A group of people walked out of the large salt mine. Shuluo took a long breath, which turned into a faint white mist in the slightly cold and humid wind.
He looked around. The salt mine was built in a valley with dense salt springs. The low-lying areas were continuous patches of white saline-alkali soil, interspersed with many small brown mounds. The vast white valley was like a world after snow, slightly arched.
The brown mounds are like eyes looking up at the sky.
Xiulote shook his head and brought his thoughts back to the salt mining industry. The demand for salt was an important factor in the formation of tribal alliances in Central America. Only tribal alliances, this more powerful group connection, can make huge numbers
The ancestors of Central America could more easily obtain the necessary supplies in life, whether through war or peace.
These necessary living materials also include cotton that can withstand the cold, obsidian as weapons and tools, and jade that meets religious needs. Salt, cotton, obsidian and jade are also several strategic materials that the Mexican Alliance actively controls.
In comparison, glittering decorations such as gold, silver, and feathers are not so important.
The young man was walking in deep contemplation. He accidentally stepped on an arched brown soil mound, and immediately stumbled. The mound looked compact, but in fact it was fluffy. As soon as he stepped on it, it immediately sank. The fluffy salt soil sank.
After touching the boy's ankles, the soil particles seeped from the edge of the moccasins and fell into the simple laced socks.
Shulot pulled out his foot with force. As soon as he walked, the granular salt soil rubbed the soles of his feet and hurt, and there was also a slight irritation on the skin. The young man bent down and was about to take off his shoes and socks, but it felt as if he had been hit by dirt.
The curse of the spirit. He suddenly opened his eyes wide and stared at the brown soil in front of him, motionless and lost in thought.
"White saline land, brown fluffy salt soil, particles like ant eggs...this is..."
Shulot was frozen like a sculpture, with countless real and illusory fragments flashing like fleeting images, and finally settled on a virtual scene of doomsday survival. He opened his mouth wide in surprise and murmured in a low voice.
Looking at the young boy who suddenly stopped, the surrounding warriors looked at each other in confusion.
Under Bertard's command, they drew their weapons vigilantly and spread out to guard the surroundings, wary of possible enemies. The warrior captain observed for a moment and did not disturb the young man's "divine enlightenment". He just took out the weapon seriously
The long bow was drawn diagonally, with the arrow pointed at the ground, to guard against the confusing earth spirits in Mexica mythology. Suddenly, the surrounding areas were filled with silence, and there was silence between heaven and earth.
After a while, Shulot waved to the guard. His expression was extremely serious.
"Go and call the samurai overseer of the salt field."
The guard bowed his head and saluted, and hurried away silently. The young man continued to look at the ground, his eyes flashing, and he was silent in thought.
After a while, the round-faced samurai overseer came from the big salt mine. Looking at the solemn scene in front of him, his forehead was slightly sweaty, and he cautiously slowed down. Then, under the stern urging of the guard, he reluctantly
Go to the center surrounded by warriors.
"Dear priest, I wonder what you have ordered."
The round-faced supervisor lowered his head deeply and followed the young man's gaze, but saw nothing.
"What is this brown loose soil?"
Shulot solemnly pointed to his feet.
The round-faced supervisor continued to take a look and saw the young man's feet that were sunk in the loose soil. He knelt down and saluted with some fear.
"Dear priest, this brown loose soil has nothing to do with the big salt mine! It does not appear most of the year, and it is quite convenient to walk on the salt-alkali land. Only when cold days come, such as the current one
Months later, these brown loose soils will suddenly seep out of the land.
Legend has it that this is because the earth spirit in the ground wakes up in the cold weather. It swims underground and lifts up the soil, but it does not hurt people. As soon as spring comes, especially when the rain falls, it will sleep again
With."
Shulot thought for a moment, his eyes shining brightly. He asked sternly, his voice urgent.
“Is it salt soil?”
The round-faced supervisor looked at the young man's face and couldn't figure out what His Highness was paying attention to. He had to be careful and report truthfully.
"This brown loose soil is indeed salty salt soil. But usually, salt workers do not use it to make salt, because the salt made from it will be a bit bitter and spicy. However, hunters from the mountains come here occasionally.
Dig some soil and use it to make leather. Since it’s not used in the mine, we don’t care.”
Hearing this, Shulot hesitated for a moment, then stretched out his finger, dipped a little brown fluffy salt soil, and put it into his mouth. He felt it with the tip of his tongue. First, there was a normal salty taste, then some bitterness and a slight spiciness.
Taste. The young man's eyes became brighter and brighter.
"What color is the salt made from this soil?" Shulot's tone was filled with joy.
"The color of salt? Salt... is all white."
The round-faced overseer lowered his head, secretly wondering whether His Highness had been deceived by the earth spirit.
"Can the salt you make burn?" the boy continued to ask.
"Salt, burning? This... Your Highness, we have not tried it."
The round-faced supervisor was confused. He became more and more sure of his guess.
Shulot thought about this soil with a solemn expression, and a surprising guess gradually came to his mind.
"Saline-alkali land, brown fluffy salt soil, ant egg particles. It appears in winter. It is salty, bitter and slightly spicy. This may be... this must be saltpeter! The most important raw material for making gunpowder!"
Thinking of this, Shulote straightened his back excitedly, and his eyes were full of excitement. He looked up at the bright sky, the sun was slightly setting in the west, and it was still early to set. The young man paced back and forth twice, then waved decisively, high
Sound the command.
"Bertard, let's not go to the obsidian mine now, let's go back to the salt field!"
With that said, Shulot strode away in the same direction as the meteor. As he walked, he asked.
"May I have your name?"
"Your Highness, I am Cavare, Queen of the Nobles of Tenotictlan, and I am willing to die for your great Highness! Marshal Casal is my uncle, and I once had the honor to work with you to conquer the evil Otomi people."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The manager of a rich place like the big salt mine must be a noblewoman. Shulot nodded slightly and asked casually.
"Oh? It turns out he is the nephew of an old friend! How is General Casal doing lately?"
"General Casal is idle at home, teaching his younger generations with peace of mind. He often tells us that the most regretful thing in his life is that he did not follow the great king earlier. Now he is ready to lead the king's troops at any time.
Fight, fight hard until you die!"
After everyone walked for a while, the salt field was already in sight. The supervisor Cavare followed respectfully, one position behind Xiulote.
He bowed in reply with an excited look, changed his name calmly, and gestured to the saltworks supervisors in a concealed and fast manner. The supervisors looked at the salt field for a moment, and then swarmed in and saluted again. Only one of them was the thinnest.
The figure disappeared into the salt field.
Shulot was silent. The alliance's salt field has been in peace for a long time, and the place where the huge interests are located has been rotten from top to bottom. If the fluffy salt soil is as expected, the salt field must be renovated vigorously. Or simply start a new one and build a special salt field.
Military industry sector.
As soon as he entered the salt field, the young man gave a serious order: "Let the salt workers collect the fluffy brown salt soil! Clear the innermost salt-making field and guard it with the guard warriors. All the samurai supervisors will go outside the salt field to supervise the work!"
At this time, Moreno was quietly thinking about life and the future by the salt pond. His fierce face showed rare confusion and confusion. He was surrounded by dozens of strong salt workers' cronies, all of whom were shirtless and with strong muscular upper bodies. Everyone was accompanying him.
Following the leader, they looked at the salt pond in confusion.
After an unknown amount of time, the sharp conch sound suddenly resounded through the entire salt field. Moreno came back to his senses and saw the handsome and ruthless Highness coming back. He shuddered and subconsciously held down his hand.
There is still a dull pain in my abdomen.
Soon, a samurai overseer came over and gave orders. Everyone put down their work and went to the salt-alkali land to dig brown loose soil for His Royal Highness. Moreno felt confused, but he honestly took the shovel, sacks, and brothers and set off.
Brown fluffy salt soil is everywhere. In this cold season, salt workers sometimes step on this loose soil for fun and bet on who will be dragged away by the underground spirits. After working for two quarters of an hour, they filled the sacks
, and delayed for a while to kill time before returning with the large army.
Moreno handed over the bag of salt and soil and was just about to find a place to rest for a while when he saw the terrifying warrior captain coming towards him.
"Moreno, His Highness summons you! Take a few experienced salt cooks and follow me inside."
The calm warrior commander smiled slightly.
Moreno shuddered. He looked around, lowered his head and thought about it, then obediently led a few of his cronies to the depths of the salt field.
The inside of the salt field has been emptied. In a hidden corner, elite warriors sealed off the surrounding area. The salt workers brought bags of brown salt soil and were immediately driven away. Even the samurai supervisors were not allowed to approach.
Shulot was surrounded by people, looking at the brown soil and salt pits and thinking. He struggled to recall the chemistry knowledge from his previous life, with a melancholy look on his face. If he had known this, he should have studied hard back then.
From a distance, Moreno and the salt workers knelt down and saluted respectfully. The young man nodded and without any nonsense, directly ordered them to use brown soil to make salt.
Under the strong onlookers of many warriors, the fierce salt worker leader started to work cautiously like a docile domestic dog. He piled up the salt soil and then drained out the turbid salt water.
Shulot observed carefully that the salt water had a very light reddish-brown color. The young man was slightly happy and pondered silently.
Then, Moreno lit up a fire, boiled the salt water in the pit dry, and boiled out white salt mixed with brown powder. Finally, he raised his head and looked at the majestic His Highness, with a confused look on his face.
Hulott observed the salt powder for a while, then stretched out his finger to taste it again. Bertard gently pressed his arm and shook his head. Then he used his index finger to taste it carefully.
"Salty, a little bitter, slightly spicy."
The young man nodded. He took two steps back and asked the guard to light a fire and try to ignite the salt powder on the ground. The salt powder burned slightly, a little flame came out, and there seemed to be a very light smoke, and then there was no reaction.
.
There was a burst of joy in Xuelote's eyes at first, and then it turned into confusion. He pondered distressedly, this must be saltpeter, but the extracted nitrate content was not enough and there were too many impurities.
"Nitrate soil has a salty taste, so there must be sodium chloride in it. The nitrate in nitrate soil should be in the form of nitrate radicals. Since it comes from soil, it should be calcium nitrate. I have learned in the textbook that the soil finally made
The nitrate should be potassium nitrate. Then the calcium needs to be removed first...Yes, it needs to be precipitated...If you are in doubt, add plant ash first!"
Hulot looked up at the sky, trying to continue to recall vague fragments from movies, TV shows and books. He relied on the chemistry content in the textbook to speculate on the composition of the soil and the final product, thinking about how to remove unnecessary impurities and how to separate the mixed soil from the soil.
, get the desired raw materials.
The young man is constantly thinking and trying. He is improving the operating procedures and observing the products of each processing. The fragments of memory are like fragmented and missing puzzle pieces, and it is difficult to piece together an effective and complete process.
Moreno sighed in his heart. He was confused. Under the command of His Highness, he performed various treatments on these soils to extract what kind of "burning salt" they wanted.
Time is passing slowly, and the old sun is heading home.
Finally, the clear "salt water" appeared in front of Shulot, and he took a deep breath of excitement. The young man couldn't help but look at the sky. It was already the setting sun, the eve of the old sunset. He sent his guards back to the capital,
Tell my grandfather that he will not go back tonight and is busy with important things.
As the sky grew dark, the warriors lit bonfires outside. They silently guarded His Highness the Priest, solemnly watching the operations under "divine enlightenment", as if they were watching a mysterious and noble sacrifice.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Moreno is busy working hard. The bonfire is burning, the "salt water" is boiling and rolling, bringing hot steam, and there is a pungent smell in the wind. He
His fierce face was covered with beads of sweat, and he scolded His Highness a hundred times in his heart, but he obeyed His Highness's command in his hands. Many orders kept changing, and the same order was repeated several times, all according to His Highness's wishes, and there was no way to get it right.
number.
Shulot looked at the product again. He thought for a moment and decided that he would rather work twice more to ensure the effect of the process. So, the leader of the salt workers with a grimace started making it again until the young man nodded with satisfaction.
Before we knew it, the sun set from the west and darkness enveloped the earth.
In the dim salt field, there are only burning bonfires, and the firelight alternately moves forward in the shadows. The majestic young man is contemplating, the leader of the salt workers is busy with his head lowered, the elite warriors are solemnly guarding, and the overseers and salt workers are gathered in the distance, with sad faces.
Don't dare to leave. Whether you like it or not, everyone is witnessing the opportunity of innovation of the times.
After a long time, the highly concentrated "salt water" finally cooled down, and layers of white ice-like solids gradually precipitated from the solution. Under the guidance of His Highness, the leader of the salt workers carefully took out the solid crystals of white ice and peeled off the outer layer.
, gathered together, and then dried again. These crystals are so beautiful, crystal clear and translucent.
Shulot held his breath and lit the fire himself, igniting a small amount of dry white ice crystals.
In an instant, a dazzling flame burst out in the darkness, and a burst of thick purple-green smoke emerged. Everyone retreated in horror, looking at the burning "salt" in fear. Only the young man raised his head and couldn't help laughing!
"This is soil saltpetre! The soil saltpeter from the saline-alkali land, the charcoal that can be found everywhere, the sulfur from the east and west volcanoes, the age of gunpowder is just around the corner!"
Shulot laughed and looked up at the starry sky. The sky was already full of stars. Under the bright starlight, the curtain of the era slowly opened. After a long period of darkness, the morning light was in the not-too-distant future.
And tomorrow will be a new era. In the flames of the new era, the powerful Mexica people will have the power to completely change everything!