The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 217 What are artificial relics?

Seeing that Xue Zhiheng had come to his door in person with generous gifts to apologize, Jiang Han did not continue to make things difficult for him.

After a long, all-night discussion, Jiang Han generously waived all fines owed to the Xue family. However, he also laid down two non-negotiable conditions:
First, the Xue family must relocate to Pingwu County.
Secondly, and most importantly, the Xue family must share the Songpan supply route with Jiang Han. Goods are consigned to the Xue family's caravan for sale, and they do not receive a cut.

The price was indeed high, but compared to the extermination of his entire family, this was the best condition Xue Zhiheng could negotiate.

After dealing with the Xue family, Jiang Han immediately issued a decree summoning the heads of the three chieftain families of Long'an Prefecture to the prefectural city.

Instead of resorting to any further attempts to divide and suppress, he began to arrange matters concerning the caravan.

Jiang Han ordered the Li family of Jiangyou to organize a caravan and be responsible for opening up trade routes with the Chengdu area;

He ordered the Wang family of Pingwu to establish trade relations with Baoning Prefecture to the east.

The Xue family continued to be responsible for the western front, which they were most familiar with, and traded with the various tribes of Songpan Guard.

To this end, Jiang Han also established a new organization, temporarily named the Tea Horse Bureau.

As the business grew, the organization was formally renamed the Ministry of Commerce, which took charge of all trade.

The Tea and Horse Bureau was temporarily placed under Jiang Han's personal command. In addition, he transferred Wang Wu, the commander who had previously distinguished himself in Gansu, from the army and appointed him as his deputy to oversee daily operations.

Subsequently, a group of scouts from the border fortresses were transferred from the army. These scouts would then disguise themselves as guards for the caravan and infiltrate Baoning Prefecture and Chengdu Prefecture together with the Wang and Li families.

In peacetime, they are responsible for gathering intelligence; in wartime, they can act as inside agents, working together from within and without to help breach the city.

It will take at least another month or two to assemble a caravan and prepare goods. The caravan can officially set off after spring.

During this time, Jiang Han also needed to think carefully about what goods he should sell for his first business deal.

Since it's my first time doing business, I naturally want to create some "flagship products".

Jiang Han didn't need to worry too much about the caravans heading to Baoning Prefecture and Chengdu Prefecture, as the prefectural treasuries were full of jewelry, antiques, and calligraphy and paintings.

At that time, we can open a few antique shops in various prefectures and counties, making money while also providing cover for the night watchmen.

Once I master the glassmaking technique, I can easily make some glass products and use them as gifts to establish relationships with officials and wealthy families in various places.

As for white sugar, Jiang Han gave up on it for the time being, as it was too troublesome and time-consuming to make.

Long'an Prefecture has limited arable land, so naturally, the priority is to grow grain crops, and it's impossible to grow cash crops.

While making glass, Jiang Han could also improve the smelting technology of the Ordnance Bureau and develop the blast furnace technology first.

Once he takes control of the mining area, he will be able to establish an iron smelting base as soon as possible.

The Baoning and Chengdu areas sell antiques, calligraphy and paintings, and glass products; while Jiang Han's "flagship product" for the snowy area is a Buddhist treasure, sarira (relics).

Of course, the relics here are artificially produced by burning.

The monks and temples in the snowy region are incredibly wealthy, so they would surely be very interested in relics, which are sacred Buddhist objects.

The process of burning relics may sound like a fantasy, but it is actually quite simple. In later generations, some people even applied for intellectual property patents for this invention.

(Patent title: Method for making relics, Patent number: CN101011211).

Jiang Han thought about it carefully and concluded that this method was entirely feasible under the current technological conditions.

Its raw materials are readily available, requiring only three things: bone ash, quartz powder, and water.

Bone ash powder can be made from human and animal bones, and its main component is hydroxyapatite, a natural calcium phosphate.

The main component of quartz powder is silicon dioxide, which is the main raw material for manufacturing glass and ceramics.

Both of them have very high melting points, reaching around 1700 degrees Celsius.

However, when these two substances are mixed and heated, a wonderful chemical reaction occurs, and they do not melt separately.

Silica plays the roles of both a "flux" and a "glass forming agent" here.

It reacts with calcium phosphate at temperatures far below their respective melting points to form a low-melting-point eutectic, namely calcium phosphosilicate glass.

The fact that cremated remains make up the majority of the composition determines that the final product will be more like a glass-ceramic containing crystalline phases, rather than pure glass.

This is the fundamental principle behind the "manufactured relics" of later generations.

The specific steps are as follows: First, take bone ash powder, quartz powder, and water, mix them evenly in a ratio of 4:1:1, and shape them into balls the size of your palm.

Then, dry it at 100-250 degrees Celsius for one hour.

After drying, remove the sphere, then mix quartz powder and water in a 1:3 ratio to form a paste, apply it evenly to the surface of the sphere, and dry it again.

An hour later, the actual firing process can begin.

First, raise the temperature to 700 degrees Celsius and fire for two to three hours; then gradually increase the temperature to 1000 degrees Celsius and fire for one hour.
Finally, raise the temperature to 1200 to 1300 degrees Celsius and fire for three to four hours.

After firing, the furnace temperature is gradually cooled in stages.

Finally, you will get the finished product, "sarira," which has a crystal-clear appearance and a solemn and dignified look.

The method didn't sound difficult, but when Jiang Han took the recipe to the blacksmiths at the Ministry of Works, he still encountered some unexpected problems.

Chai Yu frowned as he held Jiang Han's method in his hand.

He was the foreman of the Iron and Steel Bureau of the Ministry of Works, with more than two hundred skilled blacksmiths under his command. All the swords and armor in the army were made by them.

"General, where did you get this prescription from?"

"Why don't I understand this at all? What does Celsius mean?"

Chai Yu looked at it for a long time, but he was still completely confused.
"Moreover, judging from the fact that this thing involves both firing in a furnace and smelting, it should be similar to firing porcelain."

"My team consists of blacksmiths; they've never done this kind of delicate work before!"

Jiang Han was also stunned after hearing this.

For a long time, he was leading troops into battle and fighting on all sides, and he had no time or energy to do any inventions or creations for future generations.

It seems he needs to find some time to properly educate his artisans.

Beyond popularizing science, Jiang Han also needs to compile a textbook specifically for future school openings, to cultivate the first batch of truly scientific talents.

This needs to be done as soon as possible. It takes ten years to grow a tree, but a hundred years to cultivate a person. You can't force growth by pulling up seedlings.

But right now, he has to answer Chai Yu's question first.

Jiang Han pondered for a long time, trying to figure out how to avoid modern terminology and instead use the everyday things that these craftsmen were most familiar with, as well as the phenomena of material changes, to explain the problem.

"You can think of this degree Celsius as a unit of measurement, just like the jin or liang we usually use."

"However, jinliang is used to weigh; while Celsius is used to calculate temperature."

“In winter, water freezes into ice, and the temperature at which water freezes into ice is 0 degrees Celsius; conversely, if water is boiled, that is 100 degrees Celsius.”

"For example, when you're forging iron, don't you often use the color of the flame to judge the furnace temperature?"

"When the flame turns dark red, the furnace temperature is approximately 500 to 600 degrees Celsius."

"When the flame turns bright red, it's roughly 700 to 800 degrees Celsius."

"And when it emits a bright yellowish-white color, the furnace temperature is about 1300 degrees Celsius."

Of course, the melting point and boiling point of a material are also related to other factors such as air pressure.

But now, Jiang Han doesn't intend to introduce more variables; he just wants to use the simplest method to explain the concept of "Celsius".

Other deeper aspects can be explained later or left for future generations to explore.

After hearing Jiang Han's explanation, Chai Yu suddenly understood.

He didn't know where the commander-in-chief got these concepts from, but since the commander-in-chief had said so, he had to remember them carefully.

But Cao Yu still had some concerns:
"General, to be honest, it's very difficult to make the firelight appear bright yellowish-white, which is 1300 degrees Celsius."

“It’s simply impossible for ordinary small workshops and earthen kilns to do this.”

"You can only do this in the official kilns or the imperial kilns of Jingdezhen."

Cao Yu knew very well that only the official kilns and the imperial kilns had the best craftsmen, the best charcoal, and the best earthen kilns in the country.

His ironworks was at best a makeshift operation; it could make some swords and armor, but it couldn't compare to the master craftsmen in the Imperial Workshop.
However, this was no challenge for Jiang Han.

Those who frequently travel through time should know that building a blast furnace is an essential skill.

Even without coke, using some high-quality hardwood charcoal, along with a large bellows as a blower, is enough to raise the furnace temperature to 1300 degrees Celsius.

Without hesitation, Jiang Han immediately found a charcoal pencil and drew a simple schematic diagram of a blast furnace on the drawing board.

He noted down the key iron tapping outlet, air supply outlet, and slag outlet one by one.

In addition, he specifically reminded Chai Yu that a graphite crucible needed to be made first during the firing process.

In the Ming Dynasty, graphite was known as "Dai Shi," which was generally used by women to draw their eyebrows. It was very common and easy to find.

For some of the key steps, Jiang Han only needed to explain the principles verbally, and the rest was left to the blacksmiths to experiment with.

In reality, Jiang Han only knew the general principles; if he were to actually operate the equipment, he would definitely not be as good as these experienced masters.

When it comes to craftsmanship, we have to look to our craftsmen; even a humble craftsman can't compare.

Of course, Jiang Han would never threaten the craftsmen with the threat of nine generations of their families, but no one would dare to shirk the tasks he personally assigned.

While the craftsmen were busily building the blast furnace, Jiang Han pulled the foreman, Chai Yu, aside and instructed him:
"You must quickly become proficient in and thoroughly master this blast furnace technology."

"After I finish burning the relics, I will also make glass, smelt iron and steel."

Chai Yu was about to ask a question when Jiang Han raised his hand to interrupt him.
"I'll say it first, you don't need to rush to do it, just write it down first."

"I will make up a detailed list for you before I go back."

"There's not much difference between burning relics and burning glass."

"For glassmaking, all you need is river sand, plus quicklime powder and wood ash as a flux."

"The best wood ash is made from halophytes grown near salt lakes."

"I don't know exactly what it's called. I only know that the leaves of that saltwort are wing-shaped, and the fruit it produces is red and highly poisonous."

"After you find it, add water to the burnt wood ash, stir it evenly, then filter it with a cloth to get a clear liquid, then evaporate the clear liquid to get a pot of white powder."

"Add these powders, along with quicklime powder, to sieved fine river sand, stir well, and then fire them in a blast furnace to obtain glass."

"When the time comes, you can take a hollow gun barrel and blow it into the shape you want. This step requires practice."

"Finally, remember that whether it's a relic or glass, the finished product must be slowly annealed and cooled down!"

After listening to Jiang Han's series of explanations, Chai Yu felt completely confused, understanding only vaguely.

But Jiang Han has already explained everything he can; the rest is up to them to figure out on their own.

Chai Yu believes that as long as you are willing to spend the time and effort, you will eventually be able to figure it out.

Jiang Han patted him on the shoulder one last time and gave him instructions:

"Now, you all focus on burning the relics for me."

"I require all the blacksmiths in your ironworks to master this technique. I have a great use for the relics. Whoever fires one that I select will be richly rewarded!"

After explaining everything, Jiang Han did not stay at the Ordnance Bureau for long.

He also needed to rush back to tell Wang Wu and the others about their mission to infiltrate Chengdu and Baoning Prefectures, and then compile some basic teaching materials.

One thing after another piled up like a mountain, and he simply didn't have time to look after these craftsmen.

However, Chai Yu did not disappoint Jiang Han.

After a month of failures and trial and error, he finally succeeded in burning his first relic.

With this successful experience, the other blacksmiths naturally followed suit and soon produced their own finished products.

When Jiang Han arrived at the Ordnance Bureau again, Chai Yu and the blacksmiths had been waiting for him for a long time.

Each person held in their hands the fruits of their labor over the past month, hoping to win the favor of the commander.

Jiang Han carefully examined each one, but he found that these relics were all too ordinary and unsatisfactory. Many of the relics produced by burning were no different from glass marbles.

Although it presented a pure white and translucent bone color, in Jiang Han's eyes, after seeing it many times, it was just so-so, not amazing enough.

In the end, Jiang Han still couldn't find a satisfactory one, and couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

He then looked at Chai Yu, who had been following him, and asked:

"And yours?"

"I haven't seen any of yours fired yet, take them out and let me see them."

Chai Yu scratched his head, a mysterious expression on his face.

He presented a delicate wooden box from his pocket as if it were a treasure, and slowly opened it in front of Jiang Han.

Three "relics," resembling real finger bones, lay quietly inside.

Chai Yu explained with a hint of pride:

"General, I was thinking that since relics are made by burning eminent Buddhist monks after their cremation..."

"Then it must look like human bones."

"Therefore, I took it upon myself to shape the relic into the shape of a finger bone and divide it into three sections."

Jiang Han nodded after listening. It was somewhat interesting, but not much.

Chai Yu wasn't in a hurry and continued explaining:
"General, please pick up the relic and look at it under the sky."

Although Jiang Han didn't understand why, he still took out a section of "finger bone relic" from the wooden box and examined it carefully in the sunlight.

But upon that one glance, his eyes widened instantly!

As the light passed through the finger bone relic from the top, a bluish-white halo appeared inside it.

The light flowed and shimmered, deep and unfathomable, as if life itself was flowing within it.

What's even more amazing is that after the light passes through the relic, it emits a layer of bright yellow light, like the light of Buddha, giving it a solemn and dignified appearance.

"Not bad!"

Jiang Han's eyes widened as he fondled the finger bone relic in his hand.
"How...how did you do that?!"

Chai Yu chuckled and scratched his head:

"Reporting to the commander, I tried dozens of times during the firing process."

"I discovered that by controlling the dampers and fuel during the final annealing and cooling stage, the blast furnace can be kept at a constant temperature."

"If it is heated at a constant temperature for several hours, the radiance will condense inside the relic."

He paused, then continued explaining.

"As for that layer of Buddha's light, it's even simpler; I just added some ochre powder to it."

“Actually, at first, I wanted to add some mica flakes to make the relics appear pearly, but I didn’t expect that under the intense flames, the mica would quickly lose its luster and mix with bone powder and quartz.”

"After many attempts, I finally chose yellow ochre and successfully gave the relic a layer of Buddha's light."

After listening, Jiang Han patted Chai Yu on the shoulder with satisfaction:

"You always manage to come up with something new."

"Great, this is it!"

"Go to Zhuang Qirong's place later to collect your reward, fifty taels; the other craftsmen have also worked hard, so each of them will receive fifteen taels!"

Upon hearing this, Chai Yu was overjoyed; he had never imagined that the reward would be so generous.

You can get fifty taels of silver just by burning a relic?

In the past, it would have taken a lot of hard work to make fifty pairs of cloth armor, which would have taken at least two or three months to earn.

The other craftsmen were even more surprised.

I thought that since I wasn't chosen by the commander, all my efforts over the past month would have been wasted.

Unexpectedly, the commander-in-chief did not forget them and also gave out a considerable amount of reward money.

For a time, the entire Iron and Steel Company was immersed in joy.

The blacksmiths received their reward money and immediately threw themselves into the next project, starting to study how to make glass.

Jiang Han was unaware of this scene. He simply collected all the relics and then rushed back to the government office.

Upon arriving at the government office, he immediately sought out Xue Zhiheng, the head of the Xue family, intending to sell the relics in the snowy region.

When Jiang Han casually placed the relic in front of Xue Zhiheng, the well-informed chieftain was speechless.

"Great General, could this be...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Han nodded smugly and then handed the relic to Xue Zhiheng:

"That's right, it's a relic."

"Take a look, how's the quality?"

Xue Zhiheng tremblingly reached out his hands and carefully picked up the relic, his face full of piety and reverence.

He once ventured deep into southern Tibet and had the privilege of gazing upon the relics in a large monastery.

Moreover, they were quite a distance away, and the monks wouldn't let him get close enough to take a closer look, let alone hold it in his hands and admire it like he was doing now.

It truly is a treasure of Buddhism!

Xue Zhiheng was practically drooling over it; it was pure white, smooth, and translucent.

The relic that Jiang Han gave him was several times better in quality than the one he had seen in southern Tibet before!
He clearly remembered that the relics in southern Tibet were not only smaller, but also somewhat blackish and yellowish in color.

It's nothing compared to the one in front of him.

and many more!

Xue Zhiheng suddenly realized something: this is a Buddhist treasure!

Has Jiang Han lost his mind?
They actually entrusted him with the task so readily and boldly, even saying they wanted him to take him to the snowy region to make a move?
Moreover, the Xue family had just been dealt with by Jiang Han not long ago.

Isn't he afraid that I'll take this precious Buddhist treasure and run away?

Jiang Han looked at Xue Zhiheng's infatuated, even slightly greedy expression and shook his head helplessly.

He then pulled out a large wooden box from behind him and placed it in front of Xue Zhiheng with a "thud".

Xue Zhiheng was puzzled and thought it was some other object.

But the moment he opened the lid of the box, he was utterly shocked.

Inside the enormous box, there were countless relics of such excellent quality!

Roughly estimated, there are probably hundreds of them, and there's no room to display them all!

"What... what's going on with this general?!"

Xue Zhiheng's voice was trembling.

Jiang Han smiled and leaned back:
"Like it?"

"My men burned it."

"If you like, I'll give you one."

Xue Zhiheng was dumbfounded.

These relics can only be obtained by cremating eminent monks after their passing.

But then the man in front of me suddenly pulled out a box of relics. What was going on?

What does it mean to "be burned by the people under your command"?
An incredibly terrifying thought instantly popped into his mind.

Could it be that Jiang Han conquered some Buddhist holy site, captured all the high monks and abbots, and then burned it down?

its not right!
Even if he did do that, it would be impossible to produce so many relics!
It would take hundreds of eminent monks to reach that number, right?
Xue Zhiheng realized that the situation was far more complicated than he had imagined.

He suppressed his shock and asked:

"My lord, I am ignorant, what exactly is going on?"

"These...these...could they all really have been burned by highly accomplished monks?!"

Jiang Han waved his hand casually, as if he were talking about a trivial matter:

"Where did you think you were?"

"I may tell you the truth, I have a secret recipe."

"These so-called relics are artificial relics that I had my men mass-produce using secret methods."

Xue Zhiheng was stunned again after hearing this.

What is meant by "mass-produced artificial relics"?
He has lived for over forty years and has never heard of any secret formula that can mass-produce relics!
Since it involved core secrets, Jiang Han didn't want to explain further to him. He simply asked:
"You don't need to worry about anything else."

"Could you estimate for me what price a relic of this quality could fetch in the major monasteries of Tibet?"

Xue Zhiheng remained silent for a long time before finally recovering from the immense shock.

Having been in business for many years, he quickly grasped the key point.

"General, as the saying goes, things are valued for their rarity."

"This thing, although it looks just like the real thing, we can only sell three or five of them to Tibet at most."

"If we sell too much, it will inevitably arouse suspicion, and that will not be good in the end."

Jiang Han certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to sell all the relics.

So he took out the three finger bone relics that Chai Yu had burned from his bosom and placed them in front of Xue Zhiheng.

When Xue Zhiheng saw the three finger bone relics, which contained a bluish-white radiance and emitted a faint Buddhist light, he could no longer close his mouth.

If he hadn't known that Jiang Han could produce relics, he would have even knelt down on the spot and worshipped these three finger bones!

He would believe it if you told him it was a relic of Buddha Shakyamuni.

"This thing, if we take it out..."

Xue Zhiheng's voice was trembling.

"That will definitely cause a sensation throughout the entire Ü-Tsang region!"

"General, have you...have you thought it through?"

"If those lamas find out we're using fake products, things will really get out of hand!"

Jiang Han simply waved his hand, his expression nonchalant:

"Don't worry, I'll only sell these three. The rest will be sold to the mainland."

Xue Zhiheng then pressed on with the question:

"Then, General, how do you explain the origin of these three Buddha relics?"

Jiang Han smiled.