(2-in-1.) Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 info Xie: The reward of the two brothers, 42605693 and Moshaocong. Xie: Liutongcai, Junyao, HJH501, 100 possible and other brothers' votes. Let's talk about the updates during the Spring Festival, I am saving up manuscripts these days, striving for automatic uploads during the Spring Festival. During this time, the Spring Festival is approaching, and it is also very busy, with a lot of chores. So the update is a little late these days, and the number of words is not much, please understand! )

Luo Wei muttered: "Dashuai, all the barrels that have been cast have been marked with decay. The iron ingots purchased by Dashuai come from more than ten iron ore production places in Datang. There are so many barrels cast by the old man, and none of them can be used. It can be seen that the iron ingots produced in most places are not successful. In terms of old experience, the iron in some places is soft, and although the toughness is strong, it can easily deform when used to cast gun barrels. In some places, although the iron ingots are strong enough, they are too brittle and hard and easy to burst. The old man tried to fuse these different iron ingots to achieve the right balance. However, several attempts failed. The old decay understands a truth, even if it is the same iron ingot, it may not be able to be fused together. No matter what kind of melting and forging method is used, the two irons cannot be fused seamlessly. It's like two different people, no matter how they get along, they eat and live together every day, and there will inevitably be conflicts. I don't know if the metaphor of decay is just inappropriate. ”

Wang Yuan nodded and said, "It makes sense." As far as I know, there are different impurities in each subway. This impurity can affect the toughness or strength of iron. The iron we forge is not pure iron. Even if pure iron could be smelted, it would not necessarily be possible to forge a suitable barrel. On the contrary, the impurities in it play a great role, and blindly refining and removing impurities is useless and often harmful. The types and quantities of these impurities have reached a certain coincidence, which may be the most suitable time. We don't know what impurities are contained in it, blindly fused with various iron ingots of different grades, there are thousands of possible combinations, and we may not be able to get the kind of iron we want in a lifetime. Therefore, instead of such a combination of smelting, it is better to look for iron ingots that can be used naturally. There must be one of the creations of heaven that can be used. This is the principle of the infinite path. Heaven and earth are all-encompassing, and I believe that this one can be found. ”

Luo Wei was surprised: "Oh, Dashuai is also extremely proficient in the art of smelting." That's what my old teacher told me fifty years ago. I didn't expect Dashuai to know this, Dashuai really knows everything about astronomy and geography. ”

Wang Yuan scratched his head and thought, didn't I take advantage of being born more than a thousand years later than you? Later generations of middle school textbooks had simple steelmaking knowledge. What carbon steel, tungsten steel, manganese steel, etc., all kinds of steel materials and utilities are the role of trace elements in iron. It's a pity that I'm only half-informed, and I don't know where to find these things to add to the smelting, otherwise I'm a hundred times more proficient than all your smelting masters, so why ask you people to come out and help?

"However, you have experimented with many combinations to no avail, so how did that one cannon be forged?" Wang Yuan asked with a smile.

"Just now, the big man said that the creation of heaven must have a use. If the old man heard this sentence before, he would not believe it, but now the old man thinks so. The old man found nearly 2,000 catties of iron ingots among the iron ingots transported. The ingots were piled up in a corner because of their poor condition. With the attitude of trying it out, the old man smelted a few furnaces and cast a cannon barrel, which is the one in front of him. I didn't expect to be able to fill the medicine more than 100 times without bursting, it was really providential. ”

Wang Yuan was surprised: "Such a coincidence? That's providential. Do you know where these iron ingots come from? ”

Luo Wei shook his head and said, "This old man doesn't know. This is to ask the person appointed by the marshal to buy the iron ingot. ”

Wang Yuan looked at Liu Xun and said straightly: "Mr. Liu, you handled the purchase of food materials and iron tools, do you remember where you bought these two thousand catties of iron ingots?" ”

Liu Xunzhi frowned and thought about it, shook his head and said, "I really don't remember this." At that time, the old decay purchased materials and almost traveled all over the Tang Dynasty. There are purchases of materials everywhere, how can we remember these? However, the old decay has a detailed account book, and it should be possible to find out where it was procured from. ”

Wang Yuan hurriedly said: "Check quickly, check quickly." This matter cannot be delayed. Two thousand catties are only enough to cast two cannon barrels, and one is broken here, and one is burning in the furnace, how can this be tested accurately? ”

Liu Xun hurriedly said: "Okay, I'll go find it now, I'll come in a moment, and the handsome man will wait." ”

Liu Xun hurried away, and Luo Wei led Wang Yuan and the others to the side of the blast furnace. The closer you go, the more you can feel the sensation of the heat burning your body. The sound of boiling molten iron in several blast furnaces can be heard clearly. From time to time, sparks burst out of the crucible on the top of the furnace, and when they fell to the ground, they instantly condensed into a small steel ball. The sparks fell on the busy craftsmen under the furnace, but these people did nothing and did not react at all.

Wang Yuan frowned and said, "You should give them some protection, otherwise this spark will collapse on your body, and it will burn them." ”

Luo Wei smiled: "Don't worry, Dashuai, we people deal with these people every day, and we are not afraid of these for a long time." Don't hide it from the handsome, I learned this craft when I was young, and my teacher once asked me to stand naked in front of the iron cone to strike iron. The red iron struck and sparks flew everywhere, falling on the body and burning with a rattling sound, and the pain was jumping around. After a month, there was nothing intact on the body, but after a few months, there was no feeling. None of these people have come through these, and those in the industry are not considered to be beginners if they have not gone through such a tempering. ”

Wang Yuan laughed and said, "Interesting, interesting." ”

As he spoke, a sturdy man walked over from under the blast furnace, and Wang Yuan knew that it was Luo Wei's big disciple Li Dazhu. Li Dazhui gave Luo Wei a salute first, and then saluted Wang Yuan, but respecting the teacher first.

"Sledgehammer, but almost?" Lowe asked.

"Report to the master, the furnace water has begun to churn, and then there is a cup of tea to pour." Li Dazhui said respectfully.

"Okay, get ready now. Ordered someone to bring out the mold and prepare. The overhead hooks are all ready, so don't make a mistake. Luo Wei said in a deep voice.

Li Dazhui obeyed the order, and Luo Wei said to Wang Yuan: "Marshal, the generals are a little far away, when the molten iron is casting, sparks are flying, it is very dangerous." You can only watch from afar. ”

When everyone heard this, they left twenty or thirty steps away and stood and watched. But I saw seven or eight big men pushing a flatbed cart out of the warehouse in the east head. After arriving at the site next to the blast furnace, a huge object wrapped in oilcloth was lifted from the car. When it was opened, it was a clay-fired barrel mold. This mold was made by Wang Yuan himself with the only knowledge he had. The clay is smeared layer by layer on the skeleton, and finally the skeleton is dismantled and fired. It took a lot of work.

Luo Wei personally stepped forward and carefully inspected the mold, wiping the inside and outside with a cloth towel to prevent any unclean things. After the inspection and cleanup, Luo Wei shouted: "Prepare to move the pot and cast." The first furnace of the word A is opened first. Be careful not to make mistakes. ”

"Hohoo!" Dozens of furnace workers shouted in unison and acted quickly.

Dozens of furnace workers moved quickly, rumbling to the side of the blast furnace with a huge flatbed truck. Beneath the flatbed were a dozen thick wooden wheels, covered with a thick layer of clay and bricks, and a thick layer of sand. On the sand is an eight-eared dome the size of a large water tank. The three legs are firmly fixed to the car board with logs.

Such a large and heavy flatbed truck made a dull rumbling sound as it moved on the ground, and even the ground shook as it rolled. Wang Yuan knew that the eight-eared tripod was a giant crucible used to carry molten iron. In these years, there is no mechanized operation, and how to undertake the transportation and casting of hundreds of catties of molten iron is a problem, but the wisdom of the working people is infinite, and all of this is designed to undertake the movement of molten iron.

"Ready!" Luo Wei's expression was serious, an old man in his seventies, his body was straight, and his expression and movements were like a general who scolded Fang Xuan. These furnace workers are his thousands of troops, and the smelting place is his battlefield and territory.

"Hohoo!" The furnace workers cheered, indicating that they were ready. A furnace worker stood at a height of a foot and embedded a round drain pipe under the blast furnace tap hole and held it firmly. More than a dozen furnace workers moved the flatbed cart, placed it horizontally under the taphole, and aimed the eight ear tripods at the taphole.

"Sledgehammer. Turn on the furnace and receive the water. Luo Wei shouted in a deep voice.

"Hohoo!" Li Dazhui was already ready, holding a long rod in his hand, and hooked a large iron ring at the outlet of the furnace water with the big iron hook in front of the long rod. The two furnace workers standing above swung their sledgehammers and knocked them down, but after a few crisp sounds, the two iron bolts on the iron stopper at the mouth of the furnace were knocked off and fell. At the moment when the iron bolt fell, Li Dazhui made a loud sound, stretched the rod hard, and pulled out the furnace plug more than a foot long. The cooperation of several people is extremely proficient, without any language communication, but the timing is very good.

As soon as the furnace door opened, I suddenly saw red and white molten iron rushing out of the furnace mouth and pouring it into the eight ears along the drainage tank. But I saw the molten iron burst in the air, sparks splashed all around, and green smoke billowed. The molten iron was still bubbling with a jumping red flame, and although the afternoon sun was shining, it still illuminated the heads and faces of the surrounding people with a faint red light. At this moment, everyone could feel a violent heat wave on their faces, and they could feel a burning sensation on their hands and face, and their exposed skin.

A furnace of molten iron was poured into the eight-eared tripod after more than a dozen breaths. Above the big ding, there was already green smoke billowing flames, like a lit cauldron.

"Cast now, without delay." Luo Wei shouted loudly as if he were facing a great enemy.

The furnace workers quickly moved the flatbed car to the calculated position, and Li Da Sledgehammer went out again, using the same method to open the tap hole under the eight-eared tripod with a long rod, and the molten iron bubbled and flamed down the trench and quickly flowed into the mold for building the cannon barrel. The hot molten iron flows rapidly along the voids in the mold, filling the voids at the front of the mold.

After the molten iron was cast, the furnace workers quickly poured all the molten iron from the other three furnaces into the mold in the same way, and the last molten iron was cast, just pouring the gap of the barrel mold with molten iron.

When all this was completed, Luo Wei and dozens of furnace workers breathed a sigh of relief, their heads and faces were covered with beads of sweat, and their clothes were wet.

"How?" Only then did Wang Yuan have the opportunity to come forward and ask.

Luo Wei sighed and smiled: "Handsome, everything is going well." finally didn't lose face in front of the big handsome. ”

Wang Yuan raised his big finger and said with a smile: "I counted it silently just now, and the entire casting process does not exceed two hundred and forty breaths. It only took 60 breaths for each furnace to finish pouring from the molten iron, which was really like flowing water. Admire, admire, admire. ”

Luo Wei said with a smile: "That's natural, the furnace water of the latter furnace and the previous furnace must not exceed a hundred breaths, otherwise the previous furnace has solidified, and the latter furnace will be poured into it, and the joint parts will not tolerate each other." Although it seems to be a tight seam, there are traces on the inside, and once it encounters a huge exposure force, it will break and damage from the joint part. The shorter the interval in this, the better, and the interval of 60 breaths is a good result like today. Usually around seventy breaths, today the handsome man is here, these boys are full of energy, much better than usual. ”

Wang Yuan laughed and said: "It's your own tacit understanding and exquisite skills, which has nothing to do with me." ”

Luo Wei stroked his beard and said, "Of course it has something to do with it." ”

Wang Yuan smiled and pointed to the cast barrel mold and said, "How long does it take for this to cool?" ”

Luo Wei said: "After an hour, it can be completely cooled, and then the mold will be removed and checked, and if there is no leakage, it will be cleaned and polished." See whether the inner chamber is smooth and flat, and whether there is mud tire falling off and sticking during casting. In short, the muzzle is round, smooth and flat, and there are no defects such as cracks and bubbles on the barrel to be called successful casting. ”

Wang Yuan nodded and said, "I understand." If all goes well, can I do a charge test tomorrow? ”

Luo Wei said: "The fastest tomorrow, the slowest tomorrow morning." ”

Wang Yuan said: "Okay, I'm going to see it myself when I test it." I've heard that you've never tried a live-fire test, so let's try it this time. Pull the cannon into the West Mountain Col and test its power. ”

Luo Wei hurriedly said: "Follow the order of the marshal, everything is ready, the old man informs the manager of Liu, and asks the manager of Liu to inform the handsome." ”

Wang Yuan smiled and nodded. As he spoke, he saw Liu Xun holding a thick account book in his hand and trotting all the way.

"Mr. Liu, can you find the place where these iron ingots were purchased?" Wang Yuan asked hurriedly.

"Sangkook, I found it. Got it. The accounts of every needle and grain of rice here have been registered, how can you not find it. Liu Xun said breathlessly.

Wang Yuan said with a smile: "Mr. Liu is a fine person, except for you, I don't feel at ease with anyone I leave these things to manage." ”

"Xiangguo praises falsely." Liu Xunzhi was happy to be praised, dipped his fingers in a little spit, opened the thick account book, and quickly found the page: "Dashuai, please see, among all the projects to buy iron ingots, only this one is two thousand catties, and it must be that batch." Lao Yu read the record and remembered that these two thousand catties of iron ingots were purchased in Yaozhou, and at that time, Lao Yu went to Yaozhou to buy charcoal, and also bought the rest of the materials by the way. But there is no grain, cotton, linen, special ironware and other things in the whole Yaozhou City, and the whole city only receives 2,000 catties of iron ingots. Because of the small number, the old man didn't take it to heart, and he couldn't remember it afterwards. Luckily, it's on the books. The old decay now recalled. ”

Wang Yuan nodded and said, "I see, you are sure that this is an iron ingot produced in Yaozhou?" ”

Liu Xun thought about it, turned his head and asked Luo Wei: "Brother Luo, the two thousand catties of iron you said are in very poor condition, is it that the iron ingot has dark red mottled impurities?" ”

Luo Wei nodded, "yes, it looks like it's rusty." When I touched it, the pimples on the iron ingot seemed to be mixed with sand. It does look so-so. ”

Liu Xun nodded straight and said, "That's it, it's the two thousand catties of iron collected in Yaozhou." When I mentioned it, I remembered, I almost refused to accept it at that time, but at that time, the army replaced the horse iron, and I thought that the horse iron did not need too good iron quality, so I accepted it and planned to use it to make the horseshoe. I don't know why I didn't use it. ”

Wang Yuan frowned and asked, "Does Yaozhou produce iron ore?" I've been in Shudi for a few years, why haven't I heard of Yaozhou's iron? ”

Li Mi on the side said in a deep voice: "Xiangguo, I remember that there is indeed an iron mine in the land of Yuewang. When he was in charge of the post of Yue Shan Taishou, he heard that iron ore had been discovered in the Kapok Mountains at the southern foot of the Great Snow Mountain. It's just that because the Kapok Mountains at the southern foot of the Daxue Mountain are at the intersection of the three kingdoms of the Tang Dynasty and the Southern Zhao and Tubo Kingdoms, there are often conquests, so the mines there were forced to stop working after several years of mining. The last mining was in the early years of the new century, and it had not been mined for decades. I just heard Steward Liu say that he collected iron in Yaozhou, presumably because someone opened a mine to melt iron many years ago and left some iron ingots. After so many years of no further mining, the number is naturally very small. ”

Wang Yuan was surprised: "There is such a thing? My Jiannan is sitting on a treasure mine, and I actually destroyed the heavens? This matter must be confirmed, if there is really an iron ore in the land of the higher mountains, and it is suitable for iron, wouldn't it be possible for us to cast cannons? ”

"Yes, yes, if it is really an iron ore produced in the snowy mountains in Yaozhou, it is really a joy from heaven." Lowe was also overjoyed.

Everyone was also very excited when they heard this, and they must know that in today's Tang Dynasty, although iron tools have become very common, the price of iron is actually very expensive. Although it cannot be compared with copper, Datang does not produce much iron every year. According to the statistics of Tianbao's eight years, Datang produces only more than 2 million catties of iron and 260,000 catties of copper every year. It sounds like a large number of iron production, but if you think about it, this is the iron production of the prosperous Tang Dynasty in a year, you will know how shabby it is. Datang has a population of nearly 80 million, and the per capita steel output is less than 3 percent. That's a shabby number. Therefore, if iron ore is found in Jiannan, it is like discovering gold ore, which can not only supply the needs of the Shence army, but also bring a lot of wealth.

Wang Yuan was also excited, but he needed to confirm the matter to believe it. And even if this is true, mining iron ore requires a lot of manpower and materials. With Wang Yuan's current financial resources, I am afraid it will be difficult to bear it independently.

"In this way, Old Man Luo, let's wait for this cannon barrel experiment to determine whether this iron ingot can really be used as iron for casting cannon barrels. If it can still be fired more than 100 times without exploding, it means that this kind of iron is suitable. Then I would like to ask you to work hard and take people to the Kapok Mountains at the southern foot of the Great Snow Mountain to have a look. One is to see if the iron ore is real, and the other is to see if the two irons are the same iron. After that, we'll decide whether to mine or not. Wang Yuan groaned.

Luo Wei nodded and said, "Okay, the old man also wants to take a look." ”