It snowed a few days ago, and the winter of Shouchun was unusually cold.

The streets that should be bustling with people are not many pedestrians due to the cold winter.

Cao Shuo rode a horse and walked along the street surrounded by Cai Ji and others.

On the streets, when the people saw him, they bowed their heads and saluted.

Occasionally nodding his head to signal to the saluting people, Cao Shuo rode through several streets.

A government office appeared at the intersection ahead.

What is placed in front of the official mansion is not a sacred beast that symbolizes majesty, but some shields and weapons.

Before Cao Shuo arrived outside the official mansion, a group of people ran out from inside.

It is Mi Heng who takes the lead.

Coming to Cao Shuo, Mi Heng saluted and asked, "Why is the son here?" ”

"Zhengping is also here." Cao Shuo dismounted and asked Mi Heng, "How are the weapons prepared?" ”

"Everything else is fine, it's just that the few special weapons ordered by Childe are not very easy to build." Accompanying Cao Shuo into the Craftsman Division, Mi Heng said: "Especially the kind of short sword that Gongzi wants, the iron is not tough enough, and even if it is built, it is easy to break. ”

"Hardness enough, toughness enough?" Cao Shuo asked.

"Yes." Mi Heng said: "The blacksmith has thought of a lot of methods, but he has never been able to make the iron tough, so some of the weapons that Gongzi asked for really couldn't be made. ”

"If you increase the number of quenching, you can't create it?" Cao Shuo asked.

"Yes, it can't be built." Mi Heng said: "The blacksmith quenched many times, and finally became more and more brittle, so it is better to quench it a few times." ”

"Let's take a look." Cao Shuo didn't put forward any opinions, and took the lead in walking to the backyard of the craftsman's workshop.

The front yard is lined with a lot of wood, copper and iron.

Since Cao Shuo occupied Shouchun, he attached great importance to the craftsman's workshop.

There was a knocking sound of "ping-pong" in the backyard.

Accompanying Cao Shuo, Mi Heng said: "The blacksmiths are still trying to make weapons more resilient, but I don't think it will work at all. ”

"What do you think should be done?" Cao Shuo asked.

"Treasures have always come from the Western Regions." Mi Heng said: "The Central Plains is most famous for Hebei ironware and Jianghuai ironware. But the iron tools of the Central Plains are indeed too brittle, and the production of weapons has never been as strong as the iron tools of the Western Regions. ”

"You mean to buy iron from the Western Regions?" Cao Shuo asked.

"It's really not possible, so I can only buy it from the Western Regions." Mi Heng replied: "After all, Childe's requirements are too high. ”

"Weapons and protective gear determine the possibility of survival on the battlefield." Cao Shuo said: "It's not that my requirements are high, but that we have to raise our requirements in order for more soldiers to come back alive." ”

Knowing that Cao Shuo has always attached importance to the life and death of soldiers, Mi Heng didn't say more.

The blacksmiths who were busy seeing Cao Shuo coming, they stopped what they were doing and saluted.

Although it was the cold winter season, the blacksmiths were still sweating profusely, as if they had been washed with water.

"It's too hot before the iron stove, don't be greedy." Walking in front of the blacksmiths, Cao Shuo said: "The weather is cold, and after leaving the iron furnace, I still put on my winter clothes, and it is not a trivial matter to catch the wind cold." ”

"Don't worry, Childe, we're all healthy." A blacksmith replied: "It's just that there is no eyebrow on what Gongzi ordered, and everyone is a little anxious." ”

"You don't have to stress too much." Cao Shuo said: "When things come to an end, there is always a solution. It's just that I haven't found it yet. ”

"We've come up with a lot of ideas." The blacksmith replied, "I haven't been able to find a way to make iron stronger. ”

"Have you ever tried adding some dirt to your iron tools?" Cao Shuo asked.

"Dirt?" The blacksmith was stunned: "With the addition of soil, will the iron be more brittle?" ”

"Not necessarily." Cao Shuo said: "Although the soil is soft, it will become very hard after burning, so maybe you can try it." ”

The blacksmiths glanced at each other, and they all looked stunned.

"Childe said this, but there is some truth." The blacksmith who spoke to Cao Shuo said, "Let's try." ”

Cao Shuo's proposal to add clay to forge iron tools is not completely unreasonable, and it is not like what he said, just because clay will become hard after calcination.

The fundamental reason for his suggestion is that adding silicon to iron will have certain benefits in enhancing the toughness of iron.

Say the name of silicon directly, and the blacksmith will definitely not understand.

After all, the table of chemical elements did not appear until almost two thousand years later.

The name on it, people in this era don't know much.

According to Cao Shuo, the blacksmiths found clay and calcined it into hard pieces, and then hammered it into powder and mixed it in molten iron.

When the powder of the soil and the molten iron were evenly mixed, a blacksmith asked Cao Shuo, "Childe, is this okay?" ”

"Calcinate first." Cao Shuo said: "In addition to soil, you can actually get some toner. ”

The things that Cao Shuo asked them to add were all deliberately eliminated by the blacksmiths when they used to build weapons.

Now not only do they not remove it, but they have to add it to it, and all blacksmiths are confused.

Although he didn't understand Cao Shuo's intention to do this, he had already spoken, and the blacksmiths didn't dare to say anything, so they had to follow his instructions.

"Childe, does it really work to add toner and dirt?" The blacksmiths were still forging weapons, and Mi Heng asked Cao Shuo, "I've never heard of such forging weapons." ”

"All this time, the weapons you forged cannot be used." Cao Shuo said: "According to the old method, it is useless to continue forging, it is better to find another way, maybe it can be successful." Even if it doesn't work out, there's nothing to lose for us. ”

"That's what Childe said." Cao Shuo's words also made sense, of course Mi Heng would not argue, but he watched with some concern as the blacksmith forged a weapon with added clay and toner.

After a long time, a blacksmith let out a soft "huh".

"What's wrong?" His voice was very strange, and Mi Heng hurriedly asked.

"Back to Migong, the weapons I have created seem to be much better than before in terms of toughness and hardness." The blacksmith who spoke up said, "Although it is not enough to create the weapon that Childe wants, this method seems to be feasible. ”

Cao Shuo and Mi Heng hurriedly stepped forward, and the blacksmiths also gathered around the short sword that they had just created.

A blacksmith picked up a hammer and struck the dagger hard.

I saw that the short sword flicked a few times, and there was no sign of breaking except for the dents on the sword body.

"If it was a short sword forged in the past, it would have broken with such a hammer." Putting down the hammer, the blacksmith said to Cao Shuo: "Childe's method really works, but if you want to make a better iron, you need to try to add as much toner and dirt as possible." ”

"You know more about forging iron than I do." Cao Shuo said: "I will leave these things to you, and I won't ask too much in the future." If you need anything, you can find the right level. ”

(End of chapter)