Forty miles south of Dengzhou City, Nanlai Mountain.

Nanlai Mountain is just an unknown hill in the south of Dengzhou City, but at this time it was guarded by hundreds of soldiers of the New Army to go up and down the mountain, and at the same time, there were constantly groups of people carrying all kinds of materials to climb up the mountain, which was very noisy.

At this time, Nanlai Mountain has become a huge construction site, and if you can look down from the sky, you can see that there are three huge construction sites in Nanlai Mountain, lined up from east to west.

Li Congyan and Wu Conghan have been living at the construction site on the mountainside for a few days, and they are directing the construction here on the spot.

Li Congyan is so interested in this place because there is an iron-rich mine in the eastern col of Nanlai Mountain, and there is also an open-pit coal mine at the western foot of Nanlai Mountain. It can be said that Nanlai Mountain is naturally a place of choice for building an ironworks!

"The ironworks are located on the gentle slope of the mountainside, and another 300 people will be mobilized to come over, and within 15 days all the places will be leveled, and the infrastructure construction will be carried out at the same time, without delay!"

"Whoa!"

"In addition, the coal mine in the west foot and the iron mine in the mountain col should also be built at the same time, and the style I designed should be carried out, remember to ensure ventilation and water seepage, and ensure the safety of craftsmen and people going down the mine!"

"Whoa!"

"Also, winter is about to begin, and the warm clothes of the people and the soldiers of the new army must be mobilized as soon as possible, and firewood, fire oil and other cold things must also be prepared. During the construction period, there can be no frostbite to people, and there must be no people freezing to death, otherwise I will severely punish them! ”

"Whoa!"

Wu Conghan forked his hand and said: "Please rest assured, the Lord, I will personally supervise this matter!" ”

Later, Li Congyan and others went to the location of the iron ore factory in the eastern mountain col and specially investigated the location of the mine.

After 300 years of accumulation in Datang, the 100 workers who opened the mine at this time have been able to extend the mining system to a rich ore belt tens of meters deep, and use the wooden frame support to build a huge underground stope in the deep part of the formation. However, ventilation in the mine was still a major problem at this time.

Therefore, Li Congyan learned from the knowledge of later generations, improved the mining technology, and used the combined mining method of vertical shaft, inclined shaft, blind shaft and flat roadway to carry out deep well mining, and used the air pressure difference generated by the different heights of the wellhead to form natural wind, so as to solve the ventilation problem. The specific details were still perfected by Wu Conghan and a group of old miners, and they have been recorded in the newly revised "Mining Manual" at this time.

Li Congyan and everyone said, while inspecting the construction of the mine mouth, as well as safety measures, at this time there have been a lot of mining tools have been transported, there are axes, axes, chisels, etc., turning tools have wooden shovels, wooden shovels, loading tools have bamboo baskets, bamboo dustpans, lifting tools have wooden rollers, wooden hooks, etc.

In addition, a large beneficiation site has been set up in the mining area of iron ore, and a wooden chute of beneficiation equipment has been erected, which can use the difference in the movement state of ore particles in the oblique water flow to separate materials. Under the combined action of gravity, friction, pressure of water flow and resistance of the stall, the ore particles are loose and stratified, which is one of the gravity beneficiation methods to achieve separation according to specific gravity.

Li Congyan made an inspection and saw that the iron ore plant and coal mine were under steady construction, and there were no major problems, so he returned to the ironworks on the mountainside with satisfaction.

The Nanlaishan Ironworks is a vital part of Li Congyan's development plan, so he attaches great importance to it, and almost all the halfway up the Nanlaishan Mountain is bulldozed here, and construction is started.

Hundreds of workers from all over Dengzhou, and even the surrounding Laizhou, Zizhou, and Yanzhou also gathered here, and more than 200 workers were busy day and night, while building the ironworks building, a blast furnace was also being built.

The blast furnace of the ironmaking plant is specially improved and designed by Li Congyan, each blast furnace is about six meters high, the volume is about 50 cubic meters, the base is made of refractory bricks and small pebbles rammed, the thickness of the base is nearly four meters, and the overall height of the blast furnace has reached an unprecedented ten meters.

As early as a month ago, Li Congyan dug and burned bricks in the backyard of the Assassin's Mansion and developed a trial-type refractory brick by himself, and then made a refractory brick that could be used on a large scale after the perfection of the Assassin's Mansion.

The blast furnace at this time was built with this refractory brick, which could withstand higher temperatures. At the same time, the blast furnace designed by Li Congyan is equipped with a bellows, and the front end of each blast furnace has a semicircular protrusion, on which a wooden handle is added, which is the bellows, which can continuously blow air for the blast furnace to increase the temperature of the combustion chamber.

Such an improved blast furnace could have been increased to the level of steelmaking, and now only the right fuel is needed to make steel. However, Li Congyan was still ready to smelt refined iron first, after all, the output of steelmaking was limited and could not meet the demand of the new army for iron in the future.

"Lord, the current ironworks plan to build seven blast furnaces in advance, and eight more in the future. After the ironmaking plant is put into operation, as long as the supply of iron ore and coal is sufficient, each blast furnace can produce 2,000 catties of refined iron per day, and the ironmaking plant can produce about 90 catties of refined iron per month! ”

"Nine hundred thousand catties?"

This figure sounds very bluffing at first glance, but Li Congyan converted it in his heart, and about more than 2,000 catties at this time is one ton for later generations, which means that the monthly output of the ironworks is about 450 tons, which can be regarded as a very high output. Li Congyan planned that the output of the ironmaking plant would first be supplied to the military division under construction, and that he would make every effort to build a standard armament for the new army, and if there was spare capacity in the future, he would consider selling refined iron to the outside world.

"Well, that's good."

Li Congyan stepped forward to investigate the base of a blast furnace, and saw that the refractory bricks were very smooth, mixed with small pebbles of uniform size, and the whole was very strong, and he was very satisfied.

At this time, Li Congyan asked: "What are you going to use for the fuel of the blast furnace of the ironworks?" ”

"Coal!"

Wu Conghan is a little strange, there is a coal mine in the west, and the Thorn Shifu is also vigorously building this coal mine, why does Li Congyan have to ask more?

Li Congyan said: "The coal output in Xilu is only the first step, and the fuel for the ironworks cannot be direct coal, but coke, and the coal produced by the coal mines must be coking before being transported here for ironmaking." If you use coal directly to make iron, the sulfur content of the refined iron will be very high, resulting in the refined iron becoming very brittle, and the quality of the prepared equipment will be worried! ”

Wu Conghan hurriedly wrote it down when he heard this, and immediately said that he would increase the coal coking procedure in the coal mine.

Then, Li Congyan said: "Today's iron-making method is the steel-filling method, but there are still things that need to be improved. ”

"Please give me advice."

"Today's Baigong is to embed pieces of pig iron in the middle of coiled wrought iron bars, seal the steelmaking blast furnace with mud, and then smelt it. In this way, there is no guarantee that the molten pig iron will evenly penetrate into the wrought iron, and the produced refined iron will become brittle locally. ”

Wu Conghan wrote them down one by one, and then looked at the hundreds of workers accompanying him, only to see that several of them nodded yes, and they admired Li Congyan's knowledge more and more in their hearts.

"So how can it be improved? Please make it clear to the Lord! ”

"Pig iron sheets can be placed on several wrought iron sheets that are tightly bundled, so that the molten pig iron can penetrate into the wrought iron more evenly. Instead of mud sealing, the mouth of the furnace is covered with mud-coated straw sandals, so that the pig iron can get oxygen from the air and melt more easily, thus improving the efficiency of smelting. ”

Although Wu Conghan and several hundred workers still don't quite understand the meaning of the words oxygen and efficiency, they have generally understood that several hundred workers still have a feeling of being sudden, and it turns out that only a few pairs of straw sandals can solve big problems!

Then, Li Congyan investigated the management manuals for ironworks, coal mines, and iron mines compiled by the Assassin's Office. These manuals are formulated with reference to the management process of Liuli Workshop and Haiyan Workshop, which is a product of its time in this era and can effectively manage huge workshops.

Li Congyan corrected several unreasonable places in the manual, and then ordered Wu to print and distribute them from the Han periodical.

Everyone watched for a while, and Li Congyan returned to the temporary residence of the ironworks. In the past few days, he has seen almost everything here, and the new techniques of the guidance have been taught to everyone, so Li Congyan is thinking about returning to Dengzhou City tomorrow.

Of course, Li Congyan asked about the situation of mining in various places. Since the end of the bidding meeting, businessmen from all over the country have begun to work hard, and specific information has also gathered to record Wu Conghan, who joined the army.

"On the Lord, businessmen from all over the country are busy opening mines, and the dozen or so businessmen who won the bid have basically recruited people to enter the mining area. These businessmen also acted quickly, and in a short period of time, they recruited prospectors, and basically found specific ore deposit addresses. ”

"That's nature, that's the power of money, the biggest motivation for these businessmen."

Then Li Congyan asked again: "What is the reaction of the families in various places?" ”

Although Li Congyan did not set up a special intelligence agency, in Dengzhou, the ability of the Assassin Mansion to find out information can still be relied on, after all, officials at all levels are local elites and local snakes, and some important news can be gathered quickly.

"The Lord of Qiqi, the families around the country have also been mobilized by the mining matter, especially the iron mines that have won the bid of several merchants, and there are already five or six families who have invested a lot of money in those iron mines."

The corners of Li Congyan's mouth rose slightly, and they all said that businessmen pursue profits, but in fact, the same is true of the family. Before the bidding meeting, Li Congyan had expected that families from all over the world would rush to this matter, which was also Li Congyan's design in advance.

Why is the mining tender only for businessmen and not for the family? It is to let the family understand one thing: the principal of Dengzhou is Li Congyan, the assassin!

"Families from all over the world have invested in the mines, that is, to invite you into the urn, they have taken the initiative to contact my Assassin Mansion!"

Wu Conghan said with a smile: "Lord Mingjian." It is said that at present, except for the Li family in Dengzhou, the attitude of the other families in various places towards my Assassin Mansion has changed a little, especially those families who have invested in mineral deposits in various places. ”

"That's right!"

Li Congyan secretly said in his heart: "What I want is this effect!" ”

Suddenly, Li Congyan remembered something and asked, "How did you dispose of the properties seized by the Assassin's Mansion these times?" ”

Wu Conghan was slightly stunned and said, "The Lord forgot? With the exception of some properties allocated to the generals of the Forces nouvelles as residences, the remaining properties are largely vacant. ”

"That's a bit of a waste."

Li Congyan thought about it, it is not realistic to rent a house at this time, after all, there is no such a big demand for renting in the private sector now, and there is no awareness of this.

After thinking for a while, Li Congyan said: "It's useless to keep these houses, see if you can sell them all, and all the money you get will be invested in the reclamation of the homeless people." ”

"Whoa!"