Li Longji was more interested in solar stoves. After all, the people had to cook every day, so they needed a lot of firewood and charcoal. This was especially true in Chang 'an, which had a population of millions. If people could cook and boil water without firewood and charcoal, it would definitely benefit the people. At the same time, it would also greatly reduce the pressure on the supply of firewood and charcoal in Chang' an.
The people of later generations could guarantee that they could take a bath every two or three days, regardless of spring, summer, autumn, or winter. When the weather was hot, they could take a bath several times a day. This was because the fuel supply of later generations was sufficient. Solar water heaters and electric water heaters could provide enough hot water in a short time.
However, the Tang dynasty did not have such advanced equipment. If people wanted to take a bath, they had to use firewood to boil water. For a big city like Chang 'an, which had a population of millions, the amount of firewood that could be supplied was not enough to ensure that all the people had enough. It was barely enough to boil water for cooking, let alone for taking a bath.
In winter, the rich aristocrats could only get a chance to take a bath once in a while. The ordinary people could not even think about taking a bath for the whole winter. Even washing their hair was an extravagant hope. They could only comb their hair with a fine-tooth comb to remove the parasites on their heads.
At the same time, the supply of firewood and charcoal had always been in short supply. For this reason, the price had always been high, which, to a certain extent, increased the living burden of the people.
The woodcutters who made a living by cutting firewood did not make a fortune, because the market in the Tang dynasty was managed by officials. Any goods sold must have an official business license. If the woodcutters entered the city to sell firewood without permission and were caught by the urban management of the Tang dynasty, not only would their firewood be confiscated, but they would also be beaten. The urban management of later generations was not the only powerful one. The urban management of the Tang dynasty was also powerful.
Therefore, the firewood that the woodcutters worked hard to cut could only be sold to several aristocratic families who were in charge of the firewood business. Then, they would be transported to the market in Chang 'an and sold to the people in the city. In this monopoly, the rich profits were obtained by several aristocratic families, which made them richer and richer, further widening the gap between the rich and the poor.
In other words, once the solar stove invented by Ang Lee was popularized, it would directly harm the interests of the aristocratic families that monopolized the firewood business.
However, Ang Lee was not afraid of these aristocratic families. Moreover, his invention was a good thing that could benefit the world. No one had any reason to oppose it, especially those stubborn officials. They would fully support the solar stove to show their lofty character of caring for the world.
"Your Majesty, please take a look. This is your humble subject's newly invented solar stove."
Ang Lee pointed at the huge solar stove and proudly introduced it.
"Well, it doesn't look too big. It shouldn't be a problem to place it in the courtyard of a commoner's house."
Li Longji looked at the size of the solar stove and felt that it could fit in the homes of ordinary people. In other words, as long as the performance was up to standard, it could be popularized on a large scale.
Li Linfu, Li Shizhi, and the other prime ministers were also interested in the solar stove. They asked some officials about the common knowledge of solar stoves and urged Ang Lee to quickly test it out.
"Your Majesty, this is a pot of cold water. Would you like to try it?"
Ang Lee first dipped his hand into the pot to show that it was indeed cold water.
Li Longji stretched out his hand to test it and urged Ang Lee to quickly test it out.
Ang Lee adjusted the solar stove against the sunlight and placed a pot of cold water on it.
"Assistant Minister Li, this can boil the water?"
Li Longji was rather confused. The other prime ministers were also very curious. They knew that sunlight could heat up cold water, but that had been summer. No matter how hot the winter sun was, cold water could not heat up because cold water could not absorb as much heat as it dissipated.
"Your Majesty, not only can this cold water boil, it can also be used much more quickly than firewood. Your Majesty only needs to wait a few moments. In this time, your humble subject will demonstrate to Your Majesty another use of the magnifying glass."
Ang Lee picked up the magnifying glass and a piece of paper and focused the light on the paper. The paper quickly turned black and then burst into flames, the flames leaping high into the air.
"This … this magnifying glass can actually be used as a fire starter."
Li Longji and the other ministers were all stunned. This way, they would not even need to use a fire starter during the day.
Ang Lee chuckled and briefly explained the principle of convex and concave lenses. The emperor and the prime ministers did not need to understand. They only needed to have a general idea.
In the short time it took to demonstrate how to ignite the fire with the magnifying glass, the small pot on the solar stove was already bubbling. Li Longji and the other prime ministers looked up and saw that the water in the small pot on the solar stove was already boiling.
"So fast! It's actually much faster than firewood. This is really a good thing!"
Li Longji and the other prime ministers' eyes were filled with shock and joy as they watched a pot of cold water being quickly boiled by the solar stove. This invention was too important to the Tang dynasty. It was an invention that would benefit both the country and the people.
"Your Majesty, the solar stove can boil water faster than firewood and cook more delicious food. Your humble servant will make a side dish for Your Majesty to try."
In the future, Li An's culinary skills could only be considered a novice, but in the Great Tang, he could definitely be considered an expert. After all, in this era, the main culinary techniques of the Great Tang were boiling, steaming, and roasting. The food that was made from these techniques was truly mediocre. Li An, on the other hand, had grasped many cooking techniques, so the food he made was naturally more delicious.
In order to demonstrate the complete function of the solar stove in front of the emperor, Ang Lee brought all the pots, bowls, spatulas, chopsticks, and other tools from the mansion. Of course, there were also seasonings.
The first dish was a fried egg. This was a very ordinary dish in the future, but in the Great Tang, there was no such way of eating it. They only boiled it, and in order to enhance the flavor, they would also add some seasoning. But how could this compare to the fragrance of the fried egg?
When the bottom of the pan was heated up, Ang Lee first poured an appropriate amount of oil. When the oil was smoking, he beat the whole eggs in one by one.
"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle …"
The sound of the egg being fried in the boiling oil was pleasing to the ears. A rich aroma of food wafted through the air, making Li Longji and the others, who hadn't had lunch yet, swallow their saliva unconsciously.
After a few flips, three fragrant poached eggs were ready. After sprinkling some condiments on them, they were placed on a prepared plate.
"Your Majesty, this is the fried egg made by your humble servant. Please try it."
Ang Lee handed the most complete fried egg to Li Longji, and the remaining two to Li Linfu and Li Shizhi. Then, he started again and fried three more. There were many ministers here, so he had to at least make more for them to taste.
Smelling the fragrance of the poached eggs, Li Longji and the other prime ministers were intoxicated. When a person was hungry, their craving for food was the greatest. Moreover, Li An's poached eggs looked, smelled, and tasted so good that it was impossible not to drool.
"Well, this fried egg tastes really good. Assistant Minister Li must teach the imperial chefs in the palace."
Li Longji narrowed his eyes and asked with intoxication. The ministers also ate with relish, smacking their lips from time to time and carefully tasting the taste.
"Your Majesty, don't worry. Fried eggs are very simple. The imperial chefs will learn after seeing it once."
Ang Lee said as he began to prepare the second side dish, fried eggs with cucumber. This was a very delicious side dish. Ang Lee liked it very much in his previous life. Moreover, the technique of frying this dish was very good. Even after coming to the Tang dynasty, he did not forget this technique.
The eggs were all the freshest grass-fed eggs, uncontaminated by feed and medicine. The cucumbers were also fresh and tender cucumbers that had just been picked in the greenhouse. In addition, he had to prepare oil, salt, scallion, and ginger.
First, he heated the iron pot and poured in oil. After the oil started to smoke, he poured in scallion and ginger to fry, letting the fragrance of the scallion and ginger spread out. Then, he added in the eggs and stir-fried them until the liquid solidified. Otherwise, they would be overcooked.
After cleaning the iron pot, he poured in a little more oil. After heating it up, he added in scallion and cucumber slices. After stir-frying for a while, he quickly added in the eggs and sprinkled some salt.
Because the iron pot Ang Lee prepared was relatively large, there were more than ten eggs and nearly ten cucumbers in this pot. It could be considered a large pot of rice, but Ang Lee made it very well. The fragrance of the food filled the air within a hundred steps.
Ang Lee evenly divided the large pot of fried eggs and cucumbers into several plates and handed them to Li Longji and the ministers so that they could continue to taste.
"Fried eggs and cucumbers, the taste is very good."
Li Longji delicately took a bite and praised Ang Lee. He closed his eyes and carefully savored the delicious food in his mouth.
"Haha! Assistant Minister Li's culinary skills can be said to be superb. It is truly a pity that you are not an imperial chef. "
Li Longji amiably laughed as he looked at Ang Lee, causing the ministers and Li Longji to roar with laughter.
It was clear that after tasting the two dishes that Ang Lee had personally cooked, Li Longji and the ministers had already acknowledged Ang Lee's culinary skills. Naturally, they would equate Ang Lee's culinary skills with that of an imperial chef.
In the future, a man who could cook was the standard of a warm man. He would be recognized by the entire society and would be worshipped and admired by many girls.
However, in the Tang dynasty, being able to cook was not an advantage. It was even looked down upon. Mencius' words, "A gentleman should stay away from the kitchen." Many ambitious men believed that not knowing how to cook was a gentleman's performance. It was just like some students in the future who believed that playing truant and not doing homework was a sign of bravery. It was also a fallacy.
Ang Lee knew that Li Linfu was making fun of him, but he did not seem to have any ill intentions. After all, Li Longji and the ministers were all here.
After a slight smile, Ang Lee continued to make a few delicious meat dishes for Li Longji and the ministers. Finally, he made a bean sprout and vegetable soup.
In short, Ang Lee's demonstration turned into actual cooking, filling the stomachs of Li Longji and the ministers.
Li Longji ate very comfortably, and so did the ministers. After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, they began to marvel at the great utility of the solar stove. They also felt that Ang Lee's invention of the solar stove was a good thing for the country and the people. It was very suitable to be popularized.
"Assistant Minister Li, the inside of the solar stove is smooth and reflective. The manufacturing cost must be very high!"
Li Linfu asked with concern.
"Not high, not high at all. Ever since black gunpowder was used to mine iron, the price of iron has dropped a lot. The main body of the solar stove is iron. In addition, this humble official has invented a hand-operated polisher. The efficiency and effect of the polishing are far better than manual polishing. For such a large solar stove, one person can polish it in two hours."
Ang Lee truthfully replied.
When it came to polishing and polishing metal, in ancient times, most people used stone to do it by hand. The efficiency was slow and the effect was poor. Ang Lee's hand-operated polisher could polish metal better and faster, allowing the metal to reflect sunlight like a mirror.
The principle behind the hand-operated polisher was very simple, and its manufacture was even easier. It would be of great help to the manufacture of the solar stove.
After personally experiencing the immense utility of the solar stove, the ministers sighed and left Zichen Palace, returning to their respective offices.
Li Longji stayed behind to carefully admire the solar stove. He also inquired about the principles behind it and the problems they would encounter when they were popularizing it.
The biggest problem with popularizing the solar stove was the problem of cost. The other problems were easy to solve, but whether the cost was too high for the people to be willing to buy depended on the region.
For example, in a remote mountain village, there were withered trees and weeds everywhere. The people did not lack firewood for cooking and did not need to spend money. Under such circumstances, as long as they were not too rich, they would not choose to buy a solar stove.
In an international metropolis like Chang 'an, with a population of one million, the firewood needed for cooking and boiling water had to be bought from the firewood shop. The price of firewood was relatively high, so as long as the solar stove could save a considerable amount of firewood, the people would definitely be willing to buy it.
This was especially true for businesses like restaurants and hostels, which had a higher demand for firewood. They needed solar stoves the most. Moreover, these businesses were relatively wealthy and could fully afford the initial investment.
As for the ordinary poor commoners, they would calculate whether it was worth it to buy a solar stove. For example, after buying a solar stove, how much firewood could be saved in a year? If the firewood saved in a year was enough to buy a solar stove, then the poor commoners would definitely be willing to buy it.
That was to say, all the cities that lacked firewood and some areas that lacked vegetation were very suitable for popularizing solar stoves. Of course, some areas with a lot of cloudy days were not suitable.
In addition, the solar stove could also be used for military purposes. Many troops of the Tang dynasty were stationed in the desert, so they needed a lot of fuel. Moreover, they had to rely on support from the rear.
Food and fodder! Food and fodder! Simply put, it was food and hay used as fuel. These two things were the most important logistical resources for an army. Without food and fodder, even a strong army would collapse.
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