unclear

Chapter 804 Cruel Science

"Your Majesty, Elder Ye and the others have gone far away..."

Hong Tao had just sat down and taken a few glances at the letter from the Kingdom of the Great Jin left by Ye Xianggao when Guo Weicheng, the Earl of Boping, came over cautiously and tiptoed, whispering in a voice not much louder than a mosquito's.

"How many people were killed or injured?"

Hong Tao sent the two ministers away in a hurry with just a few words. In addition to having seen through the tricks played by the Great Jin Kingdom, Hong Tao had another concern. He didn't want them to discover some of the situations in the alkali factory.

For example, a minor accident occurred this morning when two experimenters injected dilute sulfuric acid into a heated manganese salt solution and an explosion occurred. Before the scene could be handled, the two ministers came to report on their work.

"Thanks to the armor and glasses given by His Majesty, I was only slightly frightened and nothing serious happened to me."

Guo Weicheng is only in his forties, but he looks as old as he is in his sixties. He was not born like this, but became like this after he came to the alkali factory. Especially in the past few years, he has aged very fast.

It's not that the work is too tiring. To be honest, the work assigned to me by the emperor's son-in-law is not tiring at all. Everything in the alkali factory is planned by the craftsmen. I can't understand it even if I ask.

On weekdays, all he had to do was to bring the factory supervisors sent by the palace and the Jinyiwei on duty to strictly check people coming in and out to prevent outsiders from getting in. He also had to keep an eye on the convicts and not let them run away, and he would be done.

But as the alkali factory moved, the nature of his work also changed. The Jinyiwei were all withdrawn, replaced by the warriors of the Imperial Horse Guard. There were fewer craftsmen in the factory, but more eunuchs from the palace.

The biggest change was for the convicts. In the past, they only had to do rough and strenuous work, or work in the most smelly and choking processes, and even if there were work-related accidents, the number was very rare. After work, as long as they did not wander around in the separate yard, there was nothing special.

But now it is no longer possible. All the new hard labor prisoners must be held in solitary confinement and are not allowed to communicate with each other at will. Guo Weicheng gradually became the head of the prison from the factory supervisor. In fact, even the imperial prison of the Jinyiwei Beizhenfu Division is not as strict as this one, let alone as cruel as this one.

The convicts would follow the eunuch's request, either alone or in groups, put on thick leather armor and cylindrical helmets, covering themselves tightly from head to toe, and then go into the small house to tinker with something.

Sometimes, even if there was nothing to do, you would be allowed to bask in the sun, exercise, have a good meal, and even have meat and wine in a separate yard because of your meritorious service.

But sometimes they went in full of energy, but when they came out, they felt uncomfortable in various ways, either falling ill or becoming increasingly weak. Even more troublesome was that there was a loud bang, and the house and the people were blown up, and some people died quietly in the house.

At this time, the factory supervisor had his job to do. He had to send those who were sick and could not be cured to another courtyard to be killed by the eunuchs themselves. He would also transport those who had died from explosions or poisoning to the furnace and burn them into ashes.

There is a small ditch in the southeast corner of the factory, and the ashes are scattered in it. When the gate is opened, the ashes are washed into the Yongding River. The grass and trees around the ditch are lush and green, with shiny leaves and bright flowers. But apart from work, no one wants to go there. At night, the sound of the water always sounds like crying. Using living people for experiments is the only thing Guo Weicheng has understood in many years, but he dare not resign. Because the one who ordered this was none other than his son-in-law, the current emperor!
The emperor entrusted such a secret matter to me and gave me shares. The dividends alone were tens of thousands of taels every year. My son also became the commander-in-chief in Fujian. Why?

It must be trust, so no matter how awkward it is, you have to get the job done, and at the same time you have to keep your mouth shut and not say a word even to your daughter, the queen.

As for why the emperor tortured living people for fun, that's a different story. Living people are not the same as living people. Most of the hard labor prisoners, except for prisoners of war, are officials and their families. They must have angered the emperor's son-in-law, so they were thrown here to suffer.

Is it unfair? It seems not. If they were allowed to choose, most people would not choose to be skinned alive. After all, the food and accommodation here are good, and the work is not tiring. It is dangerous... You deserve it. Who made you angry with the emperor? You should be content if you are not torn into pieces!
Chemistry? Guo Weicheng really didn't understand it, and he didn't understand it even after listening to it. In his eyes, these eunuchs from the palace were equivalent to the East Factory, who were specifically responsible for doing secret things for the emperor. It was nothing more than finding a nicer name to turn torturing people in various ways into knowledge.

"Then continue, let them do it. This time you have to be slow, pour it in slowly, otherwise it will explode!"

Hong Tao was too lazy to explain to this ignorant but not fearless father-in-law. He nodded to the Cuju team member in charge of the experiment, made a request for improvement, and continued to wait.

Being an emperor has many disadvantages, but it also has many advantages. It is not the first time that I have traveled back to ancient times. No matter if I was a mountain king or a minister, I dared not do such blatant and abusive things. But being an emperor can do that without worrying about being discovered.

All you have to do is sit under the awning, with someone fanning you. If you want to eat melons, you can eat melons. If you want to smoke, you can smoke. If you have an idea, just open your mouth and someone will immediately tell you everything.

Words like toxic, corrosive, flammable and explosive are just words, without any real meaning. Those who are injured or killed are not human beings, but convicts. In order to prevent them from living to the age of release, they have to be consumed in the process of hard labor.

Sometimes, even though they know that something is explosive, they still send people to deliberately detonate it. Then, looking at the broken limbs and bloody flesh all over the ground, they calculate the effects of the explosion without any concern in their hearts, and work out the parameters of damage to the human body.

Most of those who were sacrificed were Ming subjects, and there were very few prisoners of war. The prisoners of war were all young and strong, and there were more needed jobs for them to do, so they were not guilty of such crimes.

Is it unethical to use people from the same tribe for such experiments? Hong Tao has never thought about this question carefully. No one knows.

When the Ming army shot at the enemy, did they ask where the bullets came from and how many convicts died to develop them? When the Ming people used chemical fertilizers, did they think about how many convicts were poisoned to make these things?
Definitely not. They only care whether the bullets can kill the enemy accurately and efficiently, and whether the fertilizers can increase the yield of crops at the lowest cost. If they can, they are great. If they can’t, they are garbage!

"Your Highness, the crystal has emerged!"

As they were talking, two young eunuchs came running in from a small courtyard in the north, their faces full of joy. One was holding a glass bottle filled with grayish-white powder, and the other was holding a wooden flowerpot with a cotton plant in it.

(End of this chapter)