Li Sipang and Li Zhi were talking, and the guards outside the door came to report, and Xu Cheng of Dayingku asked to see him outside.

"It's really fast." Li Sipang got up with a smile and told the guards to invite Xu Qilin to come in quickly, and then he was going out the door.

Li Zhi was a little surprised, as a prince, he greeted guests in person, and he was only a fifth-grade official, which didn't seem to be the right persuasion, right?

Seeing that Li Zhi's expression was different, Li Sipang also came to his senses, and he was so excited that he forgot that there were outsiders here. That's right, in his opinion, Li Zhi is an outsider who can't tell the truth.

Fortunately, he didn't say anything, Li Sipang pretended to move around at will, shook around the hall, and then returned to the chair and sat down, which covered up the past.

There was not much time, and Xu Qilin walked in. After a month of missing him, his appearance has changed, and his temperament has become more calm.

From the mouth of the guard, he already knew that Li Zhi, the king of Jin, was included, although he didn't want to see this scumbag, but he couldn't see it at all on the surface.

Entering the hall, Xu Qilin gave a courtesy, "The lower officials have seen His Royal Highness the King of Wei and His Royal Highness the King of Jin." ”

"Excuse me, excuse me." Li Sipang owed his ass and raised his hand to signal.

Li Zhi also showed a polite smile and said, "Xu Cheng is exempt from courtesy." ”

Xu Qilin finished the ceremony and sat down for tea.

Li Sipang smiled and said, "Xu Cheng inspected Cao Lu, it was really hard. This time is considered a great achievement, is it back to Beijing to resume life? ”

Xu Qilin nodded and said: "The work has been arranged, the shipbuilding and warehouse construction are being carried out as soon as possible, and the local governments have also been coordinated, and it is expected that it should be completed before the start of the Cao Yun next year." ”

For Caoyun, Xu Qilin's reform is only the process, and does not involve major changes in technology. The local governments along the way also have experience in Caoyun, and Xu Qilin holds the holy decree in his hand, who dares not to cooperate?

Li Sipang nodded and praised: "This is a great achievement for the benefit of the country and the people, not to mention anything else, just to solve the risk of the three pillars, and now the grain that has been transported from Luoyang to Chang'an has 500,000 stones." ”

At the peak of the Tang Dynasty, the annual volume was between 200 and 3 million stones. According to the number mentioned by Li Sipang, it has now reached the average level at its peak.

Of course, this is due to the transportation of grain from Luoyang, rather than the whole process of transporting grain. If you want to travel long distances from Yangzhou to Chang'an, time alone is far from enough.

Although there is a suspicion of opportunism, the freight and loss of this section of the road are indeed greatly reduced. By concentrating vessels, mechanical loading and unloading, capacity and efficiency are also greatly increased.

And the grain in the Luoyang warehouse is piled up, as long as it can be transported into Guanzhong quickly and economically, the imperial court will be satisfied, and His Majesty Li Er will be happy.

"Although Lone came to Luoyang by land, he also went to Sanmen Pillar to take a look." Li Zhi said with a smile: "Transportation, loading and unloading, and lifting are all unique, which can be described as fast and good, which is amazing." ”

"The two highnesses have won the prize." Xu Qilin arched his hand and said, "After staying in Luoyang for two days, I will go to Xin'an to inspect." Then, I took a boat directly to Beijing. I don't know what the two highnesses have to order? ”

"You're in such a hurry!" Li Sipang was a little regretful, and he wanted to come to King Jin by his side, and his plan to go to Beijing with Xu Qilin was about to come to naught.

"A certain and the fourth brother will also return to the capital, if Xu Cheng is not in a hurry, they can leave together." Li Zhi said: "It's also by water, it's faster." ”

Xu Qilin thought for a while and said, "It's not easy for the lower officials to determine the time. If not, he will deal with Xin'an affairs first, and if he has time, he will take a boat back to Chang'an with the two highnesses. ”

Li Sipang thought for a while, nodded and said, "That's fine." Luozhou's official business also has to be explained, and the departure time cannot be determined. ”

Next, the three of them chatted casually. Xu Qilin answered questions and answered, and briefly described the customs and customs along the Xiacao Road, and Li Sipang and Li Zhi, who had little knowledge, listened with great interest.

Seeing that Li Zhi was here, Xu Qilin did not have the opportunity to talk to Li Sipang alone, so he got up and said goodbye.

Li Sipang and Li Zhi were sent outside the hall, and they already felt that they had given Xu Qilin enough face. Xu Qilin didn't care about this, the polite and false courtesy on the surface was useless.

……………

In the past few days, although Xu Qilin has been inspecting Cao Lu and reforming Cao Zheng, he has also been concerned about the development of the Xin'an base and has been guiding him through letters.

Therefore, he is very familiar with the situation of the Xin'an base, and some key difficulties still need to be solved by him in person.

After resting in Luoyang for two days, Xu Qilin came to Xin'an County, which is more than 40 miles away from Luoyang. This distance is not too far, and if Luoyang becomes the capital, it should be the land of Kifu.

Coal was the first to be developed, followed by iron ore, then bauxite and refractory clay, and finally quartz.

In the past few months, according to Xu Qilin's instructions, the achievements of the exploration personnel sent by the Ministry of Industry have been satisfactory.

When Xu Qilin came to the Xin'an iron mine site, he saw several blast furnaces standing up. This is not all Xu Qilin's creation and innovation, the history of iron smelting in ancient shaft furnaces is very early, and the history books are probably in the Western Han Dynasty.

According to the investigation of the relics of later generations, the shaft furnace of iron smelting in the Han Dynasty was oval, five or six meters high, with an effective volume of 56 square meters and a daily output of 500 kilograms.

After Xu Qilin's transformation of the shaft furnace, coupled with the use of refractory bricks, coke, preheating blasts, and fluxes (limestone, dolomite), the production efficiency is higher, and the smelting of molten iron has also become a reality.

When the hot molten iron slowly flows into a square tank, a worker holds a long rod and stirs it to mix it with the air, causing the carbon in the molten iron to burn off. At the same time, there are also workers who throw mud into the molten iron as a slag making agent.

After cooling, these products, either iron or steel ingots, can be sold to the outside world. Because of the low price and good quality, the largest buyer at present is the Ordnance Superintendent, and only a small part of it flows into the private market.

There is no way, Xu Qilin can't make an accurate inspection instrument, and he can't determine the carbon content in it. The quality of molten iron or molten steel from the blast furnace also fluctuates, and it is not possible to guarantee absolute stability.

Even so, this is already a huge step forward, with a lot of labor and materials saved from block workouts to direct water discharge.

Although it was already winter, the temperature near the blast furnace was not low. The workers who are doing the work have to change shifts after a while, so as not to be burned and burned.

"How's the casting experiment going?" Xu Cheng took the towel handed by his servant and wiped his sweat, and asked the official in charge.

According to the description in "Heavenly Creation", after smelting raw molten iron, it can be directly cast into castings, which will greatly improve labor productivity.

"Back to Xu Cheng, the results of the casting experiment are okay." The official replied, "Although the quality of the molten iron is good and bad, the crude utensils cast are still qualified. The ordnance superintendent placed an order to buy a batch of knife blanks, which the lower official thought could be made by the casting method. ”

Forging and casting have their own advantages and uses, and Xu Qilin's subconscious has always thought that the forged weapons will be more sophisticated. Also, the quality of the castings is unstable, which is also a problem.

It's not the kind of crude ploughs, harrows, shovels, pickaxes, etc., but these are weapons that have to be fought on the battlefield, and they can't be sloppy at all.

Xu Qilin pondered for a long time and said: "It's okay to try it with casting, but the quality must be good, and it can't be shoddy." This is a weapon, which is related to the lives of Tang Dynasty soldiers. ”

The official said: "Xu Cheng rest assured, he will not let the generals in the army take inferior weapons into battle to kill, if the casting is not qualified, it will be changed to forging." ”

Xu Qilin nodded, praised a few words, and followed the official into a closed workshop. It's also steaming hot, and crucible steelmaking is underway.

A crucible made of graphite clay is melted into high-carbon molten steel when carburized iron is placed in it and heated in a closed heat. This was the first method of producing liquid steel in human history, but the production volume was extremely small and costly.

Of course, the quality of the steel produced is also excellent, and it can be used as tool steel. For example, cutting tools, drilling tools, and so on.

"Xu Cheng, please take a look." The official led Xu Qilin to an iron plate platform, pointed to the steel block on it and said, "This is the steel ingot produced, which is extremely hard. If it is forged into a cutter, it should be able to cut iron. ”

If you were to make a sword out of this high-carbon steel, it would be a blade that sharpens iron like clay, right? Xu Qilin stretched out his hand to pick up a small steel ingot, fantasizing that this was a sharp and fierce peerless divine soldier, with an obscene smile on his face.

Thinking of this, Xu Qilin said: "Create a waist knife, design it in my shape, and dedicate it to Your Majesty, and you will definitely be rewarded." ”

The official smiled and nodded, and said yes. This is not only Xu Qilin's sycophant, but even with this steel mill, His Majesty will hear about it, what a good thing!

Is it a goose feather knife, or a lancet, or an oxtail knife? Xu Qilin touched his chin and pondered the shape of the treasure knife.

Anyway, the ghost-headed broadsword is not good, and the emperor and the robbers are not looking for a draw?

After some inspection and detailed guidance, Xu Qilin is still quite satisfied with the development of the steel plant. This is also due to the accumulation of ancient Chinese smelting technology, and the professionalism of officials and craftsmen sent by the Ministry of Industry.

Before leaving, Xu Qilin also specially explained that the dormitories of officials and craftsmen must be built strong and warm, and if they settle down here, he will also apply to the imperial court to give a settlement fee.

At the same time, for the process flow and production methods, Xu Qilin also asked the officials to record them in detail and keep them properly.

Think about it, how many lost crafts there are in ancient times, and the Tang knife with superior performance and exquisite workmanship is an example, which represents the highest smelting level of the Tang Dynasty, and it has been lost.

Xu Qilin sighed in his heart, and came to the glass workshop more than ten miles away. Compared to the booming ironworks, it is much more deserted.

After all, there is no accumulation of experience in firing glass, there is no learning material, and even Xu Qilin is on paper and has not practiced it.

But the materials are complete, the quartz ore grade is very high, and Xu Qilin still uses a graphite crucible to melt the glass water.

Mass production of glass takes time, and the processing of glass products also requires craftsmen to continue to be skilled and mastered.

Xu Qilin believes that the appearance of glass mirrors will inevitably cause a sensation, even if it is only a palm-sized piece, it will be worth 10,000 gold.

Historically, when a French queen got married, Venice gave her a gift as a small mirror. It seems ridiculous now, but at the time it was the most expensive thing - worth 150,000 francs.

To make a glass mirror, you must first make colorless glass, that is, remove the green color from the glass. The green color is caused by the small amount of iron in the raw material, and the addition of a decolorizer can solve this problem that has plagued glass manufacturing for hundreds of years.

There are several kinds of decolorizing agents, such as manganese dioxide, selenium, cobalt oxide, nickel oxide, etc., and sodium nitrate, potassium nitrate, etc., chemically.

There is fire nitrate or earth nitrate, and the source of potassium nitrate is readily available, and it is also the cheapest.

As for flat glass, Xu Qilin uses smooth and flat metal plates for calendering. Anyway, the glass doesn't need to be too big, and it's enough to surprise enough to make a book the size.

However, the combination of theory and practice, the time it takes, and the difficulties it faces are obviously beyond Xu Qilin's expectations.

Continuously purify raw materials, constantly adjust the proportion of ingredients, and solve the problem of bubbles in the liquid glass. Xu Qilin personally guided and operated, and on the sixth day, after dozens of experiments, he finally made a piece of glass with qualified transparency.

At this time, Li Sipang and Li Zhi had already set off for Chang'an and notified Xu Qilin. didn't want to see the scumbag Li Zhi, and in the midst of the busy experiment, Xu Qilin just had a suitable excuse.

In the next few days, the craftsmen became more and more proficient in manufacturing, and dozens of transparent flat glass of different sizes made Xu Qilin's heart flutter. And the distribution of large sums of money makes the craftsmen more motivated.

When Xu Qilin left the workshop with hundreds of glasses, more than ten days had passed.

In addition to flat glass, he also taught craftsmen how to blow glass. Although he blows strange shapes, or shapes, the production method is correct, and with a little practice, the craftsmen will be able to blow beautiful glass products sooner or later.

Set off by boat again, Xu Qilin finally had a feeling of complacency. When he returned to Chang'an, he built a mirror workshop, and the glass manufacturing and mirror production were separated into two places, which was also a need for secrecy.

Moreover, there are garrisons outside the glass workshop, and the craftsmen have a record, and the wages are very high, but if you want to leak secrets, the consequences are very serious.

You must know that Xu Qilin is targeting the pockets of domestic tycoons and crooked nuts. Mirrors are a luxury item and, like perfume, are bound to become a staple commodity in overseas trade, and huge amounts of wealth are being grabbed from overseas.

Just like silk, Xu Qilin hopes that glass will also be the most technological, the most refined, the most popular, and the most expensive in Datang for a long time.

Well, well, it's cheap. In order not to arouse the covetousness of others, Xu Qilin will put glass and mirrors in the industry of Dayingku.

The fragrance is already an eye-popping item, and if you look in the mirror, you really can't imagine how much pink eye it will incur.

But this patent fee is still required, and Xu Qilin feels that this can be regarded as a reward for his wisdom and energy.