Chapter 441 The evidence is conclusive

Chapter 441 The evidence is conclusive

Chapter 441 The evidence is conclusive
Soon, a dozen of his cavalrymen came running over, bringing two men with them. When the two men saw Xiao Xia, they angrily said, "I don't care who you are, let us go quickly, or you will be in big trouble. Do you know who our lord is?"

Wang Zhen brought out a few rolls of accounts and whispered to Xiao Xia, "They bought salt directly from the salt households. We also seized more than a hundred strings of cash. There is also a lot of coarse salt piled up in the warehouse at the back. We can't take it, but the doors are locked!"

Xiao Xia nodded, "Take them back for detailed interrogation!"

Dozens of cavalrymen went ahead and took away the two men and the account files.

Xiao Xia then took Zhang Qiao and his men to inspect the brine pool and salt boiling, and then returned to Jiangdu.

After returning to Jiangdu, Xiao Xia wrote a letter in the government office, along with the seized account files and the confessions of the two managers, and sent someone to Luoyang to deliver it to the emperor.

Xiao Xia's request was simple. He hoped to abolish the Jiangdu Salt Administration, abolish private salt fields, and hand over the salt fields to the Jiangnan Dao General Administration Office for management.

Xiao Xia promised to pay 250,000 strings of cash in salt profits to the court every year, which was consistent with the profits that the current salt inspectors paid to the court every year. In fact, the court had nearly 200,000 strings of cash in salt profits stolen by the Guanlong nobles every year.

Xiao Xia did not need the salt profits from the imperial court. He wanted to obtain the salt source and compete with the Guanlong nobles as a salt merchant.

At the same time, the Xihai Salt Company was quietly established in Jiangdu. There was no fanfare, no dinner parties, and not even a sign. It was a very low-key business.

Xiao Xia appointed his aide Chen Hua as the general manager and began to open stores in various counties in Wujun to sell refined salt.

The coarse salt and refined salt of the Sui Dynasty are completely different from the coarse salt and fine salt of later generations. First of all, the salt of later generations must be qualified, that is, sodium chloride, from which all kinds of water-soluble and insoluble impurities have been removed. The only difference is the coarseness of the particles.

The difference between crude salt and refined salt in the Sui Dynasty lies in their cleanliness. Unlike the Ming Dynasty, the Sui Dynasty did not start to implement salt drying, with two pools: brine fields and crystal fields.

In the Sui Dynasty, people boiled salt in only one brine pool. They did not wait for the brine to settle for a few days before boiling the salt. Salt farmers had to boil salt every day to make money. There was no sedimentation process. They directly boiled the Yellow Sea water mixed with a lot of mud and sand. The boiled salt naturally contained a lot of mud and sand.

Anyway, a dou of salt only sells for ten cents, and salt farmers can only earn one guan of money after working hard for a month. They don't care whether the salt is clean. As for whether some salt farmers will deliberately add a few pounds of sand to increase the weight, only God knows.

This is why coarse salt is so annoying. It will get all the dirt in the food, and the same goes for pickles and sauces. Ordinary people can’t do anything about it. They can’t just go home and filter and cook the salt. They just have to accept it.

Anyway, rich people and officials all eat refined salt, and no one cares whether the coarse salt is clean or not.

Moreover, the so-called refined salt is called refined salt as long as it looks clean, has no sand or crunchy taste, and does not make your teeth ache. The processing process is also simple. You only need to dissolve the coarse salt produced by the seaside in water again, filter it repeatedly with cloth, filter out a large amount of mud and fine sand, and recrystallize the clear brine. The only drawback is that it is waste wood.

As for whether the salt contains magnesium chloride, calcium chloride, etc., that was not something the Sui Dynasty considered.

It was already November, the busy farming season was over, and the training of the government soldiers had begun.

Xiao Xia issued an order, ordering the local soldiers to select elite troops and gather them in the Jiangnan Camp and the Jiangbei Camp for training. Xiao Xia sent a group of generals including Pei Xingyan and Luo Shixin to conduct professional training for the 80,000 elite soldiers in the Jiangnan Road.

He had to train these 80,000 soldiers into a regular army with strong combat effectiveness.

In the morning, Xiao Xia stood in front of the map and looked at Jiangling County for a long time in silence.

It is now the third year of Daye, and there are still ten years before the demise of the Sui Dynasty. However, this Sui Dynasty is not the same as the previous one. In the historical Sui Dynasty, Yang Guang ascended the throne as the crown prince, and his throne was relatively stable, so Yang Guang was emperor for thirteen years.

But in the Sui Dynasty, history had deviated. Yang Guang ascended the throne by seizing the throne, and his position was not secure. It was impossible for him to be emperor for thirteen years as in history.

Xiao Xia doesn't have much time left. He not only needs to get the salt tax finances, but also needs to train the army. He also needs some important military resources, such as the Sui Dynasty's navy. The thousands of warships that conquered the Chen Dynasty are currently anchored in Jiangling. Although they are a bit deserted, the court and the emperor may not be willing to hand over the navy's warships to him.

At this time, Zhang Yunqiu said at the door, "Your Highness, I have already found out where Lai Huer's family is!"

"Is he at home?" Xiao Xia asked. "He is at home. His aunt passed away at the beginning of the year, and he resigned from his post in mourning. He has been in Jiangdu ever since, but he rarely goes out and basically doesn't see guests."

"aunt?"

"Your Highness, Lai Huer lost both his parents when he was young. He was raised by his aunt Wu, whom he regards as his mother!"

The reason why Xiao Xia paid attention to the Sui Dynasty Navy was because he accidentally learned that the naval general Huer in history was from Jiangdu and was currently in Jiangdu.

Xiao Xia nodded: "I'll go burn some incense for his aunt!"

Lai Huer's mansion is located in Baitu Village near the Yangtze River. It is a large house with a deep courtyard covering an area of ​​ten acres. He is a low-key person. After his aunt who raised him passed away, he resigned from the post of governor of Jiangling County and returned to his hometown to mourn for his aunt. He came back silently and the local officials didn't even know about it.

Xiao Xia arrived at Baitu Village with a small entourage, without even disturbing the villagers, and went straight to Lai Huer's house.

A personal soldier knocked on the door. After a moment, the door opened a crack. A man who looked like an old butler looked out from the crack and said, "I'm sorry, my master doesn't see guests!"

He was about to close the door, but his personal guard held it back and thrust the visiting card in his hand, "Show it to your master. If you don't see us, leave!"

The old housekeeper took a look at the visiting card and was startled. He then looked at Xiao Xia who was standing outside the door with his hands behind his back and said quickly, "Please wait a moment. I will report right away!"

He closed the door and ran to the backyard.

Xiao Xia only brought three men with him. He was not wearing an official uniform, but only a white brocade gown and a gauze hat. He had a restrained murderous aura and looked like a tall and wealthy young man.

After a while, footsteps were heard in the yard, and then the door opened. A man about forty years old appeared at the south gate. He was wearing white mourning clothes and a flat scarf on his head. He was tall and strong. This man was the famous general Huer.

Lai Huer really didn't expect that Prince Jin would come. He was scared and hurried out to greet him. He didn't want to see guests, but he didn't want to see his fellow townsmen and old friends, not just anyone. How could he dare not see His Royal Highness Prince Jin coming to visit him in person?

"I am sorry for not coming to meet you in person. I hope Your Highness will forgive me!"

Xiao Xia nodded, "I heard that you don't see guests behind closed doors, so I'll try to keep the company of you small. I hope I don't disturb you. I'll light a stick of incense and leave!"

"I dare not. Your Highness, please come in!"

Xiao Xia told his men to wait outside while he entered Lai Huer's house.

Xiao Xia first came to the mourning hall, burned incense for Lai Huer's aunt, clasped his hands and silently recited a few words, then followed Lai Huer to the VIP hall. He said he would leave after burning one stick of incense, but Lai Huer dared not neglect him.

The two sat down in the VIP Hall. A maid came in and served tea. Lai Huer bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Highness, for coming to burn incense for my mother. I apologize again for my impoliteness!"

Xiao Xia nodded. "The death of a family member is indeed heartbreaking. But it's been almost a year, and you haven't gotten over the grief yet?"

Lai Huer shook his head and smiled bitterly, "My mother was seventy-five years old. She did not suffer from illness, but passed away quietly in her sleep. This can be considered a happy event. The reason why I closed the door and did not see visitors is to follow my mother's last words before her death. The funeral should be simple and not extravagant. If I had organized a grand event, there would have been an endless stream of gifts and money. Firstly, it would be difficult to repay the favors, and secondly, it would make my mother, who had been frugal all her life, feel uneasy. So I can only close the door and do not see visitors. It will be normal after this year."

"I see. I understand!"

Xiao Xia nodded, changed the subject and said with a smile: "I came here from Bashu by water this summer. I changed to a large ship in Jiangling, a 20,000-stone dragon ship. I think you should have an impression of it!"

(End of this chapter)