Chapter 6 Cheng Chumo

Damn! I’ve been underestimated. Yun Ye felt a chill in his heart. For thousands of years, no matter how things have changed, even if you throw it to Mars, the official’s temperament remains the same, self-righteous, self-important, and smart. Are these things also inherited? The captain’s actions made Yun Ye suddenly lose interest in doing anything. Well, I’m just a floating thing under the sky, so why bother with so many other people’s business?

When he thought of this, he took off the backpack on Wangcai’s back, took out the salt bag, and gave some to himself. The rest was placed in the hands of the trembling woman. He put on the backpack and led Wangcai out.

Zhang Cheng, covered in mud, was still rolling in the fists and feet, but when he saw Yun Ye about to leave, he came over, crawling and clinging to Yun Ye’s legs, “Young master, you can’t leave. Have pity on us fighting men!” Tears flowed down his face: “Captain, I guarantee with my head that Master Yun will definitely be able to extract edible salt from the brine!” He yelled at the captain.

Looking at Zhang Cheng at his feet, Yun Ye’s anger could no longer be contained. He kicked Zhang Cheng away and walked up to the school captain: “Apologize to Uncle Zhang, or you’ll have to cut off my head to find out how to get salt!” After saying that, he looked at him coldly.

The school captain calmed down and said slowly, “Last night at three o’clock, two soldiers returned to the city on fast horses and knocked on the gate at midnight. This was the first time this had happened in Longyou. I only found out when I used a basket and hammer to get the two of them up to the city gate. Someone was able to get salt from brine. The school captain reported this to the General of the Left Military Guard that night. The General was overjoyed when he heard about it. If this method works, not only will the army not be short of salt, the rebellion of the Qiang people can be easily suppressed, and we can even sell salt to the Tufan, who are fighting the Tibetans for nothing more than salt. This will make them our vassals. So I left the city in the middle of the night, brought all the equipment you needed, and rode here as fast as I could, only to see a child talking big. How could the school captain not be angry? Zhang Cheng’s crime of lying about military intelligence is unforgivable. I am beating him now, hoping that the general will see that I have punished him and spare his life. You are still being stubborn.”

The coldness in Yun Ye’s eyes slightly subsided. Although this guy was hateful, he was not bad-hearted and knew how to protect his subordinates. He was not lacking in means, even though he came from a military family. However, his aristocratic face, which showed no respect for anyone, made Yun Ye extremely uncomfortable. You can’t get something for nothing.

“Zhang Cheng and I have a debt of gratitude. You humiliated and beat him. No matter what the reason, it cannot quell the anger in my heart. I will make a bet with you. If you cannot extract the salt, Yun Ye will offer his head. If you can, you must let Zhang Cheng beat you up, and you must not fight back. How about it?”

The captain hesitated for a moment, then said decisively, “As you wish. If I can’t get the salt, I’ll personally cut off your head to fulfill your oath.”

Yun Ye laughed and ignored the captain’s sour face. He turned and walked over to Zhang Cheng, checked to see that he was fine, and then let his guard down. Zhang Cheng, who looked like a panda, was still grinning at him. This face was no longer bearable.

“Where’s what I want?”

“Half an hour.”

“Why? There is no shortage of salt in Longyou. It is not difficult to find salt mines. Have you never tried to find a way to make salt from them?”

“Brine is poisonous.”

“There is a cure for snake venom, so why can’t there be a cure for brine?”

“You can’t just let the soldiers eat salt to cure the poison, can you?”

Yun Ye almost fell over when he heard such a shocking answer, and looked at the imposing school captain in front of him with an idiot’s eyes. He decided not to discuss with him any issues that had the slightest connection with science, because that would be the greatest harm to himself.

The carriage arrived, and the supplies were plentiful. In addition to the sieves, hammers, iron rods, hemp cloth, charcoal, wooden barrels, iron pots, and even five hand-cranked stone mills for making salt, there was nothing missing. After carefully inspecting the supplies, he said with a smile, “Salt is a simple task.

He turned to the school captain and said with a smile, “Salt is a simple task. After seeing your IQ, I believe you will ask me for many things in the future. I am always stingy. If you ask me for anything in the future, you will need to let Zhang Cheng beat you up. One thing at a time, no cheating.”

The school captain stopped his angry subordinate and clasped his fists: “I now believe that you can make salt. As long as my brothers no longer lack salt, what does it matter if I get a beating? I hope you win.”

There is a salt mine less than five miles down the river. Cheng brought 300 men, all of them burly and strong. The road was difficult to travel on, and the carts could not pass through. Yun Ye and the two women walked with Wangcai in the middle. In less than an hour, they arrived at the salt mining area.

At the command of Cheng Xiaowei, a large area of two mu of land was immediately leveled, the camp was settled, and the equipment was placed. Then Cheng Xiaowei looked at Yun Ye.

“The captain’s amazing strength. Why not knock down some salt mines?” Such labor is not to be wasted.

The captain of the guard suppressed his anger, picked up the hammer and banged it twice, and a large piece of salt mine rolled down.

“Watch the process, I’ll only do it once.” Ignoring the murderous looks of the strong men, Yun Ye took a small hammer and carefully smashed the large salt mine into small pieces, about ten catties in size. He called Zhang Cheng over and poured the salt mine into the stone mill. Zhang Cheng turned the hand-cranked stone mill, and the brown mineral powder slowly overflowed from the edge of the the edge of the millstone slowly overflowed, Yun Ye collected the powder into a wooden bucket, added water, and stirred it with a wooden stick to allow the salt to fully dissolve in the water. When the solution was saturated, it was poured into another wooden bucket covered with double layers of linen. In a short while, the linen was covered with gray-black slag. After removing the linen, the solution in the barrel turned brown, the color became lighter, but there were still a lot of impurities. He covered another wooden barrel with four layers of linen and filtered it again, leaving a light red solution.

Yun Ye saw that the impurities had been filtered clean and it was time to detoxify. He took a large funnel and ordered Zhang Cheng to smash the charcoal. Before Zhang Cheng could even start, Cheng Xiaowei had already smashed the charcoal to pieces. It was estimated that the change in the solution gave him the confidence to succeed. Yun Ye wrapped the charcoal particles in four layers of linen and stuffed them into the funnel, squeezing them tightly. He found a shelf and fixed the funnel on the shelf. He poured the solution into the funnel. After a while, a pale green solution slowly flowed out. He scooped up a handful and tasted it. It was good, only salty, not bitter. Although some salt was lost in the process, it was guaranteed that the salt that came out of the pot was absolutely edible. Yun Ye set up a wood-fired pot and poured the solution into the pot to boil. Only then did he stand up, his back was sore. Was it easy to make some salt?

“Will it work?” Cheng Xiaowei asked, looking at the solution bubbling and fizzing in the pot.

Yun Ye knew very well how profitable salt was in the Tang Dynasty. As the ancient saying goes, “He who possesses a jade gem will be blamed. If he does not pass it on, he will bring disaster upon himself. One must not be too greedy. Now there is no need to worry. If it doesn’t work out, there will be a reward. At this point, Cheng Xiaowei probably forgot about the beating he was going to get.

“Can it be done? Can you remove the word “ma”? The salt that is boiled out is better than the salt I used to eat, and it is not much worse than green salt.

Cheng Xiaowei shivered. Green salt is not for eating. It is used to clean the mouth with willow branches every day. It costs at least 500 wen per catty. Even in a wealthy family like ours, only a few masters use it.

The water in the pot gradually evaporated, leaving a thick layer of greenish crust at the bottom. After removing the firewood, Yun Ye broke off a piece from the pot and threw it into his mouth. “Mmm, not bad. This is salt. Uncle Zhang, throw your stuff into the river.”

Before Zhang Cheng could taste it, Cheng Xiaowei had already broken off a large piece of his fingernail and put it in his mouth. Although his face was twitching from the saltiness, he was reluctant to spit it out and was not afraid of turning into a bat. Seeing that the method was effective, the other soldiers rushed to the salt wall like a swarm of bees. Those who didn’t have hammers used knives to hack at it indiscriminately, especially Zhang Cheng, who was the craziest.

The officer wanted to talk to Yun Ye, but when he saw Yun Ye looking at him askance, he thought to himself: This kid is really stingy. But that’s how capable people are. I was rash before. Thinking of this, he clasped his fists: “Young master, I am in awe of your talent. I was blind before, and I hope you will forgive me for being unreasonable. As for the bet, I, Cheng, will pay it back. Zhang Cheng, come here!” He took off his armor and helmet.

Yun Ye discovered that this bastard was only 16 or 17 years old. As a military commander, he had been polishing his muscles and bones every day, and his body was strong, but the greenish look on his face was unmistakable.

Zhang Cheng moved slowly towards this side, which made Yun Ye’s heart burn, so he pushed him next to Cheng Chumo.

“Beat him!”

Cheng Chumo stood tall and straight, with his feet not straight or crooked, and he had the demeanor of a master. Zhang Cheng cowered around Cheng Chumo, punching, slapping, and using the eagle claw technique, but you didn’t even hit him.

Cheng Chumo was probably tired of waiting: “If you don’t move, I’ll beat you up.”

Zhang Cheng’s legs went limp and he knelt down again, sniffling and crying, “You’d better beat me up again. I really don’t have the guts to beat you.”

Hearing this, Yun Ye’s blood rushed up, and he wanted to take a shovel and bury this guy directly. Forget it, the status and rank gap that has seeped into the blood for thousands of years is not something he can overcome.

Cheng Chumo walked over to Yun Ye and said to Zhang Cheng, “It’s not me who’s not moving my hand, it’s you who’s not moving your hand. Make it clear so as not to ruin my reputation.”

“Brother, how do you know this method?”

“My teacher taught me.”

“You are a wise man. Please introduce me to your master. I will send someone back to Lanzhou to prepare a gift and invite my father to come and meet him!”

“Are you sure you want to meet my master?”

If you don’t meet such a great man, won’t you regret it for three lifetimes?

“If you just slit your throat, you’ll probably meet my master soon.”

“What do you mean, brother?”

It means that my master is already dead, and if you insist on seeing him, the only way is to slit your throat.

“Oh, heaven is not merciful. It is a great pity that such a talented person died young.”

This bastard, full of regrets, his face wrinkled like a bun, but the excitement in his eyes completely betrayed him. Yun Ye decided to look at the salt and ignore this bastard who was not consistent in his words and actions.

The salt was scooped out of the pot, about two or three catties in weight. This is much more efficient than boiling salt in seawater. Sixteen catties of salt from three catties of ore is already pretty good. Cheng Chumo took it and weighed it, “Three catties, good, this salt mine can produce millions of catties of salt, haha, my army will never suffer from a shortage of salt again. Brother Yun, please accept Cheng Chumo’s bow.”

“The army is fighting for the country, and the men of our Tang Dynasty have even forgotten about life and death. What is the method of salt production?”

“Good man, Cheng Chumo patted Yun Ye’s shoulder heavily. I, Cheng, recognize you as my brother. When we return to Chang’an, I will introduce you to several other brothers, all of whom are first-class good men.”

After receiving a slap from Cheng Chumo, Yun Ye felt that it was no different from receiving a hammer blow. It was really difficult to accept his kindness while grinning and gaping.