Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

When saltpeter dissolves in water, it absorbs a large amount of heat and may even freeze.

However, this type of ice is not edible, so you need to choose a small, well-conducting container and fill it with clear water.

As the heat in the large container dissipates, the clean water in the small container also cools down and freezes.

The principle seems simple and beautiful.

However, to freeze water into ice in the hot summer, a large amount of saltpeter is required.

Moreover, to make the water in the small container freeze, the size and temperature of the large container are required to be even more critical.

and so……

"It's frozen! It's really frozen!"

The fourth prince shouted with joy, waving his arms and legs, as happy as a child.

The people around looked on in shock.

Did the Second Master (the Imperial Envoy) really conjure ice out of thin air?

Amazing.

Jia Lian remained calm and walked to the large wooden barrel.

After consuming three full bags of saltpeter, ice crystals finally appeared in the water inside the wooden barrel.

However, when the lid of the iron bucket was lifted, the water inside remained exceptionally clear.

"Not enough."

Jia Lian continued to have saltpeter added until saturation was visible to the naked eye, then had the huge lid of the large wooden barrel brought over and closed.

This reduces the loss of cool air.

The entire room fell silent, as if everyone was waiting for some sacred event to unfold.

After a cup of tea, Jia Lian had someone lift the wooden lid.

The fourth prince was the first to rush forward.

"It really is ice!"

Inside the wooden tub, in just a short while, the ice shards had solidified into ice blocks, emitting a chilling aura.

Without Jia Lian having to lift a finger, the Fourth Prince reached out and opened the iron tube lid embedded in the ice.

"It's frozen over too!"

The fourth prince turned around and looked at Jia Lian with delight.

Jia Lian also went over to take a look.

As expected, his carefully designed tools worked much better than anticipated.

Although it was immediately apparent that the ice inside the iron tube was very light in color, it seemed as if it would shatter into ice shards and frost if stirred.

It has frozen over.

Unfortunately, Jia Lian glanced to the side and saw that nearly half of the saltpeter he had sent his troops to collect in the past few days had already been used up.

The fact that such a large amount of manpower, material resources, and financial resources were wasted, and all that was obtained was this one iron bucket of crushed ice, shows how inefficient it was.

It is estimated that no one in the world, except for the extremely wealthy, has the ability to make ice in this way during the summer.

Those who are truly wealthy and powerful can simply dig ice cellars and select high-quality ice blocks for transport and storage during the winter.

The Oirat prince walked up to Jia Lian with a smile and said loudly, "General's divine skill is truly breathtaking."

The weather is so hot these days, and my entourage and I are suffering from the heat. So I have a favor to ask: could the general possibly share some of the ice in the bucket with me?

One Sword Supreme

General, rest assured, I am not asking for it for nothing; I can exchange it for silver.

The Oirat prince was very sincere, and Jia Lian had no intention of offending him, so he wanted to agree.

"no."

The fourth prince turned around and said with a serious expression, "Jia Lian, you promised that all these ice blocks were for me."

Jia Lian glanced at the Oirat prince with a troubled expression and said, "I'm sorry, Third Prince. This ice was indeed prepared by our Fourth Prince for Her Highness the Princess, and I have no authority to deal with it."

However, the prince must have seen the entire ice-making process just now.

If the prince wishes to use ice, he may freely take the remaining saltpeter here. Following this method, obtaining ice should be quite easy.

The Oirat prince glanced at the fourth prince, a barely perceptible glint of coldness flashing in his eyes.

Turning back, he remained humble: "In that case, thank you very much, General."

"You're too kind, Your Highness."

"By the way, I am very grateful to the general for escorting me and the princess back to the Oirat to complete our marriage. I was just wondering how to repay him."

It just so happens that my father Khan greatly admires extraordinary people like the general. When I return to the royal court, I will definitely recommend the general to my father Khan.

With your talent, General, you will surely be highly valued by my father, the Khan.

The Oirat prince's sudden words not only startled Jia Lian, but also made everyone around him perk up.

The fourth prince initially felt that he might have been a bit stingy for not giving the Oirat prince ice, even though the prince hadn't actually offended him.

But upon hearing the words of the Oirat prince, he was immediately enraged.

"Hey, are you still half asleep? Trying to turn my father's trusted general against his will right in front of me?"

"Furthermore, why do you think he would give up being a general of our great nation to serve your Oirat tribe?"

Although the Fourth Prince doesn't usually care about politics, it doesn't mean he forgets his identity as a member of the Great Wei royal family.

This damn prince actually tried to steal his father's man right in front of him!

The Oirat prince laughed and said, "You flatter me, Fourth Prince."

Now, the Great Wei and my Oirat have formed an eternal alliance, as close as family. Since we are family, how can there be any talk of defection?

If we, the Oirat, can offer General Jia a higher official position and a greater status, then why shouldn't General Jia stay with us in order to have a brighter future?

Could it be that the Fourth Prince does not truly approve of the alliance between the Great Wei and the Oirat, and still regards us Oirat as a foreign enemy?

"you……!"

The fourth prince immediately realized that he had fallen into the other party's trap.

Even though he disliked the idea of ​​marriage alliances, he knew that opposing it at this time would not only be pointless but would also invite ridicule from his superiors and soldiers for being ignorant of the bigger picture.

So he ignored the Oirat prince and glared angrily at Jia Lian.

He simply couldn't believe that Jia Lian, a man from a family of dukes and marquises in the Great Wei, would abandon his roots in the Great Wei and go to serve as an official for some foreign tribe called the Oirat.

Facing the Fourth Prince's direct gaze, Jia Lian then said, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. However, I am destined to receive the Emperor's favor for generations and will never forget to repay the Emperor. I am afraid that I will disappoint Your Highness's good intentions."

Of course, Jia Lian wouldn't be so foolish as to be swayed by a promise casually made by this Oirat prince.

Let alone whether the Oirat prince's words carried any weight, even if he were sincere, Jia Lian would never consider them.

Perhaps someone else who wasn't doing well in the Great Wei Dynasty might have a chance. Unfortunately, if the Oirats recruited such a person, they probably wouldn't be of much use.

Moreover, Jia Lian could clearly see that this Oirat prince was deliberately trying to tease the fourth prince.

This made Jia Lian secretly wary.

The Oirat prince spoke slowly and always had a smile on his face when facing them.

But he couldn't help but retaliate as soon as the Fourth Prince offended him, which shows that he is probably not an honest and simple person!

Upon hearing Jia Lian's direct statement, the Fourth Prince looked smugly at the Oirat prince, snorted, and ordered his men to take away the iron bucket along with the ice.

He needed to quickly take these freshly made, clean ice blocks to his elder sister to enjoy!

After the Fourth Prince excitedly brought in a fruit platter and cold drinks to Princess Zhaoyang's private quarters, she looked at them, then, meeting the Fourth Prince's smug gaze, asked with a smile, "This is the ice that Jia Lian made in his magical way?"

"Uh, Royal Sister, you knew all along?"

Princess Zhaoyang smiled but remained silent.

The Fourth Prince didn't seem to mind, and said with a smile, "Sister, you don't know, Jia Lian found a lot of magical stones from somewhere. Look, these ice blocks are what he made from those stones."

"Your Majesty, please enjoy your meal without worry. There's still plenty of ice left, a whole iron container full. I've had it stored in an icebox, and it will be delivered to you later."

"Is the stone you're talking about called saltpeter?"

"Hmm, I do recall Jia Lian mentioning saltpeter. Could it be that you, my elder sister, also know this method?"

Princess Zhaoyang shook her head.

Jia Lian and the Fourth Prince made ice in a grand and ostentatious manner, and the news spread quickly.

Princess Zhaoyang was the first to receive the news.

Then she learned from the old nanny who accompanied her that there was a method for "making ice with saltpeter", which must have been the case.

According to the old nanny, back when they were in the palace, there wasn't enough ice in the inner palace's ice cellar every summer.

Some concubines who were out of favor somehow learned this method and made ice in the inner palace, causing quite a stir.

Later, the Empress Dowager banned it because the concubines frequently sent eunuchs out of the palace to collect and purchase saltpeter in order to obtain enough, which had a very bad influence.

Since this method exists, Jia Lian knew that Princess Zhaoyang didn't find it too strange.

However, according to the old nanny, this method of making ice is extremely inefficient and time-consuming. How could Jia Lian be rummaging through ice while on a march?

Could it be that, like his younger brother, he was also worried that she would suffer from the heat, and therefore intentionally tried to please her...?

Unable to confirm this speculation, after the Fourth Prince left, Princess Zhaoyang instructed her servants to turn all the ice that the Fourth Prince had sent into fresh cold drinks and fruit platters to reward the officials and generals who accompanied him.

……