Chapter 96: 97. Gray Soil

In the living room of the wooden house, Zhuweite opened the linen cloth bag placed to the side, revealing the soil inside.

"My Lord, this is the gray soil you had us bring back."

Luoning squatted down, pulled open the mouth of the sack, and carefully observed the gray soil inside.

He discovered that this soil was not truly gray, but rather grayish-white, and it existed in the form of small clods.

Luoning extended his thumb and index finger to pinch a small piece, and with a slight application of force, the clod crumbled. He then rubbed it finely and discovered that the gray soil presented a delicate, powdery texture with very small particles.

Luoning was not a geologist, nor had he studied related knowledge, but he could still judge that this soil was quite extraordinary.

"How much of this soil is there over at Huitu Village?"

Zhuweite replied: "My Lord, there was plenty when I went to pack it; it felt like half the mountain was this kind of soil. According to the people there, some people used to eat this soil to stave off hunger when they were starving. But later, after discovering that those who ate it would have their stomachs swell up huge and be unable to pass it, dying of suffocation, no one ate this stuff anymore."

Guanyin soil?

Luoning naturally associated it with this term.

But soon, it was replaced by another term, and his eyes suddenly lit up, "This is... Kaolin?"

"Wilson, go get me a bowl of water." Luoning hurriedly instructed.

Wilson heard the urgency in these words and hurriedly ran into the kitchen to bring over a bowl of water.

Luoning took a handful of soil from the sack, placed it on the ground, poured a little water on it, and mixed it slightly.

Soon he discovered that the gray soil, which had not stuck to his hands at all before, began to become sticky, and at the same time, the delicate quality of the soil became increasingly apparent.

"This is likely truly Kaolin!"

Luoning was both surprised and delighted.

Kaolin is a non-metallic mineral; the higher the purity of the Kaolin, the whiter and more delicate it is, and it possesses good plasticity and fire resistance.

In Chinese history, it was precisely because Kaolin was discovered and utilized well that the world-civilizing porcelain came to be.

If one could make porcelain...

Luoning's mind became active.

In this world, noble tableware and vessels are mostly made of silver—silver wine cups, silver tableware, and so on. Some nobles also use glass or crystal products, but the latter two have not been promoted on a large scale.

As for porcelain, that goes without saying; it is nine times out of ten that it has not appeared.

Not to mention anything else, the 1200°C high temperature required for firing ceramics is very difficult for anyone to master; otherwise, there would not be a lack of pig iron.

The bellows he created in Shanlin Town a while ago now seem to be usable not only for smelting metal but also for firing ceramics.

Of course, the bellows are only an aid; firing porcelain also requires several other key steps.

For example, how to process Kaolin to refine the clay, how to throw the pottery, carve patterns, apply glaze, and fire it, etc., are all difficult problems that need to be explored and solved.

Once these problems are solved, Shanlin Town will be able to produce porcelain.

Luoning felt a bit emotional thinking about it; he did not expect that he would be able to gather pig iron, silk, and porcelain—these three things—on this land in the northern part of Wushan Territory.

This land truly gave him enough surprises.

"Setting aside the difficulty of realization for now, as long as these three things are firmly grasped, especially porcelain, future development will not be a problem!"

With these material foundations, combined with the knowledge in Luoning's brain, he already had a preliminary vision for how to develop later.

"Zhuweite, tomorrow morning, we will set off for Huitu Village."

Going there this time, Luoning's purpose was no longer just to simply see his subjects, but more to observe the scale of the Kaolin mineral vein.

"As for you, Wilson, matters here are temporarily coming to an end. Let two Guards take you back to Shanlin Town to supervise those Village Chiefs and Group Leaders in mastering the new farming techniques."

Luoning added: "Additionally, have the Serfs and tenant farmers observe and learn as soon as possible. If everyone masters these farming techniques, we can then have some people come to these three new villages to impart the techniques."

Letting a portion of people master it first, and then having this portion lead more people who have not mastered it to master this technique, was the method of promotion that Luoning advocated.

"I understand, My Lord!"

Wilson firmly remembered the lord's order, and he also felt more and more that his burden was becoming heavier, but correspondingly, his status was becoming higher and higher.

At the very least, the number of Village Chiefs and Group Leaders under him would continue to increase.

"My Lord, Commander Ruidar also has one thing he asked me to give to you."

As Zhuweite spoke, he picked up a second linen bag from the chair beside him, which clattered inside.

"After we arrived at Huitu Village, we controlled the women of Sileiyin and Mamu. The Commander arranged for them to continue working for you at Huitu Village just like the others. Additionally, what is inside this is the wealth of Sileiyin and Mamu; he asked me to pass it to you."

"Oh?"

Luoning smiled as he took it and asked curiously: "How much is there?"

Wilson smiled and replied: "My Lord, Ruidar had me count it. Mamu's money is not much, only 6 gold, 12 silver, and 98 copper, but Sileiyin's property is not small, totaling 36 gold, 48 silver, and 539 copper!"

"Besides that, there are five Knight swords, one Shield, and one set of Chain Mail stored in Sileiyin's warehouse."

"Additionally, it is said that Huitu Village has over 2,300 mu of cultivated fields, and there is also wheat in the warehouse after the autumn harvest; the specific quantity has not yet been determined."

Luoning was somewhat surprised, "Sileiyin is quite wealthy as a leader."

As a leader of a savage tribe, the savings of the killed Knight Wili only amounted to 8 gold coins, but the property of this leader Sileiyin amounted to more than 40 gold coins.

Moreover, the number of cultivated fields in Huitu Village far exceeds those of Qingzhu and Ziguo; it is worthy of being the strongest in the Three-Party Alliance.

I wonder how much savings Huoen and Jennie have?

It is a pity that the two of them surrendered without any resistance, so it is not good for Luoning to take their private property as his own.

But the Ziguo Tribe has the weakest strength, so I suppose the two of them should not have much in savings.

Luoning hurriedly pulled his thoughts back; always coveting the property of his subordinates is not how a good leader should behave.

"Zhuweite, have Ruidar inform the others that in view of the perfect victory achieved in this expedition, every militiaman who came out of Shanlin Town will be rewarded with 3 copper coins, every Guard with 5 copper coins, and other professionals, as well as you, Wilson, will receive an extra week's salary, to be issued with next month's salary."

As for money, he took the lion's share, so he must distribute some to make his subordinates happy, especially since they won a battle.

Those Guards and militiamen might not seem to have contributed much effort, but they still played a significant role in capturing subjects, controlling, and patrolling.

Luoning rewarding the three armies like this barely counts as anything; it is probably about five or six gold coins, which is just distributing the money obtained from Knight Wili.

Wilson and Zhuweite looked at each other, both seeing the joy in each other's eyes.

"My lord, you truly are a lord who rewards and punishes with clarity!"

"Thank you for your gift, my lord!"

(End of chapter)