Emperor Ming Dynasty

Xining Prefecture, Haixi County.

The sun was high, scorching this desert land.

To the west of Longxi, after crossing the Yellow River and following the Huangshui River, a tributary of the Yellow River, upstream, in the triangle area between the Yellow River and Huangshui basins on the south side of the Qilian Mountains, the valley area composed of the Yellow River, Huangshui and a large number of tributaries is the "Hehuang Valley" ".

It is also the historical corner of Tuyuhun, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty’s Western Tour, Qinghai Road, Tang-Tibet Ancient Road and Xining Kaibian of the Song Dynasty.

As the intersection into Tibet, Xining Prefecture is an important jurisdiction in Gansu. After Li Zicheng fled to Kham, the area where Mongolians and Tibetans lived together was controlled by the Ming Dynasty.

Immediately after controlling the Hehuang Valley, Xining Prefecture was naturally established, and was then planned to Gansu.

"Xining Prefecture governs the four counties of Haixi, Haidong, Hainan, and Haibei. It has more than 3000 people, 2000 border troops, and [-] local patrol battalions."

On the baked desert, a caravan consisting of a pair of camels continued for hundreds of steps, with bells ringing and sand beneath their feet.

The sky was clear, and the huge sun was shining, driving away all the clouds. As far as the eye could see, the ground was covered with yellow sand, and there was no one at all.

The merchants riding on the camels covered their mouths and noses with gauze scarves, not daring to tear them off easily even though it was extremely hot.

Sima Bu couldn't care less. He took off his scarf, took the skin bag from the camel's back, and poured water into his mouth.

After a while, he finally regained his breath: "What's the difference between these four counties?"

The middle-aged man on the side chuckled: "Haidong, Haixi, Hainan, and the three counties are all settlement areas. Many herdsmen also like to live in this kind of land, so it has become a granary."

"Whenever Gansu is short of food, it will transfer food from Xining Prefecture to alleviate the disaster."

"As for Haixi, isn't this the reason why you are here, young master?"

Sima Bu then smiled bitterly and said: "After seeing the scene in Haidong and other counties, I am really not used to the sudden entry into Haixi."

"Cha'erhan Salt Lake!"

When he mentioned this name, his expression was extremely serious.

In the past, green salt refers to salt lakes in Gansu, Ningxia and other places. It is white with green color and tastes slightly salty.

But with the development of Xining Salt Lake, especially the huge Qarhan Salt Lake, a development frenzy immediately ushered in.

The term green salt has become synonymous with lake salt in Xining Prefecture.

Compared with other green salts, the salt from Qarhan Salt Lake is brighter in color, less bitter in taste, thinner and has a better taste.

Of course, the most important thing is that the Qarhan Salt Lake is huge, easy to mine, and low-cost, so it naturally became the first choice.

Moreover, Xining Prefecture is located at a crossroads, with Gansu in the north, Anxi in the west, Weizang in the south, and Shaanxi in the east. The salt produced in the salt lake can be easily transported anywhere.

"For this salt lake, Xining Prefecture specially built an official road and built it on the scale of a national highway." The middle-aged man sighed.

Sima Bu smiled and said: "Relying on this salt lake, Xining Prefecture has become the number one prefecture in Gansu. It pays millions in taxes every year. I can't cherish it enough!"

"Who says it's not?" the middle-aged man responded, "It's precisely because in Salt Lake, many Tatars no longer graze, so they lead camels and horses to help with business."

"It's six hundred miles from the Salt Lake to Xining City. Without these Tatars, Salt would really be in trouble."

Only then did Sima Bu notice the roadside.

Several camels fell to the ground panting, their eyes closed and they could only breathe.

One of the white camels is extremely conspicuous.

But the Mongolian who was walking suddenly left the team, took out a precious water bag from his arms, and gurgled it to several heads.

And as if noticing this, the team slowly stopped.

Many people rushed over and knelt on the ground to pray.

"This?"

"The white camel is a sacred animal to them, and it will bring good luck whenever they encounter it."

The middle-aged man added: "This camel looks like a wild camel."

"What if this is dedicated to the imperial court?" Sima Bu's eyes lit up.

"Grandpa, you should put away that heart!"

The middle-aged man said hurriedly: "As long as you take this white camel away, you will not be able to leave Haixi County."

"Those Tatars are very cruel, and they can stab them with knives."

Sima Bu's face was filled with regret.

At this time, a camel suddenly came over, and the round-faced Mongolian man waved his whip angrily, making a very scary sound.

"Tatar, Tatar, I am not a Tatar."

"Don't think I can't understand Chinese. This is a curse word. I'm not a Tatar. I'm a herdsman, just like a farmer."

"Yes Yes!"

The middle-aged man immediately bowed his head and admitted his mistake, smiling along with him: "It's all my fault for my bad mouth. Please forgive me, you sir have a lot!"

"Hmph, keep your mouth clean from now on."

After saying this, he left.

At this time, the middle-aged man turned his head and whispered: "This man's name is Battle. I heard he is a noble from the Heshuote tribe. His family has 10,000+ acres of pasture land. Now he transports salt and has hundreds of people under him." …”

"Aristocrat? He is an aristocrat and also does business?"

Sima Bu was puzzled.

And there are 10,000+ acres of land. This is too exaggerated. Even in the Ming Dynasty, he is a first-class landowner!

"Master, in Xining, nobles are not valuable, and land is not valuable either."

The middle-aged man explained: "Back then when Li Zicheng came to the Qinghai area and killed all the big nobles, only some small and medium nobles survived."

"When my Ming Dynasty King arrived, I rescued them, but I gave all the pastures, cattle and sheep to those herders and slaves."

"Even the most humble herdsman has three to five thousand acres of pasture land at home. Although there is a lot of Balte land, he can't hire anyone to graze the cattle."

"Besides, grazing cattle is not as valuable as transporting salt..."

Sima Bu suddenly understood.

Compared with Hetao and Suiyuan, Qinghai is very different. The evil man Li Zicheng burned, killed, looted, and robbed the nobles of their money, shaking the foundation of his rule.

Then when the Ming Dynasty came here, it no longer recognized noble titles, and then equalized land. All herdsmen owned land, and farmers had cultivated land, laying the foundation for rule.

The same is true, the imperial court's dominance in Xining Mansion is extremely high.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smile: "Li Zicheng is very capable. If he goes to Hetao and Suiyuan, he will probably make a great contribution."

"Who says it's not the case?" The middle-aged man also chuckled: "If it weren't for this, we wouldn't dare to come to Haixi to buy salt!"

"Otherwise those Mongolian nobles would loot without restraint."

Sima Bu nodded.

Although camels are slow, they have strong endurance. As long as they have sufficient water and food, they can walk slowly and cover hundreds of miles in a day, just like they are playing.

However, the caravan cherished the camels, so they only walked sixty miles a day.

It happens to be an inn.

Compared with the mainland, the inns here in Xining are simpler and simpler. They are basically built with rammed earth and wood, and their unique features are rows of stables.

The camels were led to the stables, a large amount of fodder was put in, and the most important thing was water.

For the first time, Sima Bu saw hundreds of camels drinking and eating, and they grunted continuously.

"Sir, the construction of this post station is very important. It dug three wells, two wells with bitter water for the livestock, and one deep well with sweet water for people to eat and drink."

The middle-aged man introduced at the side: "Water here also costs money. A bucket of bitter water costs two cents, and sweet water costs five cents. Food is not expensive..."

Sima Bu watched with interest, then nodded and left.

However, this camel team did not live in the inn. Instead, after feeding the camels water and food, they came to a nearby open space and set up camp.

After spending the night, the entire team moved on.There was a sandstorm on the way, and it took eleven days of picking up and walking before we arrived at Chaerhan Salt Lake.

The first impression is green.

The entire surface of the lake seems to be a piece of fertile soil that has just been plowed, and it is like fish scales, layer by layer, wave by wave.It is a pity that there is no green grass on the land, no fish in the lake, no birds in the sky, and there is silence.

The salt flowers may be shaped like pearls, corals, pavilions, or birds and animals. They stand in clusters in the salt lake, decorating the salt lake as beautiful as a fairyland.

“Legend has it that back in the days of Charhan, gold, silver and jewels were everywhere here, but the mountain gods, demons and monsters were not responsible enough and indifferent, so they fought endlessly all year round to snatch the treasures.

After the Queen Mother of the West, who lived deep in the Kunlun Mountains, learned about it, she ordered the Water God to bring down the water from the sky and flood all these treasures so that no one could get them, leaving only us humans. "

The middle-aged man said with emotion: "Looking at it now, it really is true. Isn't this the treasure left by the Queen Mother of the West?"

Sima Bu went down to the ground, and he stepped on it, feeling extremely thick.

It was hard for him to believe that he was actually walking on the lake.

These salts are as thick as rocks.

"Master, these salts are several feet thick. You can see that there are so many people walking on it, so don't worry."

Sima Bu then stepped forward.

He looked around and saw many men, barefoot on the lake, holding hoes or shovels, shovel after shovel to put the salt in the lake into bamboo baskets.

Then one by one, the teenagers lifted the bamboo baskets, staggered to the stone ground on the shore, and poured the salt directly on the ground.

Hills were formed, glowing under the sun.

At this time, a young man passing by slipped his foot and almost fell. Sima Bu quickly helped him and was thanked.

"You can speak Chinese?"

Sima Bu was quite surprised.

"I'm studying social studies."

The young man was not afraid either. He stared at his round eyes and said:
"My family is poor, so I come here every few days to earn enough money to go to school."

"How much does it cost to work here for a day?"

"Fifty Wen." The young man smiled and said, "If I work for ten days, it will be enough for me to go to school for 20 days."

Sima Bu showed a knowing smile and encouraged: "You must go to school. As long as you pass the exam and get a good name, you will have no worries about food and drink in the future."

In Xining Prefecture, Suiyuan, and Ningxia, herders can take the imperial examination. This is also an important way to change their destiny in addition to the Naadam Conference.

It can even be said that the imperial examination is far more important than the Naadam Conference.

Because the Naadam Conference is so competitive, anyone from Han, Mongolian, or any other ethnic group can participate, and the number of places is limited.

No threshold is the biggest threshold.

"Thank you, sir." After saying that, he bowed his hands and thanked her, then resolutely picked up the bamboo basket and walked to the shore.

"Sir, there are many young men like this."

The middle-aged man hurriedly said: "Don't feel sorry for him, this is much better than our mainland. Fifty Wen a day, a month is [-] Yuan!"

"I know."

Sima Bu was too lazy to pay attention to him and turned his attention to the lake.

Lake salt costs three cents per catty, and the freight to Xining is one cent per catty.

If you sell it to other provinces, it will be about ten cents. If you mix it with other things, you will earn more.

His family was also a salt merchant.

And it's still a Shaanxi businessman.

Back then, with the emperor's momentum, Shaanxi businessmen who had been harmed by Li Zicheng went to Sichuan collectively and seized the well salt.

With the possession of well salt, Shaanxi merchants regained their strength and began to develop greatly, making it possible to compete with Hui merchants and Shanxi merchants.

Naturally, they will not let go of the lake salt in the northwest.

He came here just to expand the Sima family's trade routes.

Qarhan Salt Lake belongs to the northwest salt field and is managed by officials.

All salt merchants do not organize horse teams to transport the salt. Instead, they directly purchase lake salt and then hire horse teams to transport it to Xining.

Then they would let their caravans transport them to Shaanxi, Gansu, and even Henan and other places.

And this is naturally a regulation of Xining Prefecture, which is to give herdsmen a way to survive and retain a lot of profits.

After all, the Salt Lake belonged to the imperial court, and there was no money to be made from it.

The salt merchants could not twist their legs with their arms, and they did not dare to walk through the [-]-mile desert area. The sandstorms and other bad weather along the way were enough to torture the livestock to death.

If you set up a camel team specifically, you will lose more than you gain.

Therefore, if all the lake salt goes to Xining, a tax will naturally be levied. Even if the tax is minimal, it is still a huge amount.

After communicating with Yan Guan, Sima Bu learned a bad news:

Even if the salt is sold to the plateau, it still needs to be transported to Xining by horse teams, and the salt cannot be dissolved on the spot.

"Damn!"

Sima Bu became angry: "Isn't this the opposite?"

His trip was in vain.

Even if he prepared 3000 silver dollars.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man shook his head and said, "Sir, I'm not attacking you. These salt officials are well fed by us on weekdays. How dare they mess around with thousands of dollars."

"If Xining finds out, he might be involved in a book!"

"Is there no way?"

Sima Bu was helpless.

If he couldn't dissolve the salt on the spot, it would mean that he would have to travel a lot longer, and he would be easily discovered.

Selling salt to Wei Zangguo will be a new way of making money for the Sima family in the future.

You must know that in the past, the Ancient Tea Horse Road was the most important trade route in the plateau area. Qinghai is too far from Lhasa, so it was naturally ignored by people.

But the Sima family spied a new way.

Many herdsmen from northern Tibet like to come to Xining to buy lake salt, which means that the vast country of Weizang needs a new trade route to meet its needs.

Although the Ancient Tea Horse Road is good, it is too far and is exploited by Kang State.

After opening up new roads, saffron, cordyceps and other herbs can also be sold at a good price, not to mention there are so many furs.

The annual profit is in the hundreds of thousands.

Although he encountered setbacks, he was not resigned to it and started walking around the entire Salt Lake.

Which boy did he meet again.

"Why did the young master come to Salt Lake? Are you waiting for someone?"

The boy asked seriously.

"Huh?" Sima Bu raised his eyebrows.

With that said, the young man pulled him to the corner, his eyes bright: "Do you dare to do the private salt business?"

Sima Bu was overjoyed. He was really a fool. No matter how strict the court was, how could his private life be cut off?

If you ask openly and honestly, how can someone give you an answer?