Liu San was stunned, because most of the popsicle business in Lingao was monopolized by the Honghua Society, and the Honghua Society made water enamel thermos buckets. No one uses wooden box quilts at all. After he came to Guangzhou, it wasn't that he didn't notice the different equipment of local vendors, but he took it for granted that Lingao's memories were transferred to Guangzhou.
It was a bit embarrassing to be asked like this by him. In today's conversation, he had always held the initiative. Seeing that this famous figure in history could only nod and ask questions and agree while he was talking incessantly, I had already felt scornful in my heart. I didn't expect that the other party would catch him by making a mistake and making an understatement. Asked, immediately feeling a little embarrassed.
He couldn't help but secretly curse himself for being stupid. The popsicle vendors used wooden boxes to quilt. Not to mention that it was like this in Guangzhou, but it was a throwback to the old time and space. Isn't it the same? ! Which self-employed business sells popsicles in enamel jars? Forgot it all!
Originally this example was far-fetched, but after Zhang Dai made this point, Liu San suddenly realized that there was no doubt in the conversation just now, and he had not fundamentally persuaded Zhang Dai. The reason why Zhang Dai is willing to have such a humble attitude is that firstly, he is indeed interested in these "wonderful skills" and is willing to listen to his own nonsense; secondly, because he has the power of a "landlord", he has to listen to his own nonsense.
These scoundrels are indeed unrepentant reactionary literati! Liu San looked at Zhang Dai's calm face and cursed secretly.
He laughed dryly: "Sir, you are right. This example is indeed not appropriate."
Zhang Dai was going to Lingao for sightseeing. The "Master of Runshitang" who was talking so long in front of him was the "landlord". He had to take care of him when he went to Lingao. Naturally, he couldn't let him get off the stage, so he said: "Actually, Doctor Liu said Yes, the students also understand. The reason why the half-year-old children in Guangli City can rent an enamel vat to sell popsicles can support themselves is because Guangnan and Hainan are mild and less cold all year round. People with low incomes are willing to buy it to cool off the heat; secondly, it is also the power of this skill that can create ice cubes in this "fire-scorching" land in the south. Without this skill, this kind deed may not be possible. Come."
This is an acknowledgment of the benefits of "the power of technology" to "people's livelihood", but also leaves some room for cooperation with the "right time and right place". It's not that you can change your life just by relying on your miraculous skills.
Liu San thought to himself that this sour guy was really good at it. The research plan developed by myself, Wu Mu, Mayor Liu and others was somewhat self-righteous.
After Zhang Dai said a few words, he became silent again, obviously waiting for him to continue to show off.
Liu had finished speaking three words and had to bite the bullet and finish the routine.
"Sir, you are right, the right time and place are also important." Liu Sandao said, except for the 'benefit to people's livelihood'. The principle of the technology itself has many great applications in military and civilian life! "Liu San took the topic in the direction they had discussed.
Zhang Dai continued to smile. He already understood: In this meeting, despite their different identities, Shopkeeper Yang to Yuanlao Liu were all responsible for the work of "lobbyists".
As for the purpose, it is nothing more than to promote the Australians' "wonderful skills and tricks" as a "righteous way" that is as good as or even better than the Confucius' way.
It should be said that Zhang Dai is not disgusted with the "wonderful skills" of the Australians. He has been in Guangzhou for many days, read many Australian books and newspapers, listened to the discussions of people from Yuyuan Society, and has a strong opinion of the various actions of the Australians. Positive attitude. But in his opinion, this is just a "technique". If it is used well, it will be of great benefit to the country and the people. If it is used badly, it will destroy people's hearts. It is far from the "Tao", let alone superior to the "Dao".
However, he has no intention of arguing with the Australians. Judging from their painstaking layout, the Australians seem to have the intention of recruiting him. This made him feel a little proud despite being vigilant, but he was also a little angry: even Australians overseas valued him so much, but the imperial court regarded him as nothing!
"Sir, please tell me. The students are all ears."
"Mr. Zhang is also a historian. After thinking about it, he also knows that the Rongdi people in the north have always been short of iron." Liu San had some free time, so he started by talking about ancient times. "In the past, the Meng Yuan Dynasty fled back to Mobei, and the source of iron weapons was cut off, so they even used bones as arrows. When the Donglu rebels started to rebel, their family wealth was only a dozen pieces of armor handed down from their ancestors. The Liao, Jin, and Meng Yuan Dynasties were well-equipped, but The reason is that since the Liao Dynasty, the land of Yanyun was donated by the emperor, and the sons of the Han family cultivated the land and worked for it, so the three dynasties of Liao, Jin and Yuan were stronger than the other Hus in history." Liu San began to spread his message. Tool view of history.
In fact, this argument is problematic. Not to mention Tubo, Xixia is also a northern Rongdi. Its iron smelting industry is very developed, its armor and weapons are extremely good, and it does not occupy the sixteen states of Yanyun; in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, The Turks smelted iron on the grasslands and did not rely on Han craftsmen.
Zhang Dai nodded, he knew that the Mongols were short of iron. At that time, a big business of Shanxi merchants was to export Mongolian goods, which was a hugely profitable business, and iron pots were one of the Mongolians' favorite commodities. As for whether the Mongolians really need so many iron pots, that doesn't matter. It's a businessman's business. Many northern gentry were involved in this kind of business. It's an open secret in the capital.
Liu San also nodded in response: "Since there is a shortage of iron, there is demand. If there is demand, there is a market, and if there is demand, there is profit. A great sage from Australia and Song Dynasty said, 'If there is a 10% profit, it is guaranteed to be sold everywhere. Use; with 20% profit, it becomes active; with 50% profit, it takes desperate risks; for 100% profit, it dares to trample all human laws; with 300% profit, it dares to commit any crime, There is even the danger of hanging one's head.'" After saying this well-known "famous saying" of the elders, Liu San paused deliberately, waiting for Zhang Dai to digest this sentence.
Although Zhang Dai is not used to the expression "how many percent", Zhang Dai has read a lot of Australian and Song Dynasty books and newspapers in the past few months, and he also knows that 10% is 10%, and 100% profit is "twice the profit". After a little conversion, I quickly understood this sentence. "This is a wonderful statement! The profit-seeking nature of merchants is clearly revealed!" Zhang Dai praised.
"To be honest, the biggest demand for ironware is daily iron products. Within a family, the iron pot weighs several kilograms, the hoes and plowshares weigh several kilograms, and the bits and pieces of nails and so on weigh several kilograms in total. There is always one or two kilograms of iron on each person's head. How much iron can be used by an army that only uses swords and spears? Most of the big-headed soldiers are spearmen. A spear looks big, but how many kilograms of iron is the spearhead? A pot-feather arrow is only an arrowhead, not a few ounces of iron." Liu San continued his analysis.
Although Zhang Dai has never seen regular soldiers or fighting soldiers, Nanjing is still one of the two capitals. Although the standing army is lax, the airs are still there. In the old days, when he traveled to Nanjing with people from the society, he also watched it. Now that I think about it, let alone the big-headed soldiers who don’t use a few taels of iron, they are also officers such as Baihu and Trial Baihu. The clothes and armor they wear are all paper armor, and the real iron weapon on their body is just a fake sword. , thinking about it, it only weighs a few kilograms.
But when it comes to firearms, the amount of iron used is huge. A three-eye blunderbuss requires at least ten kilograms of iron, and the number of firearms used by the army is also a huge number.
Zhang Dai still remembers the oracle published in the Di newspaper he saw during the Tianqi period. The number of firearms of the Liaodong army listed above, except for the number one and two weapons, which are in single digits, what about the nine-sided divine cannon, the tiger crouching divine cannon, the number one and two There are hundreds of flannel machines, iron ball cannons, etc. As for iron ball cannons, iron three-eyed blunderbuss, and bird blunderbuss, they can be counted in thousands. One can imagine how much iron material is consumed.
As for the men and horses of the bandits in front of them, they are particularly good at firearms, especially cannons, which can "corrode dozens of miles with one shot". It is said that it takes hundreds of thousands of kilograms of materials to cast a "big general cannon"; the Australian Song Dynasty also He is good at making large iron ships. An iron ship - regardless of whether it can float or not, the size alone is probably tens of millions of kilograms of iron. There are dozens of "big guns" on the ship. The number of irons that the bandit army possesses is probably a huge number. Zhang Dai responded casually and waited for Liu San to continue.
"In order to guard against the Mongols, the imperial court prohibited the export of ironware. Because even if you sell an iron pot, they can find a way to melt it down and re-make weapons. But this ban is of little use: since the demand from the Mongols is strong, merchants often Try every means to smuggle. Of course, it is not limited to smuggling iron. Salt and grain are the main sources of smuggling. As far away as Mongolia and as close as Donglu, there are merchants smuggling goods for them. Well, the truth is still the same: if there is a need, just If there is a market, there will be profits.”
Hearing this, Zhang Dai couldn't help but think of a few people in the society who liked to discuss current affairs. At a gathering, they mentioned that the last time the Donglu were able to invade the capital, the fundamental reason was that the profiteers in Jinzhong showed the way to the Donglu. It suddenly became dark, and I couldn't help but sigh. Of course, Zhang Dai did not know that the reason those few people had such "insight" was because they read an issue of the current situation analysis magazine published by Australia and Song Dynasty that was secretly sold at that time.
It is true that cannons, fast guns and iron ships all rely on "magical skills and cunning", but this is obviously not what Dr. Liu has gone through in such a big circle just to talk about it.
"Among the hardware, only gold and tin are not easy to rust." Liu San paused for a moment, and then nodded after seeing Zhang Dai think about it for a moment. Knowing that he had "common sense" in this regard and no need for him to explain more, Liu San continued Talked about it. "However, ancient ancestors have long known that the extracted red copper is soft and not suitable for casting. Instead, it is mixed with tin sand and mixed to make bronze. It is not only suitable for casting, but the utensils produced are more durable than red copper. It is hard. Therefore, in the third generation, most weapons and ritual vessels were made of bronze.
"However, although bronze is harder than red copper, it is brittle. The small and bad money on the market is mostly mixed with lead and tin, and it will break into eight pieces if it is slightly bumped. The reason is that the physical properties of the money change after being mixed with tin. that is it."
