Chapter 35 Chapter 35 Wang Jian’s Pill is Complete (Two in One)…
Before Tang Yuan could analyze Wang Jian's attributes, Zhu Dan received news from Xianyang that the coal mine had been found.
She immediately planned to return to Xianyang, but she didn't want to stop the class. Seeing Wang Jian's progress, her eyes lit up: "General Wang, please help me with something."
"Please speak, Imperial Master." Although he asked this, Wang Jian had already guessed it.
Sure enough, Zhu Dan asked him to help teach.
The mathematics she taught was the most basic of the basics, and Wang Jian had learned it all after just one lesson.
The second is simplified Chinese characters, which is a little more troublesome, but there are similarities between simplified Chinese characters and small seal script. By comparison, it is not difficult to learn.
Zhu Dan gave Wang Jian the courseware he had compiled. "Their foundation is very weak right now, so there's no need to teach anything too complex. Just repeat the same content. If General Wang finds it troublesome, just train someone to take your place."
Not to mention that Wang Jian would not go against the words of the national teacher at this time, he himself was also very interested in the content of later generations.
Ever since Zhu Dan first wrote this text on the blackboard and led everyone to recite the so-called pinyin, he keenly realized the convenience of this text.
In Wang Jian's view, the focus of the national teacher is on mathematics, and Chinese is taught incidentally, but it is also a nerve-wracking thing.
The people of Qian who can read have more or less had special opportunities, but now the imperial teacher wants to teach them characters!
Although the nobles used small seal script, which was different from this kind of writing, Wang Jian would not be so stupid as to ignore it.
At his level, he has the necessary political qualities.
I'm afraid that the Qin Dynasty is about to change. No, it should be said that the Qin Dynasty began to change since the day the national teacher appeared.
Zhu Dan did not notice Wang Jian's secretive look. She hurried back to Xianyang. The first blast furnace was built in the National Master's Hall.
But Ying Zheng had already vacated the surrounding palaces. When Zhu Dan arrived, Yun Qiu followed her instructions, used slag to make refractory bricks, and built a second blast furnace two palaces apart.
Zhu Dan just happened to catch the second blast furnace ignition.
The coal was broken into pieces and thrown into the furnace, the blower started working, and the fire finally started.
Zhu Dan felt the heat coming towards him and felt happy.
Indeed, switching from burning charcoal to burning coal is a big improvement.
Half a day later, the molten iron began to melt.
A ceramic crucible catches the molten iron, and as soon as it begins to turn into pig iron ingots, the blacksmith begins to hammer it.
Xiang Lichun, who was watching, was amazed. "I remember our first batch of iron ore took several days to melt, and it didn't even turn into this thorough orange-red molten iron! That Shi De even said that these conditions were much better than his previous ironmaking conditions, and the iron knives produced were quite sharp. I didn't expect that simply replacing charcoal with black stone would save so much trouble. Just looking at this molten iron, I know the quality of the iron knives we'll make will be great."
He had learned a lot from Zhu Dan and knew that the reason why iron knives broke so easily before was because there were too many impurities.
"Of course!" Zhu Dan said proudly. "This isn't just a change of fuel. Let me tell you, any advancement in materials, energy, or anything like that can lead to a technological leap forward."
"Hahaha, now that I can make an iron kitchen knife, can I make an iron wok next?!" Zhu Dan put her hands on her hips and smiled brightly, "My fried dough sticks, my fried crispy pork, my fried chicken legs..."
Everyone was still wondering what the iron kitchen knife was, and if it wasn't a weapon, then Zhu Dan, who was enjoying the food, suddenly changed his expression and shouted, "Tangyuan!"
A huge tripod flew out almost at the same time, and it was still growing bigger, quickly covering the burning blast furnace.
Those with sharp eyes had already noticed that before the alchemy cauldron covered the blast furnace, a part of the blast furnace had already broken, and large and small pieces of debris flew around.
However, these fragments were firmly trapped inside the alchemy furnace, making a dull and small sound.
The onlookers reacted belatedly, and cold sweat instantly soaked their backs.
What just happened?
The blast furnace exploded directly?
They were almost blown to death?
Even if you don't die, the orange-red molten iron will splash out, just imagine the temperature!
It can even melt hard iron, let alone flesh and blood!
As brave as Xianglichun and calm as Xiangliyuan, they sat down on the ground and gasped for breath.
Gongsun Liu's face was filled with fear, and she clutched the corner of Zhu Dan's clothes and trembled.
Even Ying Zheng and his ministers who came to watch again had their expressions changed, and some of the timid ones even screamed.
Zhu Dan, who used the alchemy cauldron to block the explosion, was also in a bad mood. The molten iron and the power of the explosion naturally could not hurt Tangyuan, but the enlargement of the alchemy cauldron suddenly drained all the spiritual energy inside the cauldron.
Zhu Dan's face turned pale and her hands and feet were weak. Fortunately, Yun Qiu, who noticed something was wrong, held her up and she did not fall.
"How do you feel, Zhu Qing?" Ying Zheng hurried over to ask.
Zhu Dan waved his hand: "I'll take a break, everyone please step back."
Everyone retreated in unison, and those whose legs were really weak were quickly pulled away.
Zhu Dan retracted the cauldron. With the glutinous rice balls blocking it, no more debris flew over. However, the scene was a mess, and the molten iron flowed to the ground.
Fortunately, there were no flammable objects around, and the grass and trees had been cleared cleanly. She looked at Yun Qiu and said, "Find someone to put out the fire."
It was two days later when we finally cleaned up.
Unfortunately, the blast furnace collapsed and everything had to start from scratch.
Fortunately, Zhu Dan was rescued in time that day and got two kitchen knives.
She sharpened the knife herself without using any spiritual power. She just found a stone to sharpen it. She spent the entire afternoon sharpening it, and her hands were almost numb.
After killing a chicken without much effort, Zhu Dan tried it with other things and was very satisfied: "Not bad, I will feel more at ease when the chef uses this knife in the future."
Previously, chefs used copper knives.
The copper knife is naturally not as sharp as the iron knife, and Zhu Dan does not trust the copper knife technology here.
Generally speaking, copper ions will not be precipitated from intact copper knives, but be careful when they come into contact with acidic foods.
So she specifically told the chef the seriousness of the matter and asked him to remember to check whether the copper knife was damaged before using it.
In comparison, the iron knife is much more convenient.
The human body needs to supplement trace elements such as iron.
Compared to the food safety issue that Zhu Dan paid attention to, the people watching Tie Dao were all confused when they heard this.
"You're using such a good knife as a kitchen knife?"
"Yes, if it weren't for the kitchen knife and iron pot, I wouldn't have started the blast furnace to smelt iron so early." Zhu Dan said as if it was a matter of course.
It’s hard to describe what everyone is saying.
Seeing this, Zhu Dan couldn't help but say, "You don't think I'm dealing with iron tools just to make weapons, do you?"
Everyone nodded silently.
Zhu Dan was speechless. "What the Great Qin needs most right now isn't war, but peaceful development. Even the Xiongnu have been dealt with by General Meng. Am I supposed to use this iron knife to hunt down and kill every remaining villain of the Six Kingdoms?"
Everyone: “…”
"But you did remind me." Zhu Dan stroked his chin, "I have to inform His Majesty."
Zhu Dan went straight to Ying Zheng and had a heated discussion about whether to develop weapons or daily necessities.
This is what she thought.
Ying Zheng remained calm from beginning to end.
He agreed with Zhu Dan's idea. The six kingdoms had been destroyed, and the only thing left for Qin to fight was to recover the surrounding small countries, which was not the most urgent thing.
However, he did not quite agree with Zhu Dan's suggestion of making iron kitchen knives and selling them to the people.
This was not surprising, as Zhu Dan remembered that Ying Zheng once collected all the soldiers in the world and cast them into twelve golden men.
This weapon does not include kitchen knives and farm tools, but refers to swords, bows and crossbows. But how can a copper knife compare with an iron knife?
Ying Zheng couldn't help but have some concerns.
Zhu Dan wanted to say that this only delayed the uprising to a certain extent, but in fact it touched upon the essence of the matter. The people of Qian really couldn't survive any longer, and they would use anything, whether it was weapons or kitchen knives or farm tools, to resist.
However, she realized she couldn't spoil the story, so she took a step back. "Kitchen knives are rare right now, and they can't afford them if they're released. So, keep them for use in the palace, or give them as rewards to ministers who have made contributions, Your Majesty. But as for the iron pot, that's fine. You can't say an iron pot can kill someone if it's dropped, just like a stone can."
Ying Zheng has recently learned a lot about the affairs of the common people from Zhu Dan: "They can't even afford an iron pot."
"I can't afford it now, but that doesn't mean I won't be able to buy it in the future. Let me make a sample for you, Your Majesty."
Ying Zheng thought about the efficiency of using a blast furnace to melt iron blocks into molten iron and nodded silently.
The cost of iron knives is decreasing, but the people are developing. One day they will be able to afford them.
He never underestimated Zhu Dan's determination in this regard.
"My current plan is to open a fried chicken shop." Zhu Dan's face lit up when he talked about food. "The iron pan isn't ready yet. Your Majesty, you certainly don't understand the allure of fried food. But it doesn't matter. You'll understand it soon. Humanity's desire for high-fat, high-sugar foods is ingrained in our genes. Let's make fried dough sticks first. With the water mill, we can bring down the price of flour, but oil is still a scarce commodity, and only a few people can afford these fried dough sticks. As for the fried chicken I want, I'll have to develop large-scale chicken farming. I already have pigs anyway, so adding chickens and ducks wouldn't be a big deal..."
She excitedly talked about her next plan.
Currently, the efficiency of soybean oil extraction is very low. Not only the tools but also the quality of soybeans need to be improved.
In addition to soybeans, rapeseed can also be used to extract oil. Zhu Dan didn't know whether Daqin had grown rapeseed, so he temporarily focused on soybeans.
Once again, it is a pity that weed killer cannot improve seeds.
It can only be achieved through domestication from generation to generation, which takes a very long time, so it must be done in advance.
"This is the livelihood of the people that I'm familiar with and understand. As for weaponry, I'm not knowledgeable. That's up to you, Your Majesty. I can only offer some superficial suggestions based on what I've seen in later generations. Quality is more important than quantity in the military. Your Majesty can select the best and equip them with the best weapons and armor."
"Although the Qin Dynasty no longer has external wars, that doesn't mean we have to abandon our military reserves." Zhu Dan's expression was very firm. "Firepower can be used, but it cannot be absent."
Without firepower, there is no sense of security.
This statement was recognized by Ying Zheng.
But selecting the best from the best involves dismantling the military.
Ying Zheng expressed his concerns: "The Qin Empire was founded on military success, and countless people earned titles and fertile land by fighting on the battlefield. I have always worried that if the Qin Empire ceased to wage war, would we only see familiar faces in the future?"
Ying Zheng had actually been in poverty in the State of Zhao, so unlike some nobles who felt at ease selecting acquaintances and had so-called prejudices based on family background, he accepted everyone and selected the virtuous and capable.
But who is the capable one? Who can stand before him?
Civil officials like Li Si are a minority after all. Advancement through military merit is a clear channel that countless people can see. This is a hope that cannot be cut off.
Zhu Dan brought up the imperial examination system: "The imperial examination system has both civil and military examinations. The civil examination assesses the art of governing a country. Of course, in the early stages, it doesn't need to be too advanced; being able to govern a village is good enough. This kind of basic talent is always in short supply. So we can set questions around this and select those with real skills, professionals to do professional work. As for the military examination, that goes without saying. Brother Zheng, you certainly don't think that a general only needs to have a bit of strength. His cultural literacy may not be as high as that of a civil official, but he must be able to read. So there must be an interview and a written test..."
Zhu Dan talked freely about the imperial examination system.
Ying Zheng's eyes lit up, and he almost immediately thought of the paper Zhu Dan had made and the simplified Chinese characters she had taken out.
The best are selected through examinations, based on the fact that most people can read and write.
The future world is truly amazing. Ying Zheng thought that if he could go and take a look at it, it would surely have many good points.
After Zhu Dan reached a consensus with Zheng Ge on weapons, he focused all his attention on how to solve the problem of blast furnace explosion.
She led her team to replace better refractory bricks, change the structure of the blast furnace, conduct inspections before ignition, reduce the input amount of a batch of pig iron ore... and tried various means to adjust the blast furnace.
The explosion afterwards was not as horrific as before.
But there will be more or less problems.
Such as gas leak poisoning, bellows failure due to loss of control... and direct collapse after a period of use.
Zhu Dan was busy and overwhelmed, but fortunately she learned her lesson later. Every time the furnace was opened, either Tangyuan would watch it or she would watch it with her spiritual sense, and she would solve the problem as soon as she found it.
So far, only a few palace maids have been scalded, but no one has been seriously injured or even died.
It's a rare comfort.
At this time, Zhu Dan had no advantages like everyone else. On the contrary, Shi De made rapid progress through repeated practice, and the iron pots he made became thinner each time.
——Although the technology of blast furnace ironmaking was ignited, the iron pot could not immediately reach the thinness of later generations. Although it was called a pot, it was actually thick enough to be used as a shield.
Zhu Dan thought about the good thermal conductivity of iron and simply treated everyone to a teppanyaki barbecue meal.
You know what, everyone likes it very much.
Good food soothes the soul, and it’s a rare opportunity to relax while eating.
Zhu Dan and Shi De both agreed that the problem of frequent accidents in blast furnaces could not be solved by the small adjustments they were currently making, as it involved a higher level of technical threshold.
Shi De’s idea is to conduct more experiments and wait until the quantitative changes accumulate into qualitative changes one day, and then the problem can be completely solved, but Zhu Dan does not have this patience.
It’s not that she is unwilling to calm down and try again and again, but since there is a shortcut, why take it slow?
She had already decided what kind of elixir to make using Wang Jian's luck.
The analysis results of Tangyuan came out. Wang Jian’s luck attributes were indeed complex, a bit like a buffer, which made the two incompatible materials perfectly blend together, allowing the alchemy that was originally doomed to fail to succeed.
It is also somewhat similar to purifying materials, which can make up for the lack of skills or spiritual power when refining pills, and forcibly improve the quality of the original pills to a higher level.
At first glance, it seems to have little to do with Wang Jian's life, but when you think about how Wang Jian and his son assisted Zheng Ge in conquering the six kingdoms, they accomplished something that had never been done before.
Before the Qin Dynasty, who could have imagined that the Central Plains could be unified? This was turning the impossible into possible.
Of course, the main reason for the unification of the Central Plains was Zheng Ge, and Wang Jian and his son were just icing on the cake.
Zhu Dan felt relieved again. Tangyuan's analysis and his own inference were correct.
So she carefully selected the Mother-Child Pill from a number of pill recipes.
Zimudan is a pill with a double-layer structure.
The inner layer is the sub-elixir, and the outer layer is the mother elixir. During the refining process, the mother elixir forcibly absorbs and transforms the external power, all of which is used to nourish the sub-elixir to take shape.
The sub-pills refined in this way can leap to a higher level on the original basis. Perhaps the original elixir was limited by the elixir formula and could not be refined into the best quality, and could only reach the upper quality at most, but through this method, the best quality elixir can be refined.
Zhu Dan felt that it was just right for the current situation.
She wanted to use this mother-child elixir to improve the quality of the blast furnace and forcibly shorten the process that should have required continuous attempts to find a solution.
Damn it, please don’t explode.
She was numb.
As for Wang Jian's deeds, such as using a counter-espionage plan to get rid of Li Mu, this should also be reflected in his attributes and fortune.
However, unlike the above-mentioned "turning the impossible into the possible" and "icing on the cake" which account for a large proportion, and Zhu Dan could not think of where to apply it, he did not design around this one.
Now that she had made up her mind, she began to make some modifications to the simulated pill formula in the simulation room.
When the stars came out, Zhu Dan was surprised to find that all the herbs needed for the Zi Mu Dan were there, without a single one missing.
So what are you waiting for? She immediately rushed around and collected all the materials.
It was the first time that Zhu Dan had encountered such a good thing, and she smiled so kindly when she saw Wang Jian.
You have to know that the first pill she refined, Hu Hai's weed-killing pill, was not assembled so quickly.
I feel a little regretful that I didn’t choose this option at the beginning, otherwise it would have been faster and would not have been delayed until the last day of the seven-day period.
But soon, Zhu Dan felt relieved.
She likes Wang Jian much better than Hu Hai, and she will not take action against him until she knows the consequences of extracting his luck.
"General Wang, I've already figured out what kind of elixir your luck can refine. Should we stay here or return to Xianyang?"
Wang Jian touched the bracelet on his hand. It was no longer as bright as when he first put it on, but it wasn't completely dim either. He said, "Let's go back to Xianyang."
This action naturally drew Zhu Dan's attention to the bracelet. After a moment's thought, he said, "The luck in your bracelet isn't full yet, but I've calculated that the luck required to refine the next elixir won't be as high as Zhao Gao's, so this much is enough for now."
"I'll get you a new one when the time comes. Give this one to me and let me take care of it. It should be able to be used a second time."
After the matter was settled, Zhu Dan and his party returned to Xianyang.
At this time, Xiang Lichun and others were still worried about the occasional malfunctions in the blast furnace. Seeing Zhu Dan come back, they felt a little relieved.
He snatched Zhu Dan's meal and ate while complaining: "Fortunately you left the dumplings, otherwise you would have seen me lying in bed when you came back this time."
"That moment was so thrilling. It was coming directly at my face!" Xiang Lichun was still a little scared.
Seeing him showing such hesitation, which was rare, Zhu Dan patted his shoulder to encourage him: "Don't worry, I've found a solution this time. Wait for my good news."
Xiang Lichun gave him a puzzled look: "Didn't you say you weren't good at this kind of thing?"
"Yes, I'm not good at it, but I can solve it in the way I'm good at." Zhu Dan smiled mysteriously.
Later, Xiang Lichun realized that this so-called expertise was in alchemy.
Well, it's really not surprising at all.
I just don’t know who this unlucky guy will be?
When everyone learned that Wang Jian had taken the initiative to draw on his luck to refine the elixir, they were quite surprised.
With the example of Hu Hai and the other three in front of him, he actually didn't hide? How dare he?
However, everyone soon realized that although it was bad luck to extract the luck, it would not kill them, so they began to think about it.
Shouldn’t they also learn from Wang Jian?
As soon as this happened, the king rewarded Wang Jian with many good things, and praised General Wang in the court for his continued diligence and fearlessness for life and death for the Qin Dynasty.
Although no specific words were given, some people felt that they were touched:
Look at Wang Jian, then look at yourself?
Everything is afraid of comparison.
Wang Jian's courage made them seem less loyal.
After the morning court session, several people came to Zhu Dan to recommend themselves.
Zhu Dan was in high spirits. He collected their attributes and luck one by one, saying that he didn't need them now, so he kept them for now and would look for them again when he needed them in the future.
This is not a compliment, Zhu Dan really thinks so.
It’s okay for other ministers that she has no impression of, but Li Siming and Meng Yi, two famous figures in history, can definitely make elixirs.
It depends on what kind of pill it is, but she is more interested in Wang Jian now.
The alchemy process went as smoothly as usual, but perhaps because the quality of the materials was ordinary, or because Zhu Dan was concerned that Wang Jian was an old man, he extracted very little luck, and in the end only one mother-child pill was produced.
Of course, this unique piece cannot be used now, we need to make use of the simulation room.
Zhu Dan used fatigue as an excuse to rest, but actually entered the simulation.
She first simulated a blast furnace.
Note that although the medicinal power of the Transformation Pill has been used up, this mother-and-child pill was specially made for the blast furnace in order to optimize it, so Zhu Dan can still simulate it.
Zhu Dan gave a direction - slag.
She believed that the damage and explosion of blast furnaces were due to the insufficient strength of the refractory bricks, and wanted to try to simulate a way to improve it.
However, what Zhu Dan did not expect was that although she had thought it through carefully, things developed in another direction.
The simulation room was like a pair of big hands, rapidly adding, subtracting, and optimizing the combination. Zhu Dan couldn't understand it, but the advantage of simulation was that it could convey some content to Zhu Dan.
For example, Zhu Dan knew that thermal insulation materials could be made by melting slag in the smelting industry and then blowing it into fibers using a special process.
Thermal insulation cotton! Zhu Dan was madly moved.
You have to know that Daqin was extremely backward. Not to mention artificial fibers, even the natural thermal insulation material cotton was overseas, waiting for her to introduce it.
Zhu Dan had no recollection of the past, but her memory came back in April. At that time, the temperature was relatively low, and even under the quilt she could feel the cold air creeping into her body.
Although Zhu Dan lacks the conditions for practicing Taoism now, his body has been transformed by spiritual energy and has begun to gain the advantage of being immune to cold and heat. However, Zhu Dan is not a person who only thinks about himself.
If we can develop this kind of slag wool, even if it can't be used as a quilt, we can definitely use it to build a house.
Besides, it’s hot now, so does that mean slag wool can’t be used?
No, no, you can save the ice cubes before taking them out of the refrigerator and use them as a cooler.
Zhu Dan remembers that when she was a child, refrigerators and freezers were not so popular. Street vendors put popsicles and ice cream into foam boxes, covered them with a thick blanket, and sold them from door to door.
There is great potential for thermal insulation cotton.
However, after digesting the incomprehensible process content from the simulation room, Zhu Dan became depressed.
Not to mention the Qin Dynasty, even the Qing Dynasty, which is closer to modern times, did not have the technology to extract artificial fibers.
What's involved here is too complicated.
Zhu Dan felt a pity in her heart. The gap between the two dynasties was probably as much as two thousand years. Even if she cheated, the technology tree would not have climbed so fast.
Therefore, this technology can only be put into the bottom of the box for a short period of time, and an opportunity is wasted in vain.
So before conducting the second simulation, Zhu Dan thought carefully before starting seriously.
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