When he saw the princess's people, Xia Fan's first impression was that these people were not ordinary.

They were able to stand in a row while waiting, rather than sparsely clustered in a few piles. They were tall and short, but they were mostly muscular, and their arms were clearly outlined—muscles were a luxury in the days of agriculture.

Judging from the physical standards, these people undoubtedly exceeded Xia Fan's expectations.

"They were soldiers?"

"You have a good eye. Ning Wanjun smiled, "Didn't you ask me to gather people over last time? Although these people are best at killing people in battle, they also wield hoes when there is no fighting. It is necessary to centralize management, and to keep secrets, and to think about it, it is best to use them to reassure me. ”

Sure enough, the third princess's hole card is the army she once stayed in, Xia Fan thought to herself, on the surface, she can't control the border army of Qiguo, but secretly she can use it to cultivate her own power.

"How many people can you muster?"

Probably because this question was too sensitive, Ning Wanjun squinted at him for a while, and just when Xia Fan thought that the other party would not reveal it, she exhaled slightly, "Three or four thousand should be fine." But I can't take them all to produce salt, and long hours of labor will reduce the ability to fight, and giving you a hundred is the upper limit. ”

"I think so too. Xia Fan not only didn't mind, but agreed very much.

Salt is the core of Jinxia's development, but force is the foundation for ensuring development.

The fact that the other party can answer this question already proves her trust and determination.

With this support, Xia Fan also felt a lot more relaxed.

"Then without further ado, let's get started now. ”

......

Regarding the idea of the salt farm, Xia Fan had already made a draft in his heart.

Not only did he patrol the coast several times, but he also asked local fishermen about the sea conditions, the pattern of the tides, and the weather in recent years, and concluded that the shallows outside Jinxia City were a good place to bask in salt. From May to late October, the sun and rainfall are stable.

This is also due to the flat terrain of the area, where the sea breeze can blow directly inland, and there are signs of temperature changes. A little further south, the situation is quite different. For example, Gaoshan County is blocked by a mountain range, and the hot and cold air changes frequently, which not only makes it easier to bring rain, but it also rains much more suddenly.

Wang's salt works are also on the beach, but because they rely on fuels such as firewood, they are located closer to the side of the river wharf. The breadth of the beach was about thirty or forty kilometers long, and he could have picked out a sparsely populated area.

"This is the place to test. ”

After leading the team for almost half an hour, Xia Fan stopped in front of a natural sand slope.

"I don't know how to do it, you have the final say. Ning Wanjun motioned for his subordinates to gather around, "If you have any requirements, just tell them, and they will carry them out." ”

Although she had never seen this person before, the princess's words were like military orders, and everyone's eyes looked at Xia Fan.

Xia Fan pondered for a while, and said loudly, "Everyone, we are going to open up a salt pan here. ”

"I heard that you all worked as farmers when you were in the army, and what you have to do here is no different from cultivating the land. First of all, we had to create several flat areas on the hillside, each of which didn't need to be too big, but had to be surrounded by masonry edges that could be used to hold water. Secondly, there should be a drop between the flats, and they should not exceed half an arm's length, and they look like the terraces in the south......"

He slowed down and tried to explain the task in the simplest possible terms, so that everyone knew what he was going to do next.

The matter of drying salt is not complicated in principle, but there are still many details worth studying, if it is not mastered well, the efficiency will only be greatly reduced, and it is even difficult to produce salt. Because of this, sea salt has been boiled for a long time.

Although Xia Fan has never been to the salt farm, he has seen a lot of related pictures - because of the progress of productivity, many small salt farms have gradually changed from production bases to local landscapes, and the white salt land and the blue sea water meet the horizon, which can always make people feel the emotion of human transformation of nature.

What he had to do now was to extrapolate the production process based on the principles he knew and the impressions in his memory.

One of the most important aspects of the salt drying plant is to separate the different concentrations of salt sea water in order to increase the production speed of each round and reduce the manpower requirements.

When the sea is at high tide, the salt works have to open the floodgates to bring natural raw materials into the water storage canals, and use waterwheels, manpower and other means to pour this seawater into the top pool. Wait until the water has evaporated to a certain extent, then allow the sea water to flow into the pool below, and then repeat the process.

As the steps are lowered, the concentration of brine in the pond will increase until the coarse salt is precipitated. The upper pond can be filled with new seawater as soon as it is discharged, until a circulation is formed.

It's early September, and he hopes to complete the validation test by October and start production by the end of the fall. Even in winter, Jinxia City will not become icy and snowy, and the reduced efficiency can be completely compensated for by expanding the scale.

In addition, there is no essential conflict between the salt drying method and the boiling salt method, and high concentration of brine will only be more convenient when boiling. He even plans to erect a salt boiling plant near the salt pond to enable round-the-clock production.

Of course, Xia Fan didn't take the Wang family's production experience in his eyes at all, and the backward process of burning wood and boiling water was a shame to say. In addition to using solar energy, there is a more intuitive energy source that can be used – and that is magic.

This is also the inspiration given to him by his previous research on electromagnetic guns.

As long as a short circuit is formed, the current can heat the conductor to extremely high temperatures in an extreme time, and if you spread copper strips under the salt boiling pond and then apply vibration to it, wouldn't it be an antique electric water heater?

When the time comes, let alone boiling salt, it is estimated that it will be easy to boil a pool of water.

The only problem was that he needed to recruit a few hard-working alchemists.

Xia Fan did not intend to act as this "heating source" by himself.

I don't know if those candidates who received their invitation letters will come to Jinxia City...... He couldn't help but think to himself.

......

"Bang dang!"

With a crackling sound, the car shook violently and stopped abruptly.

"Bad luck!" the coachman scolded, and then opened the curtain apologetically, "This adult, I'm sorry, I just didn't notice a dirt pit on the road, and the axle was broken." Or...... I'll give you the money back, and you'll get another carriage?"

Sitting in the carriage was Moyun from Gyeonggi.

He was accompanied by two of his own attendants.

She wanted to return to Jinxia with the princess's guards, but the other party still had a secret letter that needed to be delivered as soon as possible, so the two of them only split up to start the journey. She was not good at horseback riding, and the distance was long, so she chose to hire a car, but she did not expect to encounter this kind of accident halfway through.

Mo Yun frowned and stepped out of the rickety carriage - just as the coachman had said, one of the wheels of the carriage was already crooked, and it was obvious that it could no longer run.

This is the official road to Shenzhou, and people will pass by from time to time, but there is no safety problem, but passing vehicles often carry people and goods, and it is not so easy to meet a carriage that can pick them up.

"How far is it from Jinxia?" she asked, lowering her voice.

"I guess it's about two days away. ”

It really doesn't bode well for her to have such a problem in the middle of the trip...... Mo Yun said in his heart.

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