Great Song

"Is there really gold and silver in the new mine?" Hearing the reply from Tang Jie, the envoy of the third division, Zhao Xu was overjoyed.After searching for half a year, I finally found the mine. Not to mention copper, it also produced gold and silver. It was unexpected!

"The lead mountain field has been surveyed by people. The gold and silver production is not low. The copper mine is buried deeper, but the ore is good. It should also be a big mine! It can double the production!" Tang Jie was also flushed with excitement.Although this mine is not easy to mine, the appearance of associated mines immediately makes the situation very different.That is rich gold and silver!As long as it is put into mining, it will not lose money.

"Good! Good!" Zhao Xu said two "good" words in succession, and heaved a long sigh of relief.With money, many of his schemes can be implemented.This is not like a commercial tax, it is a fixed and long-term income. If you can use explosives to mine, it will be more effective!

At the thought of explosives, a smile appeared on Zhao Xu's face.Both mines and dynamite, thanks to that trail.Now that there are results, it is natural to reward them!

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The emperor summoned and ordered Ling Xiao to enter the palace.When Zhen Qiong heard the news, she immediately took the microscope with joy and went to the palace.

He was in a good mood, and seeing the radiant trail, Zhao Xu couldn't help laughing: "What Ling Xiaozi said is really true, the copper mine was found, and the accompanying gold and silver mines, the output is not low. I want to reward you well."

This was quite an intimate joke, and even the servants around him looked sideways slightly, feeling that this Lingxiao priest's holy family is not shallow.Unexpectedly, when Zhen Qiong heard this, her eyes twinkled immediately: "If the officials want to reward me, why don't you allocate some more money to Baoying Temple!"

Hearing the "allocation of funds", Zhao Xu's smile froze on his face, and he coughed dryly: "Didn't you just allocate funds to Baoying Temple a few days ago?"

In order to make the alkali silver used in the palm mine, he just allocated a sum of money last month.This is not within the scope of the national treasury's withdrawal, and the third division will not approve it, and Zhao Xu is afraid that the foreign court will complain that he has invested so much manpower and material resources for this weapon, so he has to withdraw the money from the internal treasury.Why did you ask for money again in a few days?

But Zhen Qiong said confidently: "The money was for the development of alkali silver, which is still not enough. Now the money is for something else. Shen mentioned that a few days ago, he just made a microscope, which can observe extremely fine particles. With this thing, Xiaodao's senior brother Chi Liaozi can study the elixir, and maybe he can make a few panacea."

What a joke, how can he spend his own money on researching things from the Water Fire School and the Herbal School?Of course, you have to apply for money from the court.In order to protect the heart, the emperor is willing to give a Taoist temple.Now that he can study other pills again, even if it's for the brother, he still needs to ask for another sum of money, right?

Hearing that he had researched something new, Zhao Xu immediately became interested: "Isn't Shen Qing developing a sky-viewing mirror? Why did he make a microscope again? What is the use of this mirror?"

Zhen Qiong puffed up her chest: "Since it is called 'microscopic', it means that it can observe extremely minute things. Even if it is water, it is quite different to see it with it. You can see many fine Gu that cannot be detected by the naked eye."

Seeing that what he said was so miraculous and confident, Zhao Xu hurriedly said: "I also ask Ling Xiaozi to put it on for me to see."

Zhen Qiong made preparations a long time ago, and immediately asked the servant to put the microscope on the table, and asked someone to take some clear water from the pool in the imperial garden, dye it with a color that is easy to observe, squeeze out a drop, and put it under the microscope .

After bending down and adjusting the sight distance for a long time, he moved out of the way and said to the emperor: "It's adjusted. The officials just look at it, it's quite clear!"

Zhao Xu watched him busy for a long time, even if it was stained, it was just a drop of clear water, what could he see?Suspiciously moving his eyes up, Zhao Xu got used to it for a moment, and in that small field of vision, a bunch of strange shapes, round and long, appeared.It doesn't stop, it twists and turns like a living thing, it's creepy!

Isn't it fresh water?How did such a weird thing come out!Zhao Xu's belly was overwhelmed, and he avoided the mirror tube suddenly.After taking a breath, he still couldn't believe it, and looked at the drop of water again.However, clear water is still clear water, where is there foreign matter?

Unable to hold back anymore, Zhao Xu's face was livid, and he raised his head and asked, "What is this?!"

"It's the ordinary fine Gu in the water." Zhen Qiong said, "Drinking raw water is easy to get sick, it's just drinking the sick Gu."

How could there be something in the clear water?Could it be that this Xiaodao set up a trick to deceive himself for the sake of money?Zhao Xu was disgusted, but his heart was agitated, and he couldn't help asking: "Then how can we avoid these subtle Gu?"

"Of course you drink boiling water. Once the boiling water boils, these things can be killed." Zhen Qiong was a little puzzled, didn't emperors always drink tea and drinks?Of course I don’t drink unboiled water, so I’m afraid of this?

ah?It's that simple?Zhao Xu was stunned.

Seeing that the emperor's face was not right, Zhen Qiong hurriedly said: "If the officials don't believe it, you can use this microscope to look at other things. Plants, trees, gold and stones are all different under the mirror. Just like the saying of the mustard seed, tiny things , and also contains the great world.”

Hearing such Buddhist words from a Taoist priest, Zhao Xu didn't know what to say for a while?However, he was thoughtful and didn't dare to believe it all. He still had people fetch grass leaves, flower petals, feathers and other things and observe them carefully.

After seeing all the scenes that were completely different from those seen by the naked eye, Zhao Xu finally determined that Zhen Qiong was not lying to him, and couldn't help but sighed: "I only thought that only the sky-viewing mirror is useful. Unexpectedly, this microscope has the same effect. Miraculous effect. It’s just this thing, what does it have to do with alchemy?”

"If you know what kind of voodoo the patient is suffering from, and what medicines you take can kill the voodoo, can you make alchemy against the disease?" Although Zhen Qiong is not a member of the herbal school, she still has a good understanding of their philosophy .Looking at the microscope one by one, isn't it just to find the right medicine.

This remark seems reasonable!Zhao Xu's eyes lit up: "Is it really possible to refine the elixir?"

Zhen Qiong immediately defended vigilantly: "The elixir of longevity is not good! It is a panacea for curing diseases. Of course, this matter cannot be accomplished overnight, and we need to study it slowly."

After all, the elixir was made by Chi Liaozi, and he didn't know how long it would take to make something useful.Get the money first, and do the research slowly.

Even if it's not a elixir, it's fine if it can cure diseases.Zhao Xu thought for a long time, and finally made up his mind, and put on a warm smile: "The matter is of great importance, and it is the appropriation. How much money does Ling Xiaozi need?"

"Let's get [-] guan first." Zhen Qiong had already thought about adding a microscope, a new alchemy furnace, and all kinds of medicinal materials, so that senior brother Chi Liaozi could test it.He also wanted to continue to study high-temperature-resistant metals, and the frequent failures in refining alkali silver were probably due to kiln problems, and there was still room for improvement.Shen Kuo also mentioned that the lens of the microscope is not very easy to use, and it seems that there is no way to be lazy. It is still necessary to think about a more transparent lens glass.

And besides the equipment, he also needs to recruit a few more apprentices to help with the experiments.It takes money to raise people, doesn't it?Brother Miao of his family gave him a bonus of [-] guan. He has researched so many things for the court, and only [-] to [-] guan are needed to do research, which is not too much.

Zhao Xu: "..."

With [-] yuan, he can support ten prime ministers!Is this a temple or a bottomless pit?Didn't you make a lot of money selling heart protection pills and lightning rods?Why should he pay? !The third division will definitely not approve the money for refining the panacea!

Anyway, remembering that he is the emperor, Zhao Xu took a deep breath, and said in a deep voice: "The treasury is not enough, how can we spend so much?"

If the third division doesn't give money, how can the remaining money in his internal treasury withstand repeated appropriations?It took more than a hundred thousand guan to build Baoying Temple in half a year, and even he couldn't take it anymore.

Zhen Qiong was shocked: "Didn't the officials say that they just found a copper mine?"

"It will take time for the copper mine to be mined. Besides, the imperial court is short of copper coins, and only these copper coins are not used." Zhao Xu patiently explained.

"How much copper can be used to mint coins?" Zhen Qiong blinked blankly.

"The money made by the imperial court must contain at least [-]% copper. If too little copper is used, the color of the money will turn white, and if the weight is not enough, it will depreciate. Some thieves will scrape copper from the copper coins, making the money thin and useless. Every year the imperial court loses a lot, and because of the lack of copper, there is a shortage of money." Zhao Xu is the emperor, and the problem of money shortage has always been on his mind.I started casting iron money before, isn't it because copper is not enough?

"Then why not make it into copper? The fineness is fine, and the copper content doesn't need to be too high, so you can make more money?" Zhen Qiong was even more at a loss.He has also discovered long ago that the copper coins on the market are all bronze, that is, copper-lead-tin alloy, and the color is whiter and brighter. If one is not well controlled, it does not seem to be very valuable.If tin is replaced by zinc to make bright brass, copper is saved, and the color is beautiful, wouldn't everything be fine?

Zhao Xu: "..."

He knows that copper is known as "Fool's Gold".The color is indeed beautiful, but it is not easy to make, is it?Wait, Zhao Xu suddenly reacted: "Can you have a recipe for making copper?"

The origin of copper copper originally comes from the technique of turning stones into gold.And Huang Baishu, isn't it the specialty of this trail?

"Yes." Zhen Qiong simply nodded.

Zhao Xu's eyes lit up immediately: "Then can this method be refined in large quantities? What is the quality of the produced copper? How much copper is used?"

"It's very simple." Zhen Qiong answered without any pressure, "The ratio can be adjusted to copper, six, lead, zinc, and four. It is made like gold, and it will not be too light. If it is scraped off, it should not be as valuable as the copper coin itself, right?"

He doesn't know much about the quality of money, but if it looks golden, it's more valuable anyway.

Zhao Xu laughed: "If Ling Xiaozi can make new money, what is a mere [-] guan?"

For this method, the third division will definitely approve the money, so he doesn't need to spend the money from the internal treasury. Wouldn't it be the best of both worlds.

The author has something to say: Daoist Zhen: Research funding?Let's start with 1000 million.If it’s not enough, just ask for it =w=

The Ming Dynasty began to use a large number of brass to make money, and it was all bronze before.The difference is to add tin or zinc.