The current iron-smelting process of the Great Wei is still within the scope of the "block iron-making" technology, and the steel forged in this way is also called "block iron-making", or "block-steelmaking", although the Great Wei has not yet used this iron-forging technology to forge steel in the true sense.

And the most suitable steelmaking method for the current Great Wei technique that Zhao Hongrun thought of was the "steel frying method".

To be honest, the "frying steel method" is not the most advanced steelmaking process, but it is undeniable that its "two-stage steelmaking" method is a milestone in the smelting industry and an important history of the iron-making process.

In a word, the "frying steel method" is not the most advanced steelmaking process known to Zhao Hongrun, but it is definitely the most in line with the current Dawei process, and even if it is used for one or two hundred years, it will not necessarily lag behind.

In fact, the iron-smelting process currently adopted by the Dawei Smelting Bureau can also be classified into the category of "steel frying method", but it is not perfect. In fact, the term "iron embryo" used by the craftsmen of the Smelting Bureau refers to wrought iron that can be directly forged.

In the past, when the Smelting Bureau gave a hand to the Arsenal Bureau, it was to obtain pig iron by fully burning the iron ore, and then further quenching it to remove impurities to obtain wrought iron, which was called iron embryos by craftsmen, and then transported these iron embryos to the Arsenal Bureau, so as to earn a trivial amount of money in Zhao Hongrun's opinion.

The reason why this iron-smelting process is not perfect is because the craftsmen of the Smelting Bureau generally use small furnaces to train wrought iron, which requires a lot of manpower but the output is very low, so Zhao Hongrun decided to build several earth-based blast furnaces outside Daliang City.

And these earth-based blast furnaces are not used to make steel, but to fire bricks.

After all. If you want to calcine iron ore in large quantities to increase the production of raw and wrought iron, then the heat retention and closure of the furnace is a problem.

It is undeniable that the Ministry of Industry has long mastered the process of firing bricks, especially after Wei Tianzi conquered the Song State and the Great Wei obtained the process data of the Song State for firing porcelain. Firing bricks has become a very simple task, and the Ministry of Engineering has gradually replaced the stone and mud bricks with bricks fired in kilns.

And the kind of masonry that does not lag a little after being fired is the "green brick" that is currently the largest in the Ministry of Industry.

But Zhao Hongrun was not satisfied, because the green bricks were too brittle, and after firing into shape, they would crack or even break after high temperature again, not to say. It is the poor process of firing green bricks in the Ministry of Industry, and the problem is the clay used in firing bricks.

It is very likely that the craftsmen in charge of firing the bricks only followed the clay used by the Song people to make porcelain, and it is not clear that the bricks fired by different components of clay are also very different.

However, in this regard, Zhao Hongrun has no choice. He had no choice but to use the most stupid method to ask people to transport some representative clay from all over the Great Wei Dynasty. In the earth-based blast furnaces that were transported to Daliang, the craftsmen of the Smelting Bureau experimented one by one, striving to fire fire bricks with fire-resistant characteristics.

After the fire bricks are fired, that's when you can really start training iron ore in large quantities.

After instructing Wang Fu, Chen Di, Cheng Lin, and Xun Xin one by one, Zhao Hongrun did not go to the Smelting Bureau again, after all, what he wanted to do had already been instructed to the four of them. Wang Fu and the other four will follow his instructions to prepare.

And before he was ready, Zhao Hongrun could be blatantly lazy.

Of course, that's just the case, in fact, Zhao Hongrun has no lazy time at all. Because just when he was about to take the guards out of the city to hunt for a little entertainment, Jin Ju, the commander of the guards guarding the palace, personally sent a letter to Wenzhao Pavilion.

"Who wrote to me?"

When Zhao Hongrun received the letter, he was really a little puzzled, because in Daliang, he didn't have any friends who wrote to him.

Either it is those former Chu generals who are far away in Yanshui and Shangshui, but the problem is that generals such as Qu Cheng and Yan Mo should still be busy repairing the three cities of Shangshui, Yanling, and Changping, so how can they have any time to communicate with him Zhao Hongrun.

Zhao Hongrun opened the letter suspiciously.

I saw that there were only eight words written on the letter: "I have come here, see you at the post house."

"Who is this, inexplicable?"

Zhao Hongrun was confused, after all, this letter had no title or payment, and there were only these eight words in the whole article.

But after carefully reading it several times, Zhao Hongrun slapped his forehead and suddenly realized: This is not the handwriting of Xiong Tuo, the king of Xuancheng!

"That guy actually sneaked into my beam?"

Immediately, Zhao Hongrun summoned the sisters Mi Jiang and Mi Rui and told them about this matter.

"Xiong Tuogongzi has arrived at Daliang?"

When they learned the news from Zhao Hongrun's mouth, the Mi Jiang and Mi Rui sisters were very surprised, and after being surprised, they were happy, after all, Xiong Tuo was like their brother in a sense.

"He is the only one who can write this kind of headless letter to this king. …… What is he afraid of? Don't even dare to write a payment? Are the Wei people who are afraid of Daliang swallowing him alive? Zhao Hongrun mocked Xiong Tuo vigorously, of course he knew why Xiong Tuo didn't dare to write the payment, it was just that he was afraid that this letter would not be delivered to Zhao Hongrun, but to some Wei people who hated the Chu people.

Mi Jiang took the letter and glanced at it a few times, his expression was a little strange.

Because she wasn't sure if it was the handwriting of her brother Xiong Tuo, the king of Xuancheng.

"Why do you know Xiong Tuo's handwriting better than our sisters?"

Mi Jiang looked at Zhao Hongrun with a strange face for a while, and then put down the letter in his hand and asked, "Are you going to see him?" ”

Zhao Hongrun pondered for a moment and said lightly: "It's okay to go and see it." …… If you two want to go, go and change your clothes. ”

So, the sisters Mi Jiang and Mi Rui obediently went to change their clothes.

After that, Zhao Hongrun called Shen Yu and others and asked them to prepare two carriages outside the palace, and immediately, he left the palace with the sisters Mi Jiang and Mi Rui, who were disguised as men.

After all, although it is said that in the palace, there are actually many people who know that there are several female dependents living in the Wenzhao Pavilion of His Royal Highness King Su, but it is just because Wei Tianzi turns a blind eye, so they also pretend not to know. But no matter what, no matter what, Zhao Hongrun's surface work still has to be done, otherwise, it will have an impact on Zhao Hongrun's reputation.

Two carriages, carrying Zhao Hongrun, Mi Jiang, Mi Rui and Shen Yu and other guards, headed towards the post house in Daliang City.

When he arrived at the post house in the city, Zhao Hongrun stepped out of the carriage and saw a young man with a straight spine standing outside the post house, although this person was just wearing ordinary Wei clothes, but he didn't look like an ordinary person.

Seeing Zhao Hongrun and his party, the young man immediately walked over and asked in a low voice, "Is the honorable driver Gongzirun?" ”

"Childe Run......

Zhao Hongrun glanced at the other party up and down a few times, and instantly realized that the person in front of him was a Chu person, because only Chu people were used to calling him "Ji Run" and "Gongzi Run".

"Childe Taku can be in the inn?" Zhao Hongrun asked.

When the man heard this, the little suspicion in his eyes immediately retreated, and he hurriedly said, "My son-in-law is in the post house, son-in-law, please." ”

Zhao Hongrun nodded, and motioned for his party to follow this person into the post house.

Sure enough, under the guidance of this young man, Zhao Hongrun really saw Xiong Tuo, the king of Chu Guoxuancheng, who was drinking in the private room in the post house, and the one who accompanied him to drink was not a stranger, it was Huang Arsenic, the doctor of Chu Guoshi who signed the "Wei-Chu Armistice Zhengyang Peace Treaty" with Zhao Hongrun in Zhengyang County.

"You're in good spirits."

Walking into the house, Zhao Hongrun looked at Xiong Tuo and Huang Arsenic a little speechlessly.

You know, God knows how many Wei people in this beam are eager to kill Xiong Tuo, but this guy sneaked into the beam without officially delivering the letter of state.

If the Wei people took the opportunity to kill this Xuancheng monarch at this time, even the Chu State would not be able to come up with any reason to blame: who told Xiong Tuo to sneak into the royal capital of Great Wei without the permission of Wei Tianzi?

"Hehehe." Xiong Tuo glanced up at Zhao Hongrun, waved his hand and motioned for the young man who was leading the way to step back, without the slightest intention of getting up. However, when he saw the Mi Jiang and Mi Rui sisters behind Zhao Hongrun, he was stunned for a moment, and then he got up and stood up.

"Big sister, little sister, you're here too? Sit fast, sit down. ”

Zhao Hongrun rolled his eyes when he heard this, but his evaluation of Xiong Tuo in his heart increased a few points.

After all, no matter how ruthless Xiong Tuo is to outsiders, he still attaches great importance to some people close to Xiong Hu, Xiong Qi, Mi Jiang, Mi Rui, etc., and is a hero who attaches great importance to family affection.

With a wave of his hand, Zhao Hongrun motioned to Shen Yu and the others to guard the outside of the room, after all, the identity of Xiong Tuo, the monarch of Xuancheng, was unusual.

And after that, he casually found a chair in the room and sat down, after all, according to what he knew about Xiong Tuo, the king of Xuancheng, that guy would never be polite to him.

Of course, it is impossible for Zhao Hongrun to treat him politely.

This is the inner insistence of two arrogant people, who are easy and unwilling to give in.

"Can you adapt to the girder residence?"

I have to say that Xiong Tuo is quite concerned about the two sisters and sisters, after all, these two sisters are the daughters of his uncle Runanjun Xiong Hao, and they are the descendants of his most respected uncle.

"Lao Xiong Tuo's son remembers, and Mi Jiang is still adapting to the place of residence in Wei." Mi Jiang replied in the same cold tone as ever.

Xiong Tuo was not surprised by her coldness, after all, this eldest sister had been like this since the death of her father Runanjun Xiong Hao.

In comparison, the little sister Mi Rui, who is still less than a little bit more active, sat next to Xiong Tuo and said in a loud voice: "Tuo Gongzi, let me tell you, the pastries of Wei are very delicious......

As she spoke, she chattered on and on and on

"No wonder I have gained a lot of weight." Xiong Tuo rubbed Mi Rui's head with a smile, and his face was filled with a heartfelt smile, which made Zhao Hongrun pout secretly.

After all, in order to reduce the consumption of grain and grass, Xiong Tuo, the king of Xuancheng, who once cold-bloodedly called 30,000 Chu troops to the Wei army's Yanshui camp to die, really did not match this kind of smile full of family affection.

The style of painting obviously doesn't match! (To be continued.) )