Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Zhu Guoxiang strode into the hall and said with a smile: "Don't be frightened, I am not making elixirs to seek immortality, but doing a kind of knowledge."

After saying this, the ministers, Taoist priests, and officials all breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.

There were quite a lot of people, so Zhu Ming was too lazy to squeeze in. He just said to his wives, concubines and children: "You can go and watch the official chemistry show. Especially the children, you should watch it carefully."

Everyone gradually gathered around, with the royal family members standing around and behind Zhu Guoxiang, and the rest formed a circle around the long table.

Zhu Guoxiang asked everyone to spread out, and then ordered the eunuch: "Go and open all the windows.

Instead of immediately demonstrating a chemical experiment, he picked up a candle and asked, "What is this?"

"white wax!"

"Insect wax!"

"..."

Although the answers are different, they refer to the same thing.

Zhu Guoxiang picked up the candle and showed it to everyone and said: "In the Qin and Han Dynasties, beeswax was all used. When Shi Chong was fighting for his wealth, he also used beeswax as firewood. It can be seen that beeswax was extremely luxurious at that time. Today, this insect wax is more expensive than beeswax. In the early years of the Song Dynasty, it was It is also considered unthrifty for a prime minister to light insect wax and read a book every night.”

"But what now?"

Zhu Guoxiang put the candle back and said with a smile: "Not to mention the prime minister, even the rich people in the countryside can afford it occasionally. Why is that so?"

Most of the people present didn't know how to answer, because they didn't even know where insect wax came from. Even those who know a little bit about it only know that insect wax is obtained from a kind of wax worm.

A Taoist priest from Sichuan said: "Because there are more people raising wax insects, the price will be cheaper."

"Of course, it's very well said," Zhu Guoxiang nodded in approval, "but mulberry silkworms must eat mulberry leaves before they can spin silk and form cocoons. I heard that there are also silkworms in the north that eat other kinds of leaves, but you have to find a suitable one for them. Food. The same goes for this white waxworm. What leaves it can eat and how it reproduces need to be explored and discovered by insect keepers."

"It was first discovered that white waxworms can extract wax, probably in the late Tang Dynasty. Today, they are only cultured in southern Sichuan, eastern Sichuan, Hunan, and Guangxi, and they can only be raised in the woods and cannot be harvested like silkworms. San goes home to feed.”

"Agriculture officials in Sichuan, Hunan and Guangxi are studying the habits of white wax insects."

"They have summarized the following key points: first, the white wax worms are divided into male and female. It is difficult for the female worms to secrete white wax, but it can be used to reproduce larvae; second, only the larvae of the male worms can produce wax; third, what the white wax worms like to eat Two species have been found in plants; fourth, the female insect must be on a plateau or high mountain, and the winter must be mild and dry to lay eggs; fifth, the male insect can only produce wax when the temperature is high and the humidity is heavy in summer."

"What's the use of knowing this? We can quickly expand the scope of white wax insect cultivation!"

"That is, you will breed white wax insects in large numbers in a place suitable for female insects to lay eggs. Then you will take the eggs and cultivate them in a place suitable for male insects to produce wax. In the breeding area for male insects, plant more plants that they like to eat in advance. And this It’s not difficult to plant plants on the land, and they can also be planted on barren slopes.”

"With the research results of the agricultural officers and the guidance of the local officials, I believe that within ten years, white wax, which is more expensive than beeswax, will become extremely cheap. Even poor scholars can use white candles to study at night. !”

After hearing these words, the ministers looked extremely happy.

White wax is the best quality candle to burn without strong smoke or odor. Who wouldn’t want to light this thing every day?

Zhai Ruwen asked: "Can white waxworms be cultured in Danyang, my hometown?"

Zhu Guoxiang said: "In your hometown of Danyang, the female worms will definitely not be able to lay eggs. But you can take the eggs over by boat from Sichuan and Hunan and raise the male worms directly in Danyang to produce wax. People who raise white wax worms , even after the price of ash becomes cheaper, I’m afraid the profit will not be much worse than raising silkworms. Nowadays, raising ash worms is ten times more profitable than raising silkworms.”

"This is something that will benefit the country and the people!" Not only the ministers praised it, but the ministers and Taoist priests were also very happy.

Zhu Guoxiang looked at everyone: "The knowledge put forward by the prince is that daily use by the people is the Tao. Raising white wax insects is naturally not Tao, but exploring the habits of white wax insects and allowing them to be quickly promoted is truly beneficial to the country and the people. road!"

Everyone nodded and didn't object.

Firstly, this matter can benefit all the people, even the rich and powerful; secondly, everyone knows that the emperor likes farming, so there is no need to conflict with the emperor.

Agriculture is the foundation of the country. Who dares to say that what is conducive to agricultural development is not Tao?

Zhu Guoxiang continued: "Studying agriculture is the Tao, studying physics is the Tao, and studying chemistry is the Tao!"

Qin Hui rushed in front of Li Bangyan and praised him: "I don't know what chemistry is, so I would like to ask the officials to explain it."

Zhu Guoxiang took out an iron box, took out a small wooden stick, and lightly scratched it on the rough side of the marble tabletop.

The stick is on fire!

Everyone was shocked. Could it be that the emperor really knew magic?

Some people couldn't help but move their feet, wanting to see if there was an open or hidden flame hidden in the place where the stick was rubbed.

Matches already existed in the Northern Song Dynasty, called "Guangguangnu", "Hairwax" and "Huocun". They were made by infecting fir strips and applying sulfur.

But this kind of match cannot ignite by itself and must use other fire sources, such as touching it on hot coals.

This may seem unnecessary, but it is actually very convenient. Especially in the winter in the north, it is necessary to keep a fire, or to store dark fire for a long time in the form of fire sticks. At this time, the "hair candle" can burn with just a touch.

Zhu Guoxiang held a match and lit the white candle with a smile: "This is not a hair candle, but it can also be called a hair candle. It is still relatively dangerous for the time being and is not suitable for civilian use. It will be improved after long-term research. This thing also uses chemical materials. Tao, I won’t explain it in detail today, anyone who is interested can come here often.”

Zhu Guoxiang picked up another beaker and used the beaker to cover the burning candle.

Under the eyes of everyone, the candle in the glass became smaller and smaller, and then suddenly went out.

Zhu Guoxiang asked: "Why did the candle go out?"

Longhushan has been studying talismans for generations, and the previous generation of heavenly masters also invented the first generation of thunder methods. They still have a strong say in the burning phenomenon.

Zhang Shixiu said: "All things burn because of vitality. Your Majesty covers it with a cup, and the vitality turns into dead energy, and the candle will naturally go out."

Zhu Guoxiang asked again: "What is anger and what is death?"

Zhang Shixiu said: "Flowing water is living water, and stagnant water is dead water. Similarly, smooth air is vitality, and blocked air is dead air. If a person lives in a house that is not flowing smoothly for a long time, he will be affected by the dead air. If it is shrouded, there will also be a danger of suffocation.”

"In other words, if you cover the candle, once the life in the candle is burned out, all the dead energy inside will be extinguished?" Zhu Guoxiang asked.

"Of course!"

Not only Zhang Shixiu thought so, but others also nodded.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Let's go out."

Zhu Guoxiang relit the candle and walked out to the open space in the courtyard.

He asked another guard to put on heavy armor and pull down the mask: "Open this bottle and put it on the candle. Don't hold the bottle directly with your hands, but tie it with a branch. It's best to cover it with your other hand. Eye holes.”

The heavily armored guard muddleheadedly followed the instructions, first tying the bottle with branches, then uncorking the bottle cap, and then covering the bottle mouth with the burning candle.

Everyone stood far away and saw that the candle in the bottle was burning more brightly, and there was even a faint glow of fire in other parts of the bottle.

Zhu Guoxiang also secretly said that he was lucky that there was no explosion.

He produced oxygen by heating saltpeter. During the continuous heating process, it may first decompose into potassium oxide, and then release carbon monoxide and oxygen.

In other words, this bottle of oxygen is not very pure and must be doped with carbon monoxide.

Of course, the concentration of carbon monoxide is not high, and the amount is not large, so even if it explodes, it will not be very powerful.

Zhu Guoxiang asked Zhang Shixiu: "It's covered in a glass bottle, but is there death energy inside?"

Zhang Shixiu hesitated, not knowing how to answer.

Everyone looked at the still burning candles, frowned, and thought hard, but they couldn't figure it out.

Finally, the oxygen in the bottle ran out and the candle went out.

Zhu Guoxiang tried his best to explain it in a way that the ancients could understand: "Qi is everywhere, but it is not a pure thing. Just like fine sand and coarse sand, after mixing, it is still a plate of sand. The mixture of many gases is the air we breathe. In this air, some people need it, and some people don't need it. Human breathing is to inhale the useful air and expel the useless air."

He then pointed to the glass bottle covering the candle: "What this bottle contains is the gas needed for burning firewood, and it is also the gas that people rely on to survive. It can nourish people, and I call it nourishing qi. When doing research , and write Oxygen.”

Ju Ming picked up the stick and wrote the word "oxygen" on the ground.

The Taoist priests suddenly realized that "oxygen" is the "spiritual energy of heaven and earth", and this is what they breathe in and absorb every day.

I don't know if the religion will give birth to "oxygen-absorbing sects", and the accidental inhalation of carbon monoxide mixed with it will be a serious problem.

Zhu Guoxiang simply sat cross-legged in the courtyard. Everyone did not dare to stand anymore and sat down one after another.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "People in Beijing mostly use charcoal for cooking and heating. When heating in winter, sometimes doors and windows are closed too tightly, and people are poisoned by charcoal and die. What is charcoal poison? It is also a kind of gas, and charcoal is not completely burned. The poisonous gas produced.”

Those who came were all important ministers of the cabinet, and they all lived in Tokyo. Although he bought charcoal at a high price, the servants at home mostly used charcoal for heating.

Listening to the emperor's explanation at this moment, everyone was doubtful, but they couldn't help but believe it.

Zhu Guoxiang looked at Zhang Jinping again: "The Crown Princess's ancestors improved the technique of wet copper smelting and brought countless copper materials to the court every year. Does the Crown Princess know the principle?"

Zhang Jinping said: "I reported back to the official family that my daughter-in-law knew how to smelt copper, but she didn't know why she did it that way."

Zhu Guoxiang asked everyone with a smile: "Do you want to see it?"

"I would like to have a look!" Everyone responded quickly.

I won’t talk about any profound knowledge today, just to arouse everyone’s interest.

Zhu Guoxiang walked back into the house and said as he walked: "The method of chemistry benefits the country and the people, and wet copper smelting is one of them. If you study this method deeply, you may be able to add countless gold and silver to the country."

Everyone is right, we can refine copper using the wet method, why can't we refine gold and silver?

The emperor is a big liar.