This time it was He Zhiyuan's turn to be stunned, what the hell are you two doing? Now you're my captives, okay? Before things are clear, you want to apprentice? Besides, I wouldn't say that two charlatans are disciples.

Seeing He Zhiyuan stunned, the two hurriedly said: "The two of us have come to apprentice here, not charlatans. ”

"It's not a charlatan, but you are doing the things of charlatans, and it's useless for you to apprentice. I will not take a warlock like you as an apprentice. He Zhiyuan said.

"Master, please explain." The young Taoist priest said, "Our two senior brothers have made a special trip from the Laoshan Taoist Temple. We heard that there is a strange person in Juzhou who understands the science of change, and we are very yearning, and there are many problems in alchemy that we can't find the reason. That's why I wanted to come to the teacher and ask the master to answer the doubts in our hearts. Later, I thought that if I didn't bring a gift that I could get my hands on, I was afraid that I would be disgusted by the master, so I thought about earning some money and buying some gifts to come to the master again, but I didn't expect to meet the master here. ”

"Nonsense, since you have heard rumors, how can you not know my situation, how can you deceive here? It's clearly nonsense! He Zhiyuan shouted.

"It is rumored outside that the master is a personable young talent, and he is the guest of honor of Lord Zhizhou. Where did I think that the master was so young and still living in the township. It was the disciple who was clumsy and did not recognize the master. The old Taoist priest went on to explain.

He Zhiyuan saw that the two of them were sincere, not like they were lying, so he let the family loosen their ties. After careful interrogation, I learned the ins and outs of their whole matter.

It turned out that these two were Taoist priests of Laoshan Holy Water Temple, the older one was called Li Zhigang, and the younger one was called Wan Fulai. During the Chenghua period, Li Zhigang once followed his master in the palace for the emperor Zhu Jianshen alchemy, and later Emperor Xianzong died, and these Taoist monks and warlocks were driven out of the palace by the current emperor Zhu Youjiao. His master Zhang Yuntian had no choice but to take Li Zhigang back to the Laoshan Holy Water Temple, and the master and apprentice continued to refine the pill in the Taoist temple, and they never got tired of it.

Two years ago, the master Zhang Yuntian had an explosion accident in an alchemy, and the master Zhang Yuntian was killed on the spot. After that, Li Zhigang took a few juniors and disciples to continue to alchemy medicine in Guanzhong. By chance, he was given a manuscript called chemistry, and when he studied it, he was amazed at the fact that it explained many answers to questions that they couldn't figure out. Later, I heard rumors that this book was a strange book given by an immortal in a dream of a showman, and there was a book of chemistry. So they thought that this Xiucai must have received the true inheritance of their ancestor, so there was the scene just now.

He Zhiyuan heard that there was a manuscript of his chemistry book, which shows that the readers of the Ming Dynasty were not all nerds. There are also many people who pursue the truth and explore innovation, but they just lack a guide. Li Zhigang and the others read the book of chemistry, and the knowledge in the book actually answered many questions in his heart, which shows that they also studied chemistry while refining pills. It's just that they lack a systematic theoretical guidance.

He Zhiyuan asked Li Zhigang: "What kind of elixir was killed by your master?" ”

Li Zhigang again gave a detailed account of the reasons and consequences of the bombing of his master.

It turned out that his master found in alchemy a liquid called alum oil, inserting two copper wires into it, and holding it with his hand, his hand would become numb. So they kept experimenting, and by chance, they found two copper wires in a glass of water. The next morning, it was found that there was much less water. Zhang Yuntian was very excited about this discovery, he thought that the water would not disappear out of thin air, it must have become another substance, but it was unknown what it was, so his master continued to experiment. Once, the master locked himself in the room alone, while refining the pill, while experimenting, but suddenly there was an explosion, the whole room was blown away, and the master died on the spot. At that time, several apprentices were puzzled, why did the explosion occur? It wasn't until I saw that chemistry book that I understood a little bit.

He Zhiyuan completely understood that the test done by Zhang Yuntian was actually a test of electrolysis of water. Alum oil is actually a sulfuric acid solution, and when two copper wires are inserted into the sulfuric acid solution, it becomes a simple sulfuric acid battery. The explosion occurs because the electrolysis of water produces hydrogen and oxygen, two gases in a confined space that reach a certain concentration. In the presence of an open flame, an explosion will naturally occur. It can be said that this Taoist priest Zhang Yuntian was a pioneer in the history of the Ming Dynasty who dedicated himself to the cause of chemical exploration. Unfortunately, he did not understand the cause until he died.

He Zhiyuan couldn't help but feel sorry for the dead Zhang Yuntian, these people were the chemists of the Ming Dynasty. If they are brought under their command, systematically learn modern chemical knowledge, and then guide them, they will definitely achieve a lot of achievements and invent many things. Thinking of this, he had the idea of taking them as disciples.

After having such thoughts, He Zhiyuan said to the two of them: "What are you two worshipping me as a teacher for?" ”

"Of course, to learn the science of the change of all things." Both replied at the same time.

"And then?" He Zhiyuan then asked.

"And then, and then ......," the two of them replied at a loss.

Seeing that the two of them were at loggerheads, He Zhiyuan continued: "Let me tell you two that chemistry, as a branch of science, is a practical science. It is a knowledge that is used to benefit the people and help the people through the world, and cannot be used to fool the people to defraud money. It is impossible for chemistry to turn stones into gold, let alone refine the elixir of immortality. Are you still willing to worship me as a teacher? ”

Li Zhigang hurriedly said: "We are willing, in the past, we used spells, ah no, it was chemical knowledge to cheat money just to continue the research." We also don't believe that people can live forever, just to cheat money. If we can keep our food and clothing undisturbed, we are willing to devote ourselves to research and benefit the people. ”

"Well, since you do have a sincere heart to worship the teacher, then you must show sincerity. Now the glass workshop in the village will soon start experimenting with glass production. The two of you will go to the glass workshop first to help with the trial production. He Zhiyuan thought that chemistry is inseparable from glass instruments, and now he must produce qualified glass instruments before he can start chemical tests. So he thought of the two "chemists" in front of him.

"Glass? Dare to ask the master what is the glass? The two asked in unison.

"Strictly speaking, the production of glass is also a chemical category. It is to fire quartz to melt it, and finally get a crystal clear, smooth as jade, completely transparent thing, we call it glass. He Zhiyuan deliberately said this to arouse their interest.

After hearing this, the two immediately became interested, and immediately knelt down and kowtowed to the master: "We are willing to try to make glass, please accept us." ”

After He Zhiyuan agreed to accept the two of them, he instructed his family to arrange accommodation for the two of them. At this time, Li Zhigang asked again: "Master, there are still eight or nine junior disciples in the Taoist temple, and now the two of us have been away for many days." They are watching the eldest son live without a settlement, I am afraid that they will deceive people again, the two of us have already followed the master, can we also let the junior disciples come here to follow the master? ”

He Zhiyuan thought to himself that two sheep were to be released, and a group of sheep was also to be released. As long as they can only concentrate on chemistry, it is easy to cooperate with a team. In case there is a black sheep inside, it is not too late to clear it after discovering it. But he still wanted to know about the situation of a person here, so he asked: "What are the specialties of these juniors and disciples you mentioned?" ”

Li Zhigang replied: "Some of them are obsessed with the study of refining pills, some are good at gunpowder preparation, and some are good at smelting metals. There are still many materials in the Taoist temple that have not been used up, and it would be best if they could bring them back. At that time, the master spent a lot of money to buy these things, and some of them were rare treasures, and it was a pity to throw them in the temple. ”

He Zhiyuan immediately agreed, and immediately sent a small banner to let the young Taoist priest Wan Fulai lead the way to the Laoshan Holy Water Temple and help them move.

At the same time, he couldn't help but think in his heart, today's harvest is not small, and he didn't need to spend a few dollars to pick up a research team of chemists in the Ming Dynasty. If it is really as Li Zhigang said, there are those who study gunpowder and those who understand smelting. That's really a treasure for him.

Now the most important thing is to speed up the research and trial production of glass, and after the successful trial production of glass, many things can speed up the process. Well, tomorrow morning to see if the graphite crucible has been made.

However, just when He Zhiyuan was advancing smoothly as planned, his father He Shaoyun had a troublesome matter......