I

Chapter 1029 – 1025【Copper Cans】

Chapter 1029 1025 [Copper cans]

Suddenly, a scholar who had worked in the Cannon Factory stood up and said, “Your Majesty, the cans can actually be made of tin-plated iron, and the seal can be coated with a layer of tin.”

Tin-plated iron is tinplate.

In Europe, tinplate appeared in the 14th century. During the First World War, it was widely used to make military cans. However, China was unable to produce tinplate until the Anti-Japanese War, and even the name tinplate originated from the transliteration of Macau, because cans were imported from Macau in the early days.

China cannot produce tinplate because it has not mastered electroplating technology.

In Europe in the 14th century, of course, electroplating was impossible, and the traditional tin plating method was used.

As early as the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods, China already knew how to plate tin. He even mastered the welding technology. The large bronze cultural relics unearthed in Sanxingdui were welded to each component.

“What’s your name?” Zhao Han asked.

The scholar said: “Reporting to Your Majesty, my name is Jiang Liu. I was born in Jiangsu. I run an iron smelting workshop at home. I used to make a living by smelting Suzhou steel. I have been fascinated by it since I was a child, and I am very interested in iron and steel smelting. After graduating from Yangzhou University, I followed my tutor Together, they were seconded to Jiangxi Cannon Factory. Last year, they were promoted to be bachelors due to meritorious service, and this spring they were transferred to Nanjing Qintian Academy.”

Zhao Han said: “Tell me how to use tin-plated iron to make cans.”

Jiang Liu explained in detail: “Tin is very malleable at room temperature and is non-toxic, so people often make tin tableware. When Yang Minggong was relegated to Longchang Station and left Guiyang, he specially built a set of tin tableware. Bowls and chopsticks. Moreover, after the iron is tinned, it can also prevent rust…”

“hehe.”

Before Jiang Liu finished speaking, he heard a sneer from the banquet.

Jiang Liu searched for the sound and saw that it was Yang Shuang who participated in the development of porcelain bottles and cans.

Zhao Han asked Yang Shuang: “What do you want to say?”

Yang Shuang stood up and cupped his hands: “Your Majesty, using tin-plated iron to make cans is such a simple matter, haven’t we thought about it? First, tin plating requires mercury, which is poisonous, and even if it is heated to remove mercury, it will not be clean at all. If you don’t believe me, if you plate tin on silver, after removing the mercury, the silverware will still turn black, it’s because the mercury hasn’t been removed.” He turned around and asked Jiang Liu, “Do you want the frontline soldiers to eat poisonous cans?”

“No such intention.” Jiang Liu quickly denied.

Yang Shuang continued: “Secondly, you said that you use tin to solder the cans. From ancient times to the present, the solder is high in lead and low in tin. Do you know that lead is poisonous? It is recorded in “Compendium of Materia Medica”: Songyang produces lead and has many residents. Making hufen…lead gas is poisonous, and workers must eat fat pork and dog meat, drink alcohol and iron slurry to hate it. The poison is poisoned in the stomach, and they often die of illness. The young and old are fumigated by the poison, and most of them die of chlorosis and paralysis.”

“In the development of canned food, the Qintian Institute and the Military Grain Factory have been working together for six years. Dozens of materials have been tested to make containers, and all aspects have been considered. You just want to overthrow everyone’s efforts? Before you speak, go through it first.” Over your head!”

Jiang Liu was speechless after being reprimanded, and said with a blushing face, “It’s my fault, please don’t blame your Majesty, and please also Haihan, my colleague who develops canned food.”

“It’s easy to say!” Yang Shuang sat down with his hands folded.

Zhao Han raised his hand and smiled, “Don’t be afraid of saying the wrong thing, just correct it.”

Jiang Liu has a stubborn temper: “Your Majesty, I am willing to participate in the development of cans and improve the traditional tinning method!”

“Yes, I’m sure.” Zhao Han was very pleased.

The ambition is good, but there is almost no solution. If you want to tin-plate without adding mercury, or solder without lead, you must rely on electric energy.

Soldering can be improved by replacing the lead with something else, but the processing efficiency is not high.

Tin plating cannot be improved, and mercury is a hurdle that cannot be bypassed at all.

Jiang Liu has plunged into the dead end of improving the tin plating process. It is almost impossible to achieve results in this life. The road of scientific and technological progress is so cold and ruthless.

Everyone continued to eat, but Jiang Liu couldn’t eat, thinking about ways to improve.

Although he has a stubborn temper, he is not dead-headed.

The method of melting mercury and tin plating has not been improved from the pre-Qin period to this time. It is very difficult to think about it. Then start with soldering first, find some material to replace lead, and use another tin alloy to solder the seal (pure tin can also be soldered, but it is not resistant to low temperature, and it will crack directly in winter in the north).

As for the shell of the can, it can be temporarily not tinned, and the wrought iron can can be stamped directly with a steam engine. It doesn’t matter if the outside is rusty, just scrub the inside before canning, and it doesn’t matter if there is a rusty smell when eating canned food.

Yang Shuang felt that he had spoken too loudly before, so he simply took the bowl and chopsticks, moved to sit next to Jiang Liu, and whispered, “Wrought iron is not easy to solder.”

“Huh?” Jiang Liu was taken aback.

Yang Shuang said: “Soldering on wrought iron and steel is very easy to crack. We tried it, and it really doesn’t work, unless the can shell is made of copper. Copper is very expensive!”

Jiang Liu said: “Although copper is expensive, you can take it back after eating the cans. Take the former expedition to Mobei as an example. If you carry a lot of cans, the frontline soldiers can eat vegetables and fresh meat.”

“Eating cured meat can also fight wars,” Yang Shuang laughed. “As for vegetables, fighting on land is not afraid of scurvy. There are plenty of things that can be substituted. Some leaves and grass can be boiled and drunk to prevent scurvy.”

Jiang Liu said: “But the sea needs it.”

Yang Shuang said: “The ships in the west can supply supplies along the way. The ones who really need canned food are the fleet in the Americas, with a total of more than ten ships. It is the most convenient and cost-effective to make porcelain canned food for them. Canned food can be eaten. Porcelain bottles can be sold, and it can save space in the cabin. You specially bought a steam engine to make copper canned food for more than a dozen ships in the district? It’s a good deal at a loss.”

“No, no,” Jiang Liu shook his head and said, “There will be more and more ships going to America in the future, and there will be a great demand for copper cans. Moreover, it may not only go to America, but also go south. Land. Also, if you are in a shipwreck and you don’t know where you are going, it’s good to have some copper cans on board.”

Yang Shuang said: “Let’s wait until there are more sea ships going to America. Otherwise, if we make copper cans now, I’m afraid we won’t be able to sell a few cans at all, and we won’t even be able to earn back the money for purchasing steam engines. Although the military grain factory is owned by the imperial court, But you can’t pay too much, or you’ll be ruined in front of the warlords. Porcelain bottles and cans are easy to get, just ask the porcelain factory to burn some wide-mouthed porcelain bottles. “

Jiang Liu is silent, he has never considered this practical issue.

After returning to Qintianyuan, Jiang Liu was temporarily transferred to the military grain factory, and he proposed a copper canned food plan to the factory supervisor. The factory supervisor asked him to continue the research. As for whether to carry out the research, he had to ask the Ministry of War for instructions. After all, steam engines were very expensive.

Jiang Liu felt that most likely he would not be able to pass the application, and the more he thought about it, the more depressed he felt, so he simply resigned and went home.

He thinks that the copper cans are good. Anyway, his family has money, so he just asks his father to give money to set up his own factory.

Next, everything went very smoothly.

Since lead-tin alloys cannot be used, copper-tin alloys are used for welding, but the cost becomes higher. Soldering flux has long been available, but it is not as advanced as later generations, but the main material has always been rosin, and bronzes unearthed in the pre-Qin period also used rosin as flux.

By the way, pre-Qin bronzes, including those used to hold food, also had a large amount of lead remaining during soldering, but the ancient nobles didn’t know that it was poisonous.

He knocked out the copper can shell by himself, threw the cooked vegetables into the copper shell, and then welded and sealed it himself.

Then boil it in boiling water, the first time it is boiled and fried, the moisture in the vegetables will vaporize and expand, and the welding joints will be washed away. In canning terms, this is too little headspace and too much stuff inside.

After repeated experiments many times, Jiang Liu was finally able to control the headspace space.

But how do you open a can?

The welding was too **** strong. Jiang Liu pried the first can for a long time, and finally smashed it open with a hammer, and the vegetables inside were scattered all over the floor.

Jiang Liu was sitting in her yard, looking at the vegetables on the ground, feeling a little complicated.

This matter is really not easy to deal with, otherwise those people in Qintianyuan would have already figured it out, so how could it be his turn?

The method of tin plating with copper-tin alloy is obviously not feasible.

For the next whole year, Jiang Liu tried various soldering materials. Even when I go to bed at night, I lie on the bed and look through ancient books, trying to find some inspiration from them.

Finally let him find it, and it is a common material-Japanese lead (zinc)!

About Japanese lead, the earliest record was in the Five Dynasties period, but the purity of zinc produced at that time was not high.

Until the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, the method of calamine smelting zinc was born. The zinc block unearthed from Guangdong in later generations has the words “Wanli Thirteen Years” and its purity is as high as 98%.

It took another half a year, and Jiang Liu was busy preparing the tin-zinc alloy. His soldering formula must not only ensure the welding is firm, but also ensure that it can be opened easily.

The ultimate solution is to use a tin-zinc alloy solder seal. When he was soldering, he welded in a copper strip with a handle at the end, which could be used to pull open the weld, and then use a knife to pry off the lid of the can.

After everything is done, get a steam engine. Jiang Liu knew about machinery himself, and made a self-made canned copper shell stamping equipment that is equipped with a steam engine.

But the raw materials of copper sheet have to be supplied by other companies, which can be solved by finding a copper basin factory.

Copper basins are something that ordinary people really can’t afford. In the past, they were all hand-knocked. In the past two years, they have been stamped by steam engines. The cost has dropped a lot, and families with a little money can buy them to save face.

There must be a stove, so it’s not easy to be cold.

Fortunately, his father ran a smelter, and the furnace was quickly built.

Workers were recruited for production. The first batch was only canned soybeans and canned cabbage, and the prices were skyrocketing.

At this time, it has been two and a half years since Jiang Liu resigned from office.

Because it was too expensive to sell, I asked several sea merchants in a row, but no one was willing to buy this thing.

Jiang Liu could only change his mind and divided the pricing of cans into two types: selling price and deposit.

The price is not too high, but the deposit is very expensive.

As long as the customer returns the copper pot, the deposit will be refunded. The copper cans are in good condition and the deposit will be refunded in full. If the appearance of the copper can is damaged, the deposit will be deducted according to the degree of damage.

Finally, a sea merchant tried to order a batch.

Li Quan and another sea merchant traveling to the Americas are also willing to order after hearing the news.

In the first year, it was a loss.

Even if the cost of equipment such as factory buildings and steam engines is not included, copper can processing, can welding and worker wages cannot be earned back. Because the purchase volume is too small and there is a backlog of cans, he must find another way.

For example, dedicated to the emperor!

Jiang Liu had friends in Qintianyuan, so it was relatively easy to dedicate the canned food to the emperor.

When Zhao Han got the copper cans, he had forgotten that more than three years ago, a young man volunteered to improve the cans.

The backlog of cans produced by Jiang Liu was quickly purchased by the military.

Before the military grain factory produced it by itself, it was all purchased from Jiang Liu. Jiang Liu was also very discerning. He sold the patent of copper cans to the imperial court, and only charged one or two taels of silver for the patent fee every year.

He needs the help of the court to open up the market. As long as the navy purchases in large quantities, the sea merchants will come to the door by themselves.

At that time, even if the canned food of the military grain factory is put into production, Jiang Liu will still be able to make money from the maritime merchants even if he loses the military procurement.

The advent of copper cans had a very profound impact on Datong China.

Especially after canned meat (luncheon meat) was developed, a lot of flour and leftover meat were used to make delicious canned meat. After the sales volume goes up, the cost can come down, and the copper pot can be returned to get back the deposit. The price is cheaper than buying fresh meat, and ordinary people can often eat meat.

Then there is the grassland area, the flocks of sheep rushed to Shanxi to sell, the price has risen a lot, and they can’t be sold in the grassland. A canning factory can be built in Zhangjiakou, and cheap coal can be used to drive steam engines, and cheap mutton can be purchased nearby for processing, and canned meat can be shipped to Shanxi and Hebei.

This makes the grassland and the inland economy more closely tied together.

It even occupied Australia in the future, where there are grasslands everywhere. Wool can be used as textile raw material, and mutton and beef can be processed into canned food, which can be transported by sea to earn profits.

(end of this chapter)