Chapter 369: Saponification Reaction

"Your Highness, this piece of Artillery has just been manufactured; the subordinate will immediately use the Hydraulic Boring Machine to cut and test it."

Inside the Workshop, there was another fixed Artillery piece.

This Artillery piece was likewise secured on a wooden frame.

The center line of the muzzle was aligned with the center line of the Boring Tool.

As long as the wooden frame was pushed toward the Boring Machine, the cutting could begin.

Zhao Xu nodded, then he looked toward the side of the Boring Machine.

There was a barrel of yellow oil there; this was lard.

When the Drilling Machine drills a gun barrel, the Drill Bit requires lard for lubrication, otherwise the Drill Bit will be more easily damaged; after all, the problem of wear and tear cannot be avoided.

The Boring Machine is the same, and even the Lathe that will be used in the future requires this kind of lubricant.

"Hmm, if the results are good, this Prince will have the Artillery in the army brought back to be cut once; at that time, you can test how the power and range of the Artillery are after being cut." Zhao Xu patted the Artillery; this was another task.

"Yes, Your Highness," Wang Ying replied.

Having given this order, Zhao Xu went straight to the Technology Academy.

He was not overly excited.

Because the Hydraulic Drill had already provided the technical accumulation for it.

Now it was just a matter of course.

It was precisely for this reason that Wang Ying dared to guarantee to him that it would be completed within three days.

Although he was dull, he was not stupid.

He never made promises recklessly for things he was not certain about.

Arriving at the Academy.

Wang Chong was checking the students' coursework from this period.

He had them recite Chemistry formulas and Physics formulas on the blackboard one by one.

Seeing Zhao Xu arrive, he immediately had the students return to their seats.

"Greetings, Your Highness," everyone shouted in unison.

Sweeping his gaze over the students one by one,

Zhao Xu felt a sense of accomplishment.

A few months ago, they were still a group of ignorant people.

Now, they were already able to flexibly master various formulas and scientific concepts.

Communicating with them no longer required explaining everything.

Overall, they had initially acquired the capabilities of contemporary middle school students.

After all, during this time, they did nothing but study hard besides eating, and they only studied Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics.

Many students even studied by lamp light until midnight.

Having reached this stage, Zhao Xu felt it necessary to give these students an opportunity to let them create some things themselves.

Afterward, he would slowly let them build the foundation of Yanzhou's chemical industry and physical machinery from scratch.

As for Mathematics, it naturally had its important role; after all, the further technology advances, the more it requires calculation.

This belongs to basic science; although benefits cannot be seen in the short term, one must spend money to cultivate such talent.

"This Prince said I would give you a task, and now this task has arrived. This Prince has already explained the Saponification Reaction to you; now, you will form groups of ten, and within one day, this Prince wants to see the finished Soap."

Pausing, he continued: "Now, you first divide into groups, and each group will give this Prince the materials you need; this Prince will provide them for you. Each group must not communicate with the others; rely on your own abilities."

To him, this was also an assessment and practice for the students.

Letting them independently complete the manufacture of a chemical product.

Expanding on this, this would be a chemical production line.

"Yes, Your Highness." Zhao Xu's order did not make the students retreat; instead, they were all eager to give it a try.

These months of study had washed away the old understanding of the world in their minds.

After all, Yan Wang had personally demonstrated experiment after experiment, cracking many things they had considered to be divine magic.

Facing the rich content in the textbooks, the door to a new world was slowly opening before them.

They were very happy to use their own hands to turn the things in the textbooks into physical objects.

Responding with a yes, the students moved.

Before long, the three hundred and twenty-two students were divided into thirty-two groups.

There were two groups that had eleven people.

Wang Chong was the first to hand the required materials into Zhao Xu's hands.

With a chuckle, he returned to his seat.

Ever since the Technology Academy was established, the research and manufacturing matters in the Armament Department were basically no longer related to Wang Chong.

He only focused on the Academy, responsible for his own studies and urging the students to study.

Wang Ying also did not allow him to do anything else.

In his view, letting his son listen to lectures in the Academy was far more important than assigning him some work to do.

Wang Chong was a bit unhappy at first, but after coming into contact with the vast knowledge in the textbooks, he immediately became deeply immersed and unable to extricate himself.

His initial bit of arrogance also disappeared completely.

He knew very clearly that if he could not study hard, it would not take long before he would be replaced by the students in the Academy.

After Wang Chong handed his in, the second student, with squinting eyes and a fair, clean appearance, handed up his list.

Zhao Xu smiled lightly.

This student's name was Qu Sheng.

Among the students, he and Wang Chong were the most outstanding.

In the last Official Examination, his score in mathematics was perfect.

And later, facts seemed to prove that he was a natural science student.

He was equally excellent in Physics and Chemistry.

Having collected all the material lists, Zhao Xu looked through them one by one.

Among the thirty-two lists, only one list was missing a certain material.

But on the whole, they were mostly correct.

This unqualified list, as expected, belonged to the craftsmen's children.

Because they were illiterate, the craftsmen's children had a poor foundation and had to learn to read first before they could read through the textbooks.

Therefore, they learned very slowly.

However, Zhao Xu did not intend to give up on them because of this.

These craftsmen's children were also very hardworking.

Giving them hope was equivalent to giving all the craftsmen hope.

He called over the group of students who had done it wrong to criticize and correct them.

Zhao Xu first had the students go to the courtyard to build a stove.

Then he ordered Wang Ying to send people to fetch lard, Quicklime, Soda Ash, and salt, and also sent people to the Glass Workshop to fetch a thirty-centimeter diameter Glass vat.

By the afternoon, these items were all ready.

Zhao Xu did not participate; he just moved a chair and sat to the side, watching them bustle about.

He watched how they synthesized materials from scratch to manufacture Soap.

"Pour the Quicklime into the water trough, dissolve it, and then add the Soda Ash." Five meters away from Zhao Xu, Wang Chong methodically assigned tasks to the students in his group.

Professional terms kept popping out of his mouth; these were all things from the textbooks.

The students were familiar with the process and understood the reason why Wang Chong asked them to do so.

Before long, billowing white smoke rose from the entire field.

This was the water vapor steamed out by the heat generated when Quicklime dissolved in water.

When a clear solution appeared in the water trough, several students added the Soda Ash, and then it was a matter of waiting.

Half an hour later, a film like ice appeared on the surface of the water in the trough, and another student collected it.

At the same time, some students had already heated the lard.

At this moment, the students poured the collected white film into the hot oil while stirring constantly.

Immediately after, they added salt.

Before long, a white solid appeared in the Glass vat.

The students picked up the Glass vat, covered the mouth of a pottery jar with cloth, and poured the contents inside; the solid remained on the cloth, while the liquid flowed into the pottery jar.

Finally, they pressed the solid on the cloth into shape and left it to dry.

By evening, each group had handed the Soap to him.