Chapter 91: The Remarkable Uses of Mercury

Bichong bowed deeply. "Many thanks, Your Highness. As long as my things remain intact, I can keep studying after my sentence is served. That would be enough to satisfy me."

Chen Mu smiled and nodded, not saying another word about it. Instead, he ordered that Bichong's belongings be packed up, then took Bichong and left.

In this world, Chen Mu alone understood the importance of mercury.

First, it could be used to refine gold.

The gold of Great Xia was now very crude, dull black mixed with yellow, and hardly pleasing to the eye. But gold refined with mercury would become brilliantly lustrous, beautiful at a glance.

The method was simple; Chen Mu knew it.

Mercury had many other uses as well, uses Chen Mu did not know, and uses beyond the reach of the current level of technology.

That would be of immense value in the future.

A few days later, the authorities found the smuggler of the "silver ore" and also located the mercury mine. Chen Mu immediately ordered the site sealed off, then established a state-run mining operation there.

He also opened a state-run refining works in the northeast. In the future, the gold offered as tribute by the Kingdom of Rus would first be brought here, refined with mercury, and only then sent back to the imperial capital.

Mercury refining was extremely dangerous, so Chen Mu assigned the work to slaves from the Korean kingdom. Once this batch had worked themselves to death, he could simply seize another batch from Korea.

In the imperial capital there was also a state-run jewelry workshop, where pure gold was fashioned into all manner of elegant ornaments.

Chen Mu set down a series of regulations and turned gold jewelry into Great Xia's new luxury good.

The system of gold ornaments was carefully graded: what the emperor could wear, what the crown prince could wear, then the various ranks of officials, the families of those who had placed in the civil examinations, victorious soldiers, and so on, divided with meticulous precision.

Thus gold jewelry became a symbol of nobility, and people flocked to the state-run workshop to buy and place orders.

A large new source of revenue flowed into Great Xia's treasury.

This was not merely hype, for gold truly was a universal equivalent, something that could be exchanged for silver and copper cash.

It was also a kind of financial investment, a form of savings, as though one's wealth were worn upon the body.

After finishing these matters, Chen Mu brought his attendants to a residence to inspect Bichong's research results.

When Bichong saw Chen Mu arrive, he immediately knelt and struck his head to the ground in respect.

"This student, Bichong, pays homage to Your Highness, the Crown Prince!"

Chen Mu waved a hand. "Rise. How is your research progressing?"

Bichong's face lit up at once. "Your Highness, I have discovered a new method for preserving mercury. In the past, sealing it with mud worked poorly. But later I found that if oil and water are placed over the mercury, it will not evaporate."

Bichong showed Chen Mu the latest preservation apparatus, and Chen Mu was delighted.

"Excellent! Then it can be transported easily to the northeast. That is far simpler than transporting gold! You must be rewarded for this!"

Chen Mu was right. Gold was heavy, and might be stolen or robbed, making transport troublesome. Mercury, on the other hand, was much more convenient: not only was it small in volume and light in weight, but even if someone stole it, it would be useless to them.

Bichong waved his hands repeatedly. "To have been given this opportunity by Your Highness has already left me overwhelmed with gratitude. How could I dare ask for a reward?"

Chen Mu said, "No, this is the rule of the Academy of Engineering. Exceptions cannot be made, or else it would affect everyone else's enthusiasm. Your reward for now is to keep researching diligently, and to exchange ideas with your fellow students so that you may all advance together."

Bichong thanked him again and again. Chen Mu left there and went elsewhere to inspect things.

What Chen Mu had called imprisonment of Bichong was indeed imprisonment, but not in a prison: it was in the newly established Academy of Engineering.

Here, students no longer studied books, but were judged by whether they possessed hands-on ability like Bichong's, so as to research technologies Great Xia had yet to discover.

Carpenters, potters, blacksmiths, and the like could all come here to study new techniques. The court provided food, lodging, and pocket money, and if they produced research results, generous rewards would follow.

Whenever he had time, Chen Mu would come to inspect the place and offer some guidance.

In addition, there were academies of agriculture, medicine, and other disciplines, all run in this same manner.

Upon discovering mercury, Chen Mu felt deeply how limited a person's memory could be. Relying on his own knowledge alone was simply far too little.

In his previous life, there had been no shortage of ingenious artisans in ancient times, and many ancient techniques were impossible to reproduce in the modern era. If that wisdom could be awakened, it would bring epoch-making change to Great Xia.

Chen Mu was only skilled in history. As for many scientific creations, he only knew the rough outline; the specific principles would require people like Bichong to conduct long-term research before they could be understood.

Chen Mu believed that as long as Great Xia kept these academies going, it would sooner or later produce things like steam engines and dynamos—creations that would define an era.

Before long, autumn arrived, and it had already been two years since Chen Mu came to this world.

Then, one day, a major disaster struck.

Chen Xingtian summoned Chen Mu to the palace and had the messenger describe the calamity to him in detail.

It turned out that the great river in the south had overflowed its banks. A vast stretch of land—most of the Eastern Plains, the northern part of the Southern Frontier, the southern portion of the Central Plains, and the entire region along the great river—had suffered total crop failure.

Many houses had been swept down by the flood as well, and the number of dead and injured was beyond counting.

After the messenger finished, Chen Xingtian asked, "Mu'er, what do you think should be done?"

By now, whenever a major matter arose, Chen Xingtian always consulted Chen Mu. If Chen Mu were not constantly leading troops on campaign, he would already have handed the throne to him.

Chen Mu thought for a moment. "I think it should be handled in three steps."

"First, send orders to the surrounding counties to open their granaries and distribute grain, and provide the disaster victims with food, clothing, and so on, all at state expense."

Chen Xingtian nodded. The local governments already had disaster relief duties, but with this edict, the counties would have no further concerns.

"Second, send people to the northeast to allocate rice and relieve the victims."

Chen Xingtian nodded again. The northeast had not been affected by the disaster, and autumn harvest had already begun there, so it should be able to make up for the needs of the stricken regions.

"Third, I will personally go to supervise the flood control efforts, and I will take thirty thousand troops with me. I ask Father Emperor for permission."

Chen Xingtian was stunned.

This last point was highly unusual.

By rights, the army was meant for fighting. Why take so many soldiers for disaster relief?

"Could it be that Mu'er is worried the disaster victims may rise in rebellion?"

Chen Mu shook his head. "I am taking these troops to work."

"From the report just now, even feeding the people in the disaster area has already become difficult, and the authorities are busy with relief and maintaining order. Who is there left to build the dikes?"

Chen Xingtian suddenly understood. He had never actually considered that the army could be used in this way.

Chen Mu, however, thought of it naturally, because in his previous life this had been a commonplace matter.

Chen Xingtian agreed to everything one by one and sent envoys to issue the orders throughout the realm.

Chen Mu also assembled thirty thousand troops and set out with light baggage.