It was very warm to stand around the iron stove in winter, Song Yingxing was sweating with heat, Zhu Youzhen also took off his robe, took a willow stick and pointed to the fire bricks at the bottom of the furnace and asked: "Why didn't you think about using a medium to directly heat the iron ore and burn it with a wood fire, it's too slow." ”

"Your Majesty, Wechen also thought about making iron with coal, but now not only ironmaking, even Jingdezhen burns porcelain, but also firewood, because the things burned out of this coal can't be used, Wechen is thinking, maybe when coal burns iron, there must be something else burned into it."

Song Yingxing's answer made Zhu Youzhen very satisfied.

In this era, coal with a higher combustion value can only be used for domestic heating, because coal contains too many impurities such as sulfur and phosphorus.

The use of coal to make iron will undoubtedly make the smelted iron contain more impurities and affect the quality of steel.

But if the main energy source is still based on burning wood, it will be difficult to improve the industrial output and efficiency of the Ming Dynasty.

The development of iron and steel smelting was originally the method of iron smelting.

This method has been used throughout ancient China since the Han Dynasty, and it was only around the middle of the eighteenth century that the West began to invent crucible iron smelting and surpassed China.

Subsequently, with the development of chemical processes, Bessemer converter steelmaking and alkaline open-hearth steelmaking appeared, and later electric arc steelmaking completely replaced crucible steelmaking.

Daming's chemical process is almost zero-based.

Only natural materials can be relied on as reducing agents and oxidants to regulate a series of redox reactions in the ironmaking process.

However, in Zhu Youzhen's view, although the methods of converter steelmaking cannot be applied immediately, crucible steelmaking can be realized.

This is not Zhu Youzhen's whim, it comes from his infinite self-confidence as a traverser.

In fact, as early as the Eastern Han Dynasty, crucible iron smelting had already appeared, but I don't know how it was lost later.

The existing empirical evidence is that the "Mancheng Han Tomb Excavation Report" mentioned that more than ten crucibles were found in the Han tomb, and there was a steel layer at the bottom of the crucible.

It can be seen that the steel smelting of the Han Empire has surpassed that of Western Europe for thousands of years, and it is not until a hundred years after the current Ming Dynasty that crucible steelmaking began to appear in the West.

Of course, it may have something to do with the fact that Confucianism began to rule China in the middle of the Han Dynasty.

We ourselves have left the advanced technology of our ancestors in historical classics or graves, while the social elite has put more energy into various interpretations of Confucianism, and even gave birth to Cheng Zhu Lixue, Puxue and other studies, which has completely led to the deviation of Eastern civilization.

No further ado.

Zhu Youjian knew that the basic method of crucible ironmaking was to use graphite and clay as raw materials to make crucible furnaces, and pig iron or scrap steel was placed in the crucible, and then heated with coal.

Graphite has good air tightness and strong thermal conductivity, so that it can isolate the pollution of impurities in the coal to the molten steel, and can also increase the temperature in the furnace, shorten the working hours, and then combine with Song Yingxing's willow stick stirring, which can promote the oxidation of impurities and control the carbon content, so that the steel smelting level of Daming can at least surpass any country in the current era for more than 100 years.

Graphite is not difficult to develop, this substance as a crystalline mineral of carbon, strong chemical stability, easy to mine, processing cost is very low, and Zhu Youzhen himself knows that now Shandong Changyang is a large graphite mine base in later generations, and now Shandong is still in the hands of Daming, which can be quickly mined.

Zhu Youzhen directly called Song Yingxing into his house, handed Song Yingxing the idea and drawings of his crucible ironmaking, and asked Song Yingxing to find a way to dry distill coal to get coke at the same time, which is more conducive to ironmaking. At the same time, the south is rich in hydraulic resources, which can be pushed to the blower for operation and oxygen supply.

Because of the high phosphorus content of iron ore in the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Youzhen asked Song Yingxing to find a way to use quicklime to make alkaline bricks.

"In this way, you don't need so many craftsmen to keep beating and making weapons with their hands here, otherwise at this speed, you can make a few firearms, do you know the concept of molds, some basic components such as gun barrels or something, you can first make such a mold according to the picture shown in me, and then use water power to provide power, so that the whole mold rotates, and then cast with molten iron, you can continuously get the basic components, and the craftsman can screen the defective products and carefully polish them, and you can quickly complete the weapon manufacturing, understand?"

Zhu Youzhen intended to tell Song Yingxing the method of providing a mold for hydraulic rotation and then forming an assembly line.

After Zhu Youzhen said it a few times, Song Yingxing could also understand: "These carpenters will do it, it lies in the word design, please rest assured, Weichen will try his best to make your set of equipment!" ”

"Don't be afraid of failure, all the parts of the weapon are all unified standards, what is the standard and its significance, I have already told you, the mold can also play this role, so that even the most basic craftsmen can assemble a firecracker, the efficiency will naturally improve a lot, hurry up to find someone to do it, and order it to go down, complete this set of equipment, from the craftsman to you, I will be promoted to the knighthood, and the reward will not be less."

After Zhu Youzhen finished speaking, Song Yingxing nodded and asked again: "Your Majesty, Weichen dares to ask, how do these Your Majesty know?" ”

"Taizu taught each other in his dream, and ordered me to revive the Ming Dynasty with new ideas and new methods, and I can't help but obey!"

Zhu Youzhen naturally would not say that he was a traverser, and many stories about teaching in the dreams of immortals in ancient times, Zhu Youzhen also made a nonsense.

In this era of idealism supremacy, Song Yingxing did not have the slightest doubt, just looked at the snowflakes falling in front of him, and arched his hand towards Zhu Youzhen: "It can be seen that my Ming Dynasty is in sight, Your Majesty, you will reopen the sun and the moon for the Ming Dynasty!" ”

"There is no need to say flattery, now that the war is imminent, when the country is in danger, all good knowledge and skills must be popularized immediately, you enter the palace with me, and every Friday in the future, you will enter the palace once, I will teach you personally, you can recommend a few miscellaneous and exquisite pedants to me, I will teach them together, and the learning of Taizu must be passed on!"

Zhu Youzhen said that he went to Longlin first.

Song Yingxing's pursuit of learning has always focused on practical learning, and Xu Guangqi and others are in the same vein, and now he heard that Zhu Youzhen wanted to teach him the knowledge taught by Taizu, and he became a student of the Son of Heaven in an instant, so he was naturally excited, and hurriedly ran over: "Wechen thanked Your Majesty, please rest assured, Wechen will definitely carry forward Your Majesty's sacred learning, in addition, Your Majesty asked the minister to recommend miscellaneous and exquisite pedants, Wechen knows a few, and one of His Majesty must also know that he is Nanjing Shao Sima Bigong." ”

Bi Maokang once served as a squire in the Nanjing Military Department.

"Bi Maokang, why did I forget him!"

Zhu Youzhen patted his forehead, regretted it, and hurriedly summoned Wang Chengen and asked Dongchang to find this person immediately.

"Your Majesty! Please don't worry, Your Majesty is thirsty for talent, and Weichen is deeply admired, but this Bi Gong seems to have been infected with a disease, and I don't know how many Yang Shou he can have, I am afraid it will be difficult to come to Beijing to take up his post, not to mention, it is a bitter cold day now! ”

Song Yingxing replied.

Zhu Youzhen thought about it, but Song Yingxing reminded him that he also remembered this Bi Maokanglai, and also knew that this person now mastered the manufacturing technology of flintlock pistols, and also wrote a "Weapons Book", which is not unimportant. Now it is absolutely impossible to let Bi Mao recuperate at home.

"Wang Chengen, pass on my will to Xu Wenjue, the Duke of Wei, and ask him to build a dragon chariot like me, both to ventilate and dissipate heat and keep warm, and then personally go and invite Bi Qing to me to Nanjing, and live in his mansion, if Bi Maokang has the slightest mistake on the road, I will ask him!"