On this day, Chao Yong had just returned to the palace from Taixue, and he heard that the personal eunuch He Yong said that he had been waiting for a long time as a prisoner.

Chao Yong defeated Tokyo, and after gaining space, he went to the general prison.

Chao Yong naturally knew that these weapons were good enough to control the battlefield, so he raised the level of gunpowder and fierce fire oil, and added a gun bureau, both of which were in charge of Lei Lingzhen and belonged to the Ministry of War.

Chao Yong also took a look at the other departments of the prison and found some useful things, and also gave them some directions, so that they could study what had been proven by later generations.

Chao Yong said a lot of things casually, and I don't know which one made a breakthrough.

"Xiaguan kiln envoy Wang Jing visited the prince."

It is the craftsman who will supervise the work, but the leader is the official, and the craftsman invents something, and in the end it is these officials who make the greatest profit.

Chao Yong looked at the two people brought in by He Yong, Wang Jing, who was the leader, was dressed in an official robe, white and fat, and the one behind him was obviously a craftsman, with a face full of fireworks, and at first glance, he was a person who had been dealing with fire all year round, and there were many spots on his face.

When the two of them arrived at the prince who made the spaceship, they were honestly afraid, and they didn't dare to come out when they saw the ceremony.

Chao Yong couldn't remember the roles of the two anymore, and said with a smile: "Do you have any breakthroughs?" ”

Wang Jing picked up the box in his hand and said, "The transparent glass that the prince wants has been successfully fired, and the lenses have also been made with molds, and the prince is invited to look at it." ”

He Yong took the box and sent it to Chao Yong.

Chao Yong was overjoyed when he heard the transparent glass, so he took the box from his hand and opened it immediately. The box is padded with silk, and in the center are several pieces of clear glass with convex and concave lenses, as well as a silver-plated mirror.

Kiln is responsible for firing bricks, tiles, ceramics and other things, and glass is also one of them. Chao Yong was very interested in the glass at the beginning, and after asking carefully for a while, he learned that the Northern Song Dynasty could already fire transparent glass, which was not inferior to the glass transported from the big food, but the glass fired in the Song Dynasty was not resistant to high temperatures, and the hot wine would burst when poured in. Therefore, the best-selling glassware in the market is still from Dashi.

However, people in the world are not very fond of completely transparent utensils, and they prefer to wear some colors, such as blue, green, and brown.

Zhao Ji thought that the transparent glass bottle had no artistic beauty, and asked the craftsman to plate it with gold powder. To gild fragile glass bottles, this holy decree immediately stumped the craftsmen of the palace. Later, a craftsman outside the palace solved this problem with mercury.

Of course, Zhao Ji also used some transparent glass, that is, some five-color glass was used on the doors and windows of the palace.

(This is recorded in Wang Anzhong's "Chu Liao Collection", and the Song Dynasty monk Shi Baotan has a poem "Inscription Pan'an as a Glass Window", which proves that glass windows are no longer unique to the palace, but I think that glass should only be used by some dignitaries)

In general, the artist Zhao Ji does not like transparent glass very much, but only uses it instead of window paper.

The emperor did not like transparent glass, which naturally limited the development of transparent glass.

Chao Yong had little interest in colored glass, and the few things he wanted to make were only clear glass, so he asked the craftsmen to start firing clear glass.

Most of the time, it can be said that the thousands of craftsmen who will be imprisoned are for the pleasure of the emperor alone. They receive money and food from the imperial court, and they don't have to be responsible for their own profits and losses. When Chao Yong spoke, the people who would be imprisoned naturally worked according to Chao Yong's wishes.

Because Chao Yong wants mass production, not accidentally firing a piece of transparent glass. It was necessary to find a stable firing process, so it took only a few months of hard work.

If you only want a small amount of glass, Chao Yong doesn't need to waste kiln labor, and can buy some large glass directly from the market.

Chao Yong first picked up a palm-sized piece of transparent plate glass. Sure enough, it is colorless and transparent, and there are no bubbles in the middle.

"Okay, that's exactly what I wanted. In the future, this transparent glass will be called glass. ”

Chao Yong also didn't care about the definition of glass in later generations, first come, first served, he said what is glass, and what is glass in the future.

The convex lens and the concave lens didn't seem to have any problems, Chao Yong finally picked up the silver mirror, and a self clearly appeared in the mirror.

With the silver mirror, any bronze mirror polished by the master craftsman in the palace can be thrown away.

Chao Yong nodded with satisfaction and said: "Okay, very good, you have worked hard, those who have official status are promoted to the next level, and everyone will be rewarded with money." All the glass-firing personnel in the kiln were transferred out and a glass bureau was formed, which was subordinate to the military department. ”

When Wang Jing heard this, he couldn't help but be stunned, he knew that gunpowder and fierce fire oil had been raised, and they were both subordinate to the military department, but gunpowder and fierce fire oil were both sharp weapons in the army, and glass seemed to have nothing to do with military affairs. However, he didn't dare to ask the prince, so he could only bow his head and obey.

Chao Yong looked at the craftsman behind him and asked, "Are you a craftsman who fires glass?" ”

The craftsman behind looked at the prince and asked, and hurriedly said, "Exactly." ”

Wang Jing added: "He is a master craftsman who fires glass, and he also thought of making molds for lenses. In the past, it was all about grinding glass, but it was time-consuming and laborious, and it was difficult to succeed, but with a mold, it was much easier. ”

Wang Jing didn't want to bring this craftsman to share the work, but he was in charge of the kiln, and there were many departments below, and he knew the most about ceramics, but he didn't know anything about this glass, and he was afraid that the prince would ask, so he brought this craftsman.

Chao Yong smiled: "What's your name?" ”

When the craftsman heard the prince ask for his name, he said excitedly: "What a skillful hand the villain." ”

Chao Yong heard this name, was stunned for a moment, and said, "Your family has been a craftsman for generations? ”

"The ancestor of the villain burned glass in the Tang Dynasty."

Chao Yong nodded and said, "No wonder you have this skill, do you have an official body?" ”

He Qiaoshou heard the prince ask about the official body, his voice trembled a little, and he replied: "No, the villain is just a craftsman." ”

Chao Yong thought for a while and said: "You have merit in burning glass, and you have made great contributions to the imperial court, I will make you a captain, but you can't lead the troops, only the captain's salary." You will be in charge of the glass bureau, and you will ask the emperor for a baron when you go back. ”

He Qiaoshou heard the prince ask about the official status, and felt that the prince might give him an official status. But I never expected it to be a lieutenant and a baron. Although nominally the civil and military officials of Daliang are of general status, after the prince stands on the side of the military attaché, the status of the military attache is more prominent than that of the civil official, and it is difficult for the military attache to be promoted above the head, and it is impossible to be promoted to the captain without military merits, which has spread in Beijing.

Knighthoods are equally difficult to obtain, and only a few people with great merit can get them. The crown prince sold several barons in Western Xia, and one baron was 100,000 guan. Many big businessmen in the Central Plains wanted to buy a baron for 100,000 yuan, but the imperial court did not sell the title again. Although he received the baron. You can't sell it for 100,000 yuan anymore, but you can see the nobility of the baron.

He Qiaoshou knelt on the ground, kowtowed, and said: "The villain has no great merit, and he can't afford to be rewarded so heavily by the prince." ”

Chao Yong saw that Wang Jing's mouth was also wide open, and he could swallow a fist, and said with a smile: "Your merit is enough to deserve the merit of the city, and soon you will know what merit you have made." Get up, I have something to ask you. ”

He Qiaoshou kowtowed again, and then got up. Said: "The villain must know everything, and he must say everything." ”

Chao Yong said: "How to give you enough manpower, how many lenses can be fired in a day?" ”

He Qiaoshou said: "Firing lenses is much more difficult than glass, and only skilled craftsmen can do it." If you don't care about the success rate, you may be able to do more, but you don't know how much you can do in a day until you have experimented. ”

Chao Yong smiled: "Does this fired lens have any cost besides stones?" ”

Wang Jing interjected: "The biggest expense of firing glass is charcoal money. ”

Chao Yong shook his head and said, "These lenses are much more valuable than charcoal. Regardless of the cost, even if you burn it on a large scale, one out of a hundred can be useful. ”

Wang Jing said cautiously: "The prince wants to sell these lenses?" ”

Chao Yong really had this idea. Curious: "Do you know what these lenses are for?" ”

Wang Jing said: "There are craftsmen who use crystal to polish lenses, and wear them on their eyes to allow people with poor eyesight to read. ”

Chao Yong said strangely: "Now you have glasses?" ”

The difference between an official and a craftsman was immediately reflected, and Wang Jing said respectfully: "Glasses can make the eyes as clear as the mirror, and the prince has a good name." I don't know when it came to it, but the lenses made of crystal are very expensive, and only a few dignitaries can afford to use them. ”

The earliest glasses really came from China, and Marco Polo's travels recorded Chinese glasses.

Large oval shape, made of crystal, quartz, topaz, amethyst grinding lenses, and set in the tortoise shell as a frame, the temples are made of copper to the sideburns, the second is tied to the ears, and the third is fixed to the hat. The cost is not expensive, a symbol of status, there was once a squire who exchanged a horse for a pair of glasses.

Marco Polo came to China in the Yuan Dynasty, but there are records of using crystal lenses to read books in the Song Dynasty.

The personal eunuch He Yong also said: "There are glasses in the palace, and I saw that the prince had good eyesight, so I didn't take them out." ”

Chao Yong naturally knows that not everyone can use a pair of glasses, and if it is not suitable, it will make his eyesight worse. However, he was still very interested in the glasses of this era, and said with a smile: "You go and get it for me, I'll take a look." ”

"Yes"

Why should he say yes and go down to find it in person.

Soon, He found it, obviously Zhao Ji also put this thing in the palace as a rare thing, otherwise he would not have found it so quickly.

Why did he open the box and bump into Chao Yong.

The box was wrapped in bright yellow silk, and in the middle were two transparent lenses, and the shelf connecting the two lenses was made of gold, and it was also carved with exquisite patterns, apparently specially dedicated to the emperor. However, he has no glasses, so he can only hold his glasses in front of him.

The two lenses are smooth and transparent, and they are also obviously polished by master craftsmen.

Chao Yong looked at his glasses and motioned for him to put them away.

"How much are these glasses worth?"

Wang Jing said: "The prince should be hard to find, and the worse glasses on the market have to be sold for hundreds of times, and the same lens is difficult to polish, and most of those dignitaries use only one lens." ”

Chao Yong was surprised: "A few hundred? Are you not mistaken? ”

Wang Jing hurriedly said: "Absolutely, the villain has carefully inquired before." Crystal itself is expensive, and polishing lenses is only a few masters can grind, and it takes a lot of time. However, even if it is sold for a few hundred, dignitaries and dignitaries are also eager to buy it. ”

Chao Yong smiled: "Then how about I sell a hundred pieces?" ”

Wang Jing thought for a while and said, "One hundred guan is already a lot cheaper, if it is sold, it will definitely be in demand." However, glass lenses can be mass-produced and can be supplied in large quantities. Many literati have poor eyesight, and they can use glasses. But the price of 100 guan is still a little more expensive for them. If one sells for 10 times, most people will be able to buy it. 100 may sell 1,000 pieces, but 10 pieces can definitely sell 100,000 pieces. ”

With small profits and quick turnover, Chao Yong looked at Wang Jing, who had the face of a profiteer, and said with a smile: "You will definitely have a better future as a businessman than an official, are you interested in selling these glasses for the imperial court?" ”

Wang Jingsheng loves money, and he used to think about making a lot of money by grinding lenses with glass, so he inquired about the price of glasses, but the glass was opaque. And it is fragile, and only a few masters can grind it, and these masters have endless errands to do, and they don't have time to do private work for him, so they give up this idea. Moreover, the errand of the kiln is also a dangerous job, and if there is a slight mistake in the ceramics fired for the emperor, you may be held accountable.

Even if the kiln envoy had all kinds of benefits, he didn't dare to say no to the god-like prince, and immediately said, "The villain is willing." ”

Chao Yong asked He to take pen and paper. He drew the appearance of a later generation of glasses frames, handed it to Wang Jing and said: "This is what the glasses frame looks like, you send some craftsmen to make the glasses frame." The frame can be made of poor materials, or it can be made of gold and silver. In short, it is necessary to distinguish the grades. Ten times the business has to be done, and a hundred times the business has to be done. ”

Wang Jing couldn't see the benefits of the glasses frame painted by Chao Yong, and said respectfully: "The villain remembers the prince's teachings. ”

Chao Yong thought for a while, and then said, "If I make a telescope." It allows people to see things in the distance clearly. So what is the value? ”

"Can you see a thousand miles?"

When Wang Jing heard that the prince had made a telescope himself, he immediately became excited.

Chao Yong was stunned for a moment, shook his head and said, "Do you think it's clairvoyance?" ”

Wang Jing was really clairvoyant. In his mind, the prince even made a spaceship, and it was not surprising that he would make a clairvoyant.

"The villain is talking nonsense, and he asks the prince to forgive his sins."

Chao Yong smiled: "This effect depends on the lenses, but it should be no problem to look at the faces of the people inside and outside." Larger things naturally look farther. ”

It turned out that it was not that the prince couldn't make clairvoyance, but that there were no materials.

Wang Jing continued to add brilliance to Chao Yong's tall image, thought for a while, and said: "Compared with glasses, telescopes are just playthings, but many rich people like to collect these playthings, and some people will buy them if they are more expensive." ”

Chao Yong shook his head and said: "This is not a plaything, the telescope has a lot of uses, sailing on the sea, you can detect pirates in advance." Marching to fight can also be used to observe the enemy. ”

He Qiaoshou only knew at this time what military feats he had made.

Wang Jing also immediately reacted, why did the prince want to make these lenses, and said busily: "The villain is stupid, I didn't expect the telescope to be a sharp weapon in the army." However, if we sell such sharp weapons, Liaojin Fine Crops can be bought, and it won't be long before they appear in the Liaojin army. ”

Chao Yong smiled: "It's okay, this is all an application of physics, as long as I start to talk about physics, the telescope is not a secret." And the telescope has a limited distance, which is not enough to affect the situation of the battle. ”

He Qiaoshou listened to Chao Yong and Wang Jing discuss selling the glass he burned with sand and stone at a sky-high price, and the god in his heart also flashed with light, but it was just golden light, greedy golden light.

After discussing for a while, the two gave birth to a new trading house, called the Mirror Shop, which sold only glasses, silver mirrors, telescopes, and magnifying glasses for the time being. Although they are all made of sand and gravel, none of them are ready to be sold cheaply.

After talking about the business, Chao Yongcai said to He Qiaoshou again: "Is the glass easy to burn?" ”

He Qiao hurriedly said: "The villain has already summed up the steps of burning glass, as long as there are enough people, it is easy to burn glass." ”

Chao Yong smiled: "What about the big piece of glass? ”

"The smaller ones are easy to burn, and the larger ones are easy to explode and bubble."

"What about a foot or so?"

"A foot or so is fine."

Chao Yong nodded and said, "Then go back and burn a batch of about one foot and replace all the windows of the Imperial Palace with glass." But this is not in a hurry, you can burn the lens first, I will use it on this expedition, and then supply the needs of the mirror shop first. ”

Chao Yong asked people to take two gold artifacts from the palace and reward them to the two, which made the two retreat.

With lenses, it was not difficult to make a telescope, and soon Chao Yong asked the silversmith to make a silver monocular.

After the telescope was ready, Chao Yong immediately went to the palace rockery to test it, and the people on the street outside the palace were clearly visible.

He Qiaoshou didn't know if the things he made were in line with the prince's wishes, and he didn't dare to make more convex lenses and concave lenses, but the mirrors were made of dozens of sides, and some were large and small, all of which were framed.

It's two feet long, so it fits on a dresser.

The largest mirror was sent to the queen of the palace, and the rest was distributed among the concubines in the palace.

Chao Yong was thinking about where to spend the night, when he saw Xiaoqing suddenly push open the door and run in, and the eunuch behind him looked like he wanted to stop him, but he didn't stop him.

Before he could stand firm, he asked, "Prince, where did the mirror come from?" ”

Chao Yong waved his hand to let the eunuch behind him retreat, shook his head and said, "Break into my Yanfu Hall again, and then don't report to be careful about family law serving." ”

Xiaoqing came over and hugged Chao Yong's arm, and said with a smile: "The prince sent the slave family to the heavenly immortals, and the slave family is excited." ”

Chao Yong smiled: "What heavenly immortals, soon the streets will be all over the street." ”

Xiaoqing rolled her eyes and said with a smile: "This thing is easy to make?" ”

Chao Yong nodded and said, "It's not difficult to say, but it's not easy to say." Soon there will be a business that will be sold, and if you have money, you will be able to buy it. ”

Xiaoqing heard that it would be available soon, and she lost interest, so she ran away again after complaining about the crime, and did not mention the matter of eating.

Chao Yong didn't know whether to say whether Xiaoqing knew etiquette or didn't know etiquette, so after thinking about it, he came to Hu Sanniang's Ruizhu Palace. His dinner is usually used in the place where he stays overnight, so the concubines dare not take the initiative to invite him to eat, so as not to be suspected of competing for favor.

After he killed a few eunuchs and palace maids who were talking about right and wrong, his harem has been very peaceful. (To be continued......)

PS: (Recommend a good book, a different kind of Daming, a different kind of crossing, "Daming Huchen")