Li Sipang and Li Zhi were talking, and the guards outside the door came to report, and Xu Cheng of Dayingku was looking for a meeting.

"It's so fast to come back." Li Sipang smiled and stood up, instructing the guards to invite Xu Qilin in, and then he wanted to welcome him out.

Li Zhi was a little surprised. As a prince, he was still a fifth-rank official. It seems that he was not very polite to persuade him, right?

Seeing that Li Zhi looked strange, Li Sipang also woke up and was excited for a moment, and even forgot that there were outsiders here. That's right, in his opinion, Li Zhi just couldn't tell the truth.

Fortunately, he didn't say it. Li Sipang pretended to walk around casually, swayed around the hall, then returned to the chair and sat down, then concealed the past.

Time was not long, and Xu Qilin walked in. After not seeing him for more than a month, his appearance changed and his temperament became more calm.

From the guards, he already knew that King Li Zhi of Jin did not like this scumbag, but he could not see it at all on the surface.

When he entered the hall, Xu Qilin gave a ritual, "The emperor has met His Highness the King of Wei and His Highness the King of Jin."

"No gift, no gift." Li Sipang owed his butt and raised his hand to signal.

Li Zhi also smiled politely and said, "Xu Cheng is exempt from courtesy."

Xu Qilin had finished delivering his salute and sat down for tea.

Li Sipang smiled and said, "It's really hard for Xu Cheng to inspect Cao Road. This time, Is this a great achievement completed. Can I return to Beijing to report my life?"

Xu Qilin nodded and said, "The work has been arranged, shipbuilding and warehouse construction are being carried out quickly, and local governments have also coordinated. It is expected that all the canal transportation should be completed before the start of next year."

Regarding the canal transportation, Xu Qilin only reformed the process and did not involve major technical changes. Local governments along the way also had experience in the canal transportation. In addition, Xu Qilin held the imperial edict, who dared not cooperate?

Li Sipang nodded and praised: "This is a great achievement that benefits the country and the people. Not to mention anything else, it only solves the danger of the three pillars. Now, the food transported from Luoyang to Chang'an has reached 500,000 stones."

At the peak of canal transportation in the Tang Dynasty, the annual transportation volume was between 200 and 3 million stones. According to the quantity mentioned by Li Sipang, it has now reached the average level at its peak.

Of course, this is due to the transportation of grain from Luoyang, rather than the entire canal transportation process. If you want to transport it from Yangzhou to Chang'an for a long distance, time alone is far from enough.

Although there is suspicion of taking advantage of tricks, the freight and losses of this section of Cao Road have indeed been greatly reduced. Through concentrated ships and mechanical loading and unloading, the transportation volume and efficiency have also been greatly increased.

The grains are piled up in the Luoyang warehouse. As long as it can be transported into Guanzhong quickly and easily, the court will be satisfied, and His Majesty Li Er will be happy.

"Although Gu came from Luoyang by land, he also went to Sanmen Dizhu to see it." Li Zhi smiled and said, "Transportation, loading and unloading, and lifting are all unique and intelligent. It can be said to be fast and good, which is amazing."

"You two high-rankings are too rewarded." Xu Qilin bowed and said, "I stayed in Luoyang for two days and then went to Xin'an to inspect. Then, I took a boat to the capital. I wonder what instructions did the two high-rankings have?"

"I'm so anxious!" Li Sipang felt a little regretful. He thought that King Jin was by his side and his plan to go to the capital with Xu Qilin was going to waste.

"I and my fourth brother will also return to the capital. If Xu Cheng is not in a hurry, we can set off together." Li Zhi said: "It's also a waterway, faster."

Xu Qilin thought for a while and said, "It is not easy for the officials to determine the time. Why not, I will handle Xin'an affairs first. If I have time, I will take a boat back to Chang'an with the two Your Highnesses."

Li Sipang thought for a while and nodded, "It's good. I have to explain the official business in Luozhou, but I can't determine the departure time."

Next, the three of them chatted casually. Xu Qilin had questions and answers, briefly talked about the customs and customs along Xiacao Road. Li Sipang and Li Zhi, who had no knowledge, were very interested in listening.

Seeing that Li Zhi was present, Xu Qilin had no chance to talk to Li Sipang alone, so he stood up and said goodbye.

When Li Sipang and Li Zhi were sent outside the hall, they felt that they had given Xu Qilin enough face. Xu Qilin didn't care about this. The seemingly polite and false gifts were useless.

…………………

Over the past few days, although Xu Qilin has been inspecting Caolu and reforming Caoluo, he has been paying attention to the development of Xin'an base and guided it through letters.

Therefore, he is very familiar with the situation at Xin'an base, and some key difficulties still need to be solved by him in person.

After resting in Luoyang for two days, Xu Qilin came to Xin'an County, which is more than 40 miles away from Luoyang. This distance is not far. If Luoyang becomes the capital, it should be the capital.

The coal mine was first developed, followed by iron ore, followed by aluminum clay and refractory clay, and finally quartz mine.

Over the past few months, according to Xu Qilin's instructions, the work achievements of the explorers sent by the Ministry of Industry have been satisfactory.

When Xu Qilin came to the Xin'an Iron Mine construction site, he saw several blast furnaces standing up. This was not all Xu Qilin's creative innovation. The history of iron smelting of vertical furnaces in ancient times was found very early, and historical records probably recorded in the Western Han Dynasty.

According to the investigation of relics from later generations, the vertical furnace for iron smelting in the Han Dynasty was oval, with a height of five or six meters, an effective volume of fifty-six square meters, and a daily output of five hundred kilograms.

After Xu Qilin's transformation of the vertical furnace, coupled with the use of refractory bricks, coke, preheating blowers, and flux (limestone, dolomite), the production efficiency is higher, and smelting out molten iron has become a reality.

When the hot molten iron slowly flows into a square trough, a worker holds a long pole to stir it to mix it with the air, causing the carbon in the molten iron to burn. At the same time, the worker throws mud into the molten iron as a slag-making agent.

After cooling, these products, either iron ingots or steel ingots, can be sold to the public. Because of their low price and good quality, the largest buyer at present is military weapon supervision, and only a small part of them flows into the private market.

There is no way, Xu Qilin could not create accurate inspection instruments and could not determine the carbon content. The quality of the molten iron or molten steel produced by the blast furnace also fluctuates in terms of quality, and it is difficult to guarantee absolute stability.

Even so, this is already a huge improvement, from block exercise to direct water discharge, it saves a lot of labor and material consumption.

Although it is already winter, the temperature near the blast furnace is not low. Workers who work will have to change shifts in a while to avoid being burned and battered.

"How is the casting experiment going?" Xu Cheng took the towel handed over by his servant and wiped his sweat, asking the responsible officials.

According to the description in "The Creation of Things in Heaven", after smelting the pig iron, it can be cast directly into castings, which will greatly increase labor productivity.

"Return to Xu Cheng, the results of the casting experiment are pretty good." The official bowed and replied: "Although the quality of molten iron is good and bad, the crude objects cast are still qualified. The military weapon supervisor placed an order and purchased a batch of knife blanks. The officials thought it could be made by casting."

Forging and casting have their own advantages and uses. Xu Qilin's subconscious mind always thought that the forged weapons would be better. Moreover, the quality of the castings is unstable, which is also a problem.

It is not the kind of crude plows, rakes, shovels, picks and other things. This is a weapon that needs to fight on the battlefield, and it is not easy to be careless at all.

Xu Qilin pondered for a while and said, "It's okay to try it with casting, but the quality must be good and not shoddy. This is a weapon, and it is related to the lives of the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty."

The official said, "Don't worry, Xu Cheng, he will not let the soldiers in the army use crude weapons to charge. If the casting fails, it will be changed to forging."

Xu Qilin nodded, praised a few words, and followed the officials into a closed workshop. It was also steaming here, and crucible steelmaking is underway.

A crucible made of graphite clay, carburized iron material is placed in it, and heated in a closed manner, and it will melt into high-carbon steel. This is the first method to produce liquid steel in human history, but the production volume is extremely small and the cost is high.

Of course, the produced steel has excellent quality and can be used as tool steel, such as cutting tools, drilling tools, etc.

"Please look at Xu Cheng." The official led Xu Qilin to a iron plate platform and pointed to the steel blocks on it and said: "This is the steel ingot produced, with extremely high hardness. If forged into a cutting knife, the iron should be cut and processed."

If we use this high-carbon steel to build a sword, it should be a precious blade that cuts iron like mud? Xu Qilin reached out and picked up a small steel ingot, fantasizing that it was a sharp and powerful peerless magic weapon, and a sensual smile appeared on his face.

Thinking of this, Xu Qilin said: "Build a waist knife, I will design the shape and offer it to Your Majesty. You will definitely get a reward."

The official smiled and nodded, agreeing. Not only did Xu Qilin flatter him, but the steel factory would also make His Majesty hear about it. What a good thing!

Is it a Yanling sword better, a lancet sword, or an oxtail sword? Xu Qilin touched his chin and thought about the shape of the sword.

Anyway, the ghost-headed sword is not good, and it makes the emperor and the bandits who robbed the Tao. Isn’t that asking for trouble?

After some inspections and detailed guidance, Xu Qilin was quite satisfied with the development of the steel plant. This was also due to the accumulation of ancient China's smelting technology and the professionalism of officials and craftsmen sent by the Ministry of Works.

Before leaving, Xu Qilin specifically told the officials and craftsmen to build the dormitories firmly and burn warmly. If he settled down here, he would apply to the court to give him a settlement fee.

At the same time, Xu Qilin also asked officials to record the process flow and production methods in detail and keep them properly.

Think about it, how many lost craftsmanship in ancient times are, with superior performance and exquisite workmanship, which represents the highest smelting level of the Tang Dynasty, and it has been lost.

Xu Qilin sighed in his heart and came to the glass workshop more than ten miles away. Compared with the busy iron smelting plant, it seemed much deserted.

After all, there is no experience in burning glass and no learning materials. Even Xu Qilin talks on paper and has never been practical.

However, the materials are complete and the quartz ore is of high quality, so Xu Qilin still used a graphite crucible to melt glass water.

Mass production of glass takes time, and the processing of glass products also requires craftsmen to be constantly proficient and mastered. Xu Qilin wanted to maximize his interests, so he naturally focused on glass mirrors.

Xu Qilin believed that the appearance of the glass mirror would inevitably cause a sensation, and even if it was just a piece of the size of a palm, it would be worth tens of thousands of yuan.

Historically, when a French queen got married, the gift from Venice was a small mirror. It seems ridiculous now, but it was the most expensive thing at that time - worth 150,000 francs.

To make glass mirrors, the first thing to do is to make colorless glass, that is, remove the green in the glass. The reason for green is that a small amount of iron in the raw material, and adding decolorizer can solve this problem that has plagued the manufacturing of glass for hundreds of years.

There are several types of decolorizers, including manganese dioxide, selenium, cobalt oxide, nickel oxide, etc., while the chemical ones include sodium nitrate, potassium nitrate, etc.

There are fire or earth nitrate, and the source of potassium nitrate is easy to obtain, and it is also the cheapest.

As for flat glass, Xu Qilin uses calendering on smooth and flat metal plates. Anyway, the glass does not need to be too large, and it is enough to create something as big as a book.

However, the time spent and difficulties faced by the combination of theory and practice were obviously beyond Xu Qilin's expectations.

Continuously purifying raw materials, constantly debugging the proportion of ingredients, and solving the problem of bubbles in the glass liquid. Xu Qilin personally guided and operated it himself. On the sixth day, after dozens of experiments, he finally made a piece of glass with qualified transparency.

At this time, Li Sipang and Li Zhi had already set off to Chang'an and informed Xu Qilin. He didn't like the scumbag Li Zhi at first, and in the busy experiment, Xu Qilin happened to have a suitable excuse.

In the next few days, the craftsmen became more and more skilled in the production and manufacturing. Dozens of transparent flat glass of different sizes made Xu Qilin feel excited. The large-scale rewards made the craftsmen more energetic.

When Xu Qilin left the workshop with hundreds of pieces of glass, more than ten days had passed.

In addition to flat glass, he also taught craftsmen how to blow glass. Although his plays are strange or inconsistent, this production method is correct, allowing craftsmen to practice more and sooner or later to blow beautiful glass products.

After sailing again, Xu Qilin finally felt proud and satisfied. When he returned to Chang'an, he built a mirror workshop, which was divided into two parts, including glass manufacturing and mirror production, which was also a need for confidentiality.

Moreover, there are troops stationed outside the glass workshop and the craftsmen have registered. The wages are very high, but if you want to leak the secret, the consequences are very serious.

You should know that Xu Qilin is aiming at the pockets of domestic rich people and Weakrener. Mirrors are luxury goods. Like Xianglu, they will definitely become the main commodity in overseas trade and seize huge amounts of wealth from overseas.

Just like silk, Xu Qilin hoped that glass would be the highest technology, the most exquisite craftsmanship, the most popular, and the most expensive to sell for a long time.

Well, well, Li Er is cheap. In order not to arouse others' covetousness, Xu Qilin will add glass and mirror to the Dayingku's industry.

Xianglu is already an enviable item. I really can't imagine how many red eye diseases it will cause when I come to another mirror.
Chapter completed!