The mission of the empire is of course sacred. This sacred mission is essentially for exploration and expansion, but at the same time, it is of course also for colonization.
The most gorgeous and exciting words are just to cover up the true nature. Of course, sometimes you will believe the lie while you are telling it.
Whether for colonization or for the liberation of mankind, the expansion of the empire will always face various difficulties and enemies.
But who is the biggest enemy of the empire's overseas expansion?
It was never the local indigenous people, nor even the European and American powers.
But it is the most inconspicuous mosquito!
Don't underestimate mosquitoes. It is this seemingly inconspicuous little creature that stopped European countries in Africa and even hindered the colonial ambitions of the great powers.
Diseases such as malaria and yellow fever spread by mosquitoes have always been the biggest enemies of tropical colonies.
During the "Imperial Expedition", the African Corps lost more than 30% of its personnel, almost all of whom died from various diseases, and the most direct cause was the diseases brought by mosquitoes and flies.
In order to protect against mosquitoes and flies, all houses in Africa and tropical colonies had to be equipped with screen windows and screen doors. Emperor Zhu even invented elastic hinges with springs that could automatically rebound for installing screen doors.
It was the mandatory use of screen doors and windows, coupled with the use of new mosquito nets, that enabled the Ming Dynasty to gain a foothold in Africa. However, even so, the empire's colonies were still plagued by tropical diseases such as malaria.
After all, you can't prevent it just by defense, what's more important is to kill!
The most effective protection is to kill mosquitoes with drugs such as mosquito coils. What can be used to kill mosquitoes? In China, wormwood is often used to fumigate mosquitoes. Although the effect is average, it has greatly reduced the incidence of malaria in the colonies in combination with screen doors, screen windows and mosquito nets.
Mosquitoes not only have a direct impact on the empire's colonization, but agricultural pests also threaten the empire's agricultural production. Whether it is to prevent the threat of infectious diseases such as malaria and yellow fever, or to prevent the threat of crop failure when insect pests including locusts break out, it is necessary to research a pesticide.
However, due to the limitations of technological level, Emperor Zhu finally chose natural insecticides - pyrethrum and derris root powder. The former had been processed and sold half a century ago, and almost thirty years ago, derris root powder was also sold as an insecticide powder like it. When it was introduced for cultivation more than ten years ago, the Ming Dynasty did not use pyrethrum powder or derris root powder like Europe and the United States, but used modern chemistry to extract the active ingredients in them and made insecticides for mosquito killing and agricultural pest control.
Although the effect is average, it is better than nothing.
However, it is precisely the use of these natural pesticides that has made many people see the benefits of pesticides to agriculture and have begun to engage in pesticide research.
Shen Mingdong, a professor of chemistry at Zhongdu Imperial University, is also conducting similar research. However, unlike others who tend to study natural pesticides, he focuses more on chemical pesticides.
"If chlorine can kill people, it must be able to kill insects!"
It has to be said that Shen Mingdong's thoughts were very direct. After learning about the heavy casualties caused by the chlorine gas used by the military in the attack on Brazil, he came up with the idea of using chlorine gas.
But how to use chlorine to kill insects is obviously a problem.
In the past few years, Shen Mingdong and his assistants have been conducting chlorine-based synthesis experiments in the laboratory. Although the experiments have not been successful, there are still some gains.
On a sunny day, Shen Mingdong, along with a dozen assistants, was busy in the chemical laboratory around a pile of glass bottles as usual. The yellow and green contents in the bottles and the gas masks they wore reminded people that these experiments were a bit dangerous.
The so-called experiment, in most cases, is a process of trial and error. Why did Edison's laboratory destroy the golden age of inventors? To put it bluntly, it is because the trial and error of dozens or hundreds of people is more efficient. And Shen Mingdong, who led his student assistants to conduct trial and error, is of course also very efficient.
They have conducted numerous trials over the past three years.
Today seemed to be an ordinary day. Standing by the windowsill, Ye Zhiqiu passed chlorine directly into benzene and dissolved it. During this process, looking at the sunlight shining on the test vessel, he saw that the benzene turned yellow-green and the tail gas was passed into the calcium hydroxide solution. As the experiment progressed, when he saw the solution suddenly become turbid, he began to observe the thermometer, and when he found that the temperature was rising rapidly, he immediately shouted.
"Teacher Shen, its temperature has risen by nearly ten degrees in a short period of time. What should we do next?"
"It should have triggered a reaction,"
After thinking about it, Shen Mingdong said.
"Try increasing the chlorine supply, then cool it with ice water, and monitor the temperature."
In this way, under the professor's command, Ye Zhiqiu and his classmates immediately got busy. The reaction temperature was controlled between 40 and 60 degrees, and the supply of chlorine was guaranteed. After maintaining it for several hours, they obtained some recrystallization mother liquor.
…
This was just an experiment. The number "999" on the test record was also the so-called "999" compound. In the end, what was obtained was some yellow powder. As for the effect, further experiments were still needed.
It was a sunny day, and as usual, Ye Zhiqiu and his classmates opened the cages containing locusts, and soon the laboratory was filled with locusts.
"Try spraying 20 grams first."
With the help of the powder sprayer, the powder was blown away and then blown into the laboratory through a pipe. At this time, Ye Zhiqiu and the others were still chatting there. This was just one of countless experiments. Almost no one had any expectations for it. Even Professor Shen Mingdong himself did not participate in this experiment.
"Look, there are locusts falling!"
Suddenly a sharp-eyed classmate shouted loudly.
"It didn't fly to the ground..."
Before Ye Zhiqiu could finish his words, the locusts densely packed in the test chamber fell to the ground like raindrops. The people looking through the glass windows were dumbfounded and stood there like fools.
“This, this…”
Ye Zhiqiu was stunned and surprised, speechless. After a while, he spoke.
"Could it be the same as the last test, just nerve paralysis?"
In previous experiments, they also obtained some synthetic substances, but the effects were not satisfactory. At most, they could only kill small pests, and pests like locusts only caused short-term nerve paralysis.
"I don't think so. It works very quickly. It's only been a short time. Even if it's nerve paralysis, it won't be that fast."
"That's definitely the case. 999 must be highly toxic. We can test it on mice again."
It turns out that the locusts were killed, and died completely, with not a single one surviving. When they were cheering for it, when they replicated the experiment again and wanted to synthesize compound No. 999 again, they unexpectedly found that the experiment failed?
how so?
Shen Mingdong and his assistants who heard the news were all confused. No one knew the answer, but what was certain was that they opened a door - the door to organic chemistry.
In another world, this synthetic substance is called hexachlorobenzene, commonly known as "666", which has contact, fumigation and stomach poisoning effects on insects. In industry, it is synthesized by benzene and chlorine under ultraviolet light.
In the following time, they continued to conduct experiments, but they were not able to replicate the previous products until they succeeded once again. As they kept checking the steps of the experiment, Ye Zhiqiu looked at the bright sunlight on the windowsill shining on the experimental vessels, and repeatedly recalled the previous experimental synthesis steps. He suddenly muttered to himself.
"Does it mean that you need light? Sunlight?"
Light!
On this day, God said, "Let there be light," and there was light!
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