Zhu Yijun quickly arranged for Zhang Jing to set up the files of the officials. It would be the next focus of Dongchang's work.
Although it was time-consuming and exhausting, Zhu Yijun placed great importance on this matter. He also believed that it would bring him a lot of benefits after it was done.
After making the arrangements, Zhu Yijun began to care about Chen Ju.
The task that Zhu Yijun arranged for Chen Ju was simple. To put it bluntly, it was to rebuild the Military Bureau.
Although the Military Bureau was an empty yamen, it still had a name. Therefore, there were fewer scruples when doing things.
Zhu Yijun also saw this point, which was why he didn't start from scratch.
Relatively speaking, the Military Bureau wouldn't be too objectionable.
However, Zhu Yijun sent Chen Ju there. He didn't give Chen Ju any financial support.
Whether it was now or in the future, it was impossible to play without money. Zhu Yijun had sent Chen Ju over because he wanted him to familiarize himself with the military situation and get used to it before he could officially start work.
After knowing that Zhu Yijun was going to the Military Bureau, Chen Ju had been waiting there for a long time.
As an ordinary eunuch in the imperial palace, Chen Ju was very excited when he was put in an important position by Zhu Yijun. He swore that he would make some achievements.
However, when he arrived at the Military Bureau, Chen Ju was dumbfounded.
He didn't have money or manpower. The Military Bureau was just an empty shell. What should he do?
After thoroughly understanding the situation of the Military Bureau, Chen Ju's heart almost sank. With such conditions, he wouldn't even be able to make a little money, let alone complete the task given by the Emperor!
He couldn't possibly get some weapons and armor to sell, could he?
Firstly, Chen Ju didn't have the guts to do so. Secondly, he didn't have the channels to do so!
I don't want people to report me if I sell it here.
After hearing that the Emperor was here, Chen Ju was naturally very nervous. In Chen Ju's opinion, he was afraid that he would disappoint the Imperial Majesty this time.
After Zhu Yijun arrived, he was accompanied by Chen Ju to tour the entire military station. He also asked a lot of questions and found that Chen Ju could answer them fluently. It could be said that he was very familiar with them. Zhu Yijun nodded in satisfaction.
Dongchang had already reported to him about Chen Ju. During this time, although Chen Ju was trying to think of a solution, he didn't do anything against the rules. This made Zhu Yijun very happy.
That was enough. As for whether Chen Ju had achieved anything, Zhu Yijun didn't care.
"Chen Ju, you did well!" Zhu Yijun looked at Chen Ju with a smile and said.
"This servant has let down the Imperial Majesty's great kindness. This servant, this servant!" Chen Ju was a little uneasy and quickly said.
Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said with a smile, "You did well. This Emperor is very satisfied. Today, this Emperor is here to give you a way to earn money." After saying that, Zhu Yijun dismissed the people around him and only left a big wooden barrel.
"Do you know what's inside?" Zhu Yijun pointed at the big barrel and asked with a smile.
"This servant doesn't know!" Chen Ju quickly shook her head.
Zhu Yijun felt that he was being a little bit naughty. He shook his head and opened the lid of the barrel and said with a smile, "There's a barrel of lard inside. In the future, you will rely on it to earn money. Learn well, this Emperor will only teach you once."
Originally, Zhu Yijun wanted to draw a picture for Chen Ju to make it herself. But after thinking about it, he felt that it was more reliable to teach her once, and it could save some time.
What Zhu Yijun needed was the saponification reaction. He would dissolve quicklime in water to make lime water, and then he would pour baking soda into it. Baking soda was used to steam buns and buns in the future. The main ingredient was sodium bicarbonate. After reacting with the lime solution, it would form calcium carbonate precipitate and a clear solution on top.
This clear solution was sodium hydroxide, which was what Zhu Yijun needed.
Many people didn't know about sodium hydroxide, but there was another name for it. That was Caustic Soda. It was an important industrial chemical material, and it was extremely corrosive.
Zhu Yijun used a glass spoon to skim out the clear solution. He was afraid that even a little bit of it would spill out. Once Caustic Soda came into contact with the skin, it would cause serious burns.
Zhu Yijun was very careful when it came to these things.
The last time he prepared sodium cyanide, Zhu Yijun only took a risk once. Since then, he didn't do it again.
When the skimmed out sodium hydroxide solution was poured into a pot of hot oil and stirred, the saponification reaction would occur.
Zhu Yijun looked at Chen Ju, who was lighting the fire at the side, and said with a smile, "You don't need to memorize it. This Emperor will give you a book with detailed records.
You just need to look at it first and remember the general steps. "
Although Zhu Yijun said so, Chen Ju still didn't dare to be careless. This was taught by the Imperial Majesty. If he forgot it, he would die ten thousand times!
Zhu Yijun stirred the oil in the pot evenly, and the next thing to do was to wait.
During this process, he needed to put in a few drops of brine, which was the brine used to make tofu. There was a saying that went, "Brine to make tofu, everything has its vanquisher."
Not long after, the lard in the pot had begun the saponification reaction, and the yellow soap on the top layer began to gradually solidify.
Zhu Yijun quickly said to Chen Ju, "Look, take advantage of this time to take out the purest soap, and then put in the rouge powder. This is the first thing we will make money with. It's called soap."
Lard soap that had not been processed in any way would have an oily smell. Even if it was made into soap, no one would be willing to use it to smell like lard.
Although adding rouge powder could cover up the smell, it wasn't the best choice.
The best choice was, of course, to use floral essential oil. However, this thing had to be made generation by generation, and it had to be updated generation by generation. Only by releasing new products could they make money!
This was the way of marketing.
After making the soap, there was still some turbid soap and alkaline waste at the bottom layer left in the pot.
The turbid liquid in the middle layer was removed, and Zhu Yijun put them into a pot.
The ingredients were mainly lard and impurities that hadn't completely reacted, and there was also a small amount of soap.
Zhu Yijun added the brine, stirred it hard, and heated it.
Not long after, the lard in the pot changed again, and gradually solidified.
"This is the second thing we will make money with. This is wax, used to make illumination candles!"
Chen Ju was dumbfounded. He didn't know how the Imperial Majesty could make so many things out of a bucket of lard.
He didn't know what the soap in front was for, but he knew what candles were!
The best candles now were butter candles, but the Daming forbade the slaughter of cattle, so there were no butter candles on the market.
What Chen Ju didn't know was that candles made from animal fat contained glycerin. When they burned, the flame would produce smoke, and the smell would be unpleasant.
If they used stearic acid to make candles, not only would the flame be bright, there would be almost no black smoke, and it wouldn't pollute the air.
This was what Zhu Yijun had done. The candles produced this way were not only smokeless, but also burned well, and were cheap.
For the Honours and the rich, being smokeless was enough. When reading at night, no matter if it was oil lamps or oil candles, they would all be smoky and choking.
Once this kind of candles went on the market, it would definitely be very popular.