Chapter XXVIII

Foreman Ge said helplessly: "My lord, you must first get steel, whether it is a hundred refining into steel, or the steel filling method is not in one step. It is much more tedious than hammering pig iron into nail pieces. Turning pig iron into steel and then hammering it with water requires more man-hours than making the nail directly. ”

"Refining into steel is to beat it repeatedly, so that it is refined. Among them, the process is cumbersome, and it goes without saying. Now it is when the famous sword is made, this method is used, and more of it is obtained by using the steel filling method, combining wrought iron and pig iron, and hammering it. Although it doesn't need to be refined, it is still very cumbersome. ”

He Xi listened and rubbed his temples.

This was something he hadn't thought of before.

A very superficial problem, the more you dig into it, the bigger the problem becomes, and it becomes the most fundamental and basic problem. The problem is the technology of steelmaking, and He Xi is not too clear. And if steel is smelted in large batches?

He Xi didn't know.

He was silent for a moment and said, "Now adjourn the meeting." Let's discuss how we can quickly and massively produce steel. If there is such a way, I will play the court and be rewarded. He originally wanted to say that he would not hesitate to reward the marquis.

In his opinion, if anyone can solve this most critical problem, the reward of the marquis is small.

It's just that he is not Zhu Yuanzhang after all, so he doesn't dare to make such a promise.

Immediately, after He Xi went down, in the side room next to him, he retreated left and right. I flipped out my phone, looked out the content about steelmaking on it, and looked at it again and again. But that's less than a page.

This is what he pieced together from a variety of sources.

The basic properties of iron, the difference between steel and iron. preconditions for steelmaking, and so on.

But He Xi looked at it over and over again, and he couldn't figure it out, such as proposing a steelmaking method and blowing oxygen into it. Please, this is the Ming Dynasty, where is the oxygen. Another example, what is the electroslag recasting method? Where is the electricity? Can't count on that one solar charger anyway?

He Xi thought about it in his heart, but he still had to work together. Rely on the experience and skills of these craftsmen. All he could do was give him a concept.

"I really don't know how the big steel smelting in the fiction is made." He Xi said secretly in his heart.

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He Xi sorted out his thoughts and came to the lobby again. In the back hall, he heard a heated discussion. He listened for a while, but all sorts of terms he didn't understand made him have to give up.

He coughed twice and spun out of the back hall.

The craftsmen immediately knelt down and saluted, saying, "Meet Your Excellency." ”

He Xi said: "No need to be polite, sit down." As he spoke, he sat down in the right seat and said, "Have you thought of anything about it?" ”

These craftsmen cast their eyes on Foreman Ge.

He Xi said: "Old Ge, come on." ”

"Yes." Foreman Ge said: "My lord, we can discuss that we can improve the steel filling method, wrap wrought iron and pig iron together, and send it to the furnace for calcination. Pig iron first melts into molten iron. Mixed with wrought iron and forged, it will be better than the steel-filled method. ”

He Xi didn't know that the method mentioned by Foreman Ge was the prototype of Sugang in the middle of the Ming Dynasty.

Sugang's production base is in Wuhu. And a large number of blacksmiths came from Nanjing. Because at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang gathered skilled craftsmen from all over the world in Nanjing. With the relocation of the capital of the Ming Dynasty and other events, the importance of Nanjing gradually declined, and some of these skilled craftsmen went to Beijing. Naturally, some of them have flowed into the private sector.

And most of these blacksmiths in Wuhu came from Nanjing, which is probably not a coincidence.

However, He Xi didn't care when he knew it, and said: "How much steel does this method produce at one time?" ”

Foreman Ge pondered for a moment and said, "Once, you can probably produce dozens of catties." ”

He Xi said: "Do you need to forge?" ”

Foreman Ge said, "It's still needed." ”

He Xi said: "If all the pig iron in stock is tempered into steel by this method, how long will it take? ”

Foreman Ge stopped talking.

Fifteen thousand tons is not a small amount. It has to be completed first, and it is impossible to do it in three months. So there's no need to go on.

He Xi also understood the meaning of this silence, and he pondered for a moment and said, "I'll talk about something, these are what I saw from ancient books. About iron and steel. Do you know what iron is and what steel is? ”

These craftsmen didn't give any face, and they didn't give Mentor He any reaction at all.

He Xi could only continue to preach: "Pure iron, in fact, is relatively soft. The iron we usually see is an alloy of iron and carbon. The proportion of carbon in iron determines its properties. Iron is the one with more carbon, and steel is one with less carbon. Whereas, the higher the carbon content, the lower the melting point. This is why the melting point of iron is 1,500 degrees, while our furnace temperature is generally around 1,300 degrees. to be able to smelt iron. But if you want to make steel, you have to be at a higher temperature. ”

"As for the concept of temperature, it is 100 degrees for water to go from ice to boiling."

Speaking of which.

The craftsmen below are even more confused.

What temperature, what alloy of iron and carbon, etc., they seem to understand. I would also like to thank the breadth and profundity of the Chinese language. Although these craftsmen are literal, they may not be able to understand these words accurately. There are some deviations, but they are not completely incomprehensible.

For example, charcoal, what they understand is not, elemental charcoal, they do not have this concept, but charcoal in figurative.

The temperature is even more incomprehensible. Because fifteen hundred degrees, is the melting point of iron fifteen times that of water?

He Xi took a deep breath and didn't ask them to understand. "We're going to have enough armor in three months now," he said. You can't do it the old way. So we had to find a way to make a lot of steel. Processed directly with water hammer. This is the most labor-saving way. ”

"And for large-scale steelmaking, you can't use small furnaces, you must have blast furnaces."

He Xi said: "As for the blast furnace, does anyone know?"

He Xi actually hurriedly drew a sketch, which was the blast furnace he understood. But this sketch is at most a concept map. He didn't know exactly how to make it.

Foreman Ge glanced at the surrounding craftsmen and saw that they were all looking at him. I had no choice but to stand up on my own. After all, when Shangguan asked, they didn't dare to deceive. But most craftsmen are timid. Foreman Ge had more contact with He Xi.

And it fell on him.

Foreman Ge said: "My lord, my ancestor was a craftsman in the former Song Dynasty and knew about blast furnaces. Nowadays, iron smelting is also useful. I just don't know, it's not the blast furnace you said. ”

He Xi was overjoyed when he heard this, and said, "Please come forward and draw a picture of the blast furnace for me." ”

"This is the position of the adult, how dare the villain be contaminated." Foreman Ge said.

He Xi stepped forward and grabbed Ge Lao's hand. Ge Lao's hands are very hard, with a lot of calluses on them, and they are sharp and angular. He Xi pulled Ge Lao up and said, "Ge Lao, why should you be polite. There is no need for me to be courteous. ”

Ge Lao was forcibly pressed by He Xi in He Xi's position. He Xi found pen, ink, paper, and inkstone for Ge Lao, and studied ink for Ge Lao.

During this period of time in ancient times, He Xi's calligraphy has grown greatly. From the ink pig that can't be seen clearly, you can probably tell what the word is from the ink ball. However, I did learn to study ink.

At this moment, He Xi wanted to know what the ancient blast furnace looked like. Therefore, I didn't care that there was anything wrong with studying ink for Ge Lao.

But these craftsmen were dumbfounded.

A young nobleman like He Xi, under normal circumstances, losing a single hair can make them pay for their lives. Whose wife do you have a crush on? The whole family must go out and give it away. As for grinding ink for these craftsmen by hand, it is something that should not be thought about at all.

Before, He Xi said that he respected craftsmen. These craftsmen are not convinced.

Now the faith will be doubted.

Foreman Ge looked at He Xi and was slightly stunned. Foreman Ge secretly said in his heart: "Although Lord He may not be sincere. But to be able to do this is already commendable. Why don't I sell my life to adults? What's more, Lord He may not have the heart of a horse bone in Qianjin City. Maybe that's my family's chance. ”

Foreman Ge was also not polite. I picked up the brush and began to draw.

He Xi couldn't help but be ashamed when he saw it.

Foreman Ge's drawings were very bad. It's not a technique. It's not a three-view either. It's just a simple line sketch. But it was impossible for He Xi to do it.

After a few moments, Foreman Ge finished the drawing.

But it is a blast furnace like a bottle, with a large belly and a small upper end, with an inlet on top and an outlet on the bottom. There are also long air ducts.

He Xi seemed to think of something in his heart, and said, "Is there any preheating here?" ”

Foreman Ge pondered the words "preheating" for a moment and said, "This air duct is ignited. It's probably what adults call preheating. ”

He Xi said: "What kind of blower is used?" ”

Foreman Ge said: "Drain more water, or use animal power to drive. ”

He Xi said: "Draw it and look at it." ”

Foreman Ge then drew the so-called water drain, which was a hydraulic blower. In fact, He Xi didn't know that this water drain was invented by Du Shi, the Taishou of Nanyang in the Han Dynasty. Since then, there have been improvements. But it is not out of Du Taishou's framework.

He Xi looked at the blast furnace and the blower, and didn't know what to say for a while.

Seeing this, Foreman Ge immediately explained the operation of the blast furnace. How to feed, what co-solvent to add, etc.

It also made He Xi unable to find fault.

Without him, the foundation left by the ancestors is too thick.

It seems that all technical problems have been solved.

The so-called blast furnace in the Ming Dynasty was much more accurate than his own drawing. He only knew that air preheating could reduce temperature loss in the furnace. But I don't know how, but the blast furnace air duct has been designed. Specialized ignition heating.

As for the blower, it is a large bellows, hydraulically driven. Seems pretty good too. Minimum compliance with requirements.

As for the co-solvent, what limestone, fluorite, this craftsman also knows.

It seems that there is. Why can't you tap directly? What's the problem?