Ming Dynasty: Evolution from snake to national guardian beast

Chapter 17 The advent of briquettes

After a while, Zhu Di didn't notice it, but Xu Miaoyun on the side asked curiously.

"Is it possible that Mr. Bai has an idea?"

"Can this thing be turned into treasure?"

"Haha, I knew it."

Zhu Gaochi was very happy and gave Xu Miaoyun a thumbs up.

"These are anthracite coal invented by Mr. Bai, which is harmless to the human body."

"Not only can this thing burn very well, but it also doesn't emit a lot of smoke."

"The most important thing is that these coals are not toxic, so they are perfect for heating."

"The most important thing is that this coal is almost endless. We can mine 10,000 kilograms of coal in Xishan every day."

"Father, mother and concubine, you don't have to pawn your favorite things. Our family can finally live a good life!"

The more Zhu Gaochi talked, the more excited he became, and his voice became louder and louder.

When Zhu Di heard this, his eyes suddenly opened, and then his eyes fell on Bai Chu who was behind Zhu Gaochi.

"Master Bai, is what Gao Chi said true?"

Bai Chu smiled and said:
  "Just try and you will find out."

With that said, Bai Chu ordered someone to bring an iron stove.

The shape of this iron furnace is similar to that of later generations. It is cylindrical with a hollow middle for holding briquettes.

In normal times, it can not only be used for cooking, but also for boiling water. It can be said that it is a multi-purpose stove with a wide range of uses.

Ever since he accompanied Zhu Gaochi to visit Xishan Village, he had been thinking about how to refine anthracite coal.

In this day and age, coal is toxic.

Charcoal that has not undergone any processing will emit a strong smoke when burned, which is also mixed with a large amount of sulfur dioxide and other poisonous gases.

In this case, carbon monoxide will not cause harm to people, but the sulfur gas is extremely poisonous. Most people will be poisoned to death within less than a stick of incense.

What Bai Chu has to do now is to process a large amount of sulfide before burning it into coke.

In this way, he can turn this frightening thing into mysterious gold that can make people rich and prosperous.

Think about the future, how many coal bosses will earn a lot of money from a small coal mine, and then they will get the title of "Xuanjin".

Although Bai Chu didn't understand much about this, he couldn't deny that Bai Chu was a cheater.

If he didn't know it, he searched in the system, and finally asked Bai Chu to buy the anthracite desulfurization method with three thousand incense money.

It sounds complicated to say, but it’s actually not difficult to do.

Without a foundation in modern chemical industry, Bai Chu could only add limestone and alkali to achieve desulfurization.

Limestone is easy to find. There are many lime factories in Peking and the raw materials are not expensive.

Although the desulfurization results are not very good, the coal from Beiping Xishan is famous.

Anthracite, as the name suggests, is the best coal in the world. It has a high ignition point, burns smoothly, and contains almost no sulfides.

After simple processing, these anthracite coal can be used as a high-quality energy source.

In addition to these, it is most suitable for refining steel.

Today's blacksmiths basically use charcoal, but this charcoal has a higher ignition point and better stability, and can remove impurities from iron ore.

In the end, this iron ore is used to refine extremely strong steel.

Of course, in addition to these, anthracite has a greater role, which is related to Zhu Di's ambition. Bai Chu decided to tell him later. The Central Plains of China is rich in products and produces six kinds of high-quality anthracite, and Xishan in Beiping is one of the best.

After learning about the refining method of anthracite coal, Bai Chu immediately ordered Zhu Gaochi to set up a factory and conduct experiments on the anthracite coal refining process.

Finally, under the leadership of Bai Chu, it took only three days to complete the production of the first batch of briquettes. The efficiency was astonishingly high.

After a series of tests, the performance indicators of briquettes are very stable.

It does not emit too much smoke and is non-toxic when exposed to air circulation.

In fact, if it were in ancient times, there would be no need to worry about air circulation at all, because there was no such thing as steel and concrete in this era, and there would always be wind blowing into the house from all the gaps.

You can imagine Zhu Gaochi's joy when he saw the stability of briquettes and the fact that the burning time was much longer than ordinary charcoal fires.

Although he is not a businessman, he also knows that this time, Prince Yan's Mansion will become prosperous.

In such a cold winter, such an excellent heat source will naturally be sought after by everyone.

And the most indispensable thing in Prince Yan's Mansion is this dark coal.

Without saying a word, Zhu Gaochi went directly to Prince Yan's Mansion and told Zhu Di and Xu Miaoyun the good news.

Inside the greenhouse.

Zhu Di, Xu Miaoyun, and the old monk were all bent over a large pot, staring intently at the honeycomb coals still burning in the stove.

Everyone opened their eyes wide, not daring to miss any detail.

"How long have you been burning?"

Zhu Di suddenly asked.

The old monk looked at the sky and said:

"It's been an hour."

Xu Miaoyun was also stunned. Looking at the briquettes still glowing red in the alchemy furnace, he exclaimed:
  "It's been this long?"

"Well, it's been an hour at least."

"Haha, great, great, this is a good thing!"

At this moment, Zhu Di suddenly burst out laughing.

"This is God's gift to me, the Ming Dynasty."

"With it, every household in the Ming Dynasty will no longer have to worry about the severe cold in winter."

"Perhaps, in a few years, no one will freeze to death."

Zhu Di had a look of frustration on his face. Just yesterday, he received news that more than ten people had frozen to death.

Zhu Di has been stationed in Peiping for more than ten years and has long been accustomed to it. It is a rare thing to avoid freezing to death in winter.

After all, as winter approaches, there are fewer trees and less charcoal, which causes the price of charcoal to rise.

Only a handful of wealthy families can afford such charcoal, and most people stay in their beds.

As for whether he will freeze to death, he can only leave it to fate.

But things are different now. Zhu Di believes that with this batch of briquettes, every household will use them.

Xishan has a large amount of coal reserves, and they are all open-pit, so mining is very easy.

Therefore, the cost of briquettes is very low and can be sold at a very low price, allowing ordinary people to get the maximum benefit.

In the end, in everyone's eyes, this time, it continued to burn for three hours before it completed its mission.

(End of this chapter)