"A new way to make table salt?"

Zhu Gaochi was picking up a bowl of tea. When he heard this, his hands trembled, and the tea suddenly spilled all over him.

The maids waiting on the side were startled, and immediately knelt down with a "pop":

"Prince, forgive me!"

Zhu Gaochi patted the water stains on his body. When he saw several serving maids kneeling, he immediately smiled gently and waved his hands:

"I was not careful. It's okay. It's okay. Get up!"

"The prince is magnanimous!"

Several palace maids breathed a sigh of relief and stood up immediately.

Seeing this, Zhu Gaochi waved his hand and said: "You all go down first!"

"Here!"

Zhu Gaochi tidied his clothes and waited until the maids had left. Then he looked at Xia Yuanji and asked with some surprise:

"Please also ask Xia Shangshu to speak frankly. Is this kid Zhanji really coming up with a new method of making salt this time?"

No wonder Zhu Gaochi was suspicious. Since ancient times, salt and iron have been no small matter. Each one is related to the lifeline of the imperial court, let alone a new method of making salt?

Doesn't this mean that there may be another source of salt from now on?

Xia Yuanji nodded and was about to say something when Zhu Zhanji also walked in from outside.

Glancing at Xia Yuanji, Zhu Zhanji smiled slightly, then looked at Zhu Gaochi and said hello with a smile: "Dad, are you looking for me?"

"You kid!"

Zhu Gaochi saw Zhu Zhanji smiling and looking a little helpless. He pointed at Xia Yuanji and said:

"I just heard from Xia Shangshu that you discovered a new method of making salt. Is this possible true?"

When Zhu Zhanji heard this, he knew that his guess just now was correct. It was indeed Xia Yuanji who had brought out the salt.

So he smiled and looked at Xia Yuanji and asked, "Old man Xia, did you get something out?"

Xia Yuanji was not angry when Zhu Zhanji called him "Old Man Xia". He actually felt that the title was quite friendly.

And every time Zhu Zhanji called him Xia Shangshu, Mr. Xia, he would never feel at ease.

Nodding, Xia Yuanji took out two fist-sized ceramic jars from his arms, handed them to Zhu Zhanji, and said with a smile:

"Prince and grandson, please look!"

Zhu Zhanji took the ceramic jar, handed one to Zhu Gaochi, then took one and opened the seal, then poured it into his other hand.

As he moved, a fine snow-white powder was immediately poured into his hand.

Looking at the table salt that was exactly the same as in his memory, Zhu Zhanji showed a smile on his face, then nodded and said: "Yes, that's it. After a while, I will teach you how to make iodized salt!"

"

"Iodized salt?"

Xia Yuanji didn't know why, and Zhu Zhanji didn't explain much.

In fact, iodized salt is not very useful for the south, especially in coastal areas, where there is not much iodine deficiency, but it is still very useful for the north.

However, nearly 70% of the Ming Dynasty's population is now located in the south, and the sea salt in the south naturally contains iodine.

Moreover, iodized salt is mainly used for some cases of neck disease, so in the short term, there is no need to be too urgent.

Zhu Zhanji planned to get out the iodized salt after a while, when he was almost busy with the things at hand and the salt matter had stabilized, and he would use the opportunity to popularize the benefits of consuming iodized salt.

Xia Yuanji wanted to ask, but seeing that Zhu Zhanji didn't tell him, there was nothing he could do.

At this time, Zhu Gaochi was a little surprised when he looked at the fine white salt in his hand. He pinched some with his hand and put it into his mouth to taste it carefully.

If the palace maids who were waiting just now saw this move, they would probably be frightened.

After all, the prince is the heir to the throne. If something goes wrong if something of unknown origin is eaten directly, it will be a disaster for the maids who serve the prince.

Fortunately, only Zhu Zhanji and Xia Yuanji were present in this scene.

Xia Yuanji was confident, but Zhu Zhanji didn't expect this.

After Zhu Gaochi tasted the salt, he nodded with satisfaction and said: "This salt is good, with pure taste and pure color. Even if it is compared to the best tribute salt in the palace, it is still better. Where is this salt produced?"

?”

Xia Yuanji's eyes were a little strange when he heard this, and he paused for a moment before saying: "Back to the prince, this salt is made from salt rocks that I picked up from a salt mountain near Yingtian Mansion yesterday using the method Taisun said yesterday!"

"Salt stone?"

Zhu Gaochi was a little confused when he heard this for the first time. He didn't know much about salt production, he only knew about a few major salt-producing areas in the Ming Dynasty.

But there seemed to be none near Yingtian Mansion, so when Xia Yuanji mentioned Yingtian Mansion, his first thought was that he had discovered a new salt land.

Seeing Zhu Gaochi's appearance, Xia Yuanji knew that Zhu Gaochi probably didn't understand what salt stone was and didn't understand the key to it, so he explained:

"Your Highness, the salt stone is a stone made of poisonous salt. There are many such stones in the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Gaochi: "..."

Zhu Gaochi was not stupid. When Xia Yuanji said this, he naturally understood what Xia Yuanji meant.

He opened his mouth and couldn't believe it. He looked at the salt in his hand and then at Xia Yuanji:

"This...this salt..."

Zhu Zhanji saw that his silly father was a little stupid again, and he felt helpless. He couldn't help but interjected: "Hey, Dad, what surprises you is that he turned some poisonous salt into table salt!"

"You kid!"

Zhu Gaochi was slightly mocked by Zhu Zhanji, and after being interrupted, his mind finally cleared up. He knew that he was in front of his ministers and could not lose his dignity. He coughed, and then looked at Xia Yuanji, still with a smile on his face.

He said with a bit of disbelief:

"Xia Shangshu, is this salt really made from those poisonous salts?"

Zhu Gaochi still knows about poisonous salt. This kind of salt is found in many places, but it contains too many toxins, so it cannot be eaten.

Even people who cannot afford salt will not choose to consume these poisonous salts.

Because it is no different from taking poison directly.

But if there is a way to turn poisonous salt into table salt, this...

When he thought of this, Zhu Gaochi couldn't help but beat a few times in his heart.

Xia Yuanji could understand Zhu Gaochi's expression very well. When he just got out the salt, he was actually no better than Zhu Gaochi.

Seeing Zhu Gaochi asking him, he then cupped his hands, nodded seriously and said: "Back to the prince, this salt was made by me personally according to the method mentioned by His Highness Taisun, using poisonous salt. There is no falsehood!"

"

"good!"

When Zhu Gaochi heard Xia Yuanji's confirmation, his fat face showed joy. He quickly thought of something, and then continued to ask: "How does the cost compare to other salts?"

The price is also key. If the cost is too high, the benefits to Daming will be greatly reduced.

Xia Yuanji also knew this, and said with a smile: "Your Highness, this salt requires nothing more than a brine. Compared with other salt preparations, although there are more steps, the cost is not much different. A pound of salt is only three

Four cents is enough."

Zhu Gaochi was shocked again when he heard this, and said with a blank look on his face: "Three or four cents?"

He actually knew that the cost of salt was low. The reason why salt was sold so expensive was, on the one hand, the financial needs of the Ming Dynasty. The salt tax was introduced and the salt tax was added, which led to an increase in the cost of salt. On the other hand, it was also because of the chaos of salt merchants.

But the table salt in front of me is several grades better than the best tribute salt in the palace.

And tribute salt is not ordinary table salt. The price of ordinary salt is about 120 cents per catty, which is about two cents in silver.

But tribute salt is more than twice as expensive. A pound of tribute salt costs at least two taels of silver.

Xia Yuanji nodded: "It does cost three or four cents!"

Seeing this, Zhu Gaochi's face lit up with joy and said with a smile: "Happy event, happy event, great happy event!"

Xia Yuanji also laughed and said: "What His Highness the Prince said is indeed true. With this method, our Ming Dynasty will definitely be able to increase the salt tax to a level comparable to that of the Song Dynasty. By then, we only need to increase the price of new salt slightly, and it will definitely be

Significantly increase state treasury revenue.”

Both of them were in a good mood and had already begun to discuss the price of the new salt.

The more Zhu Zhanji heard, the more something seemed wrong.

He was the one who figured out how to make this salt, but in the end, he seemed to want to put him aside.

Seeing that Xia Yuanji had already proposed to price the new salt to almost 500 yuan per pound.

Zhu Zhanji couldn't sit still at all.

He glanced at Xia Yuanji and Zhu Gaochi, who were chatting happily, and interrupted them directly:

"I don't agree with what you said!"

As soon as Zhu Zhanji opened his mouth, Xia Yuanji and Zhu Gaochi both looked over. Zhu Gaochi thought Zhu Zhanji didn't know the importance of this matter and said seriously:
To be continued...