In those years, the commonly used ignition materials in the army were just some animal fat and dry firewood and hay, and there was no "sulfur flame nitrate" at all, so the success rate and spread of arson were greatly reduced - at least the rocket was not easy to use, and if the rate of fire exceeded 30 m/s, I am afraid that the gasoline poured on the arrow would be blown out by air pressure. Pei didn't want to become a fat man and build guns and cannons - besides, he was a liberal arts student and lacked this knowledge - but it should not be difficult in theory to make black powder and enhance the power of arson, so that rockets can be widely used on the battlefield.

Even if they are not science students, most of the later generations who are familiar with history will remember that "one nitrate, two sulfur, and three charcoal" can make gunpowder, but this is actually just a simple formula circulated among the people, and if it is really done according to the literal proportion, it will definitely not work. Fortunately, Pei should remember that this "one nitrate" refers to one pound of potassium nitrate, "two sulfur" refers to two taels of sulfur, and "three charcoal" refers to three taels of charcoal - in fact, it should be "ten nitrate, two sulfon, and three charcoal".

It's just that sulfur and charcoal are easy to say, where should potassium nitrate go? Scrape toilet walls? You don't have to think about it to know that the purity is definitely insufficient, so how to purify it?

Legend has it that the earliest gunpowder formula was discovered by Taoist priests in the process of burning Dan, and the earliest date can be pushed up to the Wei and Jin dynasties, but it really began to be used in the military, and it had to start from the middle of the Tang Dynasty. So since Pei should not be able to figure out the formula of gunpowder, he wondered, can I go and ask the Taoist priest who burned the pill for advice?

It's just that Taoism in these years is still very primitive, the palace system has not yet taken shape, not like later generations, almost every county, every county, you can find a few Taoist temples, as long as you hit the door, you can naturally catch the Taoist. Most of the Taoist priests in these years were born as scholars, either for immortality or for escapism, and their homes were hidden in the mountains, so they may not have a long name. Fortunately, Pei should still remember the name of a certain Taoist priest in those years—and I'm afraid the only one in his memory—it was Ge Hong and Ge Zhichuan.

Coincidentally, Ge Hong is also a master of smelting, not like the Zhang Jiao brothers of Han Ji, who will light up the water and rebel - the inventor of black powder, there is a saying that it is directly attributed to Ge Hong.

About this Ge Xianweng, Pei Gai vaguely remembered that the legend said that he had lived in seclusion in Maoshan - there are many places in Maoshan, one of which is the North Danshan of Danhu where Pei Gai owns the property, considering that Ge Hong was originally a Jurong person, his seclusion should be in Danshan. So when he bought the property in Danhu, Pei Gai once sent Luther to look for it, but unfortunately there was no trace of the fairy and nothing was found. Later, when I inquired in Jiankang City, I learned that in order to avoid Chen Min's rebellion, Ge Hong's old friend Nantou Guangzhou Assassin Shi Jihan went to ......

At that time, Pei Gai's subordinates lacked manpower, of course, it was impossible to send people to Guangzhou to find Ge Hong, and even if they were found, the other party might not be willing to return to Jurong, so they had to take care of Lu De, you help me keep an eye on Danshan, if Ge Hong returns, quickly invite him to me.

Later, Luther crossed to Xuzhou in the north, and handed over the errand to the housekeeper Pei Ren, who waited for several years, hey, he really waited for Gezhichuan. Just went into the mountains to search, but Ge Hong resolutely refused to cross the river to Huaiyin.

Pei Ren came to the door many times, and his intention was very sincere, and Ge Hong was inconvenient to refuse people thousands of miles away, so he said that since Pei Yuanjun had the heart of the Tao and wanted to consult me about the method of smelting-this was naturally an excuse that Pei should deliberately forge—then I would send a disciple to Xuzhou.

This disciple is Peng Xiao, who has learned the Tao and has no success, which gives Ge Zhichuan a headache.

If you want to say that Ge Hong cultivates, it is also the origin of family learning, he lost his father at the age of thirteen, his family fell into the middle of the road, and soon after he worshiped under Zheng Yin's door, and this Zheng Yin, who was originally a disciple of Ge Hong's grandfather Ge Xuan, Ge Xuan claimed to be from Zuo Ci's disciples...... Zheng Yin also has a disciple, who is a native of Jiangxia Anlu, and is Peng Xiao's father. So later in the chaos in Jingzhou, first there was Hu Kang, then Du Zeng, Peng Xiao couldn't live in the county, and fled all the way to the east, and unexpectedly heard that Ge Hong was living in seclusion in Danshan, so he went to take refuge.

Since he is the son of his senior brother, Ge Hong happily accepted and accepted Peng Xiao in the spirit of friendship with the same door. But who would have thought that although this Peng Xiao was not stupid, he was not a seed of cultivation at all: first of all, he was fame-oriented, and he begged Ge Hong many times to write a letter of recommendation to the officials in Jiankang City, so that he could enter the official career; The second is reluctant to go to the world, steal down Danshan two times in three days, and go to the four towns and eight miles to hunt for food and hunting; The third is the temperament, I can't get started today, I can learn the secret method tomorrow, enter the room through the kiln, or learn smelting today, and I can achieve Jindan tomorrow......

Therefore, Ge Hong had a headache for this disciple, and deeply regretted that Meng Lang did not strictly investigate that day, so he took care of the face of the old man and included him in the door wall, but since he accepted Peng Xiao as a disciple, he couldn't bear to fire him. So, just taking advantage of the opportunity of Pei Ren's third visit, Ge Hong had an idea, saying that I was at a critical juncture in my cultivation, and I really didn't have time to cross the Yangtze River north and go to Xufang, so it was better to send my proud disciple Peng Ziqin there.

Turning his head, he summoned Peng Xiao and ordered his substitute teacher to go to Pei Gai's appointment, and said: "Every time you want to be a leader, if you can say that Pei Xuzhou can be moved, won't there be an official and a half position to appoint?" If you can't get your wish, you will return from the north, and you will write a letter of recommendation for you as a teacher and a dry order to promote (Ganbao) ......"

Taoism was founded in the middle of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and in the Han Dynasty, because Zhang Jiao and others made a rebellion, which caused the encirclement and suppression of the imperial court, and the cultivators gradually moved to the border - one is Bashu, and the other is Wuzhong. Later, Cao Cao invaded Hanzhong and moved Zhang Lu to Xuchang, although the five buckets of rice were able to survive, after all, they were sent under the fence and it was difficult to revive - it is equivalent to saying that the Taoist forces in the Central Plains were very weak, and this was gradually caught up by foreign Buddhism. However, Zuo Ci and others were in Jiangzuo, and their missionary work was relatively smoother, and by this time, most of the Sanwu gate lords were converted, and even the overseas Chinese in Nandu were gradually affected. As a result, Ge Hong knew a lot of people in the Jiankang regime, and he could have written a letter of recommendation recommending Peng Xiao to take office.

But this apprentice is too unreliable, so Ge Zhichuan is difficult to make a decision, this time he has the opportunity, he wants to blast Peng Xiao to Jiangbei first.

Peng Ziqin dressed up on this road, and just as Pei Shi and Sima Pei crossed to the north, he was stuffed into the congregation.

——————————

Pei Cai summoned Peng Xiao, and saw that this person was of medium stature and appearance, without the elegance and tranquility of a cultivator, not to mention a full-body philistine, and no different from an ordinary small landlord in the countryside, so he didn't like it in his heart. But since Ge Hong couldn't be invited, I heard that this Peng Xiao also knew how to smelt, so I wondered, I might as well let him try his hand first.

After greeting a few words, and first asking about his background and experience, Pei Gai immediately asked: "Qing is under Gezhichuan's door, can you get his true inheritance?" Peng Xiao immediately boasted: "Although I don't dare to say that the blue is blue, among the same sect, Xiao is the leader, so the family teacher sent me to meet the envoy." "The Three Emperors' Inner Text", "The Five Elements in the Pillow", etc., can be recited, and the essence is clear, I don't know what the king wants to ask? If you have Xiao Zhi, you don't dare to say that you can soar, and you will not be embarrassed if you are ordinary and calm, prolong your life. ”

Pei Cai pursed his lips slightly, and then asked, "Is it possible to smelt?" ”

Peng Xiao said that of course I will-"If you have three hundred gold, over time, you will be able to burn it into a golden pill for you, and you can be cowardly and sick if you take it, and you can prolong your life for ten years after eating for a long time!" ”

Pei Caixin said don't talk about it, even if you can really burn the golden pill, I definitely don't dare to eat it, who knows what the ingredients are, I don't want to prolong my life, I just ask you not to poison me. I didn't bother to talk nonsense with him, so I said to Peng Xiao according to the pre-conceived rhetoric: "I happened to have an ancient Jane, and there is a secret technique of smelting, so I want to ask the master to go north for details." Since the Qing Acting Commander came to ......" he immediately took out a bamboo slip from his sleeve and handed it to Peng Xiao: "Is it possible to try?" ”

Peng Xiaogong respectfully, took the bamboo slip with both hands, and took a fixed look - this slip is only more than a foot long, it looks like it is broken, there are traces of burnt at one end, and there is a strange line of ancient seal characters written on the Jane. When he looked horizontally and vertically, he could only distinguish the words "ten", "two", "three", "fire", "middle", and the rest...... I don't understand it at all!

Pei should pay attention to Peng Xiao, and said in his heart: How about it, catch the blind, I know that you don't know, maybe you can recognize seven words if you change to any talented person in the world, even if you can recognize seven words, even if you are the sky. Because this kind of ancient seal is simply made up by me.

Pei Gai had taught himself some small seals in his previous life, and this family learned about it, and he had a deep understanding of the small seal, that is, Qin seal. Moreover, for the Great Seal, that is, the Six Kingdoms script, which scholars generally do not study in this era, and the oracle bone inscription that they have never heard of, Pei Gai has also dabbled in it somewhat in his previous life. Therefore, he imitated the structure of the oracle bone inscription, mixed with the mellow brushwork of the small seal, found a piece of bamboo slip to write down a line of words, and deliberately buried it in the soil for several months, making it old and ancient, and falsely claiming that it was an ancient secret technique obtained occasionally.

Peng Xiao is still hesitating, do I clearly say that I don't understand, or is it better to pretend to know? If you say that you don't understand it, you are afraid that you will be cowardly, and you will be looked down upon by Pei Yuanjun, and I am afraid that you will lose the opportunity to go out; If I lie and see it, Pei Envoy Jun ordered me to smelt according to this method, but what is good? Fortunately, Pei didn't let him be depressed for too long, so he took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and said: "This ancient text is probably not easy to read. ”

Peng Xiao was overjoyed when he heard this, and hurriedly took the paper, only to see that it was written: "Ten nitrate, two sulfur and three charcoal can be mixed to obtain fire essence and burst into the ...... of Dan" The meaning is very clear, that is, the three materials are ground and mixed together to obtain "fire essence", which is very beneficial for smelting - as for what are the benefits, the following is the text.

Pei Cai asked him, "What, is it possible for Qing to try this 'fire spirit' for me?" ”

Peng Xiao thought for a while, and replied honestly: "The so-called 'ten nitrates, two sulfurs and three charcoals', charcoal is naturally charcoal, but what wood is best to burn charcoal, it still needs to be tested; ”

Pei Gai replied: "I really don't know if there is sulfur, but there is an iron mine in Pengcheng, and I have heard that sulfur can also be obtained from iron smelting, but I don't know if it is true?" In fact, he is unmistakable about this, but he has to take a test for Peng Xiao first.

Peng Xiao said with a smile: "If you ask others, you will definitely be puzzled, but Xiao knows that ironmaking can indeed obtain sulfur, which can be used instead of sulfur - this is the secret technique of my master." As for whether he is bragging, Pei should not know.

Immediately, Peng Xiao said: "The nitrater, which my Taoist calls the Northern Emperor Xuanzhu, is dry and can turn seventy-two kinds of stones...... However, there are also real nitrate and simple nitrate, I don't know why? ”

True nitrate is a series of nitrates based on potassium nitrate, but the so-called simple nitrate is crystalline sodium sulfate, the difference between them, Pei Gai is naturally not clear, and Peng Xiao also knows it but does not know why.

Pei Gai smiled and said: "If it is easy to refine, then it is not an ancient secret art - I don't know if you are willing to test it for me?" ”

Peng Xiao pretended to hesitate and replied: "True nitrate is prolific in the West, and there is a cloud in ancient books: 'Saltpeter comes out of Longdao.'" 'Xu Fang may not be easy to find...... It's easy to get, but it's probably not. This is not the work of one or two days. ”

Pei Cai knew that he was talking about the conditions, so he asked bluntly: "Regardless of the time, I don't know how much Qing needs?" ”

Peng Xiao was secretly overjoyed, and hurriedly replied: "Xiao is willing to test it for the king, but he came naked, and he really has no money left to buy the Ding furnace and materials." And will survey Xu Fang, search for real nitrate, Pu nitrate, I am afraid that it is not easy to walk in white, and it will be suspected by the villagers......"

Pei Caixin said, don't you just want money and officials? I have the money, and there are a lot of vacant positions. He didn't bargain with Peng Xiao either, and immediately decided: "I will go to Qing for 300 yuan first, and if you need it later, you can ask me for it." As for the official body, Zhaoqing is now a small history for the state, can you be willing to do it? ”

Peng Xiao was overjoyed when he heard this, and hurriedly knelt down to receive his order - then Pei Cai asked for the remnant back, ostensibly because this thing was precious and could not be left in the hands of others, but in fact he was afraid that it would be seen by people of insight......

Hot book recommendation: The new work of the catty god ", the new book of the god of forgetting, the new book of Chen Fengxiao, the new book of the god of taste