In April of the seventh year of Jiayou's reign, in Bianliang, Tokyo, in the imperial city.

Just a few days after the imperial examination, Mr. Cai, who was ill at home, passed away and died.

Mr. Cai Daxiangong was a veteran of the two dynasties and an important minister of the country. He was an upright and upright official and was famous for his uprightness.

Mr. Zhou also left with him.

It was the imperial court that came forward to take care of the funeral affairs for Mr. Cai.

Some time ago, although Xianggong Cai was pressing harder and harder, he once even went to the court to remonstrate with Emperor Jiayou about adopting the clan son and establishing a heir as early as possible. Although Emperor Jiayou was a little unfavorable to see Xianggong Cai because of this, he even met him once

He was upset, but he also knew that Mr. Cai was dedicated to the court and the world without any selfish motives.

Now, Cai Xianggong fell ill first and then passed away. Emperor Jiayou was also filled with grief. After all, in Emperor Jiayou's heart, Cai Xianggong had been with him for decades, and he was a rare humeral minister. He was Emperor Jiayou's heart.

His arms are those of a king and his ministers, but also a confidant and a good friend.

But now...

Emperor Jiayou was a very emotional and kind-hearted person, so how could he not feel sad in his heart.

For several days in a row, Emperor Jiayou couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, and tossed and turned.

The beauty of April in the world is over, the peach blossoms in the mountain temple are beginning to bloom, and the flowers in the imperial garden are also in full bloom. Emperor Jiayou is in a bad mood, and Queen Cao is worried about his health, so she takes Emperor Jiayou to take a walk in the imperial garden to enjoy the flowers.

, relax and unwind.

Emperor Jiayou and Mr. Cao had been married for decades and had a deep relationship, so they naturally understood Mr. Cao's intentions, so they started chatting in the garden.

One of the couple is the emperor, the current emperor, and the other is the empress who honors the world. Naturally, they talk about important matters of family and country.

Suddenly, a young chamberlain walked quietly to Emperor Jiayou's personal chamberlain, covered his mouth with his hands, and whispered a few words in his ear.

The old eunuch's expression changed slightly, as if he heard something quite surprising. After careful confirmation with the young eunuch and getting a positive answer, the old eunuch found an opportunity when Emperor Jiayou and Empress Cao were talking and joined in.

Up.

"Your Majesty, Madam, there is news from Quanzhou from the Imperial City Department!"

"News from Quanzhou?" Emperor Jiayou was stunned for a moment, then thought about it. He looked up at the old eunuch and asked, "Is it the news from Wang Zhong?"

"Your Majesty, your Majesty!" the old official smiled and bowed, bowing his hands in salute: "The salt field built by Wang Tongpan a few months ago has produced sea salt. Wang Tongpan specially wrote down the regulations on the method of drying salt and passed it through the Imperial City Department.

I handed it over, and along with it were two cans of new salt from the salt field that was dried a few months ago."

While he was talking, the old eunuch handed the booklet handed over by the eunuch to Emperor Jiayou.

Emperor Jiayou was a little excited and couldn't wait to read the book. He turned around again and asked, "Where is the visitor now?"

"Waiting outside the palace!" said the old eunuch.

"Invite him to come over. I have something to ask him personally!"

"No!" The old chamberlain bowed and saluted, and immediately walked aside to give orders. Immediately, a young chamberlain ran to deliver the message.

Soon, the messenger from Quanzhou arrived in front of Emperor Jiayou.

"Jia Bing, the humble Imperial City Secretary, pays homage to your majesty and the eldest empress!"

"I'm free of charge!" Emperor Jiayou asked impatiently: "Wang Tongpan said in the book that you know very much about the method of diverting seawater to dry salt?"

“I don’t dare to say that I know it in detail, but I have been following Wang Tongpan since he ordered people to build the salt drying field. He often recited the book "Salt Drying Method" written by Wang Tongpan, and was influenced by it.

The salt method, from beginning to end, all the steps have basically been seen in the salt field."

"Wang Aiqing said in the memorial that the twenty-four acres of salt fields produced a total of eleven thousand two hundred and forty-three kilograms of salt crystals, six taels and seven cents?"

Jia Bing said: "Your Majesty, there are indeed so many. Wang Tongpan said that because this is the first time to make salt, the skills of the salt workers are still relatively unfamiliar. Maybe in the future, after they become more skilled in the skills, the output will be improved!"

"

"Where's the precipitated salt? Bring it up quickly and let me have a look!" Emperor Jiayou said impatiently.

A middle-aged waiter next to him immediately brought over two jars about the size of coconuts.

Jia Bing said: "Your Majesty, what is in the pottery pot is salt crystals formed after drying sea water. It has not been processed. The particles are larger and have more impurities. It is coarse salt. Compared with well salt and lake salt,

Although the coarse salt produced looks different, the taste is similar. Wang Tongpan said that if you eat it for a long time, you will feel uncomfortable.

What is contained in the porcelain jar is coarse salt that has been dissolved and precipitated again. After filtering, the refined salt that precipitates out has finer salt particles and a purer salt taste, with almost no bitter taste left."

Emperor Jiayou wanted to try it himself, but was stopped by Empress Cao. Li Naiguan, who was next to him, immediately stepped forward with a smile and offered to taste it for Emperor Jiayou.

The first thing Li Neiguan tasted was coarse salt. He scooped out a little with a spoon, poured it on white paper, bent the white paper into a channel shape, and poured it into his mouth. The coarse salt was bitter and had a salty taste, but there were too many impurities.

"It's very salty, but a little bitter."

After Li Naiguan expressed his feelings, he tried the refined salt again, and his face suddenly showed a look of shock.

"The salty taste is extremely pure, without any bitterness! It's no worse than the fine green salt used in the palace!"

"really?"

In fact, you can tell the difference between sea salt and ordinary coarse salt just by looking at the color.

Emperor Jiayou couldn't help but taste it himself, and he couldn't help being shocked. He immediately asked Jia Bing to explain to him the process and reasons of drying salt. However, the messenger remembered all the steps of drying salt, and there were also annotations in the album.

, but some words, sentences, and principles could not be explained clearly by Jia Bing, and Emperor Jiayou could not understand them for a moment.

I can only sigh with emotion: "Wang Zihou is the youngest, but he is a rare talent!"

"If this method can be promoted all over the world, it will be a blessing to the court and a blessing to the people!!"

"Your Majesty, you have a clear warning!" Jia Bing suddenly said: "Wang Tongpan once said that the method of drying salt seems simple, but in fact it is complicated and harsh. If there is a slight mistake, the quality of the salt may be very different. If you want to dry the salt,

Producing such high-quality refined salt with very few impurities requires high salt craftsmanship!

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The difference between the general interpretation and the interpretation is a thousand miles away. It is at this moment that the salt workers in Quanzhou Bay No. 1 Salt Field came into contact with the sun for the first time.

In the salt industry, without Wang Tongpan's personal guidance, it may not be possible to produce refined salt of such high quality!

But if you only need coarse salt, you can restore it one by one according to the picture book presented by Tongpan, and there will be no serious problem! It’s just that there are too many impurities in coarse salt, which is harmful to the human body if eaten for a long time!”

"The general statement is at the end of the album, and a development plan for the Quanzhou Salt Works in the next three years is attached. Your Majesty, please take a look!"

"Quanzhou Saltworks Development Plan for the Next Three Years?" Emperor Jiayou noticed that this plan was written on the last page of the album.

"In accordance with my decree, Wang Zhong, the general magistrate of Quanzhou, is promoted to the official position of Chaosan. He will be rewarded with a hundred golds, a hundred acres of fertile land, and ten pieces of silk and satin. He will also serve as the salt and iron envoy of Quanzhou and take charge of all matters related to the salt affairs in Quanzhou. The rest of the tasks will remain as before!"

When this imperial edict reached Quanzhou, it was already May. Chen Jun, the governor of the state, was stunned. Those rewards were nothing more. However, within less than a year since Wang Zhong came to Quanzhou, his rank was almost the same as Chen Jun's.

, the key is that the officials also gave Wang Zhong full authority to deal with the Quanzhou salt affairs. This is such a trust.

That was a state salt service. In the past, Chen Jun would naturally have ignored it, but now with the establishment of the salt farm, the income that the salt service can bring in a year is definitely far more than Quanzhou's wealth. Such a big one

It was a pity that now it was Wang Zhong's political achievement, which made Chen Jun feel unhappy.

Fortunately, at this time, the three large ships that Jihai Company went south to have returned to Quanzhou. All three large ships returned home with a full load of gold, silver, agate, various treasures, borneol, musk, various spices, fine sandalwood, and so on.

.

Three ships full of goods brought Jihai Company an income of at least hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In the Danbi Building, Changsong raised his wine glass high and said to Wang Zhong with emotion: "Thanks to Zihou's chart, we can go so smoothly this time. If it weren't for the guidance of the chart, I don't know how long we would have been wandering on the sea.

!”

Wang Zhong's sea map not only marks the regional routes, but also the output, customs, customs, etc. of each place. The marks are very clear. After Changsong and others follow the map and arrive at a place, they will know that place.

What do people like best and what can be exchanged with them for rare things that are abundant in the local area.

Before leaving, although Wang Zhong said that the chart was very old, it was handed down from his master's sect, and he was not sure how accurate it was.

But it turns out that the chart provided by Wang Zhong is extremely accurate, especially the detailed maps of each area, which are very detailed and have almost no deviations.

Wang Zhong raised his glass and said, "As long as it's useful!"

Changsong admired Wang Zhong more and more. He was only slightly older than himself, but his knowledge was far beyond his own, especially his sharp eyesight. If Wang Zhong hadn't invited him, the Sheng family would probably have passed on to him.

, and will not consider overseas trade.

After only one trip, the profit brought by it was as much as the Sheng family's income in a year. This was because it was the first time to go to sea. To be on the safe side, the Sheng family only bought three seagoing ships.

Changsong, Wang Zhong and Sheng Wei were talking about what they had seen and heard on their way south, the customs and things they encountered in various places, and their expressions were a little excited. The smiles on their faces almost never broke. They were full of energy and joy.

At the same time, in the Sheng family in Tokyo City, in early March, Mrs. Sheng took Minglan, mother and daughter, and took a boat north from Youyang to return to Tokyo.

Because I was not in a hurry, and the journey north was mostly against the current, so the speed was not very fast. I also stopped by Yangzhou on the way to inspect the Wang family's property. It took me nearly a month in total. I just returned to Tokyo at the beginning of the month.

In the Shou'an Hall, Sheng Hong told Mrs. Sheng that Wang Zhong had been praised by Emperor Jiayou. Not only had he been promoted, but he had also been assigned as the Quanzhou Salt and Iron Envoy. He had real power and had attracted a lot of red eyes.

Even after hearing this, Mrs. Sheng couldn't help but feel surprised: "He has only been in Quanzhou for half a year, and he has already accomplished such a big thing?"

Sheng Hong said with great emotion: "Zihou is very talented and has a photographic memory. He was taught by a famous teacher and has a lot of knowledge. Even my son may not be able to catch up with him!"

Sheng Hong is now just a minor official from the fifth rank. He has a sinecure and does not have much rights. Although Beijing officials are more noble than local officials, the sudden promotion and rewards from officials are not just a message to the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty. Although Wang Zhong is far away in Quanzhou now, he is almost in the emperor's heart.

It has never happened before, but it is also extremely rare for an official to personally issue an order to promote a sixth-grade minor official.

"My son has worked hard in the officialdom for more than ten years, and he is still only a small fifth-rank official. He is not thick enough to enter the official career for the first time. At a young age, he has already reached the fifth rank. His future prospects are limitless!"

Mrs. Sheng said worriedly: "I'm afraid this may not be as good as you think!"

Sheng Hong was stunned and asked in confusion: "What does mother mean by this?"
To be continued...