Chapter 32: Licking the Calf's Heart

"Your Excellency, you're here." Foreman Ge's grandson saw He Xi coming. Said immediately.

It seemed that the voice of Foreman Ge's grandson disturbed Foreman Ge, and Foreman Ge, who was originally in a daze, said, "But Master He has arrived." ”

Seeing this, He Xi stepped forward a few steps forward and sat down beside Foreman Ge. said: "Ge Lao, it's me who came." ”

Foreman Ge saw He Xi coming. The whole person is like a heart booster. The originally gloomy face suddenly became energetic. He was breathing heavily, and he was trying to get up. He Xi hurriedly held it down and said, "Old Ge, lie down, take good care of your illness, I will rely on Old Ge in the future." ”

Foreman Ge said, "You don't have to lie to me. How can I not know what I am like at such an age? My bones are gone. I can't help the adults, but now I still have a breath of air, and I have some heartfelt words to tell the adults. ”

He Xi didn't know what to say. He could only say: "Old Ge, you say, I listened." ”

Foreman Ge said: "The reason for the fryer this time, I have thought about it carefully, pay attention to the problem of iron ore, generally speaking, three or four out of ten iron ore is iron, which is quite good." Before smelting iron, the fire was not so big. So the iron ore melts slowly, and now the fire is too great, the iron ore melts too fast and too fast, and the wind blows from below to above. The question below is much better than the question above. ”

"There is a difference between the temperature below and above. So there is a cavity under the blast furnace, and the bottom is burned into molten iron, and the iron ore on the lowest surface has not completely melted, so the top is heavy and the bottom is light, plus other changes. That's what happened today. ”

When He Xi heard this, he felt even more guilty and said, "It's my fault, if I wasn't in such a hurry, there wouldn't be such a thing." ”

"Why do you say that? My Ge family has also been in the iron industry for generations, but they are all muddy, only a few words from adults, like seeing the sun through the clouds. It dawned on me that if it weren't for the difference in steel and the difference in melting point, I wouldn't have been able to analyze these problems. The so-called Chaowen Dao, Xi Ke died, and now that I am dead, I went underground to see my ancestors, and I have something to say. This is the kindness of adults to me. Foreman Ge said with a struggle.

Foreman Ge's words are naturally a bit sycophant, but they can't be said to be completely wrong.

Many things are guided by theory, and there is a completely different difference and speed than without theoretical guidance.

In the absence of theoretical guidance, the development of iron smelting in ancient China for thousands of years was all explored by craftsmen in the dark, knowing what it was, not knowing why it was, and many of them were groped by experience. And He Xi's simple points seem to open up a direction in the dark.

Although going in this direction, there are ravines, mountains, and obstacles of one kind or another. But knowing where to go, you have a direction to work towards, instead of groping around in the dark.

Foreman Ge is a master craftsman among blacksmiths. In the long river of history, it is of course nothing. But in the Hongwu Dynasty, it can be regarded as one of the leaders. In the iron-smelting industry, it is also one of the heroes. For the industry of iron smelting, the accumulation is so deep that it is more than He Xi knows about it.

It's just that there is no theoretical guidance, so I am trapped in the fog and cannot move forward. With He Xi's simple theoretical guidance, Foreman Ge gained much more than He Xi imagined.

He Xi said: "Old Ge, there is no need to say that. I deserve it. ”

Foreman Ge knew he was running out of time. You're welcome. He said, "My lord, if you want to make steel, I have two ways here. ”

He Xi was taken aback and said, "Two ways." ”

Foreman Ge nodded and said, "Will these two methods work?" I don't know, but I always have to try. Now I don't have time. I hope adults don't think I'm an old man, dying and talking nonsense, thinking I'm old and confused. ”

He Xi was very surprised. He was both happy and worried.

I'm glad that He Xi finally has a direction.

After all, the idea of a blast furnace is already the end of He Xi's thinking, and the interlacing is like a mountain. He Xi is not a person who knows much about iron smelting. And in this day and age, it's not even easy to learn. Compared with the Internet era in later generations, most of the knowledge is available on the Internet, and as long as you have the heart, you can always learn. But what is the situation in this era, firstly, the knowledge of craftsmen, most of which is passed down by word of mouth, and very few of which are written down. If you want to study, there is no place to study. Secondly, even if the craftsman is taught in person, on the one hand, the craftsman may not have formed a system of knowledge, and on the other hand, the craftsman cherishes himself. The art of eating may not be taught.

There is a direction pointed out by the foreman of Ge. At least one direction.

But He Xi also had some worries, Foreman Ge didn't say anything before, but now he has a direction. And two directions?

No matter what He Xi thinks in his heart. He Xi said: "Old Ge, please speak." ”

Foreman Ge coughed twice, ignoring the pain in his body, and said: "The first direction is to use pig iron instead of iron ore." This is not the case with pig iron. It is better to have a smaller blast furnace accordingly. ”

In fact, Foreman Ge was ready to say this from the beginning. Just don't dare.

There is no other reason, and the difference in identity is huge.

He Xi lives in the palace, and in the eyes of the craftsman, he is a nobleman. Such a person, with a word, can kill their entire family. Whether in professional or non-professional matters, how dare they contradict He Xi.

And Foreman Ge didn't expect such a thing to happen. After all, he felt that he had only failed. It's not a big deal. With He Xi's status, it is okay to fail a hundred times. But they, the craftsmen, angered a character like He Xi, maybe once, the whole family would die.

How dare you talk nonsense?

It's just that now it's different.

Foreman Ge knew he was going to die.

The sons of Foreman Ge died early and had only one grandson. And the grandson is too young, and many ancestral techniques have not been passed on to his grandson. He is now considered to have a head and a face among the craftsmen. But he knows very well that this status stems from his skill and age. It cannot be passed on to grandchildren.

When he felt that he couldn't do it, the first thing that came to his mind was, what should he do with his grandson? What can he leave to his grandson?

Come to think of it, nothing. Not even much money.

So at this time, he didn't care about hiding it. Tell He Xi everything he can think of and know. Of course, this is also what kind of person He Xi is after a few days of getting along. Foreman Ge also made a judgment. is willing to do his best to show his power in front of He Xi.

In order to leave this vital connection to his grandson.

Don't say anything else. Just He Xi's willingness to raise his hand can make his grandson change his lifestyle.

It's just that He Xi hasn't understood the gold content of his current identity.

Foreman Ge said: "The second method is also what I just thought of. Adults have said that pure iron is soft, right? ”

He Xi said: "Yes. ”

Foreman Ge said, "Wrought iron is the softest iron I have ever seen. According to adults, wrought iron is the closest to pure iron, and it is also the iron with the least carbon content. The principle of steelmaking by filling steel is that pig iron with high carbon content and wrought iron with low carbon content are neutralized together to obtain iron or steel with appropriate carbon content. ”

"And how wrought iron is made."

"It is from the iron-making furnace that the molten iron is introduced. In the square pool next to the blast furnace, stir constantly. The last thing to solidify is wrought iron. If not stirred, the resulting iron is pig iron. The stirring produces wrought iron. Then the process of stirring is a process of reducing the carbon content. Therefore, as long as you master the heat, you can control the carbon content and directly smelt the steel. ”

He Xi listened very hard.

I try to understand the words of the foreman.

He probably guessed why this was the case. That is to allow the molten iron to come into full contact with the air, because the high temperature will ignite the charcoal in the molten iron. Reduces the carbon content. So as to obtain the purpose of controlling the carbon content. But it's really hard to grasp the heat.

However, even so, this idea was something He Xi had never heard or even thought about. It's ingenious to think about it now, and more importantly. There is no need to increase the furnace temperature.

Of course, there are flaws.

The flaw is that there is little room for escalation.

It's not like blast furnace steelmaking. A furnace down, accumulated technology and experience. It is very useful for the next improvement. It's just a fork in the road.

Foreman Ge coughed twice, and a trace of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.

The large internal organs were bleeding profusely, and they were already rising a little bit. It's time to say one sentence and one less sentence.

Foreman Ge said: "My lord, I have told my grandson a lot of details, and I am gone. Please take care of my grandson. ”

Seeing this, He Xi sighed and said, "Please rest assured, Elder Ge, your credit will all be attributed to your grandson." ”

Foreman Ge said: "My lord is very loving, and I am very grateful. It's just that my grandson's qualifications are blunt, and please listen to it under the adult's door. The little old man is under the nine springs, and he is also grateful to the adults. ”

After speaking, Foreman Ge looked at He Xi nervously.

He Xi couldn't figure out what Foreman Ge was thinking for a while?

In He Xi's opinion, he didn't dare to say that he was knighted for steelmaking, but it was still okay to let Foreman Ge's grandson be a petty official. But Foreman Ge let this grandson throw himself into the door, which is the rhythm of being a house slave. It doesn't look like it's good for the grandson.

He Xi doesn't know enough about the social ecology of Daming.

The choice of Foreman Ge is in line with the values of this era.

What is a bureaucrat who is an artisan? It is the lowest of all officials, and it is even inferior to some minor officials. And what is the house slave under the dignitary? It was the seventh rank official in front of the prime minister's door. Rely on the main family, for a lifetime, no, for a few lifetimes to eat and drink without worry. But once a petty official from a craftsman has no backer, almost any official can take a hand.

How to choose, do you need to say?