Landlord of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 2 Saltpeter Ice-making Method

It was dawn, probably around five o'clock in the later generations, and the commanders of the barracks began to bury pots and cook food. Others practiced their guns, knives and bows first, and then ate.Xu Qing was greatly aware of the meal. There were more than 40 people in Xu Qing's group, and he was in a team with the other two groups. face.

When it was time to eat, Xu Qing excitedly scooped up a large bowl of barley rice and started his first breakfast in the Tang Dynasty, but as soon as he ate it, he almost spit out yesterday's sour water.

Breakfast is barley rice with pickles, and barley rice is the shelled wheat, boiled half-cooked first, then dried, and then cooked and then dried. It is very convenient to eat, but the taste is not good. The precedent of the collapse of morale can be seen from this.

Xu Qing looked around and saw that everyone was gobbling it up, so he resisted the urge to vomit, took a few mouthfuls resentfully, and swallowed the pickles. Fortunately, the taste of the pickles was not bad.

After breakfast, they will go to their respective posts. Xu Qing will take advantage of the cool weather in the morning to mow the grass and feed the mules. After mowing the grass, he may go to patrol and stand guard with his group, or chop firewood. Either carrying water, or tinkering, anyway, there are no idle soldiers in the army.I have been busy until about two o'clock in the afternoon. If the sun is too big at this time, I can rest.

After Xu Qing finished mowing the grass, Zhang Zhong called him back, saying that he was afraid that he would faint again, since he couldn't do much there anyway.

"In this weather, it would be great if I could have a popsicle to eat." Xu Qing scooped up a large ladle of water in the water tank and thought while drinking, "Huh? Ice? That's right!" It is also known that saltpeter dissolves and absorbs heat to make ice.Thinking of this method, Xu Qing became excited. He set up a stall selling popsicles in the Tang Dynasty. The exclusive secret technique and saltpeter can be reused.

Where can I get saltpeter?Xu Qing thought of Zhang Zhong first, because Xu Qing knew him.So Xu Qing trotted all the way to his group.They are chopping wood and will be exposed to the sun.

"Uncle Zhang, Uncle Zhang?" Xu Qing was out of breath.

"Why are you here, kid?" Zhang Zhong wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"Sixth day kid, if you get dizzy from the heat, you won't be allowed to have a holiday tomorrow haha," the person next to him joked.

"Uncle Zhang," Xu Qing said slowly, "I want to find some saltpeter, and I want to eat ice."

"Well~~" Zhang Zhong was stunned for a moment, obviously he didn't connect saltpeter with ice, thinking he heard it wrong
"Child on the sixth day of the junior high school, you are not sick and out of your mind, are you? Where can I find ice for you to eat this day, so go back quickly."

While he was talking, Mr. Wu in a blue shirt wandered over. He was walking around in the ranks, and when he came here, he heard Xu Qing's words. Someone wanted to eat ice, so he shook his head and smiled.

"Which family's child?" Wu Laoqing said.

Only then did everyone see Mr. Wu, and hurriedly stood up and shouted "Wu Jijiu".

Xu Qing also said hello to everyone, thinking in his heart that he would risk everything to eat ice, and then said:

"Wu Jijiu, the boy has a way to make ice."

Zhang Zhong teased Xu Qing, and said to Wu Jijiu: "Master Jijiu, this is the kid that the villain picked up a few days ago." But Wu Jijiu obviously refused to let Xu Qing go easily, and said with a straight face on purpose: "You know there are no jokes in the army. If you admit your mistake now, I will pretend that you didn't hear it."

Zhang Zhong knew that Wu Jijiu was usually stubborn like a literati: "Wu Jijiu, the kid got wind-heat yesterday, and his mind is a bit confused." Then he turned to Xu Qing and said, "Quickly admit your mistake to Wu Jijiu!"

However, Xu Qing was very calm. He thought that if he could make ice with saltpeter, it might solve the problem of heatstroke in the army. Easily die on the battlefield.Thinking of this, Xu Qing said neither humble nor overbearing: "Wu Jijiu, the boy can indeed make ice, but he needs some saltpeter."

"You..." Zhang Zhong showed some anger on his face.Wu Jijiu was not angry anymore, anyway, there was nothing wrong in the barracks, of course, for him as Jijiu, he was also willing to have some fun, anyway, the board would not hit him.

"Okay, if you don't make ice today, let's see how I will deal with you." Wu Jijiu jokingly said, "What do you want?"

Zhang Zhong stopped talking, and just looked at Xu Qing with eyes full of hatred.

Xu Qing replied: "Two copper basins, one big and one small, one catty of saltpeter, no, two catties..." After all, no experiments have been done, Xu Qing only knows that it will work in theory, and more insurance is needed, and then Added a sentence: "There is still water"

Seeing Xu Qing's earnestness, Wu Jijiu couldn't help but believe it. He thought that if he made a large amount of ice, the morale of the army would be greatly improved, and Wu Jijiu could also make a big face in front of Liu Zan. Well, a great achievement is insignificant, maybe an official can be sent out, and then he ordered someone to fetch it.

The efficiency in the army is very fast, within half a stick of incense time, everything needed is ready.Because the saltpeter is all placed in the military doctor's place, and the military doctor is also very bored. After asking a little bit, I heard that someone is going to make ice in these dog days, and I can't help but increase my interest and follow it.

"Wu Jijiu, please move to a cool place." Xu Qing's heart beat a little.Wu Jijiu didn't say anything, he chose a nearby tent, put all his things in it, and stood beside him to signal for Xu Qing to start.

The chemical name of saltpeter is potassium nitrate. When it dissolves in water, it absorbs heat and lowers its temperature.Xu Qing poured some water into a large basin, then put it into a small basin, poured a basin of water into the small basin, then poured saltpeter into the large basin, and then stared at it intently.After about 10 minutes passed, the small basin had not yet frozen, so Xu Qing added some saltpeter to the large basin.

Wu Jijiu and the crowd of spectators were impatient and discussed one after another:

"It seems?"

"I just don't know how many sticks this body can withstand?"

"If you lose the fight, the old man Zhang Zhong's plan may be in vain, hehe"

"Huh?" Someone with sharp eyes noticed something. "Look, there are drops of water outside the big basin!"

Xu Qing also noticed it. He probed the small basin with his hand, and it turned out that the temperature was very low, so he added a handful of saltpeter.

At this moment, a sudden change occurred, the water surface in the small basin trembled slightly, and a thin layer of ice seemed to form in the blink of an eye. "Hiss???" The spectators took a breath, while Wu Jijiu's eyes were full of shock, while Zhang Zhong heaved a sigh of relief.

After a while, the ice in the small basin grew to the thickness of a finger. Only then did Xu Qing heave a sigh of relief, holding back his excitement and saying to Wu Jijiu, "Master Jijiu, the ice has come out."

At this time, Wu Jijiu had already turned shock into surprise. He had been watching Xu Qing tinkering with a playful attitude, but he didn't expect Xu Qing to actually make ice, which was simply miraculous.Wu Jijiu was unable to speak for a long time, and only after hearing Xu Qing's words did he come to his senses, and said excitedly: "You boy, if you can take down Qingshan this time, you will have done a great job!"

After finishing speaking, he quickly picked up the copper basin and pulled Langzhong up, and rushed out, hurriedly going to the tent of the Chinese army.

At this time, all the spectators had long looked at Xu Qing with admiration. If Xu Qing was not tall, they would have looked up and worshiped Xu Qing.And Zhang Zhong also pulled Xu Qing excitedly: "See, this is my soldier, look at it!"

The most depressing person in the room was Xu Qing. Wu Jijiu always picked up the copper basin, and it was too late to say it, but Xu Qing had no time to stop him and could only shout from behind:
"Hey, my ice, my ice." But no one listened to his words, and Xu Qing was quickly dragged back by Zhang Zhong. He was very greedy when he saw the ice.He was very excited on the road, and greeted everyone he met, which made many people confused, thinking that he had married a young wife.

In the military account:

Liu Zan's face was cloudy and clear for a while, and finally he was looking at the copper basin in front of him with half doubt and half surprise, or more precisely, at the piece of ice the size of a palm.And Wu Jijiu next to him was even more old-fashioned, and his smile was extraordinarily bright.

"Mr. Wu Wu, I didn't expect, I didn't expect Mr. Wu to know how to perform immortal arts. What an offense!" Liu Zan said with a trembling voice.

"No, no, no, this is done by Zhang Zhong's soldiers. I dare not take credit for it." Wu Jijiu was also aboveboard, and he was not greedy for credit.

After a long time, the ice in the copper basin turned into a large piece, and then slowly melted away. Liu Zan finally had enough of seeing it. He patted the table and said excitedly:

"It seems that I have something to look forward to this time when I go back to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. Xu Chuliu, I want to remember one of your great achievements! Hahahahahahaha"

(End of this chapter)