Two days later, Xia Fan could vaguely see the continuous gray walls of Jinxia City.
Different from the temporary "city wall" built in Qingshan Town, it is a solid wall that is truly used for defense and can resist the invasion of foreign enemies. It is visually more than ten meters high, and there are dense jagged bunkers, or horse faces, arranged at the top. Near the corners of the city wall, he even found several city defense equipment similar to trebuchets.
In terms of area alone, most ancient capitals can never be compared with modern cities. However, after all buildings are surrounded by huge stone walls, the visual impact of ancient capitals is even better.
Moreover, he actually captured a hint of "modernity" that was inconsistent with the city's distant view.
Xia Fan soon realized where this feeling came from - compared with the endless woods and fields along the way, the area near Jinxia City was completely bare. Not only that, but there were wisps of black smoke behind the city, making the sky a bit grayer. Coupled with the tawny ground and stone city walls, it has a bit of a foggy city feel.
If it weren't for the carriages still running on the official road, he almost thought that Jinxia City had entered the pre-industrial era.
"Brother Wei, what's going on with the black smoke?" Xia Fan shouted, raising his voice.
Wei Wushuang, who was running in front, opened the curtains, poked his head and replied, "That's burning salt!"
"Burning salt?" he asked in surprise.
"Haha, is this your first time to go to Jinxia, right?" The coachman smiled and took over the words, "This is one of the symbols of Shenzhou. Among the local people, this city is not called Jinxia. Everyone calls it Jinxia. "Yancheng", or "Smoke City". After all, with the East China Sea as its back and a large river passing by, tinkering is the most suitable career. It is said that this smoke has lasted for more than a hundred years since it rose. "
A hundred years...meaning it started from the time of Yongguo
"Xia Fan, what's the relationship between smoke and salt?" Li asked in a low voice in the carriage.
"He should be talking about using seawater to make salt." After hearing what the coachman said, Xia Fan already had a guess in his mind. "There is a lot of salt in the sea. If the excess water can be boiled dry, it will not be difficult to extract salt from it. That smoke should be caused by burning a lot of firewood.”
"Young master, you are very knowledgeable." The coachman nodded, "This industry is also the reason why Yancheng can become the capital of Shenzhou. It is said that all the salt used in Daqi is 30%, and Yancheng will account for 30%. Otherwise, this place is so poor and useless, how can it surpass the other three cities and six towns. "
"Is the price just the white land outside the city?" Li muttered.
"What can we do? People have to survive. Once the salt starts burning, it's impossible to stop."
Indeed, Xia Fan nodded secretly. The salt industry was a government-run business in ancient times and was a state-controlled material. Now that it has become a salt-producing area, it is no longer up to the locals to determine how many days and how much salt will be produced. Those who are responsible for this industry can naturally make a lot of money, but if they fail to meet the above requirements, their homes and families will be confiscated and exterminated in just a blink of an eye.
The last few miles were covered quickly. After checking the customs documents, the carriage slowly passed through Wengcheng and drove into the city along the main road.
The grayness was more obvious at this time, and even the air was filled with a faint smell of firewood.
Xia Fan noticed that, perhaps in order to reduce the annoying dust, most of the pedestrians walking on the street wore bamboo hats, and the better ones wore shawls and soft hats. It was common practice to cover their hair. This unexpected discovery made him pay attention to the fox demon. Hiding in the city has a little more confidence.
There was just one thing that didn't quite meet his expectations: it was obviously located on a river and by the sea, so business should be very prosperous, but the streets didn't show the vitality they should have. It wasn't that there weren't any shops, there were also people hawking on the streets, but it always made him feel that something was missing.
Xia Fan asked the coachman his doubts.
The latter's answer was somewhat helpless, "Because there are always evil spirits at work at the seaside..."
Even under the eyes of the Privy Council
There was something strange in Xia Fan's heart, but seeing that the other party didn't seem to want to elaborate, he didn't continue to ask.
Two quarters of an hour later, the carriage stopped in front of a towering wall.
"Sir, your destination has arrived."
"You guys wait here." Xia Fan winked at Li in the car, then picked up his luggage and got out of the car.
Wei Wushuang also came over, "Although I have been to Jinxia City several times, this is my first time entering the Privy Council Mansion. To be honest... I'm a little nervous."
"You and I are already alchemists, so why should we be nervous? Shouldn't this be considered our own territory?" Xia Fan smiled.
"Brother Xia, this is what I admire most about you." Wei Wushuang said with emotion, "No matter where you are, you look confident."
"There's no need to shoot the flattery, let's go in."
Xia Fan took Wei Wushuang to the main entrance from the side, handed in the documents and put them into the courtyard. He was told that the report was in the "Zhiwei Hall" on the west side.
"This Privy Council Mansion... is too big." Wei Wushuang exclaimed as he walked.
Xia Fan also felt the same. There were not only one or two buildings within the wall, but a dozen or so. They were arranged around the stone square in the middle and looked orderly. The main building facing the gate was close to four On the first floor, the color scheme of red bricks and gold roof shows solemnity.
He estimated that the entire Privy Council Palace was larger than the track and field, covering an area of more than twenty acres.
With such strong financial resources, it is no wonder that they can maintain an examination center like Qingshan Town for a long time.
…
The reporting process went very smoothly. After the official in charge of the reception inspected the appointment and dismissal orders, he helped the two people register the names in a harmonious manner, and issued a set of alchemist uniforms and an eighth-grade bronze medal. In this way, Xia Fan and Wei Wushuang can be regarded as official alchemists of the Privy Council.
"The person who took office this time was really fast. He arrived before August was over." The receptionist said with a smile, "With the four people who came before, Zhiweidian can also hold the first class."
"What does the first session mean?"
"Do alchemists also need to take classes?"
The two asked almost simultaneously.
"Allow me to answer them one by one," the receptionist waved his hand. "You should know that there are more than one examination room for the civil service examination, right? The examination results in each place are arranged in order, and the candidates who take office will naturally be different sooner or later. This is The Privy Council is responsible for a state, and each academic examination must accept twenty or thirty new alchemists. It is normal for the time to drag on for several months. However, the evil spirits will never subside, so it is too late to wait for everyone to arrive before starting the class. That’s right.”
"In order to allow everyone to perform their duties as quickly as possible, Zhiweidian will hold a class once there are six people. Even if new people arrive later, the teaching time can be staggered without missing a beat. The same batch of alchemists who take office will also be included in subsequent actions. Form a team of your own, and if there are no other accidents, you will all work together for the Privy Council... no, for me, Daqi, before being promoted further."
After answering Xia Fan's question, he looked at Wei Wushuang, "Of course alchemists need to take classes - do you think that you have mastered all the techniques and know the true meaning of heaven?"
"Well, of course not, I was rash."
"Haha... It doesn't matter," the receptionist said with a smile, "In fact, the alchemist not only needs to learn spells, but also needs to know the evil spirits well, such as their characteristics and the best way to deal with them. You will repeat this in your actions In practice, only those who perform well can go further. As for those who do not perform so well, you should be able to guess what the consequences will be... "
Wei Wushuang shrank his neck.
It sounds quite decent, Xia Fan thought to himself. At least the Privy Council seems to be summarizing evil intelligence and emphasizing the combination of practice and cognition. This alone is much higher than the master's experience flow. Being able to correctly treat things that transcend common sense, instead of attributing them to myths and legends, the Privy Council has at least touched the threshold of science in this regard.
Yes, science as a methodology is not that high and mysterious. If there are gods in the world, science will not make people worship it, it will only make people study it. Regardless of whether the cognition is correct or not, it does not matter whether the answer can be found in the end. What is important is that people never forget to seek the truth.
"By the way," the receptionist added, "the Privy Council has a piece of land in the east of the city, and the houses there can be rented to alchemists at low prices. Of course, you can also solve the housing problem on your own, and the government will not interfere in any way. As long as it doesn’t affect official business, that’s fine.”
"Evil evil incidents don't happen every day, so the alchemists are relatively free most of the time. However, you two are newcomers. You will be a little busier in the front, and you will be much more relaxed next year."
"Tomorrow's first class starts at 4:40, and the location is right here. You two, remember not to be late. The lecturer is Master Zhang, a sixth-grade Taoist scholar. If you make him unhappy, you will definitely suffer."
"Thank you sir for the reminder."
"Hey, sir, I'm just a doorkeeper." The other party smiled.
After bidding farewell, the two walked out of Zhiwei Hall, and Wei Wushuang let out a sigh of relief.
"Huh... As expected of an official of the Privy Council, he is so enthusiastic and kind. You don't know that I used to do business with the yamen, and even a small official can make things difficult for a long time."
Xia Fan noticed that the clothes the man wore were not alchemist uniforms, which meant that although they were both "national civil servants", he and he were obviously not in the same system. This may be the reason why the other party was so cordial.
Could it be that in this era there is also talk of establishment and temporary workers
However, Xia Fan did not express his guess, "You are now an eighth-grade official. How can anyone dare to make things difficult for you?"
"Ah... I almost forgot if you didn't tell me!" Wei Wushuang said excitedly, "What should an official look like? Walking with legs outstretched? No need to kneel down when entering the yamen? Do you have more than ten beauties at home? Go to a restaurant to eat. Don’t charge money?”
The more he spoke, the more outrageous he became. Xia Fan rolled his eyes at him, "Ask me, who should I ask?"
"How about we put on new clothes later and go for a walk around the city?"
"I don't have time, you have to go on your own."
"Brother Xia!"
"It's useless to call me anything, no need to talk!"
Looking at his fellow villagers who were eager to try, Xia Fan helplessly shook his head.
But this does not mean that his mood is not fluctuating - in fact, Xia Fan is full of expectations for the future.
For those who "want to know more about the world", he has now taken the first step and officially entered the threshold.