Princes fight for hegemony.

What does it have to do with the ordinary and humble salt workers? They just hunched over and boiled salt for a bite of food in exchange for a small amount of grain.

The height of Jiechi Salt Well.

A Qin Army soldier is tying a Qin Army flag to the derrick. From now on, Li Yuan has ordered a group of soldiers to be stationed in Jiechi to protect the safety of Yanchi, and the soldier who is tying the flag is obviously one of them.

one.

The north wind howls in December.

After blowing the flag loudly, Li Yuan raised his head and glanced at the Zhongtiao Mountain where the sun was setting. He suddenly felt a desolate feeling like a sunset in the desert. This feeling was very strange, because the Jiechi area is in the hinterland of the Central Plains.

It's not in a vast, sparsely populated desert.

"Sima, how many young men can Hedong County recruit now, and how many of them know how to collect and cook salt?" Li Yuan asked while inspecting the damage to the salt well.

Sima Yin officially took over the responsibility of Hedong County Governor from Su Jiao years ago. Compared with Su Jiao, a rough man, Sima Yin, who was born in Hedong, is obviously more qualified for this position. Similarly, he is also more concerned about the situation in Hedong County than Su Jiao.

The foreign monk Su Jiao knew better.

"Marquis Wu, Hedong has been devastated by wars for many times. Ten houses in the territory are empty, and many refugees are stranded in Guanzhong and refuse to return. As for the salt workers who collect and cook salt, many of them were killed by the rebels in those days, and very few survived. This is

It is really difficult to find it at the moment." Sima Yin answered honestly.

Sima Yin, who was familiar with Li Yuan's temperament, knew that Li Yuan had already obtained information from the Military Intelligence Department about the real situation in the county. If he didn't tell the truth now, he was afraid that Li Yuan would order his removal.

.

"Over at the military manufacturing side, why don't you call in some experienced craftsmen first? No matter what, we need to put up the shelves of the salt farm first, otherwise, it will remain abandoned here and it won't look good." Li Yuan ordered.

"But. This salt mining is a technical and delicate job. The rough men under my command who are used to using sledgehammers may not be able to do it..." Sima Yin said with a look of embarrassment. The status of military manufacturing is very important in the Qin State.

, and every military craftsman has a complete system of support, especially those skilled craftsmen, who are hidden as treasures by Sima Yin.

"Sima. If the people in your army are rough people, then our Qin Dynasty will really have no one. There is no room for negotiation on this matter. The Yanchi side must be restored. Otherwise, we will always be controlled by the Chu State. What if?

After a day of fighting, cutting off salt is a big deal." Li Yuan said seriously.

The salt currently needed by the Qin State mainly comes from two directions. The most important one is the sea salt from the Chu region. Several large salt fields located at the junction of Qi and Chu are the places that produce the most sea salt. The Chu salt uses the traditional "Susha"

Su Sha's method of "boiling the sea into salt" is also respected by the world as the salt sect.

The second source is the well salt in the Bashu area. This basin between the mountains has accumulated salt due to the topography and landforms. The Ba and Shu people have been digging salt wells here since ancient times. The Basin area is also in the south.

It is an extremely important material, and its existence also gave birth to the splendid ancient Shu civilization.

Obviously, the supply channels in these two directions are far from enough for the current Qin State. Needless to say, Chu salt is prepared for a rainy day. The Chu State now needs Qin and will not cut off the supply of salt, but if the two

The relationship between the two countries has changed. With the style of Xiang Yu and Xiang Tuo, the possibility of breaking off the salt is very high.

As for well salt, the main reason is that the technical difficulty of mining is very high. Ba people often have to dig underground to mine salt. Sometimes when a landslide occurs, people and salt may be buried underneath. What is more critical is the mining of well salt.

The quantity is not high, and in some places the output is not proportional to the labor cost.

Including the cost of transporting salt from Bashu to Guanzhong, the value of a load of salt has more than ten times increased after this trip. In comparison, if the Qin State can resume the mining of Jiechichi salt,

Then the cost of salt will be greatly reduced, at least in the transportation process, the loss will be much smaller.

As they talked along the way, the two people were getting closer and closer to the center of the salt pond. Through a ray of sunlight, Li Yuan could see several bones lying on the cold ground inside the dilapidated shed. It was probably because of the salt.

Gong was killed by the Hedong Army and his body was left in the wilderness.

"Come here, clean up all the bones, and then find a place to bury them. Then put up a stone tablet and write it as the tomb of the salt workers of Da Qin. In addition, send an order to General Gan Yong to leave a group of soldiers in the solution pool.

As a dedicated force to protect this water area." Li Yuan thought for a while, then turned back to the soldiers who were following him.

"promise!"

All the soldiers took the order and left.

Restoring the production of salt in the pond. The most critical thing is to form a team of salt workers with skills and experience. Li Yuan invited Sima Yin to come here, hoping to allocate some craftsmen from the army to participate in the supervision of the construction of salt wells.

Zhonglai. As for how to erect the salt well in the future, Li Yuan has not considered it yet. At the same time, he also wants to hear more about Sima Yin, a local snake.

"Marquis Wu, you can't even find a mouse in this deserted salt well. Isn't it too much to leave a soldier from a military lord here?" Sima Yin accompanied Li Yuan and asked in confusion.

"What? Sima, tell me, if these salt wells resume production, and then the white salt piles up into hills, can this team of generals protect this place from bandits?" Li Yuan looked at Sima.

He took a look and asked calmly.

"Bandits, in this world of Great Qin, which bandit dares to attack our Great Qin Army, unless they are impatient?" Sima Yinqiang said with a smile.

He somewhat understood the hidden meaning in Li Yuan's words. King Sima Mao of Yin sent troops to plunder, and even the poor salt workers were not spared. During his short reign of two years, Hedong County was once prosperous.

This fertile soil that gave birth to the five hegemons of the Jin Dynasty in the Spring and Autumn Period has become a deserted ruin. The present and past of Jiechi are just a true portrayal of a place in Hedong County.

Quwo, Xintian, Jinyang and other big cities in Hedong County were turned into dust in the wars. As a wealthy family in Hedong County, the Sima family had a great responsibility for allowing Sima Mao to bring disaster to the place.

"Sima, you are not only a member of the Sima family now, you are also the governor of Hedong County of Great Qin and a great military architect. I hope that you can see the long-term future of Qin State and see that Qin State has truly become this country.

This is the day of the most powerful country in our time." Li Yuan took a long breath and slowly expressed his expectations to the sunset.

Become a person who sticks to his word.

In fact, it is very lonely. Most of the time, you can’t even find anyone to talk to your heart. As long as you are the person beside your pillow, you can’t predict whether she will whisper your words to herself after waking up.

Tell others in words.

Sima Yin was also one of the early followers of Li Yuan. Although he gradually faded away from the front line of the Qin army, Sima Yin's ability in military building and governance was once again reflected. This time he went to Hedong County

As a county guard, the Sima family behind him has contributed a lot.

Li Yuan was somewhat wary of this aristocratic family that lasted from the late Qin Dynasty to the Three Kingdoms of the Later Han Dynasty and the two Jin Dynasties. Not to mention the celebrities of the Sima family, it was the snobbish behavior of Sima Mao before him and Sima Yin later. Li Yuan was very concerned about this.

The impression of a family that has been passed down for hundreds of years is not good.

Therefore, he wanted to beat Sima Yin's side to urge him to assume his position and not be confused by the so-called blood relationship of the aristocratic family.

"Wuhou, don't worry, I'm sane. Those old guys in the family want to use me as a spearman. Sima Mao is dead, and I, Sima Yin, will never be deceived. However, if Wuhou wants to do it in a short time,

If we want to restore the salt production in the Jie Pond, we will be short of both funds and manpower. The best way right now is to involve the Sima family. Someone can provide people and money can provide money. As long as the salt well resumes producing salt, our difficulties will be solved.

Most of it." Sima Yin nodded solemnly and admonished.

His words were extremely solemn. Li Yuan could see Sima Yin's determination and trust in his eyes, and from what he said just now, it was revealed that Sima Yin was fighting for the state affairs of the Qin Dynasty.

A sincere thought.

"Sima, as you said, let's work together once and let the old antiques of the Sima family see that the current Da Qin is no longer the plaything they imagined." Li Yuan said with a cheerful smile.

Salt is the lifeblood of a country.

If a person eats without salt, he will feel weak and dizzy within a few days. After that, he will fall ill and die.

Li Yuan and Sima Yin hit it off immediately, and they unanimously set their sights on the Sima family, a wealthy family in Hedong. The wealthy family closest to Jiechi was the Sima family. Some of them were wealthy, so they were the most suitable targets. What's more, if Li Yuan

If you want to take advantage of Sima's idea, even the excuses are ready.

It was an ironclad fact that Sima Mao led his troops to destroy the Jiechi Salt Well. Now, it is only natural that Sima pays the money and people to restore the salt well.

In the ensuing negotiations with the Sima family, Li Yuan and Sima Yin played a good role and a bad role, which made the old guys of the Sima family very angry. They wanted to leave it alone, but they were a little worried about Qin's revenge.

What's more, once the salt well resumes production, they are also very tempted by the huge benefits it will bring.

Of course, Li Yuan would never hand over such an important salt-producing place to the Sima family. His bottom line was to give the Sima family a certain amount of shares, so that the Sima family could get some benefits from the development of the salt well. This

It is also to better introduce merchant capital in the future and contribute to the great cause of Qin's infrastructure construction.

Jiechi Salt Well.

It was Qin's first attempt to restore the economy and invest in basic industries. Li Yuan hoped that under the cooperative development model between the Sima family and Qin, other big merchants could quickly follow up and set off a great movement in various counties.
Chapter completed!