Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 496 Unexpected Encounter
When it comes to preparing gunpowder, we have to mention saltpeter, which accounts for a huge percentage.

Saltpeter often contains sodium nitrate and potassium nitrate at the same time. Both of them have the characteristics of dissolving in water and absorbing heat, and even make water freeze, so saltpeter was also used as a refrigerant in ancient times.

Of course, compared to refrigeration, in Yuan Xi's view, heating is more effective than heating, which is the art of explosion.

But to make gunpowder, potassium nitrate is needed instead of sodium nitrate, because the latter is easy to absorb water, making the gunpowder damp, seriously affecting the explosion effect, and even misfiring. Therefore, products mixed with various nitrates can only be used as fireworks most of the time. .

But to purify it, it involves two methods of making gunpowder saltpeter, one is to turn sodium nitrate into potassium nitrate through a chemical reaction, and the other is to filter out potassium nitrate in a mixture of sodium nitrate and potassium nitrate to purify nitric acid potassium.

The source of nitrate is the most simple and direct source of nitrate.

Nitrate is generally soluble in water, so it is difficult to find it in the summer and autumn regions with abundant rainfall. However, in the cold and dry northern regions after spring and autumn, due to sudden changes in temperature, nitrate will crystallize and precipitate, commonly known as alkali.

The places where these things appear are often latrines. This is because the urine excreted by humans and animals is rich in urea, which slowly reacts with water and decomposes into ammonia and carbon dioxide. Under the action of ammonia-oxygen bacteria and nitric acid bacteria, after a series of The chemical reaction produces nitrous acid, nitric acid successively, and finally the sodium and potassium plasma in the surrounding environment produces nitrate. This process is called panuria cocoon in folk sayings.

In medieval Europe, due to the lack of sources of saltpeter ore, latrine nitrate was almost the only way to prepare gunpowder, so urine was included as a resource for war preparation by the royal families of various countries at that time.

And because the places where people gather are the easiest to collect, King Charles I of England issued regulations to allow monks to encourage people to pee on church benches when people come to church for worship.

Because people cannot leave the pews during worship, a large amount of nitrate can be collected through this move. Since then, church pews have become an important source of arms for Britain's foreign expansion.

After the nitrate is obtained, it needs to be purified. If there are too many impurities, even the best gunpowder ratio will not be able to achieve the effect. This is the most troublesome thing for Yuan Xi.

In the history of China, the proportion of gunpowder has been constantly changing. Of course, there are reasons for it to be perfected in use, but the impurity factor in saltpeter is also an important factor restricting its development.

The process of purifying nitrate is called boiling soda and boiling nitrate. During this process, the Chinese people discovered another key raw material.

plant ash.

Its main component is potassium carbonate, which is used to provide potassium ions. By continuously adding plant ash, then dissolving water and heating, and finally filtering, the calcium and magnesium ions and carbonate groups in the aqueous solution can be effectively removed, and then only potassium carbonate and carbonate are left. sodium.

After a series of steps, the purity of potassium nitrate can be improved, thereby assisting the gunpowder to reach the final ratio.

The reason why gunpowder is said to be one of the four great inventions is because it condenses a lot of experience and wisdom of the Chinese people. Without the assistance of basic chemical knowledge, it is really not easy to achieve this step.

The collection of nitrate soil cannot be mass-produced, but the potassium-rich brine in the Black Mountain Salt Lake is large and full, and using it to boil nitrate can not only produce crude salt and pure nitrate, but also produce brine, which can not only be used for Making tofu can also increase the fertility of the land, which can be said to kill three birds with one stone.

Therefore, taking down Montenegro means much more to Yuan Xi than people in this era think, but people may not realize it for quite a long period of time.

He looked at the last few bamboo tubes left on the table, reached out and put them on his waist, seeing that Lu Lingqi also wanted to take them, he said, "This thing is very dangerous, are you sure?"

Lu Lingqi said disdainfully: "Isn't it the fireworks that Master let off?"

Yuan Xidao: "Although it hasn't been tested a few times, the power this time may be much greater."

"Really?" Lu Lingqi was eager to try, "Take a look!"

Yuan Xi was helpless, "This thing is not easy to make, it is used to break armor and cavalry formations."

He explained how to use it in detail, and said: "You have to throw it out within ten breaths after igniting it, otherwise you will hurt your hand. If it blows up in your own formation, it will be a disservice."

After hearing this, Lu Lingqi waved her hands and said, "I understand, don't worry." After speaking, she stuffed the two bamboo tubes into her waist.

Seeing her nonchalant look, Yuan Xi thought to himself that he was even more worried now.

The two walked out of the camp side by side, and found that everyone was already lined up and ready to go.

The number of people was much more than what he brought. This was a temporary break-up of the team and mixed in with the reserve army in several cities around Haixi, because this time, facing the situation of the army pressing down on the border, just a few thousand people are too few .

But if recruits are mixed in, in the worst case, the combat power will not increase but decrease. At that time, it will depend on the performance before the battle!
Yuan Xi took a deep breath, raised his hand high, "Battle out!"

One day later, Yuan Xijun encountered tens of thousands of refugees from Xuzhou at a place more than [-] miles east of Haixi.

Chasing behind him was Cao Jun's vanguard cavalry disguised as Taishan bandits.

At the moment when the two armies encountered each other, neither side hesitated, and immediately hit the horses to speed up, and came to the opposite impact!

At this point, the two sides no longer hide their concerns, they both know the other side's purpose, and there is only one choice right now.

You die and I live!

The two sides first opened their bows and fired a few rounds, rushing from hundreds of steps to dozens of steps.

Cao Chun, the leader, instinctively felt that something was wrong. Although this was his first time fighting against Youzhou soldiers, he had fought many battles with Lu Bu in Yanzhou with cavalry before. It can be said that he is familiar with cavalry.

But after several rounds of shooting, Cao Chun keenly discovered that the opponent's body was extremely stable when shooting arrows, and the shooting speed was faster, so he was more accurate!

Judging from the number of people who fell from both sides, his own side showed a disadvantage in a face-to-face meeting!
Seeing that there were still dozens of steps left, the two sides were about to collide. At this time, the soldiers on both sides had already retracted their bows, pulled out their swords from their waists, and were ready to fight at the next moment!
Cao Chun looked at the opponent's armor, which was obviously much better than his own, and had a bad premonition in his heart. The opponent's posture was a bit inconsistent no matter how you looked at it!

His body trembled. Both sides fought with weapons in one hand and the saddle with the other, but the opponent was holding knives in both hands? ?
He yelled, "Switch!"

Cao Jun's cavalry in front heard this, and quickly turned their horse's head in the direction, trying to avoid the frontal assault of the Youzhou Army, but it was already too late!

The dozens of riders in front dodged, but the hundred riders behind couldn't hold back their momentum, thinking that they would run into each other.

They were also brave, they all roared loudly, shook their arms, and slashed out with swords around their heads!

This is the most effective way to kill the enemy immediately with the ring sword. Using the whip-like posture of the arm can greatly increase the power of the slash. Coupled with the sprint speed of the horse, if it hits the opposite body, even if it cannot break the armor, It can also cause serious internal injuries to the opponent!

The piercing and ear-piercing sounds sounded densely, this is the symphony of weapons and armor colliding, accompanied by screams and muffled groans, resounding on the battlefield.

People on both sides kept falling off their horses, but Cao Chun was surprised to find that not only Cao Jun fell much more than the other side, but almost all of them did not respond after falling off the horses, while the other side could still get up!

He made a decisive decision and shouted: "Turn around, let go!"

Cao Jun's cavalry immediately opened the distance, shot two rounds of arrows backwards, and then gathered together as they thought, and finally retreated on horseback under the leadership of Cao Chun.

After Yuan Xi got the news of the conflict between the two sides, he learned that this was the first time they fought, both sides had hundreds of cavalry, and his own side suffered more than a dozen casualties. Cao Jun suffered more than half of the casualties, but he was not happy at all.

Stirrups are used here, and the weapons and armor are also the best. In the case of head-to-head, it is nothing more than that.

Although he knew that Cao Jun must be more distressed than himself, it seemed that the number of cavalry on both sides could not determine the final outcome of the battlefield. The main force in the decisive battle between the two sides was still the infantry.

And Yuan Xi has already learned that Cao Cao almost transferred the most powerful Qingzhou Army under his command to Xuzhou!
Although Qingzhou soldiers are generally equipped, they were formerly Yellow Turban bandits with rich combat experience, so they are extremely difficult to deal with on the battlefield. You can tell by watching Lu Bu suffer several times.

At that time, Lu Bu had Zhang Liao Gaoshun and other eight generals, and they were defeated several times in battles with Cao Cao. On the one hand, this shows that Cao Cao's tactics are appropriate. On the other hand, it also shows that the combat power of Qingzhou soldiers should not be underestimated.

But now that the opponent has an overwhelming number of people, if Yuan Xi doesn't respond to break the game, he will probably be surrounded and consumed by the opponent.

From the mouths of the refugees in Xuzhou, Yuan Xi learned another bad news.

When Liu Bei broke up the rear, Cao's army collapsed during a surprise attack that night, and their whereabouts are unknown.

Yuan Xi's heart tightened, Liu Bei might be dead, right?

Although he understood that if Liu Bei died, it might not be a bad thing for him, maybe Guan Yu and Zhang Fei came to seek refuge in him for revenge?
However, in later generations Liu Bei was defeated by Cao Cao and disappeared, and Guan Yu surrendered to Cao Cao after being captured. Who can say clearly what is going on in this world?
He said to Lu Xun: "Let the soldiers set up camps on the spot, dig ditches and build fortifications."

After hearing this, Lu Xun hurriedly went out to make arrangements. After a short while, the soldiers began cutting logs and digging on the spot, and set up objects such as keeping horses away.

Facing an enemy several times larger than oneself, there are two ways to deal with it. One is to use mobility to eat away at the opponent's weak military strength, and the other is to set up a stronghold for defense.

Originally, according to Yuan Xi's situation, it would be more flexible to adopt the former, but he had to buy time for the fleeing Xuzhou people, so he could only hastily build a defensive offensive to guard against the main force of Cao Cao's attack in an hour or two at most.

Sure enough, as Yuan Xi expected, as the people continued to flee to the rear, the Cao army in the telescope was also gathering, and it seemed that they were preparing to march in formation.

On Yuan Xi's side, there were only a few thousand soldiers and a simple camp with only a hundred trees.

When Yuan Xi was preparing to deal with the local attack, a spies sent news that a dozen miles to the south, Liu Bei's family members were surrounded by Cao Jun.

After hearing this, Lu Xun immediately said to Yuan Xi: "Master, you must not act rashly, this is a trap."

(End of this chapter)