Lord, he is not a man [infrastructure]

In order to save time, Tang Bo did not enter any territory during the next journey. He just took a general look around the territory he passed, drew the map and continued on his way.

Tian Min and the others didn't have any objections to rushing, because Tang Bo had space, and their journey was not considered hard.

Tang Bo originally planned to identify some edible plants and herbs on the way, but this place is not the same place as the earth. Many species look alike, but the connotation is not necessarily what he thought.

One of the times, he thought he had discovered Sanqi, and when he was pleasantly surprised, he asked everyone to collect it in large quantities.

But Gu Ding looked at him strangely, and asked: "Why are you collecting so many aphrodisiacs? Are you dying?"

Tang Bo: "..."

Baidou, who seems simple and thick, is not simple and honest at all. He added: "This kind of grass goat is my favorite food. There may be a herd of goats nearby. Shall we look for it? We can eat roasted goats at night. The sheepskin can be picked up and kept for use, or sold.”

Gu Ding poked it openly: "Mutton is also an aphrodisiac, if you need a stronger one, I know that there is a herb called mutton egg that is more effective, may I find it for you?"

Tang Bo grabbed Gu Ding by the neck and dragged him back: "Do you know medicinal herbs?"

Gu Ding looked proud: "A little bit, but definitely better than the two pharmacists led by Sanshu."

"Who did you learn from?"

Gu Ding wanted to say that he was naturally sensitive to plants, but he also had to admit: "I learned it secretly from the pharmacist at Sanshuling. But he certainly doesn't know as many herbs as I do now, and he will make mistakes, I won't .”

Tang Bo rubbed the child's hair: "That's right, wait until Yandongling to see if there is a pharmacist over there. We spend money, and you learn a little from others. The more you learn, the better. I will bear the money. You are the pharmacist of the territory."

"It's not rare! I don't want to be a pharmacist." Gu Ding has great ambitions, and he doesn't care about being a pharmacist who wants to kneel to the nobles.

"Stupid. You don't need to be a pharmacist, but you have this talent, why don't you take the ability of a pharmacist into your hands? Not to mention that you can make money by collecting and configuring herbs, but that your enemies will ask you to save their lives in the future. Don’t you want to be able to see your face? Even if you don’t want to save people, if you have more knowledge of herbal medicine and pharmacology, it will be easier for you to protect yourself and harm others in the future.”

Gu Ding showed a thoughtful expression.

Tang Bo knew that the child listened to it, and he really planned to train the child, and Gu Ding's knowledge of herbal medicine is good, so he can follow suit.

He is born with eyesight and ears, as long as he learns it once, he will not forget it.

"You let me learn so much, aren't you afraid?" the child raised his head and asked him seriously.

Tang Bo smiled nonchalantly: "What are you afraid of? Are you afraid that you will kill me, or that you will take away my territory and power? If you can do it, come here."

Gu Ding: "Hmph."

Tang Bo flicked the forehead of the tsundere brat, ending the episode.

But along the way, he also paid attention to asking Gu Ding if he knew some edible plants and herbs.

Gu Ding taught him something.

Ashu, Baidou and Tian Min also memorized a few common ones, such as hemostatic grass and snake grass.

The five people rushed all the way without carrying heavy loads, and arrived at the Yandong collar three days earlier than expected.

The salt cave occupies a small area, but it is extremely prosperous.

Its city is small, perhaps only about a kilometer in diameter.

But the strange thing is that the buildings inside are very messy, and they don't seem to be well-planned at all, and there are not many good houses, most of them are adobe houses, and there are many wooden houses that look very old.

Because of the chaos and smallness, it becomes more and more crowded with people coming and going.

The locals all live in this small city, and there are only a few small villages scattered outside.

Gu Ding and others thought that the local people would be very rich, but when they entered Yandong City, they found that the local people's life was similar to that of the Bailu leader, or even worse.

There are many naked people carrying salt baskets in the city, most of them are thin and sad.

Tang Bo is also observing the city and the people here.

The guards in Salt Cave City looked at them and asked, "Are you here to buy salt?"

Tang Bo nodded.

"It costs [-] copper coins per person to enter the city, the same for all ages, and there is no charge for leaving the city." The guard said rigidly.

Such a high entry fee first deters individual tourists from buying salt.Ordinary farmers and free citizens, who would be willing to spend [-] copper coins per person and go to the city to buy dozens of catties of salt?

Tang Bo counted 150 copper coins and handed them to the guards.

The guard took the money and waved to a man in hemp shorts: "Take them to the salt house."

The man rushed over to greet Tang Bo and his party.

Tang Bo thought that the other party was a local guide, but it turned out to be no, he was just a guide. When you asked him anything, he said he didn't know. Even the price of salt, he told you that you needed to ask at the salt house.

Tang Bo tried to lure him by giving him money, but the man leading the way waved his hands in fright, saying that if the leader found out, the whole family would be sent to work in the salt cave.

After the man said this, his face turned pale, and he seemed to know that he had said something wrong. No matter how Tang Bo asked him, he kept his mouth shut and refused to say a word.

Tian Min and the others looked at each other, because the man was there, so they couldn't say anything.

But Tian Min still drove the mule closer to Tang Bo, and said to him in a low voice: "Master, the lord here is very strict with his people, we have to be careful."

"Well, you too, don't separate, watch out for Mouse."

Tian Min nodded carefully, and hugged Ah Shu who was sitting in front of him.

This is also the reason why Tang Bo took Tian Min with him but not Jia Dou. Jia Dou is also very capable and has more leadership skills than Tian Min, but that kid is more slippery and he is not as serious and careful as Tian Min.

Ah Shu touched the iron knife stuck in his waist, and pursed his lips. She dared to kill wolves, and she would definitely not cause trouble for everyone.

The city is not big, so the salt house will arrive soon.

The man who led the way briefly told the steward in the salt house that these people wanted to buy salt, and ran away without saying a word.

Tang Bo bowed his head and said a few words to Gu Ding.

Gu Ding hummed, but he still took a purse, slipped off his horse, and quickly disappeared into the crowd.

Along the way, Tang Bo has a better understanding of Gu Ding's ability to protect himself.As long as this little guy doesn't take the initiative to cause trouble, or challenge others beyond his control, running for his life is not a problem.

The four dismounted and entered the salt house.

In the salt house, there is a young man who is in charge of two thugs.

The steward sat on an old animal skin, his body leaning against a wooden stake.Seeing the four people coming in, they didn't even move their bodies, let alone stood up to greet them.

The two thugs also stood still.

The first thing the three of them saw was the unusually tall Baidou.

"Where did you come from? How much salt do you want to buy?" The steward of the salt house looked at several people, and finally his eyes fell on Tang Bo's face.

Tian Min took Ah Shu a step forward, and said honestly, "What salt do you have, take it out first and have a look."

The steward of the salt house looked critically at Tian Min, and pointed to the piece of burlap spread in front of him.

Some pieces of coarse salt were scattered on the cloth, and there was a small clay pot.

Tian Min lowered his head, he thought these black, gray and white objects were stones.

Tian Min didn't even look at the chunks of coarse salt, he directly opened the lid on the earthen pot, stretched out his hand and pinched a little salt out of it.

Tian Min nodded when he saw the salt in the pot, and pinched some for Tang Bo to see.

Tang Bo asked Tian Min to show him the pot directly.

The steward didn't stop it either.

Tang Bo took the pot and walked outside into the sunlight, then poured some salt out of it and looked at it carefully.

The salt grains are relatively thick, and the color is yellowish white with a little black.

This is coarse salt as well, but its purity is much better than that unrefined salt rock.

Tang Bo returned to the salt house and handed the pot to Tian Min.

Tian Min put it back.

The steward of the salt house was half lying there, and the uncle asked incomparably, "I've finished reading it? Which one do you want to buy?"

"How much are the two prices?" Tian Min asked again.

The steward of the salt house saw that these people were not too pleasing to the eye, but he was not too disgusted, so he quoted a price of 1.5 times: "Salt blocks are three copper coins per catty, and salt grains are six copper coins per catty."

Tian Min was secretly happy, this price was much cheaper than the salt price of Sanshu Ling.

The salt price of Sanshu collar, the same grain of coarse salt costs twenty copper coins a catty, and it was doubled last time when it was sold to their young master.

Tang Bo converted the price and found that the price of salt here is much more expensive than in ancient China.

This can only illustrate two points.

First, with the salt cave collar as the center, there may be only this family producing salt in a thousand miles around.

Second, Duke Luma cannot control the salt mine in his own hands. The salt still belongs to the private property of the territory, and he can sell it for as much as he wants.

The Yandong collar is clearly under the jurisdiction of the Luma Principality, and from the outside of the city, it doesn't look like it has any fighting power.

It is very interesting that the Grand Duke of Luma allowed the salt cave to earn money from the citizens of his principality.

Tang Bo's experience allows him to see the essence directly through the fog. He has seen similar scenes in Africa. In such a situation, there must be someone behind the industry, and it is inconvenient for people to know.

In the hinterland of the Luma Principality, it is impossible for an important salt-producing area to be controlled by outsiders. If all the impossibilities are removed, there is only one possibility left.

The force behind this salt cave leader is Duke Luma himself.

Ninety-nine percent of the green hemp prince is exploiting the wealth of the nobles and commoners in the principality in a disguised form through this method.

From Tang Bo's personal point of view, the behavior of Luma Dagong is obviously very stupid. It is typical for the rich to make the whole country poor.

But in this era, maybe the Duke of Green Hemp is still secretly delighted by his resourcefulness—exploiting the real power lord through the price of salt.

Actually?

The lords everywhere will not lose themselves. The salt they bought at a high price will only be sold at a higher price.

Small territories and ordinary civilians who cannot afford salt can only seek refuge in medium and large territories if they cannot survive.

The small territory was quietly swallowed up by the medium and large ones, but as long as the lord and the title are still there, the Duke of Green Hemp will not know about it.

Just looking at how easily the butler helped him get the title of lord and baron, it can be seen that the Duke of Green Ma is lax in the management of government affairs.

And the trivial matter of ordinary civilians turning into Tian slaves, lords of medium and large territories, would not be taken seriously by Duke Luma.

But will the duchy be over anytime soon?

In the current slave society, not yet.

Because the Duke of Luma has a lot of money, a lot of food and private soldiers in his hands.

Rather than saying that the Luma Principality is a country, it is better to say that the Luma City is the largest and strongest territory in the Luma Principality.

If other lords want to attack him, they must weigh their own strength.Also, they have to be wary of other ambitious lords.

However, powerful lords in various places can try to annex other smaller territories, as long as they can do their best not to attract the attention of Luma City.

No one knows that Tang Bo has analyzed the current national conditions of the Luma Principality in detail only through a small salt house and salt price, which also makes Tang Bo decide to take a bigger step after returning.

"Is there better salt?" Tang Bo didn't show any expression, but everyone could see that this lazy young master with a soft and handsome face looked down on these two kinds of salt.

The steward of the salt house perked up. Is this a fat sheep?

"Wait." The manager of the salt house still didn't get up, but only raised his chin.

One of the two thugs immediately went out of the salt room, and returned after a while with a black stoneware pot.

"Show it to the young master." The steward of the salt house ordered.

Tian Min specially took the clay pot first, and then held it to Tang Bo.

Tang Bo took the clay pot under the sun and opened it for a closer look.

This time the salt grains are finer, the most important thing is that no black impurities can be seen, only yellow and white salt crystals are left.

Tang Bo knew that this salt was not fine salt, it still contained a lot of impurities, but it was indeed much better than the coarse salt just now.

"What's the price of this kind of salt?" Tang Bo returned to the salt house.

The steward of the salt house stretched out a finger, "This is fine salt, which is only sold to nobles. If you prove your status as a nobleman, it will be worth twenty copper coins per catty, or thirty copper coins per catty if you can't."

Tian Min was surprised: Isn't the price too harsh?

The steward of the salt house didn't even twitch his brows. The nobles like this kind of fine salt. What are twenty copper coins to the nobles?

Besides, how many people can a noble family have, and how many people are eligible to eat fine salt?After careful calculation, the cost of fine salt for a month is not much at all, and twenty copper coins per catty are really not expensive.

Tang Bo didn't want people to know that he came from Bailu for the time being, but he took out his noble identity certificate.

The steward of the salt house took a piece of parchment from Tian Min, on which Tang Bo's identity was written in a beautiful common language that the steward could not recognize.

The steward didn't look at the content, he looked at the lord's seal stamped at the bottom of the parchment.

"The leader of the three trees? I remember that the leader of the three trees was another person." After confirming the seal, the steward returned the parchment to Tian Min.

Tang Bo said lightly: "He made a mistake, the lord no longer trusts him."

"What about you? Who are you, the Lord of the Three Trees?" The steward suspected that Tang Bo was also a nobleman, and he could tell this just by looking at his temperament and momentum.

Tang Bo glanced at the steward with natural arrogance and coldness: "What do you think?"

Tian Min immediately shouted: "Don't be disrespectful to the young master!"

The thug snorted coldly.

The steward raised his hand, laughed, and finally stood up from the animal skin blanket, "Master, how much fine salt do you want?"

Tang Bo had already prepared: "[-] catties of fine salt, [-] catties of coarse salt grains, and [-] catties of block salt."

The steward's eyes lit up, this amount is not a small deal.In addition, the price he quoted just now was half the actual price, and the Yandong collar has the habit of buying more and getting more discounts, so adding up, this business is done, and he can earn a lot of money. Pen.

The steward suddenly became more enthusiastic, and the deal was about to be finalized immediately.

Tang Bo took the opportunity to propose that he wanted to visit the salt caves where salt was produced.

But the steward said cunningly: "Sorry, the salt cave is steep and dangerous, smells bad, and is very harmful to the body. A noble young master like you is not suitable to go to such a terrible place."

"I'll take a look, leader of the salt cave. Do you have a huge salt cave? Is the salt cave in the mountains or underground?" Tang Bo looked curious and willful as a noble young master.

But the steward changed the subject very bluntly: "How do you transport so much salt back? Is your caravan outside the city? Since you came here for the first time, and you bought a lot, my people can help you transport the salt." To a place as far as five miles outside the city."

Tang Bo: "Just send it outside the city, and I will let my people take you there."

Tian Min was in a hurry, why didn't the young master counter the price?They buy so much, it must be cheaper.

The steward was anxious to close the deal quickly, and secretly urged Tang Bo to pay the money several times.

Tang Bo seemed to have given up on the idea of ​​going to the salt cave to see it. He also seemed to want to complete the business quickly, so he paid one-third of the deposit first, and made an agreement with the steward that when all the salt was shipped to the designated place outside the city, he Pay the rest.

The steward agreed, this is the territory of the salt cave, and he was not afraid at all that Tang Bo would dare to lie to him, nor was he afraid that he would run away after grabbing the salt.

The steward started to like Tang Bo now, even though the young master's face was very stinky.

He has never done such a quick and big business before, and he likes this kind of nobleman who simply pays.

Hello, the leader of the three trees, the former one always wanted to bargain with them for some small bargains, and he could grind with them for a long time because of the price.

I hope that in the future, Sanshuling will come to buy salt again, so let this young master come over.

Thinking about his purse that was about to get fatter, the steward smiled at Tang Bo like a flower.

The salt was transported outside the city, and Baidou was responsible for taking the salt transporter to the designated place outside the city.

Tang Bo took Tian Min and Ah Shu around Yandong City.

Tian Min held back until now, probably because of the young master's changes during this period of time made him more courageous, he finally couldn't help asking: "Master, is the price quoted by the steward a little higher? We can bargain of."

If it was changed to before, he would not dare to point out the young master's mistake like that.

Tang Bo yawned, and smiled slightly: "It's a good thing, if you raise prices casually to disrupt the market, and you don't conduct honest transactions, you will be punished, no matter if it's the Sanshu collar or the Yandong collar."

Tian Min and Ah Shu: д I don’t understand...