The Flourishing Tang Dynasty: Beginning with Marrying Yang Yuhuan

Chapter 125 Lecture
Outside the city of Qiuci.

Li Heng took Cen Shen to the important military secret area of ​​Anxi.

This place is in a valley, surrounded by beacon guards and pass stations. No one can enter without Li Heng's permission.

After arriving, Li Ying gathered hundreds of people here and started another round of lectures.

Among those who attended the lecture were several soldiers who were the ones who had made hidden fire bombs and were captured by Li Siye in Chang'an.

According to Li Heng's instructions, Li Siye captured these people and sent them to Anxi as exiles.

After being exiled, Li Heng treated these people very well and asked them to select some talented and loyal people and teach them how to make hidden fire bombs.

After several months of selection and teaching, hundreds of people already know how to make it.

But this is far from enough for Li Heng.

Because Li Heng had carefully analyzed how they made the hidden fire bomb.

Simply put, this hidden fire bomb is made by mixing the "hidden fire sulfur method" derived from Sun Simiao's experience in alchemy with petroleum.

Records of ancient Chinese petroleum can be found in the "Book of Han", the "Bowuzhi" of the Jin Dynasty, and the "Shui Jing Zhu" of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

In the early Tang Dynasty, Youyang Zazu recorded: "The stone fat water in Gaonu County is greasy and floats like lacquer. It is very bright when used to make a paste cart or light a lamp."

In other words, the Tang people had already started using oil for lighting, but it was not yet popular.

The reason why these people added oil when making hidden fire bombs was because the black gunpowder made by the "hidden fire sulfur method" was extremely simple in production and had very little power, so they had to add oil to increase its harmfulness.

But even so, the power of the hidden fire bomb is still not great, and it is extremely susceptible to moisture.

With such power, it is not very effective against Stone Castle.

Therefore, Li Heng wanted to teach these people how to make hidden fire bombs and then develop more powerful explosives.

Li Ying first gave a lecture, and then there was a question-and-answer session.

Someone asked: "Your Highness, the gunpowder we developed is easily affected by moisture even if it is placed in a dry place. Why is that?"

This problem is because these people cannot distinguish between potassium nitrate and sodium nitrate in the saltpeter produced by the "Fuhuo Sulfur Method", resulting in a high content of sodium nitrate in the saltpeter.

The heavier the sodium nitrate content, the greater its ability to absorb moisture.

This was a big problem and it was not completely resolved until the Ming Dynasty.

The History of Ming Dynasty records that "official troops used gunpowder in the armor factory. The gunpowder had been hardened to stone after years of use. When they used axes to chop it, fire suddenly broke out with a sound like thunder. Swords, spears, and rockets flew a hundred steps away, killing and wounding countless soldiers and civilians."

Translated, this means that when the gunpowder in the Ming Dynasty became damp, the soldiers could only remove the moisture manually, and then it exploded.

Li Heng knew the reason. He thought for a while and then said in words that these people could understand, "That's a good question. This is because the saltpeter has not been refined enough. There are other things in it."

Someone else asked, "Then how can we be sure that the time for refinement has come?"

Li Ying said: "We have to wait until the crystals have no bitter or salty taste in our mouths."

Another person said: "With this refining method, a large piece of saltpeter can only be used for a very small amount."

"That's right." Li Heng nodded. "This matter is extremely time-consuming. You must not cut corners during the training process, otherwise the gains will outweigh the losses."

Another person asked: "Where can we find so much saltpeter?"

Li Ying said: "I will find a way to solve this. You just need to do as I ask." Everyone agreed in unison and then raised some other questions, which Li Ying answered one by one.

This answer took the whole day, and it was not until dusk that Li Heng and Cen Shen returned together.

Cen Shen had not yet experienced the power of explosives. On the way back, he couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, you spent so much time and so much manpower and material resources to develop something. Is it really that effective?"

Li Heng smiled upon hearing this and said, "Do you think that the Tang army is always able to conquer everything and win every battle, defeating the enemy with fewer troops, because weapons account for a large proportion of the total?"

"Great." Cen Shen answered without hesitation, "Sixty percent of our Tang soldiers can wear armor, and each soldier is equipped with a bow and a crossbow. In addition, different troops are equipped with weapons based on their needs."

"That's right." Li Heng nodded. "I'm trying my best to develop something that will be more lethal than the fireball thrower. By then, I will organize a separate troop based on it. If you can understand the secret, I will consider letting you lead this troop."

Cen Shen was overjoyed when he heard this and said, "I will definitely try my best to understand the mystery."

Li Ying smiled and said, "The secret I'm talking about is not just to make you understand how to make it, but also to understand its essence."

"Uh..." Cen Shen was stunned, scratched his head and smiled awkwardly, "I may not be able to do this."

Li Ying said: "You are very talented, I can teach you. If you are willing to learn, it will not be difficult."

"I am willing to learn." Cen Shen agreed without hesitation, "Your Highness, please teach me."

What Li Heng wanted to teach Cen Shen was the chemical theory knowledge about explosives.

Only by knowing some chemical knowledge can you use it better.

The reason why Li Heng wanted to choose Cen Shen was that after observing him for some time, Li Heng knew that Cen Shen was indeed a rare person with natural intelligence. Moreover, he was young, energetic, not so rigid in his thinking, able to accept new things, and also relatively pragmatic.

Seeing that Cen Shen had agreed, Li Heng said, "Very good, I will teach you some basics tomorrow."

Cen Shen said, "Thank you, Your Highness."

Cen Can was talking to Li Ying while he sent Li Ying to his mansion before going back.

After Li Ying returned home, he found paper and pen and wrote down the knowledge he was going to teach Cen Shen the next day.

Li Heng wrote while recalling his memories, and he didn't finish until midnight.

Yang Yuhuan started to accompany him, but she was pregnant after all and needed to rest well, so she stayed with him for half of the time and said to Li Heng, "My dear, you should not be too tired. You need to rest early."

"Yeah." Li Heng nodded, kissed Yang Yuhuan, and said, "It's urgent, otherwise I should spend more time with you."

Yang Yuhuan smiled and said, "My dear, you have been with me for a long time. I can see you whenever I open my eyes or close them. I am already satisfied."

Having said that, he kissed Li Ying and walked out happily.

After Yang Yuhuan went out, she found Zhang Mujin.

Zhang Mujin quickly bowed to Yang Yuhuan.

Yang Yuhuan took Zhang Mujin's hand and said, "Sister Mujin, besides us, my husband also cares about the people of the world. If he neglects you accidentally, don't blame him."

"Mu Jin dare not, and will not... blame Your Highness." Zhang Mu Jin quickly replied, "If Your Highness only cared about pleasure, Mu Jin would not... would not fall in love with Your Highness."

"That's good." Yang Yuhuan nodded, "My dear husband hasn't rested yet, you should go and keep him company."

(End of this chapter)