Borrow the day to change the day

Sure enough, Zhong Jinwei was not wrong. The cement factory came to announce the good news because the glass was fired in the new glass experimental kiln.

Since then, glass is no longer a specialty of Westerners, but domestic glass!

Zhong Jinwei immediately asked the craftsmen to rebuild several large glass kilns next to the cement factory to meet the subsequent demand for glass.

In addition, this experimental kiln will continue to fire glass and produce various glass products.

The difference between colored glaze and glass is actually only the firing temperature, and the other differences are not big.In the past, the fired colored glaze was mostly used for architectural decoration, so there is basically no difficulty in making finished glass products for architectural decoration. [

Previously, Zhong Jinwei had drawn a pattern of glass products for the reference of glass craftsmen so that they could make similar things.

Now that the bank is about to start construction, let them try to make flat glass first.

For the flat glass at this stage, Zhong Jinwei does not have high requirements, it can be as big as it can be, and a batch will be made first for bank customers.After the technology matures, try to do it in a larger direction, which can be useful in many ways.

Zhong Jinwei also remembered the shortage of binoculars in the army. He was surprised that there was not a single binocular in the five thousand cavalry army. Therefore, he asked the craftsmen to make binoculars at the same time to provide them for fighting against captives.

The principle of making telescopes is known to all craftsmen in the Ming Dynasty, and there are several skilled hands here in the capital who can grind lenses.Therefore, there is no technical difficulty in making a telescope, only the level of multiples.

Zhong Jinwei also considered the microscope on the spot, but considering that Liulijiang needs to be familiar with glass making and do the tasks he just assigned in the early stage, he did not ask for the microscope again, and asked them to come after a while The laboratory microscope is ready.

Excited, Zhong Jinwei had already said a lot of requests, kept the book on one side busy for a while, and after finally recording everything, he and An Guiyi went to see Emperor Chongzhen together.

Now that several supervisory departments are undergoing restructuring, various tasks and titles have been changed. It is inevitable that the cabinet and Emperor Chongzhen will decide some things. Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen is very busy.

But when he heard that Zhong Jinwei was looking for him, he still found time to meet Zhong Jinwei in Wenhua Hall.

When Emperor Chongzhen heard that the glass experiment was successful, he was very happy. Daming finally had his own glass.

Seeing Emperor Chongzhen's smile, Zhong Jinwei took the opportunity to praise him and said, "Your Majesty, the cement factory is really thanks to Eunuch An. If it weren't for him, when the Chinese government was paralyzed a few days ago, the process would have been delayed."

"I know, it's rare to be a slave who does practical things." Emperor Chongzhen nodded in agreement, and An Guiyi, who was standing behind Zhong Jinwei, immediately knelt down to thank him.

"You go, do things well, I remember." Emperor Chongzhen said to An Guiyi.

It is the greatest dream of the servants in the palace to let the emperor remember him. An Guiyi was ecstatic in his heart, and retreated on his own, and he also felt more grateful to Zhong Jinwei.It is really wise to report to the emperor first with Marquis Zhongxing and then meet the emperor together, it is more effective than meeting the emperor alone.

Because the firing of the glass was proposed by Marquis Zhongxing, if An Guiyi himself came to report the good news, the emperor would naturally think of Marquis Zhongxing's contribution, not his contribution.It was based on this idea that An Guiyi took the initiative to report to Zhong Jinwei first. He knew that Zhong Jinwei would definitely mention his credit, and now his little plan has succeeded.

After An Guiyi withdrew from the Wenhua Palace, Zhong Jinwei said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, the significance of this glass is not only that we have made it domestically in Ming Dynasty, but also that this glass, like cement, is a military and civilian use, and even more important than cement. One of the most basic ingredients."

"Oh, master Zhong, tell me quickly." Emperor Chongzhen felt like he had found a treasure.

"First, this glass can be used to make telescopes for military reconnaissance. I know that there were also glasses in the past, but the cost was too expensive to be widely used. But now that we have our own glass, we can make a lot of them. Not only the generals in the army can equip them , that is, those who go to reconnaissance can be equipped with binoculars at night, which is conducive to intelligence collection."

Emperor Chongzhen nodded, which is a benefit. [

"Secondly, glass is used in construction. It is light and airtight. It is the best material to replace household paper. There should be many people who can use it. It can also be made into various transparent containers. It will be a way for state-owned enterprises to make money in the future. source."

Emperor Chongzhen liked to hear this the most, and those who can get money are good things.

"Third, materials necessary for experimental vessels used in the medical field and chemical field."

"Master Zhong, I haven't heard of this before, please explain in detail." Emperor Chongzhen said when he heard the two new terms.

"Your Majesty, in my hometown, the field of medicine is divided into two categories: traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine. I believe that these two categories have their own strengths and can complement each other." Zhong Jinwei explained.

"Master Zhong, what's the explanation?" Emperor Chongzhen was a little curious when he heard Zhong Jinwei say that there are two types of doctors.

"Your Majesty, our doctors in Ming Dynasty mainly pay attention to observation, hearing, questioning, harmony of yin and yang, and treatment with herbal medicine, acupuncture and other methods. But Western medicine is different. It pays more attention to details and uses various specific things that have happened as a reference for treatment. such as viruses, bacteria, etc.

"Master Zhong, why do I become more and more confused the more I listen to it?" Emperor Chongzhen was confused.

Zhong Jinwei knew that introducing a new thing involved too many new concepts to talk about. After thinking for a while, he said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, what will happen if we zoom in on anything we see, such as Say water."

Emperor Chongzhen never thought about this problem. Isn't water just water when it is magnified?

Zhong Jinwei looked at Emperor Chongzhen and knew that he couldn't answer, so he said directly: "Your Majesty, glass can be made into a tool called a microscope. Through this tool, we can see what else is in the clear and transparent water." , something in our blood."

"What will it be?" Emperor Chongzhen asked curiously.

"There will be a lot of microorganisms, called bacteria. Some of these bacteria are harmful to the human body, and some are harmful to the human body. Therefore, a hygienic habit is to boil water before drinking, otherwise it is easy to get sick, because boiling water can kill bacteria. Bacteria in the water." Zhong Jinwei introduced to Emperor Chongzhen.

When Emperor Chongzhen heard what Zhong Jinwei said, he couldn't help but feel a little sick when he remembered that there were countless such invisible corpses in the water he drank every day.

"Your Majesty, many of our human illnesses are caused by bacteria. The spread of bacteria can be caused by drinking water, fleas, cockroaches, or mice. Oh, yes, I remembered a very important thing." When Zhong Jinwei said this, he finally remembered an important reason for the fall of the Ming Dynasty.

"Master Zhong, what's the important thing?" Emperor Chongzhen was shocked by a series of new terms just now, and now he has become numb, knowing that what Zhong Jinwei said must be something he didn't know.

Zhong Jinwei looked at the maids standing by the side. Although he had learned from the last time, these people should be absolutely reliable people selected by Emperor Chongzhen, but what he wanted to say involved the privacy of Emperor Chongzhen, so these people still couldn’t hear it. .

Seeing Zhong Jinwei's expression, Emperor Chongzhen knew that he was going to tell some secrets that could not be made public, so he asked all the court ladies to retreat, leaving only Emperor Chongzhen and Zhong Jinwei in the Wenhua Palace.

"Your Majesty, I just remembered an important reason for the fall of the capital in history." Zhong Jinwei said seriously.

When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, his expression became serious, he sat up straight, looked at Zhong Jinwei, and listened carefully to what Zhong Jinwei was going to say.

"Your Majesty, when Shi Zai's thieves attacked the capital, it happened that the rat plague broke out in the capital, which infected all the defenders of the capital and a large number of people. It is said that there is no one who can stand on the top of the city, so they were killed by the thieves. It easily captured the capital."

Emperor Chongzhen listened carefully, and as soon as Zhong Jinwei finished speaking, he immediately asked, "Plague?"

"Well, it's a plague that is highly contagious and has a high mortality rate. Because the source of this plague is the fleas on rats, it is called the plague. When the Mongols attacked Europe, they brought this plague with them, causing Half the population of Western countries died, and they called it the Black Death.”

After hearing what Zhong Jinwei said, Emperor Chongzhen realized the seriousness of the plague, and quickly said, "Master Zhong, how should we prevent it? Is it to kill all the rats?"

"Yes, killing all the rats is one aspect, and we must also improve hygiene. If someone is infected with this disease, they must be quarantined." Zhong Jinwei said.

In ancient times, if there was a plague, isolation was inevitable.Of course, Emperor Chongzhen knew this. After Zhong Jinwei said this, he realized the importance of hygiene. Although the Central Plains people have always paid attention to hygiene, no one has ever raised the importance of hygiene to an unprecedented height.

"Master Zhong, if someone is infected with this plague, besides isolation, can he be cured?" Emperor Chongzhen asked another very important question.