Chapter 61 Finding saltpeter and sulfur
Gaoyou Lake is the largest lake in Gaoyou. Compared with it, Desheng Lake is simply a witch.
The water area of Desheng Lake is 40 miles, but the area of Gaoyou Lake is more than 1,000 miles. Boating in Desheng Lake, there is a line of water and sky in the distance, and there is no end. The green grass and trees on the embankment nearby reflect each other, forming a beautiful picture.
In addition to the main lake, Gaoyou Lake is also connected to several small lakes, including 12 lakes such as Zhu Lake, Yongshe Lake and Ping'a Lake. The lake is connected by water, surrounded by many rivers such as the Baita River, Tonglong River, Xinbaita River, Qinlan River and Yangcun River.
When I drove into Gaoyou Lake, it was already morning. At this moment, a little white sails could be seen on the lake. It was the hard-working fishermen who began to fish.
The waters of Gaoyou Lake are wide, with good water quality and excellent hydrological environment, which makes there countless fish and shrimp here, especially Qinghe shrimp, silverfish and crabs. They are even transported to most cities through transportation, and have become a dish on the table of dignitaries.
Jijiazhuang is on the east bank south of Gaoyou.
Li Bosheng took everyone and began to look for the place where saltpeter and sulfur were found last time.
The last time he took the land road, this time he took the waterway, which was somewhat different, and he was not familiar with this place. He only remembered that it was on a bare hill south of Jijiazhuang, but he couldn't remember the specific location.
Leave Shixin to see the boat. The remaining few people, each carrying a pole and a shovel, were ready to look around.
Li Bosheng walked in the front. He was a little depressed. When he came last time, it was almost dark, and there were no obvious signs everywhere. I really didn't remember this place clearly. If he returned empty-handed this time, would the eldest brother blame him for not saying anything? Shixin's mouth alone would make himself unbearable.
As he recalled, he looked for clues.
Last time I only remember that it was a hill. To the south of the hill, there was a small river. To the east, there was a forest. To the west, there were several similar hills. To the north, there was endless farmland, but now nothing is right.
"Are we going the wrong way?" Lu Zhen asked.
"I don't know." Li Bosheng replied with a red face.
"I don't know? Then let us come when you know it. Even Lv Zhen, who had always been silent, began to complain.
"Oh, is it the hill in the north?" Zhang Yang asked.
"It doesn't seem so. I remember there is not so much grass on the mountain."
"Do you know if you go there and have a look?" Zhang Yang said.
The boss spoke, and everyone naturally had no opinion, and everyone began to walk to the north on the mountain.
Getting closer and closer, Li Bosheng's feeling became clearer and clearer. He didn't look like it just now. That's because the last time I passed by, I took the road to the north, and I saw the north of the mountain. This time I saw the south, and there was a river nearby, which was probably here!
When he came to the foot of the hill, he circled half a circle. When the back of the mountain appeared in front of Zhang Yang, Zhang Yang was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth.
"Yes, that's it!"
The pieces of rock, with layers of white crystals on the side, are saltpeter. Look at that, the purity should be very high, and some are yellowish. There are small pores on the surface, which are sulfur.
"Yes, I found it here. I remember there are a lot of them." Li Bosheng also said excitedly.
Don't talk nonsense, work now!
The sulfur is all large. Just put it directly in the basket of bamboo and take it away, but the saltpeter is only a layer on the surface of the stone. It is too troublesome to move the large stone back. Zhang Yang immediately made a decision: "Let's first shovel down the saltpetrate with a shovel, put it in the basket, and then Lv Zhen sends it back. Bo Sheng then shoveled it. The shovel was enough for a load. Lv Zhen came back and then sent it back. In this way, we can pack about five liters of saltpeter and about five liters of sulfur. When we go back, we can make hundreds of catties of gunpowder, which is enough to use it for a period of time. When we recruit more workers, we will send them to mine in large quantities!"
Although there was a complaint just now, after listening to Zhang Yang's arrangement, Lv Zhen was not dissatisfied at all. These two things are the raw materials for gunpowder. Thinking about the first time I ate the boss's fried fish, the delicious fish still seemed to appear in front of me. There are so many raw materials this time, I don't know how many fish to fry?
If Zhang Yang knew that such an important gunpowder in everyone's eyes was to fry fish, I don't know what it would feel like.
It was not until the afternoon that she dug five liters of saltpetre. When Lv Zhen came back to pick up the fifth burden of saltpeter, Zhang Yang and Li Bosheng picked up two tars of sulfur and transported them back to the ship.
I don't know if I don't go. Although it is relatively close to the lake, and after Lv Zhen sent back the saltpeter for the first time, the commander Shixin has docked the ship at a small river closest to here, which is also nearly 15 miles away.
This is Zhang Yang's first time to do physical work recently. If it weren't for the need for manpower in the refined salt business, he would have asked more than a dozen people to come over. He didn't have to be so tired. The shoulder pole trembled on his shoulders and pressed his shoulders to hurt.
"Big brother is back!" Shixin was somehow idle this time and felt a little embarrassed, so he hurried over from the boat: "Brother, I'll help you take care of it for a while."
"No, you can have a rest!" Zhang Yang said.
"Brother, you finally began to care about me." Shi Xin said happily.
"Yes, if you don't have a good rest, who will pick up 20 dans of iron ore for me?" Zhang Yang said.
"Brother! I protest!"
"The protest is invalid. Let's take a rest now. Let's pick it again. It's time to sail back to load iron ore." Zhang Yang said.
The reason why he was left on the boat just now is that he wanted him to nourish his energy and then work for himself. After resting for such a long time, he can't shout that he is tired anymore, right?
Come back again, and the five-tank of saltpeter and five-tank of sulfur were all loaded on the ship.
"Chip! Let's go back to load iron ore!" Zhang Yang said to Shixin.
Shi Xin drooped his face and stretched out the sail.
When I left Gaoyou Lake, it was already afternoon.
The afternoon sun shines hotly on the lake. Although the lake is full of water, you can also feel the heat wave coming, and even feel the water vapor. The water in the lake has begun to evaporate unconsciously.
The lake has regained its calm. Most of the fishing boats have returned to the shore to rest, and the flying wild birds have not been seen. The small fish in the water have been dormant under the water.
"Brother! Come out, come out!" A shout woke up Zhang Yang.
After staying up all night and working all morning, he was naturally very tired. Zhang Yang entered the cabin and fell asleep when he lay on it. He was woken up by the shout and was a little angry.
"What's the matter?" Zhang Yang asked.
"The heavenly soldiers are going to war!" There was a little panic in Shixin's words.
"Where did the heavenly soldiers come from? There is nothing in the sky except other celestial bodies. Zhang Yang muttered and opened the curtain of the cabin.
I saw the scenery outside, but I didn't feel sleepy at all.
Mirage!
PS: The mirage is a spectacle of Gaoyou Lake, which often appeared until the 1950s and 1960s.
(It was supposed to be said that four chapters would be updated yesterday, but the people were not as good as the sky, and the power in the community was cut off! Although I'm using a notebook, I don't have the Internet, so I can't upload it. I'll make up the fourth update today. Thank you for your support!)