The big man has a living father

Chapter 120 The Great Chemical Era

After the first issue of Science News was published, many people did not realize that the world had actually changed.

A large number of soldiers read the Science newspaper word by word. Because of the rigorous logical reasoning process in the newspaper, they believed what was said almost immediately after reading it once.

These people will educate their children to pay attention to hygiene.

Some people don't believe it.

Wei Qing's personal guards also learned simplified Chinese characters. Looking at the Science News, he was a little unconvinced: "General, could this be a conspiracy made up by Huo Hai to sell coal?"

Wei Qing looked up at him.

Guard: "General, think about it, everyone knows how profitable coal is now, and the top price of coal is not high, it is completely stimulated by demand."

"But winter will soon be over. Who will need coal for heating? At most, it will be used by families who are used to using coal for cooking."

"But I heard that many people have started using honeycomb briquettes made from secondary processed coal, which is cheap and economical."

"Wouldn't the demand for coal be greatly reduced in this way?"

"This is an industry comparable to the tax revenue of our Han Dynasty. If we stop it at any time, we will have to wait until next winter to sell it and get income."

"But if the idea in this article that eating cooked food and boiling water can cure diseases is fabricated, then isn't it just to stimulate coal sales?"

Wei Qing: "How many people in different places use coal now?"

Guard: "Gyeonggi?"

Wei Qing: "Coal mines are toxic. Burning coal mines can easily lead to poisoning. To burn coal, we must use the new stoves and kangs they promote."

"And they have to use the coal that has been processed by the Tongguan coal mine. The coal that we dig ourselves cannot be burned directly."

"Now, the coal used in the capital alone costs 2.8 billion in three months. What about Longxi? Heluo? Jizhou? Qingzhou? Qilu? Yanzhao?"

"If you want to make this money, Your Majesty, why don't you start large-scale mining in these places? You can also employ fewer miners and store the mined goods in various places and wait for the arrival of winter."

"Make up a lie to stimulate coal sales? How much can it stimulate?"

For the royal guard, he could imagine how much more coal could be sold by boiling water.

But he didn't expect that coal had not yet been truly popularized.

Why didn’t it get promoted? Because it was too profitable.

This is counter-intuitive.

Logically speaking, if it could help the emperor make money, how could Liu Che not promote it given his personality?
But the fact is that coal is too profitable. Liu Che was afraid that after it was promoted, no one would farm the land in a short period of time and everyone would go mining.

Then food prices will soar next year.

Therefore, Emperor Liu Che suppressed this good thing and did not spread it around, and only people in the best place in the capital could enjoy it.

In this situation, how could they make up a story to stimulate coal sales?
The personal guards could not think of this.

Wei Qing knew very well that this report was probably 90% true.

As for the remaining ten percent, it doesn’t mean that it is false, but that the research may not be thorough enough, or it may not be fully understood, or there may be other reasons.

Wei Qing: "Pass my order. From today on, the army must build toilets. They cannot urinate or defecate at will. They must eat cooked food and drink hot water. Go and do it."

After the guards left, Wei Qing began to think.

In Chang'an alone, so much money was accumulated in just one winter.

We won’t be short of money when fighting the Huns next time.

But, can we still fight the Huns?

Because of the coal mine, Changan inexplicably had a lot of money. Before, no one thought that Changan had so much money, but now it all appeared.

When the ranch started selling wool sweaters at the beginning of winter, everyone said they were expensive.

But now it seems that wool is too cheap, and the income of Chang'an people has increased visibly. These people will definitely buy new clothes in the new year, especially winter clothes.

Since the demand for woolen clothes has increased, a lot of sheep must be needed.

However, there are not so many long-wooled sheep in the entire North Country.

Where can I get it?
Huns.

"But if we buy sheep and wool from the Xiongnu, wouldn't the Xiongnu get money and become rich?"

Wei Qing was thinking about what was wrong with this matter.

Wei Qing knew that this matter would definitely have only benefits and no disadvantages, otherwise His Majesty would have called a halt long ago. After all, His Majesty would not allow anything that would threaten the attack on the Huns to exist.

But what exactly is going on? What secrets are hidden in this behavior that seems to make the Xiongnu rich?
Wei Qing was puzzled.

"According to the plan, we will not attack the Xiongnu in the year after the new year, but the year after that..."

……

At the research institute, Huo Hai smacked his lips while eating grilled starch sausage.

Life without chili is so miserable.

Wait a little longer. Once we have bought all the land on the north bank of the Wei River and have more money, we can assign people to study the ship.

Huo Hai was eating a starch sausage and walking slowly, and the researchers around him quickened their pace.

Huo Hai was puzzled: "Where are you going?"

A researcher turned around and saluted: "Dean, let's go and look at the wood."

Huo Hai reminded: "It's the vice president!"

The dean is the emperor, can you please stop yelling at him?

“What’s so good about wood?”

The researcher chuckled: "Dean Huo, we have solved the problem of wood rotting. Next, we can build large-scale water wheels on the Wei River as energy!"

As the saying goes, a thousand years dry and ten thousand years wet, and only half a year when neither dry nor wet.

What is neither dry nor wet?
Of course it's the waterwheel.

After all, the boat still has one bottom which is always in the water. A waterwheel is always turning and will soon break down.

The first waterwheel built on the Wei River has become gray and rotten three months after it was built, and it is still winter. It is about to break down.

Now that someone has developed a method of preservation, naturally many people want to go and see it.

After all, after learning about the waterwheel, many researchers wondered whether the subjects they were studying could be linked to the waterwheel.

If water wheels are now corrosion-resistant, the cost of repair and maintenance will be greatly reduced, which means that more water wheels can be manufactured with the same amount of money.

In the past, many researchers imagined linking their projects with water wheels, but these ideas were ruled out due to insufficient efficiency and poor economic benefits.

Now things have turned around.

So many people went to see it.

Huo Hai was also curious and followed.

There was an open space with various wooden products placed on it.

Wooden horse toys, basins, tables, chairs, benches, shoulder poles, as well as wooden blocks and wooden pillows.

These things all emit a little bright reflection in the sunlight.

Huo Hai was stunned for a moment, threw the wooden stick in his hand into the trash can, and then quickly walked towards the scene.

"Hahaha, it's really solidified! Waterproof, waterproof!"

At the scene, Chen An and Tang Sier high-fived and shouted excitedly.

Huo Hai stepped forward: "This is..."

Resin? But it doesn’t feel right.

The resin should be clear.

But then again, how could they possibly make resin?!
Huo Hai walked out of the crowd and asked: "How did this happen?"

As Huo Hai spoke, he reached out to touch the translucent substance on the surface of the wood, then sniffed it.

Chen An: "Sir, this is distilled from wood!"

Huo Hai touched it carefully again and suddenly realized.

Wood tar.

Chen An: "Aren't we going to make a batch of charcoal bars to make stationery for schoolchildren? I studied the new distillation equipment with Chen An."

"In the past, we used earthen kilns. Every time we fired charcoal, we had to rebuild the kiln. Then we made a still with steel, just like the bronze still."

At first, Huo Hai thought that distillation was a very backward equipment. However, when he arrived in Chang'an, he found out that many royal families had their own bronze distiller.

This bronze still is used to filter out impurities to obtain a purer liquid.

So it is normal that Chen An and his team thought of the distiller in order to make charcoal bars.

After all, the logic of charcoal burning seems to be the same as the logic of distillation.

Tang Sier: "After we did it once, we found that the charcoal produced by the distiller is high-quality charcoal, better than the highest-grade charcoal produced by kilns!"

"But the problem is that there will be a lot of strange, sticky, black stuff left at the bottom, and some gas will come out of the top during distillation and ignite."

Huo Hai nodded and said that this should be tar and wood gas.

Tang Sier: "We worked out a plan. We blocked the iron can and made a hole on the side to let the gas out and burn it. Then the black stuff would drip out of the can."

Chen An: "We found that the stuff that came out was not pitch black at the beginning. It was actually divided into three types."

Huo Hai could probably imagine that there were three different types of wood tar, namely, low-temperature distillation, medium-temperature distillation, and high-temperature distillation.

Chen An pointed at the wooden furniture and said, "These are the more translucent ones."

"With this, we can set up water trucks in large numbers."

This thing is an antiseptic, but it is not widely used in industrial applications, so Huo Hai didn't say much about it.

Chen An: "Unfortunately, we also extracted the same thing from coal, but the two seem to be different. This transparent liquid can adhere to the wood, while the liquid extracted from coal at low temperature will seep into the wood and cannot form this waterproof and anti-corrosion liquid."

Tang Sier added: "However, the thicker stuff separated from coal by distillation is sticky and waterproof, but it is fluid and melts at a slight temperature, unlike this."

Huo Hai tactically retreats.

Tang Sier and Chen An, in order to create a waterproof coating, ended up extracting real antiseptic wood oil and charcoal asphalt, and they didn't even know it?!
Tang Sier scratched his head: "But I found that the coke left after coal distillation is more suitable for steelmaking. It's a pity that the liquid is useless, so the cost is high."

Useless?

Huo Hai: "Have you ever thought that the kind that melts at a slightly higher temperature and condenses at a lower temperature is very suitable for use on the road or on the roof?"

"If it is heated, it will flow, and if it is cooled, it will solidify. Wouldn't it be easier to construct and operate?"

"If it is used on the roof of a brick and cement structure, as long as no one steps on it when it melts, it can be waterproof for a long time? Why do we have to waterproof wood?"

"Also, if we mix it with pebbles or something, since it's sticky, maybe it will be a very good road material?"

Tang Si'er and Chen An looked at each other.

Huo Hai: "Also, that transparent oil that seeps into the wood might be poisonous?"

Chen An: "Don't say maybe, it's just poisonous. I've tried it."

Huo Hai: "Have you not read Science? Have you seen the speculation about the mildew and mold fungus research? Isn't wood decaying because of mold? That kind of oil is toxic and can penetrate into the wood. Maybe there is no need to block water. Because of its toxicity, it will prevent the wood from decaying?"

Chen An and Tang Sier looked at each other.

what?
Can it still be like this?
Huo Hai sighed. In order to make a waterproof coating, Tang Sier and Chen An did not extract the resin, but extracted the antiseptic wood oil and asphalt!
This is a chemical product!
If you study it in depth, you can find products like plastics and artificial rubber.

The reason why productivity has exploded so much in the post-industrial era compared to the pre-industrial era is because the progress in the chemical industry has been so great.

Materials are produced in an endless stream.

And now the chemical age has begun.

Apart from anything else, after the emergence of antiseptic wood oil, railway sleepers can be used on a large scale!
Railroad sleepers are the most difficult part of the railway!

This antiseptic wood oil is far more complicated than any steam engine.

Someone had already extracted preservative wood oil, and Huo Hai had asked them to study steam engines.

Chen An and Tang Sier looked at each other and said, "Let's go... do an experiment!"

Huo Hai: "We should directly set up a new project team, assign more people, and conduct research on wood tar and coal tar."

Tang Sier: "Tar?"

Huo Hai: "Oh, it's burned and distilled, so let's call it tar."

Huo Hai turned around and saw the group of alchemists watching the fun, and he became furious.

(End of this chapter)