Hearing Yang Peng's inquiry, Xue Yuanwai raised his hands and said: "Lord City Lord, as far as I know, there is no merchant in Cangzhou City who sells mercury!" Yang Peng was a little disappointed and asked: "Then what should I do if I want a large amount of mercury?" Mr. Xue stroked his beard and thought for a while, then said, "Your Excellency, you can buy cinnabar from the medicine store and then find someone to refine the mercury." "Looking for someone to refine the mercury? Who should I find?"
Xue Yuanwai talked and said: "I know a true Taoist priest. He has a pomegranate jar for refining mercury. I will introduce him to the Lord of the City!" Yang Peng replied: "It's all thanks to Xue Yuanwai's introduction!" Xue Yuanwai said: "This Taoist priest My name is Cao Shoudao, and I live in Cangzhou City. If you want to see the Taoist priest perform live, why not come with me to the Taoist priest's home to find him!"
"Then let's go together!" Yang Peng led a few soldiers holding banners and flags, and rode with Xue Yuanwai to Cangzhou City. Yang Peng entered Cangzhou City and found that the Taoist priest's house was located in the west of the city. It was a small courtyard with two entrances and was decorated quite elegantly. When Yang Peng saw the courtyard, he felt that this was a true Taoist priest.
Officer Xue patted the courtyard door, and a child with his head in a corner opened the courtyard door. When Mr. Xue understood the purpose of his visit, the child ran into the courtyard to report the news. After a while, a Taoist priest wearing a Xiaoyao scarf and legal robes came and welcomed the two into the courtyard. There is an alchemy furnace in the yard, and the side room is filled with large and small clay pots. It seems that this is a Taoist priest who knows how to alchemy. The Taoist priest was tall and thin, with a long beard and a whisk stuck in his clothes. He didn't put on any airs. When he saw Yang Peng's outfit, he knelt down and saluted, and then stood up to speak.
"I am a Taoist from the Tianshi sect. My Taoist name is Cao Shoudao and my Taoist name is Lingxu Sanren. I have met you sir." Yang Peng asked kindly, "Does Taoist Cao know how to extract mercury?" "I know how to extract mercury using a pomegranate jar! If you want to see it, Pindao can give a live demonstration!" "Then let me take a look!" Cao Shoudao led the two people into the house, took out a pottery jar, and said, "This is the pomegranate jar!"
Yang Peng nodded. Cao Shoudao took out a paper bag from a clay pot in the side room, opened it, and found a bag of cinnabar ground into powder. He filled the pomegranate jar with cinnabar powder until it was nine percent full. Then fill the jar neck with rice ash. Take out a tile cover that is the same size as the mouth of the jar, with a hole in the middle, and tie a crosshair on the tile cover with a thin wire and tie it to the mouth of the jar.
Cao Shoudao turned the pomegranate jar upside down and inserted it on a "water jar" with the same hole diameter, a certain depth and filled with water. The interface between the two is sealed, and then the two connected cans are hung in the "Danzao". The bottom and sides of the water cans are filled with soil, leaving only the pomegranate cans exposed on the soil surface. superior.
The next step is to place a charcoal fire on the soil surface and bake the sides and top of the pomegranate jar. The main component of cinnabar is mercury sulfide, which decomposes into sulfur and mercury vapor when heated. Mercury vapor is highly toxic, but Cao Shoudao's device is sealed, and all the mercury vapor flows into a tank of cold water below for cooling. Sure enough, not long after heating, liquid mercury appeared in the jar below.
Yang Peng was delighted when he saw the old Taoist priest refining mercury, and said, "Taoist Master Cao, I need to use a lot of mercury. How about you refine the mercury specifically for me from now on? I will give you four taels a month and three meals with meat." "When Cao Shoudao heard Yang Peng's words, he looked troubled and said, "Sir, Xiaodao is busy refining elixirs every day. He is asking for the way to immortality. I'm afraid I can't refine mercury for you." After looking at Yang Peng's face, Cao Shoudao said Said: "How about I sell this method of refining mercury to you for one hundred taels, and you can just find someone else to operate it?"
Yang Peng looked at Cao Shoudao and felt that this Taoist priest was quite good at making money. He would give him one hundred taels as soon as he opened his mouth. Yang Peng smiled and said: "One hundred taels is too expensive, Taoist priest is cheaper." Cao Shoudao looked at Yang Peng and said: "This method of refining mercury is also a secret method of my sect, with many key details. My secret method is different from other methods. It can filter out the impurities in the cinnabar and extract pure mercury, and it can also ensure the safety of the operator. I sold it to you for one hundred taels, which is considered cheap. If it is any lower, I will be sorry for the master's first Master."
It turns out that his secret method can also remove impurities from cinnabar, which is indeed more valuable. Yang Peng saw that what he said was true, so he stopped bargaining and said, "Then it's one hundred taels. I'll buy your method. But you have to follow me to Tianjing New City and teach me this method." people and teach them until they can operate independently.”
Cao Shoudao said: "That's natural." After solving the source of mercury, Yang Peng bought some tin blocks in Cangzhou City and returned to Tianjing New City to start trial production of glass mirrors. Yang Peng found a few pieces of tin, cut them into pieces and threw them into the mercury. Tin is soluble in mercury, but the tin block will form a dense oxide film in the air. With this oxide film, the tin cannot dissolve into the mercury, so it needs to be cut. However, Yang Peng waited in the room for a while and found that it dissolved very slowly.
At this dissolution rate at room temperature, it would take a long time for tin and mercury to fuse together, and Yang Peng couldn't wait any longer. Yang Peng simply put the mercury and tin cubes cut into small pieces into a small clay pot and heated them over a low fire in the yard. The boiling point of mercury is more than 300 degrees Celsius. The temperature heated by low fire is lower than 300 degrees, which only makes the mercury turn into a liquid state, but does not make the mercury boil. However, mercury also volatilizes below the boiling point, and its vapor is highly toxic, so Yang Peng people stayed away.
When the mercury and tin melted, Yang Peng took a long breath, then walked over and put out the fire in the small stove. Yang Peng held his breath and stirred the liquid mercury and tin with a stick, and found that the two had dissolved into each other and became a tin amalgam alloy. Yang Peng held his breath for a while, then walked to a distance to take a breath, and then came back to operate. After running back and forth ten times in this way, Yang Peng found that the tin amalgam had cooled and solidified, becoming a pool of solid metal.
Yang Peng went to the glass workshop and got a piece of flat glass the size of a human face as a template for the mirror. He returned to the yard and heated and melted the tin amalgam again. After the tin amalgam turned into a liquid, Yang Peng found a small brush, held his breath and brushed the tin amalgam on one side of the flat glass, applying several thick layers.
Yang Peng had to go far away for fresh air every few times. It took Yang Peng a quarter of an hour to brush the glass that was as big as a human face. Yang Peng then waited for the tin amalgam on the glass to solidify. After waiting for half an hour, the tin amalgam on the glass became solid. Yang Peng raised the piece of glass and looked at it from the front, and saw his face clearly.
After coming to this world for so long, Yang Peng saw himself clearly for the first time. . The mirror was not as bright as the aluminum mirrors of later generations. It was a little dark, but it was enough to see my hair and skin color clearly. It is said to be dark compared with the mirrors of later generations. Compared with the bronze mirrors of this era that can only roughly see the silhouette of people, it is more than a little better.
This mirror is considered a success. Yang Peng was in a good mood, and used a brush to apply several thick layers of tree paint as a protective layer on the tin amalgam coating on the back of the mirror. The mirror was finally completed. After making this glass mirror, Yang Peng gave it to Yang Tong first. Yang Tong was embroidering in the room. When he saw the glass mirror that Yang Peng brought over, he blinked as if he didn't believe it.
"Is there such a clear mirror in the world? You can really see eyelashes clearly!" Yang Peng said: "I'm not cheating, right?" Yang Tong looked left and right in the mirror, never tired of it, and said: "It turns out I Born so pretty?" Yang Peng smiled and said, "My wife is the most beautiful!" Yang Tong was so happy when he heard this that he blushed a little and was too embarrassed to look in the mirror again. After thinking for a while, Yang Tong said: "My husband is so awesome!"
Yang Tong smiled and said: "I've given you this small mirror. You can study it slowly! When I make a big mirror, I will give you a big mirror." Yang Tong happily took the mirror and placed it carefully. On the table. After the experiment completed the mirror, Yang Tong began to organize manpower for mass production.
This glass mirror is an absolute luxury in this era. Yang Tong decided to sell it at a high price, so he naturally had to pay attention to confidentiality. Yang Tong decided to separate the raw material configuration of the mirror, the tin amalgam melting, the tin amalgam brushing of the mirror surface and the brushing of the raw lacquer protective layer, and assign each process to one person. In this way, even if someone bribes one or two workers, they will not know how to make the mirror.
Of course, Yang Peng also controls the secret recipe from the source - only Yang Peng can produce transparent glass, and mirrors cannot be produced without large pieces of transparent glass. Yang Peng found five workers to produce mirrors. Yang Peng doesn't need a high output of this kind of mirror. Five people can produce 20 large and small mirrors a day, which is enough for Yang Peng to sell. Seeing that the mirror was produced by their own hands, the five workers looked around the mirror and were indescribably surprised. It turns out that there is such a clear mirror in the world that can show the hair. The workers were astonished by the city lord and didn't understand how the city lord could come up with such a clever idea.
The city lord must be Lu Ban who descended to earth, right? The city lord showed the produced mirror to his men for inspection. When Zhan Jinguo saw the mirror, his first reaction was to hide aside. "Brother, this is a magic trick. My face is completely covered in it!" Yang Peng spat: "What kind of magic trick, do you understand the mirror?"
Zhan Jinguo looked at it for a while and grinned his teeth in the mirror. Yang Bamei looked at the mirror for a long time and praised: "Sir, this mirror is too clear. I finally know what I look like!" Yang Paifeng looked at the mirror and praised: "The city lord is so powerful, he can give birth Such a mirror! It must be easy to sell!" Yang Jiumei looked at the mirror for a while and said, "Sir, this mirror is so good. Give me a small one." Yang Peng divided mirrors into three types, the first one is the palm A large small mirror, mounted on the lid of a wooden box, can be carried around and sells for ten taels.
The second type is a mirror the size of a human face. You can see your entire face clearly in the mirror. The outside of the mirror is wrapped in a copper frame and sells for thirty taels. The third type is a dress mirror more than one meter high. You can see your entire body clearly in the mirror. The outside of the mirror is wrapped in a wooden frame and sells for one hundred and fifty taels. Of course, after making a good mirror, you also need to do a good job in marketing. Otherwise, if you sell bare mirrors in stores, you don’t know how long it will take for them to be accepted by wealthy households and for customers to buy them. If you want customers to know about this new product, the best way is to let the top class of society make this product popular first.
On February 28, Yang Peng made thirty mirrors over one meter high and sent them to Bianjing City to present them to the officials. Emperor Zhao Heng of the Song Dynasty looked at himself in the mirror and said nothing for a long time. In the smooth mirror, Zhao Heng saw his whole body. You can see clearly what your face looks like, what your nose looks like, what your mouth looks like, what your upper body looks like, and what your lower body looks like. Even the beard on his chin can be seen clearly one by one.
After a long time, Zhao Heng took a breath and said: "It turns out that I look like this!" Wang Jin also looked at the mirror next to him and smiled: "It turns out that this slave looks like this!" Zhao Heng said: "Wang Jin, today I know that you are not as good-looking as me!"
Wang Jin said with a smile: "How can I dare to be prettier than the emperor? The emperor is the emperor and a human being for all the people in the world!" Zhao Heng laughed, turned around and looked at his back in the mirror. "So this is what my back looks like!"
After looking at it for a long time, Zhao Heng sat back on the throne and said slowly: "This Yang Peng is really a skillful craftsman. He can actually make such a big mirror. I have only seen small mirrors trafficked from Xiyi. This is the first time I have seen such a mirror." A big glass mirror. I heard that he also made soap. No wonder he can support more than 20,000 soldiers." Wang Jin said: "In the official family, this Yang Peng can fight and make new things. He is a talent. ." Zhao Heng smiled contemptuously and said: "It's a pity that he can't read and doesn't understand the learning of saints, so he can only be a craftsman and martial artist driven by others." Wang Jin said: "What the officials said is true, but A martial artist!" "These domineering warriors are very difficult to control."
Zhao Heng took a breath and said: "But now, looking around, there is no one available. If I don't rely on these arrogant military attachés, who can I rely on?" After a pause, Zhao Heng said harshly: "Ting Ping will be destroyed. Sichuan thieves, I will deal with these domineering military officers severely and let them know the price of being arrogant and breaking the law!" Wang Jin secretly felt that something was wrong when he saw the emperor saying such things to settle scores. The military attache is not stupid. The military attache can detect the hypocrisy of the officials and the military attache. When the time comes, the military attaché will have scruples and the matter will be even more difficult to handle. But Wang Jin did not dare to explain. He only dared to raise his hands and said: "The official sage!"
Zhao Heng raised his head and said, "It is Yang Peng who reassures me. I helped him get rid of Luo Zhen, and he gave me this valuable mirror to express his loyalty. How much does this mirror cost?" "According to the memorial. It said, one hundred and fifty taels per side." "The thirty sides are four thousand five hundred taels. This Yang Peng is no better than Gao Huaide and his ilk. Now the war is raging, hundreds of officials are passing the blame, and the money is spent to find it. There is less than one military officer who can fight. And this Yang Peng does not spend money from the court, he raises troops to drive the country, and he can defend and fight. If our Song Dynasty has a few more generals like this, why worry about the injustice of the nine states?"
After thinking for a while, Zhao Heng said: "Send one of these mirrors to each of the six pavilion elders, six ministers, and the censor of Zuodu. The rest will be sent to the harem and given to the queen, the noble concubine, and several concubines." "Wang Jin did the math and said: "In the official family, the Minister of War is empty, and there are only twelve ministers to send mirrors. Adding the nine empresses, concubines and concubines, there are still nine left!" Zhao Heng thought about it. Thinking about it, he said: "I'll show it to you in the Qianqing Palace. I also check whether my clothes are in good order every day."
Wang Jin grinned and said: "Then there are eight noodles left, Your Majesty." Zhao Heng smiled and said: "Then I will give you one side and store the remaining seven noodles in the warehouse." This is what Wang Jin was waiting for. After saying this, he knelt down with a smile and said, "Thank you so much, my servant!"
After the privy envoy Cao Bin received the dressing mirror given by the emperor, an endless stream of people came to visit the dressing mirror. Cao Bin simply put the mirror in the lobby for all the guests to watch. On this day, Juzheng Xue also came to see Yuci's clothes and mirror. As the assistant prime minister, Cao Bin has the highest power in the court. He hurriedly led him to the main hall. In the main hall, Xu Nan, the Minister of Rites, was discussing with the people when he suddenly saw Xue Juzheng walking in with his hands behind his back. The two quickly stood up to greet Xue Juzheng.
Cao Bin pointed at Xue Juzheng and said with a smile: "Shou also came to see the dressing mirror!"
Cao Bin pointed behind him and said, "It's right there! Take a look and see for yourself!" Xue Juzheng walked to the dress mirror, looked left and right for a long time, and said with emotion: "What a mirror, even the hair is visible. Live. In fifty-six years, this is the first time I know that my whole body looks like this!" Turning around and looking at Cao Bin, Xue Juzheng said: "The official has given you a treasure!"
Cao Bin came over and said proudly: "Is this the first time you have seen a mirror that reflects people so clearly?" There is a glass mirror, how can this be the first time I see it!" Cao Bin smiled and said to Xu Nan: "Shou is a rich gentry, and he bought a mirror from Xiyi a long time ago!" Xu Nan asked: "Shou is a wealthy gentry. How much does this mirror cost? The mirror I got from Xiyi probably costs a hundred taels!"
Qian Qianyi replied proudly: "This is what Shen Ren gave me. It's free of charge." Cao Bin said unhappily: "Shen Ren is so biased, why didn't he give me one?" Xue Juzheng smiled and excused Zheng Shenren: "Now that you have a mirror from Tianjing New City, what do you want from Shen Ren's small Xiyi mirror?" Putting the mirror in his arms, Xue Juzheng said to Xu Nan: "This Yang Peng promoted by Han Bo is so energetic. First he killed Ma Shouying, and then he killed Ye Qi Hongguang. First he made a glass wine cup, and now he makes this big mirror worth a hundred gold. His ability can reach the sky!"
Xu Nan said: "This Yang Peng is a wise man. I promoted him single-handedly. Now that he is in Tianjing New City, I can be an official!" Xue Juzheng clicked his tongue a few times and spat: "You have found Aoyuan. !" Hehehe laughed, and Xue Juzheng said again: "Want to learn from Hou Bing and Gao Huaide? Is Yang Peng reliable?" Seeing Xue Juzheng talking about political affairs, Cao Bin said worriedly: "Accept it, I will observe it in the court. , you have to be on guard!" Cao Bin frowned and asked, "Let him go? If it happens to him, that would be bad."
Cao Bin and Xu Nan thought for a while and said one after another: "It's a great lesson!" At the attention of many people, the demand for glass mirrors gradually emerged. Yang Peng can sell more than a dozen mirrors every day in his shops in Beijing and Cangzhou. Although he cannot sell out all the mirrors produced by Yang Peng, it also brings Li Zhi a lot of profits.
In March alone, Li Zhi sold 324 small mirrors, 137 large medium-sized mirrors, and 28 larger dressing mirrors. The best-selling one is the small mirror. Although it is only about the size of a palm, it is cheap and can barely meet the needs of women for dressing up. There are far fewer people buying medium-sized mirrors. Thirty taels of silver can buy half a small yard these days. There are still not many people willing to spend thirty taels for a medium-sized mirror. After all, there are still only a limited number of rich families. And those who spend hundreds of millions of dollars to buy clothes, glasses, and mirrors are all wealthy and powerful businessmen. The twenty-eight customers who bought the mirrors all sent their family members to buy the mirrors, and the family members they sent were always there to support them.
In March, the mirror brought Yang Peng 11,100 taels of profit, which was equivalent to the profit of the salt factory. It was very impressive. However, Yang Peng felt that the profits of this mirror should still increase. On this day, he was thinking about how to increase the sales of mirrors in his store in Cangzhou City. He saw Cha Yunke, the nephew of the governor Cha Denbei, riding over with two servants. .
When Zha Yunke saw Yang Peng, he jumped off his horse and said loudly: "I didn't find the city lord in Tianjing New City. It turns out that the city lord is here!" Now Zha Denbei has become the governor, and his relatives and family members have also followed the chickens and dogs to ascend to heaven, becoming an important figure in Cangzhou. character. Although the governor's nephew does not have an official title, the business he runs is actually the business of the governor Cha Dengbei, and his influence exceeds that of ordinary officials. Yang Peng didn't dare to neglect, he raised his hands and said: "Yang Peng came to Cangzhou City to check out the store, but he didn't expect that Mr. Cha was left running around!"
Zha Yunke smiled, walked to Yang Peng's shop and looked at the dress mirror again, took a look in front of the mirror, and said, "Your Majesty, this dress mirror is really a rare and good thing."
Li Yangpeng smiled and said: "Master Cha, do you want to buy one?" Cha Yunke said: "If you buy one, just buy one. I also look at myself from time to time!" Yang Peng was delighted that the business came to his door and was about to ask someone to help Cha Yunke. While packing the mirror, he heard Cha Yunke say: "Mr. City Lord, I'm here to discuss business with you!" Yang Peng asked with a smile: "What business are you talking about?"
Cha Yunke said: "I will buy a thousand medium-sized mirrors from you this year and sell them to Japan." The mirrors sold by Yang Peng are cheaper than Western mirrors, and the products are competitive in Japan. Moreover, the Japanese country was rich in silver and prices were quite high. Chayunke used to make a profit selling mirrors.
Yang Peng was happy when he saw a big deal coming to his door, but he said calmly: "Master Cha, do you want so many mirrors?" Cha Yunke said, "Mr. City Lord, please set a price!" "Twenty-eight taels a piece. , can’t be any less.” “The city lord lied to me, I made a thousand coins at a time, and you only gave me two taels less?”
Yang Peng smiled and said: "My mirror business is getting more and more popular. It is estimated that the price will increase in two months. Twenty-eight taels is not much for you!"
Zha Yunke spat: "The city lord regards the future predictions as the current harvest! Use the predictions to negotiate the price with me." "Then how much did you say?" "Twenty-five taels, no more!" "Cha Are you kidding me?" Yang Peng smiled and bargained with Cha Yunke for a long time, and finally decided to sell him a thousand medium-sized mirrors at twenty-seven taels each. The business was settled, but Yang Peng didn't have so much inventory. Zha Yunke was not in a hurry, saying that he would not go to sea until June, so he could just ask Yang Peng to prepare all the goods for him before June.
Cha Yunke shipped 20% of the goods, 5,400 taels, as a deposit the next day. Yang Peng asked the five workers in the mirror workshop to stop the production of large coat and crown mirrors and concentrate on producing medium-sized mirrors.
If you want to know what happens next, let’s look at the breakdown in the next chapter.
