Therefore, after careful consideration, Xu Yun ultimately chose another plant:

Silver Chrysanthemum.

Silver Chrysanthemum, also known as Silver Leaf Chrysanthemum, is a plant whose leaves resemble snowflakes and has quite an attractive appearance.

It is primarily distributed in the Yangtze River Basin of China, and is even more common than Du Zhong, with very low transport costs.

The silver chrysanthemum glue produced is also an excellent rubber-like product and is very suitable for engine applications. (DOI: 10.28077/n.cnki.nchgb.2005.001315)

At this moment, the first step of producing silver chrysanthemum glue was witnessed by Xu Yun and others:

They placed them in a sodium hydroxide solution for alkaline immersion to dissolve the cuticle using sodium hydroxide.

The sodium hydroxide needed for this step still comes from the initial electrolysis process.

As for Brother Lv...

It's naturally to provide centrifugal force to enlarge the contact surface.

Before Xu Yun and others arrived, Su Qi had soaked the Silver Chrysanthemum for a long time. After estimating that the time was about right, Xu Yun said to Su Qi:

"Master Su, let's start the next step."

Su Qi acknowledged, put on gloves, and went to a corner.

A moment later, he returned with a small tray.

At this moment, the tray was holding a pile of sticky white turbid liquid, emitting a faint stench.

Of course.

Do not misunderstand.

These things weren't liquids squeezed out but...

Crushed termite corpses.

That's right.

Termite corpses,

Termites are the main degraders of natural cellulose; their digestive tract contains a microorganism called protozoa, which produces a large amount of cellulase.

This cellulase can hydrolyze the cell walls of Silver Chrysanthemum, releasing the glue fibers.

Simultaneously, the termite bodies do not interfere with the preparation of Silver Chrysanthemum, and the cellulase does not react with sodium hydroxide, making it an excellent self-extraction material.

Once this step is complete.

Simply reflux extraction, filter while hot.

After cooling, freeze at subzero temperatures for an hour to obtain the finished silver chrysanthemum glue.

After putting termites into the container.

Considering the long subsequent process, Xu Yun proactively asked Su Qi:

"Master Su, is there still refined finished product from before?"

Su Qi nodded and replied:

"The demand from the front was quite large, Master Qi and others took a lot of finished products, but some glue tubes were not taken."

"Please wait a moment, Mr. Wang, I'll go get them."

Upon saying this, Su Qi turned and walked to another corner.

A moment later.

Su Qi returned to Xu Yun with several glue tubes, handing them over:

"Mr. Wang, these are the previously made glue tubes, all processed according to diagram requirements."

Xu Yun took the glue tube, applied normal force, and pulled.

Under tension, the tube quickly became a thinner strip but did not break.

Xu Yun nodded in satisfaction and handed it to Xiaozhao:

"Your Highness, take a look?"

Xiaozhao, interested, took the tube and began examining it with Old Zhong.

A moment later.

Xiaozhao thoughtfully raised his head and said to Xu Yun:

"Mr. Wang, can this material be waterproof?"

Xu Yun smiled at him and replied:

"Of course it can."

Xiaozhao then tried to flatten the tube, his thumb and forefinger rubbing the glue surface, saying:

"If so, couldn't it be made into rubber shoes or rubber clothing?"

Xu Yun immediately raised his eyebrows, slightly surprised to look at him.

Unexpectedly, the first thing this Quasi-Emperor thought of was civilian applications, but he still affirmed:

"Your Highness nailed it, indeed, this is a good material for making rubber shoes."

He wasn't flattering Xiaozhao.

Rubber shoes and rubber clothing mentioned by Xiaozhao were indeed some of the early applications of rubber in daily life.

Although vulcanization is needed in between, it's quite impressive to think of that in a short period.

Initially, when natural rubber was brought back to Europe, it was mainly used for making toys and souvenirs; no one considered making rubber shoes.

It was not until more than thirty years later that Europeans realized its waterproof properties and suddenly understood its potential.

Meanwhile, beside Xiaozhao, Old Zhong was enthusiastically examining the rubber in his hand.

"Good stuff..."

As an army man, Old Zhong's thinking was evidently more inclined towards militarization, as he said to Xu Yun:

"Xiaowang, as you said, the original state of this material is paste?"

Xu Yun nodded affirmatively and said:

"That's right, when freshly refined, silver chrysanthemum glue looks like rice paste."

"Does it have viscosity?"

"Certainly."

Upon hearing his response, Old Zhong quickly asked:

"So if it is applied before the silver chrysanthemum glue solidifies, on weapons or axle joints prone to loosening, wouldn't it provide reinforcement?"

"Furthermore, if applied to the handles of knives and guns, it might reduce some wear on soldiers' palms..."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yun's eyebrows lifted again.

Well done.

As a renowned military strategist of Late Song, Old Zhong's military insight was indeed extraordinary, immediately thinking of rubber's role in cold weapons.

Totally.

Before the arrival of rubber tires—those buggy-level products—rubber's greatest use in industry and military was to bond weapons and reinforce equipment.

For instance, the long knives and spears commonly seen in Song Dynasty armies.

Despite appearances in films showing weapons as exquisite with various carvings.

But in reality.

The quality of weapons allocated to lower-level soldiers in ancient settings could never reach that depicted in films.

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