129, Chapter 129

Yang Haiyan doesn't know whether boiling water can produce saltpeter, but you can try it. Yang Haiyan is already thinking about how to try it out. For example, after the ice melted, did you boil the water incorrectly?

This didn't work. Soon, Yang Haiyan had other ideas.

Qin Fang was in high spirits and in particularly good spirits: "Yanyan, you go to bed first. I'll write a letter to Mr. Du and tell him how to make ice with saltpeter."

Yang Haiyan said: "Okay. By the way, Mr. Du, why do you always write letters to Mr. Du instead of directly submitting the memorial to the emperor?"

Qin Fang had his own ideas: "I first entered the imperial court, and I didn't come from the imperial examination. I don't understand many of the court's rules. But I have gotten along with Mr. Du. I think Mr. Du is a good official, so I gave the letter to him. If he feels that there is something inappropriate in his heart, he should remind me. Secondly, I am a military commander, and it is theoretically okay for the military commander’s memorial to come to the Ministry of War first.”

Yang Haiyan read the laws of Qi State. Qi State did not have a cabinet, so it was different from many dynasties that had cabinets. Therefore, official memorials would first go to the cabinet, and then the cabinet would select them and submit them to the emperor. In this case, the cabinet would first After reading the memorial, sometimes if someone in the cabinet does not deal with the official who wrote the memorial, the memorial may be suppressed.

‌Of course, official memorials will be transcribed and registered before submission.

Another way is for the officials to hand over the memorial to the emperor privately, which would cause trouble to the people in the palace.

However, although some dynasties did not have a cabinet, there was another way to submit memorials. That is to say, the imperial court has a department specifically for collecting memorials, called the General Affairs Department. The General Affairs Department then sends them to the palace, where they are handed over to the officials in charge of the palace, and then presented to the emperor's table.

In Qi State, the memorials of civil servants and the memorials of generals were separated. The memorials of civil servants were delivered directly to the Secretary of General Affairs, who then delivered them to the palace, and then to the emperor by the palace officials. Memorials from generals usually arrive at the Ministry of War first. ‌Of course, if the general does not want to submit the memorial to the Ministry of War, it is okay to submit it directly to the General Affairs Department.

But as a result, the Ministry of War sometimes felt a little embarrassed. For example, the emperor knew about some situations, but the Ministry of War did not. When the emperor asked questions in the morning, the officials of the Ministry of War were passive. It is also possible that the Ministry of War officials will resent the generals for this. For generals, this is not advantageous.

Moreover, if the Ministry of War knows about some situations related to the Ministry of War in advance, it will also be conducive to the adjustment of the Ministry of War.

However, Qin Fang gave the memorial to Du Ke first, not because of this. He completely wanted to find a supporter and a hug. He knew that he was a man of few words and did not understand some things, so he hoped that Du Ke would give him some guidance. Du Ke is the Minister of War. Even if Qin Fang doesn't understand the affairs of the imperial court, he also knows that not everyone can be the Minister of War, especially when the new emperor ascends the throne and wants to control the military. The Minister of War must be his person.

Qin Fang would not tell Yang Haiyan about his dark thoughts. He did not want his wife to know about his calculating thoughts. When he had nothing, when he was down and out, when he was illiterate, she was always there with him. , He doesn't care in front of her that he was once poor, and he doesn't care in front of her that he is imperfect and has many shortcomings. ‌Yes, he just didn't want her to know about his conspiracies.

Qin Fang wrote the memorial overnight, and at dawn the next day, he sent someone to the capital.

So two and a half days later, Mr. Du waited for Qin Fang's second letter.

Du Ke was now in the imperial study room, looking at the emperor face to face. Du Ke just walked out of here half an hour ago, and the monarch and his ministers had discussed the rewards for Qin Fang and Yang Haiyan. Unexpectedly, half an hour later, Qin Fang sent another piece of work, making ice with saltpeter. If Qin Fang dares to tell this, then saltpeter must be able to make ice.

The Emperor: "Sulfur mines, saltpeter mines, military camp fields, saltpeter ice making, all these things happened in the second year after I ascended the throne. Du Ke, tell me, this Qin Fang is really My lucky star. "Things that benefit the country and the people happened when he ascended the throne. No emperor would not like such good things.

Du Ke was startled and remembered what his father had said just today. His father said that Qin Fang was a good person because he was lucky.

And the emperor, ‌ likes this kind of lucky person. Especially for someone like Qin Fang, who was born in a poor family, has no backers, and no family. No matter how lucky he is, no matter how high he is promoted, there is no fear of him doing bad things.

The emperor added: "In March, it rained continuously for half a month, the dam collapsed, and the floods flooded. Everyone said that my throne was not justified. No, Qin Fang suppressed the bandits and sent Money has come. Tell me, if when I ascended the throne, I had produced firecrackers, solved the food problem for millions of soldiers in the military camp, and solved the problem of ice that even the whole family was reluctant to use, who would have said that I The name of the throne is unjust and unreasonable, and it attracts punishment from God? "

Du Ke lowered his head and did not dare to speak.

The emperor laughed loudly: "Qin Fang is good, and his wife is also good. You are right, this is a marriage involving me, and I am their elder brother."

Duco: If you say yes, then it is.

The Emperor: "Come here, ask the Imperial Hospital to bring some saltpeter. Let's try following Qin Fang's method of using saltpeter to make ice. If it succeeds, the price of ice will drop, and people may be able to afford it. In my lifetime, I can Seeing that the country is peaceful and the people are living and working in peace and contentment, it’s really..."

Du Ke: "The emperor is wise and wise, so it will definitely be possible."

The emperor had heard too much flattery like this: "Unfortunately, no matter how big the saltpeter mine is, it is limited. If the saltpeter mine is dug out, there will be no saltpeter to make ice, and the ice will still..."

Du Ke said: "Maybe the Beast Mountain that Qin Fang mentioned is more than just a saltpeter mine."

The Emperor: "Even if there are two or three places, it is still limited."

After a while, the imperial doctor came with saltpeter, and brought enough saltpeter according to the emperor's abundance. Because saltpeter is slightly poisonous, the imperial doctor came in person.

When the imperial doctor arrived, a large basin and a small basin were already placed in the royal study. Water was put in both basins, and the small basin was placed in the big basin.

Emperor: "Put the saltpeter into the big basin and don't touch the small basin."

Eunuch: "Yes."

Imperial Physician: "Your Majesty, please forgive me for being bold. Saltpeter is poisonous. Saltpeter must not be abused without a doctor's instructions. I wonder what your Majesty wants?"

The emperor usually listens to the doctor's words, after all, it concerns his own body, but today he also wanted to show off in front of the doctor: "This saltpeter has uses you don't know about, just watch it... Put more saltpeter in the big basin."

Eunuch: "Yes."

Since the emperor said this, the imperial doctor naturally looked at it. However, the saltpeter absorbs heat and cools down quickly, and because enough saltpeter was put in, the water in the basin began to become cold after half an hour. It's just cold air, but it's far from freezing.

The doctor's eyes lit up: "Your Majesty, what is this?" The doctor was greatly shocked. As an imperial physician, he dare not say that he is well-read. He has basically read books related to medical skills, but he never knew that saltpeter has such effects.

When the emperor saw this, he laughed again. It can be seen from the laughter that he is in a good mood today: "Qiu Aiqing, it is said that saltpeter is poisonous. If you put it in water to make ice, the ice produced will also be poisonous. If you make ice through water in this way, the ice in the small basin will be poisonous." It’s non-toxic and edible, do you think so?”

Doctor Qiu: "We have to let Wei Chen check it." It is very simple to check whether the ice made from water is poisonous and whether it can be eaten. As long as the cold water is non-toxic, then it will naturally be non-toxic if it turns into ice.

So soon, Imperial Physician Qiu came to the conclusion: "Your Majesty, as you just said, making ice through water is indeed non-toxic, but the water in this big basin is poisonous because too much saltpeter is added, which speeds up the cooling process. Speed, so the toxicity is stronger than the saltpeter itself. "

The Emperor: "In other words, if the Ministry of Industry can design good ice-making vessels, it is possible to use saltpeter to make safe and edible ice."

Doctor Qiu: "Yes."

The emperor sighed: "It's a pity. The quantity of saltpeter is limited, and the ice that can be made is also limited."

Doctor Qiu thought: "That's not necessarily true. Maybe saltpeter can be used repeatedly, but I haven't verified it yet, so Wei Chen is not sure."

When the emperor heard this, he asked excitedly: "What do you think of this?"

Doctor Qiu said: "Cook. The saltpeter melts in the water. Boiling the water may produce the saltpeter."

Duco: "What do you mean?"

Doctor Qiu thought for a while, took out a white handkerchief and a bottle of potion, poured the potion on the handkerchief, and then explained: "Have your Majesty and Lord Du ever heard of boiling medicine? This potion was poured on the handkerchief. If the scarf is dry, you can put the scarf in a pot with water and boil out the potion on the scarf. If the saltpeter is dissolved in the water, it should be able to boil out the saltpeter. can be boiled, and saltpeter ice can be used repeatedly.”

The Emperor: "Then the ice is worthless, and the common people can afford it." Although the ice manufacturers have no profit, in the Emperor's heart, the common people are naturally more important.

If Yang Haiyan were here at this time, she would definitely be excited when she heard what Doctor Qiu said. The wisdom of the ancients is truly incredible.

The emperor added: "In this case, I will leave the matter of boiling saltpeter to you. Remember, this matter must not be spread."

Doctor Qiu: "I obey the order."

The emperor nodded: "You can go out now." He then ordered the eunuch, "Help Doctor Qiu move these things to the Imperial Hospital."

Imperial physician: "Yes."

Doctor Qiu: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Du Ke came in the afternoon, and it was already past dinner time, and it was getting dark, so after verifying the matter of making ice with saltpeter, he said: "Your Majesty, it's getting late, and it's time for me to leave. "

The Emperor: "Don't worry, you can stay in the palace and have dinner with me."