I practiced magic in the Three Kingdoms

Zhang Liao was stationed in Bingzhou. In the past two years, he had captured many Wuhuan, Xianbei and Xiongnu people who had come to invade the border and forced them to mine, build roads and do some dangerous heavy physical work. He randomly picked a few slaves who could speak Chinese from among these slaves and forced them to start the first experiment with knives.

These Hu captives had long since become numb under the whips, no longer having their former wolf-like nature and ferocity. No matter what Wang Jing and Shi Zimiao asked them to do, they would do it. Even death would be a relief for them.

Of course, the cost of using these free slave laborers is extremely low, and it is enough to ensure that they do not starve to death. But don't expect them to do some delicate work. With their unfamiliar movements, it is basically impossible for them to become a skilled technical worker.

But anyway, it is just a technical verification of the research and development glass. At present, the research and development team needs to solve whether there are any problems with the product. Therefore, no requirements are made on the product quality for the time being, so it is fine.

After the glass liquid melted in the crucible, several Hu captives who had no anti-gas equipment first threw some crushed saltpeter into the crucible as instructed to carry out the decolorization operation.

Then, following the instructions, he began twisting his arms continuously, stirring the glass slurry with great effort.

The large crucible in front of them had a lid, so when stirring, the long steel pick could only be moved through the hole in the lid, which was very strenuous. Soon, these strong men who did heavy physical work in quarries and mines every day were exhausted and sweating profusely, and almost fainted.

Wang Jing and Shi Zimiao did not get close, but just observed from a distance. Every time they stirred something, he ordered to put more arsenic into the crucible, and then continued to order them to stir vigorously.

I went on like this for a long time and put in a lot of effort, and finally I saw the results.

Wang Jing and Shi Zimiao obtained a batch of high-quality, clear-colored, top-grade glass. Although the shapes were messy, they were crystal clear, like the most perfect crystal stone, and had excellent light transmittance.

But there are also many problems. The first is that the consumption of raw materials is really shocking. Almost one kilogram of arsenic was used!
Don’t think that one kilogram is a small amount. In fact, with so much arsenic, considering the population of one million in Luoyang area, the total annual consumption of arsenic is estimated to be only about six kilograms.

After all, this thing is highly poisonous. A few grams can kill a young adult. Moreover, it is quite troublesome to prepare and store.

Therefore, if production is to proceed at this efficiency, would Qiqiao Pavilion have to first establish a complete arsenic industrial production chain before making glass?

Isn't this just making a plate of dumplings for a plate of vinegar?

Moreover, simply producing arsenic will not solve the problem, because if production is carried out according to this process, it is not just a matter of wasting materials, it also requires a lot of workers.

Shi Zimiao, the Taoist priest, was also good at medicine. He took a few steps forward and carefully examined the two Hu captives who were lying on the ground and foaming at the mouth. He checked their hearts and pulses by feeling their pulses and shook his head: "There is no hope. Carry them away."

In one experiment, four out of six Hu prisoners died, a casualty rate of more than half. What kind of death production line is this?

The problem of materials can always be solved by thinking of a way, but the problem of dead bodies cannot be solved. Even if we use death row prisoners and prisoners of war for production, it is not a long-term solution.

The key point is that this kind of thing is unethical and moral. Who would dare to buy products produced in this way?

Is there a worker who was sacrificed behind every piece of glass?

If this news gets out today, Qiqiao Pavilion will go bankrupt tomorrow, and Wang Jing's reputation will be ruined.

Not only do you not make any money, but you also have to bear the blame. Only a fool would not do this.

Wang Jing also had a serious expression on his face when he saw this. He shook his head helplessly, "It seems that using arsenic as a clarifier is useful, but this technical route cannot be taken. The cost is too high. Let's find another way. Let's work together and think of other ways."

This is the path of technological research and development. Only through continuous trial and error in the early stages can we find the ultimate path to success.

Ordinary rulers probably would not have such patience nor be willing to spend so much money. After all, no matter whether it is the emperor or the various princes, those who come from the bureaucratic system do not attach importance to technological development. They are used to directly reaching out and need stable output without any risk, so that they don't have to take the blame.

As for investing in research and development, there are too many uncertainties in this matter. If it fails, one will have to gamble on one's political future, so politicians hate it.

However, Wang Jing is not a bureaucrat, or rather, he has not yet become a bureaucrat, so he knows that scientific research cannot be done without investment.

"Continue the experiment. If you need anything, just go to General Wei's Mansion and apply."

After leaving these words, Wang Jing left the glass workshop and started to promote sales.

Although the glass industry is not yet perfect, we are ready to launch our products on the market. In this era, this thing will definitely cause a sensation among people all over the world.

It's time to fleece the wealthy and powerful families again. Wang Jing had made a lot of money from them with the new furniture before, and he was already addicted to it.

Since this way of making money works and is easy to use, of course we have to do it one, two, three, four, and again.

After Wang Jing left, in the temporary joint technical team formed at the glass factory, Shi Zimiao and Zhai Jie, one a chemist from the Taoist school and the other a physicist from the Mohist school, began to use the "Chemistry" and "Physics" textbooks given to them by Wang Jing to study how to solve the technical problems at hand.

Zhai Jie flipped through the book, frowning, "Arsenic is quite useful, but it's a pity that this method is too harmful to nature. Does anyone have any good ideas to share with the lord?"

In order to solve technical difficulties, Qiqiaoge has become accustomed to the brainstorming mode of collective wisdom.

Therefore, just after Zhai Jie asked the question, one of the young craftsmen who showed extraordinary mathematical talent in both physics and chemistry when studying the two subjects carefully proposed a new idea of ​​clarification method.

"In water, small bubbles will be swallowed and merged by large bubbles. Why don't we follow this idea? We just need to use a steel chisel to force the bubble wood into the glass liquid, make it boil, and perhaps take away the bubbles."

After listening to it, Shi Zimiao thought it made sense and asked with appreciation: "Good suggestion, what's your name?"

"My surname is Yang, and my given name is Lei."

Yang Lei, whose courtesy name is Uncle Bo, is only nineteen years old this year. He is tall and thin, and is a distant relative of Xu Huang. After hearing that Xu Huang had become rich in his hometown, he ran to Luoyang to join him. By chance, he came into contact with physics and chemistry. In just half a year, he showed strong learning and comprehension abilities and was specially recruited by Qiqiao Pavilion.

The method he proposed is quite interesting. It was later nicknamed "forced boiling of wood by bubbling water". It is indeed a good technical route.

It has to be said that geniuses often have similar ideas. The glass production process, which even Wang Jing didn't know, was successfully invented by a genius in the Three Kingdoms period after he finished reading the basic courses of "Chemistry" and "Physics".

With the idea in mind, everyone immediately started technical verification.

The rotten wood needed for Yang Lei's experiment was much easier to find than arsenic. The glass workshop was specially set up in Mengjin Port for the convenience of obtaining water. Therefore, there were countless docks along the river around it, and rotten wood could be found everywhere, so a lot of it could be easily found.

To ensure safety, the craftsmen used steel chisels to poke and press the steel chisels into the glass liquid from a distance.

As a result, the first experiment almost went wrong.

The scene was extremely lively. It was just like setting off fireworks on New Year's Eve. Red-hot molten glass flew everywhere, exploded on the spot, and scorching juice at a temperature of thousands of degrees sprayed everywhere.

Not to mention ordinary craftsmen, even masters of the fourth realm of martial arts would have to run away in panic when faced with such a situation.

Fortunately, everyone present was wearing special fireproof vestments, a special fabric woven from black silk grass that could effectively resist damage from high temperatures. In addition, the craftsmen were standing at a safe distance, so no one died today.

Yang Lei, who made this suggestion, was almost scared to death and apologized repeatedly.

Shi Zimiao, who had blown up his alchemy furnace many times before, was very calm. He did not blame Yang Lei, a young man with a lot of ideas. Instead, he comforted him, "Haha, Uncle Bo, don't be so panic. When I was refining alchemy at home, the furnace would blow up every now and then. It's the same for people who play with fire. How can you burn things recklessly without taking risks? They are just small incidents. Don't worry."

Although Zhai Jie was frightened, he did not intend to blame Yang Lei for Xu Huang's sake.

After all, we are still in the stage of technical research and development, and we are completely in the dark about the specific process flow. It is normal for accidents to occur. We cannot let this discourage the craftsmen involved in the experiment too much. Otherwise, everyone will be afraid of making mistakes in the future, and then who will work hard?
Research and development has never been smooth sailing. In fact, their current progress is already incredible enough.

If Wang Jing had not provided the glass formula and imparted modern physics and chemistry knowledge, if this technology had been allowed to develop naturally, it would have taken more than a dozen centuries to be gradually perfected to the point where it could be used.

All in all, Zhai Jie and Shi Zimiao spent only more than half a year developing the glass. During this period, they also took into account some other scientific research projects and produced many technological achievements. Such R&D efficiency is simply the best in the world.

Therefore, everyone did not feel discouraged, but instead was full of fighting spirit.

There is nothing that cannot be solved by one experiment. If you don’t want to, try it twice, three times, or even a hundred times or a thousand times!

As long as you invest money and continue to delve deeper into the research, you will eventually solve the problem. This is the path of scientific research, and there are no shortcuts.

In order to successfully develop the glass, Wang Jing spared no expense and had already invested 60 million yuan. After several failed experiments, the money was almost spent. Wang Jing immediately took out another 40 million yuan from the money he earned from selling furniture for additional investment.

Wow, he raised 100 million yuan for research and development costs in one go, as if he would not give up until he achieved his goal.

This is 100 million dollars!

What is the concept of 100 million yuan?
The tenant rent of the Yanhan Dynasty was only about 2.2 billion coins per year, and the military expenditure of the border army of the Yanhan Dynasty during its heyday was only 2.3 billion coins.

Wang Jing directly invested 100 million yuan in the research and development of glass, which was equivalent to taking 5% of the Yanhan Dynasty's national defense expenditure to develop a new technology. After this matter spread, many dignitaries in Luoyang City were furious, thinking that this matter was too outrageous and it would be better to engage in war.

At least after engaging in extensive military expansion, one might be able to recoup the investment through external plunder, but it is difficult for the literati to understand such things as R&D investment.

If it fails, won’t the money be wasted?
Emperor Lingdi wasted money like this back then!
Fortunately, Wang Jing was not the emperor at the moment, otherwise any minister who stood up to advise him would have drowned him with spit.

After all, although Wang Jing spent money lavishly, it was his own money after all, so others could not say much. At most, they would sourly call him a nouveau riche, thinking that he would squander his family fortune sooner or later by spending so lavishly.

At Situ's residence, Yang Biao called Yang Xiu to the study to discuss the matter: "Grandpa De, have you heard about what Marquis Qi has done recently?"

"I'm afraid what father wants to talk about is the rumor about glass?"

Yang Xiu was quite calm about this. Unlike the Confucian scholars who did not understand technology, he was fortunate enough to participate in the research on glass and had even seen the specific first-generation products. However, this project was still in the confidential stage, so he had never mentioned it to his family.

"I heard this glass is similar to colored glaze?"

Yang Biao asked tentatively. Both his thoughts and style were those of an old-fashioned civil official who was mature and steady. Although the Yang family did not live a frugal life at all, he still hoped that the ruler could live a more frugal life.

After all, if a ruler indulges in extravagance and lust, it will not be a good thing for the aristocratic families, the wealthy families, or the people of the world.

An insatiable emperor or powerful official will inevitably search the whole world to satisfy his greed, and at that time he may even target the aristocratic families and powerful clans, just like Emperor Ling of Tang, Liu Hong.

If Wang Jing spent 100 million yuan on a war, or even built a mansion to live in, he wouldn't dare say anything, but he couldn't understand why he used the money for research.

In Yang Biao's eyes, this was just a waste of time.

What if Wang Jing has spent all his money and still feels it is not enough, so he asks others for money?
So everyone was very worried and afraid, fearing that Wang Jing would become the second Dong Zhuo. By then, the aristocratic families might also be harvested like leeks.

Yang Xiu was so smart that he guessed what Yang Biao was thinking after just one look. He smiled and said, "Father, don't worry. The lord is wise and brave. Has he ever done a business that lost money?"

These words were full of the smell of money, but Yang Biao had no time to reprimand him. Instead, he was very curious about what Yang Xiu said: "Dezu, have you heard any rumors?"

Yang Xiu nodded: "I can't talk about the specific progress of the project now, but I can tell my father in advance that regarding glass, the results have already been produced as finished products, but the master is not satisfied yet and wants to make it perfect, so he continues to invest in research."

Yang Biao frowned, "But this glass is just a toy. Is it worth such a huge investment? Dezu, you are now planning for Qi Hou, you should do your best to persuade him. If you really have money, you should invest it in the army and people's livelihood. This is the strategy to strengthen the foundation. How can you waste money on trivial matters?"

Yang Xiu shook his head after hearing this. After meeting Wang Jing, he no longer agreed with the Confucian philosophy. Therefore, he also refuted Yang Biao and argued: "Father, the times have changed. In the future, whoever masters the technology will be able to rule the world. Money, food, weapons, as long as you have the core productivity, you can have as much as you want. It is no longer feasible to conquer the world by simply relying on farming and warfare."

The two people have completely different views and opinions on technology.

In Yang Biao's opinion, glass is actually colored glaze, and colored glaze had already appeared before the Han Dynasty. The relevant unearthed cultural relics prove this point. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, craftsmen had refined dragonfly eyes, and in the Han Dynasty, craftsmen also mastered the technology of firing glass cicadas.

In fact, colored glaze should be an accidental product of alchemy by ancient Taoists. For example, Shi Zimiao used to like to put quartz rich in silica together with coloring elements such as copper and chromium into a furnace burning with raging fire. After it was taken out of the furnace and condensed, colorful colored glaze appeared at the bottom of the furnace.

The idiom "Turning stone into gold" originally referred to the various valuable treasures that Taoists made from ores.

But traditional Confucian scholars like Yang Biao do not take these things seriously. After all, who relies on gold, silver and jewelry to dominate the world?
If one wants to conquer the Central Plains, one must rely on population, food, army and brave generals, which are the foundation of a strong national strength.

This cannot be blamed on Yang Biao, because in his understanding, there is only colored glass that is complex and gorgeous, ornamental but not very practical.

But Yang Xiu had seen glass before. This flawless material that looked like colorless crystal had a wide range of uses. Whether it was used to make experimental vessels such as beakers to improve the convenience of scientific research, or to make optical instruments mentioned in "Physics" such as telescopes, they were all extremely practical items.

Glass itself is very exquisite and can be sold at a high price, but the cost is very low, so it can get huge returns. The money earned in this way can not only be used to improve production technology, but also can be used as military expenses, or invested in infrastructure, expand production capacity, and drive employment, thereby completely improving people's livelihood.

There are so many benefits here. As long as the research and development is successful, let alone an investment of 100 million, even 1 billion, it will be a very profitable business!

In history, the Venetian merchants, relying on their monopoly on the production technology of mirrors, accumulated huge amounts of wealth that were enough to enrich the country and strengthen the army. They became prominent for a time and became a powerful force that dominated the European continent.

It was not until later that the silver mirror manufacturing technology was leaked due to the theft by foreign spies, causing Venice to lose its advantage and decline rapidly.

From this we can see that technology can be the foundation of a strong country.

It's a pity that in the current Yanhan Dynasty, people with such insight are rare. (End of this chapter)