The rise of the prince

Chapter 225 Preparation for Face Saint
While the fireworks were transpiring, the large black graphite ore was slowly dug out from the kiln by the servants with a hoe and shovel.

As soon as it was dug open, the steaming hot air rushed to the face instantly, with an unpleasant pungent smell, which made all the servants cough and run away.

This is graphite that has been naturally cooled for more than two hours after firing.

The purification process of graphite ore is very simple, as long as it is heated, because the melting point of graphite is as high as 800 degrees, which is four or five times that of steel, and impurities will be oxidized, vaporized and gradually removed at high temperature. Graphite remains intact.

However, the temperature in this era cannot meet the requirements of complete refining, but it can be achieved by removing [-] to [-]% of impurities.

The development of technology is inherently exponential.

Before the Industrial Revolution, it was always a slowly advancing line with almost no slope, and sometimes it even declined slightly until the Industrial Revolution started and the era of knowledge explosion came. In just one or two hundred years, in an instant It will achieve a qualitative leap and climb at a steep angle of nearly 200 degrees, instantly sending mankind into a new era.

In the final analysis, what human beings have always lacked is knowledge-literate talents and a reasonable knowledge exploration and inheritance structure.

If Li Ye is given a hundred cutting-edge talents from all walks of life in future generations, with a little planning, he is confident that he will be able to make great strides into the electrical age in just a few decades of his life, because [-]% of the things are "" Discovery" rather than "invention".

It's a pity that he doesn't have one. Talents must be cultivated slowly by themselves.

Li Xingzhou explained to his servants that every time he planed some, he would let the graphite pile cool down for about half an hour before continuing to plan.

This step is cumbersome but necessary.Because there are other impurities in the graphite ore, other things are fine. He can tell by smelling that there must be sulfur and phosphorus in it. Sulfur will produce various oxides, such as sulfur dioxide and sulfur monoxide. Harmful.

At present, he can only ask the weavers in the mansion to make simple masks out of cotton and gauze for all the servants to wear.

At the beginning, everyone thought it was inconvenient to wear it. After Li Xingzhou repeated orders and whipped two servants who took off their masks at will, everyone took a warning and did not dare to take them off randomly.

This is the barren hill at the back of the palace, where the Zhu family helped to build the kiln.

This kind of kiln was originally used for firing tiles, and the outer layer of refractory material is the laterite and clay of the earthen kiln. The maximum temperature is only seven or eight hundred degrees, which is barely enough.

It took two full days for Li Xingzhou to refine all the graphite ore.

On the other side, the hydraulic drive system was also completed under Qiu'er's supervision, but the work department was not installed.

This is an experimental unit, so Li Xingzhou designed a variety of working parts from the beginning, one of which is a hydraulic forging hammer that lifts several hundred kilograms, and the other is a rice pounding trough for pounding rice.

Now just in time, he never expected that there would be a graphite mine, but now that there is graphite, naturally everything is given priority to graphite. If graphite is put into use, he can refine real steel and obtain tool steel. At that time, all kinds of high-precision and high-strength item processing will not be a problem.

He directly asked people to replace the original stone pounding groove with an iron horizontal groove, and at the same time, the wooden pounding hammer was also replaced with an iron heavy hammer. Two hammers are installed in parallel.

In this way, the strength of the bearing will be greatly challenged. The iron birch bearing he bought at a large price may only last for a few months.

But Li Xingzhou doesn't care, he is desperate now, as long as the graphite can be put into use, he can even replace the bearing with a high-carbon steel column, let alone a few years, it will last a lifetime, and the physical properties are even better than wooden bearings how many times.

Under the watchful eyes of many people, he set up the card slot. Only when the rear end of the hammer is put into the card slot, the hammer will start to work, otherwise the bearing will drive by itself.

Everyone doesn't understand why he designed such a hammer, this thing is used to pound rice, I'm afraid it will be directly pounded into rice flour.
Under the personal guidance of Li Xingzhou, several servants put the rear ends of the hammers into the slots one by one. Using the principle of leverage, accompanied by a creepy creaking sound, three iron hammers weighing more than 100 kilograms were directly lifted high. When it was more than one meter away from the pounding trough, the rear end was disengaged, and then fell heavily, colliding with the metal pounding trough below, making a loud noise.

The people around were amazed. Several old craftsmen were very pleased. They had made this thing for so many days, and now they finally saw it moving. They felt a sense of accomplishment. In fact, they could probably guess the prince when they saw the blueprint. I mean, I just didn't expect it to be so useful.

Li Xingzhou quickly put the prepared refined graphite block on it.

Graphite is not very hard, and it began to shatter gradually under a [-]-jin hammer. The flying debris was blocked by both sides of the groove, and fell back into small black pieces. This is exactly what he wanted!
"My lord, what do you want these things for?" Yue'er said, holding the teapot, floating around him like a beautiful butterfly.

Li Xingzhou tapped the tip of her nose with his black hand, and the little girl jumped away with a look of disgust.

"These are treasures, treasures better than real gold and silver." Li Xingzhou looked at the scattered black graphite and said.

Graphite mines have existed for a long time, but domestic mining did not start until the [-]th and [-]th centuries, and foreign countries did not discover the magical effect of this kind of thing until around the [-]th century. As soon as European and American powers discovered its physical and chemical properties, they immediately included it in the national list. Strategic resources, conservation and restricted exploitation.

because it really is something that changes the world
Therefore, what humans lack is never resources, but knowledge.

Yue'er shook her head, expressing that she didn't understand.

Li Xingzhou also didn't explain that although the size of the graphite ore crushed by hydraulic hammering was already small, it still couldn't meet the requirements he wanted and needed manual grinding.

Just at this time, the novelty of hydraulic drive attracted many people to watch. Li Xingzhou took this opportunity to issue an announcement:

The servants in the mansion, the female family members of the nursing home, and the female family members of the craftsmen can go to the palace to work if they have nothing to do.

The guys who do it are also very simple. Everyone brings their own pestle and mortar (a tool used to grind spices and medicinal materials. The pestle is an elliptical cylinder, and the mortar is a container, mostly made of stone or iron). Come to the shore , Grind these black fine stones into powder, and give a penny for every catty of grinding.

Li Xingzhou dared to do this because graphite is non-toxic and will not cause harm to everyone.

Now everyone was shocked, one catty was worth one penny, and if twenty catties were grinded that day, wouldn't it be twenty pennies!
All of a sudden, there was a lot of voices, and everyone rushed forward to sign up. After all, there are very few places where women's family members can work in this era, and there are not many people who have nothing to do.

Li Xingzhou didn't expect such a positive response, so he quickly called Yan Yan out and left everything to him, asking him to record and register, and also let him be responsible for the payment of wages. After all, he is the manager of the palace, and he is in charge of the accounts.

However, this incident also gave Li Xingzhou a revelation. He had forgotten that the market economy is the kingly way. Although planned production can be used as a short-term necessary measure, it will inevitably affect people's enthusiasm for labor in the long run, leading to procrastination and low efficiency within the group.

Li Xingzhou immediately thought that it seems that the palace also needs to gradually make some changes.

Especially the many craftsmen, and the production of gunpowder. Considering that these two are strategic resources, it was implemented in the mode of planned production. It seems that some changes need to be made slowly.
In the afternoon, Duke De came again and urged him about the grenade, telling him to prepare quickly and face the saint sooner.

In fact, Li Xingzhou has already made the grenade.

What he is working on recently is a grenade ignition device, because it suddenly occurred to him that if a single production of something like a spring is indeed costly, it is not cost-effective, but if the emperor is persuaded to let the Ministry of Industry mobilize a large number of craftsmen and workers to produce, then the cost will be reduced instantly. down!

And if you have been using the ignition type, what should you do if you encounter bad weather, so he is going to make a few samples.

The spring is also an invention that changed the world. This humble mechanical structure can convert kinetic energy into elastic potential energy, and then release it as kinetic energy again.

It is the simplest but most practical mechanical structure, and its production is not complicated. After Li Xingzhou drew the blueprint, the craftsmen of the palace quickly thought of a way to make this small thing.

Of course, their method is not simple. The craftsmen did not understand what a spring is at first.

Fortunately, Li Xingzhou remembered the method of making needles recorded in Tiangong Kaiwu, so he asked the craftsmen to make embroidery needles according to the craftsmanship of making embroidery needles. He used a piece of iron and heated it into a semi-fluid state. Then he opened eyes at both ends and pulled it continuously. into long, thin strips, which are then wrapped around iron rods with a very small radius, and then quenched.

It is a pity that the toughness of the material was not enough at the beginning, after being quenched and compressed several times, it broke instantly.

Afterwards, Li Xingzhou asked them to try another wrought iron rod. Although the heating process was much more difficult, it really succeeded this time!
The made spring has good toughness and has not deformed after several tests, and can convert kinetic energy into elastic potential energy storage.

This makes the next step easier.

Li Xingzhou was going to use a more advanced pressure impact ignition device. He demonstrated it to Zhao Si himself. Zhao Si is a carpenter, so it is more suitable for him to do these.

First of all, the material is a hard dry bamboo tube with the thickness of a finger. This kind of bamboo can be found in the barren hills outside the capital, and the people call it "Jianzhu".

One end of the bamboo joint is left, the other end is open, and an iron cone is used on the upper end to open a small hole through the left and right sides. After drying, a spring is placed at one end of the bamboo joint. To the extreme, then insert the iron horizontal pin from the small hole, and the spring will be almost fully compressed at the top.

Then put a small piece of flint into the lower end, and the flint is connected to the fire wire at one end, which becomes a simple grenade impact ignition device.

When the horizontal pin is pulled out, the spring compressed at the top is released, the stored elastic potential energy is converted into kinetic energy, and the spring stretches instantly, pushing the iron block to hit the flint at the bottom violently, and the flint generates sparks, igniting the fire wire below.

The fire wire will burn five times around the ignition device, which will have a delay effect, and then ignite the gunpowder in the grenade, causing an explosion.

The advantage of this kind of ignition device is that the entire ignition system is sealed and is not affected by the outside world, not to mention the weather, even if the grenade is thrown into the water, it can detonate normally.

Secondly, it does not require the complex chemical ignition powder of the wooden handle grenade, but uses a physical method to ignite.

This is safer and more reliable. After all, if the surrounding environment of chemical ignition is unstable, such as in the high temperature state in summer, it may catch fire because the ignition powder is too sensitive, causing misfire and accidental injury.

Finally, it's small in size.

The entire ignition device is only larger than a wooden wine cup, and the spring of the main energy storage device is not too large after compression. With the outer gunpowder and shell, it is a circle larger than a modern grenade, but it is still greatly smaller than a wooden handle grenade. It is more convenient to carry.

However, with Zhao Si's help these days, Li Xingzhou only made five such grenades, because the palace has a lot of things to do.

Faced with Degong's urging, Li Xingzhou had no choice but to promise again and again that he would go to meet the saint with him tomorrow. After all, he was also anxious about this matter, and he was afraid that he would have a heart attack from frightening the emperor, because the emperor was old.

But no matter what, it will be a fierce battle.

What worries Li Xingzhou the most is that all human laws, effects, etc. are summed up from observation and experience. Simply put, they can only deal with most situations.

Even the laws of physics that are considered to be iron laws, such as Newton's law, which is regarded as God's dogma, when humans discover and explore a wider cosmic space and a more vast outer space, they find that Newton's law has begun to fail in some places .

Most of the laws are a macro summary of the general trend, which can be regarded as a probability problem, so psychology has always been the science of solving problems, not the knowledge of guessing what others are thinking.

The most troublesome thing is that the old emperor is obviously not in most cases.

His kind of person is even more difficult to guess and ponder. It is difficult to deal with Li Xingzhou's known knowledge. Instead, he can only rely on experience and instinct.

This is a tough fight.
Tong Guan was invited by Zhong Daoyu again, and he still talked about asking him to support the reform of the imperial army, and still promised many benefits, but he didn't even think about it, and refused with righteous words.

After returning home refreshed, he ordered the cook to buy a few catties of pork tenderloin. Recently, I heard that there is a dish of fried pork in Yulou that tastes very good. After tasting it, the cook figured out how to make it. Tong Guan asked her to try it. , it is almost exactly the same.

In the past few days, he had to ask the cook to cook a dish for every meal.

As soon as he got home, he sat down on the front foot, and the maid brought by his wife poured tea for him, and then he heard Ah San, the gatekeeper, tell him that someone was looking for him, and it was Zhao Guanghua, the commander of the infantry of the guards.

Tong Guan frowned, put down the teacup in his hand, Zhao Guanghua was his friend, but the two had broken up for a long time.It's just because people don't know the general idea, don't understand righteousness, if you tell him a few words of "loyal to the emperor and serve the country", you will be embarrassed, and you will say something that should not be mentioned in private.

In the world of family and country, state affairs are family affairs, so why should a minister be loyal to the emperor and love the country?

He snorted disdainfully: "What is he here for? Is it to give lectures to the general? Be someone like me, Tong."

Having said that, he still went out to greet him in person. After all, Zhao Guanghua was at the same level as him in the court, and he was also the commander of the guards.

But there was nothing good about it. He found that Zhao Guanghua had brought a few followers and many gift boxes behind him.

Tong Guan frowned: "Brother Zhao, what are you doing? Could it be that you want to use these things to make me change my mind? If that's the case, let it go. I, Tong Guan, am not a big shot, but I am also a strong man. Famous person!"

The corners of Zhao Guanghua's mouth twitched, and then he said with a pleasant smile: "Brother Tong, what's the matter, brother Mingjie has learned it a long time ago, and I came here today to thank Brother Tong."

Tong Guan was a little puzzled: "Thank you?"

Zhao Guanghua nodded: "That's right, it's a long story, and there are many people outside, so let's go inside and talk about it."

Tong Guan nodded: "Okay, Brother Zhao will follow me, Ah San, come and help Brother Zhao."

"okay!"

The servants rushed to bring all the gifts into the mansion, and the two sat opposite each other in the main hall.

The servants poured fragrant tea, and then Tong Guanping retreated, Zhao Guanghua cupped his hands and said: "To be honest, I came here this time to thank my brother for his tough attitude on the reform of the Imperial Army.

After all, I also have the heart to be loyal to the emperor and serve the country, and I also know that the military reform is not good for the country, but it is a pity that I used to be a subordinate of the general, and my mind is not as firm as my brother, so I can't disobey the general, alas."

Speaking of this, he sighed, shook his head and said: "But now, a certain party knows that brother is righteous, but he can't do anything. These gifts are just a modest effort, please hold on!"

He spoke sincerely, and Tong Guan was a little surprised after hearing this, and immediately reacted: "It's true!"

Zhao Guanghua nodded: "I also want to do my best for the country, but unfortunately the situation forces me to do it myself, and I can only rely on my brother.

Brother must accept these treasures. In the future, every time my brother refuses the general, I will offer a great gift, so that even if a certain person can't come forward, he can still be considered as serving the country, and he has done his duty faithfully. Please don't refuse, brother. "

Speaking of this, Tong Guan was also very happy, patted Zhao Guanghua on the shoulder and said: "Hahaha, I didn't expect brother to think of the same place with me. Today, His Majesty's holy order is clear, and the emperor's grace is mighty. As a minister, I will If you have received the favor of the Heavenly Family, you must swear to serve him to the death!

But it's good that brothers have this kind of heart, this gift is unnecessary. "

"What's wrong with elder brother, a certain book can't do its best, and if you don't pay money to elder brother, it means that you can do nothing for the country and the king, no, no, brother, please accept this gift, and there is a list of gifts." Zhao Guanghua shook his head quickly and said. He presented the gift list.

In fact, Tong Guan was a little bit cautious, fearing that Zhao Guanghua would send him a gift and make a fuss about it. By then, the big gift in his family would become money of unknown origin, but he couldn't explain it clearly, but now he just gave it to him. Putting on the gift list will eliminate this worry.

Tong Guan finally felt relieved, accepted the generous gift and gift list, and understood that Zhao Guanghua was giving him the gift sincerely, and supported him in his conspiracy, so he happily stayed with him to eat the fried pork that his cook had learned newly.

After eating, the two talked for a while, and Zhao Guanghua repeatedly assured that every time he did something to protect the monarchy in the future, he would be rewarded with a heavy gift. Some merit.

Tong Guan couldn't refuse again and again, and he was very happy to accept it. In this way, he was full of confidence in what he did and the way he respected, and felt that he could compete with the general to the end.
Early the next morning, Li Xingzhou changed into his military uniform, and hung five sweet potato grenades on his waist, shaking.

The left end of the horizontal pin of the grenade is a safety pin, and the right end is a pull ring. As long as the safety pin made of bent iron sheets is not pulled out, the horizontal pin cannot be pulled out, so it is very safe.

But no matter how safe it is, he is just trying, it is impossible to enter the palace so hung up.

Pack all the grenades in a small wooden box filled with straw, and ask Qiu'er and Yue'er to dress up carefully. After all, appearance is also the key point in the negotiation.

He only drank a small amount of porridge in the morning, and when he was [-]% full, he quietly waited for De Gong to arrive.

A lot of experience tells Li Xingzhou that if you are full, your brain will devote a lot of energy to digesting food, making you drowsy and difficult to concentrate. Therefore, many veteran negotiators like to use meals to trick novices to death.

Fifty percent full is the best state, and around nine o'clock, Degong's carriage arrived.

Degong is also in formal attire today, a purple gold auspicious cloud pattern official uniform, holding a jade wat in his hand, Li Xingzhou has never seen him wear it like this.

After a simple greeting, everything was kept silent, and the carriages of the Prime Minister's Mansion and the Prince's Mansion headed for the imperial palace in the north of the city one after the other.
(End of this chapter)