Chapter 461: Education Promotes the Country

Looking back on the past few days, Pang Tong was moved to tears.

Later generations said it was easy, but only after getting started did they realize how difficult it was.

After all, he was almost clear about the alkali production process, which required heating, standing, or stirring, and each step was in order.

But this soap only said that it could be made by adding oil.

Lard or sesame oil? Strong alkali or weak alkali? Do you need to boil and heat? Or just mix and dry?

Pang Tong couldn't answer all these questions, so he could only ask Kong Ming again, and according to his instructions, he used different raw materials and different techniques, and chose the best one according to the situation.

After screening out all kinds of unreliable and failed methods, what was finally placed in front of Kong Ming was these white things that looked like stones.

Kong Ming knocked with a small iron rod and heard the "bang bang" sound, and then he naturally raised his doubts:

"What is it for? How to use it?"

"Uh..." Pang Tong was stuck.

After two days of hard work, he finally made this thing. He was so excited that he forgot about it.

Kong Ming was used to it. According to past experience, he first deduced from the name:

"Fertilizer means abundance and prosperity, and soap has the ability to dye."

"From the name, the effect of this thing may be related to hemp and kudzu coloring."

But if it is just dyeing, it should not be worth the trouble.

After all, judging from the tone of the junior, the Xuan paper technique that can make a place rich for a hundred years is too troublesome. The only explanation is that the value and effect of soap are far better than Xuan paper.

Since there is a speculation, the next step is to try one by one.

For Kong Ming, he has accumulated a lot of experience in exploring the relationship between land and crop acidity and alkalinity. Therefore, after giving the order, more than a dozen cloth products were delivered here soon.

Hemp, kudzu, silk, plain color dyeing are all available.

Afterwards, Kong Ming took out a hard pen, opened the small book he carried with him, stood aside, and made a gesture of invitation to Pang Tong.

Pang Tong was the first to do it, but everyone was disappointed that this "soapstone" did not seem to have any magical effect on these clothes.

Dry rubbing did not work, and adding water still did not react.

After trying clothes of various colors and materials one by one, Pang Tong looked at his hands and was a little uncertain:

"It seems to be cleaner than before..."

Jian Yong, who was watching quietly beside him, also saw the method of trying, and immediately took off his smock and said with a smile:

"Then Shi Yuan will know after trying it."

Just now, he and his lord entertained Xiahou Yuan for a banquet, and there were many stains on his clothes.

Soon, as the stains on Jian Yong's smock disappeared like winter snow meeting the sun, Kong Ming also wrote it down in his little book:

"It is not dyeing, but it has the effect of removing dirt, and it seems to be used for bathing?"

Looking at Pang Tong's hands, which were already white and rosy, Kong Ming vaguely understood why this thing was better than rice paper in the eyes of the younger generation.

Xuan paper can be written, but hemp paper, bamboo slips and wooden tablets can also be used.

Everyone likes cleanliness, and the efficacy of this soap is probably unmatched.

Looking at Pang Tong who was still thinking about the more uses of this thing, and then looking at the nearly one-person-high pile of failed products in a corner of the workshop, the hardship was obvious at a glance.

After walking two steps, Kong Ming became curious again: "What is this?"

In another corner of the workshop were pots of something that looked like oil but was not oil. It was sticky, but there was a faint fragrance that made people feel relaxed and happy.

"This is glycerin from making soap, and its effects are also magical."

"Glycerin?" Kong Ming repeated the name.

Pang Tong stepped forward and explained: "Because it has a subtle sweet fragrance, I wanted to call it sesame oil, but I was afraid of confusing it with sesame oil, so I called it glycerin."

"As for the efficacy..."

Pang Tong picked up a bowl of glycerin with a more mellow color, led everyone to the outside of the house and walked nearly two hundred steps.

After Jian Yong protested, he carefully put the bowl away, took out a smoldering fire starter from his body, blew out a bright flame, and threw it directly into the bowl from a distance.

With a "bang", a column of fire nearly as high as a person immediately jumped out of the bowl, illuminating the surprised expressions of several people.

Pang Tong took two steps back to ensure that the flame would not affect himself before explaining:

"This thing is flammable, far better than tung oil, and it must be of great use."

"And after it was made, I gave a bottle to Doctor Zhang, who said that this thing might be used as medicine."

For Kong Ming, what he saw today was full of surprises. In joy, he patted Pang Tong's shoulder and said:

"This soap and glycerin must be of great use!"

"With this thing alone, Shi Yuan will be famous in history!"

Hearing Kong Ming's praise, Pang Tong smiled and couldn't close his mouth.

Kong Ming was stunned, and felt that Chang'an might have to re-establish the Department of Craftsmanship next.

The Gong'an County's Department of Craftsmanship was in name only after Liu Bei and Kong Ming left for Chengdu, as there were not many things to study at the time.

But now Kong Ming felt that he had to set up an engineering department in the Imperial College. After all, let alone the distant future, the soap would be in short supply if its efficacy was improved and its color and sweetness were increased.

Glycerin was even more troublesome. Since it already had such efficacy, what if it was added with sugar? What if it was made with gunpowder?

And what Dr. Zhang said about it being a medicine, all these possibilities required hundreds of people to try and record.

So Kong Ming finally remembered the words of later generations and sighed:

"Knowledge can change a person's life, can promote the fortune of the country, and can establish the power of the country."

"If you want to establish the last Han Dynasty, you should establish the Imperial College to all prefectures and counties in the world."

"To strengthen the country and promote the people, we should start with education."

Pang Tong and Jian Yong both agreed with this. Such truths do not need to be explained by future generations. They themselves are the most obvious examples.

…

It was not until August that Bu Zhi finally left Chang'an, which was in a state of prosperity.

Recalling the changes in his mentality before and after this trip, Bu Zhi wanted to sigh to the sky.

Sun Hou asked him to travel thousands of miles to Chang'an to ask for a withdrawal of troops. He had listed his sincerity, including but not limited to reconciliation between the two families, marriage of men and women of appropriate age for the sons and nephews, emphasis on the anti-Cao plan, and willingness to send troops to Hefei to support Guan Yu in Jingbei, etc., and each condition was negotiable.

For example, if General Zuo was willing to contribute some money and food, it would not be impossible for Jiangdong to respect the emperor's uncle...

But unfortunately, after several talks, Bu Zhi also summed up the current situation:

Sun Hou was full of sincerity, but General Zuo was not interested.

Although Bu Zhi also knew that after the previous rebellion, it was still a question mark how sincere Sun Hou was.

But thinking that Mrs. Bu had only been in Sun Hou's house for less than a year, the expectations of the whole family were on his shoulders, Bu Zhi could only bite the bullet and continue the discussion.

Fortunately, Liu Bei finally agreed to the request to stop the war. Bu Zhi guessed that it might be because Lu Zijing explained the pros and cons in detail, or maybe Mrs. Sun still remembered the old relationship with Sun Hou.

After all, the conditions for stopping the war were not harsh, and could even be said to be generous:

Sun Hou only had to agree to open the ferry along the river in Jiangdong and not interfere in trade.

That was all.