Prime Minister

Chapter 691 Salt Well
The Qingtang salt well near Tongwei produces more than [-] catties of salt every year, and hundreds of catties of salt are produced every day.

Zhang Yue once inspected the Qingtang salt well, but saw that it was a large shallow well.

The method of extracting salt in this way is very backward, and the method of digging is very clumsy, crude, and consumes a lot of manpower, material resources and financial resources.

Such a shallow well does not solve the problem of well cementing, and there is no way to obtain deep brine in the ground.

Zhang Yue remembered that the salt wells in Sichuan in the Song Dynasty were more than [-] million catties a year, and they had begun to give up the way of using such large shallow wells.

Su Shi once wrote an article titled "Theory of Shu Salt", in which he wrote that 'Since the Qingli Emperor, Shu has created the 'Zhuo Tong'.Digging the mountain with a round knife is as big as a bucket, and if it is tens of feet deep, the Xianquan spring will rise from it.

That is to say, during the Qingli period, Chuanshu invented Zhuotongjing.

As the name of Zhuotong Well means, the mouth of the well is only as big as a bamboo tube, but it can be dug down tens of meters, or even hundreds of meters deep. At that time, not only Su Shi, but even Fan Zhen also highly praised this well.

After Zhang Yue was stationed in Xizhou, he learned that the Tibetan tribe of the Qing and Tang Dynasties already owned a salt well, and every battle revolved around the salt well.Zhang Yue immediately searched for salt workers from Sichuan.

After that, Zhang Yue occupied several salt wells in Muzheng. After the two parties bargained, Zhang Yue finally gave Muzheng fifty guanxi a month to settle the matter.

In fact, Zhang Yue despises the mere salt wells, but what he really wants is the salt source near these salt wells.

Then Zhang Yue invited experienced salt well craftsmen from Sichuan and Shu to dig wells in Qingtang.

The well craftsman is a five or sixty-year-old man named Xu Ada. He has been drilling wells for half his life, and now he is invited to Qingtang.

From Hanzhong in Sichuan to Shaanxi, you have to cross the Qinling Mountains. There are many roads, such as the famous Ziwu Valley Road, which was later called the Litchi Road because Concubine Yang Guifei wanted to eat lychees.

But if you don’t take this road, but go to Qingtang, you can take the Qishan Road. This road is more famous, because it is widely known because Zhuge Wuhou struggled for seven out of Qishan in the second half of his life.

The end of Qishan Road is in Tianshui County, which is today's Qinzhou City.

Zhang Yue sent people to take Xu Ada to Qinzhou, and asked Peng Jingyi to arrange chariots and horses, and sent soldiers to escort him all the way to Weiyuan Fort.

Zhang Yue also went out of the city to greet Xu Ada in person to show his importance to Xu Ada.

Zhang Yue entertained Xu Ada for a meal, and at the banquet Xu Ada suddenly felt that it was not easy to get salt in Sichuan.

Xu A Avenue: "Qilongtu, the salt pond of Shanxi Jieyan, the green and white salt of Dangxiang, can be eaten after drying, and the salt of Huaiyang is taken from the sea, and it can also be salted after drying. In this world, only Shu The salt is the most difficult to obtain, because it is hidden deep underground, and it is impossible to obtain salt without digging salt wells and laborious brine mining.”

"However, the officials of the imperial court did not think about salt. It is easy to turn sea salt into salt, but it is difficult for the people in the middle of Sichuan to obtain salt. They want to expropriate salt wells without understanding the pain of the people. This is what the old man can't bear. It's insignificant, but what Longtu said can be heard by heaven, please take pity on me and the people in Sichuan!"

After Xu Ada finished speaking, Wang Hou and Huang Haoyi, who were accompanying the banquet, were all very upset.

We invited you to come to Qingtang from the middle of Shu, but to dig the salt wells here, but why do you mention these?Is it necessary for us to evacuate officials and horses for you?

Besides, we have nothing to do with the affairs of central Sichuan.

Zhang Yue motioned his subordinates not to say too much, and then said: "Old man, Zhang has been aware of the disadvantages of Sichuan salt for a long time, official salt is hard to buy, and private salt is hard to sell, so the common people eat light food for a long time, so that there are white-haired boys everywhere. .”

"If the ban on digging wells and salt can be abolished to benefit the common people, that would be a good thing!"

After hearing this, Xu Ada said gratefully: "Long Tu has a heart."

Zhang Yue appointed Huang Haoyi to be in charge of the salt well, and the next day Huang Haoyi and Xu Ada inspected the Weiyuan salt well.

The two walked and chatted all the way, Huang Haoyi asked: "Why is the water from the well dug shallow and salty?"

Xu A Dao said: "In the universe, the light ones mostly live on the top, and the turbid ones mostly live on the bottom. The light is still light, so it is above the salt. Just as the mountains are higher than the rivers, and the rivers are higher than the sea, so the water in the rivers is also fresh, and the water in the sea is also salty. .”

Huang Haoyi nodded suddenly.

Xu Ada looked at the salt wells dug by the Qingtang and Tibetan tribes in the mountains and shook his head: "You see, these are shallow wells, but they are only a few feet deep. Even if they go down more than ten feet, they are mostly light salt. Salt will come out only when it is more than thirty feet."

Huang Haoyi thought about Xu Ada's just words and suddenly said: "It is true, the deeper you dig, the saltier the brine you get."

Xu Ada grabbed a handful of fresh salt water from the salt well, nodded and praised: "Good salt! If you can produce salt in large quantities, you can go to Sichuan and Sichuan!"

Huang Haoyi clapped his hands and said, "That's right, Sichuan and Shu are short of salt, if we can sell the surplus salt from Weiyuan to Sichuan and Shu, this is also a way of making money! So what are you waiting for, let's dig salt wells immediately!"

Xu A Dao: "Don't worry! Choose Yanmai first! If you can't choose Yanmai, everything will be in vain."

Immediately, Xu Ada and Huang Haoyi circled in the mountains, and finally walked to a tunnel and said: "This is good, here is Sanniu facing Maling. If you don't come out of the nobleman, you will come out of the salt well."

Huang Haoyi slapped his legs and laughed loudly: "There are no nobles here, it must be Yanjing."

A few days later, Zhang Yue dispatched more than a hundred stove men and well craftsmen from the city.

Xu Ada first chose the source of salt, and ordered people to dig a well with an iron awl first. When the hole was as big as a bowl, he used the hard bamboo hollowed out in the middle to tie it with iron and then drove it in with an iron awl.

During this period, it will take several days of effort, until the hard bamboo tube is pierced through twenty or thirty feet, it is for big eyes.

The function of the big eyes is to isolate the shallow fresh water.

Afterwards, a hard rod is used to drill the well down from the bamboo tube. This drilling uses a special first-class round file with a straight blade inside. The round file is lifted high by more than a dozen salt craftsmen. Fall again.

Use the gravity and impact force of the round file to crush the rock at the bottom of the well, and then go down for another twenty or thirty feet, which is the small eye.

When they hit here, the tubemaker used a special salt cart to draw brine from the well.

Zhang Yue came here to inspect several times, because Yanjing was close to Muzheng's land, Zhang Yue ordered a hundred foreign troops to guard here, and built a beacon tower.

When the brine came out, the beacon tower had already been repaired, and straw sheds had been built above several Zhuotong wells.

Xu Ada, Huang Haoyi and others were all smiling. Xu Ada personally took out a bowl of freshly brewed brine. Zhang Yue took a sip and found it very salty.

It was really much better than the light brine from shallow wells.

Xu Ada reported to Zhang Yue: "Look, Longtu, the brine from this well can produce more than three bowls of salt in one bucket, but the shallow well can't even produce a bowl of salt!"

Zhang Yuexi held the opponent's hand like a dead wood and said, "It's thanks to you, old man!"

After watching Zhuo Tsutsui, Zhang Yue sincerely felt the hard work and greatness of the working people in this era.

Zhang Yue finished complimenting Xu Ada, but Huang Haoyi was also standing behind him winking, vaguely hinting to Zhang Yue that his contribution is quite great, so why don't you give me a few compliments.

Seeing this scene, Zhang Yue couldn't help laughing.

As the saying goes, with a salt well in hand, I own the world.

Zhang Yue kept calling salt workers from Sichuan and Shu. Now the Zhuotong wells on the mountain are being dug continuously, and wooden sheds like enemy towers are constantly increasing. build up.

Everywhere you can see twisters sweating profusely, twisting the horn carts, throwing off their arms and spinning the wheels, sweat flowing from their faces and necks to their backs and arms. The salt bucket is placed between the well room and the kitchen room.

At the foot of the mountain, new salt pot houses are being built continuously. Large salt pots are set up, and firewood is piled up hand in hand. Hundreds of salt stoves are burning with green smoke all day long, floating on Niaoshu Mountain, covering them like a thick fog. The whole mountain range.

Seeing this scene, Zhang Yue felt sincerely.

Qingtang salt, known as Zhang salt in ancient times, was recorded as early as the pre-Qin period. Because it was produced in the Rong tribe, Zhou Li called it Rong salt, and because of its sweetness, it was also called Yi salt.

Later, this place fell into Tubo, so Zhangyan was abandoned, and now the scene of boiling salt has reappeared in Han soil.

Zhang Yue praised Huang Haoyi well, and the other party was indeed responsible for supervising salt this time.In addition to Huang Haoyi and Peng Jingyi, Lu Guang drafted documents beside Zhang Yue.

Zhang Yue and Lu Dafang had an old relationship, Han Jiang lost power, and after Lu Dafang was demoted, Lu Guang followed Zhang Yue.

Lu Guang has a good eye, and at the same time the article is well written, so Zhang Yue entrusts the document to the other party.

This person is also very hardworking, organizing the documents in an orderly manner.

Zhang Yue saw that this person could be used, so he entrusted him with some accounting matters, and the other party still managed it well.

Sometimes, in order to persuade farmers to mulberry, Zhang Yue often went to the fields in person, reclaimed wasteland with farm laborers and garrison troops, built water canals, and chatted with the soldiers after finishing the work.

At the same time, in view of the soil erosion in the lower reaches of the Weishui River, Zhang Yue and his soldiers planted trees all over the valley of the Weishui River.

Zhang Yue did many things by himself. Seeing that even the magistrate of the state went to the fields to cultivate in person, everyone had nothing to say, they were all working hard.

The entire Weiyuan Fort is a scene of prosperity.

The time has come to August, and Qingtang has officially entered autumn.

And news from the military newspapers kept coming from the Tongyuan Army. It turned out that Liang Yibu was not reconciled to the defeat of Tiandu Mountain, and decided to rebuild the Tiandu Army Supervision Department. When the foothold is not stable, regain Lanzhou and Huizhou, and then go straight to the Tongyuan Army.

After Guo Kui heard the news, he immediately reported the matter to the official's house, and asked all walks of life in Shaanxi to send elite soldiers to Qinfeng Road.

Guo Kui himself led 5000 troops to station in Gangu City, and Xiang Bao, the deputy commander of troops and horses, led another [-] troops to station in Tongwei.

At the same time, Gao Zunyu and the newly-appointed Qinfeng Road Economic and Strategic Appeasement Secretary Zouma accepted Li Xian to station [-] soldiers and horses in Dingxi City, while Wang Shao himself and General Wang Junwan led [-] troops to Tongyuan Army.

Even Zhang Yue, who is in Weiyuan Fort, can feel the tension of what is the imminent war.

Liang Yi, Prime Minister of the Xixia Kingdom, came with a large army, and there will be a big battle at that time.

And at this time, the negotiation between Zhang Yue and Mu Zheng just broke down.After learning about Lan Hui, who had sent troops from Xixia, Mu Zheng contacted the Fan tribes of Xihe and two prefectures to attack Weiyuan and Qingping Second Fort.

It has to be said that Mu Zheng grasped the timing very well.

(End of this chapter)