Chapter 26: Ying Zheng with his own thoughts
"gunpowder?"

Ying Zheng was very confused.

The name of this thing that Zhao Xiaozi mentioned is really weird.

How can fire and powder be connected with the grenade that has the power of a thunderbolt?

"It's a substance that can burn quickly." Zhao Yi tried to explain gunpowder in words that his scumbag father could understand.

Rapid burning, what does this have to do with the power of the grenade.

"That's not right. Kerosene can also burn quickly. But why is it not as powerful as a grenade?"

Ying Zheng expressed his confusion.

Zhao Yi understood very well that gunpowder, which involves chemical and physical aspects, was difficult for ancient people like his scumbag father to understand.

Even though he had been auditing his classes for half a month.

But scientific thinking is not established that quickly.

So Zhao Yi continued to explain: "They are different. Kerosene doesn't burn intensely enough. Gunpowder burns more intensely and faster. So a huge amount of gas is produced during combustion, which can cause an explosion."

Ying Zheng asked again: "What is gas?"

The reason why he kept asking this question.

It’s because the power of the grenade is too terrifying.

He can only feel at ease if this kind of thing is under his control.

So he tried to figure out how the grenade arrived.

Well, I'll go back and see if the craftsmen can replicate it.

But in fact, even if Qin Shi Huang understood the principle, the craftsmen of Qin Dynasty would not be able to imitate it.

Although the formula of gunpowder is very simple - one sulfur, two nitrates and three charcoal.

However, it takes a lot of effort to study the specific ratio.

As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, alchemists had already created a mixture of land, saltpeter, and carbon similar to gunpowder.

Alchemists therefore knew that a mixture of sulfur, saltpeter, and carbon would produce a violent reaction when ignited.

However, the formula of gunpowder did not really appear until the Jin Dynasty.

It was not widely used until the Tang Dynasty.

By the Song Dynasty, many gunpowder weapons appeared.

"Gas is something that has no form. What we breathe in and out is gas."

"Blow on your hand with your mouth."

Ying Zheng blew on his hand with his mouth as Zhao Yi said.

"Can you feel a little force in your hands?"

Ying Zheng nodded, "Yes."

"The burning of gunpowder can produce a huge amount of gas, which will have a force similar to that of blowing air on the surrounding area. However, its force is thousands or even tens of thousands of times greater than that of blowing air."

Now Ying Zheng understood the huge power of the grenade.

Ying Zheng asked tentatively: "So what is gunpowder made of?"

"Saltpeter, sulphur, and carbon."

Zhao Yi revealed the formula of gunpowder.

But he was not worried that his scumbag father would be able to create gunpowder.

After all, studying the proportion of gunpowder is a very tedious and dangerous task.

Even the famous chemist Nobel paid a huge price for his research on explosives.

Nobile's younger brother died in an accident while researching a new type of explosive - nitroglycerin.

His father was also seriously injured in the accident.

But in the Qin Dynasty, even glass had not yet appeared.

Zhao Yi didn't think that his scumbag father's people could develop any efficient gunpowder.

Because the research and production of gunpowder requires the support of a certain chemical system.

In addition, Zhao Yi told the formula of ordinary black gunpowder.

Zhao Yi not only used ordinary black powder in the grenade, but also smokeless gunpowder with nitroglycerin added.

That really requires a chemist to come up with.

If Zhao Yi didn't have the formula given by the system, he wouldn't be able to make it.

Ying Zheng secretly wrote down the formula for gunpowder, and planned to have his craftsmen try to imitate it when he got back. But he didn't know that it was all in vain.

"Why did I see the factory producing farm tools like pickaxes just now? Isn't it a bit of a waste to use this factory to produce farm tools?"

In Ying Zheng's opinion, Zhao Yi's factory should focus on producing weapons such as swords and knives, instead of wasting time on producing useless things like farm tools.

Moreover, Ying Zheng knew that Zhao Yi's factory used a kind of refined iron called steel, which was a type of iron that the Qin Dynasty could not produce.

Before this, Wang Jian had asked Zhao Yi to give him a fruit knife.

After returning, Wang Jian compared the fruit knife with his sword.

It turned out that the fruit knife could cut a notch in his sword.

You should know that Wang Jian's sword was a reward from Ying Zheng.

But it is the product of the highest forging technology of the Qin Dynasty.

It took Ou Xiu, the descendant of Ouzhizi, a year to forge it.

The result was not as good as Zhao Yi's fruit knife.

You should know that Ou Zhizi was the most famous blacksmith in the Spring and Autumn Period.

Later he was posthumously named the founder of sword forging.

He forged eight famous swords in his lifetime - Zhanlu, Chunjun, Shengxie, Yuchang, Juque, Longyuan, Tai'a and Gongbu.

Wang Jian saw that the fruit knife was so powerful that it was comparable to the legendary magic weapon.

So I decided to ask someone to make a scabbard specifically for the fruit knife.

After hearing what Wang Jian said, Ying Zheng decided to keep the fruit knife as a family heirloom.

When I asked Zhao Yi later, I found out that the fruit knife was made of steel.

Shahe Village can be built casually.

As long as the material is enough.

You can make as many as you want.

So Wang Jian asked Zhao Yi to make a knife for his son on the grounds that his son liked to play with knives.

Then Zhao Yi asked the village blacksmith to make a Mo Dao for Wang Jian based on the style of the Tang Dynasty.

When Wang Jian saw it, he fell deeply in love with the Mo Dao and would not let go after getting it.

After returning, Wang Jian told Ying Zheng.

"Your Majesty, the knife that this young man Zhao gave me is not simple."

"It's obviously a battlefield sword for infantry, it can be used to break armor as well as to kill horses."

"I think we can order craftsmen to copy this style of sword and use it to equip the Qin soldiers."

But later Ou Xiu came.

Ou Xiu said that it was impossible to copy the knife.

Because the forging material of the knife was beyond his ability to make.

That's why Ying Zheng gave up the idea of ​​imitating it and just focused on providing Zhao Yi with ore and waiting for him to make it.

Wang Jian made a scabbard for the sword and often carried it with him to show off in the army.

Ying Zheng asked him, "Did you tell Zhao Yi before that you were making a sword for your son? Why is it still in your hand?"

Wang Jian smiled and replied: "When I die, the knife will be in the hands of my son."

Ying Zheng knew that Wang Jian could not let go of the knife, at least not while he was alive.

Zhao Yi replied: "Those tools are useful for production."

Ying Zheng asked in confusion: "Will producing those tools be useful?"

"Old Zhao, have you ever heard the saying - to get rich you must first build roads."

"No, but it's true."

Ying Zheng agreed with Zhao Yi's idea of ​​building roads.

You must know that the Qin Dynasty’s unification of the six kingdoms was inseparable from road construction.

When King Huiwen of Qin attacked the Kingdom of Shu, he used the plank roads and the Jinniu Road to cross the Qinling Mountains and launch a surprise attack, which eventually led to the destruction of the Kingdom of Shu.

After Qin Shi Huang unified the six kingdoms, the first thing Ying Zheng did was to build roads.

……

(End of this chapter)