Chapter 332

Emperor Mingxi nodded. That was indeed how Ling Langshan had reported it to him at the time.

"So his death was because he discovered a potential salt mine?"

Coming from a convenient life in her hometown where salt and sugar were never scarce, Yue Fuguang still could not deeply understand the importance of salt to ancient people's lives, even after being in Great Yan for four years.

To go so far as to wipe out an entire clan and kill all those in the know over a single salt mine was something she, someone used to peaceful days, had never imagined.

"Is it really worth it for a salt mine? It's not a gold or silver mine, even copper or iron would make more sense!"

Hearing Yue Fuguang's words, the ruler and ministers of Great Yan silently added in their hearts: it is absolutely worth it.

It ​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‍could be said that among the six nations, there was not a single one that did not lack salt.

Before the Junior Preceptor arrived, the common people were reluctant to use salt in their daily meals, and the salt they did use was bitter and astringent.

The army was still using vinegar cloths, and even the refined green salt consumed by the imperial family could not compare to the Junior Preceptor's snowflake salt.

[Master, Great Yan lacks salt, and Northern Li and Western Qiang lack it even more severely. If they could trade, they would willingly exchange a copper mine for a salt mine.

Eastern Yi is surrounded by the sea and seemingly doesn't lack salt, but due to technological limitations, their production is low. They also trade their surplus salt for money, so even in the coastal Eastern Yi, ordinary people cannot afford to eat salt.

As for Nanzhao and Nanyue, they indeed have salt lakes within their borders, but turning the salt lakes into edible salt still falls short due to technology.

Therefore, even though both nations have treasure mountains, their salt is only enough to supply their own people.

So Great Yan's salt includes sea salt, well salt, and rock salt. It seems like there are many choices, but the domestic edible salt is still insufficient.

Naturally, the value of a rock salt mine is no less than copper or iron.]

"Speaking of salt refining technology, I heard the Crown Prince say that Great Yan's snowflake salt has already entered the market. I suppose it won't be long before the people of Great Yan can also eat salt without a bitter taste."

[Master, aside from the Sima family, in the Central Plains, aristocratic families like Zheng and Wang are the masters behind those big salt merchants. And the salt mine discovered by Ling Langshan had long been scouted by the aristocratic families.

Because of his inspection, they delayed the mining. Unexpectedly, Ling Langshan was intentionally or unintentionally led there by local officials who still had some conscience left, and he discovered the salt mine.

The aristocratic families then joined forces with the salt merchants to secretly silence him before Ling Langshan could confirm the salt mine and report the discovery to the emperor.]

"Then what does this have to do with the other members of the Ling family? Why did they have to slaughter them all, forcing the new clan leader to retreat and defend their ancestral lands?"

[Because when Ling Langshan was inspecting at the time, he was accompanied by younger members of his clan. First, to take care of his daily life and safety, and second, to conveniently teach the youths about matters of the people's livelihood.

Master knows that travel is not easy for people nowadays. They cannot be compared to immortals like us, and they fall far short of even the modern era we once visited.

Because traveling alone is unsafe, Ling Langshan brought several clan youths along on that inspection tour, teaching them about the local customs and people's livelihoods along the way to build their experience for entering officialdom in the future.]

Yue Fuguang nodded, very much agreeing with the educational methods for the Ling family youths. "As the saying goes, reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. This is exactly the principle."

Little did she know that Yue Fuguang's heartfelt remark, casually quoting the words of the ancients, would deeply shock Emperor Mingxi and his ministers.

Ling Yinghua, who had been crying endlessly over his father's tragic death, still had tears on his face, but his eyes were wide open. If he hadn't been afraid of being seen by Yue Fuguang, he would have definitely discussed it with his colleagues.

The Junior Preceptor's short sentence revealed that if knowledge cannot be grounded, tested, and grown in practice, and is merely empty talk confined to a small corner of the world, then it has no meaning whatsoever.

For scholars pursuing an official career, theory and practice, knowledge and experience are equally important.

"To see the world, to see all living beings, is ultimately to see oneself. What the Ling family youths did actually shares a similar purpose with you and me descending to the mortal realm to experience trials."

[Indeed! It is a pity for those ignorant Ling family youths who died unjustly just because of a suspicion from the aristocratic families.]

"Little Zhu, you said the aristocratic families are the masters behind the big salt merchants. With such financial power, they must control more than just wealth and literary heritage, right?"

[Master guessed correctly. Over the years, the aristocratic families have raised tens of thousands of private soldiers. Otherwise, how could they have pushed Emperor Yongjia onto the throne?

It was not only because they had money and bought off some civil and military officials, but also because they held money in one hand and a blade in the other, able to suppress dissenting voices.

If they hadn't been slaughtered by the armies of several nations and their leaders unexpectedly wiped out in one fell swoop by the peasant army, the aristocratic families might have truly grown big and strong relying on these people in that cannibalistic, chaotic world.

It's a pity that the surviving private soldiers later followed the salt merchants and defected to the Sima family. However, slaves with multiple surnames never meet a good end anyway.]

Hearing that the aristocratic families raised private soldiers, the faces of several princes looked terrible, especially Xie Zhixin, who felt like dying.

He carefully raised his head and stole a glance at his royal father.

His royal father's face was dark!

The reason Emperor Mingxi's face was dark was not only because of the aristocratic families raising private soldiers, but also because he heard about the Sima family again!

However, soon after, a bloodthirsty smile appeared at the corners of his mouth. The large net targeting Sima Jing and his family's in-laws had already been cast.

The poisonous yet fragrant bait of the snowflake salt had also been dropped. He would just sit here in the Golden Throne Room of the capital, waiting for Sima Jing to take the bait.

Thinking that Sima Jing would soon be crawling at his feet, crying bitterly in repentance, Emperor Mingxi felt incredibly delighted in his heart.

The more he thought about it, the happier he became. He had no idea that his smile looked increasingly twisted and abnormal to the others.

The first to be frightened was his own son, Xie the Third.

He strongly suspected that his royal father had been driven mad by anger! Xie Zhixin silently moved closer to the Crown Prince and hugged himself tightly.

[Master, look quickly, has the emperor been possessed by some dirty entity?]

Yue Fuguang also pretended to care and said, "Little Zhu, then take a look around to see if there are any little ghosts or monsters. Don't let those things actually harm the emperor!"

As soon as Yue Fuguang's words fell, everyone instantly felt a chill from head to toe, their hairs standing on end. This was because the crowd couldn't help but recall the demons and ghosts they had seen in the underworld through Xie Zhiwei's perspective earlier this month!

Half a month had passed, and some of them still occasionally had nightmares in the dead of night about being chased by ghosts.

Even more so, since then, whenever they saw Yue Fuguang, they felt somewhat afraid in their hearts. When speaking on normal days, they were extra careful, fearing they might anger her.

Emperor Mingxi was even more afraid in his heart. He wasn't sure if his royal father and brothers had all gone to reincarnate yet, or if they were still lingering in the underworld.

If someone managed to escape the underworld and run to the human realm like a prison break, he would be their first target for revenge.

As Emperor Mingxi's confidant, Eunuch Qian naturally saw the emperor's fear.

So he deliberately acted as if he were very frightened and took two steps toward the dragon throne. Seeing this, Emperor Mingxi's brows relaxed a bit.

As for the Divine Artifact claiming he was possessed by dirty entities, that was impossible. He knew clearly in his heart that he was perfectly awake and lucid!