Joseph was more than familiar with the name Lavoisier; it was a name that thundered in his ears.
The greatest chemist of 18th century France, hailed as the “Father of Modern Chemistry,” the “Newton of Chemistry.”
He was the founder of modern chemistry. He demonstrated the law of conservation of mass. He defined the concept of “elements.” He invented the modern chemical list, the precursor to the periodic table. He established the Oxygen Theory of Combustion, putting an end to the “phlogiston theory.”
In short, he was a titan of chemistry, a warrior amongst titans.
Joseph suddenly understood why the Royal Gunpowder Bureau could hardly function without its Director—it was common for any department to become dependent on a technical genius like Lavoisier. Most likely, all the research and development work at the Gunpowder Agency had revolved around Lavoisier. With him on leave, the others had lost their pillar of support.
The Assistant to the Director of the Gunpowder Bureau cautiously looked at the Crown Prince:
“Your Highness, shall I go and summon the Director for you?”
“There’s no need.” Joseph stood up.
Whether out of respect for a scholar whose name would live on in history, or out of reverence for a current academic heavyweight, he felt he should personally pay a visit to Mr. Lavoisier.
He turned to the Assistant Director, “Please tell me Mr. Lavoisier’s address.”
Less than two leagues from the Palace of Versailles, one could see the crowd switching to the horse-drawn railway carriages—the speed of the British track-laying engineers was quite impressive. The wooden tracks had now spread to the western suburbs of Paris, and within a month at most, one would be able to take a railway carriage directly from the Palace of Versailles to Paris.
Continue your journey on mvl
The nobles in line to change carriages made way for the Crown Prince one after another. Joseph did not decline and directly boarded a four-person railway carriage.
The carriage sped along the wooden tracks, exceptionally fast, more than twice as fast as a regular carriage. Moreover, due to the tracks’ low resistance, it was clear that the horses pulling the carriages were very relaxed, almost in an unloaded, leisurely trot.
In the past, on the road from Versailles to Paris, the horses would have to slow down to rest at least once or twice. But this time, not only did the horses not rest, they even occasionally sprinted down the slopes, prompting the coachmen to continuously issue “woahs” to restrain the horses.
Joseph watched the trees swiftly recede outside the window and estimated that the speed of the carriage was approaching that of a small electric scooter of later eras.
He silently calculated that a wooden railway should first be built to encircle Paris, followed by another one that would cross Paris City from north to south. The east-west wooden track had already been completed before the fashion week.
When completed, Paris’s overall traffic efficiency would be unrivaled in Europe, resulting in a significant increase in the city’s overall efficiency.
As for the construction cost, with the demonstration effect of the current wooden track, it would be entirely possible to raise funds from the public, repaying them with the operating rights of the rail transport, similar to the highway models of later times.
Once Paris’s railway transport had made a name for itself, it would be time to try constructing railway lines from Paris to industrial areas like Lyon to boost product sales.
It should be noted that these wooden tracks, while only for horse carriages for now, would not be wasted in the future, as the foundation and sleepers below would be compatible with iron rails.
Once France’s steel production increased and the steam locomotive was invented, the wooden tracks could be removed and replaced with iron rails, allowing train traffic in a very short time.
In just over an hour, the carriage had arrived on the west side of the Saint-Germain District in Paris. Joseph disembarked and walked a short distance before seeing a gray-white villa not far away.
Eman looked around at the street signs and said to him, “Your Highness, this should be the place.”
Joseph looked at the exquisitely designed villa, as well as the three or four hundred square meters of flower gardens and children’s play areas within the villa’s walls, and he was reminded of another of Lavoisier’s identities—a Tax Farmer.
If he remembered correctly, Lavoisier had contracted for 500,000 livres’ worth of salt and tobacco taxes, with an annual income of 80 to 100 thousand, making him a very wealthy family.
However, it was also this identity that cost him his life during the Reign of Terror. Lagrange once lamented this profoundly:
“They could chop off his head in the blink of an eye, but a mind like his wouldn’t grow back in a hundred years!”
Joseph sighed inwardly, resolved that as long as he was there, he would never allow a scientific gem like Lavoisier to come to harm.
Lavoisier could never have expected a sudden visit from the Crown Prince, hurrying out to greet him with a mixture of surprise and nervousness, along with his entire family and servants.
“Ah, I am truly honored, Your Highness!” Lavoisier bowed respectfully at the doorway, “I never expected Your Highness to grace us with your presence.”
Joseph smiled, nodded in acknowledgment, and, taking the chemist by the arm, they walked towards the house. He asked with concern,
“I heard you’ve taken a long leave; are you feeling unwell?”
“Thank you for your concern, Your Highness,” Lavoisier said with a smile, shaking his head, “I am quite well, as you see, very robust indeed!
“I simply needed to concentrate on completing my current paper and thus had to temporarily step away from my work at the Royal Gunpowder Bureau.”
Joseph asked with curiosity, “Oh? What significant work are you writing?”
“Oh, I have named it ‘Elements of Chemistry,'” Lavoisier replied, a proud look on his face, “It is the summation of all my ideas concerning chemistry. I believe it will indeed usher in a renaissance for the field of chemistry!”
Joseph was deeply moved, no wonder Lavoisier had taken such an extended leave; the foundational work of modern chemistry was about to be unveiled.
‘Elements of Chemistry’ is later regarded as one of the “three great classics” of world natural science, alongside Newton’s ‘Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy’, and Darwin’s ‘On the Origin of Species’.
Joseph was ushered by Lavoisier onto a sofa, upon which the mistress of the house had adjusted the cushions three times, and he sat down before saying to Lavoisier,
“Please take a seat as well.”
Remembering the main purpose of his visit, he hesitated, “Mr. Lavoisier, although it might affect your research, there is something that only you can help with at the moment.”
“Oh, Your Highness, please feel free to command me; it is my honor,” Lavoisier replied.
“I need the Gunpowder Agency to expedite the production of Fulminate Mercury, but they indicated that without your direction, they might need four months to produce the finished product.”
Lavoisier nodded slightly,
“You are referring to the type of explosive that is easily detonated upon impact? I have read about it in British papers; it should be made of mercury and nitric acid. I estimate that it should use a crystallization method to obtain a purer final product, and a catalyst may be needed as well.”
Joseph mentally gave him a thumbs-up; as expected of a top academic, Lavoisier had nearly perfected the preparation process just from reading public papers.
Lavoisier continued,
“Clovis and the others might not be so adept at such delicate experimental procedures. Your Highness, I can help you with the preparation of Fulminate Mercury, but I can only spend two days a week at the Gunpowder Agency.”
Joseph felt that two days were better than none, and he could not afford to delay the publication of ‘Elements of Chemistry’.
He asked, “How long do you estimate the experiment will take?”
“About a month,” Lavoisier said, looking gently at his wife beside him, “If Marianne is willing to help.”
[Note 1] The name of Mrs. Lavoisier should be “Marie Anne,” to simplify the reading, the hyphen has been omitted in the text.