Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 567: The Prodigal Son's Realm
For ordinary time travelers, can glass be made overnight? The answer is... quite difficult.
Emperor Taizu, who traveled through time in his true form and brought a reference book with him, couldn't figure this out, let alone Zhang Shou, who scored excellent in physics in the college entrance examination but was just average in chemistry. He only knew that glass was made from quartz sand, but he could barely remember the specific proportions. The raw materials for making glass seemed to be soda ash, quartz sand, limestone... He really didn't remember the proportions, because chemistry doesn't teach this!
Quartz sand and limestone are fine, but soda ash is very difficult to prepare these days, not to mention large-scale preparation, so Zhang Shou can only focus on pure natural soda produced in certain salt lakes. Otherwise, industrial preparation of soda ash, whether it is the Lublanc process or the Soxhlet process, requires sulfuric acid and ammonia water. Where can he use chemical reactions to produce these two things?
What's more, although the former is said to be relatively easy, sulfuric acid is highly toxic and dangerous, and it also pollutes the environment. The latter... ammonia water is not much more dangerous! In this era when the chemical industry is far from mature, he has not even completed the preliminary experimental preparation of highly transparent glass. If he rashly thinks about industrialization, it will cause a big disaster!
He also knew that China had always had various products that were called colored glaze but were actually glass. However, they were not resistant to high temperatures and could only be used as small ornaments for the homes of dignitaries. Secondly, small pieces of glass were not transparent enough, let alone large pieces. In essence, the lead-barium glass fired in China from ancient times to the present was different from the mainstream soda-lime glass in the West.
Of course, as for the most popular high-borosilicate glass in later generations, which is both heat-resistant and lightweight, the melting temperature is impossible...
Although Zhang Shou really wanted to make flat glass to reform the stuffiness and dimness of window paper in these days, one must eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time.
At this moment, Zhang Shou saw a bunch of people passing around the small piece of transparent glass with great excitement, and he couldn't help but sigh. Especially when he saw Yang Zhan, whose face was almost deformed with excitement, he couldn't help but wonder if this guy was only helping others but not himself.
But when Yang Zhan rushed over, grabbed him, and shouted something excitedly, he was suddenly speechless.
"Dr. Zhang, why didn't I meet you earlier! If I had met you earlier, I wouldn't have wasted the things my father left me, and I wouldn't have been considered a prodigal son who wasted the family fortune by my own servants! I have seen those colored glass lamps on the market, but their transparency cannot be compared with the best crystal. However, you can use sand to burn glass similar to the best crystal!"
"You can turn decay into magic like this, you must have been a master craftsman in your previous life!"
Zhang Shou almost choked to death - a master craftsman... he was also a master soldier! But he had just calmed down when he heard a voice that was even more admiring than Yang Zhan's: "Brother Zhang is really amazing. The things he mentioned were things I could never have thought of. Many of his suggestions were enlightening. Master Yang Qi, you are right. Brother Zhang must have been a master craftsman in his previous life!"
I really have a previous life, but if I knew I still have a next life, I would have learned science and engineering better back then!
Zhang Shou, who was in a dilemma, faced the countless voices echoing him. He said unhappily, "Okay, stop saying these flattering words. I'm getting goose bumps all over my body! These are not my achievements alone. They are the wisdom of countless wise men throughout the ages."
"My strength is that I know a lot about overseas affairs, so I can use the wisdom of those foreign sages."
By the way, it seems that a large number of Constantinople craftsmen have already fled to Venice these days? The famous Murano Island seems to have become a glass center. I wonder if it has begun to export glass products on a large scale. Since the emperor is planning to send a ship out to sea, if possible, can he go there and bring back a few craftsmen?
At least this is also promoting cultural exchanges between the East and the West... It would be even better if we could bring back a few scholars. In this era, what famous scholars are there over there? Wait, the all-round Leonardo da Vinci should be born by now, right? How old is he?
Zhang Shou fell into deep thought as he spoke, forgetting that he was the one who took the initiative to spread the news today, so everyone in the family came to watch the fun. When he came to his senses and found that everyone was looking at him eagerly, he laughed.
"If you can make something like glass, you will naturally make a lot of money. Although I have written down the formula this time, there is still a long way to go in the future."
"For example, how can we make glass thinner and larger to replace today's window paper, so that people don't need to turn on lights in the house during the day? For example, how can we master the properties of glass and grind it into a lens like Yang Qilang's that can see far away and see the objects in front of it clearly? For example, how can we make glass into various utensils to replace today's porcelain?"
Zhang Shoulian asked a few questions. Seeing that Yang Zhan immediately fell into deep thought, as did Guan Qiu and other craftsmen, he said slowly, "I was able to use the underground secret room of Zhang Garden to build such a workshop, and I was able to recruit young craftsmen who were willing to learn all kinds of new knowledge and then develop these strange things. In the final analysis, it was because of the emperor."
"The emperor said he was selling it, but in fact he gave me this huge Zhang Garden. So now that I have made some achievements, how can I keep something like this hidden? Just like the spinning wheel and loom drawings before, I also plan to present the formula of this glass to the emperor, and then recruit more craftsmen to continue the research with Guan Qiu and Yang Qilang."
Because Ah Liu had pulled Lu Sanlang aside to ask questions, Hua Qi had quietly come over by himself, so he heard everything Zhang Shou said clearly. But even so, he couldn't help but pick his ears, and for the first time in his life, he wondered if he had heard it wrongly.
Although he only saw it from a distance , he roughly figured out what it was just by listening to people's discussions and descriptions. With such a good thing, it might be difficult for Zhang Shou to keep the exclusive interests with his own ability, but Zhang Shou was also the son-in-law of the Duke of Zhao, and he had a large number of students with different backgrounds but all with magical powers!
With such a backer and help, Zhang Shou could have made a fortune without making a sound! But he chose to spread rumors to build momentum, just like the spinning wheel and loom before. And this time was different from the previous two times. Zhang Shou simply spread the rumor and said cleanly that he would present such achievements to the emperor!
Could it be that Zhang Shou was prepared to quietly do his job as a lecturer in the Eastern Palace and the prince's teacher, and therefore did not care about such a huge benefit?
After announcing such a shocking piece of news, Zhang Shou did not look at the surprised, regretful, happy, or unbelievable eyes around him, and said slowly: "Money is something that only needs to be enough. I don't have the ambition to be the richest man in the world, so instead of working behind closed doors, it is better to invite more people to participate in it and improve it."
"I once heard my teacher say two words. In the field of mathematics, the method of inviting like-minded friends to solve a difficult problem together is called a big challenge or a big battle. What I am doing now is another kind of big challenge or a big battle."
The next morning, when Ge Yong was picked up in a sedan chair at the north Xuanwu Gate and then rushed to the Qianqing Palace with two strong eunuchs, the dizzy old master couldn't help but sneeze twice when he heard the emperor repeat Zhang Shou's words . Then, under the emperor's sharp gaze, he rubbed his nose unhappily.
"I'm old now, and I can't help sneezing when someone talks about me... Someone, bring me a stack of thin paper!"
Seeing a well-behaved little palace maid handing over a stack of thin papers, Ge Yong coughed dryly, stepped away a few steps and blew his nose heartily. When he dropped the stack of papers and came back, he said calmly, "Yes, I told Jiuzhang."
You fabricated my quotes again and made me take the blame! I will definitely settle the score with Zhang Shou later!
The emperor saw Ge Yong taking the responsibility without saying anything. Although he was used to it, he couldn't help but laugh: "Teacher, I don't mean to blame Zhang Shou. Why do you insist that it was you who said it? Zhang Shou's ability to burn treasures out of sand can't be taught by you, right?"
"So what if it's me? Is it impossible? I'm a scholar, so it's not surprising that I know these things, right?" Seeing the emperor smiling at him, Ge Yong said unhappily, "Although our official ships have hardly gone out to sea in recent years, there are still many merchant ships that go to various foreign countries to do business privately. Of course, the books of those foreign sages have also been circulated here."
"Anyway, I've been studying Geometry's Elements these days, and I've learned a lot about it, so I taught you a few things in Chapter Nine..."
Although the emperor was much more interested in mathematics than the average minister because he was taught by Ge Yong, and even if he had been self-taught before, he could easily tutor the third prince with some of Zhang Shou's lecture notes as reference, but of course he couldn't do that now. But he was not discussing mathematics with his teacher at this moment, but about Zhang Shou's "presentation" of the glass formula.
Therefore, he had no choice but to cough and interrupt Ge Yong, who pretended to be ignorant and deliberately changed the subject, saying, "Teacher, I am not going to pursue Zhang Shou for anything. I came to you to ask you how I should respond to this matter, right?"
"The new spinning wheel and loom have gradually spread out, just like Cangzhou, some people benefit, but some people suffer. But if Zhang Shou can really research high-yield cotton, then the world's cold people will have clothes, and maybe it won't become an empty talk. As for the spinning wheel and loom, I only gave him a fifth-grade rank, which is actually a meager reward."
"Now that he is about to take up the post of lecturer in the Eastern Palace, I can't give him a higher position, right?"
"I can't reward him with an official position for now. As for things, I have already given him Zhang Garden. Rewarding him with gold, silver and other valuables is far from enough for his efforts. And if I add something to his marriage, it will be too conspicuous... Alas, if he does this and spreads it out, the fact that I appointed Hong to teach Sanlang will be suppressed. Can't he make it public a few days later?"
Understanding what the emperor was worried about, Ge Yong immediately laughed: "You have been using the Nine Chapters for such a long time, and you still don't know what this kid wants? He wants your recruitment order! Just like he used a word from Yue Shanchang to recruit talents who are proficient in astronomy and mathematics from all over the world to gather in the capital, so as to help me select talents who can revise the calendar..."
"This time, he hopes to use the formula he presents to you to recruit skilled craftsmen!"
Seeing the emperor's surprised expression, Ge Yong said with a half-smile, "He used a group of young craftsmen who were not very skilled but just liked to use their brains to make so many things. If he really found a lot of precious talents, what do you think would happen? Don't say you haven't heard what he said."
The emperor coughed unnaturally again. He could not imagine the prospect of machines replacing human labor and liberating human labor, and he had no way to imagine it. But for him, who was independent and dared to think and act, the prospect described by Zhang Shou was very interesting.
After inheriting the huge wealth passed down from generation to generation by the royal family, he, who was born without the need to care about wealth, thought that Zhang Shou, who did not care about money, was indeed a madman obsessed with technology.
"As for what you said, Jiuzhang failed your painstaking efforts to divert attention. He will definitely say that a gentleman cannot use a woman like Hong to share his pressure. You should know that because the Third Prince took the initiative to ask Hong to teach him painting in front of others, your initial idea has been dashed. Now the rumors about the Crown Prince's wisdom are all due to the Emperor's words of teaching the Analects at the court meeting."
Being stared at so directly by the teacher with a half-smile in his eyes, the emperor still felt a little guilty even though he was no longer at the age to be afraid of teachers.
After pondering for a moment, he gradually came up with an idea, but then he heard a voice from outside: "Your Majesty, here is Dr. Zhang's petition."
Under Ge Yong's subtle gaze, the emperor could only sternly order it to be sent in. When he took the thin memorial in his hand, he still hesitated for a moment before opening it. Sure enough, the first half was exactly the same as the news Hua Qi brought back. Zhang Shou was very generous - or rather, he was very wasteful - in handing over the latest glass technology, but the second half...
Ge Yong was only half right!
Although he felt that his teacher could also make mistakes and the emperor was somewhat gloating, he still handed Zhang Shou's memorial to him directly since it concerned him. Seeing Ge Yong took it without hesitation and opened it, he exclaimed in amazement while reading it, and his expression froze at the end, but in a moment he became very excited, and the emperor was speechless for a while.
"Teacher, from the looks of you, do you support Zhang Shou's proposal?"
"Of course!" Ge Yong stroked his beard in a proud manner, but then he looked at the emperor with a half-smile and said, "Some people in the court have been strictly preventing the court ships from going out to sea in recent years, hoping to monopolize the maritime trade. However, only a small group of people know how much money those ships made from the sea every year, which was handed down from Emperor Taizu and managed the royal property, the Silijian.
Before the emperor could admit or deny it, the old master said word by word: "The throne has changed several times, but the fleet has been passed down miraculously. It can be said to be a miracle. It shouldn't be difficult for them to recruit talents in a foreign country, right?"
