After Faubert finished speaking, he took the blueprint and turned around to prepare for the manufacturing of the compass. After all, the situation was urgent.
"Hey, Faubert, wait!"
Li Zexuan hurriedly stopped Faubert and said, "Faubert, the upper part of the compass needs a layer of glass. Err, it's colored glaze. Cover it with a layer of colored glaze. Otherwise, the magnetic needle will fall off easily and be damaged easily!"
Faubert paused and nodded. "Yes, that's true. But this way, the cost of a compass will be too high!"
Li Zexuan had read countless time-travel novels in his previous life. Naturally, he knew that glass was a luxury item in ancient times and was very expensive. He pondered for a moment and said, "Faubert, buy some colored glaze from the barbarian merchants and make a compass first. I need it urgently today."
"Yes, Young Master. It shouldn't be a problem to make one first."
Li Zexuan nodded. He looked out of the door and sighed faintly. Then, he took out the glass formula and baking method that he had just written on the table and said, "After that, we don't need to buy any colored glaze from the barbarian merchants.
"You don't need to buy colored glass from the barbarian merchants for the rest of the compass. I have a method to produce colored glass here. The formula and the detailed steps are all written here. You can try to figure it out later. In a day or two, our workshop should be able to produce colored glass ourselves. Furthermore, it's even purer than the colored glass sold by the barbarian merchants! Those barbarian merchants have made so much money from our Tang Empire by relying on the crude manufacturing process of colored glaze. Now, it's time for them to be eliminated! "
"What?"
Uncle Fu couldn't help but cry out in surprise. What Li Zexuan said was simply too shocking. Ever since the colored glaze was spread to the Central Plains, it wasn't that people hadn't thought of imitating it, but none of them had ended in failure. This was because just by looking at the surface, it was impossible to tell the composition of the colored glaze, let alone imitating it.
"Young Master, you really have a way to bake colored glaze?"
"Hmm, Faubert, you should be able to make it after trying a few more times according to the manufacturing method that I wrote for you. However, you have to keep it a secret. The formula of Liu Li should be top secret in the workshop. The fewer people who know about it, the better!"
As long as he knew the formula and firing steps of the glass, the manufacturing process would not be too complicated. Since he was the same as countless people who had transmigrated and created glass, how could he not take the opportunity to make a fortune? How could he be worthy of others?
In fact, the glass manufacturing process in China began in the Western Zhou Dynasty. However, the glass made at that time was very muddy and far from meeting the requirements of modern glass technology.
There was a small story about the people who first discovered glass. It was said that more than 1000 BC, a European Phoenician merchant ship, full of the crystal mineral "natural soda", sailed on the Belus River on the Mediterranean coast. The merchant ship ran aground due to the ebb of the sea. So the crew went ashore one after another. Some of the crew members even brought over a large pot and firewood. They used a few pieces of "natural soda" as a support for the pot and started cooking on the beach.
After the crew finished their meal, the tide began to rise. Just as they were about to pack up and board the ship to continue sailing, someone suddenly shouted, "Everyone, come and look! There are some sparkling and bright things on the sand under the pot!"
The crew brought these sparkling things to the ship and studied them carefully. They found that there were some quartz sand and melted natural soda stuck to these sparkling things. It turned out that these sparkling things were the natural soda that they used to make the support for the pot when cooking. Under the action of the flame, it chemically reacted with the quartz sand on the beach to produce crystals. This was the earliest glass.
Later, the Phoenicians mixed the quartz sand and natural soda together and then melted it in a special furnace to make glass balls. This made the Phoenicians a fortune. Around the 4th century, the Romans began to apply glass to doors and windows. By 1291, the glass manufacturing technology in Italy was very developed.
"Our glass manufacturing technology must not be leaked out. Gather all the glass craftsmen together to produce glass!" Just like that, the glass craftsmen in Italy were sent to an isolated island to produce glass. They were not allowed to leave this isolated island for the rest of their lives.
In 1688, a man named Naff invented the process of making large pieces of glass. From then on, glass became an ordinary item.
...
In the Drunken Wind Pavilion.
When Faubert saw his young master's solemn expression, he knew that the matter of the glass formula was true. He took the formula and cupped his hands with a solemn expression.
"Young master, don't worry. This old man still knows the importance of this matter. This old man will personally follow up on the manufacturing of glass. There will definitely not be more than five people who know the specific formula. Moreover, these people are all absolutely loyal to the workshop. As for the first compass, it should be able to be made today! "
Li Zexuan nodded with satisfaction and said, "Well, Faubert, go ahead and do your work! I'll be in the workshop in the afternoon. If you have any questions, you can come and ask me at any time. "
Faubert heard this and the solemn expression on his face became more intense. Li Zexuan had never stayed in the workshop for such a long time, but today he actually took the initiative to stay. From this aspect, it could be seen how much importance Li Zexuan attached to the compass.
"Then this old man will go and arrange for the craftsmen to make the compass!"
Faubert cupped his hands and said goodbye.
In the room.
Li Tai looked at Li Zexuan curiously and asked, "Sir, you really know how to make glass? Can you tell Tai about it? "
Li Zexuan rolled his eyes and said in a bad mood, "This is a trade secret. Why should I tell you?"
"..."
Li Tai choked for a moment. He was speechless and said, "I won't steal your business. Aren't you too stingy? Besides, as a teacher, preaching, teaching, and answering questions is what you should do! "
Li Zexuan had no choice but to give them a simple introduction to the principles of glassmaking. Li Zexuan had no choice but to give them a simple introduction to the principles of glassmaking.
"In fact, the manufacture of glass involves another subject. I call it 'Chemistry'. The so-called Chemistry can be understood as the study of changes. Several things can react with each other and change into other substances. This is the core of the subject of Chemistry. If I have time in the future, I can systematically explain this subject to you. Next, I'll briefly talk about the firing principle of glass … "
Li Zexuan slowly gave Li Tai, Meng Wenhao, and the others a rough explanation of the reaction between the various components in the glass making process. Of course, he couldn't go into too much detail, or it would involve a lot of fundamental questions. During the explanation, it was inevitable that some words that they had never heard before would pop up, but no one interrupted. They all listened attentively because they knew that the knowledge that Li Zexuan was talking about was very likely to be unique in the Tang Empire and even in the whole world. This knowledge was very likely to change the entire Tang Empire!
...
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
