Chapter 52 Solve the Problem

In the Tang Dynasty, since gunpowder was in its infancy, people remembered that saltpeter had no other use except medicinal value, so they did not pay much attention to it. It was normal that Ye Tianheng and others did not know where to produce saltpeter in large quantities. Chen Wanrong thought about it and had to mine the saltpeter mine in Xishan.

To mine saltpeter mines in Xishan, manpower is required, and this must be told to the prince. Chen Wanrong stood up and said, "I know there is saltpeter in a place, but I have to agree to this matter. I will go to see the prince now."

Liu Huaide and Kou Yibing said together: "I'm sorry, Lord Chen."

Chen Wanrong left everyone for a while, and everyone sent him to the door. Wang Shaohua and Longwu Army escorted him straight to the East Palace. He arrived at the East Palace soon. As soon as he reported to him, Gao Lishi came out and said with a smile from afar: "I have met Lord Chen."

Although Gao Lishi was criticized by later generations, Chen Wanrong had been in contact with him for so long, not only did he not find any problems, but he found many advantages. He was friendly and easy-going and had no airs. More importantly, he was loyal to Li Longji and had a lot of affection for him. He smiled and said, "I have met Eunuch Gao."

"Mr. Chen, please ask me quickly, the prince is waiting." Gao Lishi turned sideways and gave in.

Chen Wanrong agreed politely and followed Gao Lishi in. Gao Lishi brought Chen Wanrong to the house. Chen Wanrong saw that it was the same house he had come before. In addition to Li Longji, there was Shen Que. The two were discussing matters. When they saw Chen Wanrong coming, they immediately stopped talking. Chen Wanrong had seen Li Longji and met Shen Que again.

"Tell me, have you encountered difficulties?" Li Longji kept saying the purpose of coming, without any gossip.

Chen Wanrong knew his character and did not go around the circle: "The prince was wise! The problem now lacks saltpeter, and without saltpeter, there is no way to make gunpowder. I know that there is saltpeter in the west mountain in Luojiadian, but I heard from the local old people that it was buried many years ago due to cracks. If it were mined, it would take a lot of manpower, so I came to ask the prince for help."

Li Longji frowned and said, "If the ground crack is buried, it will not be so easy even if it is to be mined."

Chen Wanrong also thought of this problem, but he didn't know where there was apart from here, so he could only try it.

Shen Que took over the conversation: "Crown Prince, I know there is a place where there is a lot of saltpeter."

As of now, saltpeter is the only factor restricting artillery. Chen Wanrong's eyes were particularly bright and he asked: "Mr. Shen, where is it? Tell me quickly."

This is exactly what Li Longji wanted to say, and he was also staring at Shen Que. Shen Que laughed and said, "I heard that there are too many saltpeters near Qinglian in Mianzhou, and you can transport them to Chang'an from there."

Mianzhou is now Mianyang City, Sichuan. The Qinglian of Jiangyou is the hometown of the poet Li Bai. Jiangyou, under the jurisdiction of Mianyang City, produced a large amount of saltpeter in the Song Dynasty, and the Song Dynasty once boiled a lot of saltpeter here. Shen Que said this place, but because gunpowder is still in its infancy, it is not valued.

Li Longji said without saying a word, "Okay, I will immediately order Mianzhou to bring saltpeter."

Chen Wanrong thought for a while and asked, "How long will it take?"

Li Longji estimated: "At least twenty days, at most one month. Don't worry, we have been waiting for decades, and we can still afford to wait for this month."

The transportation in the Tang Dynasty was particularly developed. It was not necessary to cross the dangerous Qinling Mountains to transport things from Sichuan. It could be transported out of the Three Gorges through water, into the Yangtze River, into the Han River, and then through several water systems, transported to Huayin, and then to Chang'an by land. The reason why it could not be transported directly to Chang'an by water was that the Wei River was full of sand, and the tunnels dug by Emperor Wen of Sui were too much silt and sand, which was inconvenient for shipping.

Chen Wanrong didn't know this, so he pondered for a moment and said, "Since that's the case, there is no need to transport saltpeter to Chang'an. You can ask Mianzhou to cook it before sending it here."

This is a good method. Although Li Longji didn't know what boiled nitrogen is, he could understand its benefits. He nodded and said, "It's so good. It's okay to boil nitrogen in Mianzhou, but this method needs to be guided by someone. You have to arrange this matter."

It is not difficult to boil the salt. The masters who work in the mansion and military weapon supervision will find one or two teachings to teach. Chen Wanrong smiled and said, "Don't worry, Prince, you won't make any mistakes."

"Then you go and do your business first. Once you have arranged this matter, I will arrange someone to go to Mianzhou." Li Longji took the guests away.

Chen Wanrong said goodbye and left the prince's mansion and went back to the military weapon surveillance. Liu Huaide and Kou Yibing and others were waiting. Chen Wanrong said that after a while, the two of them let out a sigh of relief.

As for the candidates to go to Mianzhou, Chen Wanrong had no idea and asked for the second opinion: "I am not very familiar with this place, so I don't know who is suitable to send?"

The two looked at each other, and Kou Yibing pondered for a moment and said, "Master Chen, is it difficult to boil the salt? If it is difficult, you can work here first. Please give them some advice and wait until they can, and then go to Mianzhou."

Liu Huaide took over the conversation and said, "Yes! There is not much saltpeter in Chang'an. At least you can buy some in the pharmacy, just teach them."

Even if Chen Wanrong bought out the saltpeter from the pharmacy, the pharmacy would immediately mobilize it from elsewhere and quickly add it. Their proposal was good, but there was no difficulty in boiling salt. Chen Wanrong smiled and said, "You two have very good suggestions, but this is not difficult, just talk about it."

"Okay, that's good!" Kou Yibing thought for a while and said, "Since that's the case, please give me some advice. In my opinion, sending three people is better. Send more people more. First, it can improve efficiency and people will always be tired. Second, it is necessary to prevent mistakes. If there are any problems, they can discuss it."

It doesn’t matter whether you make a mistake or not. Even if the potassium nitrate is not purified enough, it’s better to transport it back and boil it again. It’s much more trouble than sending the saltpeter mine directly to Chang’an Province. Of course, this proposal is very good. Chen Wanrong had no reason to refuse and nodded, "I didn’t say anything, where is Lord Liu?"

"Of course there is no problem. I'll send Sun Nanhu, Ouyang Fu and Li Xiaoyi to the next place." Liu Huaide began to ask for help: "They are in their prime, young and strong, smart, good skills, and innovative. It's very suitable for them to go."

Kou Yibing thought for a while and said, "Okay, I didn't say it. Lord Chen, what do you think?"

Chen Wanrong remembered that Ye Tianheng introduced the three people when he was at the school grounds and nodded, "Okay, please call them here, I will tell you what you need to pay attention to."

Liu Huaide went to call someone, and in a short while, he turned around and followed three middle-aged men. After a brief look, Kou Yibing explained: "Three, there is a big thing you want to do. I wonder if you are willing to do it?"

"Mr. Kou, please give me instructions if you have something to do. We have nothing to say." Ouyang Fu blurted out without thinking.

Liu Huaide took over the conversation and said, "Saltpe is used to build artillery. This saltpeter is not available in Guanzhong, but Mianzhou Qinglian. You three rushed to Mianzhou to preside over the matter of boiling salt. After boiling the salt, you have boiled the salt and then sent it to Chang'an. Is there any problem?"

Sun Nanhu was a little puzzled: "Mr. Liu, it's okay for us to go. But there is saltpeter in Mianzhou. Isn't it enough to ask local officials to send them to Chang'an?"

It is necessary to explain this question. Chen Wanrong took over the conversation: "What Master Sun said is not without reason. However, there are many impurities in this saltpeter, and at least ten kilograms of ore can be used to make a kilogram of nitrate. If you send the ore directly, the manpower and material resources are not cost-effective. So, I think it is better to boil it first in Mianzhou and then deliver it. This is my opinion. Do you agree with it?"

If you boil a pound of potassium nitrate by ten kilograms of ore, it is still calculated based on the best grade ore. If you only have 3% to 5% grade ore, it will take dozens of kilograms to boil one kilogram, and the waste of manpower and material resources will be very serious.

Sun Nanhu suddenly realized and felt a little embarrassed: "So that's the case. Lord Chen, please forgive Sun for his ignorance."

"Master Chen said where did you go?" Chen Wanrong said politely.

Liu Huaide glanced at the three people and said, "Three, are there any problems?"

"No problem." Sun Nanhu and the other two blurted out.

Kou Yibing stood up and said, "That's good. Please give me some advice." Chen Wanrong was not polite and explained the key points of the three of them and the detection methods.

These are all mature techniques, so they naturally have no problem understanding. If they explored by themselves, it would be thousands of times more difficult. By the time Chen Wanrong finished speaking, Sun Nanhu and the other two, Liu Huaide and Kou Yibing, all felt like they could see the blue sky through the clouds and mist, and they exclaimed repeatedly.

Sun Nanhu and the other two discussed for a while, asked some technical questions, and Chen Wanrong answered them one by one until they had no questions, and then gave up. Five people Shangyi decided to go to the East Palace first and reply to Li Longji. So the five people rushed to the East Palace to ask for Li Longji. Li Longji immediately summoned him, asked Mingming, and asked Sun Nanhu and the others when they set off. Sun Nanhu and the other two said they would set off immediately, but Li Longji would stop them and asked them to go home first to talk to their families and leave tomorrow.

This is good to them. The three of them have no objection. They went home to say goodbye to their relatives and friends. Chen Wanrong and Liu Kou bid farewell to Li Longji and returned to the Military Equipment Principal. Kou Yibing is old and feels a little breathless as soon as he returns to the Military Equipment Principal. He leans halfway on the chair and drinks a cup of tea before he is evenly excited.

After agitated, Kou Yibing stood up and said, "Let's go and see how Brother Ye is doing."

In the Tang Dynasty, the casting was only possible by casting. The casting of Ye Tianheng was very important. Chen Wanrong also wanted to see it, but he had no objection and went with Kou and Liu. As the two of them came to the east room, Ye Tianheng sat on a chair, holding a crutch in his right hand, and raised the crutch from time to time to point out.

This is a carpenter. Several carpenters were busy with their hands under Ye Tianheng's guidance, and sweat beads oozing from their foreheads. Casting can be roughly divided into three stages: one is the casting preparation stage, the second is the casting stage, and the third is the casting processing stage.

The preparation stage is mainly the production of models. Models are not made directly, but must be made through a series of preparations. First of all, the size and shape of the castings must be established, which is equivalent to the current preparation work such as design drawings. With drawings, you cannot directly be used as a model, but instead convert the drawings into real objects.

This transformation is achieved through carpenters. Carpenters make real objects based on drawings. These objects are not necessarily the same size as castings, nor are they necessarily the same size. They are technical processing. For example, if you want to cast hollows, you must make a solid body model of the same size.

Only with these things can we be a model, and only when the model is done can we be cast.

Chen Wanrong only talked about the style of the artillery and some precautions. After Ye Tianheng and Chen Wanrong and Kou Yibing discussed, they established the size and drew it into a picture, and asked the carpenter to make the real thing.

Seeing Chen Wanrong and the others coming in, Ye Tianheng stood up and said, "Haha, I didn't expect that you are here too."

"Brother Ye, how is the progress?" Liu Huaide smiled.

Ye Tianheng nodded and said, "It's not bad, not bad. When these are done, you can be a model. It will take about one or two days. Come on, I'll show you." Walking in his head with a cane, Chen Wanrong and the others followed, and Ye Tianheng explained while walking.

Listening to his explanation, Chen Wanrong was very surprised. The casting technology of the Tang Dynasty was very similar to that of modern casting, but it was not as advanced as modern times. Especially those basic things, they were definitely the same.

The reason why Ye Tianheng was honored as a master was not because of his detailed and unique explanation. His insights made Chen Wanrong admire him. Chen Wanrong had some understanding of modern casting, and thought that even a professor at a modern university might not be better than him.

After the explanation, everyone gathered together to discuss some issues. Of course, what they are most concerned about is when Ye Tianheng can do it well. Ye Tianheng is confident and ensures that it is done within ten days. Just make a sample, and "green lights all the way", and give priority to other weapons, so there should be no problem.

After finishing this, Kou Yibing stood up and said, "Brother Ye, you are busy. I want to ask Lord Chen to give me some advice on the knife. Lord Chen, can you give me some advice now?"

Chen Wanrong was also very enthusiastic about knives. It was nothing to do now. It would be better to see the outstanding wisdom of our ancestors. He happily agreed: "Okay! I have wanted to see it for a long time."

Ye Tianheng teased: "Master Kou, you are really like this. You don't want me to go for such a good thing."

The tool problem has not been solved for a hundred years. Now hope is right in front of you. Who is not moved? Kou Yibing laughed and said, "Brother Ye, aren't you busy? Just watch here, let's try it first, and you'll use it for you."

This is a joke, Ye Tianheng raised his crutch: "You are looking for a fight."

Kou Yibing was particularly happy at this moment: "Mr. Liu, help me." He ran out with a smile, as if he was ten years younger, and his original appearance disappeared all of a sudden.

The four of them talked and laughed and walked towards the house to the south. This room was different from other rooms. There were two big locks on the door. Kou Yibing took out a key and opened the lock. Liu Huaide opened the other one, pushed the door open, and the four of them went in.

Ye Tianheng explained to Chen Wanrong: "My friend, don't laugh at us. This treasure is so precious. If you want to use it, you have to agree to Lord Liu and Master Kou."

For them, such tools are definitely more precious than treasures, and it is normal to keep them very strictly. Chen Wanrong smiled and said, "I am really honored that the iron shell I made for me actually used the treasure."

"Mr. Chen, to be honest, I really regret using this treasure. If I hadn't heard Brother Ye say that gunpowder was so powerful, we delayed for a few days and many soldiers in front of us would have died or injured. I felt guilty and would never have given it to you." Kou Yibing felt a little embarrassed.

Of course, there is also the effect of Ye Tianheng blowing the snail. Chen Wanrong smiled and said, "I am really flattered."

Liu Huaide laughed and slapped Chen Wanrong on his shoulder: "Mr. Chen, don't listen to Master Kou's nonsense. It's right to use it for you. However, after you use it, you just need to return more knives. If you don't return it..."

Without saying the following words, Chen Wanrong also wanted to get it and smiled and said, "I know some methods that I haven't used before, and it may not be possible."

Ye Tianheng said happily: "That's great. We have been studying this knife for a hundred years, but we have not found a way to do it. If you tell me, we will make a good idea, maybe we will make it."

There was something standing in the middle of the room, covered with clean linen. Liu Huaide lifted the linen and smiled and said, "Mr. Chen, this is that treasure."

When Chen Wanrong saw that the greasy and shiny iron lumps were kept so well after a hundred years. Just like the new one, the military weapon surveillance really put in some effort. It is easy to understand that they must wipe and maintain such valuable things at any time.

After careful examination, this thing is somewhat similar to a modern lathe, except that there is no horizontal expansion and contraction, there are fixtures for fixing tools, and fixing objects. These two places are very close to modern lathes. Of course, the manufacturing technology is far from the same as the one in terms of manufacturing technology, and its style is not reasonable enough and it is very troublesome to use. I guess if this thing is used for processing, you won’t be able to make much stuff in a day. Of course, processing threads is exceptional, after all, it only takes a while to work on the threads.

A piece of knife was fixed on it. When Chen Wanrong looked at it, the tip of the knife was shaky, needless to say it was definitely sharp. Chen Wanrong touched the blade with his hand and had a soft texture, which should feel better than modern tools. Chen Wanrong had used the modern machined tool for countless times, but he didn't have this comfortable feeling, and his right hand unnaturally touched the tip of the knife.
Chapter completed!