Start with a photographic memory and build a memory palace

Chapter 338 The Way of Chemistry: Alchemy and Pill Refining
……

Not long after Niu Zhuang left,
Wu Wen was still savoring the delicious food on the table.

at this time,

Yang Erlang arrived at the foot of Baiweilou with a team of guards.

Wu Wen, who was sitting at the second-floor window, naturally saw his arrival at a glance.

Yang Erlang went upstairs alone.

"Erlang is here! Come on, sit down and have a taste. These are all delicacies cooked with exotic beasts," Master Zhu greeted warmly.

"Thank you, Ninth Master!" Yang Erlang said first, then added, "But I have already eaten and have important matters to attend to, so I cannot accompany you any longer."

With that, Yang Erlang turned to Wu Wen and said respectfully, "Young Master, His Majesty has sent me to invite you to a banquet in the palace!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Wen casually waved his hand, indicating his refusal.

“Young Master, you should still go. His Majesty said that I must invite you this time,” Yang Erlang said earnestly.

"What's wrong? Is something important?" Wu Wen picked up a mouthful of food and put it in his mouth.

"I'm not entirely sure either. It seems to be people from the Kingdom of Fulin who traveled thousands of miles to our Great Tang to seek help," Yang Erlang replied ambiguously.

The Kingdom of Fulin? Isn't that the Eastern Roman Empire?

Wu Wen put down his chopsticks and pondered to himself.

The Kingdom of Fulin was known as Da Qin during the Han Dynasty, which was the Roman Empire.

Later, the Roman Empire declined and was gradually replaced by rising Arab empires and other countries, leaving only the present-day Eastern Roman Empire, which was called Fulin by the Tang Dynasty.

It's interesting that the Eastern Roman Empire came to the Tang Dynasty seeking help.

Wu Wen stood up and said to Master Zhu, "Master Zhu, would you like to join us and see what's going on?"

"I won't go!"

Master Zhu shook his head. He had never heard of the Kingdom of Fulin and had never been interested in such matters. He continued to enjoy the food on the table.

"Then I'll take my leave first!" Wu Wen said.

He then instructed Yang Erlang, "Erlang, take good care of Ninth Master..."

Before he could finish speaking, Master Zhu interrupted, "No need, I don't need anyone to accompany me, it's too much trouble. After I finish eating, I'll wander around Chang'an City by myself."

“That works too!” Wu Wen nodded in agreement.

Then, he took Yang Erlang downstairs.

"Find a few people to keep an eye on things and prevent any fools from bothering Ninth Master," Wu Wen said to Yang Erlang.

"Don't worry," Yang Erlang replied, and immediately dispatched several guards to secretly protect Master Zhu.

Subsequently,

Wu Wen and Yang Erlang went to the palace together.

The journey was smooth.

Wu Wen arrived at the location of the palace banquet.

Upon entering the hall, I saw many familiar figures.

"Lord Zhennan, haha, it's been a long time!"

Upon seeing Wu Wen, Cheng Yaojin immediately raised his wine cup and greeted him warmly and casually.

"Duke of Lu!" Wu Wen greeted him with a smile.

"Come, sit here. Let's have a good chat before His Majesty arrives!" Cheng Yaojin pulled Wu Wen to a seat next to him.

Wu Wen looked up and saw that the row of people sitting there were all fair-skinned with blond hair and blue eyes. They must be the envoys from the Eastern Roman Empire.

Cheng Yaojin followed Wu Wen's gaze and noticed that he was paying attention to those foreigners, so he chuckled and teased, "Is the Duke of Zhennan interested in those Fulin people?"

Wu Wen smiled but remained silent.

Cheng Yaojin also whispered to Wu Wen, "Do you know that they came here this time to ask our Tang Dynasty for help?"

Cheng Yaojin mumbled something and revealed all the information to Wu Wen.

Wu Wen learned the whole story.

original,

The Eastern Roman Empire had sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty long ago.
That was when Hou Junji destroyed the Gaochang Kingdom and decisively defeated the Western Turks.

Since its decline, the Roman Empire has shrunk in size while its number of enemies has increased.

The remaining Eastern Roman Empire maintained a friendly relationship with the Western Turks, serving as a strategic partner.

The reason was that a Persian Empire rose between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Western Turkic Khaganate.

The Eastern Roman Empire's greatest enemy was always the Arab Empire to the west, leaving it with little time and energy to deal with the Persian Empire. Therefore, it allied with the Western Turks to jointly resist the Persian Empire.

The last emperor of the Persian Empire even sought help from Li Shimin.

Unfortunately, the Tang Dynasty was newly established at that time, with enemies to the south still unresolved and the north suppressed by the DTZ, leaving them powerless to do anything.

Thus, the Persian Empire was destroyed by the combined forces of the Eastern Roman Empire and the Western Turks.

But now, the Tang Dynasty is at its peak, not only bringing the entire northern grassland tribes under its control, but also directly controlling the entire Western Regions, leaving only remnants of the Western Turks who fled to Roman territory and established a small Ottoman state.

After the disappearance of the powerful Western Turks, the Eastern Roman Empire sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty for the first time.
First, they wanted to establish friendly relations with the Tang Dynasty and engage in trade and mutual exchange; second, they also wanted to form an alliance with the Tang Dynasty, hoping that the Tang Dynasty could send troops to help the Eastern Roman Empire fight against its enemies.

Although the Tang Dynasty had successively defeated the DTZ and the Western Turks and controlled the Western Regions, its national strength was not enough to support Li Shimin in sending an expeditionary force to help the Eastern Roman Empire.

Moreover, and most importantly, Li Shimin was not stupid. Why would he send troops to attack an unrelated enemy from afar, when there would be no benefit at all?
In Li Shimin's mind, the Western Regions were enough for the Tang Dynasty, and there was no need to expand outwards further.

Therefore, the first mission from the Eastern Roman Empire to the Tang Dynasty did not yield any results.

But as the years went by, the situation in the Eastern Roman Empire became increasingly precarious.

Especially with the death of Emperor Heraclius I, the Eastern Roman Empire was on the verge of collapse due to Arab encroachment.

Therefore, they once again sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty, seeking assistance.

"Lord Zhennan, I think His Majesty will probably agree to help Fulin this time!" Cheng Yaojin said with a sigh.

Upon hearing this, Wu Wen's lips curled into a slight smile.

The arrival of the Eastern Roman envoy was undoubtedly a godsend for Li Shimin, who was about to doze off.

In Li Shimin's mind, he had long been planning how to start a war to expand his territory.

Isn't this request for help from the Eastern Roman Empire the perfect excuse?
Looking at the grand palace banquet, Wu Wen could guess that when Li Shimin arrived and received the Eastern Roman envoy's plea, he would definitely righteously declare that he would send troops to help.

However, when the expeditionary force sets out, it's uncertain whether it will help the Eastern Roman Empire resist the Arabs or use the route to attack Guo!

Just then, at the eunuch's call,
Li Shimin appeared slowly.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!" The crowd rose and bowed.

"Sit down, everyone!" Li Shimin gestured for them to sit down.

When Li Shimin saw Wu Wenye arrive again, he glanced at him but did not speak. Instead, he turned his gaze to the Eastern Roman envoy on the other side.

"You have traveled thousands of miles to my Great Tang Dynasty, you must be tired. I have specially prepared a banquet to welcome you and wash away the dust of your journey!"

The head of the Eastern Roman envoys, who was translating nearby, understood Li Shimin's words and immediately rose to return the greeting:

"Thank you for your warm hospitality, Your Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty!"

"We also have gifts to present to His Majesty the Emperor."

As they spoke, the Eastern Roman envoys brought up two large boxes.

The box was opened, and it was filled with rare and precious treasures.

The Eastern Roman envoy deliberately took out a treasure from each of two treasure chests: a glass vase and a emerald the size of a pigeon's egg, and showed them to Li Shimin.

"These two are our country's most precious treasures, the Glazed Vase and the Emerald Gold Gemstone, which are presented to Your Majesty."

"Good!" Li Shimin nodded in satisfaction as he looked at the two treasures in his hands.

Wu Wen also looked at the two treasures in the envoy's hands.

The materials used to make these two treasures are actually glass made from silicates such as quartz sand, which are mainly composed of sand.

But to be able to create such an exquisite glass vase and such a bright and lustrous green gold gemstone,

This demonstrates that the Eastern Roman Empire had already achieved a very advanced level of glassmaking technology.

Therefore, Wu Wen guessed in his heart,
If the people of the Eastern Roman Empire did not merely use this technology to beautify handicrafts, then their level of technology must have been quite high.

"Take the treasure!"

"I will offer wine to these envoys who have come from afar, and I will drink a cup with them," Li Shimin said.

Immediately, guards stepped forward, took the two large boxes of treasure, and poured wine for each of the envoys.

"Thank you, Your Majesty the Emperor of the Great Tang!"

After expressing his gratitude, the Eastern Roman envoy drank the wine in his cup in one gulp.

Then, the head of the envoys said, "In addition to presenting these treasures to His Majesty the Emperor, we have a special gift to offer him."

"Oh? What is it?" Li Shimin asked curiously.

As he spoke, a man with a full head of blond hair and wearing a white robe stepped out from among the Eastern Roman envoys.

"Your Majesty the Emperor of the Great Tang Dynasty!"

I am an alchemist from the great Roman Empire.

On this trip to the Tang Dynasty, I specially prepared a medicine for His Majesty the Emperor.

After Your Majesty takes it, not only will your youthful appearance be preserved forever, but you will also gain immense power!

As he spoke, the white-robed man took out a glass box from his robes. When he opened it, a thumb-sized, polygonal crystal was inside.

Li Shimin remained wary of this drug.

He didn't answer the alchemist directly, but turned to Wu Wen and said softly:

"Lord Zhennan, please take a look at the medicine that the Fulin envoy wishes to present!"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned their attention to Wu Wen.

Wu Wen slowly stood up, walked forward, stretched out two fingers, picked up the transparent crystal, and pretended to examine it carefully.

Sunlight streamed obliquely through the gilded carved window lattice, creating a rainbow halo on the crystal surface, as if a wisp of rainbow had been condensed in the palm of one's hand.

Under Wu Wen's insightful analysis, the composition of the crystal in his hand slowly became apparent:
Cinnabar (mercury sulfide), realgar (arsenic sulfide), jade powder (quartz mineral), magnetite powder (iron tetroxide), amethyst (calcium fluoride silicate)...

After complex processing, this composite crystal was formed.

Then, Wu Wen spoke:

"A composite crystal of mercury, arsenic, iron, silicon, and fluorine!"

"Your Majesty, this is a simple elixir made from five metals and eight minerals, somewhat similar to the 'Taiyi Jade Powder Elixir' recorded in the 'Great Cave Refining True Treasure Scripture Nine Returns Golden Elixir Secret Formula'!"

Changing the subject, Wu Wen sighed, "It's a pity that it lacked three refining cycles, resulting in insufficient crystal purity."

After listening to Wu Wen's brief explanation, Li Shimin nodded slightly.

Since Wu Wen said there was no problem, then there was no problem.

Li Shimin then waved his sleeve, signaling his attendants to put away the elixirs.

But Wu Wen's dismissive attitude angered the alchemist.

"slow!"

The alchemist walked up to Wu Wen and said arrogantly:

"You're an alchemist too!"

Wu Wen smiled and replied, "In our Central Plains, people like me are called: alchemists."

In Wu Wen's view, whether they are so-called alchemists or alchemists, they are actually all chemists.

Dissolving, mixing, separating, purifying, and crystallizing.

These steps are consistent with both the principles of chemistry and the methods of alchemy.

"Oh? An alchemist!"

The white-robed envoy repeated it, and then said.

"But you seem to look down on the medicine I make."

Wu Wen shook his head slightly: "I have always respected those who seek the Dao."

"Therefore, I never belittle anything created by seekers of the Way; they are all crystallizations of wisdom."

Upon hearing this, the white-robed envoy asked in confusion, "What is a seeker of the Way?"

Wu Wen explained, "You can understand it as someone who pursues the truth."

Upon hearing this, the white-robed envoy's expression immediately turned serious, and he introduced himself: "My name is August, and I come from Constantinople."

Wu Wen also politely replied, "Wu Wen is from Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty."

……

(End of this chapter)