HBWnovel Chapter 1357
Chapter 1357
He truly hadn't expected that the ink, which those craftsmen regarded as a treasure, would be wasted so casually by Wei Wu.
How many thousand-tael silver notes could have been printed from that wasted color-changing ink!
The thought suddenly popped into Xie Dexin's mind, and he was immediately terrified by it, breaking out in a cold sweat.
"No wonder those people dared to take the risk of printing banknotes privately. The temptation of these things is just too great. I can't think about it, I can't think about it!"
While silently telling himself not to think about it anymore, Xie Dexin quickly walked to the table and looked into the inside of the oil drum.
He quickly recalled the situation in his mind, and then immediately began to speak:
"It seems like too much was poured in; it's a little less than the oil drum I checked."
"A little less? It's okay, I'll be right back!"
After saying this, Wei Wu got up and left the room again, and returned about three seconds later carrying a bucket of ink.
Upon seeing this, Mao Xiang's eyes twitched involuntarily.
"Is this the imperial prison of my Embroidered Uniform Guard, or the treasury of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion? Where did he take it from?"
Of course, Mao Xiang only dared to think these things silently in his heart; he would never say them aloud, not even if he were beaten to death.
Wei Wu opened the oil drum lid again, but this time he didn't do anything. Instead, he handed the oil drum directly to Xie Dexin.
"You pour the oil into that other oil container yourself, so I don't end up putting in too much or too little, it's too much trouble!"
With an excited heart and trembling hands, Xie Dexin's limbs stiffened as he took the oil drum from Wei Wu.
With so much special ink, how many banknotes could be printed!
The thought flashed through Xie Dexin's mind, but he quickly dismissed it and focused intently on adjusting the amount of ink.
He was indeed faster at operating it himself than Wei Wu. He quickly put the oil drum down and looked at Wei Wu, saying:
"As far as I remember, this is about all the ink the Ministry of Industry used. There might be a slight error, but it wouldn't be too much."
"It's alright, that tiny error is nothing."
As soon as Xie Dexin finished speaking, Wei Wu casually waved his hand and continued:
"Now pick up this bucket of ink on the table and check if its weight is about the same as the oil bucket from the Ministry of Works."
Xie Dexin didn't dare to hesitate and immediately reached for the oil drum, but as soon as he picked it up, his expression turned strange.
"This……"
Seeing Xie Dexin's change in expression, Zhu Biao, Wei Wu, and Mao Xiang all became much more focused.
Wei Wu went directly to ask:
"How is it? Is something wrong?"
"Ok!"
Xie Dexin nodded, then weighed the oil drum in his hand and responded to Wei Wu.
“Lord Zhenguo, the weight of this oil drum is different from what I felt when I picked it up. It is obviously lighter than the other one.”
"Although there might be some error in the amount I poured, the weight difference shouldn't be this big. The difference in weight is probably three or four kilograms."
Upon hearing Xie Dexin's words, Mao Xiang and Zhu Biao both frowned, but Wei Wu grinned.
"Such a large weight difference? Good, very good. A large weight difference is to be expected. That means my guess was correct—it is mercury!"
The reason why Wei Wu was so certain was simple: it was all about density.
The density difference between water and mercury is about thirteen times. Although ink has a higher density, it is still about ten times denser than mercury.
Although Wei Wu didn't know how much mercury those people had poured into the oil drum, the weight difference of three or four pounds meant it was definitely mercury.
Seeing that the three people around him still had some doubts on their faces, Wei Wu smiled and gave them a simple explanation of the density issue.
After listening, Zhu Biao and Mao Xiang, like Wei Wu, were convinced that those people had indeed put mercury in the oil drums.
Mao Xiang then glanced at Zhu Biao, who immediately understood what he was thinking and spoke directly: