Subsequently, Ma Zhen, the waiter of the Ministry of Works, was summoned.

Zhao Xie said: "Ma Shilang, about Yoda, Cao Shangshu has found out, and the thing he participated in is true. Yoda is guilty of death. You have made a meritorious report this time, and your official rank has been promoted to one level, and the Ministry of Industry will take care of it by Lao Aiqing in the future. ”

Originally, just one successful report was not enough to upgrade the official rank, but Zhao Xie did not have many people available now, Ma Zhen's ability and character were good, so he was simply promoted exceptionally, from the fourth grade to the fourth grade. If you want to be promoted to Shangshu, it is not so easy, and you need to have greater merit to make it possible.

"King Xie!" Ma Zhen was relieved in his heart, and then said: "King, in the past, the project handled by Yoda, the minister believes that the quality of the project should be re-checked. ”

Zhao Xie picked up the documents on the desk, and the chamberlain took them and handed them to Ma Zhen.

Then he said: "Cao Shangshu has found out, these buildings have been manipulated by Yoda in the construction materials, you are responsible for carefully inspecting them, if the quality is not up to standard, they need to be rebuilt." ”

Ma Zhen took the order and retreated out of the palace to do errands.

At this time, what Zhao Xie was thinking about was not only to invent black powder, compass, repeater, etc., improve various technologies, but also to keep military technology absolutely secret.

In ancient history, the invention of gunpowder originated from the process of making and dispensing pills, alchemy and medicine were the purpose, and the invention of gunpowder was only a by-product.

In the Qin Dynasty, there were alchemists with sulfur, saltpeter and other things to alchemy, because the fire is not well mastered so that the occasional explosion occurred, and then people after a long period of experiments, alchemists will saltpeter, sulfur, realgar and pine resin, grease, charcoal and other materials continue to mix, calcin, which makes the invention of gunpowder inevitable.

By the time of the Tang Dynasty, the gunpowder formula was finally invented. In the "Danjing Inner Sulfur Method" written by Sun Simiao in the early Tang Dynasty, the production method of the volcanic sulfur method is described; In the middle of the Tang Dynasty, the Taoist priest Qing Xuzi used the alchemy method of subduing the fire alum. These two were early gunpowder formulations.

For the knowledge of black powder, Zhao Xie knows the required ratio of sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal, of course, only knowing the proportion of the formula, he can only make the most primitive gunpowder, which is not too difficult to make, but it can only burn and produce smoke, and it is difficult to explode.

Moreover, to make black powder and various inventions and creations, as long as it is not forced by the situation and forced to be helpless, Zhao Xie tries not to do it himself, and tries to do as little as possible to go into battle shirtless. It is a practical way to find the right person to conduct experiments in the name of alchemy, and to make gunpowder starts with improving the alchemy technique.

Zhao Xie thought about the compass again, the compass, formerly known as Sinan, is an instrument for discerning the direction, to invent it, it is easier than gunpowder, the key lies in the understanding of the magnet. The magnet points north-south when stationary, and the compass is made based on this principle.

To make Sinan, first of all, there must be magnetite, Zhao Xie vaguely remembered the information checked through Baidu in modern times, the earliest record of magnets in ancient times was in the late Warring States period, recorded in the Cishan of Wu'an, Handan, and the local people found stones that could absorb iron.

This is magnetite, Zhao is the first place where magnetite was discovered in ancient times, and Xiangguo itself is also in the jurisdiction of Handan County, not far from Wu'an.

Immediately, Zhao Xie ordered someone to recall Ma Zhen, who was originally the county guard of Handan, and now he is the squire of the Ministry of Works, so he may know something about this aspect.

The compass, one of the four major inventions, was produced in the Song Dynasty, while the practical Sinan was invented earlier, generally considered to be at the end of the Warring States Period or the Han Dynasty, as for the more specific time, there is no very clear conclusion. However, there is no such instrument in the Zhao army at present, and Handan Cishan is the earliest place where the magnet was found, which is called the hometown of the compass in modern times, and there is a high probability that Sinan has not appeared in this period.

In order to find someone who was good at alchemy, Zhao Xie ordered Qian Yun to be summoned into the palace again.

The herald quickly left the palace, rode to the official office of the Ministry of Works, and caught up with Ma Zhen's car when it was about to arrive at the official office, and Ma Zhen immediately turned the horse's head after receiving the order.

In the study, Ma Zhen saluted and said, "King, I don't know why the ministers came back?" ”

Zhao Xie said: "Ma Shilang, do you know that there is a kind of magical stone that can absorb iron?" ”

Ma Zhen replied: "My king, more than 30 miles southwest of Wu'an, there is a mountain, and there is this kind of iron-absorbing stone on the mountain, called 'Cishi'. ”

Zhao Xie vaguely remembered that in the earliest written records, the magnet was indeed called "Cishi",

He asked, "What other uses can Cishi have?" ”

Ma Zhen replied: "My king, Cishi is of no use except for being able to absorb iron!" ”

During this period, human beings' understanding of magnets was limited to this, which was what Zhao Xie hoped to see, so as to better ensure that he had a technical advantage in this regard.

Zhao Xie instructed: "Ma Shilang, you send someone to collect Cishi and transport it back." ”

Ma Zhen advised: "King, Cishi is a useless thing, collecting Cishi is a waste of money!" ”

When he was summoned, he asked about Cishi, and he thought that the king liked this thing, and he didn't want the king's plaything to be demoralized, and he didn't want the people's power to be used in this regard.

Zhao Xie said: "The widow is just curious and wants to see, just collect a hundred catties." ”

As for the true role of the magnet, this is a super secret, so naturally it will not be revealed casually.

Ma Zhen was ordered to go out, and as soon as he left with his front foot, Qian Yun came to the palace.

Zhao Xie asked: "In the Zhaoxian Pavilion, are there people who know how to make alchemy?" ”

When Qian Yun heard this, he felt that it was a bad omen, and said: "My king, there is no one who is proficient in alchemy to vote yet. After a pause of two or three seconds, he admonished: "Qin Wangzheng is addicted to alchemy, and he will live forever in the future, and his efforts will be in vain after all." ”

In ancient times, most of the medicines used to cure diseases were boiled with Chinese medicine and water.

As for those refined into round pills, in general, they are some heavy metals and minerals, which belong to chemical synthetic drugs, because chemical drugs work quickly, and in ancient times, the pills were said to be immortal medicines. In ancient times, because of backward technology, coupled with the lack of a strict access system and supervision and management system for drugs, the chemicals refined did not have the function of prolonging life, and many pills were harmful to the body.

Of course, not all pills are like this, such as Tao Hongjing, Tao Hongjing and other pharmacists, can refine pills that have actual curative effects on diseases and relatively few side effects.

Zhao Xie said: "Aiqing, don't worry too much, the widow won't do that kind of stupid thing, there is another good use for finding an alchemist, you just need to summon someone who is proficient in alchemy for the widow." ”

As the so-called professional people do professional things, the alchemy of alchemists is the only profession related to black powder technology in this era, and it is better to find someone who doesn't know anything about it.

Qian Yun was helpless, and it was inconvenient to say anything more, so he had to obey the order.