Why did the tribesmen value salt so much?
When there was no salt, he could actually survive. However, when there was salt, that strong desire was completely stimulated.
Whether it was the people here or the tribes on the other side of the sea, they all believed that salt could strengthen their bodies and minds. It was a gift from the heavens. Only with salt could life be filled with passion.
Tribesmen fought for territory and prey. Salt was one of the factors that ignited the flames of war.
Wacha said that the salt mine the tribe occupied was discovered a few hundred years ago. The first people to discover the salt mine couldn't defend it and the entire tribe suffered. In the end, the entire tribe moved to a city. They had no choice. They couldn't win against the other tribes and to prevent themselves from being attacked, they fled.
After that, the battle for the salt mines intensified. The Flaming Horn tribe didn't give up on this fat piece of meat. In the end, they managed to squeeze out the others and snatched a spot. However, they couldn't monopolize it with their abilities at the time. At that time, there were only a few people in the tribe, less than a thousand. Other than their own abilities, the Taihe tribe also played a big role in this. The Flaming Horn tribe had always remembered this favour and had been working with the Taihe tribe all these years.
After a few hundred years, the battle for the salt mine never stopped. But the five tribes never changed. They seemed to be on the same side and didn't allow anyone else to take a step in. It seemed like they had an agreement and the five tribes were working together. But in reality, there was a secret behind this.
The five tribes that occupied the salt mines could have fewer people, but they absolutely couldn't have more people!
"That salt mine is a treasure!" Wacha exclaimed. This was one of the reasons why he kept insisting on taking back the salt mine.
"Elder, do you know the Chilu tribe?" Wacha asked.
Chilu? Shao Xuan thought for a moment and nodded. "I've heard of them. I only heard about them when I entered the city to trade. I don't know much about them."
The Chilu tribe was a tribe that believed in salt. There were many legends about salt in their tribe. It was said that the earliest salt was discovered by them. It was said that one of the ancestors of the Chilu tribe saw a strange animal. That animal took him to a lake, and then he saw a miracle. The so-called miracle was a salt lake.
The totem of the Chilu tribe was that strange looking animal. It was called the "Salt Beast". Until now, no one had seen that animal. Some people said that it was made up by the Chilu people, but the Chilu people had always believed that the Salt Beast existed.
As for whether it was true or not, no one could say for sure. However, after the rise of the six major tribes and the establishment of cities, they became aristocratic slave owners, which led to changes in the other tribes.
The Chilu tribe's salt lake had been seized by the other six tribes. They didn't have the ability to take back the salt lake that had been taken over by the other six tribes. The scattered Chilu tribesmen entered the six cities and sometimes helped the nobles make salt for a living. However, a few years ago, they heard that the nobles found a new salt spring and gathered some of the Chilu tribesmen to build a city there. They named it Chilu Salt City. There were quite a lot of people who went to Chilu Salt City.
Of course, Wacha didn't mention the Chilu people because he wanted Shao Xuan to understand their history.
"The Chilu people's salt making skills are similar to the Gongjia family's forging skills. They are famous among the tribes. Even the slave owners would hire the Chilu people to make salt. The salt they make is very expensive. Most of it is used by the nobles. If others want to buy it, they have to spend a few times more, "said Wacha.
Shao Xuan understood this. For example, the golden grains produced by Ji Ju's golden fields were famous everywhere. Everyone from the cities to the mountain tribes had heard of it.
"However, other than the five tribes who own the salt mines, no one knows that the salt from our mines doesn't require any complicated extraction process. The salt we get is much better than theirs!" At this point, Wacha's face was filled with pride. His tribe was able to get such a good resource, of course it was worth being proud of.
No wonder the salt mines were rarely mentioned. They were purposely downplaying their existence so that fewer people would know about it. Even more than half of the tribesmen did not know what the salt mines looked like. The tribesmen were only told not to trade their own salt. If they wanted to trade, they had to look for the people in charge of such trades. They would make the arrangements. The tribesmen had always obeyed this order and never made an exception.
It wasn't just the Yanjiao tribe. The other four tribes, Fox, Forest, Mountain Wind and Taihe, all did the same. They kept it a secret.
High quality salt could sell for a higher price. They could even step on the famous Chilu people and trade for more things from the great six cities. However, it was also very dangerous.
If they sold it, the great six cities would definitely covet it. Based on their style, they would definitely interfere with the salt mines. The Chilu people were a good example! Hence, the five tribes would never leak the news!
Because of this, when the five tribes discovered the quality of the salt mines, they all followed the same rule. They would not let any other tribes interfere, nor would they leak the news.
As for trading with other tribes …. Even in such a high quality salt mine, there was a difference between different types of salt.
"We'll collect salt in the cave. The salt at the top of the cave will be put aside after we collect it. That's all good salt for our own tribesmen. In the future, we'll secretly transport it back to the tribe so that no one will notice the difference."
"The salt on top of the cave you mentioned, is that what we usually eat?" Shao Xuan asked.
"Yes, that's it. When you looked at it, did the salt look a little red?" Wacha asked Shao Xuan.
"Indeed." At that time, Shao Xuan noticed that the color of the salt he was given was different from the ones he had seen before, but the taste was not bad. Everyone was given the same salt, so Shao Xuan didn't think much of it. He didn't expect that there was a secret behind it.
"The salt extracted from our salt mines, compared to the lake salt of the Chailu people and the salt produced from the new salt spring of the slave masters, has a stronger taste, with a strong feeling. Usually when we roast meat, we don't add anything else, just this salt is enough. The taste is very good, and the mood is good. If we let the warriors eat roast meat without salt, they might not have such a big appetite. We've tasted some salt from Anba City before. It doesn't taste as good as the salt from our mines! Sometimes, the trading teams would bring back some salt too, but it's of lower quality. It's just a cover. "Wacha felt that this was a smart move. It was not eye-catching and could be used as a cover.
To the tribesmen, what they ate was not meat, but power! And salt played an important role in this.
"If the salt from the top of the cave is for your own people, then the salt from other places is sold?" Shao Xuan asked.
"Yes, the salt we sell is from other parts of the cave. Although the quality is good, it's not as good as the salt from the top. The salt from other places is even worse. No one uses it and the salt we make is sold to others. "
Tribesmen wouldn't scrimp and save for themselves and sell better things. To them, this kind of behavior was extremely stupid, so they would only save the best things for their own people and sell the worst things for others.
The Yanjiao people were like that. The other four tribes were like that too. This was especially true for the salt caves that they had dug out. Not a single piece of salt that was mined from the ground near the caves would be left for themselves. This secret was shared by all five tribes.
Therefore, other than the five tribes guarding this place, the other tribesmen had no idea how good the quality of the salt in this mine was. Even if they took the salt they bought from the five tribes and went to the cities to trade, they wouldn't think too much about it. Even if they did, it wouldn't be too strong. After all, more and more salt springs and ponds had been discovered. Although most of them were occupied by the six noble families, there were still some in the hands of the tribesmen. They wouldn't come all the way to the mountains and forests just because of a salt mine.
When something happened at the salt mines, the Fox and Shen tribes used salt to get some people to help them. The salt they used was of lower quality, so the core secrets would not be leaked.
"Oh, Elder, I'm sure you haven't seen the original appearance of the salt mines we just mined." As Wacha spoke, he reached to his waist and took out a beast skin pouch. There was a small jar inside. The jar was made from the bones of a ferocious beast. It was about the size of a fist and was sealed with a wooden stopper.
Wacha pulled out the cork and pressed the lid of the jar against his open palm.
When the lid was opened, Shao Xuan thought it was a piece of fresh meat when he saw the salt in Wacha's hand! It was red and white. Maybe it was because it had melted a little, but it looked tender, like freshly minced meat that had been washed in water!
"This is … salt?!" Shao Xuan leaned closer to take a closer look. Upon closer inspection, it did indeed have the texture of a crystal. It must have felt clearer when it was first mined but with Wacha's help, there were some changes.
Wacha looked at the salt rock in his hand, his eyes burning with passion. "This is what we harvested from the top of the cave. When we boil it again, the color of the salt will be lighter, just like the one Elders got. However, the people guarding the mine usually use it directly and don't boil it. Two days before the incident at the mines, I put a small piece of salt in the jar. I wanted to put it in when I cooked meat soup with my brothers. " Wacha's eyes turned cold when he said this. He seemed to remember what happened that day.
Most of the warriors would grind the salt and bring it with them, but some were more used to bringing whole pieces. Like Wacha and the others who were guarding the mines, they brought pieces of salt. Other than using herbs to brew tea, the warriors would also put some salt in their water bottles to drink when they used up a lot of energy. This wasn't because they had any theoretical knowledge. It was because they relied on their instincts and their body's desire. They would do what their body needed.
Other than the salt they usually used, they would also marinate the prey they hunted. With the salt, the meat wouldn't rot easily. After drying it, it could be stored for longer.
It was said that some tribes that were good at weaving and dyeing cloth would purposely buy salt of lower quality. Their dyeing method involved salt, so the dyed cloth could be directly taken to King City and sold to the slave masters at a high price.
To the tribesmen, salt was distributed in all aspects of their lives. The battle for salt had always existed. Even if there were no fire crystals, the Yanjiao tribes would snatch the mines back.
"Elder, when you go to the salt mine, we'll snatch the salt mine back. Then you'll be able to see more salt. When we sleep in the salt cave, we dream of these pieces of salt." Wacha carefully placed the salt back into the jar and licked his palm. He suddenly thought of something and said, "I even dreamed of fire crystals yesterday but forgot about it when I woke up. I think if we continue digging down, we might see fire crystals."
Usually, they would dig along the horizontal line and continue digging after they were done. The Fox's mining method was different. Perhaps they would start digging before they were done with the first layer.
Shao Xuan thought this was possible. When he found the fire crystals in bat mountain's sinkhole, other than the ones in the sinkhole, the rest were deep in the mountains.
Perhaps the salt in the mines was different and had something to do with the fire crystals. There were so many mines. How many fire crystals could there be inside or below the mountains?
"Chief, you're planning to move in three days, right?" Wacha asked.
Because of his injuries, Zheng Luo didn't want Wacha to come along. He didn't even call him during the meeting. However, he kept the weapons he gave Wacha. Zheng Luo wanted to give them to him after he recovered.
"Mm. In three days, we'll split up with the Taihe people and head there. We'll split into three groups, "Shao Xuan said.
Wacha scratched his head. He didn't want to miss this mission. "I'll go up the mountain to find the chief. I'm almost recovered now. I'll definitely be able to go with the team in three days!"
Seeing Wacha go up the mountain, Shao Xuan didn't follow him. Instead, he walked towards the duck shed.
The fat green duck poked its head out of the shed. It probably wanted to go out for a walk but when it saw Shao Xuan, it quickly retracted its head.
Opening the door, Shao Xuan saw the fat duck squatting in its nest. It spread its wings to cover the duck eggs. The eggs must be quite hard. Otherwise, the duck would have cracked them.
Shao Xuan walked over, ignoring the duck's feathers. "Raise your wings. Let me see how many eggs you've taken."
The duck didn't move. It hesitated.
"I'm not going to take yours. I just want to see how many you have," Shao Xuan said.
Only then did the duck slowly retract its wings.
"Stand aside. You're squatting here. How can I see clearly?" Shao Xuan waved to the side.
The duck moved away reluctantly.
Shao Xuan counted. 31 eggs. They were of different colors and sizes. They didn't come from the same nest but they all hatched well. If they were like the ducklings from before, they would have hatched long ago.
"Keep working hard. They'll hatch soon."
When he left the duck shed, Shao Xuan saw that it was snowing.
This year's snow came early. He hoped there wouldn't be a snowstorm during the battle for the mines.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
