SFS Chapter 88 Implicated by Association
Chapter 88 Implicated by Association
Inside the Qian Yuan Palace, Shen Shixi and Li Yuanyin discussed some key techniques for making glass.
"The temperature needs to be high," Shen Shixi said. "I don't recommend using charcoal. It's difficult to reach the required temperature with ordinary charcoal, and even good charcoal might not work. It would also be very wasteful. We need to find new fuels."
"What kind of fuel?" Li Yuanyin asked.
"I remember there was a mountain on the outskirts of Beijing where someone dug up stone ash and used it to burn."
Coal is what we call "coke." In Britain, someone used coke instead of charcoal to smelt wrought iron and steel, which propelled the First Industrial Revolution.
Shen Shixi had no intention of interfering with the course of history or the technological development of the era; she simply wanted to improve her own quality of life, nothing more.
Winter was coming, and she wanted to install glass in the windows of her palace. She didn't want to cover the windows with gauze, so the room would be dark and blurry, and she couldn't see the snow outside. She also needed to light candles inside.
"But it's poisonous!" Li Yuanyin exclaimed.
"The stone itself is not poisonous, nor is the ashes. It is only poisonous when it is half-burnt. If you use a large kiln to fire it, add some air inlets in these parts of the kiln to ensure a sufficient supply of air."
"What do you need gas for?" Li Yuanyin didn't understand the principles of combustion.
"Idiot, how can it burn without gas? Try burning something in a safe, sealed container and see if it can burn without gas. If I cover your nose and mouth, you'll be dead in a few breaths, it's the same principle."
Shen Shixi couldn't explain concepts like oxygen, carbon dioxide, or complete combustion to him, nor was it necessary for him to understand them; even if he did, it wouldn't be of any use.
Li Yuanyin exclaimed sincerely, "Shen Shixi, how do you know so much!"
"Because I'm smart, I'm capable, and I'm knowledgeable! There's a saying that reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. You're a prince born and raised in the deep palace and within the imperial city. No matter how much I tell you, you won't understand."
"You dare look down on me?" Li Yuanyin raised his fist, though of course he didn't dare actually lay a hand on him. "I was just trying to compliment you, and you actually mocked me!"
"That's not flattery, that's just telling the truth!" Shen Shixi rolled her eyes at him. "By the way, after you get your hands on the stone, bring some in for me."
"What are you going to do?" Li Yuanke asked.
"I plan to use ash for heating in the winter."
"Do you know of anyone who had the same idea as you, and ended up poisoning themselves? This happens every year. Has the imperial court already ordered local officials to forbid local people from using litter for heating?"
"Of course I know. But others get poisoned because they don't know how to use it. I do. I can crush the stone into powder, mix it with sticky yellow clay, make coal briquettes, and the amount of poisonous gas produced when burned will be greatly reduced. Keeping the windows open will prevent poisoning."
Moreover, I mainly use it for underfloor heating. With the constant logging for charcoal, these trees will be completely depleted sooner or later.
If combustion is complete, there will be no carbon monoxide, and therefore no poisoning.
Li Yuanyin exclaimed in surprise, "Really? Do you think it would work if I used your method to make coal briquettes and sell them?"
"Alright, but let me remind you, ore, like iron and salt, is a resource of the imperial court. If you use it to amass wealth, I will impeach you to the Emperor!"
Li Yuanyin stomped his foot in anger, "Do you have to be so biased? If you don't tell me, how will anyone know what that thing is? You're just siding with your brother!"
Shen Shixi said, "Oh dear, who told the Emperor to be my man? If I didn't side with him, I'd side with you! You must be tired of living!"
Li Yuanyin jumped back abruptly, pushing her hands away, "Stop! Shut up, you tigress! Don't frame me!"
Shen Shixi burst into laughter, and Li Yuanke flicked her finger on the head, "Naughty!"
Shen Shixi said, "By the way, Li Yuanyin, I'll teach you a way to earn merit. I'll sell you this method for 100,000 taels of silver. If you want it, we can settle the transaction right now."
"Ten thousand taels? Why don't you just rob it? What method? I don't want it!"
"Alright, I'll sell it to the Emperor. Your Majesty, do you want it? I'll only sell it to you for fifty thousand taels!"
She held onto Li Yuanke's shoulder, leaned against him, and spoke in a seductive tone, giving Li Yuanyin goosebumps all over his body.
"You're so biased, Shen Shixi, are you doing this on purpose?" Li Yuanyin jumped up angrily.
"Tell me, I'll buy it with you!" Li Yuanke said with a smile, taking her hand in his.
"The method of steelmaking is such that the weapons used in the army, such as swords, are easy to break because the temperature is not high during the forging process, and the impurities inside are not quenched out, so they are not sharp."
Using my method, we can achieve very high temperatures, and by thoroughly stirring the molten iron, the resulting steel will be much harder and sharper than what we have now.
Li Yuanke's eyes lit up. Li Yuanyin said, "Modern weapons are all forged. I've never even heard of your molten iron."
Shen Shixi said, "You're so stupid! Have you ever seen how the imperial kitchen makes mooncakes? The chefs knead the dough first, then put it into individual molds. Isn't that much faster than rolling out dough one by one?"
"You mean to boil all the molten iron out and then pour it into molds? Don't you think anything in the world can withstand such high temperatures?"
"Sand! The cooks make mooncake molds out of wood. We can make molds out of sand, pour in molten iron, let it cool, and it will become a sword. Then we can quench it on the sword blank. It will definitely reduce the time."
"Then what will we use to hold the iron ore and melt it down?" Li Yuanke asked.
"The Ministry of Works definitely has them. We're not looking to make silver or gold ingots, so what kind of container should we use to hold them? If that's not possible, we can find a few heat-resistant materials and combine them to make a heat-resistant pot."
Shen Shixi wrote down a few pieces of information that he vaguely remembered and handed them to Li Yuanke.
She doesn't need to provide detailed technical information on materials and processes. People today are very smart; what they lack is knowledge and experience, which is something that smart people need to capture in the course of history.
Each capture advances human civilization a little further, and over thousands of years of history, this accumulation has led to the brilliance of later generations.
Shen Shixi gave her a direction and some hints, and then she stopped paying attention to it.
Li Yuanke immediately summoned people from the Ministry of Works to arrange for someone to take the test. He also gave Shen Shixi 50,000 taels of silver notes, which Shen Shixi accepted without hesitation.
Weapon manufacturing is currently too slow to keep up with the military's needs. If a batch of steel weapons could be manufactured quickly, the strength of the Great Zhou army would increase significantly.
While the palace was still celebrating the festival, outside, a bloodbath was raging.
The cases of Consort Yin confusing the royal bloodline and Li Yuanjian's treason involved many people. Li Yuanke was also very cruel, and as a result, several families were wiped out.
When Bai Kui returned from outside the palace, she was so frightened that she turned into a quail.
"The capital city is practically a river of blood. I heard that the blood at Caishikou is so deep that it can reach above the ankles. There are fewer people opening their shops these days, and many people only dare to go to temples when they go out."
The Marquis of Zhongyong's family, the Marquis of Huai'an's family, and the Earl of Yong'an's family are doomed. All three clans have been implicated; all adult males have been executed in the marketplace, underage males have been exiled three thousand li, all female relatives have been sent to the brothels, and servants have been sold off.
She clutched her chest, barely daring to breathe, clearly terrified.
"Master, are we going back to the manor tomorrow? There's never a moment of peace outside," Bai Kui asked.