Sky Curtain: My Great Qin must have an aircraft carrier!

"Biao'er, how did you make that?"

Zhu Yuanzhang held the iron kettle, rubbing his thumb on the spiral pattern on the rim.

The texture is fine and even, which doesn't seem like something made by hand.

He tried to screw the lid back on and then turned the kettle upside down.

A few drops of water seeped out through the crack and dripped onto the imperial desk.

Zhu Biao was not surprised by this. He took out another iron kettle from his satchel and placed it on the table.

"This was my fourth brother's idea."

"Fourth son?" Zhu Yuanzhang's eyebrows twitched slightly.

Zhu Biao nodded, "After seeing the boring machine demonstrated by the sky screen, my fourth brother has been thinking about how to replicate it."

"Yesterday, when he saw the craftsmen using a waterwheel to sharpen iron knives, he suddenly had an idea. He had someone fix a kettle on the axle and then used a sword as a carving knife to cut out the threads."

"..."

Zhu Yuanzhang held the two water jugs in his hands and compared them repeatedly.

Sure enough, the direction and depth of the threads, and even the burrs on the edges, were almost identical.

This kid's finally figured it out!

Zhu Yuanzhang was amazed, never expecting Zhu Di to be so clever.

I used to be so focused on whipping him that I overlooked his cleverness.

Zhu Yuanzhang rarely showed such a good face, saying, "Fourth Prince did a good job this time, he deserves a reward."

Zhu Biao thanked his brother on his behalf, then pointed to the spout of the kettle: "It's just a pity that the processing precision is not high enough. No matter how tightly the lid is screwed on, the water will still overflow."

"If the march is bumpy, corks will have to be used instead."

"What's so difficult about that?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was somewhat dismissive of this suggestion.

He drew a short knife from his waist for self-defense and cut a piece of cloth from the hem of his dragon robe.

Fold the cloth strip in two layers, stuff it inside the lid, and then tighten it firmly.

Zhu Yuanzhang turned the kettle upside down and swung it around in the air three or four times.

Not a drop leaked.

Zhu Biao stared at the upside-down kettle, his mouth opening and closing, but he couldn't close it for a long time.

Is it really that simple?

He and Zhu Di struggled for a long time, but they still couldn't solve the sealing problem.

As a result, Dad casually tore off a strip of cloth and plugged it up in three breaths.

Empress Ma also looked at Zhu Yuanzhang with a shocked expression, as if she were looking at a stranger.

Zhu Yuanzhang's face darkened, and a surge of anger rose within him.

"What's with those expressions on your faces?"

"In your eyes, besides wielding a knife and attacking people, am I just a brainless brute?"

"Pfft!"

Empress Ma laughed first, followed by Zhu Biao.

The Fengtian Hall was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

-

In real time, Lu Li turned over and casually swiped to the next video.

A large, rough porcelain bowl popped up on the screen, accompanied by salted duck eggs dripping with oil.

What did people eat during ancient military campaigns?

"Oh, there are food shows too?"

Lu Li casually grabbed a bottle of soda from the bedside table, propped his phone against the pillow, and prepared to drink and watch.

Under the sky, the generals, upon seeing this title, all wore helpless, bitter smiles.

What else can we eat? Of course, we can eat pancakes.

Starting a fire to cook is absolutely impossible; the smoke would easily reveal your location, and it would be very inefficient.

Compared to the diverse and exquisite foods enjoyed by later generations...

Never mind, I'll just take a couple more bites of the pancake.

As the ancients said, "An army marches on its stomach."

No matter how many soldiers you have, eating always comes first.

An army that is starving will mutiny on its own, without the enemy even needing to attack.

So the question is, what kind of food did ancient armies actually eat?

From the pre-Qin period to the Sui and Tang dynasties, millet was always the mainstay of military rations.

In addition to being widely cultivated, it is also extremely durable for storage after being shelled, and will not rot even after two or three years.

Besides millet, you can also add various bean sauces, stuffing a salty, mushy mixture into your mouth, and that's a meal.

Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng couldn't help but tap on the table in front of him.

"It's not as shabby as they make it out to be, is it?"

"Besides millet and soybean paste, the soldiers of Qin also had dried meat strips to eat."

"Especially after the salt-making technique was popularized, the army was able to supply pickled vegetables in bulk, and the food was much better than before."

Of course, Ying Zheng also knew that later generations had too high a standard and would look down on such trivial matters.

Just by looking at Lu Li, you can tell that every meal has meat in it, and even the water he drinks is sweet.

If ordinary people are eating so well, the army must be doing just as well.

After the Tang Dynasty, with the promotion of wheat cultivation and flour milling technology, flatbread gradually replaced millet and became the new favorite of the army.

But eating dry biscuits alone is as tasteless as chewing wax, so the ancients invented vinegar cloth.

The process is very simple: just put a piece of coarse cloth into aged vinegar and salt water and stew it, then take it out and let it dry.

During the march, they would set up a pot, cut a piece of vinegar cloth, throw it in to boil, and that was their way of seasoning.

As for meat and vegetables, don't even dream about it; those are rewards only for those who have rendered meritorious service.

The changes during the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties were minimal; the choice remained between rice and flatbread, with the occasional addition of pickled vegetables and sauces.

"They really have been looked down upon by later generations."

Li Shimin sat up straight and gestured with his chin toward the palace entrance.

"Bring the things up."

Two eunuchs bent over and carried in a row of earthenware jars, which were neatly stacked on the floor of the hall.

The old craftsman from the workshop stepped forward and carefully pulled out the wooden plugs one by one.

After looking through everything, the old craftsman knelt down in front of the steps.

"Your Majesty, based on the comparison over the past few days, fresh meat begins to rot within three days at most after being sealed in jars."

"The fish was the worst; it became unbearably fishy and smelly after just two days, and maggots had already infested it when the can was opened."

Li Shimin nodded slightly and pressed on, "And add salt?"

"After adding a lot of salt, the meat can be preserved for about ten days, but the taste is extremely poor, both salty and tough."

Can it only be stored for a maximum of ten days?

Although Li Shimin had anticipated this, he still felt a sense of disappointment.

Ten days is far from enough; at most, it saves the effort of drying meat.

The canned goods from the Eight-Nation Alliance in the sky could remain at sea for months without spoiling; there must be some special technology involved.

Li Shimin walked up to the jar and turned over the wax layer used for sealing to examine it.

Inside the earthenware jar, there were obvious water droplets and mold spots.

"It seems the seal is not working properly..."

Li Shimin then remembered that the Eight-Nation Alliance used only tin cans, and perhaps that was the difference.

The revolution in modern military rations can be traced back to canned food.

In 1800, when Napoleon was sweeping across Europe, he was plagued by the problem of military food supplies.

To solve this problem, Napoleon offered a reward to the public for finding a way to preserve food for a long time.

A generous reward will surely attract brave men. French merchant Nicolas spent several years researching and finally found a solution.

Boil the meat in boiling water for several hours, then pack it into glass jars while it's still hot and seal them with cork and wax.

And so, the world's first canned food was born.

Li Shimin: ...

He raised his hand to rub his temples, then suddenly burst out laughing in exasperation.

"After all this fuss, it turns out I used the wrong object."

Although the surface of the earthenware jar appears dense, it is not completely sealed and will still leak air and water.

If it had been porcelain, it might have succeeded much earlier.

Fang Xuanling had already spread out Xuan paper and recorded all these details.

Looking at the ink stains that were not yet completely dry, he sighed.

Who would have thought that the secret to canned food lies in the container?

Li Shimin paced back and forth in the hall, then turned to Fang Xuanling: "How's the glasswork going at the Imperial Workshop?"

Fang Xuanling shook his head helplessly: "The craftsmen are still figuring out the process. The molten glass is extremely fluid, making it difficult to mold into the desired shape."

"It will take at least half a year to make that glass bottle."

Li Shimin clicked his tongue. Half a year was too long. Who knew what changes might happen during that time?

Recalling Napoleon's actions in the sky, he clapped his hands.

"If Napoleon could offer rewards, why can't I do the same?"

"Issue an imperial decree to post notices throughout Chang'an: whoever can make the glass bottle will be rewarded with one hundred taels of gold!"

Upon hearing this, all the officials were astonished.

A hundred gold coins is no small sum.

That's enough to buy a fine house in Chang'an, plus dozens of acres of fertile land.

What a great favor this is!