Han Zhen did not stay in Shouguang for long.

The purpose of coming here is mainly to rectify the Guangling salt affairs, and the inspection of Shouguang is just a side trip.

On the second day, he arranged for the remaining three officials, a group of subordinates, and 300 soldiers to go to Changle to take office, and then he went straight to Guangling with the monkey.

Guangling was neither a county nor a town. Due to its high salt production and many salt households, the imperial court established a salt service here.

Shandong is a major salt-producing province along many coastal areas. There are salt fields in Mi, Deng, Qing, Lai, and Binzhou. Among them, in terms of quality, the salt produced in Taoluo field in Mizhou is the best.

In terms of quantity, Guangling ranks first.

The reason is very simple. There are coal mines in Qingzhou and Huaizhou.

And Qingzhou’s coal mine is in Shouguang.

Nowadays, no matter whether it is Zhao, Song or Xixia, salt is made by boiling brine.

Use fire to evaporate the water in the brine, and when the concentration of the brine becomes high, the salt will precipitate on its own.

Like the craftsmen in government-run workshops, salt households had to farm, do business, and engage in other trades.

"Why?"

When the city's population exceeded one million, dozens of trees around Kaifeng Mansion were already ready to be cut down.

In fact, this big kid was only half right.

You know, even the salt factory in Dawang Village has less than 2,000 workers.

With firewood available, people have a way to make fires for cooking, and workshops have a way to run...

As a result, the world's first energy crisis occurred.

"There were only a few thousand people. They first killed the officials of the salt prison and lived here for nearly two months. Later, they seemed to have heard some rumors and fled to Huwushan overnight."

Being able to make salt is one thing, but the other thing is that the salt farmers are too poor. They squeeze out seven ounces of oil after throwing it out of the pot. They are so poor that they only have one miserable life left. Who will rob us?

Instead of running away, this big baby actually ran all the way over.

Guangling laughed and said: "Wealthy people don't have their own wisdom either."

As the population of Tokyo increases, the demand for wood becomes greater.

The cowherd boy understands, but I do.

Li Xiao nodded.

Guangling asked again: "How many households have you lost?"

The man behind him, who has been brave and domineering for many years, has an intimidating aura. In front of him are hundreds of soldiers wearing iron armor and holding long spears. They are all like wolves and tigers.

Arriving behind Guangling, the old man bowed and saluted: "I have met my husband!"

Pan Yuan and Monkey looked at each other and had the same idea in their hearts.

"without!"

Facts have proved that if he pushes hard, he will always know that his potential is not small.

Guangling's expression changed and his tone was calm: "Where are you now and how many people are there?"

Along the way, we passed by depressed villages.

The big doll shook his head.

Although the salt obtained by this method is also coarse salt, its purity is relatively high. The disadvantage is that the cost is also high.

As the main salt-producing base at present, seven thousand people is too much, and it will have to be doubled to be barely enough.

"I'm afraid!"

Salt and iron has been the most profitable business since ancient times.

Guang Ling looked around from a low position. All those people had yellow faces and thin muscles, and their clothes were barely covering their bodies.

After arriving in front of Guangling and others, the big baby raised his head and asked curiously: "Are they officers and soldiers?"

"hey-hey."

Not only Tokyo, but also other cities with a population of several hundred thousand are facing the same dilemma.

Guangling waved to me and shouted in a low voice: "Big boy, come here!"

In addition, salt supervision officials are very strict about the management and supervision of salt fields. Salt residents must take off their clothes and undergo inspection when leaving the salt fields to avoid bringing in illegal salt. Therefore, it is possible to sell salt privately to supplement household income.

Suppressing his thoughts, Guangling continued to ask in an emotional tone: "Are there no rebels or bandits coming here in the future?"

The use of coal in the Song Dynasty was actually forced out.

Guangling is backed by the Shouguang Coal Mine, only about fifty miles away. The cost of coal transportation is almost zero, and the transportation is fast, so the output is naturally higher.

It turned out that the officers and soldiers were coming!

"Call him Han Zhen over here!"

There was no way, the technology was not enough before to mine coal deep underground.

Guangling said, took out a few pennies from his arms and threw them over.

The only thing he does is make salt.

The big baby has quick eyes and slow hands. He waits for the copper coin to fall to the ground and catches it accurately.

The leader was an old man wearing coarse linen clothes. He had gray beard and hair, and was thin and strong, but he walked vigorously.

Guang Ling became interested and teased: "Is he just afraid that you are bandits?"

The court was forced to slow down and then turned to coal.

The imperial court is responsible for distributing rations, whether there is wages or not, and there are no annual task quotas.

Since Zhang Wanxian had his longevity, he might let Pan Yuan go, who was just around the corner.

Hearing people here praising Han Zhen, the big boy grinned in amusement.

When I was young, a group of people walked out of the village and went straight to Pan Yuan and others.

Therefore, those salt households are almost not chickens that lay eggs with golden eggs. Regardless of whether they are rebels or the court, they are squeezed, but they will easily take the lives of salt households.

The monkey, riding under the horse, looked at Xiao Zhuangzi nearby with a surprised look on his face.

A few pennies is not a huge amount of money for an older child.

Only more than 7,000 people?

"I know the exact number, but the eight surrounding villages are all salt households. I estimate that there are less than 7,000 people." Li Xiao calculated with his fingers.

Before Pan Yuan arrived, the population was declining, and it seemed that it was not affected by the war, disaster, and banditry at all.

It's just a little worse than the escapees at the foot of Songshan Ridge.

Even if I was stupid, Shi Wenhui would still suggest that I take advantage of the situation and take advantage of Grandpa.

If the target is reached, the food will be deducted in severe cases, and the punishment will be beaten with sticks in severe cases.

It is precisely in response to such demand that coal mining and smelting technology have been rapidly improved.

After receiving the reward, the big boy immediately ran out of the village with a smile on his face.

Guangling responded by asking: "Is he afraid of you?"

The old man answered truthfully: "My name is Li Xiao, and he is the foreign minister of Lijiazhuang."

It seems that they are recruiting refugees who have fled their homes.

Da Wawa proudly said: "I, Han Zhen, said that no matter whether you are an official or a mountain king, you have to eat salt and sell salt. So no matter who comes, we salt households are afraid because we know how to make it."

Salt."

The rebels didn't have that kind of momentum and sophisticated weapons. They should be the elite soldiers of the imperial court who suppressed the rebellion later. That's why I said so.

Li Xiaoxian also understood that these rebels were in such a hurry when they escaped that they didn't even take away all the food outside the granary.

At that moment, Guang Ling's sharp eyes discovered that under the nearby large hill, there was a big naked baby staring at us with small eyes, looking at us curiously.

Only when I saw the front of Guangling did I understand the reason.

Before the Song Dynasty, coal was not the main energy source. Whether it was for life or production, most of it was logging.

Looking back, Guangling asked: "Who is he?"

It was more than seventy miles away, starting early in the morning and arriving at noon.

Looking at the big boy's back, the monkey said with emotion: "That baby's grandfather sees things thoroughly."

Too much!

The child had pale cheeks and a runny nose. He only wore a tattered shirt on his lower body, his upper body was bare, and he had a pair of straw sandals on his feet.

"How strange!"
Chapter completed!