Chapter 685 True and False (May the deceased rest in peace)
Just when Commander Xin was still hesitating about the next person to be sent to the Han tribe, someone outside suddenly came to report that Niu Wei was back.
It was really a good opportunity to see what he had to say. If this guy was still useful, he would not mind letting him go to the Han tribe again. At least he was familiar with the place.
"Let him in." Commander Xin nodded and said. It happened that most of the elders were here, so there was no need to find a place to hold a meeting.
After a while, Niu Wei rushed over in a dusty manner. He was still dressed in the Han tribe, with a hairpin tied in his hair, a cross-collared robe on the outside of his trousers, a cloth belt around his waist, and a pair of cloth shoes made of old linen on his feet.
No one said anything to him, because Commander Xin and several other elders were dressed similarly. This kind of attire of the Han tribe was very capable and practical. The key was that cloth was more comfortable to wear than animal skins and felts, and it looked high-end. As the highest level of the Xin tribe, they also had to save face. They could wear comfortable and good-looking clothes. Who would want to wear animal skins with their hair down every day?
"Niu Wei greets the commander-in-chief." Niu Wei, who was in his early thirties, greeted Commander Xin with the Han tribe's hand gesture as soon as he entered the door. Although Commander Xin was not used to it, he did not say anything.
"I heard that you have been observing the embassy's residence these days. Have you found anything? Is the technology they provide us the best in the Han tribe?" Xin Tong asked straight to the point.
When did he observe them at the embassy's residence? Niu Wei was a little confused, but when he saw Elder Zhu next to him nodding slightly to him, he knew what was going on. Old Zhu was covering for himself. Could he also be from the Han tribe?
Throwing all these things aside, Niu Wei thought about Commander Xin's question, and after organizing his words, he replied.
"Replying to the Great Commander, I have found that some of the technologies you asked about are good, and some are not the best."
"Then tell me about them all." Commander Xin pinched his eyebrows after hearing this. The delegation was indeed making moves again.
"Aren't these technologies the best? What kind of better technologies are Elder Niu talking about?" Obviously, Elder Qi and Commander Xin's focus is different. He only cares about the technical problems on his side, and as for what the Han tribe delegation will do, it is none of his business.
"Let's talk about the technology first. The pen, ink, paper and inkstone are the technologies that the Han tribe promised to give us. Oh, and there are also movable type printing technology and woodblock printing technology. It's just that we don't have paper for the time being, so we can't do this yet.
The original technology of pen, ink, paper and inkstone is very simple, and there is no difference between high and low. It's just that in papermaking, due to the different raw materials, the papermaking method and the quality of the finished product are also different. We have a lot of bamboo on Zhudao, so the Han tribe taught us to make paper with bamboo. The quality of bamboo paper is still good. I have used it in
the Han tribe, so you can rest assured. In terms of movable type printing, the Han tribe uses metal movable type. The Han tribe will definitely not give us this for free, but we can buy it with copper. Their metal movable type is made of bronze alloy and cast. There is also woodblock printing. Now we have carving knives and wooden boards, so we can carve it ourselves, and there is no difference between high and low.
In terms of transportation, the vehicles sold to us by the Han tribe are relatively ordinary, but they are also considered to be good. When I was in the Han tribe, I saw a four-wheeled heavy-duty carriage. The front wheels of that carriage can also turn, and the whole is made of iron and wood. If it is made, it can hold a lot of things at a time, but the requirements for the road are a little higher, so we don't need to consider this for the time being.
As for the rest, in terms of shipbuilding, according to the woodworking tools placed here, we can already try to make it. Even if the Han tribe does not give us, we can explore it ourselves.
Other technical matters, there is also the technology of weaving cloth. The one we are currently learning is not the best in the Han tribe.
The Han tribe's weaving technology is very advanced, which can be seen from the cloth they weave. You should have seen the very wide cloth of the Han tribe, but the loom they sold to us can't weave it.
I know that the Han tribe has a flying shuttle loom, which is more than six times more efficient than the loom we are using now. It is faster and easier. One weaver can replace seven or eight people weaving at the same time. "
Niuwei thought for a long time and finally chose to tell the truth. How can you gain everyone's trust if you don't tell the truth? Besides, telling these truths is nothing. As long as the people in front of them are not stupid, they should understand that the Han tribe is impossible to pass on the most advanced technology to them directly.
"There's such a big difference!" Commander Xin and the elders were surprised.
Although they had expected this and knew that the technology used by the Han tribe would definitely be better than the export version sold to them, they were still shocked by the difference.
"Elder Niu, what is the difference between the flying shuttle loom you mentioned and the loom we are using now? Why is it so much better than the one we use now?" Elder Qi asked curiously.
As the head of the technical research and development department, Elder Qi was going to imitate a series of machines including textile technology. But when he knew that the machine he thought was very advanced was already obsolete technology in the other party, he couldn't help but feel shocked and surprised, and had a deep inferiority complex.
"I don't know much about it. They won't let me observe it carefully. I just took a look from a distance. I only know that the loom is much larger than the one we use. It is very wide and large. The most critical technology is the flying shuttle. It is said that with that thing, you don't have to pass the shuttle back and forth with your hands. The flying shuttle can thread the thread back and forth by itself, so the weaving speed is very fast." Niu Wei explained.
"What is the shuttle made of? Elder Niu, have you never seen it before?" Elder Qi thought this thing was amazing, so he kept asking.
"I haven't looked at it carefully, I just took a look from a distance. It's made of metal, either bronze or iron. In addition to these, I also heard that there is a very advanced metal part on the shuttle, which is made of steel, which is not common even in the Han tribe." Niu Wei revealed another important information.
"Steel? What is that?" Elder Jin, who is in charge of metal smelting, also became interested.
"It should be iron. I heard that it is a metal made of iron as the main raw material, which is better than iron. Steel, you can also understand it as the most powerful iron. If these two things are used to make a knife, the steel knife can easily cut off the iron knife. Of course, it is even easier to cut our copper weapons, because copper is not as hard as iron.
By the way, this year the Han tribe has also established a new county called Xingang County. I heard that it is a county specializing in steel production." Niu Wei answered again.
Elder Jin's eyes lit up when he heard this. It turned out that the Han tribe had a metal that was more powerful than iron. Sure enough, what they brought was not the best. But this was normal. As an elder who had been dealing with metal smelting for half his life, his curiosity about steel became even stronger at this time.
"Oh, by the way, the Han tribe has made more powerful things in recent months. I brought a few here to show you. These are the things they have shipped to Zhudao and started selling. Otherwise, I can't get them." Niu Wei said as he turned around to go out to get something.
"They are willing to sell us the new things they just made. Aren't they afraid that we will learn from them?" Elder Qi asked in confusion.
"You will know when you see it. This thing is not something we can make."
Niu Wei said as he walked, and soon brought back a few calcium carbide lamps from outside the cave. Everyone was immediately attracted by the transparent glass lampshade. This thing, can people also make it? !
"Elder Niu, what is this? Why is it as transparent as water, but it's a little yellow." Elder Sheng also spoke for the first time. The things he talked about before had little to do with him, but this was different, because he really had never seen it, and he was curious, so he couldn't hold back his mouth.
"This is a glass lampshade, made transparent so that the fire inside can shine through." Niu Wei explained.
"You said this is a lamp?!" Elder Qi couldn't help but wonder.
"Great Commander, can you ask someone to get some clean water? Also, put out the fire in the cave. This thing is called a calcium carbide lamp. It is very bright when it is lit." Niu Wei didn't answer. He decided to light it directly to let them learn more.
Commander Xin thought about it and agreed. He also felt that this thing was very novel.
The naturally formed cave was not very bright. Even though it was daytime, many braziers were lit in the cave for lighting. However, because of Niu Wei's suggestion, all the braziers were temporarily extinguished.
Niu Wei asked someone to find clean water and filled the water tanks of several calcium carbide lamps, and then pretended to light the lamps.
"Elder Niu, doesn't this light require oil? Can this lamp be lit by boiling water?" Several elders were all confused. They had never seen such lamps before.
"Almost."
Niu Wei ignored them and started to operate on his own. He lifted up the glass lampshade, turned on the valve for adding water, and when the odor came out of the wick, he pressed the flint ignition device inside. With a slight snap, the dazzling white flame ignited. Niu Wei lowered the yellow glass lampshade, slightly adjusted the water control valve, and let it go.
He lit up several carbide lamps one by one, and the dazzling light illuminated the entire dim cave space. Commander Xin and others who had not yet adapted to the situation squinted their eyes.
"What is this? Is this a lamp? How can it be so bright?"
The people who had just despised the flashy lamps made by the Han tribe were now dumbfounded, because they had never seen or heard of an artificial light source that could reach this brightness.
"Such a bright lamp, is it really only needed to boil water?" Commander Xin finally spoke, because he really couldn't believe it was true.
"No, this is called a calcium carbide lamp. The transparent glass lampshade on the outside actually has no special function. It is just a kind of ceramic-like thing made by the Han tribe. There is no essential difference between it and ceramic. The only difference is that it can transmit light, so it is used to make lampshades.
The most important thing about this calcium carbide lamp is actually its fuel. It burns gas." Niu Wei turned down the flame of a lamp so that the few people felt it was no longer dazzling. Then he took it to them and explained it.
"Gas can also burn?!" Several people looked puzzled and found it a little incredible.
"Yes."
Niu Wei found a water bowl, then took out a piece of calcium carbide to introduce it.
"This lamp is called a calcium carbide lamp because it uses calcium carbide as the raw material for life. This stone was made by the Han tribe. As long as it touches water, it will react and release combustible gas. Watch it."
Niu Wei put a small piece of calcium carbide into the water bowl, and then took a burning small stick and placed it on the bowl. The calcium carbide quickly rolled violently in the water, and then released a large number of bubbles to the surface of the water. These slightly smelly acetylene gases encountered the burning open flame as soon as they came out of the water, and then were quickly ignited.
With a light sound of "puff", a ball of dazzling white flame suddenly appeared on the water surface in the bowl. Niu Wei took the stick away, but the reaction in the bowl continued. The previous flame was about to go out, and new acetylene gas was replenished under the water surface, so a ball of flickering white flames rose strangely on the water surface in the bowl. This wonder of water and fire coexisting together made the surrounding Xin Commander and a group of great elders stare wide-eyed. This is too magical.
Finally, the carbon in the calcium carbide was consumed, and the hydrogen atoms in the water were also consumed. The water level dropped a little, and the calcium carbide inside had turned into calcium carbonate limestone again. The water also became turbid lime water. The reaction was completely over, and the bright flames disappeared.
"It's amazing." After holding it in for a long time, Elder Sheng and Elder Qi said this with emotion.
"Is this thing newly made by the Han tribe?" Commander Xin asked.
"Yes, they sold very well in the Han tribe as soon as they were made. Although it was a bit expensive, and it took a worker several days' salary to buy one, it was practical. In the long run, it was actually more cost-effective than burning oil lamps because calcium carbide was cheaper.
Later, they were sold to the grassland by the Han tribe, and now calcium carbide lamps are also selling very well in the grassland.
These I brought were delivered by a ship when I came back a few days ago.
In addition to these, the Han tribe recently built a lighthouse to guide ships at night. It was also made of this calcium carbide lamp, but it is larger. The lamp is as big as a house and can emit a white beam of light in the dark, which can illuminate a distance of tens of kilometers, well, about the distance of half a day on horseback." Niu Wei introduced again.
"So far?!"
"So the lighthouse the people in the delegation were talking about was made of this kind of thing. I didn't expect it to be so amazing."
"That's right. The Han tribe has a lot of good things. The most important thing is that they are developing very fast. If you don't see them for a while, you don't know what strange things they will come up with. The gap between us and the Han tribe is still very large.
So in order to catch up with the Han tribe as soon as possible, I proposed to the Han leader to give us a chance to go on a diplomatic mission again. This time the delegation can bring more people, the purpose is to exchange and learn from the Han tribe, and also to inspect and visit.
The Han leader was also very interested in this matter. He even wrote a letter in person, inviting the commander-in-chief to bring the Xin tribe elders to visit together. I guess he might want to sell us something to make money, or he wants to buy something from us.
Commander-in-chief, look, this is the handwritten letter from the Han leader. Are you going this time?"
After Niu Wei finished speaking, Commander Xin didn't say anything, but the elders around him began to get excited. They had been thinking about how to have such an opportunity.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
