The Splendor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 149 Craftsmanship
When I awoke, the effects of the alcohol had not yet worn off, and I felt as if I were carrying a heavy iron object.

Xiao Yi sat up in the duty room, rubbed his head, and seemed to still hear An Yuanzhen scolding him for being frivolous. However, he would only take a small bite each time, and then she would come closer after a while.

Looking back, we only drank some wine together last night, and it didn't feel like long. Strangely, it was midnight in a flash. The innkeeper knocked on the door to remind him that Li Chongjin had arrived, so he obediently escorted An Yuanzhen back to Taiping Palace.

Having received a favor from Fan Lou, he agreed to visit Yan Jinqing's residence for a while today.

He got up and began practicing martial arts.

Thinking of Li Chongjin's suspicious look last night, he practiced for an extra half hour.

Today is the last day of rest, and there is no one else on the training ground, which makes him feel unwilling after the Lantern Festival's prosperity.

Having become a meritorious official who helped the emperor rise to power, it seemed like he had everything. But upon closer reflection, there were actually very few things he truly controlled, except for the long spear in his hand, which repeatedly struck the snowdrifts, splashing up snow foam.

"Lang Jun."

At 3:45 AM, Lü Chou came over.

He usually doesn't come early, but now that he's left the army, he's here so early.

"Come on, let's have a fight."

"My bottom isn't healed yet, General. The glass has been fired, but...would you like to take a look?"

"Go to the duty room and take a look."

Xiao Yi now knows that there are many kinds of glass in the world, such as the "tortoiseshell rafters and glazed tiles" often found in Buddhist temples, but they are colored. What he wants is transparent glass.

He took the small piece of glass from Lü Chou, but he was not satisfied.

The material is somewhat like jade, but it can only be described as semi-transparent, and overall it is still somewhat cloudy.

“Young master, it hasn’t been polished yet. Old Zhao said that after polishing, it will be thinner and as clear as crystal.”

"No, this level is not enough."

Xiao Yi casually smashed the glass on the ground, and it shattered into pieces with a loud crash.

Lu Chou was immediately terrified and lowered his head, saying, "Please calm down, my lord."

"I'm not angry."

Xiao Yi bent down, picked up a piece, examined it, and concluded that the direction was correct. The next step was to increase transparency.

"Take me to the cellar."

"Yes."

"I can't go directly, so I'll bring Shi Dechong with me. I'm going with him."

After washing up and changing clothes, Lü Chou went to fetch Shi Dechong.

When Xiao Yi stepped out of the gate, he saw that the carriage and servants had already been prepared.

The carriage wasn't particularly luxurious; it was rather conventional, with two horses pulling it and a hardwood canopy. It was the comfortable and practical type, and you wouldn't guess it was a royal merchant manufacturing military equipment for the imperial court.

I asked around and found out that the driver was an old man with white hair who was hired year-round. The two people who were in charge of looking after Shi Dechong were both from out of town. You could tell from their faces that they were simple-minded and reliable.

"These are all people selected by Lao Pan. From craftsmen and laborers who build the cellar, to woodcutters and firemen, to guards and carriage drivers, more than thirty people have been hired. As instructed by the young master, the wages are generous, and only diligent and reliable people are chosen. They are all very grateful."

"The product hasn't even been built yet, what's there to be happy about?"

"I am happy for my lord."

Xiao Yi noticed that Lü Chou had gained a lot of weight in less than half a month. Before getting into the carriage, he kicked him and scolded, "Don't lose your martial arts skills."

"Yes."

Inside the carriage, Shi Dechong looked worried.

"What? You don't want to go out of town to the workshop, Dalang?"

"My lord, you've misunderstood," Shi Dechong quickly said. "I would like to ask you to do me a favor."

"What's the matter?"

"It seems that old man Wang Jun wants my house."

Xiao Yi said, "He is the prime minister, with a large number of officials and advisors under him. It is only natural that he wants to live in the largest and most convenient place in the city."

He hasn't forgotten that this is a chaotic world, not an era of rule of law. He's been living comfortably lately because he has power.

Shi Dechong seemed not to have fully adjusted to losing power. After hesitating for a while, he said, "Then what should I do?"

"I suggest you sell the house to Wang Jun while His Majesty still has feelings for the Shi family. If you wait too long, you won't get a good price."

"Waaah, the ancestral home..."

Xiao Yi kicked Shi Dechong, stopping him from continuing his act.

The Later Han Dynasty had only been established for three years, and historians had only been rising to prominence for a short time, so where would they have gotten their ancestral residences?

The carriage ride was bumpy, and Shi Dechong's constant crying was also annoying, so Xiao Yi simply spurred his horse and rode out of the city. In less than half an hour, they arrived at a mountain valley north of the city.

Just looking at the location, Xiao Yi frowned. It was too close to the official road, and there was a military fortress at Mutuo Hill to the north, which would make it easy for the technology to be leaked.

Although it does not currently possess leading technology, its glassmaking craftsmanship is probably not as advanced as that of the Jiangnan region.

As I walked along the path, a call came from the woods.

"Lang Jun."

Xiao Yi turned his head and saw Wang Jiu dressed as a hunter, with one sleeve hanging empty, leading two people out to greet him and handing him a flag.

"My lord, I would like to give this to you."

"This is?"

Xiao Yi unfolded it and saw that it was embroidered with a wolf's head, lifelike and extremely fierce.

Wang Jiu scratched his head and said, "I originally wanted to embroider the Twenty Camps, and I've already finished half of it. But my lord has been transferred to the First Command and will definitely be promoted again in the future. After thinking it over, instead of the Twenty Camps, I might as well embroider a wolf flag."

"You must have put a lot of effort into embroidering these, right?"

"Xiao thought to herself, even if it means losing her hand, she would still embroider it."

"Good, I'm relieved to see you still have this energy."

Xiao Yi carefully put away the wolf flag, had Shi Dechong wait outside, and rode his horse into the alley, where he saw a workshop at the end.

Two mule carts were parked outside the workshop, and three laborers were helping to transport sacks.

Inside, people were chopping wood, carrying water, and building walls. Craftsmen were grinding powder with stone mills or mortars. Old Pan was busy coordinating things when he turned around and saw Xiao Yi. He wiped his forehead, looking very stressed.

"Lang Jun."

"Don't be nervous, let me understand the process. What is the process of firing glass?" "Yes, these are the raw materials: jade-cutting sand, lead oxide, and wood ash. Right now, we only use these three."

Xiao Yi noticed some green and brown ores nearby and asked, "What are those?"

"I didn't know anything about green copper and brown iron back then. I bought them because the craftsman said they were useful. Sigh, it took me two firings to realize they were for coloring and couldn't be used for painting. I wasted a lot of money."

"Is the formula finalized?"

"Yes, it's three parts sand, one part lead, and one and a half parts ash."

"It's still chaos; I want more transparency."

“I had Old Zhao try it, and he came up with a solution,” Old Pan said. “The jade-cutting sand has both transparent and cloudy parts. First, pick out the transparent ones and sift and wash them clean.”

Xiao Yi nodded, picked up a handful of jade-refining sand and looked at it, then looked at the lead oxide, which was bright red with a slight metallic luster.

"What is this for?"

"Old Zhao! Come here for a moment. The young master asked what the use of lead oxide is."

"I have met you, sir. Red lead is used for coloring and as a flux in melting."

"I don't want coloring; would it be better not to add it?"

"Without red lead, it's difficult to melt jade."

"Oh, what's the use of wood ash?"

"It's also for fluxing... Young master, how about I use less lead oxide and more wood ash instead?"

"Okay, is it hard to burn this thing through? The more thoroughly it's burned, the more transparent it becomes?"

Zhao Chu wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "It's not easy to burn jade."

"Is the fire not big enough?"

Xiao Yi glanced at the fire pit and felt that it was different from the brick kilns he had seen before. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he could give a general idea.

"Why not build a steamed bun... or a fire pit shaped like a grave?"

"My lord, I didn't expect that at first."

“Then rebuild it. Also, fanning the fire like this probably won’t produce much wind. We could build a blower like the ones used for rural stoves… I mean, build a bellows.”

"Yes."

"Hire a blacksmith to build the fire pit, or which kind of craftsman is most knowledgeable? Building the pit is also an important part, so hire the most professional person."

Although Xiao Yi was an amateur, he didn't need a large piece of glass. At worst, he would just spend money and hire people. He insisted on one thing: transparency.

"My lord, I have a newly fired piece of glass. Would you like to take a look?"

"Okay, how long does it take to burn one piece?"

"Grind the material into a fine powder, sift and wash it, let it stand for three days, then burn it for half a day, and cool it for two days. The whole process takes six days."

"Build more fire pits in the future and burn them at the same time."

"Yes, sir. Look at this newly fired piece. After the material has been sifted and washed, it's even more translucent."

"Not enough, keep trying. Ideally, it should be so well-made that you can't tell it's glass after firing... Old Pan, show me around."

After touring the workshop, Xiao Yi saw a mountain not far away, so he spurred his horse up the mountain and gazed at the workshop for a while.

How many acres do we have?

"Five mu."

“If the location is not good, and I want to learn how to make telescopes like you, I can buy one from you and stand here so I can see your process clearly.”

"Who...who is so despicable?"

It's clear that Lao Pan is too naive and unaware of the treacherous nature of the business world.

Xiao Yi said, "At least Wang Jun will definitely do that. He even seized the Shi family's house, so why wouldn't he seize the technology?"

"Then let's return this land and find another place?"

"No need to retreat. Cast bronze here, make mirror tubes, and buy some crystals to deceive people. Set up a glass kiln somewhere else, or simply go to Chenliu and buy a large piece of land, at least five hectares."

"Five acres? That's too big!"

“I mean at least five hectares. Don’t just build one workshop. Since the fire pit has been built, why can’t we build an ironworks later? Build a farm around it so that the craftsmen can settle down with their families and farm the land on the outermost edge.”

"My lord, shall we take a look at the accounts first?"

Old Pan frowned as soon as money was mentioned, and suggested, "How about we finish building the twenty telescopes the court wants first?"

"No, once it's handed over, Wang Jun will immediately send someone to steal the knowledge, so we must prepare for the worst."

You can't start a business from scratch and gradually grow it; people in this world are wicked and won't give you that kind of opportunity.

Xiao Yi let out a long breath and said, "Give me the account, let me see it..."

In less than half a month, the 2,300 strings of cash that could be mobilized were reduced to only 1,500 strings of cash.

But it was better than Xiao Yi had expected; he still said the same thing to Lao Pan.

"When it comes to big things, don't be stingy with money."

But he knew in his heart that he needed to find more money to pour in...

On the way back to the city, Shi Dechong finally showed some of the temper of a privileged son of a nobleman and scolded Lao Yu: "Can't you drive?! I've never ridden in such a bumpy carriage before."

"Shut up."

"Yes, my lord."

Xiao Yi rode beside him on horseback. Looking out the carriage window, he saw that Shi Dechong was relatively honest. After thinking for a moment, he said, "I will make the decision for you regarding Wang Jun's matter."

"My lord, are you willing to help me protect my home?"

"It's difficult." Xiao Yi shook his head and said, "I can only help you get a good price."

Disappointment flashed in Shi Dechong's eyes, and he asked in a low voice, "He can't just take it by force, can he?"

"Anyone who can say 'After conquering the capital, we'll plunder it within ten days' wouldn't dare to seize your house?"

"But judging from Wang Jun's appearance, he doesn't seem willing to take out any money..."

“Name your price and give me the land deed.”

Xiao Yi had a plan in mind, intending to sell the Shi residence tonight and create a win-win-win situation.

(End of this chapter)