Chapter 162 Salt is a good thing

Chapter 162 Salt is a good thing

The city of Jiangning was already extremely busy in the early morning. In a luxurious restaurant, two men in black robes were sitting at the table cooking. One was old and the other was young. The younger one had one eye that looked a little strange.

The old man didn't eat much. He simply ate two steamed buns and then picked up the teacup to drink tea. Not long after, his hand holding the cup shook violently and a few drops of scalding tea spilled out.

"Old man, how about leaving now?" The old man suddenly spoke, and the young man was stunned, not knowing who he was talking to.

No one answered him.

The old man's hands were shaking like sieves. "If a fight breaks out, this old man, no, even if I can only strike once, there won't be a single living person left within a few miles of this place."

Still no answer.

"Young people should solve their own problems. I will leave today and visit the academy within a year. How do you think?"

The aura that locked onto him disappeared, and the old man let out a long sigh and put down his teacup: "I have taught you a lot these days, so let's part ways today, and take care of yourself."

After saying that, the old man stood up. The young man felt a flash before his eyes, and before he could even ask a question, the old man's original seat was empty.

In a carriage in the distance, the old man opened his eyes and said, "Let's go."

Wei You whipped the horse whip, and the carriage moved slowly towards the north.

Zhao Yushu took A Yao to the dock. Twenty days of life on the water almost made him forget the feeling of being on solid ground.

The river is much wider than the Luo River, so shipping is naturally much busier than in Dongdu. The entire dock is crowded with merchants and laborers, and the smell of sweat and fish mixed together rushes into the nose.

"Ayao, follow me closely. Don't blame me if someone hits you." Zhao Yushu followed the crowd and squeezed forward. Where was this place in his previous life? He seemed to only know a Confucius Temple and Laomendong. There was no Confucius in this world, so this shouldn't be the case.

Previously, when I was chatting with Wang Yuan and Ouyang Wen, two scholars from the southeast, in Dongdu, we talked about Jiangning. They quoted a proverb of the time: Xijing has many nobles, Dongdu has many rich people, and Jiangning has many idle people.

Jiangning is far away from the political whirlpool of the two capitals. With Guangling to the east and Qiantang to the south, it is home to many wealthy businessmen and scholars. In addition, Jiangnan is a land of fish and rice with abundant resources. The local living standard is even higher than that of the two capitals to a certain extent, so the local wealthy people can really live a life of fun.

Zhao Yushu and A Yao seemed like country people who had just arrived in the city. They looked around with curious eyes, and they were just short of saying the word "fat sheep" each.

However, both of them are worldly-wise people. After dealing with a bunch of clever tour guides like Xiao Ji and petty thieves like A Yao, the whole world became much quieter.

"Brother Zhao, where are we going now?" A Yao followed closely behind Zhao Yushu, carrying a package on his back.

"The eldest brother gave us the address. Two senior brothers and sisters from our academy have been here for more than a month. We just need to go find them."

"Jiangning Academy?"

Zhao Yushu frowned and said, "No, maybe the relationship between Jiangning Academy and Baima Academy is not very good. Let's go, we will know when we get there."

The address given by the eldest brother is a Taoist temple.

The Taoist temple was not close, and it took almost an hour to get there after asking for permission.

"Please tell the Taoist priest that I am Zhao Yushu from the White Horse Academy. I am here to look for Senior Brother Sun Wuyang and Senior Sister Lin Shan on the orders of the master."

"Donor, wait a moment."

The Taoist priest returned the greeting and walked back inside. Not long after, a young man with a sword on his back came out.

"Junior Brother Zhao?"

"Meet Senior Brother Sun."

Following Sun Wuyang into the Taoist temple's wing, Sun Wuyang arranged for A Yao to rest and pulled Zhao Yushu aside.

"The dean said that he sent disciples from the Tianji Pavilion. I wonder what is Junior Brother Zhao's ranking?"

"Ranked sixth, just started not long ago."

"It's Mr. Six."

"Brother, you are being too formal. Just call me Junior Brother."

Sun Wuyang smiled and said, "Okay, to be honest, I didn't want to bother you, but Shanshan and I are both mortals, and there are some things we can't handle."

Zhao Yushu was a little confused: "I heard from my senior brother that Senior Brother Sun and Senior Sister Lin were sent here in the name of the academy. Could it be that the people here dare to attack the people from the academy?"

Sun Wuyang smiled bitterly: "Although we dare not take action, some of the methods of the monks are too surprising. To put it bluntly, we have been here for more than a month, but we are still unable to start."

Zhao Yushu couldn't help but laugh: "Senior Brother Sun, you are scolding me as well."

"Hey, blame me. I was really anxious. Come on, I'll take you to experience some Jiangnan cuisine! Then I'll tell you in detail about this crappy job."

"Brother, it's still early."

"Then go have a cup of tea first. I have something to say but I have to vent."

I have to say that, speaking of tea alone, Jiangning's tea is indeed better than Dongdu's, which may have something to do with the proximity of the place of origin.

"Where's Senior Sister Lin?"

"I went to visit her best friend's house. As for why I went there, that's a long story. Little one, if you like to eat, bring more. Waiter, bring a few more plates of fruit."

"To be honest, Senior Brother, Senior Brother just asked me to come to you. I have no idea what I am doing."

Sun Wuyang pointed to the east and said, "This matter has to start from Guangling."

In ancient times, there were two things that were under the absolute control of the imperial court. One was iron, which was involved in the forging of weapons and farm tools, and the other was salt.

Iron ore is easy to deal with. If an army with swords and guns goes there, the mine will be stable. But salt is different.

To put it simply, coarse salt will be produced once the sea water is dried. How can you prevent it with such a long coastline?

Therefore, the struggle between official salt and private salt was recorded in the history books of dynasties in previous lives, and this world is no exception.

(PS: In the history of the Tang Dynasty, the salt used in the inland areas was mostly pond salt and well salt, and the collection of salt tax changed greatly with the times. This article is fictional and the settings have been modified for the needs of the plot. Just enjoy reading it.)

Guangling was the gathering place for salt merchants from all over the world at that time. Salt was a lucrative business and it was impossible for the imperial court to monopolize it. Everyone wanted to get involved, even the academy.

As a result, the salt merchants representing various factions sometimes banded together to seek huge profits and snatch food from the tiger's mouth, and sometimes engaged in endless internal strife. This kind of fighting and quarreling lasted for 400 years of the Tang Dynasty.

Countless large-scale purges took place during the four hundred years, but the temptation of huge sums of money could not be resisted. Finally, when the ruling power of the Tang Dynasty royal family was getting weaker and weaker, a major salt administration case broke out in the southeast again. The major factions seized the opportunity and immediately dispatched their own personnel, intending to get a piece of the pie during the reshuffle.

"Those already at the table want more, and those under the table want to come up. If our academy wasn't famous enough, I would have lost my head long ago." Sun Wuyang took a sip of tea, feeling quite helpless.

Zhao Yushu was a little confused. For such an important matter, they sent two scholars who had not yet graduated to handle it. It seemed that the academy did not take this matter seriously.

"Does our academy have a big share in it?" Zhao Yushu asked the question cautiously.

"Not much, half of it, 250,000 taels of profit per year."

With a "puff", all of Zhao Yushu's tea sprayed out.

"How many?"