Although the Gravity Bell has great appeal to the general public, and they have been talking about it for several days with high enthusiasm, Li Ye is not very interested in the Gravity Bell. He is interested in the production of explosives. He considers not using it for war, but To mine, he needs iron and copper, a lot of iron and copper, coal, and of course gold and silver.
For war, gunpowder is enough. Add some nitrocellulose to the gunpowder, and the power of the gunpowder will skyrocket.
That morning, Chen Huan reported to him the information on the collection of copper and iron in the official office. "At present, about 19 million kilograms of various scrap irons and 8.5 million kilograms of copper have been collected. The people are very enthusiastic about it, but the progress of the temple It was so slow that even the temple refused to hand over the extra copper or iron bells."
Li Ye snorted heavily. Historically, it was not without reason that Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty destroyed Buddhism. Not only did the temples not pay taxes, but they also occupied a large amount of land, wealth and population, which seriously affected the functioning of society.
He did not destroy the Buddha, but refused to ask them to bring out the extra copper and iron bells. Li Ye took a few steps with his hands behind his back and asked: "Have you investigated the property and population of various temples in Chang'an?"
Chen Huan said with a wry smile: "We wanted to investigate several times, but they blocked us and refused to cooperate. We have to go on a hunger strike to protest. There is nothing we can do against them!"
Li Ye immediately said to his subordinates: "Go quickly and find the inner guard Li Dutong!"
His men rushed away, and Li Ye said to Chen Huan again: "How about coal mining?"
"The efficiency is relatively low. We hope to get assistance from the Firearms Department's Iron Fire Thunder."
Li Ye nodded, "I will tell them to support you!"
"I humbly obey orders!"
After a pause, Li Ye asked again: "We need to speed up the search for ore. We have developed a more powerful firearm that is very efficient for mining. Our iron and copper production can increase at least three to five times."
Li Ye felt that it was necessary to go to the Gunpowder and Firearms Department to see their progress.
When he heard that King Qi had arrived, Hu Jiuling hurriedly came out to greet him. He had been promoted to deputy superintendent of the Arms Department and commander of the Third Department. Hu Jiuling's skills were average, but he knew how to employ people. He could discover the strengths of each of his subordinates, and then put them to work. Put them in the right positions and put their talents into full play.
Li Chenghua bowed and left. The inner guard had the function of inspection. Since the civil servants could not investigate, he asked the inner guard to investigate. Li Ye did not intend to destroy Buddhism, but he must limit the temple's erosion of social wealth.
"I know, you make the arrangements, and I will notify the Firearms Department."
At this time, Li Chenghua appeared at the door, "I'm sorry to see you, Your Highness!"
Li Chenghua came in and bowed, and Li Ye said calmly: "I want to give the inner guards one thing. Check the size of all the temples in Chang'an, their monks, their property, their land, and the number of good people they control. No matter what method you use, you can .”
"I understand that there is considerable progress in prospecting in the middle of Shu. However, His Highness has more powerful firearms. It is better to blow up the rocks in Sanmenxia again so that ships with more than three thousand stones can pass through."
Li Ye never worried about accidents in the Firearms and Gunpowder Department. The skills of Han craftsmen were the best in the world. As long as he told them the method, they would definitely achieve perfection.
Li Ye slapped his forehead and he actually forgot about this matter.
"Li Dutong, please come in!"
In the afternoon, Li Ye went to the Firearms and Gunpowder Department again. For more than a month, he had been busy with the imperial examination and had forgotten about firearms and gunpowder. I wonder if they have made any new progress now.
Li Ye also made Hu Jiuling concurrently serve as the Oil Refining Department after discovering Hu Jiuling's advantages in employing people.
What they were refining was not oil, but sulfuric acid and nitric acid.
Hu Jiuling accompanied Li Ye to visit the newly built Petroleum Refinery Department, located south of the Firearms Department, covering an area of 30 acres and close to the river.
Currently, there are thirty craftsmen responsible for refining oil, and the number will soon increase to one hundred. Everyone is wearing a thick mask. At this time, two officials came forward to salute. Li Ye remembered that they were summoned from Luoyang. One of those officials.
"Engineering classes are about to start soon, why are you here?"
The two officials saluted quickly and said, "Your Highness, our specialty is smelting. In smelting, green vitriol oil is needed to extract copper, silver and other metals from the ore. I heard that there is green vitriol oil here, so we came to check it out."
Li Ye nodded, "The green vitriol oil and nitrate oil here are mainly used to produce firearms. However, if you need them for teaching, we can provide them in small quantities and the Craftsmanship Department will manufacture them in large quantities in the future."
"I understand the humble position!"
The smell here was very bad, so Li Ye left the Refinery Department and came to the Firearms and Gunpowder Department. In the lobby, Li Ye sat down and asked: "How is the explosive manufacturing situation?"
"Three hundred kilograms have been produced, and we are continuing to expand manufacturing."
"Nothing serious happened!"
"The last time we made collodion, there was an explosion, but no one was hurt,"
Li Ye was surprised and delighted: "Have you made collodion?"
"Isn't it what His Highness taught you? Put cotton wool into nitrate and green vitriol oil, and after drying, we made collodion, which is much more powerful than gunpowder. We used it as a filler to put into the iron fire thunder, and the power was amazing."
Li Ye nodded, "Yes, but guncotton is very unstable and will spontaneously ignite and explode. You must remember!"
"Our last incident was because it burned and exploded due to heat. Later we discovered that if it is not completely dried, but with a little moisture, it will be much more stable, but just as powerful."
Li Ye really praised him. He was a very smart craftsman who could draw inferences from one instance. It was not easy to think of water-containing collodion.
He then said slowly: "This time I want to talk about three main things. First, gunpowder and collodion are enough for military use now, and the explosives are going to be used for mining. If officials from the Mining Administration come, you have to teach them How to safely store explosives, but the use of explosives must be operated by firearms soldiers.
Second, anyone who comes to pick up explosives must have a written approval slip from me. The explosives cannot be handed over to them. They must be kept and used by the firearms corps, and they must also send a craftsman to follow.
Third, regarding confidentiality, I told you about it last time, but I think it’s not enough. I will open up half a square in Chang’an for craftsmen and their families involved in secrets to live, and the internal guards will be responsible for ensuring safety.”
Hu Jiuling nodded and said: "Your Highness is right, there are many secrets involved in this matter. Once the secrets are leaked and the enemy learns to make iron fire mines and explosives, it will be a big trouble."
After giving the explanation to Hu Jiuling, Li Ye got up and went to visit the testing site. At this time, Hu Jiuling remembered something and said with a smile: "We have discovered a very powerful new firearm. Your Highness might as well give it a try!"
Li Ye asked curiously: "What new type of firearm?"
Hu Jiuling quickly sent someone to fetch a wooden box. Li Ye opened it and found a layer of cardboard with eight holes cut out in it. Each hole held a small porcelain bottle, about the same size as a bullet.
Li Ye asked curiously: "What is this?"
"Your Highness, each small bottle is filled with ** oil!"