Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 171 Salt Production
“You silly child, how could you joke about your future?! I can guess how hard it was for you to get to where you are today, even if you didn't tell me. Good boy, I know you want to help me out of my difficulties, you…”

The Prince of Binyang initially wanted to say he appreciated the kindness, but seeing the child in front of him so anxious he was almost in tears, he couldn't bear it. Well, things are already like this; they can't get any worse, can they?

Then he changed the subject.

"But there's no better way right now, so just give it a try, but don't put too much pressure on yourself. If you can do it, great; if you can't, no one will blame you. After all, everything you're doing now is for the better."

Seeing that the Prince of Binyang had agreed, Jiu Que beamed with joy. She even laughed loudly at Wei Yuan, Chunyu Shuang, and their friends who had rushed over. Chunyu Shuang initially thought Jiu Que was too heartbroken and had lost her mind, but when she turned her head, she saw that even the Prince of Binyang was smiling and looking encouraging. She was immediately confused. Had something happened that she didn't know about? Why did Jiu Que seem so excited, and even the prince was with her?
When Jiu Que rushed over and told everyone his plan, they understood why the prince had that indulgent expression.

Anyway, they were just returning to the capital to report on their duties, so staying a few more days wouldn't matter. After all, the salt issue was crucial to the fate of the Great Jing Kingdom, and His Majesty would understand. Even Bai Yichun was eager to try. Although she had never heard of producing salt by simply drying it, what if Jiuque could really succeed?

Even she had heard how vast the ocean was, and how inexhaustible its seawater was. If salt could truly be extracted from seawater, how much salt could be produced? Wouldn't the whole world then have no shortage of salt?
However, the journey to the capital to offer tribute could not be halted, so Bai Yichun thought for a moment and decided to send his deputy with his men to the capital while he stayed behind to observe the situation. In any case, as long as the tribute reached the capital, it didn't matter who delivered it.

Seeing everyone's eager expressions, Prince Binyang felt somewhat helpless. "Oh well," he thought, "I'll just treat it as playing with the children. There might not be another chance like this." However, the thought of those treacherous villains causing trouble in the shadows made his face grim. He had already sent a message to his father, the Emperor, explaining the situation and urging him to pay close attention to the capital. Those people dared to attack the salt mines of the Great Jing Dynasty; they must harbor rebellious intentions. The capital was a vital city for the Great Jing, and if something happened there, it would inevitably cause national turmoil.

As for Zhao Gou, who betrayed his own people and even colluded with outsiders to poison the salt wells in the salt lake, there's no need to send him to the capital. After Jiu Que and the others have left, he should be executed in front of all the people of Yancheng. If it were just selfishness and greed, that would be one thing, but to destroy all the salt in Yancheng when he knew he wouldn't survive—that's not just destroying Yancheng temporarily, it's destroying the city's century-old foundation!

Even being torn apart by five horses or subjected to slow slicing would not be too much!
However, these children were still around, and the Prince of Binyang didn't want to appear too cruel in front of them. It would only be a few days anyway; once they were sent away, there would be plenty of time to deal with that traitor.

Although he didn't truly believe it in his heart, the Prince of Binyang still strongly supported Jiuque. He even led a large army and skilled salt makers on a rapid journey of fifty miles to the flat and open beach in Yancheng.

On the way here, those experienced salt workers were still whispering among themselves.

"I've never heard of making salt from seawater in my life. The people along the coast do boil some salt in a small pot. But how much dry wood would you need to produce that much salt? Besides, the boiled salt is not suitable for long-term consumption. Otherwise, what would be the point of our salt wells and salt lakes in Yancheng? Do they think that no one has ever thought of making salt from seawater?"

"Who knows? But after all, they are young ladies and gentlemen from the capital. Perhaps they really know secret techniques that we ordinary people don't know?"

"Speaking of which, I just remembered that I've heard that those powerful families have many secret recipes that are not passed down through generations. With those recipes, their families can continue to thrive for several generations."

"You yourself said it's a secret recipe, so why would they tell us ordinary folks a recipe that's not meant to be passed on?" "That's not necessarily true. After all, I think those young ladies and gentlemen are quite familiar with our prince. Maybe they have a very good relationship! Old Yu, what do you say?"

Old Yu was the most skilled among these craftsmen, and his worried expression stood out from the others. He was a veteran salt maker and knew the government wouldn't abandon their own salt lakes and wells to produce salt fifty miles away on the coast without a reason. Coupled with the commotion he'd overheard the previous night, the old man had a bad feeling. But since the higher-ups hadn't told them, he wouldn't be foolish enough to voice it now.

Hearing his companion's question, he forced himself to remain calm.

"We're just skilled at some things. What do we have to do? We have to follow orders from above. Let's just focus on our journey and not think too much. We'll find out when the time comes."

"makes sense."

So everyone set off without worry, and after most of the day, they finally arrived at the beach.

Upon arriving at the beach, Jiu Que carefully observed from a high vantage point and finally selected a flat area. Instead of allowing anyone to take seawater, he ordered his men to clean up the beach, removing all debris, stones, and shells. While some objected, even the prince approved of Jiu Que's approach, so no one else objected.

Recalling the salt-making process in my mind, I'm glad I learned a bit more about it before when I had some free time. Salt production generally involves seven steps: establishing the salt flats, preparing the flats, receiving the tides, making brine, measuring the brine, crystallization, and collecting and storing the salt.

First, seawater is introduced into an evaporation pond. After the water evaporates to a certain extent under the sun, it is poured into a crystallization pond and exposed to the sun again. The seawater will then become a saturated solution of salt, and further evaporation will gradually precipitate salt.

The crystals obtained at this point are the common crude salt.

These were the approximate steps she remembered. Fortunately, it was already summer, with plenty of sunshine, and this area rarely rained, which was enough to sustain the production of the first batch of salt.

Even with a large group of people, it still took them two full days to create the necessary salt ponds. Initially, everyone was skeptical, but on the fifth day at noon, someone ran out screaming, repeatedly shouting "Miracle!" Everyone had been feeling sleepy after lunch, but this sound instantly woke them all up.

Upon hearing the commotion from afar, the Prince of Binyang's heart skipped a beat, and he rushed over immediately.

(End of this chapter)