After Fu Bo finished speaking, he took the drawings and turned around to prepare for the manufacture of the compass. After all, the situation was urgent.
"Hey, Uncle Fu, wait!"
Li Zexuan quickly grabbed Uncle Fu and said: "Uncle Fu, the upper part of this compass needs to be covered with a layer of glass, er, colored glaze, otherwise the magnetic needle will fall off easily and be damaged!"
Fuller paused, nodded when he heard this, and said, "Well, that's true, but in this case, the cost of a compass will be too high!"
Li Zexuan had read countless time-travel novels in his previous life, so he naturally knew that glass was a luxury product in ancient times and the price was very high. He pondered for a moment and said: "Uncle Fu, buy some colored glass from Hu Shang and make a compass first. I will make it today." It’s urgently needed.”
"Yes, young master, if you make one first, there shouldn't be much problem."
Li Zexuan nodded. He looked out the door and sighed quietly. Then he took out the glass formula and firing method he had just written on the table and said:
"You don't need to buy colored glaze from Hu Shang for the compass in the back. I have a method of firing colored glaze. The formula and detailed steps are all written on it. You can explore it carefully in the future and it should not take more than a day or two. Our workshop can make colored glaze ourselves, and it is purer than the kind of colored glaze sold by Hu merchants! Those Hu merchants have made so much money in the Tang Dynasty over the years by relying on their crude glaze manufacturing techniques. Now it’s time for them to be punished It’s time for elimination!”
"What?"
Uncle Fu couldn't help but exclaimed. What Li Zexuan said was really too shocking. Ever since Liuli was introduced to the Central Plains, people had not thought of imitating it, but none of them ended in failure, because just from the appearance, it didn't look like anything at all. The ingredients of the glass cannot be seen, let alone imitated.
"Master, do you really have a way to make colored glaze?"
"Well, I will write you the formula and firing method of colored glaze later. Uncle Fu, if you try it a few more times, you should be able to make it, but you must keep it secret. The formula of colored glaze should belong to the workshop. It’s top secret, the fewer people know about it, the better!”
As long as you know the formula and firing steps of glass, its manufacturing process is not complicated. Since you, like countless time-traveling people, have made the glass out, how can you be worthy of others if you don't take the opportunity to make a fortune
In fact, China's glass manufacturing process began in the Western Zhou Dynasty, but the glass produced at that time was turbid and far from meeting the technological requirements of modern glass.
There is a little story about the first person to discover glass. It is said that in more than 1,000 BC, a European Phoenician merchant ship was loaded with the crystal mineral "natural soda" and sailed to Belous on the Mediterranean coast. on the river. Due to low tide, the merchant ship ran aground. So the crew stepped onto the beach one after another. Some crew members also carried a large pot, moved firewood, and used a few pieces of "natural soda" as a support for the large pot to cook on the beach.
As the crew finished their meal, the tide began to rise. When they were about to pack up and board the ship to continue sailing, someone suddenly shouted: "Come and look, everyone, there are some crystal bright and shining things on the sand under the pot!" The crew brought these shining things to Study it carefully on board. They found that these shiny things had some quartz sand and melted natural soda stuck to them. It turns out that these shiny things are crystals produced by the chemical reaction between the natural soda used to make pot supports when they were cooking, and the quartz sand on the beach under the action of flames. This is the earliest glass.
Later, the Phoenicians combined quartz sand and natural soda, and then melted it in a special furnace to make glass balls, which made the Phoenicians make a fortune. Around the 4th century, the Romans began to apply glass to doors and windows. By 1291, Italian glassmaking technology was very advanced.
"Our country's glass manufacturing technology must not be leaked out. All glass craftsmen must be brought together to produce glass!" In this way, Italian glass craftsmen were sent to an isolated island to produce glass. They spent their entire lives They are not allowed to leave this isolated island.
In 1688, a man named Nave invented the process of making large pieces of glass. From then on, glass became a common item.
Seeing his young master's sworn look, Uncle Fu knew that the glass formula was true. He took the formula and said solemnly:
"Young master, don't worry. I still know the importance of the old man. I will personally follow up on the production of colored glaze. There will never be more than five people who know the specific formula, and these people are all people who are absolutely loyal to the workshop. As for the first A compass should be made today!"
Li Zexuan nodded with satisfaction and said: "Well, then Uncle Fu, go and get busy! I will be in the workshop in the afternoon. If you have any questions, you can come and ask me at any time."
When Uncle Fu heard this, the solemn look on his face became a little more serious, because Li Zexuan had never stayed in the workshop for such a long time, but today he took the initiative to stay. From this aspect, it can also be seen that Li Zexuan attaches great importance to the compass. extent.
"Then I will arrange for the craftsmen to make the compass now!"
Fu Bo bowed his hands and left.
inside the house.
Li Tai looked at Li Zexuan curiously and asked, "Sir, can you really make colored glaze? Can you tell Tai about it?"
Li Zexuan rolled his eyes and said angrily: "This is a business secret, why should I tell you?"
"..."
Li Tai was choked for a moment, and he said speechlessly: "I won't compete with you for business, are you too stingy? Besides, as a gentleman, you should preach, teach, and resolve doubts. ah!"
This little fat guy really talked about big principles in a series of ways. Li Zexuan had no choice but to give them a brief introduction to the principles of glass manufacturing:
"Actually, the making of colored glaze involves another subject. I call it "chemistry." The so-called chemistry can be understood as the study of change. Several things react with each other and can be transformed into other substances. This is what chemistry is. This is the core of this subject. If I have time in the future, I can explain this subject to you in a systematic way. Next, I will briefly talk about the principle of firing colored glaze..."
Li Zexuan slowly explained to Li Tai and Meng Wenhao roughly the principles of the interaction between the components in the glass manufacturing process. He must not go into too much detail, otherwise it would involve many basic issues. During the explanation process, it was inevitable that some words they had never heard of would jump out, but no one interrupted them. They all listened attentively because they understood that the knowledge Li Zexuan talked about was probably unique to the Tang Dynasty. There is no other way to learn this knowledge, and it is very likely to change the entire Tang Dynasty!
… … … …
Second update!
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(End of chapter)