Chapter 174

"Gao He, go and tell them again to have the family send over some literate people; it would be best if they could also send a batch of veteran craftsmen." "Young Master, again?"

Upon hearing this, Gao He's expression turned bitter. Every time he returned home, the way some of the people in his family looked at him had changed.

After all, the Gao clan had been secretly supporting Su Fan all along, and not many people knew the detailed situation.

"Rest assured, this time, take a ton of refined salt and five hundred catties of white sugar back with you; I guarantee they will be well-received."

Su Fan knew why the other party felt bitter. In truth, supporting Su Fan had indeed consumed a great deal of the Gao clan's resources, especially in the beginning, when batch after batch of grain—which had been stored by the Gao clan for decades—was sent over.

Now that things here were on the right track, it was only natural to offer some returns.

As for steel, he needed it to arm his troops and couldn't provide much to the Gao family for the time being, but salt and sugar were no problem at all.

Refined salt was just like the snow-white, fine salt of later generations. Although this era was a "super-martial" one, in terms of productivity and technology, it was no different from ancient times.

Perhaps the only difference was that the salt consumed by high-ranking officials, nobles, and powerful clans was purified by cultivators, which was similar to the refined salt Su Fan purified here.

However, manual purification was ultimately limited by manpower, so the output was naturally insufficient. It might suffice for a small number of people, but selling it was impossible.

Su Fan's purification technology came from later generations, and when combined with the Rune Dao of this world, the technology was no worse than that of later generations, and the output was not low either.

Using Rune Dao to drive mechanical power was indeed a bit unconventional, like a steampunk style, but the results were not bad.

If it weren't for the shortage of Rune Dao Mohist craftsmen, Su Fan would have wanted to research some Rune-style carriages.

As for roads, Su Fan had also built thousands of miles over the past year. Within a radius of several hundred miles centered on his camp, hundreds of villages were all connected.

With good roads, carriages still had to rely on oxen and horses. Since he was already short on oxen and horses, his transport capacity was naturally much worse.

He was well aware that in the Divine Han Dynasty, there were some "flying carriages."

A flying carriage, as the name suggests, is a carriage that can fly. It is said to be crafted using Rune Dao, and some emperors travel in such flying carriages.

Su Fan had asked several Mohist craftsmen, and that kind of flying carriage was imbued with levitation runes; as for the power source, it seemed to be a "Godly Travel Rune."

Of course, as for how it actually flew, none of them knew the specifics.

However, this gave Su Fan a spark of inspiration. He couldn't build a flying carriage for the time being, but couldn't he build an "automobile"?

The Mohist mechanism arts could still move freely without the power sources of later generations. If he modified them—like the "wooden ox and flowing horse"—a wooden automobile was not impossible.

Rune power might be feasible.

Using runes to replace the mechanical power of later generations.

Of course, this research could not be completed in a moment, and Su Fan was in no hurry.

It was a pity that the Mohist school had been suppressed by the Confucian school; otherwise, if the Mohist school had really been allowed to develop, perhaps their technology might have been even more formidable than that of later generations—who could say?

He felt a secret regret in his heart, but his arrival could change things a little. At the very least, under his rule, Mohist craftsmen had room to develop.

Over the past year, salt production, sugar production, and iron smelting had all utilized Mohist craftsmen as well as ordinary craftsmen.

However, salt was fine; with the ocean, it could be extracted endlessly. But sugar production was troublesome, limited by raw materials.

Currently, Su Fan had only purified three tons, so giving the Gao family five hundred catties was already quite a lot.

Sugar was also a luxury item in the Divine Han. Extraordinary cultivators could extract and refine it using magic, but only in small quantities.

On the market, the price was extremely high.

Su Fan had utilized this white sugar to earn quite a lot of resources.

When Gao He heard there was white sugar, a smile finally appeared on his face.

"That's wonderful!"

This way, when he went back, he wouldn't have to be pointed at by others, and he let out a sigh of relief.

Seeing this, Su Fan also smiled and shook his head.

"Go back and ask for more craftsmen; the sugar refinery needs to expand, and we are short on manpower."

"Hehe! Don't worry, I will definitely speak well with the Clan Head. With these five hundred catties of sugar, the Clan Head will certainly agree."

Gao He was also a smart man and knew Su Fan's intentions.

"Young Master, some time ago, the Lin family of Ganyu County sent people to spy on our salt production by the sea?"

After Su Fan and Gao He finished talking, Gao Hu spoke up at this moment.

"Hmm! The Lin family." Su Fan's expression turned gloomy upon hearing this.

"Young Master, should we..." Gao Hu made a throat-slitting gesture.

The mere Lin family was just a landlord in a county town, not even a powerful clan, yet they dared to have designs on them.

"No need to act rashly for now."

Su Fan ultimately shook his head. He naturally didn't take the Ganyu Lin family seriously; they were just a small landlord.

Relying on the few soldiers in the hands of that County Lieutenant, they acted recklessly in Ganyu.

The strongest in their clan was only that County Lieutenant, who was only at the seventh level of Strength Refining—the Qi Energy Realm—not even comparable to Gao Hu or Gao Niu.

It was just that in the current Divine Han, the imperial prestige still remained, and Su Fan didn't want to attract the attention of the government.

"Have Guan Hai send people to go there and give them a warning."

Su Fan wouldn't touch them for now, but when Zhang Jiao's Yellow Turban Rebellion began, wiping them out would be an effortless task.

"Strengthen the guards by the sea; let the Personal Guard Battalion be stationed there from now on."

Salt production was currently a means for Su Fan to earn money, so he naturally couldn't let it go. Martial arts training in the army required a lot of resources, and grain was only the foundation.

There were also various medicinal soups, which were what truly strengthened the cultivation of martial artists.

He could only purchase these things with money; relying on gathering them himself was not that easy.

"Gao Hu, you are already at the ninth level of Strength Refining, not far from Gang Refining. Do you have any questions?"

Su Fan didn't care about the Lin family at all; instead, he was more concerned about Gao Hu's cultivation. The gap between Gang Refining and Strength Refining was quite large.

One hundred Strength Refining martial artists would be no match for a single Gang Refining expert.

"Take these cultivation notes back, study them carefully, and if there is anything you don't understand, you can come and ask me."

Seeing the other party hesitate, Su Fan immediately understood that Gao Hu was not yet confident about the Gang Refining Realm.

Fortunately, Su Fan was prepared. He took the martial arts cultivation insights he had obtained from his family, combined them with his own previous insights, synthesized them, and wrote down new breakthrough experiences.

In terms of cultivation level, Su Fan was far superior to Gao Hu and the others, so guiding him was not a difficult task.

Gao Hu also knew this. Upon hearing this, his face was full of joy. He couldn't wait to step forward, receive the bamboo slips, and clutch them to his chest like a treasure.

"Cultivate diligently. The chaotic times are not far off, and when that time comes, I will need you to protect everything here."

"Young Master, rest assured, your subordinate will definitely work hard and swear to protect everything of yours with my life."

"Hehe! Go on!"

Su Fan chuckled and waved his hand.