Nitroglycerin is something that, in its original history, was invented in 1846 by the Italian chemist Sobrero. However, the raw materials to make it, such as glycerin, nitric acid, and sulfuric acid, already existed. Making nitroglycerin at this point in time is no longer technically too difficult. In fact, the preparation of nitroglycerin is not too difficult, as long as care is taken that the temperature must be kept low throughout the preparation process.
But in the original history, this caution was mastered at a great, if not bloody, cost. Mr. Lu Xun once exclaimed, "The history of mankind's bloody march forward is just like the formation of coal, when a great deal of wood was used, but it turned out to be just a small piece." In fact, the history of technological progress is similar. Many techniques that took a lot of work to master are, to put it bluntly, actually fairly simple.
Joseph, of course, did not want Lavoisier to be blown up by nitroglycerin, so the item of temperature control was clearly stated in the letter to Lavoisier. Drawing from the theory of molecular motion, Joseph argued that more intense molecular motion would tend to make reactions more intense and thus more dangerous. Therefore, controlling the temperature and keeping it consistently low slows down the reaction but greatly increases safety.
But even with this key pointer, it's still difficult to not get anything done at all. Two days later, Lavoisier's first explosion in the Duke of Orleans' territory occurred. An assistant did not strictly follow the operating procedures and re-injected the acid too quickly, resulting in a serious accident with one death and five injuries. This was due to the relatively small amount of nitroglycerin produced. Otherwise, the remaining five would most likely not have been able to save their lives.
The explosion frightened Lavoisier, who was present at the time, only to leave for a moment because he was thirsty for a drink of water when the explosion occurred. Of course, it's hard to say whether the assistant would still have failed to follow the code requirements if he had been there. Instead, Duke Phillippe, on the contrary, seemed extraordinarily calm and even more interested in the thing. Because he had seen the power of this thing with his own eyes, he immediately realized that it really had a big future. As for casualties during the research process, they died for the advancement of science, and it was a good death. People always die, but death has a different meaning. To die for the advancement of science, as they did, would be the weight of a death heavier than the Alps. As for whether people will be blown up in future production, production accidents are hard to avoid completely, and people have been killed by horse-drawn carriages while out walking. Besides, even if those workers died, they died building France, so what's the problem? In any case, death can't come to His Royal Highness, just as His Royal Highness would never be run over by a carriage when he's out on the street.
Just as the sound of occasional explosions was coming from Duke Philippe's estate, Joseph completed his affairs at Calais and returned to Paris. His brother Napoleon came to Paris with his brother Louis.
"I took a leave of absence from the army, went back to Corsica, and brought Louis to you. Do you have any water here? I am dying of thirst." As soon as he saw Joseph, Napoleon shouted this.
"The water is over there, pour yourself a drink." Joseph said. Then he walked over to Louis and said: "Well, Louis, you've grown a little taller again, already taller than Napoleon, hahaha. Napoleon, I'm afraid you're going to be the shortest in our family, including the girls."
Napoleon hated it when people made fun of his height, but he knew that the more he acted angry, the more amused Joseph, the abomination, might be instead. So he simply ignored the guy, poured himself a glass of water, and gulped it down.
"How's the family?" Joseph asked again.
"Very bad." Napoleon said.
"There's nothing wrong with it, it's the same as it always was." Louis said.
"Same as before is the worst kind of bad." Napoleon said.
"What's the matter? Out to see the world and not happy with Corsica? Can't see Corsica anymore?" Joseph asked as he took a seat in a chair at the table and crossed his legs slowly.
"How could I not see Corsica?" Napoleon said, rather disgruntled, "It's just that Corsica is so lacking in variety. In France, in Paris, you can always feel the change, the new ideas, the new science, the new opportunities, every day change and progress. But what about Corsica, there is no difference between today and yesterday, yesterday and the day before. I talk to people and what's going on inside their heads is no different than it was ten years ago, or even a hundred years ago, two hundred years ago. Even those patriotic aspirants are like that, they only think that they can become independent and then close their doors and continue to live the way they did hundreds of years ago. It's not good, Corsica shouldn't look like this."
"So what do you think Corsica should look like? Napoleon, then again it seems like you thought the same thing back then." Joseph gazed at Napoleon with a mocking smile.
"It means I've improved and surpassed others." Napoleon, however, replied thus, "As to what Corsica should be like. I think the Corsica of the future should be a land of freedom, equality, justice, and the rule of law, just as Voltaire, Rousseau, and Montesquieu portrayed them."
"Napoleon, you have certainly improved!" Joseph laughed, "So what are you going to do about it?"
"I've been thinking about this a lot during my time back home. First of all, I think that the most fundamental problem in Corsica is not quite the French occupation, but the inability of the people to wake up. To truly change Corsica, we must first educate our people and awaken them."
"What?" Joseph was taken aback, staring at his brother with wide eyes. 'What's wrong with this guy? Could it be that because of the butterfly effect brought about by us traversing over here, this guy doesn't intend to be a famous general anymore, but intends to go as a Lu Xun who awakens the people?'
Joseph hesitated and asked, "Napoleon, what are your specific plans?"
"I intend to write a history of Corsica, something like The Gallic War." Napoleon said.
Hearing this, Joseph was relieved; it seemed that Napoleon was still Napoleon. The Gallic War is the work of Julius Caesar in ancient Rome. This shows that the role model in Napoleon's mind remained a statesman-military man like Julius Caesar. And creating a history of Corsica was just a means he used to achieve his political ends.
"I'm not too optimistic about your intentions." Joseph shook his head and said, "You know, Corsica has a higher percentage of illiterates than either France or Italy, and very few people can read."
Napoleon opened his mouth, ready to retort, but Joseph didn't give him a chance but continued: "Napoleon, don't be so quick to argue. I know what you're trying to say. You want to say that fewer people in Corsica can read, though. But as soon as these people recognize the problem and learn about the new and correct ideas out there, they will not only be able to change themselves, but they will be able to motivate the rest of the people because these people are supposed to be the leaders of the Corsicans. That's what you think, isn't it?"
Napoleon stared at Joseph for a moment before answering: "Yes, that's what I think, what's wrong with that?" Because he figured based on Joseph's old habits when dealing with him, he figured that Joseph would immediately take a snarky jab at him, so this reply was a bit reluctant.
It also proved that this prediction of his was very accurate. Joseph immediately spoke up, "O my foolish brother, you are so young and naïve! You actually believe that one can be convinced by reason! That's a joke."
At this point, Joseph suddenly leaned forward, close to Napoleon's face, and stared into his eyes: "My brother, you must remember that it is never their heads that dictate the actions of most people, but their asses! The point isn't what's right or ethical, it's what's good for them and what their asses are really sitting on! Get it?"
After saying this, he straightened up again and said: "Think with your head what kind of impact a 'free, equal, just and lawful country' would have on the people you have to rely on to make things happen together. Is it beneficial, or is it harmful? Don't mention things like morals and ideals, just think of them all as people like Machiavelli portrayed them, and then think about it, would they support a 'land of liberty, equality, justice, and the rule of law'? Other than that, in France, as you can see, what are the people who are most opposed to what you call 'the land of liberty, equality, justice, and the rule of law'?"
Napoleon was silent for a moment, then spoke anyway: "But, Joseph, they are not all Machiavellian. Mind you, we're one of them." Only, perhaps because he realized that this idea of his might indeed be a bit of wishful thinking, this rebuttal of his, however, was in a very low voice, appearing insufficiently imposing.
"Napoleon, individuals and groups are not the same. There have been individuals who have betrayed their own interests, but there never have been - and never will be - groups who betray their own interests." Then Joseph said, "Napoleon, if you want to change Corsica, that will inevitably lead to a redefinition of the way the benefits are distributed, and that would be starting a revolution. And what has been the foremost question in all revolutions since the beginning of time, do you know?"
Napoleon shook his head.
"Who is our enemy? Who's our friend? This issue is the primary issue of the revolution." Joseph again shamelessly adopted the thoughts of great men as his own, "The reasons for the failure of those past revolutionary struggles, which were so little effective, are many, but the most basic reason is because of the inability to unite true friends in order to attack true enemies. The revolutionaries are the guides of the masses, and there has never been a revolution in which the revolution did not fail when the revolutionaries led the wrong way. We must not fail to take care to unite our true friends in order to attack our true enemies, if we are to have the certainty of not leading the wrong way and of certain success."
Napoleon lowered his head in thought for a moment before looking up, the defiant look in his eyes gone, instead revealing a gleam of thirst.
"And how do we determine who are our friends and who are our enemies?" Napoleon asked.