Chapter five hundred and sixtieth: First Ming Taiyi Palace
Liu Xiang thought about it for several days, from the cost to the combat consumption, as well as the logistics transportation capacity, as well as the current weapons and armor, and felt that the big man did not need muskets and artillery, and he could not afford them.
However, the Han people need thermal weapons technology.
I can use it, but I can't live without it.
Therefore, in the third year after he ascended the throne, he finally spent money to build a palace. The Taiyi Palace left over from the Western Han Dynasty was built. It is located at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain, backed by mountains and beside a river. It is quiet and deep. It is far away from people and is suitable for doing some private and important things.
The alchemist who proposed the preparation and purification method of saltpeter and sulfur was sent to Taiyi Palace. His name was Ge Xuan, and his courtesy name was Xiaoxian. He was thirty-two years old, a native of Jurong County, Danyang County, and the son of a family of high-ranking officials.
His father, Ge Yan, had not yet served as an official. His grandfather, Ge Ju, was once the prefect of Anping and Huangmenlang in the Han Dynasty. His uncle Ge Mi was the prefect of Yuzhang County in the Han Dynasty.
Because the generals who attacked Jiangnan were killed too hard, everyone in the family was in danger. In order to save the family, they had to take the road of luck and decided to use their superb alchemy skills to gain the emperor's favor.
He thinks he has this ability.
When he was young, he studied Taoism under Zuo Ci and received the "Tai Qing Dan Sutra", "Jiuding Dan Sutra" and "Golden Liquid Dan Sutra". He was praised as a Taoist at a young age. Now he is over thirty.
He is better than his master, and has surpassed his teacher in alchemy.
Looking at the big man, no one can compare with him.
Things were indeed as he expected. After entering the capital, he only had an audience and presented a few alchemy books and a secret recipe. The emperor ordered him to move into the newly built palace, and the family settled down.
But only twenty death row prisoners were deployed, and they could only purify Yin Jun Yang Hou every day, which made him very dissatisfied.
It was not until he was stopped by the palace guards and not allowed to leave the palace that he felt something was wrong. It seemed that it was different from what he expected. The emperor did not ask him to make elixirs.
After going through his experiences after entering the capital from beginning to end, he got an answer: "Your Majesty wants to make elixirs himself!"
"Being underestimated." Ge Xuan was a little depressed and snorted. He was extremely dissatisfied with his ability to be underestimated and reluctantly encouraged himself: "When I refine the golden elixir, I will definitely shock the emperor and let him know the mystery of the elixir.
."
Of course, he didn't dare to slack off in purifying Yinjun Yanghou. It was hard to disobey the emperor's order. No matter how unwilling he was, he had to continue to instruct the condemned prisoners to boil saltpeter and fumigate sulfur. Even if he was reluctant, it was better than when he first arrived.
The efficiency will naturally be reduced.
The situation was reported to the palace, and Liu Xiang decided to go have a look and solve the psychological problems of the employees. It happened that several samples from the iron smelting workshop had been sent to Taiyi Palace, so that new weapons could be tested.
"Go and inform Xun Yu, Tian Feng, Yuan Huan, and Cui Yi to follow me out of the palace."
Since Ge Hong entered Taiyi Palace, Xun Yu, Tian Feng, and Yuan Huan, either directly or indirectly, have all advised him not to indulge in refining elixirs for immortality. This time, their doubts were dispelled.
As for calling Cui Yi, it was just because there was something novel and it opened his eyes.
Under the escort of the accompanying knights, the group galloped for more than an hour and arrived at Taiyi Palace. It was already mid-afternoon, but the weather in July was still oppressively hot, and everyone was dripping with sweat.
Fortunately, Taiyi Palace is located in the mountain shade, and a slight cool breeze blows in, which relieves everyone's heat. But as soon as they entered the palace gate, Xun Yu and others were shocked.
It's too empty.
Many palaces have been demolished, and the remaining palaces have only been strengthened. The palaces have been renovated with His Majesty, and the palace walls have only been made taller and larger. Not much thought has been put into them inside.
The Taiyi Palace covers an area not much smaller than the Weiyang Palace. It was built against the mountain. It was used by the emperor to worship Taiyi and to escape the summer heat. Now most of it has been demolished. Looking over it, it looks like a grain drying farm.
Liu Xiang ignored the astonishment of these people. The most attentive part of his repairs were the palace walls and the defensive sentries at various important roads. In the palace, he only demolished all the dangerous buildings and repaired and strengthened the usable palace rooms.
Already.
He doesn't build palaces to enjoy life. This will be where the Han Dynasty researches thermal weapons in the future. Why does it need to be so magnificent?
Is it exciting to explode, or is it exciting to explode?
"Let's go, follow me to see the alchemist."
The courtyard where Ge Xuan purified saltpeter and sulfur was located in the southwest corner of the palace. There were twenty death row prisoners and ten guards.
There were only four iron buckets for boiling saltpeter and two secret rooms for fumigating sulfur. Because of its small scale, it didn't create thick smoke.
Liu Xiang turned around and understood the principle of boiling salt according to the records on the secret recipe.
Soaking plant ash and saltpeter powder in hot water replaces the calcium nitrate and magnesium nitrate in the saltpeter with the potassium carbonate in the plant ash.
Heat the filtered solution to evaporate the water. Stir constantly throughout the process, but do not evaporate it to dryness. When it becomes a thick paste, lift it aside to cool. The crystals that precipitate are relatively pure potassium nitrate.
.
The residue was not wasted, so I continued to pour in new materials and then soaked them. Four iron buckets and two stoves were used again and again. The planning was good.
The fumigation and sulfur fumigation room was very airtight. Liu Xiang just opened the door and looked around, but did not go in. There was no need to keep anyone inside for a long time.
There is a charcoal stove in the house with a very small flame. There is an iron plate on the stove. In the plate is sulfur baked over a low fire. Iron plates are hung in the air above and around the stove. The smoke from the roasting will be on the iron.
The plate condenses into relatively pure sulfur.
It's so choked inside that you can't stay there at all. You just need to go in after a while to check and replace the charcoal and sulfur.
Well, not bad, I have learned the working methods and principles.
Before leaving, he asked Ge Xuandao: "Do you prefer to be a general, prisoner or official, or do you want to be a palace alchemist who is lucky enough to be promoted?"
As soon as these words came out, Xun Yu, Tian Feng and Yuan Huan almost laughed out loud. Your Majesty is so bad. He clearly said the word "Xingjin". Is there any other choice? He must be trying to transfer people into it.
He will be the prisoner.
But looking at Ge Xuan who was thinking seriously, the three of them felt that this man didn't seem very smart, which was really pitiful.
Ge Xuan only hesitated for a moment before making a decision. He was so good at refining elixirs, and it was a complete waste of time to imprison him. As long as he could refine the golden elixir, he would definitely be respected.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, I have been pursuing the golden elixir path all my life, but I cannot stand the constraints of officialdom. I hope that Your Majesty will fulfill my wish."
Liu Xiang nodded. He had already learned the technique, so there was no need to force him to stay. Everyone has his or her own ambitions, and you cannot stop others from seeking the truth.
Anyway, he would not take those so-called elixirs, so the palace alchemist could not exist. He simply pretended not to understand and said in a tone full of regret: "Filial piety has merit, and merit must be rewarded. In this way
Well, I will give you ten acres of land in the south of the city, ten catties of gold, twenty pieces of brocade, and help Xiaoxian build a Taoist temple to help him practice."
After speaking, he shook his head and sighed: "I am trapped in the world of mortals and cannot be free." Ignoring Ge Xuan's confused expression, he left first. He still had important things to do. If he delayed any longer, he would be damned.
blacken.
When Ge Xuan regretted it so much, he got on the carriage that the Qimen Army sent him back to the city, and when he left Taiyi Palace, he only heard the sound of thunder from the back mountain.
In 196, the third year of Longxing's reign, artillery fired for the first time at the northern foot of Zhongnan Mountain.