I was a priest in the city-state era

Chapter 127 White Gold Named Salt
In this era, the land of ancient Greece was barren and minerals were scarce.

However, the natural environment in Greece allowed the ancient Greeks to plant olive trees to obtain liquid gold—olive oil—and to use seawater to dry salt to obtain white gold—salt.

Salt is not only a condiment for cooking and seasoning, but also can be used to marinate food to prolong the preservation time of food.

In human history, because table salt is difficult to obtain, the value of salt is very precious, and the price of salt can even reach a catty of salt for a catty of gold.

Before precious metals became the common currency of mankind, salt was a hard currency like food.

Even in the era of the Roman Empire more than 1000 years later, people would use salt as salaries and rewards for soldiers, and buy a hundred catties of slaves with one hundred catties of salt.

600 years ago, salt was more expensive than olive oil.

Seeing the puzzled expression on Aries' face, Roy said in the same puzzled way.

"Aries, you don't know what salt is? Salt is that salty white grain."

Hearing Roy's explanation, Aries suddenly said.

"It turns out that the priest is talking about white stones! Could it be that in the hometown of the priest, you call that kind of white stone salt?"

"White stone—"

People in this era actually regard salt as a white stone.

Roy finally understood why, according to ancient legends, the sea goddess' saltification power was regarded as petrification power.

Because there is no word for salt in this era, people in this era can only refer to the power of salt as petrochemical power.

"Aries! The white stone you are talking about should be the salt I am talking about. Now I am going to teach you how to dry the salt. As long as you do what I say, you can turn the sea water into a lot of salt."

Aries widened his eyes in shock and said.

"My lord priest, can you really make salt like making paper and cement? White stone—salt is a gift from the sea to us, because we can only pick up some salt blocks at the seaside. Although salt can be used for seasoning , but we all collect and store salt, because when food is scarce, we can exchange salt with Phoenician merchants for more food than olive oil.”

Of course, Roy knew that people living in coastal areas in this era could only pick up some naturally formed salt blocks by the sea.

So I can make salt by myself, which completely subverts the three views and cognition of Aries.

"Aries! Since you know the value of salt is so precious, you should know that the method of making salt cannot be exposed. I want 50 of you to mark out a salt drying field that no one can approach, and then I will teach you how to dry salt. You We must patrol and protect the salt fields day and night, and we must not let anyone see the secret of our salt.”

Aries nodded heavily, and then asked Roy again.

"My lord priest, can seawater really turn into salt? Salt is a kind of white stone, and seawater is water. Why does seawater turn into stone?"

Looking at Aries like a curious baby, Roy could only speak impatiently.

"Sea water turns into salt because the great goddess Metis helps us with her divine power."

"In other words, it is the divine power of the goddess Metis that turns sea water into salt."

"That's right!"

Seeing that Aries was no longer curious, Roy said with a sigh of relief.

"Before I teach you how to dry salt, you first move the [-] catties of grain back to the Acropolis."

"Follow your orders!"

After Aries finished speaking loudly, he took the lead to carry a bag of grain.

After the fifty teenagers following Roy moved [-] catties of grain back to the warehouse in the Acropolis, Roy took them to find a beach suitable for drying salt.

Seawater sun-drying salt needs to choose large flat seaside tidal flats to build salt fields in areas with mild climate and sufficient sunlight.

Salt pans are generally divided into two parts - evaporation ponds and crystallization ponds.

Firstly, seawater is introduced into the evaporation pool, and the water is evaporated to a certain extent by the sun, and then poured into the crystallization pool to continue to be exposed to the sun, the seawater will become a saturated solution of table salt, and the table salt will gradually be precipitated after being exposed to the sun.

Roy found a beach suitable for drying salt according to the principle of salt drying in sea water, and then dug evaporation pools and crystallization pools with Aries.

After digging ditches to introduce seawater into the evaporation pool, Roy said to Aries.

"Companions! You are my trusted followers, so I entrust you with the task of protecting the salt fields. You must patrol the salt fields day and night, so that no one can discover the secret of our salt. In return, I I will reward each of you with ten catties of salt."

Hearing what Roy said, all fifty teenagers were very excited.

Because one catty of salt is equivalent to at least ten catties of olive oil and fifty catties of grain, and ten catties of salt is equivalent to one hundred catties of olive oil and five hundred catties of grain.

As long as you spend a few days guarding the salt drying field to complete the drying of salt, you can get five hundred catties of grain as a reward. Priest Loy is indeed the most generous person in the world.

"Please don't worry, my lord priest, we will definitely guard the salt field without sleep."

"We won't let anyone near the salt fields."

"If anyone wants to forcibly approach Lord Priest's salt field, we will definitely kill him."

Hearing the promise of the followers, Roy nodded in satisfaction.

"Now that the leader of Pandion is not here, I am the supreme ruler of the city of Athens, so you don't need to have any scruples. Even if the little leaders of the city of Athens want to break into the salt field, you can kill them first and then tell me, I guarantee you Not only will you not be punished, but you will also be rewarded by me. And I will not only reward you once, I will give you salt every month as a reward."

Every month, you can get salt equivalent to [-] catties of grain as a reward——

Aries and the others froze for a moment, then shouted loudly.

"Long live the priest!"

"I will always be loyal to the great priest of Loi."

"I want to dedicate my sister to the priest."

After Roy returned to the Acropolis alone, standing on the edge of the Acropolis overlooking the entire city of Athens, Roy couldn't help frowning.

If Roy is now the supreme ruler of the city of Athens, Roy can arrange for some people to become sun-salt workers.

But now, in order to prevent others from mastering the method of drying salt in sea water, Roy can only let his followers secretly dry salt.

"It seems that I must find an opportunity to seize the ruling power of Athens as soon as possible. Only when I become the king of Athens can I free my hands and feet to develop the city of Athens. After all, even if Pandion becomes my father-in-law, I don't want to work hard for others Make a wedding dress."

Pandion has a stable authority as the leader of the Athenian tribe for 20 years. Even if Roy is a priest with theocratic power, he cannot use theocratic power to overthrow Pandion's rule.

Therefore, the only way for Roy to overthrow Pandion's rule is to seize the city of Athens by force.

"I am now not only a real hero [Enemy of a Hundred Men], but also 350 soldiers. Just smuggle 250 Phoenicians from Eubia Island, and I have 600 soldiers. I sent Perseus My eldest sister will be given to Captain Pallas as his wife, and as long as Captain Pallas and his subordinates remain neutral, I will be more than half sure of capturing the city of Athens."

At this time, Pallas didn't know that because he accepted the princess that Roy gave him, Roy had already planned to make him betray Pandion.

(End of this chapter)