During the Spring and Autumn Period, the state of Chu was the first country to enter the Iron Age. However, the technology of iron smelting is not yet mature, and the smelted iron is mostly pig iron with a large content of impurities. Although pig iron is hard and wear-resistant, it is brittle and can be easily broken. Not suitable for forging weapons such as swords. It was not until the middle and late Warring States period that Chu mastered the technology of refining into steel. Iron gradually replaced bronze. At this time, iron was only used to cast small objects like arrowheads and needles.

The blacksmith mentioned in Wang Xu's mouth is nothing more than a craftsman who can cast bronze. I can help him build some gadgets. However, he did not know what the blacksmith represented at this moment. Countries are trying to do everything possible to break through the technology of iron smelting. Wei Guo is no exception, even their blacksmith is a talent hired from Chu State with a high salary. How could he have lent it out because of the king's words? And this is a state secret, and ordinary people simply do not know about the existence of blacksmiths.

"I don't know how Mr. Xu knew that there was a blacksmith in Qicheng?"

"Hehe, Lan Gongzi. How could such a large city not even have a blacksmith? ”

The two looked at each other and smiled for a moment. They both seemed to misunderstand why each other was laughing. The existence of iron is a secret between nations. Ordinary people don't know about it. Ji Lan didn't believe that Zhongshan had mastered the technology of iron smelting. However, the other party's ordinary gaze made her a little suspicious.

"Sir is well versed in the way of iron smelting, I don't know if you can give me some advice?"

"How dare you... How dare you. Just a little bit of it. ”

Then Ji Lan ordered people to prepare chariots and horses, led twenty guards, and took Wang Xu out of the city. Not far outside the city, Wang Xu and Ah Ji were blindfolded and their weapons confiscated. I don't understand, why don't you just borrow a blacksmith, as for being so mysterious?

"Lan Gongzi! Where is this taking me? ”

"The garrison of the Northern Army."

Blacksmiths serve in the army, it seems to be such logic. Wang Xu didn't ask in detail. After all, the location of the garrison is classified. If he talks too much, he will be charged with a crime of ill-intention, and it will not be good if he is arrested as a fine work.

When the blindfold was removed, I was in a low-lying mountain col. It is surrounded by low hills. In the distance, sheep and horses graze on the hills.

"Don't blame you, sir. This is the land where my David shepherds his horses. The elder brother is the young Sima of the country, who is in charge of the affairs of the horse and the horse administration. ”

"How dare you... There's Laulan's son. The sheep there are also pastures, right? ”

Wang Xu pointed to the flock of sheep in the distance, excited. It's all in vain, and it's really lucky. With so many sheep, the supply of wool will definitely keep up with it in the future.

"I don't mind selling the wool to my husband, but there is a dilemma."

"I don't know what the difficulty is, but please ask Lan Gongzi to make it clear?"

"First, if the wool is removed, it may hurt the sheepskin. Second, the middle of winter is coming, how can the sheep keep out the cold if they are naked? ”

Wang Xu laughed and laughed. In an instant, Ji Lan shaved the sheep with a razor.

"Hahaha."

Then it dawned on me. It is no wonder that cloth in ancient times was woven according to the width of the door used to make clothes. It is precisely because there are no scissors that it is impossible to cut accurately. He hurriedly clasped his fists and saluted, and confessed:

"Lan Gongzi forgives his sins! It's rude. Wool can be sheared in mid-summer and can be grown before winter. As for the things used for shearing, the pattern is drawn, and the son can see it at a glance. It will never hurt the sheepskin. ”

Wang Xu found a branch and drew a pattern of scissors on the ground. Explain to Ji Lan how to make it. The other party's eyes were shining, and he nodded again and again. The maid on the side opened her eyes wide and looked at the explainer incredulously. Sure enough, he's a strange guy. I was able to come up with something so ingenious. At this time, Ji Lan was even more convinced that the person in front of him knew the method of smelting iron.

Then he took him to visit the place where the iron was smelted. The old blacksmith hired from Chu State with a high salary was also on the side. Explain each process to him carefully. The iron-smelting area is very spacious, and the hearth made of stones is lined up. Some are burning, emitting black smoke. Others were crushed, and reddish pig iron bumps were pinched out from the bottom of the hearth. Others are being built, with charcoal and iron ore layered in the hearth. It's a hot scene. Although it was late autumn, they seemed to be not afraid of the cold, and they all worked bare-chested.

"Wow! It's huge. ”

"Hehe, this is a bellow, which can make the fire white."

I learned from ancient books such as alchemy that the ancients did not have the concept of temperature. The temperature is judged entirely by looking at the color of the flame. That's what it means. If the elixir can be successfully refined, the furnace fire will inevitably turn white.

A brawny man with a shirtless body pushes a huge bellows made of animal skins. Wang Xu only felt funny. It's as childish as an adult playing with a child's toy. Then the old blacksmith led them to the place where the pig iron was made. Sparks flew everywhere, and the sound of gold and iron striking was deafening. Dozens of hammers struck at the same time, making a short golden sound, as if resonating. For a while, I felt like I was being scratched by a cat. Even his tongue went numb. Wang Xu couldn't stand such a sound the most, like scraping glass with his fingernails, and felt like he was about to collapse.

This is the first time that I have witnessed the transition of an era. The craftsman wields a hammer and forges it, but the iron felt used for striking the iron is cast in bronze. It always feels awkward. On second thought, that's right. Iron smelting has higher temperature requirements than bronze. It is precisely because the melting point of iron cannot be reached that the iron felt cannot be poured.

Wang Xu's painful expression was seen by Ji Lan. It seems that she is also resistant to noise. So he urged the old blacksmith to leave. A group of people came to the place where the finished product was inspected. There are many small parts made of pig iron. When I looked closer, I realized that it was used to assemble the spear. He did not expect that the poor and weak patriotic country would have hidden grand plans for military innovation. If it succeeds by chance, its military strength will inevitably increase greatly.

Suddenly, a craftsman's actions aroused Wang Xu's curiosity. The man held a black stone in his hand, which was attached to a weapon made of pig iron. I thought he was polishing his weapon. After a few moments, the man slid it with his backhand, and the weapon didn't drop, as if it was attached to the black stone. Wang Xu was shocked and shouted:

"Magnet!"

The old blacksmith was surprised, few people knew about it.

"Oh? Sir actually knows this? Cishi can test iron, little known. ”

I don't know how to name it with the word loving. It's because there are fewer words at this time, and I still think that this stone can absorb weapons, which means to stop fighting. Or the magnet is loved by the alchemists, used to refine the elixir, ground into powder and cure diseases.

The old blacksmith suddenly felt that when he met a like-minded person, he bowed to Wang Xu. Ji Lan on the side was overjoyed and slightly worried. If Zhongshan has mastered the method of iron smelting. Soon after, the Jin people will inevitably master. This is a great threat to the country. With a thought, she narrowed her eyes. Said:

"Mr. Xu, can you mention something?"

"Don't dare to mention it. There's nothing wrong with that. ”

In fact, he didn't know much about it, but he knew that the melting point of iron was higher than that of bronze. It is nothing more than raising the furnace temperature. After visiting the whole process of iron smelting, I found that there were too many impurities in the iron pieces fired by the hearth. It is estimated that this is the case that the blacksmiths seen on TV will repeatedly forge ironware. He doesn't understand what decarbonization is. But as a former business wizard, he still maintains a keen eye. It can go straight to the essence of things.

"I don't know if you've heard of coal, old man."

The old blacksmith frowned. Seeing this, Wang Xu began to describe the appearance of coal.

"This thing is as black as ink, like charcoal can be burned, and it mostly comes from Jindi."

There are many coal bosses in Shanxi, and there are many open-pit coal mines in my impression. It is believed that this era has been discovered and used. Sure enough, as soon as he said this, the old blacksmith thought of it.

"Sir, you're talking about coal?"

What the hell is Carbonite? If you think about it, the ancients must have believed that coal was a stone that could be burned. There is no need to worry about such small details. In his opinion, raising the temperature is nothing more than changing the fuel. Coal burns for a longer time and lasts longer than charcoal. Adding fuel all the time during smelting will of course affect the temperature. Or maybe it's crooked.

Then he proposed to build the hearth higher. Aren't all iron-smelting furnaces very high? I don't know why I did this, but I at least know that the temperature around the flames is higher. I also taught it in chemistry class in junior high school. Laying charcoal and iron ore layer by layer like they did is bound to burn insufficiently. This is especially true where the iron blocks touch the ground.

If the old blacksmith had found a treasure, he ordered someone to take the ink strip and record it on the bamboo slip. A piece of black chalk only surprised Wang Xu. I kept asking how the ink strip was made. One side is anxious to hear the method of smelting iron, while the other is asking how the ink strips are made. Ji Yuan, who was silent all the way and pretended to be a maid, saw this scene and laughed wildly. However, no one paid any attention. She looked around boredly. It was very interesting to find the little girl standing behind Wang Xu. Scratching his head for a moment, as if thinking about something. After a while, he squeezed the two people beside Wang Xu, as if he also wanted to understand and participate in it. It's just that the fanatical Ji Lan and the blacksmith sandwiched Wang Xu in the middle at the moment, not giving her a chance to get close at all.

Ji Yuan flashed to Ah Ji's side strangely and asked in a low voice:

"Do you understand?"

Aji turned around and blinked his eyes, and whispered two words.

"I don't understand."

"Hahaha, you're so funny. It's just as interesting as Wei Xu. What is your name? ”

"Aji..."

The friendship between the girls seems to be well established. The two who were left out in the cold thought each other was a poor slave. I couldn't help but feel sympathy, but after a brief chat, I found that the other party didn't have a city government, and it was very easy to get along. Instantly the favorability exploded, and he began to say nothing.

"Has your young master always been so strange?"

"It's not strange that the young master is not surprised. If you say anything more about him, I'll ignore you. ”

"Really? Hahaha. I think you masters and servants are weirdos. ”

The two little girls hid in the distance and whispered, taking a look at the academic discussion scene in full swing from time to time.

"Did Wei Xu ever bully you?"

Obviously, this can be understood on many levels. But Aji immediately replied.

"Nope! Less host was nice. ”

"Really? Why didn't I see it? ”

Ah Ji was very concerned about Ji Yuan's opinion of his young master, so he asked the same question.

"Will Lan Gongzi bully you?"

Ji Yuan found that Aji was outrageous, and he was foolish when he finished it. As soon as she is slightly offended, the girl will put on a very unhappy appearance. She liked the character of this girl of the same age, like a lotus flower that came out of the mud and was not stained. Suddenly I want to play tricks on each other. So...

"Childe, he often beats and scolds me. Sometimes they also force their servants to sleep. ”

Speaking of this, tears broke down in my eyes. She thought she was pretending to be so pathetic. Ah Ji would always say bad things about his master, or share gossip, anecdotes, etc. However, what I didn't expect was that the girl didn't say a word. The next moment, she was stupid.

"Live..."

She was hugged violently by Aji, and the other party stroked her back a few times. Then he whispered those three words. Suddenly, I felt that things were not as simple as I imagined. Aji must be a girl with a story to tell, and has suffered a lot of damage. At this moment, being hugged tightly by the other party is really crying and laughing. The girl kindly comforted her that she couldn't push people away. Wouldn't that hurt too much? And the other party's words, she couldn't pick them up. It's true that my sister beat and scolded her. It's also true to sleep with your sisters. If the lie rises to the level of life and death, I will always feel a little sorry for my sister.

For a while, I was at a loss, and I was distressed and stretched out my hand to hug each other. The two embraced each other and encouraged each other. This was beyond Ji Yuan's expectations, but she trusted her instincts. The young man named Wei Xu must be a guy with a beast's heart.

At this moment, the studious baby Wang Xu finally knows how the ink strips are made. The ancients were really clever enough to grind black charcoal or black ore into powder, and then use sticky things such as fish glue or lacquer to fuse them together and beat them repeatedly. Finally, the ink strips can be made by drying in the sun.

Ink strips are mostly used for women's thrushes, also known as stone dais. Wang Xu thought that the old blacksmith was really naughty, and even stole his wife's eyebrow pencil for writing. In fact, this is not the case, at this time, the ink strip can be used for writing after melting. The blacksmith was just troublesome and in a hurry to record. He can't take a knife and carve on a bamboo slip, can he? That's too slow.

Wang Xu gave the third way to increase the temperature, which is to make bellows. Snatched the ink strip from the old blacksmith's hand and began to draw on a wooden board. And the two people who watched him draw were full of confusion. Where have they seen three-dimensional graphics? I'm even more embarrassed to persuade the other party to draw a floor plan again. The bellows Wang Xu has seen it, and the structure inside is just a guess. Anyway, it's easy to blow in. Can't you get them a blower? With magnets and copper, it was not a problem to build a hand-cranked generator. But what after that? Maybe he'll figure it out after a few years of research. Right now. Just use the bellows to deal with it.

In addition to the use of coal, it is Wang Xu's unswerving proposal. The rest didn't seem to be sure, but they just put forward their ideas in a consultative tone for the two of them to refer to. And all of these ideas have the potential to come true. This made Ji Lan very puzzled, thinking to herself.

"Am I overly worried? Wei Xu doesn't seem to know the method of iron smelting? ”

If you know this, why bother going around in circles? Just tell them how to go about it. There is no need to explain the reasoning, or even ask for their opinions. Craftsmen rely on their crafts for their food, so how can they easily pass on their skills to others?

"Could it be that he is..."

A ridiculous idea came out of the depths of my heart. She didn't dare to think again, if her guess was true. What a terrifying existence the few people in front of you will be. A feeling of palpitations and uneasiness permeates the whole body.

"I first saw the magnet, and I heard the method of making ink. Forgive the lie, if the ore is calcined once and then ground into powder. After that, magnet adsorption screening is carried out, and then smelting. I wonder if it can be done? ”

The two who were listening suddenly fell silent. This answer is already telling. Even the old blacksmith who realized it was dumbfounded. At first, I admired the young man's insight, but after a while, I realized the meaning behind these words. The old blacksmith swallowed. Ji Lan asked tremblingly

"It's... This... You just came up with it? Is that right? ”

Wang Xu nodded casually. The stunned appearance of the two made him feel a little strange. Didn't they say to mention one or two? Could it be that he didn't give his advice well enough?

How could Wang Xu know that there was no such thing as a crucible in smelting at this time. Basically, it is the "block refining method" to make some iron lumps. The technology of "100 steelmaking" is faintly about to break through, but it is stuck in temperature. If the smelting method of grinding into powder is really realized. Then it ran to the level of the Song Dynasty. If the process of "frying steel" appears, it will not surprise the world? Fortunately, the bellows are not able to provide enough wind power. Unless the bellows are large enough to keep the wind pumping into the furnace.

However, the improvement suggestions put forward at this stage are enough for the country to make 100 steels. By the time he spoke of the blacksmith, Ji Lan was already thinking about killing him. If Wang Xu knew the method of smelting iron, there was no point in killing him. After all, the sons of a small country can know something, even if they want to hide it, they can't hide it. And if Wang Xu has mastered the core technology and confirmed that it was not taught, she will not hesitate to cut off Wang Xu's head.

At this moment, Ji Lan fell into a deep entanglement. The quick wit of a young man is rare in his life. It is not an exaggeration to praise him for his prodigy. Just a simple look at the smelting process can put forward such constructive suggestions. Whoever it is, you will also cherish your talents. How could they be willing to kill him?

"Lan Gongzi! The matter is over. It's time for us to go back, too. ”

Ji Lan was a little dazed, and unconsciously replied in a trance:

"Wait..."

"Huh? Why wait? Could it be that the son forgot? And you have to go down to find the blacksmith and the carpenter? ”

Isn't the blacksmith right here? Ji Lan suddenly realized that he had heard it wrong? She looked at the old blacksmith who had left excitedly, and then at Wang Xu with a sincere face. Could it be that the blacksmith that the other party said was not what she thought? I don't know why for a while. How could he know what Wang Xu was thinking at this time?

A fool can also see that this master blacksmith is the foreman here, how can Wang Xu be embarrassed to borrow it? Besides, the old man is old and can't do manual work. was taken to a poor country like Yunmeng, lacking food and clothing. In case there is a good one, how to explain it to Ji Lan? The other craftsmen are divided into a division of labor to complete a process. Presumably, it was because of the fear of leakage of iron-smelting technology. What's the use of hiring a quality inspector who can only build a stove, play with a bellows, pick a hammer or touch a magnet? The blacksmith he wanted was a blacksmith who knew a series of processes of bronze casting. It is best to bear hardships and stand hard work, as long as you are full, you will work strongly.

"Uh... I don't know what the blacksmith is..."

"As long as you know how to cast bronze, and you are young and strong."

Ji Lan felt that the whole person was not good. It's completely salty and doesn't worry about eating radish. actually brought Wang Xu to the garrison of the Qicheng Northern Army, obviously she thought too much. The secret was also actively exposed.

"Mr. Xu! You're talking about a blacksmith, not a blacksmith. ”

How could Wang Xu know that before the appearance of iron. Are all smelters called blacksmiths and not blacksmiths? He smiled awkwardly, patted his head, and immediately got off the donkey.

"Oops! Look at my memory. Right! It's a blacksmith. That's right! ”

For some reason, Ji Lan secretly sighed. She didn't want to take Wang Xu's life. What should not be known now, what should be known, the other party knows everything. To kill or not to kill?

"Sir! Can it be the same as the nomadic ranch below? ”

That's it. She didn't give Wang Xu a chance to choose, and ordered someone to drive to the distant hills. The four of them stood on the carriage and watched as the iron-smelting workshop in the col became smaller and smaller. Ji Lan patted the bronze carved fence of the carriage and asked:

"What does the gentleman think of this carriage?"

"Grandiose, mighty."

The carriage in which they traveled, with only two wheels, was drawn by a horse. It is a standard chariot, and this is Kiran's car.

"If you give the car to Mr. I wonder how many horses Mr. can drive? ”

The question is a bit profound. Where is it that someone sends a car and asks how many horses they want? It's obviously not sincere. Wang Xu didn't know what Ji Lan meant by this? Casually replied:

"Two horses are enough."

"Why?"

"One horse I ride, one sister rides."

"Hahaha."

Ji Yuan and Ah Ji, who were standing in the car together, didn't understand what dumb riddle the two were playing.

"I would like to ask the gentleman one more question. Why do you want to help the people of Yunmeng? ”

"I don't want to. Lan Gongzi didn't give him a chance. I had no choice but to help. ”

I didn't expect the other party to answer like this. Simple and straightforward.

"Oh? If you have never been to Yunmeng, but someone else. The gentleman will not help the people... Is that right? ”

"Just kidding. Why should Lan Gongzi take it seriously? I once asked my sister, what do people want? He said, full of food and warm clothes. ”

Wang Xu sighed and said leisurely:

"Hey... Why help? I can't bear to see it..."