Cao Cao called me to rob a tomb

Chapter 878 Repression (4000)

"Bronze pillar?"

"Blue liquid?"

Wu Liang couldn't imagine what kind of thing it was, so he couldn't help frowning.

"That's right, this copper pillar is soft, and you can leave a mark on it with a light chisel with an engineer shovel. It should be the same pure copper as the bronze statue."

Yang Wanli said in more detail, "As for the blue liquid, I don't know what it is, and I don't dare to teach my brothers to move around. I just wait for the young master to check it before making a decision."

"Lead the way ahead."

Wu Liang still couldn't imagine what it was, so he nodded to Yang Wanli immediately, and walked quickly to the place where he found the copper pillar.

"What copper pillar..."

Seeing this situation, the backbone of the Liren army was also suspicious, and trotted all the way to follow.

In this way, he came to the copper pillar.

Wu Liang first smelled a faint sour smell.

This is a relatively special sour smell, without the foul smell that usually occurs with sour taste, so it's not bad, but it's not good either.

"Young master, this should be the smell from the blue liquid. When our people dug up this copper pillar just now, I did a simple inspection to ensure that these things would not endanger the lives of the brothers. Then I ran to report to you."

Yang Wanli added in due course.

"Ah."

Wu Liang nodded in response, and had already come to the front of the blue liquid that had accumulated about half an square meter and was one finger deep.

At this moment, the blue liquid is still slowly seeping out of the copper pillar lying in the red soil. From this flow rate, it can be seen that there should not be too much pressure inside the copper pillar, and the blue liquid is only seeping naturally. out.

Could this be an artificial pipeline?
Looking at the situation in front of him, such a guess first appeared in Wu Liang's mind.

Limited by technology and materials, there is no such means of transportation as "pipelines" in this era, but such means are extremely common in later generations, ranging from small water pipes, gas pipes, and infusion pipes that cannot be separated from life to large ones. "Pipelines" are almost everywhere in military and civilian infrastructure.

And copper, a metal with relatively good ductility, if it is not too precious, it should not be too difficult to make a pipe, even for the ancients...

Of course, this is just Wu Liang's wild guess.

After all, the copper pillar in front of me must have a diameter of at least ten centimeters. Even if it is made into a hollow pipe, it may still be feasible if it is only a short distance. It has already gone to the sky, not to mention the ancient times thousands of years earlier, not to mention the pressure that soft metals such as pure copper can withstand during the transmission process, and the problem of damage and other properties.

Therefore, Wu Liang also knew that this possibility was not great, and things were definitely not as simple as he thought...

But this blue liquid exuding a faint sour smell reminded Wu Liang of his previous speculation about "wet copper smelting".

As far as he knows, the "gall water" used in "wet copper smelting" is a blue liquid, and the "gale water" used in the earliest Chinese dynasty is naturally formed, and it is not like the later generations that can use chemical methods. way to extract.

In addition, the main component of "biliary water" is copper sulfate, so it does emit a faint sour smell.

But to verify this is actually very simple.

Wu Liang now knows nothing about the copper pillar, nor about the blue liquid, so he can only verify and eliminate one by one according to his own guesses, so as to get close to the truth.

Thinking of this, Wu Liang has already inserted the head of the engineer shovel in his hand into the blue liquid in front of him.

"This……"

Everyone in the Huanren Army naturally didn't know what Wu Liang was doing, and they felt a little nervous when they saw this situation, and they all held their breath and didn't dare to ask more questions.

However, the shovel head of the engineer shovel did not show any obvious changes when it was soaked in the blue liquid.

After a few minutes like this.

When Wu Liang took the engineering shovel out of the blue liquid, the part that was soaked in the blue liquid, the smooth surface of the shovel head turned rough as if burnt.

Wu Liang then dipped the engineering shovel into the blue liquid, fished out some impurities from the bottom of the blue liquid that was only one finger deep, and poured them on the ground for careful inspection.

I saw several irregular purple-red lumps of metal contained in these impurities, and the largest one was only as big as a tooth.

This is elemental copper!

Wu Liang's spirits lifted accordingly.

This is enough to prove that his guess is correct. The blue liquid flowing out of this copper column is exactly the "gut" that can be used to refine pure copper using the "wet copper smelting" technology!
Although it is not yet known where the source of this "gut water" is.

But all the previous signs showed that he had found the right direction, and if this was the relic of the Jiuli Kingdom, then what the Jiuli Kingdom had mastered back then was not just the ordinary copper smelting method, but was ahead of the Han Dynasty, Tang Dynasty, the "wet method of copper smelting" that can be compared with the Song Dynasty!
This is undoubtedly an amazing discovery!

No one would have imagined that the Jiuli Kingdom in the ancient times would have mastered such advanced technology, which would definitely refresh people's understanding of the ancient times...

After all, there are two prerequisites for "wet copper smelting".

One is to have iron, and the other is to have gall water.

Gallbladder can be formed naturally, and there are still considerable stocks in some places.

As for iron, because it is extremely easy to oxidize, except for the extremely rare dog-head iron, most of them need to be refined.

This is also the main reason why the phenomenon of "wet copper smelting" was discovered as early as the Han Dynasty, but it was not applied to the copper smelting industry until the Song Dynasty, because it was recorded in related books in the Song Dynasty that this kind of copper smelting The method usually requires two catties of iron to replace one catty of copper.

As we all know, human civilization first experienced the Bronze Age, and then entered the Iron Age.

Therefore, it is only worthwhile to use iron to replace copper in bile water only after ironware is popular enough, and because of the difference in the content of iron and copper in the earth, the value difference between the two has widened a lot...

Since "wet copper smelting" must use iron?

So how did the Jiuli Kingdom master this technology? Could it be that they have also mastered the iron-making technology?
Obviously not……

If the Jiuli Kingdom had mastered the iron-making technology, then the armor issued by the Tuan army here before would not be copper alloys, but should be ironware with more stocks on the earth and better performance as strategic materials.

Therefore, the Jiuli Kingdom should not have mastered the iron-making technology, or even know what iron is.

It may have been accidental that they mastered the "hydrometallurgy of copper".

If they first found a large amount of gall, they found iron ore with a very high iron content, such as the stones on the sacred mountain.

Then they discovered that such rocks soaked in gall water would produce a steady stream of elemental copper, and because of its good ductility and stability, the things made of elemental copper were naturally better than pottery of that era. Much stronger.

Facing the use of simple copper, they discovered that copper will become a hard alloy after being mixed with certain substances, so they made this alloy into weapons and armor, thus replacing the stone tools used before...

Thus, a powerful tribal alliance with animal body and human language, copper head and iron forehead, sand and stone eating, and defeating Emperor Yan and Huangdi in many wars was born!
There is no doubt about the strength of Chi You and Jiuli Kingdom!
A detail recorded in the history books is enough to prove this: After Huang Di defeated Chi You and destroyed the Jiuli Kingdom, the world did not return to peace. On the contrary, it became more chaotic than before. In the end, Huang Di had to paint his own face. Chi You's appearance, everyone in the world said that Chi You was immortal, and all nations in all directions were willing to submit to the Yellow Emperor.

Of course, Huang Di may not have painted his face as Chi You. After all, Chi You should have worn a copper mask on the battlefield, and Huang Di killed Chi You and captured his armor, so he only needs to wear the copper mask. On the face, in that era of information occlusion, it is easier to deter all nations.

Think about these in your heart.

Wu Liang felt more and more that this copper pillar was not simple. He might be the source of Jiuli Kingdom's "gut" and also the root of Jiuli Kingdom's strength. If this mystery can be solved, it will surely open a new chapter in the history of the Celestial Dynasty. Chapter!
"Yang Wanli, lead your brothers to continue excavating along this copper pillar until it is fully revealed. Be careful this time, and don't damage it again."

Looking back at Yang Wanli and the suspicious-looking crowd, Wu Liang didn't explain much, and focused on giving Yang Wanli orders.

……

Wu Liang and a group of backbones of the Tuan army also joined in the work of excavating the copper pillars.

Soon they found more copper pillars underground. These copper pillars were thick and thin, and their shapes were different. Some were just a single one, and some had multiple forks. On the same plane, some should be hidden slightly deeper, while others should be hidden slightly shallower.

At present, it is found that the maximum height difference should be about two meters.

However, they all have an unusual feature, that is, the surface of the copper pillar has never produced any copper rust, and has always maintained the purest elemental copper state.

It's incredible.

After all, the bronze statue and the copper alloy armor buried here together with these copper pillars, without exception, all showed unavoidable oxidation.

Yu Ji also noticed these phenomena, combined with other situations, he pulled Wu Liang aside and whispered worriedly: "My lord, I suspect that these copper pillars are alive..."

"I don't know if you have checked the copper pillar that was accidentally shoveled away by the soldiers before. The copper pillar has automatically produced a piece of copper like a blood scab, and the opening has been blocked like a wound, and there is no longer any blue. Fluid seeps out."

"There are also these copper pillars that were discovered later. Some places have been dug to the ends of the copper pillars, and those ends are getting thinner and thinner until they are completely closed. It doesn't look like they are connected to anything..."

In fact, Wu Liang is somewhat self-doubting at this moment.

Although he previously speculated that the Jiuli Kingdom might have mastered the "wet copper smelting" technology in advance by chance, there are already many copper pillars unearthed. Although they have not been transported and loaded, he feels that these copper pillars alone It has reached at least a dozen tons. After all, the density of elemental copper is still very impressive.

And this may be only a small part of these copper pillars, at least so far they have not dug to the root.

Also.

According to the direction of these copper pillars, Wu Liang can now see that they are actually spreading outward in a radial shape, and the diameter becomes smaller as they spread outward, looking like the roots of a giant tree...

Wu Liang has already begun to wonder if this is the same tung tree as the hibiscus tree he saw when he went to the Western Regions.

It's just that the hibiscus tree seems to be a bronze tree, but the tree in front of it is a pure paulownia tree.

If this is really a pure copper tree, where is the need for "wet copper smelting", wouldn't it be enough to just chop off the pure copper from this tree and use it?
And if this pure copper tree has a vegetal character, its copper will be inexhaustible if properly protected and properly pruned...

……

Through the direction of the copper pillars that have been excavated, Wu Liang has roughly deduced the place where they finally gathered--it was near the lock dragon pillar they first discovered!
Therefore, Wu Liang has ordered Yang Wanli to lead the soldiers of the Huren Army to focus on excavating the underground near Suolongzhu.

As for whether the Dragon Locking Pillar would collapse without its foundation support after their excavation, Wu Liang could no longer care about it. Compared with trying not to destroy the Dragon Locking Pillar, he needed to find out the truth as soon as possible, and at the same time It is even more necessary to find a way to leave this secret place as soon as possible, rather than hesitate.

This lasted a day and a night.

With the joint efforts of all the people in the Huan army, the excavation site near the Suolongzhu has been lowered by more than two feet.

However, the Dragon Locking Pillar did not collapse because of losing the support of the foundation, on the contrary, it finally revealed its full view until now!

It turned out that the part of the lock dragon pillar that exposed the river bed only occupied half of it.

The remaining half is buried underground, and the diameter of the underground part is slightly thicker than that of the exposed part, so that the bottom part is a circular stone platform with a diameter of about 3 meters, making it look like a whole. Like an irregular cone, like a raised three-layer cake.

This shape is far more stable than Wu Liang imagined.

And under the stone platform of Suolongzhu, there is a large pure copper cylinder with the same diameter as the circular stone platform at the bottom of Suolongzhu. Many small copper pillars that Wu Liang and others have seen are based on this large pure copper cylinder. The center spreads out in all directions and deep...

This shape looks quite similar to the rotten roots of the community tree they found that was suspected to have been cut down in the middle, and the large pure copper cylinder just under the lock dragon pillar is like this The remaining trunk of a tree.

"This……"

Wu Liang couldn't help showing suspicion.

"hiss……"

Everyone was also puzzled, Zhuge Liang couldn't help pointing to the big pure copper pillar and said, "Brother Youcai, this dragon lock pillar is standing right here, it doesn't look like it's meant to destroy the dragon's veins, but it's more like it's suppressing the dragon." something?"

(End of this chapter)