The beautiful Qujiang River has become a noisy construction site.
The general supervisors, the Shaofu supervisors, the military supervisors, the supervisors of several yamen, the officials of the Dianshi, the government, and the history, etc., drove the royal slaves, government slaves, as well as the drafted craftsmen and strong men to be busy.
Very disgraceful.
One hundred Qianqi from Shenji Camp's right camp are also building temporary barracks.
Huaiyu took Fatty Wu around, but the Cucumber Marquis who raised pigs from his ancestors was obviously unwilling to flatter him and didn't bother to follow him. He was standing on the construction site minding his own business, but he didn't know where to start. He stood and looked there.
, even thought the dust at the construction site was so dusty that it soiled his robe.
"Brother, go tell Wei Changshi and ask him to quickly get the rations for our brothers from the right camp of the Shenji Camp. Firewood, salt, oil, rice, soy sauce, vinegar, and horse feed are all indispensable. Hurry and get them.
.In addition, the pots and pans cannot be missing, it will be noon soon, we can’t let everyone be hungry all the time, right?”
He gave the idle Wei Siren an errand and sent him far away.
"Erlang can just ask the leader of the team to do this. If you order him like this, I'm afraid it will make him unhappy," the fat man reminded.
"It doesn't matter, since he is my subordinate, I can't give him up in the future?"
Wei Siren called his entourage and a group of Qianqi. Sure enough, he went into the city to collect food. This guy worked very efficiently and quickly brought the food back.
Wei Siren handed a list to Huaiyu, somewhat intending to take credit for it.
Huaiyu looked through it and went to the Taicang Department to receive a month's worth of grain. Each Qianqi's ration was one stone of millet per month, a little more than three liters a day, but the food he was given was not all millet, but barley, wheat, and buckwheat.
, millet, rice, millet, millet, hemp, soybeans (soybeans), adzuki beans (red beans), beans (peas) and other grains are converted.
Salt is one and a half liters per person per month.
A war horse needs nine liters of horse salt per month, a bushel of millet and two kilos of wild rice a day. A war horse consumes at least thirty kilograms of dry feed in a day. The greater the amount of exercise, the more beans and millet concentrates are added.
Add half of the concentrated feed.
The Taicang Department was not at all embarrassed.
Everything was given according to regulations, with no deductions, and the amount was one month at a time. If the officials in the late Ming Dynasty saw it, they would have to give them a hammer, and they would not be able to deduct half of it first?
In addition to the one hundred thousand cavalry from the right battalion, the officers were also given extra.
However, they were only given grain and salt.
"Where are the vegetables? Don't you have oil, sauce, and vinegar?"
Wei Siren said directly: "They said that the camp has given us the farmland and capital, and let us solve it ourselves."
"General Zhou promised to give us five hectares of farmland, but it hasn't happened yet. Even the 150,000 hectares of land haven't been paid yet. These 100 brothers from Qianqi can't live without food, right?"
Wei Siren said proudly, "I also brought back some vinegar cloth."
"What?"
"Vinegar cloth can be used to make soup with meals."
Huaiyu saw vinegar cloth when he was in the Longyou Army. A piece of coarse cloth was repeatedly soaked in strong vinegar, and then dried in the sun, so that it could be carried with him. When going out to fight, soldiers often used vinegar cloth to wrap pieces of sauce.
The soybean paste is brewed and dried in the sun. It is a good condiment and is easy to store and carry. It is not easy to spoil.
When you have no conditions, eat some dry food and add some sauce cubes, which not only adds salt but also adds flavor.
Vinegar cloth can be used to wrap soy sauce cubes, and can also be fried in porridge or soup to give it a vinegary flavor. Vinegar cloth is even pickled with salt and can be used as a substitute for salt.
But when it comes to the taste, it's really hard to describe. It's just an emergency item that can't be helped.
Now that I'm in Chang'an, can I still use this thing?
However, when Wei Siren asked someone to get the vinegar cloth from the car, he discovered that the vinegar cloth was not the vinegar cloth he had imagined. It was obviously kelp.
Or it should be called kombu.
This is a good thing that can be used both as medicine and food. Even for many people in the capital of Chang'an City, this may be the only seafood they have ever eaten.
It is sun-dried, rolled into balls, gray-brown, and has a layer of white frost on the surface.
However, it is said that kelp and kelp are cousins at best, but they are not the same thing. In ancient China, there was no such kelp in later generations on the coast of China.
But this thing actually tastes similar, a little thicker.
Especially this kind of kombu, which is simply harvested and dried, is covered with salt and frost, and can be used as a substitute for vinegar cloth.
It’s convenient to carry around, and you don’t need to wash it when eating. What you want is the salty taste. Cut a few pieces and throw them into the pot to cook. It tastes like the sea!
This thing is not common in Chang'an. It is a local specialty that is paid tribute along the coast. Wei Siren asked Taicang for pickles, but the other party refused to give them. Finally, when he saw the kelp, he insisted on a cart.
If there are pig's feet, the pork feet stewed in kelp will be quite fragrant.
Looking at these dry kelp, Huaiyu had a headache.
When he raised his head, he happened to see the large surface of Qujiang Pond in front of him, and there were large lotus leaves in the water along the shore.
If there are lotus leaves, then there are lotus roots.
Since there is such a large area of water, there must be fish.
"Xu Erzhi."
"Erlang,"
"You go to the city immediately and buy some fishing nets. We will lower the nets to catch fish and have fish soup tonight."
He also called other Qianqi and asked them to carry all the food, horses and grass they had received into the account and store them, and then went into the water to dig lotus roots.
It's already August, and the lotus roots are already fresh and tender.
Seeing Wei Siren standing there again and again, Huaiyu felt that it was an eyesore. This guy's nostrils were turned upward and his arrogance was really annoying.
If he were like Lu Huairang and the others, he would still be willing to make friends, but this guy is obviously another Chai Zhewei.
Huaiyu couldn't be bothered to curry favor with this kind of person.
"Wei Changshi, thank you for your hard work. Now, could you please go to the Beimen camp again and ask General You Tuenwei to get the 150,000 yuan that was promised to our camp? Then go to General Zhou to ask for some pot."
Bowls and pans, etc., our Qianqi camp is newly established, we can't just give them nothing and let us buy them ourselves, right?
Are we going to eat with our hands?"
"I also need some soy sauce, vinegar and charcoal."
Wei Siren didn't want to go.
Standing there refusing to take a step.
"Wei Changshi, you are the commander of Qianqi Battalion, and I am the chief judge of Cao affairs."
"How about I go tell General Zhou and tell him that our Qianqiying Temple is too small to accommodate Mr. Wei? That's right. The dignified Marquis of Huanggua County and the provincial minister in the palace are on errands as close servants. He came to our place and mixed with these rough people. It's true.
It’s an insult to Siwen.”
As soon as these words came out, Wei Siren's expression was not very good. He was young after all. Although he looked down on Wu Huaiyu, it was extremely bad for his boss to report him like this on the first day he took office.
"I'll go." Wei Siren endured, "If you have any other instructions, tell them all so that I don't have to run back and forth."
"That's all for now, let's go."
Seeing this guy leave angrily, Fatty Wu said, "Erlang, you offended him the first day, how are you going to get along with him in the future?"
"I'm afraid of birds, but I am the superior officer."
After finishing the Qianqi camp, he went to Yanbo Island, where Xu Jingzong had been busy. Compared with Wei Siren, Xu Jiancheng worked much harder.
He was truly capable of bending and stretching, and he was a dignified bachelor of the Prince of Qin's Palace. Now he was reduced to dealing with a group of slaves and civilians on a construction site, but he didn't have any emotion at all.
"Erlang, I have prepared all the materials and tools you want."
"Well, thank you for your hard work, Bachelor Xu."
Huaiyu called the ten royal slave craftsmen and took them to a smaller island not far to the north of Yanbo Island.
Huaiyu took ten people on a boat to the island. This small island will temporarily serve as his firearms teaching point.
A small island covering an area of at most 2,000 square meters.
There is a three-story pavilion on the island.
After landing on the island, Huaiyu first went to the third floor of the attic. Standing here, he could take in the scenery of the surrounding Qujiang River. It was a good sightseeing spot.
Ten old craftsmen followed him from a distance, and they were very excited.
Although he is a royal slave and is very old, if he can really master the secret method of palm thunder that is now legendary outside, he can pass it on to his descendants in the future. Even if he has been a slave for generations, if he has the ability, he can live a better life than other slaves.
"Everyone, please introduce yourselves,"
The ten old men took turns to come forward and introduce themselves. They were all royal slaves, and they were all master craftsmen. Some were blacksmiths, armor-makers, bow-makers, and even alchemists and medicine makers. Li Shimin didn't know where to get such things.
People.
In fact, making gunpowder is quite simple. What is difficult is application, especially large-scale application. What really restricts this thing is the output and improving the purity and quality of black powder.
After the ten people introduced themselves, they seriously wanted to perform the apprenticeship ceremony to Huaiyu.
They knelt down respectfully and called Master Huaiyu.
Wu Huaiyu can be regarded as the founder of a sect. He previously told Li Shimin that gunpowder was obtained from his master's secret method of alchemy.
Looking at these gray-haired people, the youngest is probably close to fifty, and the older one is over sixty.
"Everyone, get up quickly. Since you worship me as your master and learn the method of refining gunpowder, I also want to make it clear to you that my master, Lou Guan Dao Xiaoyaozi, founded the Longmen Sect. I am the second generation disciple of the Longmen Sect, and also
The current leader, you worship me as your teacher. From now on, you will be the third generation disciple of Louguan Longmen Sect. From now on, you will concentrate on learning the method of refining gunpowder.
In fact, this kind of gunpowder can be penetrated by just a little bit, so it is nothing unusual to pierce the layer of paper.
All gunpowder is mainly saltpeter and sulfur, supplemented by charcoal.
The nature of nitrate is to the yin level, and the nature of sulfur is to the yang level. The two divine objects of yin and yang meet in a seamless space."
Huaiyu didn't intend to hide anything from these ten disciples. To be honest, it was better not to appear in the world in the first place. Now that he has appeared in the world, he must hand it over completely. Otherwise, even a great emperor like Li Shimin would probably not be able to sleep peacefully.
The common man is not guilty, but he is guilty of carrying the jade.
The ten old men all remembered it very seriously.
The prince once summoned them and asked them to learn the method of gunpowder, but he also asked them not to reveal even a single word of the secret recipe of gunpowder. They were not allowed to record it in writing, and they were not allowed to tell anyone.
"In fact, the stability and power of gunpowder are related to the purity of its extraction. Especially the saltpeter. Making saltpeter is also called boiling saltpeter..."
"Charcoal, fir charcoal is the best, but ordinary plant ash is much worse..."
Huaiyu had no reservations about the professor. After teaching the basics, he started the experimental class directly.
There were ready-made saltpeter, sulfur, charcoal, etc. Huaiyu checked the saltpeter and found that the saltpeter was gross saltpeter and needed to be purified.
"First manually pick out the impurities in the saltpetre, and then put it into an iron pot. For one pound of saltpeter, we add half a pound of water. It can cook fifty pounds of saltpetre at a time. Heat it to boil. After two seconds, add a small amount.
Cold water, stop when it boils again."
One teaches with heart, and ten learns with heart.
"Look, after the second boiling, most of the impurities are floating on the surface. Let's pick up these impurities.
At this time, please note that we need to add a small amount of fish bladder glue to the surface. This will increase the surface viscosity of the solution, making it easier to remove impurities. Repeat this operation several times until all impurities are removed, and then let it sit.
After the solution is clarified, put it into a ceramic jar and let it cool down and crystallize naturally."
The old men studied extremely seriously.
There are many ways to refine gunpowder, and the ones Huaiyu knew were relatively simple.
The crystallized hair salt contains crystal water and needs to be dehydrated again.
"We put the crystallized saltpeter into a large iron pot and heat it to evaporate the water. The crystallized saltpeter in a molten state will evaporate quickly. You have to immediately use an iron spoon to put the saltpeter on an iron plate or stone slab.
Then let it cool down naturally again to obtain anhydrous nitrate."
After cooling, the refined saltpeter becomes lumpy. At this time, it is broken into pieces with a copper hammer. Finally, it is pressed into fine powder with a roller and filtered with a sieve to make the particle size consistent.
The crushed fire salt needs to be dried again to reduce the moisture content, but it cannot be heated directly by fire. A fire wall type drying chamber must be used. The partition wall is heated by fire outdoors. The saltpeter is spread on the drying plate and sent to the drying room. In a specific
It is dried at a certain temperature for three or four hours. After drying, it is screened with a specific sieve, and then it can be prepared.
"If we make more firearms in the future and require a large amount of saltpeter, we will have to find natural saltpeter holes to increase the supply of saltpeter. Otherwise, it will be difficult to make gunpowder without saltpeter..."
On the first day, Wu Huaiyu basically taught everything he could.
Huaiyu has also explained the key to the next preparation of the medicine. They can just slowly figure out the preparation by themselves.
The old men felt as if their heads were going to explode, but they didn't expect that this master didn't hide anything and taught him all at once.
It was both exciting and a little doubtful.
"The secret method has been taught to you. Next, you can work in groups of two or three, or refine and prepare it individually. As long as you can master the method proficiently, you can develop it and apply it to weapons.
Gunpowder is the foundation, but purification is more important. Although the preparation ratio is also important, the purity will affect the ratio and effect."
Huaiyu left the island in a small boat, and the ten old men stayed on the island, where they wanted to digest the knowledge they had just learned, and also conduct experiments and explore the formula.
No one is allowed to board the island, let alone have contact with them.
Every day, several Shenji Battalion soldiers rowed their food to the shore, and then came back directly. They could not pick it up until the Shenji Battalion soldiers left.
The meals delivered, the lunch boxes collected, etc. must be returned to the designated personnel for inspection.
Huaiyu rowed the boat back to the shore and found that Xu Jizu, a second-pole man, had already bought fishing nets from Chang'an City on horseback. He was netting fish in the water with some Qianqi soldiers. There were also many Qianqi soldiers who took off their clothes and were swimming in the mud in the water.
Dig lotus roots.
"Erlang, we have caught a lot of fish and shrimps in the net, and also dug out a lot of lotus roots. We have fish, shrimps and lotus vegetables tonight. It's great!"
