Short video spoiler history: The beginning of modern warfare

Chapter 53 Briquettes

"Mr. Song, please speak!" Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to know Song Lian's views on economics, because everyone knew very little about this new discipline that emerged in later generations. It would surely be beneficial if everyone could pool their ideas.

"I think that, combined with the deeds mentioned by Tianmu before, Tianmu said that if His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan was familiar with economics, he would naturally know in advance the bad effects of the "salary reduction" behavior on the people. This shows that economics is not a business discipline, but it can predict." Song Lian thought for a long time but couldn't think of a suitable word, so he gave an example.

"Take soybeans as an example. When the harvest is good, the price is low, and when the harvest is bad, the price is high. I think Tianmu's economics is a study that summarizes such phenomena."

This kind of Song Lian was completely the other side of the great Confucian scholar. Zhu Biao was so shocked that it was as if he had met him for the first time.

After being surprised, Zhu Biao felt somewhat happy. Influenced by Zhu Yuanzhang, he actually had no resistance to the knowledge of later generations. In fact, no matter what kind of knowledge it was, as long as it could truly benefit the country, he wanted to get in touch with it.

Therefore, he was somewhat worried that Song Lian would resist the later learning. It seemed that the teacher had adapted very well to the situation.

Of course, a person’s transformation doesn’t happen all at once. My father has contributed a lot to this, such as the hot air balloon event a few days ago.

Zhu Biao didn't know what other people were thinking, but when the hot air balloon he was riding rose up and he looked at Zhongshan Mountain, Qinhuai River and the Yangtze River from above, the shock he felt was unique.

Zhu Biao didn't know whether they had flown in a civilian hot air balloon after that, but he felt that they had no reason to resist.

The small hot air balloon is a relatively insignificant thing in later knowledge. Other things such as coal, oil, and the periodic table are the real great knowledge that benefits the people.

While Zhu Biao was thinking about this, Zhu Yuanzhang also thought about it and felt that Song Lian's remarks made some sense.

"Mr. Song's words make sense. Please take a seat!" Zhu Yuanzhang asked him to sit down, and then said to all the officials: "Do you have any other opinions?"

Others didn't have any different opinions, so there was no need to repeat themselves, and everyone looked towards the comment section expectantly.

"It seems that eating alone has offended many people [狗头]"

"Not only does it not distribute dividends, but it also tricks employees. No one can stand it."

"At least pepper and sumac can be exchanged for some money. The treasure notes invented by Zhu Yuanzhang are really a rip-off. The depreciation rate of that thing is almost the same as that of the Argentine peso [laughing and crying]"

"It was OK in the early Ming Dynasty. It collapsed in the middle period"

"It was about to collapse during the reign of Zhu Di. Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yunwen had lost their credibility and the government issued too much money."

"The Zhu family's own money printing machine, that's not working hard [dog head]"

Is this talking about the paper money we issued? Zhu Yuanzhang thought secretly, although he had some ideas and knew there was a problem, what was the problem?

People in later generations also used paper money, so why was nothing wrong with it?
Is this Argentine peso also a paper currency?
Does depreciation mean that it is not worth the price?
Zhu Yuanzhang threw these questions to the Minister of Revenue Yang Siyi.

Yang Siyi was also confused, but fortunately he had experienced the bad development of the Yuan Dynasty's Jiaochao... Combined with what Tianmu said, there was no problem with Baochao as a currency.

The key is how to calculate how much treasure banknotes should be issued and how to control the desire to print too much treasure banknotes.

The US dollar is not pegged to gold either, so what’s the problem?

"Do you know where the word US dollar comes from?"

"The dollar was initially linked to gold, establishing a dollar-centered monetary system. Now it is linked to oil. Otherwise, why do you think the Americans care so much about the Middle East?"

Dollar? Gold? Oil?

Zhu Yuanzhang could only order people to write down these remarks. He had a vague feeling that the knowledge contained therein was probably no less than that of the periodic table.

"In addition to the voyages to the West, Zhu Di's most ruthless move was to issue indiscriminate notes. During the Yongle period, the notes depreciated to the same value as toilet paper. Zhu Di used this to plunder the people's wealth. Whether or not he went to the West was not the main reason."

"It's the same. Both the Southern Song Dynasty and the late Yuan Dynasty issued paper money excessively, but they only did so at the end of their dynasties. His Hongwu and Yongle dynasties collapsed within 50 years of their founding."

"The Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties all played with banknotes, but it was only at the end of their dynasties. However, Zhu Yuanzhang started playing with it from the beginning. The reason why Zhu Di was so famous was because he was the last to stop playing with it. It feels good to make money from it, but it is impossible to do it all the time. If you do it too much, it will naturally undermine economic stability."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at every word on the sky curtain and realized the seriousness of the problem.
During the Zhenguan period, Chang'an City.

Li Shimin was shocked by Tianmu's statement. Referring to later generations, he naturally wanted to issue treasure notes, but he did not have time to implement it.

Who would have thought that if the treasure notes were not handled carefully, it would lead to such serious consequences?
But why is it okay to print and issue notes in later generations? The same is true for the United States.

What does it mean to be pegged to gold?
[This is a scene of making fire and igniting honeycomb coal to cook when I was a child. Although this kind of coal stove has been gradually eliminated and rarely seen, the famous scene of making fire with this coal stove can be said to be a childhood shadow for many people.]

[Every time the coal stove is lit, it is a major disaster scene. Without a full face and crying, it is basically difficult to light the stove. The culprit is this black honeycomb coal. How many people hate it so much]

[Before the invention of honeycomb coal, we basically burned coal by throwing it into the coal stove one piece at a time and igniting it. However, this would cause some problems. One is that the coal stove is not ventilated, resulting in incomplete combustion of coal and waste. The other is that it is very troublesome to fill the coal and shake off the ash every time.]

[So in actual life applications, an old man slowly figured out the method of making honeycomb coal]

Then the sky curtain showed a cylindrical piece of coal with holes in the middle, shaped like a honeycomb, hence the name.

[The hole in the middle is to facilitate airflow. Sufficient oxygen can make the coal burn more fully, and only in this way can greater heat be generated]

During the Hongwu period, Jinling City.

"This is honeycomb coal, very vivid." Zhu Yuanzhang put away his heavy mood. The coal blocks displayed on the sky curtain were cylindrical in shape with small holes in the middle, resembling a honeycomb.

"Draw it!" Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the painter to draw the shape for filing.

"It's quite abstract," Hu Weiyong muttered to himself. They had imagined its shape according to the name before, but compared with this shape, it looked different and it was difficult to make. Everyone felt something was not right after considering it.

All the ministers were very happy. Many of them had been assigned to the team to study the improvement of coal combustion and honeycomb coal. They had been burning coal for several days and the coal was made smelly by the smoke.

At this time, the sky directly exploded into the shape of honeycomb coal, and there might be production methods, etc., which saved a lot of time.

"Also record the shape of this coal stove!"

"Yes, sir!" Zhu Biao also stared at the coal stove on the sky curtain. This was the first time he saw such a "primitive" thing from the sky curtain.

This was not an exaggeration, and he also knew that these were things that were eliminated by Tianmu's later generations. Therefore, when Tianmu's "big brother" introduced these antiques, he felt like he was reminiscing about the past.

This type of coal stove is roughly divided into two parts, the coal stove and the external chimney pipe. Needless to say, the external chimney has very thick walls, resulting in very little remaining space in the middle, which is probably just enough to hold honeycomb coal.

"This chimney is designed to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. The gas from the burning honeycomb coal will be discharged out of the house through the chimney to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning!" Zhu Biao stuttered when he said the word carbon monoxide. All the ministers were surprised at the Crown Prince's memory.

"Yes, I remember Tianmu mentioned it." Song Lian also spoke up.

In fact, this matter concerns the safety of everyone. Since Tianmu mentioned the carbon monoxide poisoning, they have renovated their houses, so they are deeply impressed by these contents. At this time, they all know that what Zhu Biao said is correct.

On the outskirts of Jinling City, a young man who was burning a fire picked up a piece of coal from the ground and pointed it towards the sky. Apart from the fact that it was all black and clearly a piece of coal, it was impossible to tell how it was made into that shape.

The boy scratched his head and touched his nose, not noticing that his face was already covered in wrinkles, and just muttered to himself.

"Could it be that you take a piece of coal and dig a hole directly in the middle?"

"No, how could Tianmu do such a stupid thing!"

[The production of honeycomb briquettes is also very simple. I believe many people have played with it when they were young. 】

[First, prepare the raw material of honeycomb briquettes, which is coal. Coal has a high calorific value but is relatively hard, so it needs to be broken into small pieces first]

[Then take some yellow mud that can be found everywhere and crush it. Mix the coal powder and yellow mud in a ratio of 4:1, add appropriate amount of water and stir into a paste.]

[Yellow mud and water are added here for stirring, mainly for shaping, and this kind of coal ball can maintain its shape after burning, making it easy to take out from the coal stove]

[Then use this briquette mold to press the coal slime into it. Note that there is an iron sheet inside the briquette mold connected to the handle on the briquette mold. When the coal slime is pressed in, it will be pushed up. After the pressing is completed, gently press the handle on top and the coal ball will fall out of the mold.]

[Then you just need to dry it properly before use]

The sky screen not only mentions the coal slime ratio for making honeycomb coal, but also focuses on showing the internal structure of the coal ball mold, and even demonstrates the process of making honeycomb coal using the coal ball mold. It can be said to be extremely detailed.

During the Hongwu period, Jinling City.

"Have you drawn it?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

"Your Majesty, the drawing has been completed." A painter said. In fact, the structure of the coal briquette mold is extremely simple and you can learn it after looking at it once.

"Present it!" Zhu Yuanzhang said excitedly.

Soon, the paintings of the coal stove, honeycomb coal, and coal ball molds were presented on the desk, and they were exactly the same shape as the sky.

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but smile. According to Tianmu, the coal reserves were huge. With these things, starting from the Ming Dynasty, winter would no longer be cold!

"These descendants are really ingenious!" Wang Guangyang exclaimed in admiration.

"That's right. It's a good idea to add yellow mud and water and mix them evenly to form a solid shape!" Other civil servants also responded.

"But Tianmu didn't mention how to remove the stench of burning coal."

"Yes, it seems that this coal needs further research."

Hexing Tea and Snack Shop.

Shopkeeper Wan also carefully drew the shape of the coal ball mold, but because he was not good at painting, the result was a bit awkward.

It is estimated that within half a day, we will be able to see this thing in Jinling City. In addition, honeycomb coal is cheap in the market now, so honeycomb coal may become a necessity for ordinary people to use for daily cooking and heating.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

"It's also thanks to Tianmu!"

Shopkeeper Wan listened to the diners in the restaurant talking to each other, but did not join in. However, he probably agreed with them in his heart.

[The real technical content is the coal stove, many people fall into this trap, usually 3-4 pieces of honeycomb coal can be placed in the furnace]

[The bottom is usually filled with burnt honeycomb briquettes, so that the number of honeycomb briquettes placed can be easily adjusted according to actual needs]

[Before officially lighting a fire, you need to open the seal under the coal stove for ventilation. Many people forget this and end up doubting their lives when lighting a fire.]

[First, light the paper scraps and put them into the furnace. At this time, you need to quickly follow up with a wave of flammable materials to make the fire burn more vigorously]

[Because coal is not flammable, it takes a long time to heat before it can be ignited. Therefore, a large amount of wood blocks need to be added in advance as a transition to ignition.]

[After the wood blocks are fully ignited, you can put the honeycomb coal into the furnace. At the same time, using a fan to fan the fire from below will have a better effect.]

[Only when the bottom of the honeycomb coal is already red, it means that the fire-making battle has been won. The coal stove can be used to boil water and cook, and it was also a magical tool for the family to keep warm in winter.]

During the Zhenguan period, Chang'an City.

After listening to the young man's introduction, Li Shimin inferred that this thing was indeed not common in later generations, so there were so many people talking about it.

If it is something that everyone knows, they will naturally not repeat it so tirelessly.

"What a great thing!" Fang Xuanling exclaimed in admiration. This later knowledge is extremely practical and can really solve practical problems.

"If there is enough coal, there will be no need to cut down trees on a large scale!" Li Shimin said quietly. Compared with the environment in later generations, the area near Chang'an City today does appear bare and indecent.

(End of this chapter)