We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

Glass is a must-have for time travelers, how could Li Che not have considered manufacturing it?

The reason it wasn't brought out before is because making this thing wasn't a high enough priority.

Salt, iron and cloth are the necessities for people's livelihood. In comparison, glass is not a necessity.

But the situation was different when the trade routes to the interior were opened.

Li Che is not planning to export basic supplies such as rice, noodles, and iron ore.

One reason is that it can’t be sold for much money, and the other is that Chaoyang City’s production capacity is insufficient, so it’s good enough if it can be self-sufficient.

Glass is different. The raw materials for it are cheap. In the eyes of the ancients, it is high-quality glass without impurities and can be sold at a very high price.

It's a pity that Li Che doesn't have an ex-girlfriend who runs a glass factory.

He only knew the rough method of making glass, and the detailed process still needed to be experimented by craftsmen.

"What about turning stone into gold? Those strange stories are not credible. Stone and gold have different compositions."

The old butler nodded and said, "I know that the main component of stone is silicon."

Li Che smiled lightly and said, "That's right. I heard that you are the one who has made the fastest progress in studying the book 'Chemistry', so I asked you to be in charge of glass production. Don't let me down."

The old craftsman was terrified and said, "I will do my best."

The old craftsman was one of the craftsmen Li Che abducted from Yecheng. He had some education, no children, and superb skills.

Li Che appointed him a small official and helped him find a wife of suitable age. The old craftsman had long been loyal to him, so he was qualified to view the teaching materials.

As the saying goes, don't use people who are suspicious, and don't use people who are suspicious.

Li Che did not say any more and told the old craftsman in detail the glass formula he knew:

“Making glass requires several main ingredients: sand, limestone, sodium carbonate, and borax.

Limestone can be obtained from shells on the seashore. Burn the shells in a crucible until they crack, then add water and crush them to get limestone.

Go to the saline-alkali land to find some weeds, burn them into ash, add water, filter and dry them, and you can get sodium carbonate.

There's no need to look for borax specifically; there's already a readily available associated mineral at the iron ore mine."

The old craftsman took a small notebook and quickly wrote: "Your Highness, please go slower, even slower."

Li Che had no choice but to slow down his speech:

“Mix sand and sodium carbonate in a roughly one-to-one ratio, then add limestone, and finally borax to aid combustion.

I'm not sure about the specific dosage, so you'll have to figure it out on your own.

After mixing evenly, all of this is added to the kiln and heated. The molten glass liquid can then be shaped. Through repeated rolling, pulling, and adjustment, the desired shape is formed.

Li Che breathed a sigh of relief, while the old craftsman continued to record in the notebook. Officials from the Gongzheng Institute, including Wang Chongjian, kept a distance to avoid suspicion.

Only Huo Duanxiao stood beside the two of them, completely confused.

I can hear every word His Highness says clearly, so why don’t I understand when they put them together?

"In short, you have to try more." Li Che patted the old craftsman's shoulder, "The iron smelting plant is now on the right track. You don't need to go there anymore. Just focus on helping me make the glass."

"Don't worry, Your Highness. I will do my best."

The craftsmen have long been accustomed to Li Che's hands-off behavior.

He often just provided a theory and asked the craftsmen to implement it, and the craftsmen had no complaints about it.

First, Li Che was good enough to them, and second, as a craftsman, one must have ingenuity, and the desire to explore is an indispensable quality of a craftsman.

After Li Che finished talking to the old craftsman, Wang Chongjian and others came over.

"See Your Highness."

"Yeah." Li Che pushed Huo Duanxiao over, smiled and pointed at Wang Chongjian and said, "Wang Chongjian, the director of the Gongzheng Office, you should know him."

Huo Duanxiao bowed and said, "Meetings, Engineer Wang."

Wang Chongjian did not dare to neglect the gesture and quickly returned the greeting: "Master Huo, you are too polite."

After a brief greeting, the other officials of the Gongzheng Institute dispersed, leaving only Wang Chongjian with them.

Wang Chongjian held a notebook in his hand, which recorded the important matters of Gongzheng Institute in recent days, and reported them to Li Che one by one.

This was a trend started by Li Che. Li Che said that a good memory is not as good as a bad pen, and he often took a small notebook to write and draw.

As the saying goes, what goes up must come down. Your Highness has done this, and the officials below have learned from him on their own initiative, and their work efficiency has really improved significantly.

"The iron smelting workshop is already on track, but the daily ore shipment from the mines has yet to stabilize. As per your instructions, Your Highness, the iron smelting workshop will limit its production of iron ingots to prevent a shortage of iron ore."

"Most of the iron ingots we produce are sent to the Agricultural Implements Department to be made into hoes, pickaxes, and curved plows. The people's enthusiasm for farming remains high, and with more and more people being allocated land, there's a huge demand for agricultural tools."

"The research and development of the waterwheel has reached the final stage. The latest batch of samples will be sent to Bailang Waterside for testing. If they pass the test, they will be put into production soon."

"We have almost counted all the women in the city who are good at weaving. The weaving bureau can be established at any time. However, Your Highness said before that it would be best to hire literate women as officials for the weaving bureau, but this is not easy to find..."

"Are there no literate women in the city?" Li Che suddenly interrupted.

Wang Chongjian shook his head. “Yes, after all, many people in Chaoyang City are descendants of convicted officials. However, the women who can read have family traditions, and they think it’s not appropriate for ladies from wealthy families to show their faces in public.”

Li Che frowned slightly, this set of feudal ideas again.

Women account for about 30% to 40% of Chaoyang City's population, which is already a large base.

If they stay at home all day and just help out at home, a huge amount of labor will be wasted.

Since the day he arrived in Chaoyang City, Li Che has been committed to allowing women to participate in childbirth, but it seems that there has been little success so far.

Except for the female soldiers in the medical battalion and the recruited weaver girls, the other women are still hiding at home.

"Do some more ideological work on their families. This matter is very important and cannot be compromised." Li Che instructed.

The officials of the weaving bureau must be women. Only in this way can the weavers concentrate on their work and there will be no rumors from the outside world.

"Yes." Wang Chongjian nodded and turned a page. "Then there's the Gunpowder Department. The Gunpowder Department has a new invention..."

Wang Chongjian was halfway through his words when a loud noise suddenly came from the distance.

Boom——

Everyone was stunned for a moment and looked outside together.

Then there was another more violent explosion.

While the others were still in a daze, Huo Duanxiao, who was closest to Li Che, had already started moving.

He had already drawn his sword when the first explosion sounded.

When the second explosion sounded, he had already run over and pulled Li Che behind him.

When everyone came to their senses, Huo Duanxiao was already protecting Li Che, staring vigilantly at the source of the sound.

Wang Chongjian covered his head and slowly stood up, looking at Li Che in disbelief... and Huo Duanxiao in front of him.

With this reaction ability, no wonder he can be the Chief Secretary while I can only be the Director of Works.

Draw your sword first when you see any unusual movement. Are you a civil official or a military general?

After two explosions, calm returned temporarily.

"Ahem, ahem, is Your Highness okay?" Huo Duanxiao was shocked, but he still cared about Li Che first.

"I'm fine. It's the direction of the Gunpowder Department." Li Che said helplessly, "This Chen Gui has caused me trouble again!"