Sheng Tang: What is Liu Jianjun going to do today?

Chapter 216 Saltpeter, Real Salt, Fake Salt
"One type is fake salt..."

Before Liu Jianjun could finish speaking, Li Xian interrupted in astonishment: "The other one is real salt?"

This time, it was Liu Jianjun's turn to be stunned. He looked at Li Xian with a strange expression, staring at him for a long time before finally speaking: "The chicken changes but the lotus root doesn't?"

Li Xian suddenly realized he was falling behind Liu Jianjun's train of thought and frowned, asking, "What chicken and lotus root?"

But this time, Liu Jianjun seemed relieved and said, "I thought you were playing a pun with me... But you're right, one is fake salt and the other is real salt. But no matter which kind of salt it is, it will cause big trouble if it gets mixed into gunpowder. Saltpeter is easy to get damp, and these two things are even more so, they can pull up the moisture in the air... Well, never mind, just think of it as these two things getting damp more easily."

Li Xian nodded. Salt is indeed susceptible to moisture. If it is not stored in an airtight container, it will quickly become damp and clump together.

He said thoughtfully, "Gunpowder needs to be ignited, so if it contains these things, the power will be greatly reduced, and even whether it can be ignited at all will be a problem."

"Brilliant!" Liu Jianjun exclaimed. "So we need to get rid of these two impurities."

Li Xian asked blankly, "How do I do it?"

Liu Jianjun has already dissolved all the saltpeter and all the real and fake salts into the water, so how can they be separated?
"This stuff is way too much for you. Just watch mine."

As Liu Jianjun spoke, he ran outside the tent, called over the young captain from before, gave him some instructions, and then returned to the tent.

Before long, the young captain brought over some firewood and water with several soldiers.

Liu Jianjun lit the firewood, then placed a ceramic pot on the fire, added water, and put the lid on.

Li Xian noticed that there was a small platform in the center of the lid of the pottery jar, and Liu Jianjun had found a brick and placed it on the platform.

Li Xian couldn't help but laugh and said, "Are you afraid that something might crawl out of here?"

Liu Jianjun is not someone who believes in superstitions or supernatural phenomena.

Sure enough, Liu Jianjun said irritably, "This is to pressurize the pot so that the water boils more thoroughly. Haven't you seen how cooks use a big lid to weigh down the bear paw when they stew it? Even then, it still takes several hours to stew, otherwise it's too tough to chew!"

Li Xian thought to himself: I see.

But... what is Liu Jianjun trying to do?
Liu Jianjun ignored Li Xian and, while the water was boiling, turned around and started working on his own. He crushed a large pile of saltpeter ore and carefully sifted it, repeating the process over and over again.

Liu Jianjun stopped when the water in the earthenware pot boiled and was even slightly pushing against the lid. He then found a thick cloth, placed it on the lid, opened it, and quickly poured in the saltpeter powder that he had previously sieved and crushed, stirring as he poured.

He was saying, "This action has to be quick, otherwise the water temperature here will drop too quickly, and the effect will be less."

Li Xian was puzzled, but he kept staring at it.

After the saltpeter powder was poured in, it quickly dissolved into the boiling water, but Liu Jianjun didn't stop. He kept pouring until the saltpeter powder made the boiling water noticeably cloudy before he finally stopped.

"That's almost it."

Li Xian looked at the new pot of food with curiosity and asked, "And then?"

"Then wait."

Liu Jianjun took the earthenware pot off the fire and set it aside. He then took a wooden spoon and gently skimmed off some of the foam on the surface of the "soup".

Then, I quietly looked at the pottery jar.

Once the flame was removed from the heat, the "soup" quickly stopped boiling and became quiet.

Li Xian didn't know what Liu Jianjun was waiting for, and watched curiously.

But after a short while, a thin, glistening white crystal formed on the bottom of the pottery jar!

"Huh? What is this?" Li Xian leaned closer to take a look.

Saltpeter.

Liu Jianjun said calmly, then put his finger into the pottery jar again, touched it lightly, and then quickly withdrew it as if he had been burned.

"The temperature is still high, so we'll have to wait a while."

Li Xian continued to watch this scene with curiosity. It was too unbelievable to him. The water looked relatively clear, but after it cooled down, so much white powder appeared.

During this time, Liu Jianjun repeatedly dipped his fingers into the ceramic jar to test the water temperature.

"almost."

Liu Jianjun suddenly spoke, and then poured all the water from the earthenware jar onto another earthenware jar that had been prepared beforehand and lined with cotton cloth.

Steam billowed up, and the previous "soup" was all poured into the new earthenware pot, but the white powder that had been crystallized earlier remained on the cotton cloth.

Liu Jianjun carefully lifted the cotton cloth, tucked it away, clapped his hands, and said, "Alright, this thing will do as well as gunpowder!"

Li Xian looked curiously at the remaining "soup" and asked, "So, the real salt and the fake salt are separated?"

"Almost. Although we can't achieve absolute separation, this purity is enough to make gunpowder. Didn't I say before that the purity of the saltpeter ore in this area is decent?"

Li Xian thought to himself, "Isn't what Liu Jianjun meant by the fact that there are too many impurities in the saltpeter in this place?"

But then his gaze fell on the new pottery jar, where some white powder was seeping out from the bottom!

"Liu Jianjun, isn't there still saltpeter in here?" Li Xian quickly pointed to the bottom of the pottery jar.

Liu Jianjun glanced at it and said, "This stuff isn't saltpeter, it's fake salt."

Li Xian looked puzzled.

Doesn't this thing look almost identical to saltpeter?

After thinking for a moment, Liu Jianjun simply put his finger into the soup again. This time, the soup was no longer too hot to handle. When Liu Jianjun took his hand out, he even put it in his mouth and sucked on it.

"Hmm, the temperature is about right."

As he spoke, Liu Jianjun took another earthenware jar, placed it on a cotton cloth, and repeated the previous actions.

This time, another layer of white crystals appeared on the cotton cloth.

“Here, fake salt.” Liu Jianjun peeled off the cotton cloth and tossed it to Li Xian.

Li Xian looked at the substance on the cotton cloth with curiosity and found that it was as white as snow, even more refined than the fine salt used in the palace. Out of curiosity, he dipped his finger in it, looked at Liu Jianjun, and seeing that he did not react, he put his finger in his mouth.

It's bitter and astringent, but also has a strong salty taste...

Li Xian's eyes widened instantly. "This...this is salt?" he exclaimed.

This tastes exactly like salt!
"I already told you it's fake salt, and it's poisonous," Liu Jianjun said with a sullen laugh.

Li Xian was startled, then quickly pulled his fingers out and spat a few times, as if afraid the poison would get into his mouth. Then he said angrily, "Why didn't you warn me that it was poisonous?"

"It's poisonous, but eating a little bit won't kill you. In fact, it's even good for you. It can promote metabolism and accelerate blood circulation... Anyway, just know that taking a small amount of this stuff is beneficial." Liu Jianjun looked like he was trying not to laugh.

Li Xian was enraged and embarrassed.

Liu Jianjun is a man who loves to scare people.

He wrapped it in cotton cloth and set it aside, then looked at the third earthenware jar and asked curiously, "So... is this the real salt?"

According to Liu Jianjun, the impurities in the saltpeter are mainly fake salt and real salt. Now that the saltpeter has been extracted and the fake salt has been extracted, what's left is the real salt.
Liu Jianjun nodded, thought for a moment, and said, "Let's just finish this experiment."

Then he put the third pottery jar back on the firewood, but this time he didn't put the lid on.

Liu Jianjun said, "Now we need to separate the water and the salt. All we need to do is boil the water."

Li Xian stared at it, seemingly understanding but not quite.

The water in the jar gradually heated up under the licking of the flames, producing tiny bubbles, and eventually began to boil.

White water vapor rose up and quickly dissipated into the air.

"The water has boiled, but where's the salt?"

Li Xian looked at the still clear liquid in the jar and asked in confusion.

He imagined that real salt should crystallize and precipitate out as before.

Liu Jianjun stirred the liquid in the jar with a wooden spoon and said with a smile, "Don't worry, the water will turn into steam and escape, but the salt won't. It will just stay in the jar and become more and more concentrated. Once the water boils away, the salt will come out naturally."

As the water evaporated, the liquid inside the earthenware jar visibly decreased, and a ring of white stains began to appear around the edge of the liquid surface.

After a while, white particles began to appear at the bottom of the jar, and they gradually accumulated. When the water at the bottom of the jar was only about an inch deep, the white crystals were very visible.

Liu Jianjun said, "Just heat it up until the water boils dry, but we don't need to keep boiling it."

As he spoke, he took out another piece of cotton cloth.

This time, however, he did not use a new earthenware pot to collect the remaining water. Instead, he poured the water containing real salt from the pot directly onto the cotton cloth, allowing the remaining water to seep into the ground.

Liu Jianjun held the last piece of cotton cloth close to Li Xian's eyes: "Try it, this time it's real salt."

Li Xian was deeply shocked as he looked at the tiny, white particles before him.

He couldn't wait to stick out his finger, dip it in, and put it in his mouth.

salty.

Pure saltiness.

Li Xian swears that he has never tasted such pure saltiness before!
If the fake salt tasted similar to the salt on the market, then this real salt is as if all other flavors have been removed, making you absolutely certain the moment you taste it that this is the real salt!

No wonder Liu Jianjun called that stuff fake salt, because compared to this real salt, the difference was obvious!

Moreover, this so-called real salt looks just like the fake salt, appearing as clean as snow, unlike the salt on the market which is yellowish or bluish.

Thinking of this, he suddenly widened his eyes and said, "This...this is a new method of refining salt? You...you can produce such fine salt?"

"Shh!"

Liu Jianjun made a shushing gesture.

Li Xian was puzzled.

“We can’t touch this right now.” Liu Jianjun looked at Li Xian with a serious expression.

"Why not?" Li Xian asked, puzzled.

This is refined salt!

It is even more refined than the salt used by the imperial court. This kind of salt can be sold for ten or even a hundred times the price!
With this salt, is there still a need for cotton mills to make money?

Li Xian's gaze became intense.

"This involves too much profit. 'A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime.' My sir, keep this a secret," Liu Jianjun said seriously. Then, after a pause, he added, "At least until we've succeeded, it can't be exposed!"

Li Xian was startled.

The appearance of this refined salt blinded him to the lure of profit.

He is currently just a powerless and idle prince. If he were to suddenly acquire a method for refining salt, one can imagine the upheaval it would cause.

What will the Empress Dowager in Luoyang think? What will her political enemies in the court do? They will probably not be able to accumulate power before annihilation strikes.

He only saw the enormous profits behind this pure white salt, but forgot that these profits could lead to his death!
He patted his chest, still shaken, and said, "I...I understand."

But then, he looked at Liu Jianjun with some concern and asked, "But... what about General Xue?"

This saltpeter mine was "encircled" by Xue Ne. To refine saltpeter, Liu Jianjun alone obviously couldn't do it. Therefore, the method of refining saltpeter must be revealed. How can this be kept secret?

After all, Liu Jianjun also said that Xue Ne is credible, but only for now.

“It’s alright. Refining saltpeter is only the first step, and besides, there’s also this poisonous fake salt in here.” Liu Jianjun’s eyes swept over the two packets of “salt.” “These two kinds of salt… I have some other uses for the fake salt later, I’ll deal with it then. This real salt…”

He picked up the bag of real salt, and without hesitation shook it all off onto the ground, mixing it with the dust under his feet until its original whiteness was no longer visible.

Li Xian felt a pang of pain in his heart as he looked at the refined salt that had instantly become filthy.

This is such a waste of resources.

But Liu Jianjun was right, this thing... is not something I can handle right now.

"Alright, stop looking so pained. The technology is in my hands. I can have as many as I want in the future." Liu Jianjun patted Li Xian's shoulder with a smile and said, "Alright, the process of purifying saltpeter is also fine. Let's go and report back to General Xue. Right now, getting the mass production of gunpowder is the priority. With this achievement of capturing the city, we will have the capital for the next step."

(Attached image: Solubility of the three substances mentioned above at different temperatures)
……

The two left the salt flats and returned to Yingzhou City.

Yingzhou Governor's Office, Jietang.

It's clear that the excitement Xue Ne felt yesterday from Liu Jianjun's discovery of gunpowder hasn't subsided. Right now, Xue Ne has taken out that Liaodong map again, staring at the map of Wugu City, frowning in thought, with a glint of light flashing in his eyes from time to time.

"Your Highness, Chief Secretary Liu, thank you for your hard work."

After Li Xian and Liu Jianjun were led into the hall, Xue Ne looked at them with a relieved expression.

This time, he didn't put the map away again.

Li Xian nodded in response, while Liu Jianjun stepped forward and placed two cotton bundles on Xue Ne's desk. He then pushed one of them forward a little and said, "General Xue, please take a look. This is the saltpeter produced in Xiaotu Beach."

Xue Ne unfolded the cotton bundle, his face showing surprise: "Such clean saltpeter?"

Then, looking at another cotton bag, he said, "This is..."

"This is what I wanted to tell General Xue. The saltpeter in this area contains a lot of impurities, and this package contains the precipitated impurities."

Xue Ne unfolded the cotton bundle with a puzzled look, frowned, compared the two, and said, "This... seems to be no different?"

Li Xian was not surprised at all.

This fake salt and powdered nitrate are almost indistinguishable in appearance.

“The difference is huge. This is something I need to tell General Xue. This thing is called poison salt.”

Liu Jianjun changed his story again, continuing, "This substance is slightly toxic, but it's something that's bound to be produced during the purification of saltpeter. I'm worried..."

Before Liu Jianjun could finish speaking, Xue Ne immediately understood what he meant and said, "I will give strict instructions on this matter, and we will also increase the number of guards at all saltpeter refining sites... By the way, what should we do with this poisonous salt?"

Hearing Xue Ne say this, Liu Jianjun immediately felt relieved and grinned, saying, "Just find a place to dump it. Although this stuff is slightly toxic to humans, it is beneficial to crop growth. If General Xue has any public fields or something, it would be good to use it as fertilizer."

Xue Ne's eyes lit up instantly, and he asked, "How...how do I collect this?"

Liu Jianjun said, "I will write a detailed method and submit it to you later, which will include all the precautions and contraindications in the process of purifying saltpeter."

Li Xian realized there was a "trap" in Liu Jianjun's words.

He didn't even mention real salt; he just used fake salt to shut Xue Ne up.

It's easy to imagine that Liu Jianjun's final method wouldn't mention the existence of the real salt.

Liu Jianjun is too wicked.

But Xue Ne certainly didn't know any of this.

Xue Ne praised, "In that case, I'll have to trouble Chief Secretary Liu."

He paused, then said, "As for the production of gunpowder, Liu Changshi, just list out the manpower and materials needed, and I will allocate them all! The craftsmen will be selected from my trusted artisans to ensure their safety. The location of the workshop has also been decided; it will be located in the west of the city near the sulfur mining area. I have ordered people to guard it closely, so there is absolutely no risk of leaks!"

He stood up, walked over to Liu Jianjun, patted him heavily on the shoulder, and said with burning eyes, "Chief Secretary Liu, with this kind of pure saltpeter, can gunpowder production be accelerated? I can't wait to enter Wugu City!"

Liu Jianjun solemnly replied, "General Xue, rest assured! With the pure saltpeter in place, there will be no more bottlenecks in gunpowder production! In ten days, at most ten days, the first batch of 'Sky-Shattering Thunderbolts' for siege warfare will be delivered!"

"Thunderclap? What a great name!" Xue Ne's eyes flashed with brilliance. "Excellent! Ten days! Within ten days, the eight hundred elite soldiers will also have completed their selection and training! At that time, it will be time for us to sweep through the enemy lines and conquer Wugu City in one fell swoop!"

He then looked at Li Xian, his tone softening slightly, but still solemn: "Your Highness, if we succeed this time, you and Chief Secretary Liu will deserve the greatest credit! The soldiers of the Northern Frontier will surely be grateful for Your Highness's kindness!"

Li Xian cupped his hands and said in a deep voice, "General Xue, you flatter me. This is what we should do. If there is anything needed, I and Chief Clerk Liu will do our utmost!"

"General Xue, now that we've finished discussing gunpowder, I have another request to make." Liu Jianjun put on an air of having finished his formalities.

……

P.S.: I started writing this early because I was watching the game today.

Finally, here's a funny picture:

(End of this chapter)