Young Master Zhao actually deliberately challenged the so-called taboo.
The moment he set foot in this four-legged village, he could feel countless pairs of eyes staring at him in the low thatched huts.
Young Master Zhao didn't care at all. He walked to the sulfur-making shed at the village head with a relaxed look. A dozen or so untouchables who were busy inside knelt on the ground in panic. They were only ordered not to go out today, but they were not told not to work in the house.
Zhao Hao ignored them. His eyes were attracted by the baskets of golden things in the shed.
"Is this the sulfur ore transported down from the volcano?" asked Master Zhao.
The Tang Dynasty interpreter quickly translated it, and the leading untouchable nodded timidly.
"Ask him, and then what to do?" Mr. Zhao said to the interpreter.
The interpreter quickly translated it and urged him several times. The untouchable finally stood up tremblingly, but he saw the old man of Tanegashima standing outside with a conflicted look on his face. He was so scared that he quickly knelt on the ground.
Zhao Hao looked back and said unhappily, "Why did you follow me in? Kneel outside."
Tanegashima Shiyao and others were still reluctant to kneel. It was not that they were unruly again, but this was a village of untouchables. How dirty!
The guards wearing black leather boots kicked them from behind, knocking them to the ground. Only then did the guys kneel down obediently.
"They are kneeling down, you stand up." Zhao Hao said to the old man, "This is an order."
The old man stood up quickly and led them inside with his back bent, while explaining the process of making sulfur. It was nothing more than using a sieve to remove impurities, then crushing the sulfur ore with a roller, and grinding it into sulfur powder with a small mill. Then add five or six bowls of water to thirty or forty kilograms of sulfur powder, put it in a big pot and cook it. The air was soon filled with the smell of rotten eggs.
"Hydrogen sulfide, wear a mask." Zhao Hao covered his nose.
Upon hearing this, Secretary Ma quickly pulled out a black cotton mask like a magician and put it on Mr. Zhao. He also put on a blue one himself.
Wang Rulong and others also quickly took out their masks and put them on. This was what Master Zhao had asked them to bring before coming.
Zhao Hao explained to everyone in a low voice that the purpose of adding water to boil is to remove impurities such as acid and ash powder in the sulfur powder. During the heating process, a large amount of water can be evaporated along with the acid. When the water evaporates, the acid is also removed. Then the temperature in the pot can continue to rise to the melting point of sulfur.
Then I saw a few untouchables lift up the iron pot and pour the melted sulfur into a coarse porcelain basin, waiting for it to cool slowly.
Because the ash has a higher specific gravity than sulfur, it sinks to the bottom, so the higher the sulfur is, the higher its purity. The top part is called "yellow tip", which is very pure in color and is the top material for making black powder.
The remaining base needs to be boiled again to extract more sulfur powder. In this way, about five kilograms of ore can produce one kilogram of "Huangshao", which is more than ten times more efficient than making sulfur from sulfide.
"Good, very good." Zhao Hao opened a jar of sulfur powder that looked like cornmeal and praised it. It must be admitted that the Japanese were serious and meticulous in their work. The sulfur powder they prepared was obviously purer than that of the Ming Dynasty.
"Take it back and mix it with gunpowder to see how it works." He waved his hand and accepted dozens of jars of sulfur from the warehouse. Each jar weighed 60 kilograms, so the total weight was about 2,000 to 3,000 kilograms.
He asked the foreman again: "How long did it take to achieve this result?"
"We come to collect the goods on the 10th of every month. This is the result of more than 20 days." The foreman replied.
"How many people are there among you?" Zhao Hao asked again.
"There are two hundred people who can work."
"It's still more efficient to purify sulfur ore!" Young Master Zhao couldn't help but be amazed. In Jiangnan, there are 2,000 workers making sulfur for the group, but in a month, they can only produce 4,000 kilograms.
Hearing that the speed of producing sulfur could be increased tenfold in this way, Wang Rulong and others were very excited, as if they had seen a bright future with unlimited gunpowder!
What, more saltpeter is needed? In this era where toilets are the most powerful weapon, do you know how many people there are in Jiangnan and how many toilets there are? Let me tell you, there are six million toilets! Therefore, the saltpeter of Ming Dynasty itself is in unlimited supply!
Poop is used as fertilizer, urine is used to make explosives, and the more people poop, the better!
Don't underestimate this smelly saltpeter method, which was the biggest military secret in the Middle Ages. The Ming Dynasty kept it strictly secret, even from the loyal Joseon Dynasty. On the one hand, the Ming Dynasty deceived the Joseon Dynasty that "saltpeter was extracted from seawater" to cut off the possibility of the Joseon Dynasty making gunpowder. On the other hand, it controlled the Joseon military power by trading in a very small amount of gunpowder.
So it seems that fathers also keep some things in reserve for their sons.
In addition, it was because of this method that Oda Nobunaga monopolized the supply of gunpowder in Japan for a long time. Later, Honganji Temple paid a huge price and learned from the oral information of his disciples that peeing on the roots of Artemisia argyi would ferment into "salt saltpeter", and peeing on bird, pig, and horse manure seemed to have a better effect.
And Xianru, the old monk, found that after purification, there was no taste... um, serious face. Don't ask how he knew, the answer is that he has never tasted it.
~~
Young Master Zhao took the trouble to personally follow the mountain path and climb up the volcano that was constantly spewing white gas, and witnessed with his own eyes the spectacular sight of sulfur ore all over the mountain.
"Indeed, we won't have to worry about sulfur for at least a few decades!" This made him very happy, and he immediately ordered Tanegashima Shiyao to gather all the untouchables on all the islands under his jurisdiction to this island and go all out to mine and make sulfur!
"In the future, we don't need to send captured Japanese pirates to Tamra anymore. Bring them here to do hard labor." Zhao Hao instructed Wang Rulong in a deep voice, "Open up the forest. It's a pity not to grow crops on such fertile land. Such a large island can not only be self-sufficient, but also supply other places."
"Yes." Wang Rulong quickly wrote it down.
"You guys should also not be idle." Zhao Hao asked Shi Na Yao again: "How many guns can you make in a month... Oh, that is, iron cannons."
"My lord, fifty." Shi Yao knew that the other party would not let go of their well-made cannons.
"Don't make whole guns anymore, just make gun barrels." Zhao Hao ordered in a deep voice: "Hand in 100 qualified gun barrels a month. Is that difficult?"
"This, this is very difficult..." Shi Yao broke out in a sweat when he heard this.
"It looks like there's hope. That's it. We must ensure both quality and quantity." Zhao Hao said in a deep voice, "If there aren't enough blacksmiths, find a way to recruit them. If we can't recruit enough, we'll train them ourselves. Next year, the price will increase to 200 per month, and the year after, 300 per month. If you can't pay, your foreign trade qualification will be revoked, and Tanegashima can wait to starve!"
Forging a gun barrel is the most time-consuming and laborious part of the gun-making process. Although Japan did not master casting technology, its forging technology was close to perfection, which was the best choice for making gun barrels. Moreover, only letting them make gun barrels would not only help improve their proficiency, but also allow their gun-making skills to gradually deteriorate.
"Hi. I understand." Tanegashima Tokiyo agreed with a sad face.
~~
In the afternoon, Shi Yao followed the order and sent one hundred cows and two hundred sheep from the ranch on Yakushima Island... These were all raised to make leather goods for the Shimazu family.
Seeing that the Ming Dynasty people did not use the untouchables to do anything, but directly slaughtered the cattle and sheep and bled them, Shi Yao and others were so frightened that their legs trembled and they kept chanting "Amitabha".
"Get lost now." Wang Rulong hated their behavior. Damn, the Japanese pirates were so ruthless when it came to killing people. It was scary to see them slaughtering cattle and sheep. Who would dare to perform this for?
Shi Yao and others fled as if they had been pardoned, and quickly returned to the dock and boarded the boat.
Looking at Iwo Jima gradually moving away, they all collapsed on the boat, feeling as if they had just had a nightmare.
How could the people of the Ming Dynasty dare to eat even cattle and sheep? Aren’t they afraid of being reborn as animals in their next life?
Did the people of the Ming Dynasty no longer believe in Buddhism? Were they also bewitched by the Christian religion?
Shi Yao, filled with fear, urged his men to row the boat as hard as they could to get away from this devil's island.
They called the big volcano on the island the Ghost World Volcano. Legend has it that it is the entrance to the ghost world, and it opens its mouth to swallow living people from time to time.
Only those evil creatures and non-humans will not be affected, because they are the same kind.
"I really hope that all the people of the Ming Dynasty will be dragged back to the ghost world tomorrow morning..." muttered a retainer.
"I hope so." Shi Yao thought so too.
~~
In the evening, the police officers set up barracks on the north shore of the island, where the hot springs were most concentrated. They lit a bonfire, roasted whole lamb and stewed beef, soaked in the hot springs and sang songs, fully venting the fatigue and stress accumulated over the past few days.
The guards set up a circle of curtains next to a hot spring facing the sea, sheltered from the wind, far away from the camp, for the young master and the two girls to take a bath.
"These guys are so careless that they didn't even separate the bathing pools for men and women." Young Master Zhao complained to the two sisters who followed him in to serve him.
"It's okay, young master, you can soak first, and then we'll soak after you're done." Sister Ma smiled while biting her red lips as she undressed him.
"Yes, yes, you wash yourself." Qiaoqiao placed the white bath towel on the stone, and slowly put the water bottle, wine jug and other things in place. "I'll go cook for you first."
The afterglow of the setting sun made her face red.
"It's so comfortable..." Mr. Zhao sat in the steamy hot spring and suddenly suggested, "In Japan, men and women bathe together. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Let's bathe together."
"Really? There is still such a rule?" Qiaoqiao was quite tempted when she heard this, but then she came to her senses and immediately covered her face and said, "How shameless!"
"It seems that you should go to the bar by yourself, young master." Sister Ma smiled with her hands covering her mouth, put a cotton towel on his shoulders and was about to get up.
"I'm scared to be alone." Zhao Hao held her hand, looked at Ma Xianglan with clear eyes and said, "And you haven't told me why you are sad."
After hearing the first half of his sentence, Ma Xianglan wanted to make fun of him and get away, but after hearing the second half, Sister Ma's eyes turned red and she softened all of a sudden.
It turns out that the young master not only cares about the world, but also cares about me...
"Yeah." She nodded imperceptibly and responded in a mosquito-like voice.
p.s. I’m going to write one more chapter, and finally I can update three times. Please give me your monthly votes!