Chapter 374: 3 Acids and 2 Alkalis

Chengde Workshop.

Yang He held a piece of soap in his hand, clicking his tongue in wonder.

Zhao Xu was at his side, and nearby, Qu Sheng was introducing the entire production process of the Soap Workshop to him.

The Mineral Prospecting Department had been established, officially launching the heavy responsibility of prospecting for minerals within the borders of Yanzhou.

Not two days later, Qu Sheng reported to him that the Soap Workshop had been completed.

Without a doubt, Yanzhou was currently developing steadily according to his plan.

"These pools are specifically used to prepare caustic soda," Qu Sheng said, pointing to twelve rectangular pools lined up side by side.

Inside the pools, white calcium hydroxide was settling.

Calcium hydroxide is slightly soluble in water, so most of it settled at the bottom of the pools.

Above it was a saturated calcium hydroxide solution.

At this moment, craftsmen were scooping the clarified solution out of the pools and into water vats.

Other craftsmen were pouring soda ash into the vats and stirring.

In other vats that had been left to stand for a period of time, a white film had already formed on the surface.

The craftsmen then collected the film for later use.

As for the rest, it was simple: just rendering lard and then collecting the byproduct, glycerin.

"Qu Sheng, I did not misjudge you; this Soap Workshop is excellent," Zhao Xu said with a satisfied smile.

Now, the craftsmen of the Soap Workshop were carrying out each step of the process in an orderly manner.

Batches of soap were being produced.

"Thank you for the praise, Your Highness," Qu Sheng said, his expression excited. He added, "However, for me, being able to learn these earth-shattering and heaven-defying techniques from Your Highness is even more fascinating."

Yang He held the soap and examined it for a long time, smelling and sniffing it.

At this moment, he couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, what is this thing used for?"

"It is used when bathing," Zhao Xu said. "In the future, we can also add essential oils to it to increase the fragrance."

"Bathing?" Yang He suddenly felt his body itching a little.

"Your Highness, this subordinate will go back and try it right now."

Having said that, he bowed and slipped away with the soap.

Zhao Xu and Qu Sheng smiled and shook their heads.

"Your Highness, the matter of this Soap Workshop has given me an inspiration. This caustic soda belongs to one of the 'Three Acids and Two Alkalis.' Since we can now manufacture caustic soda, why not simply establish workshops to realize the workshop production of all the Three Acids and Two Alkalis? After all, they are the foundation of chemistry." With only the two of them left, Qu Sheng suddenly said.

In this task of independently building the Soap Workshop, he had experienced a kind of joy.

That was the joy of turning the things in the textbooks into reality.

Otherwise, no matter how much one learned, what use would it be?

"Hahaha, you and I truly think alike. I have said that this Soap Workshop is just the beginning; there is plenty for you to do next," Zhao Xu laughed.

The Three Acids and Two Alkalis are nitric acid, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, caustic soda, and soda ash.

In the history of chemistry, they were the earliest chemical products to appear.

Building upon them, more chemical products can be synthesized and evolved.

It can be said that in the chemical industry, their status is of vital importance.

They are no less significant than the steam engine in terms of physical principles, or artillery and muskets in terms of military technology.

"So Your Highness had already planned for this," Qu Sheng smiled lightly.

Zhao Xu nodded. Another reason he appreciated this Qu Sheng was his attitude of neither being servile nor overbearing.

This was a person who did practical work, not a sycophant, nor a frivolous person.

Only then could he rest assured in handing over Yanzhou's chemical industry to him.

"You may select students from the Technology Academy to assist you. Next, you shall establish this Three Acids and Two Alkalis Project," Zhao Xu patted him on the shoulder.

"Yes, Your Highness," Qu Sheng replied.

After inspecting the Soap Workshop once more, Qu Sheng returned to the Armory Department, while Zhao Xu returned to the Prince's Mansion.

From here on, the Soap Workshop would be handed over to the merchant firm to manage.

……

Yangfu.

After Yang Cheng returned home, he ducked into the bathing room.

Before long, he walked out of the bathing room with a look of refreshment on his face.

Looking at the *yizi* in his hand with disdain, he tossed it onto the ground and ordered a servant to keep the soap well-preserved.

In the Great Song, the item used by wealthy families for bathing was called *yizi*.

This *yizi* was made by mixing wood ash with lard; it looked black and grimy, appearing very dirty.

Now that he had used the soap, he found the *yizi* even more of an eyesore.

"It is truly magical. After using it once, one will surely feel uncomfortable all over if they don't use it next time," Yang He sighed.

This soap had washed away all the grease on his body.

He could imagine that if he bathed without using this thing in the future, it would be exactly the same as not having washed at all.

In his view, as long as one used this thing, they would definitely become addicted.

He put on his official robes.

He immediately went to the merchant firm. With this new commercial product out, as the manager of the merchant firm, he naturally had to turn it into silver.

Even if His Highness the Yan Wang didn't say anything, he had to get moving.

It wouldn't do to have the Yan Wang remind him of everything.

"Someone, gather the merchants in Yancheng and have them wait for this official at Shanshui Yutang; tell them this official wishes to invite them to bathe," Yang He said, his eyes darting around.

At the same time, he ordered men to take a batch of Soap from the Soap Workshop to Jinling, so that Dong An could follow the same method and make the Soap profitable as soon as possible.

He had heard that Yanzhou was about to launch major infrastructure projects, and Silver would be spent like flowing water.

As the manager of the trading firm, he naturally could not let Yanzhou run short of Silver, otherwise, he would be incompetent.

The Prince's Mansion.

When Zhao Xu returned, he also brought back some Soap.

That day, he had kept Feng'er and Luan'er in suspense.

Now it was time to let them experience it.

"Soap? Can this wash away grease?" Feng'er asked, holding the clean, snow-white Soap.

Luan'er also wore a look of curiosity.

Zhao Xu chuckled mischievously upon hearing this, "Wanting to know if it can is simple enough; this Prince will reluctantly accompany you both to bathe."

"Your Highness..." Feng'er and Luan'er said in delicate voices simultaneously.

Zhao Xu laughed heartily and pushed the two of them toward the backyard.

Half an hour later, the three of them emerged from the mansion's bathroom, feeling refreshed.

"In the scorching summer, having this thing to bathe with is truly comfortable," Feng'er said with a look of joy.

Luan'er said, "Your Highness, this thing is truly no less than Perfume."

"That is true; this Prince also plans to add fragrance to it, so that after washing, one will be fragrant," Zhao Xu said.

Previously, he had not made Soap because Soap required a large amount of fat, and he lacked the conditions for it.

Some time ago, he had Yang He buy a large amount of animal fat from the Grassland.

Aside from being used for cutting, this animal fat could now be taken out to make Soap.

However, Soap was only one of the reasons he established the Soap Workshop.

There was another important factor; he also wanted to obtain Glycerin, a byproduct of the Soap manufacturing process.

Currently, the firearms in Yanzhou faced a problem.

That was that the quality of the cannon barrels and gun barrels was excellent, comparable to the nineteenth century.

But they could only use Black Gunpowder, the most primitive type of Gunpowder.

This undoubtedly limited the power of the guns and cannons.

Yet Glycerin could be used to manufacture a type of Smokeless Gunpowder with stronger explosive kinetic energy than Black Gunpowder.

It was just that, besides Glycerin, manufacturing this Gunpowder also required the cooperation of the Three Acids and Two Alkalis chemical industry.

This was why he gave this task to Qu Sheng.

"It can even have fragrance added? Your Highness, this Soap will surely be very popular," Feng'er said, almost jumping up in excitement.

Seeing Zhao Xu looking thoughtful, she did not know that Zhao Xu was thinking about the issue of Glycerin, assuming instead that Yan Wang was thinking about how to sell the Soap for a high price.

Thus she said, "Your Highness, the Empress said the previous Perfume was very popular in the palace, and because the ladies in the palace liked it, it quickly spread to Jinling City; why not send some to the palace this time as well? It could also show Your Highness's filial piety."

Zhao Xu came back to his senses upon hearing this, and he nodded, "Hmm, that makes sense; let's do it that way."

This time, Zhao Heng had given Yanzhou such a large military supply order; even just to leave a good impression on a client, he ought to send some to him.