My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 314: Open your eyes and lead the way

After inspecting the mines and smelters, Xin Pi continued to visit other farming construction achievements of Liu Bei’s army in various places under the guidance of Xiang Lang for the next few days. Anything that did not involve technical secrets was allowed to be seen.

As time went by, Xinpi's kneecaps became weaker and weaker.

Liu Bei's camp now has many technological innovations in the fields of textiles, porcelain making, copper smelting, etc., but most of these industries are not located in Jiangxia County, so it is more troublesome for Xin Pi to visit.

For example, porcelain making is basically only done in Yuzhang County, which Xinpi cannot see for the time being. Copper smelting is also mostly done in Yuzhang, because the two major copper mines in Jiangnan are both in Yuzhang.

The copper output of copper ore is very low, at least much lower than that of iron ore.

Basically, it takes more than 20 tons of other materials, fuel and raw ore to produce one ton of refined copper, and in the end 20 tons of waste will be left. This is why copper smelting is more polluting than steel smelting.

The cost of transporting materials is so great that copper smelters are built closer to the mining areas than iron smelters.

However, nothing is absolute. As mentioned earlier, Zhuge Jin developed two copper smelting methods. One method was gradually improved from the traditional smelting method, and the other was the replacement method, which was to use base metals to replace precious metals from copper sulfate/silver nitrate.

The disadvantage of the replacement method is that it consumes a lot of iron, but the consumption of fuel and other raw materials is very low, the cost of transporting raw materials is also low, and it is also easy to replace the gold and silver associated with chalcocite.

Therefore, for the sake of precious metal control, Zhuge Liang later built a large steel plant in E County and also built a factory that used the replacement method to refine precious metals.

After more than four years of copper mine construction in Yuzhang, they have now figured out which mining areas have better ore quality, higher proportion of chalcocite, and the most associated gold and silver. Then, under the supervision of the copper officials appointed by the Zhuge family, the best quality ore with the most associated gold and silver is transported directly to Wuchang in the form of ore.

Then, in the replacement copper smelting plant, the iron produced in E County is directly used to replace copper and silver, and finally the gold is screened out by the scouring/ash blowing method (gold has almost no chemical form in nature, so it is not directly replaced. It just uses the property that gold and other heavy metals are easily soluble in each other to separate gold from the non-meltable sand and stone impurities first, and then separate gold from other heavy metals.)
As a result, about 10% to 20% of the copper output of Liu Bei's camp was smelted locally in Wuchang. The proportion of associated gold and silver was even higher, which also facilitated the management of precious metals. After all, it was produced under Zhuge Liang's nose and was not easy to be manipulated.

In order to let Xin Pi see what it means to "have money but don't know what to buy", Xiang Lang of course took Xin Pi to visit the copper and silver smelting process.

Of course, the formula must be kept absolutely secret. Xin Pi just watched the fun like those mountain hikers, watching the craftsmen replace copper from the blue water, and use another strange liquid to make a layer of silver coating on the iron rod.

Xin Pi couldn't help but marvel at it, but he also realized that the production method he saw was probably just for demonstration, and daily production should not be like this.

He couldn't help but indirectly question the efficiency and output of this production method - inserting a metal rod into the solution in such a pretentious way and waiting for it to change color may look shocking, but the reaction speed is actually not fast.

"Is this the magic that convinced the Shanyue tribes of Yuzhang and Danyang and made them willingly join Zhuge Envoy and work in the mines? But looking at this magic, it seems that the output is not high? I wonder how much gold, silver and red copper it can produce every day?"

Xiang Lang was waiting for this question from him. He had already been authorized by Zhuge Liang. Once Xin Pi asked this question, he would have the right to take Xin Pi to the vault to check the inventory.

Then Xiang Lang proudly led Xin Pi to the heavily guarded Wuchang vault.

As soon as Xin Pi arrived at the place, he was shocked before he even walked into the door, because he saw that the walls were covered with iron plates.

The door was also made of cast iron and was very heavy. After entering the house, there were only layers of copper ingots on the ground. There was also a staircase leading to the underground at the innermost part of the house, and there was a locked cast iron door.

Only after entering the basement can you see that this is also a secret room with an inner wall covered with cast iron plates. Gold and silver are piled here. Even if Xiang Lang is the only one holding a candle and it can't shine too far, it still reflects a lot of flashes.

Xiang Lang did not let Xin Pi watch for too long. As the candle flame gradually waned, he pulled Xin Pi up and told him: "This gold and silver room is airtight. Once the candle flame becomes dim, you should come up, otherwise you will suffocate to death down there."

Xin Pi was secretly shocked: "These...are all the outputs of Yuzhang Copper Mine? This only accounts for 20%? I'm afraid that the copper produced in the northern states is not as good as that produced by Yuzhang Copper Mine. How can there be so many? What should we do when people move the gold and silver?"

Xiang Lang: "When moving gold and silver, they would naturally open the underground secret door to let the wind circulate for a while before going down. Sometimes they would have people shaking the leather bellows for blowing air in advance, and they would not move the gold and silver for more than half an incense stick before coming up.

Mr. George also saw that my master is not short of gold, silver and money now, Jiangdong has the benefits of fish and salt, and can be self-sufficient in food. Moreover, the price of food is low, and buying food from a long distance will cause too much loss in transportation. He has hoarded so many gold, silver and copper coins, but he only regrets that he does not have enough to spend on trade.

Although the route to buy war horses from Gongsun Du in Liaodong was opened last year through Donglai, Gongsun Du's output was limited. Most of the horses were traded for ships, porcelain and ironware, which didn't cost much. So when Mr. George returns, he should take a good look at what ways he can spend his money in Qing and You.

It is still worthwhile for our army to transport steel and weapons from a long distance to Qingzhou. If we expect other things that are cheaper than steel to be transported from the south to reinforce the north, it would be a waste of transportation capacity. You should also learn to break through Cao Cao's blockade by then, or buy more cattle and horses from the various Hu people in the grasslands, and use gold and silver to meet your needs nearby."

Given Xiang Lang's identity, he shouldn't have said this. His level is still too low.

However, this was also part of Zhuge Liang's inspection plan. The atmosphere had already reached this point, so it was okay to give him a few warnings. Xin Pi really fell into deep thought again: Master Yuan was not open-minded enough when it came to things he could sell...

……

As time entered late August, Xin Pi's inspection in Jiangxia County finally came to an end.

During these days, Zhuge Jin and Zhuge Liang were also busy. After Zhuge Jin recovered from his journey, he began to discuss the gains and losses of government affairs with Zhuge Liang, and discuss the progress of the lord's control over the other three counties in southern Jing to see if there was anything that could be optimized and adjusted.

After Xin Pi finished his inspection, Xiang Lang returned to Zhuge Liang to report. At that time, Zhuge Liang was discussing matters with Zhuge Jin, and there was nothing to avoid, so he asked Xiang Lang to report directly and everyone could listen together.

Zhuge Liang listened roughly and was quite satisfied with the process. He smiled and said, "It seems that Xin Pi has completely taken the bait. Just as you expected, he pretended to be righteous at the beginning, but in fact he is still a servant of the strong."

Zhuge Jin waved his folding fan, smiled but said nothing. He did not want to explain why he concluded that Xin Pi was a man who admired the strong and was wavering.

Seeing that his elder brother had no objection, Zhuge Liang turned to Xiang Lang and asked cautiously, "By the way, you didn't leak anything that he shouldn't have seen, did you? How was the steel poured? You didn't let him see it, did you?"

Xiang Lang quickly stated: "Of course, we only let him watch the iron smelting and the rolling of the spear shaft, and the making of the breastplate and the iron halberd."

Zhuge Liang: "At the E County mine, we are still testing the drilling and ore collapse. He didn't see it, did he?"

Xiang Lang: "It's even more impossible to see that. We haven't successfully tested it ourselves. We did it behind closed doors in the test workshop. Even the craftsmen in the mining area haven't seen it."

An outsider would definitely not understand the conversation between Zhuge Liang and Xiang Lang, but Zhuge Jin had no difficulty understanding it. He immediately realized that they were talking about the issue of "primitive black powder drilling and blasting".

This idea was also mentioned by Zhuge Jin in a letter discussion with Zhuge Liang last year. Zhuge Jin did not expect to create gunpowder weapons in this era. After all, the technical foundation of the Han Dynasty was still too weak. He just wanted to help improve engineering and mining technology.

(Note: Gunpowder weapons will not appear in this book, and in the later period they are only used as civilian technology. It is too inappropriate to have gunpowder weapons in the Three Kingdoms theme)
Zhuge Liang conducted blind experiments at first but had no clue. Later, Zhuge Jin suggested that he focus on the mixture of sulfur, saltpeter and charcoal, and then he started to make some progress.

In history, early gunpowder was first discovered during the time of Ge Hong in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, but the gunpowder at that time could only burn without oxygen and could not explode. It was not until the Sui and Tang dynasties that gunpowder had some "explosive combustion" properties, and it was not until the Song Dynasty that it could be said to be "explosive". Therefore, to make early primitive gunpowder, it was not a big deal after the formula of sulfur, saltpeter and charcoal was invented.

At this moment, Zhuge Liang mentioned that this thing was still under trial, and Zhuge Jin casually asked about the progress. Of course, Zhuge Liang would not hide it from him, and directly said:

"Now, we can only conduct secret experiments in a closed and unventilated place. When ignited, it will burn quickly and the gas will expand and overflow, but it is not the kind of 'explosion' that Big Brother described."

Zhuge Jin thought about it and estimated that it would take another two years, or even longer, before gunpowder could be used to drill holes and blast mines. Technological breakthroughs really don’t happen overnight.

He remembered that before Xiang Lang came, he and A Liang were discussing the development and control of Jingnan, and he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed: "It seems that if we want to repair the abandoned Lingqu River channel left over from the Qin Dynasty and rebuild the sluice gate this winter, we won't need "gunpowder".

Originally, we built the canal in the plains by digging and dredging, so there was no need for blasting. But the Lingqu Canal is located in the Wuling Mountains, where there are many dangerous mountains. For places with solid rocks, it would be too labor-intensive to expect to dig directly.

I had hoped that this project would pressure Shi Xie to focus his troops and attention on the Five Ridges. If this could intimidate him, that would be great. Moreover, by building some infrastructure in the southern part of Lingling County, we could also send some money and food to Lai Gong to win his heart and help solve the problem of the barbarians in southern Jing coming out of the mountains and naturalizing and working for the Han people. This is a matter of tying up the whole body, and it is related to the lord's integration of southern Jing."

Zhuge Liang thought for a moment and said: "After all, the Lingqu River channel is ready-made, so there shouldn't be many defenses that need to be blasted to break through rocks. If that doesn't work, we can use the method that Li Bing used to deal with the boulders when he built the Dujiangyan Weir. Use fire and water, and alternate between hot and cold to make the boulders naturally break apart.

This project should still be recommended to Lai Gong. At most, the lord can give Lai Gong more money and food, so that Lai Gong will be more grateful to the lord. At that time, we can take the opportunity to persuade Lai Gong to submit a petition to Liu Biao, and make a strong statement, hoping to intercept the local money and food in Lingling to improve the roads and canals for transportation, and also to facilitate the transportation of more supplies to Liu Biao in the future.

Last year, Liu Biao tested Wu Ju and Lai Gong and asked them to concentrate the materials of Wuling and Lingling in Nanjun for Liu Biao's use. Although Wu Ju and Lai Gong carried out the order and the lord did not obstruct them, the transportation losses were actually quite large.

Lingling was particularly wild, and supplies from counties far away from Xiaoxiang were difficult to transport northward by water. Liu Biao forcibly mobilized the supplies without first repairing the roads and rivers, and more than half of the supplies were consumed by the men and horses during transportation.

Since we have learned this lesson this year, if Lai Gong takes the initiative to argue and correct Liu Biao's disorderly orders, it will not only make Lai Gong loyal to us, but also not give Liu Biao any excuse to fight back against us - after all, it is not the lord who is trying to win over Lai Gong, but Lai Gong who is actively trying to get close to the lord. Liu Biao can't control his own people, so he can't blame us, right?"

Zhuge Jin thought about it, but didn't find any problems: "Well, let's talk about this later. Now let's release Xin Pi first, and then see what additional requirements we should make to Yuan Tan."

(End of this chapter)