can be drunk." The scholar-soldier cadre introduced to Shao Yuanyi incessantly. Perhaps the men he usually manages are a group of thick-blanks - not very good chat subjects - so he has a very good conversation at the moment, and he continued: "But be careful when going out this season, it is best to wear a helmet or hat, because hail is very frequent. Last year, there were several hails, one of which even killed many animals foraging outside. I picked up the corpses of 25 ostrichs and 7 deer outside the walls of Yanshan Fort - all of which were killed by hail - in short, in this magical place, everything must be careful."

The group continued to move forward, and the number of lakes on both sides of the road gradually increased. The scholar-soldier cadre pointed at Shao Yuanyi that there were sand and gravel on the shore of the lake, and the lakeside was generally freshwater. The lakeside was definitely a layer of clay at the bottom, and the reeds around it were particularly dense. Guinea pigs, ostrichs, wild ducks, swamp deer, foxes and even lions would move here; as for the lakeside with stenched black mud, it was mostly a saltwater lake, and the bottom of the lake was definitely a thick layer of crystal salt. There were generally few plants next to it. Except for flamingos who enjoyed catching insects and eating them, few animals would come here to move.

"Is the threat from the Indians nearby? I mean the Tverches. I heard that their attitude was very unfriendly and expelled some of the Crandy tribes that depended on us." Looking at the salt marsh area full of wealth, Shao Yuanyi's heart gradually became active, and at this time, he was more concerned about the security issues on this land.

"Yes, these savages!" When talking about this, the young scholars changed into a ferocious expression: "That Tverche tribe is a large tribe, and there are horses. I really don't know where they got it. They drove out a small village of Crandy living in the south of the salt marsh area, killed four Crandy men, snatched three cows and ten sheep, and sent people to us to warn us."

"What are you warning?" Shao Yuanyi was a little surprised.

"Warning us to encroach on their land." The cadre of the school soldiers said indifferently, "We took out the Treaty of Valladolid, but they did not agree. They said that the Spaniards wanted to buy land north of the Colorado River and up to the coast of Mar del Plata, but they did not agree. In other words, the Spanish unilaterally declared sovereignty over the land, which they thought was inappropriate, so they asked us to withdraw from the land or pay them enough compensation."

"Pay these savages? Do you agree?" Shao Yuanyi asked again.

"Of course it's impossible." The cadre of the school soldier curled his lips and said, "In fact, although the Kingdom of Spain does not have a settlement nearby, and even no settlers, it does not hinder their country's sovereignty over the land. As for the Tverches, they are barbarians, do you think they have the right to occupy this vast and fertile territory?"

Shao Yuanyi was silent when he heard this. Yes, with the current trend of thought in the East Coast, it would be fine if the Tverches defected to him. If they dared to oppose the East Coast, the outcome would obviously be extremely tragic. The East Coast people did not recognize their ownership of this land at all. On the contrary, although the Spaniards did not even have a settler here, they were civilized people and old colonial countries. There was no doubt that they had the sovereignty of this land. Things in the world were often so ironic.

Of course, the people of the East Coast are not fools who are ignorant. If they have a tragedy with the Spanish in the future, they might admit without shame that the Teverche is the legal owner of this land, and then leave Spain aside, happily purchase large areas of land from these barbarians at insignificant prices such as hundreds of cows and hundreds of horses. One thing is two different views, two completely opposite operating methods, and the wonderful use lies in one mind.

Yanshan Fort arrived soon, Shao Yuanyi and others rode their horses outside the fort wall. Some farmers were busy here. The academic officers introduced that these people were ploughing the land and they would sow sorghum here next month - a high-yield crop that is drought-resistant, salt-alkali-resistant, and barren-resistant. Shao Yuanyi felt that these dozens of farmers were probably the few people who make a living by growing grain in Yanshan Fort. They also built some wooden fences under the fort wall and raised some ostrich and sheep in captivity. The ostrich provides eggs - a three-toed ostrich egg is equivalent to 11 eggs and is rich in nutrients - the sheep provides meat, leather and hair, and with vegetables and sorghum they grow themselves, so life is not so sad.

"The representatives of the Army and Nantie Company are coming. They are holding a meeting in the township government. Township Mayor Wang asked you to attend the meeting as soon as you come back." Soon a militia came over to notify the fellow scholars.

After hearing this, the academic soldiers cadre tidied up their hats, then turned to Shao Yuanyi apologized and said: "Sorry, my friend, I think I have to go to a meeting. It is probably a military meeting. The Army and the Nantie Company Road Protection Team will be dispatched together to fight against these savages who threaten us, and also capture some slaves and send them to the construction site of the Nanchuang Liangyang Railway. Okay, let's not say much, I'll go to the meeting first, goodbye!"

The words of the scholar-soldier cadres revealed a lot of information. Shao Yuanyi felt a little puzzled. It seemed that the local people would not tolerate any provocative behavior from the barbarians. A thunderous attack was about to come. This was good news for Shao Yuanyi. After all, if he wanted to invest and develop business in Yancheng Port in the future, a safe environment would definitely be necessary.

On October 10, 1650, after staying in Yanshan Fort for a brief two days, Shao Yuanyi rushed back to Yancheng Port under the escort of Gao Qiao people, preparing to return to the local area - by the way, he also took Anna's two children to their grandfather to live for a while. (To be continued, please search for Astronomy, the novel is better and faster!
Chapter completed!