Ma Cheng was also very troubled after hearing Ma Shun's words. Money is different from other things. You can last a few days without food, but it is absolutely impossible to develop industry without money. But now, you can't stop your development career when you wait for the rice to be put into the pot.

Ma Cheng thought for a while and asked, "Ma Shun, what are you good ways?"

Ma Shun thought for a while and said, "Second Master, the villain originally wanted to practice a few pots of cooked iron and then make it into farm tools for sale. This is also a way to make money, but the second master wants to transform the iron factory, and the villain has no way."

Ma Shun's opinion is very good, using products to exchange for money, and then improving his own strength. But time does not wait for anyone. What Ma Cheng lacks the most now is time. It is June, and there is less than a year left before the Qing Dynasty's army is at the city in May next year. Ma Cheng cannot develop step by step.

Just when Ma Cheng was in a dilemma, the new master Xu Zhenye said on the side: "Owner, if you need money, I have an idea!"

When Ma Cheng heard Xu Zhenye say this, he asked quickly: "Mr. Xu, please tell me if you have any ideas!"

This was probably the first time Ma Cheng called Xu Zhenye as Mr. Xu Zhenye was a little uncomfortable. Unexpectedly, the second generation ancestor who always talked about me could speak the word "Mr.

"Owner, there are people who are loan sharks in the city. If you use money in the short term, you can go to them. If you don't dare to say it if you have too much, it's okay to have eight thousand taels!"

Ultrition has existed in ancient times, and the earliest history was recorded during the reign of Emperor Jing of Han. During the reign of Emperor Jing of Han, the seven kingdoms occurred. It required a lot of money to quell the rebellion. The financial situation was tight, so I had to borrow money from the people. The "Biography of Records of the Grand Historian" says, "The son-Qian family... is not willing to give it to him, but Wu Yan's family donated a thousand gold loans, and what was the interest."

The so-called "Zi Qian Family" is a person who specializes in usury. During the process of lending money, after borrowing money, in addition to recovering the original amount, that is, the principal, he can also get interest. It seems that money can give birth to children. Therefore, the ancients called principal "mother money" and interest "zi Qian", and those who run this business are "zi Qian Family".

Since the war between the central government and the rebels in the Western Han Dynasty was still unclear, the "Ziqian family was unwilling to lend". Only Wuyan family was willing to borrow money, but their conditions were harsh and they required ten times the interest.

In the end, the two sides completed this business. After the Han government quelled the rebellion, it also fulfilled its promise as promised. From then on, the Wuyan clan became one of the top rich people in Chang'an City.

By the Ming Dynasty, especially after the middle of the Ming Dynasty, with the development of the commodity economy, usury capital became more active than before.

The "Tongzhou Chronicles" of the Wanli period says: "As long as the valley is beautiful in the fields, there are huts who urge to rent and customers who lent their debts to wait for it; compared to the appearance, the burdens that have been unloaded are filled with noise..."

When farmers were looking for a bumper harvest, the "lift-up mail" in the government and the "money lenders" who gave usury were already ready. When the harvest was completed, these people were "noisy and bustle". The farmers paid taxes to the government and paid interest to the money lenders. What is the actual income in the end?

At the same time, government officials are also borrowing usury. Some candidates and newly selected officials spend a lot of money to open up the joints and often have to borrow from others. When the officials officially take office, the borrower will naturally follow him like a shadow. Therefore, Wu Yingji, a famous scholar in the late Ming Dynasty, said in his collection: "Those who take office come to the morning and those who seek it will arrive in the evening. Is this not to gain the money from the people?"

Although Xu Zhenye's family was not poor, he was not rich. So after he passed the imperial examination, he borrowed two thousand taels of usury, which opened up the way for Duke of Wei Xu Hongji to select officials and release them.

Because of his contact, Xu Zhenye knows this industry very well. Now that he hears Ma Cheng needs money, he quickly tells out this idea.

Ultimate? It's a way. Ma Cheng thought for a while and asked, "Mr. Xu, how to calculate the principal and interest?"

"The current market is to pursue profits in a capital, one capital and one profit!"

Ma Cheng didn't understand the name of the Ming Dynasty, so he asked Ma Shun in detail before he realized that even the principal and profit would be profit-making, that is, the interest for this month will become principal and interest next month, and one principal and one profit would be 100% interest. For example, if you borrow 100 taels of silver this month, you will have to repay 20,000 yuan with principal and interest next month, which will be 40,000 yuan in two months, and 80,000 yuan in three months. This is a real loan shark.

Ma Cheng thought about it if he borrowed 10,000 taels of silver, he would have to pay more than 40 million taels a year. However, in a year, either the Qing Dynasty occupied Nanjing or I would have beaten the Qing Dynasty away. No matter what the result was, the usury would have to be paid. If the Qing Dynasty won, it would have to run away. If all the usury was gone, why should we pay back the usury? What if he won? Then who would dare to come to ask for debts when he held a heavy army?

Thinking of this, Ma Cheng said to Xu Zhenye: "Okay, Mr. Xu, go and contact me. I want to borrow 10,000 taels of silver, and the deadline is one year. I will use this sugar workshop to guarantee it!"

"Owner, this year is too long! Isn't half a month good?" Xu Zhenye didn't expect Ma Cheng to really dare to borrow it. He thought Ma Cheng would only take half a month to relieve the financial situation, and he knew that Ma Cheng was not ready to pay it back at all.

Ma Cheng shook his head and said firmly: "No, it's one year! Leave this matter to Mr. Xu!"

Seeing that Ma Cheng was so determined, Xu Zhenye had no choice but to take over the order and go to the creditor to borrow usury for Ma Cheng.

The renovation of the iron smelting furnace was completed, and the next step was to wait for Xu Zhenye to borrow money to start construction. Ma Cheng looked at it and it was still early, so it was better to go to the gunpowder workshop to take a look.

The Gunpowder Workshop is two miles away from the Iron Smelting Workshop. It is on the right bank of Jinchuan River, and there are farmland on both sides and no one else is there.

The Gunpowder Workshop was given to Ma Cheng by the Weapons Bureau. It was originally outside the city but was moved into the city by Ma Cheng.

There are now eleven craftsmen in the gunpowder workshop, and the head of the family slave Wang Lin, who was taken away by Ma Cheng outside Fengyang City.

When Wang Lin saw Ma Cheng coming, he hurried forward and knelt down and kowtowed: "Second Master, Wang Lin pays homage to Er Master and Butler Ma!"

Ma Cheng helped Wang Lin up and asked, "Wang Lin, how about it? It's much better here than Fengyang private camp!"

"This is natural. The villain ate and slept soundly here, thanks to the second master's intake!"

"Okay, as long as you do your best to make gunpowder for Erye, Erye will not shorten your wages! Tell me, how is the gunpowder workshop now?"

Wang Lin stood up and said, "Second Master, a few days ago, the villain tried to purchase raw materials. Now there are 500 kilograms of saltpeter nitroso soil, 1,000 kilograms of charcoal and 700 kilograms of sulfur. If these raw materials are used, the villain can make 2,000 kilograms of good cannon medicine."

Gunpowder is different from iron smelting. Even if it is scrapped, some agricultural tools can be made for sale, but gunpowder is different. If it is scrapped, it will be completely finished. So Ma Cheng's order to Wang Lin was to purchase raw materials and then teach them how to purify saltpeter himself.

The best ratio of black* gunpowder is 15:2:3, which is fifteen parts of saltpeter and three parts of sulfur charcoal. However, Ma Cheng did not plan to use the original materials to configure gunpowder, but further purify saltpeter into potassium nitrate.

As for how to purify potassium nitrate, Ma Cheng knew Menqing. In the past, when he was at home, his father boiled potassium nitrate himself in order to save money, that is, he used toilet soil and wood ash to make potassium nitrate, which was the primary fertilizer.

Ma Cheng first asked Wang Lin to prepare a large pot, then grind the nitrosodium and wood ash into fine grinding. Weigh the raw materials according to the 8:1 mass ratio of the nitrosodium and wood ash. After mixing, put it in an iron pot, add hot water that is about to boil until the mixture is immersed.

Stir continuously with a wooden stick for about a quarter of an hour, then filter. Place the residue in the pot again, add an appropriate amount of hot water and stir for a quarter of an hour, filter again, and combine the filtrate twice together. At this time, the filtrate obtained is called nitr water.

Pour the nitrate water into another large pot, heat it and evaporate it. Keep stirring it while heating to prevent sticking and splashing. The smell is very wonderful at this time. You should know that the nitrate soil is all toilet soil. Can it smell good when heated and boiled? However, Ma Cheng smelled this familiar smell so much that he missed his childhood.

When 60% to 70% of the volume of water are evaporated, the heating is stopped. At this time, the solution is more sticky, and a small amount of solid has precipitated from the bottom of the iron pot. Use a wooden stick to take a drop of solution and drop it on rice paper. If the solution immediately condenses into a clump, it means that the requirements have been met. Immediately filtered while it is hot. At this time, the temperature is very high, and the solubility of potassium nitrate will not precipitate, while sodium chloride, potassium chloride, etc. precipitate due to the small solubility.

Let the filtrate cool naturally to slightly lower than the body temperature. At this time, the solubility of potassium nitrate changes most due to temperature, and the solubility drops sharply and precipitates in large quantities. The solubility of salts such as sodium chloride changes little and basically no longer precipitates. Filter again, and the crystals of potassium nitrate are obtained. If further purification is required, recrystallization can be performed again.

After two hours of hard work, Ma Cheng got more than two kilograms of potassium nitrate. Ma Cheng called Wang Lin and said, "Wang Lin, you will make these purified saltpeter into gunpowder. The proportion is fifteen parts of saltpeter, two parts of sulfur, and two parts of charcoal, and then put it in a pot to compact it."

Wang Lin carefully took the potassium nitrate from Ma Cheng's hand. This was the first time he saw such a wonderful thing. The strange-smelling nitrite soil could turn into transparent crystals. Although Wang Lin had questions, he did not dare to ask. He took the potassium nitrate given by Ma Cheng to plaster gunpowder.

Wang Lin's subordinates were all mature gunpowder craftsmen. They had all equipped the gunpowder in less than half an hour, and they were pressed into particles of the same size as Ma Cheng ordered. At this time, the gunpowder configured was no longer black, but gray, which is the gray gunpowder commonly used in firecracker factories in later generations.

Wang Lin and craftsmen put this new type of gunpowder into a pottery jar to seal it. This is the sharp weapon of the city guarding in the Ming Dynasty. However, in the Ming Dynasty, the sky-blasting thunder had to be filled with arsenic frost in addition to gunpowder. After the explosion, poisonous gas was used to kill the enemy. As for the effect, it was that.

Wang Lin carried a large pottery jar to Ma Cheng: "Second Master, there are all new gunpowders in it. Are you experimenting here?"

"Bastard, can we still survive here? Get a few pigs and use them to test the power of gunpowder!"

The experimental items were shipped quickly, and in addition to the two big fat pigs, there were several chickens. Someone tied the unlucky livestock to the test site, then placed the clay pot bomb in the middle, and rushed over after igniting it.
Chapter completed!