Seeing that Guo Kang couldn't control his expression anymore, Shi Huizhen laughed awkwardly twice and walked away again.

"My God, I thought the Shi family was too harsh at first, so I didn't need to put a Mulan." Zhu Rangna sighed: "How did she survive until now and not be killed?" Could it be that her father never took care of things? ”

"Don't you say a word!" Zhu Wenkui hurriedly stopped: "You sharp-toothed and sharp-mouthed person is not much better than others." ”

"She's pulling my pig!" Jeanne complained loudly.

"Okay, okay, sister will help you take care of her." Theodora had no choice but to appease Jeanne, and said to Zhu Wenkui: "Her father did die in battle very early, and she and Stan were brought up by their mother. Stan was later taken by his uncle to educate, so she was basically ...... No one cares. ”

"That's it......" Zhu Wenkui sighed: "During this time, it seems that I have heard that many noble families have similar experiences. Looking at it this way, it's not very peaceful here. ”

"You don't have to sigh. For the true Romans and true Greeks of antiquity, dying in battle was not a sad thing. Only now, we're all too cowardly. Theodora advised.

"Sacrifice was the cornerstone of the Roman Empire, and we can't just let ordinary citizens do it. Every commander has to face his own fate at some point. Zhu Shizi slowly gets used to this, and he will know. ”

That's a good statement. Which sage said that? Zhu Wenkui asked.

"He told me." Theodora pointed at Guo Kang and said with a smile: "He may have said it when he was a child, and he never had stage fright when he spoke in front of everyone. I don't know how I grew up and became a stuffy gourd. ”

Guo Kang wanted to tell her that it was only because the second phase of secondary school, which had just crossed into this world, had passed.

But this statement, as it sounds to others, is itself too secondary. As if he was the Messiah who was thrown down from heaven by his Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother and claimed to be the Messiah who wanted to save the world, he really couldn't say it, so he had to hold back.

"Then, Brother Kang, have you really tasted nitrate?" Jeanne didn't know if it was on purpose, but with a wicked smile on her face, she began to bring up the topic.

"Don't worry." Before Guo Kang could think of what to say, Theodora spoke. She looked at Jeanne, smiled gently, and said, "I don't care when I kiss him, what does Lord Jeanne care about?" ”

"Woo-" Jeanne blushed and let out a mournful scream. The whole person saw that he was wilting, and he was in no mood to tease Guo Kang.

"Sister, sister, what's wrong with you, are you not feeling well?" Zhu Wenkui noticed that something was wrong and hurried to comfort her.

It seems that Jeanne studied theology in France, but she was still inferior to Theodora in other aspects, and it was solved in one sentence.

"Hey, you too, why are you playing all this?" Theodora looked at Guo Kang and shook his head: "I heard that firearms research and development is very dangerous, and there have been engineers in various countries who have been killed in accidents before. You don't need to be watching the basics. ”

"Now is a critical period, and I'm afraid that the technology will go crooked." Guo Kang explained.

"The technology you are talking about, is that the Franks pile dung?" Theodora didn't seem to like to mention the word: "Well, the barbarians are really skilled in playing this. After all, their city is made of dung, and it is estimated that the innate conditions in this regard are better. ”

"I don't think I can look down on them too much." Guo Kang said: "The group of people who believe in the Roman Catholic Church in Western Europe, that is, the Franks, as you collectively call them, have actually studied this aspect very deeply. ”

"I estimate that if this continues, it won't be long before their firearms will rise the fastest. Maybe when the time comes, we will all have to learn their firearms skills. ”

"Why do you think so?" Theodora asked.

"I've heard that there is a great shortage of saltpeter mines in Western Europe." Guo Kang said: "They collect saltpeter, and they really rely on such a little accumulation. In England, the king forbade the placement of pedals in places to facilitate the collection of nitrate; In France, there are special 'toilet scrapers' in local government offices, who often break into residents' homes to scrape off the nitrate on the walls. ”

"They have a church and a 'pewt tax'. Because the various rituals are too lengthy, the believers often pee on the legs of the bench halfway, and over time, it becomes a place where nitrate grows, so there are special people to collect saltpeter from the bench as part of the tax revenue. ”

"Compared to these, our nitrate fields are clean and hygienic – at least those places are centrally managed and carefully cleaned." Guo Kang spread his hands.

"It's rude and barbaric." Theodora sighed: "Then why do they say that they can develop firearms?" ”

"I said directly, you don't necessarily believe it, but I can give you another example that has already come to fruition." Guo Kang said: "Everyone should know the iron pot exported by Seris. ”

"Indeed, many people have them on their minds." Theodora didn't know why he had suddenly changed the subject, but nodded anyway.

"Actually, the iron ore in Seris is very poor." Guo Kang said: "Although there is a lot of quantity, the quality of the iron ore there is not suitable for early development. ”

"Let's put it this way, in the forests of France, you can still find the slag heaps left by the Gauls in the iron-making of the Gauls. And the iron content of those slags is higher than that of the iron ore of Seris. ”

"So, the problem that the Seris people face is that if they don't do their best to improve their skills, they won't even have enough iron."

"The quality of the early iron over there is really not good, and everyone can't stand it. But soon, they developed a high level of technology. Until now, they have used the worst iron ore to make iron products that sell well in the known world. Moreover, in a short time, no one can catch up with them. ”

Of course, Guo Kang knows in his heart that this "short time" is a very conservative statement.

In his world, iron has always been one of the most important bulk export products of the Central Plains, and its status and total value are not inferior to porcelain, and the weight of freight is even higher than that of the other party. The iron pot is the main export method of ironware.

At least since the Song Dynasty, the iron pot has been the main cargo of merchant ships going to sea. Until the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty, there were at least 700,000 iron pots exported every year, and there were almost no merchant ships that did not purchase iron pots. Even in the Guangxu period, the iron pot was still an important export product - this has formed a brand dependence.

"On our own side, we can also make iron, and the craftsmanship of the Greeks is relatively good in Europe. But it can't be helped, the merchants are not stupid. Guo Kang shook his head: "People have insisted on importing iron pots from the East for so long, which can only show that the ironware over there is indeed exquisite, high-quality and cheap, so that with such a long distance of high freight, it is cheaper than the local one." ”

"And this kind of technology, to put it bluntly, was forced out back then."

"You mean, the same goes for the gunpowder of the Franks?" Theodora asked.

"yes. They can really stop fighting because they don't have enough gunpowder to fight halfway. Guo Kang nodded: "I suspect that it is also because of the lack of gunpowder, so they did not make all kinds of strange explosives like the Central Plains back then, but devoted themselves to the study of firearms-that is, firearms and cannons." ”

"It looks shabby now, but they have been forced to familiarize themselves with these objects by tossing saltpeter and making firearms every day. In this way, although it started late, it is not surprising that it has developed faster. After all, people are forced. ”

"It's a shame for the barbarians to make and pee every day, but if the Romans can't beat the barbarians who play and pee, it will be even more humiliating." Guo Kang pointed out: "I heard that saltpeter caves have also been discovered in southern Romania, but I don't know if this is the mercy of our Heavenly Father or a test for us. So, let's not dislike these things. If you should do the research, let's continue to research. ”

(End of chapter)