Chapter 34 The Motivation of the Craftsman

If one person is rewarded, the three armies will be rewarded for their bravery. If one person is punished, the three armies will be frightened and will be punished.

He Xi inadvertently followed this art of war, and his favor to the Ge family was like a standing wood at the gate of Shang Ying. It completely captured the trust of these craftsmen. When He Xi was asleep, almost all the craftsmen did not fall asleep.

Some craftsmen wish they were the ones who died today.

One by one, they pondered and meditated, and found a way to improve the method of steelmaking on the basis of He Xi's theory.

In the same era, there were very few so-called peerless geniuses. But there are many geniuses, and to put it mildly, these craftsmen can be selected, perhaps slightly worse than the strength of Foreman Ge. But the decision is not much different, more should be between the two.

Each has its own strengths in different aspects.

What Foreman Ge can think of, they can think of too. Not to mention perfecting Foreman Ge's plan. Each has its own ideas.

So, the next morning on top of the meeting. For the first time, He Xi saw the enthusiastic speeches of almost all craftsmen.

To be honest, He Xi doesn't know much about some details. Many craftsmen don't understand He Xi too well.

However, He Xi knows very well what he does. It doesn't matter if he doesn't understand it, he asked Ge Tiangong to make a record. Then list all the opinions, and then discuss them one by one, choose one if there is a conflict, and merge the one that does not conflict.

It was discussed all day.

Only then did two options be discussed. It is to implement the two routes of Foreman Ge.

A timetable was planned, and after about ten days of preparation, the second experiment could be conducted.

Don't feel like ten days is a long time. If nothing else, build a blast furnace from the ground up. Even if the refractory bricks are removed from the old blast furnace and used for it, it will take a while for the blast furnace to dry completely. This is already the fastest.

In fact, at this time, the scorched earth kiln had already begun and has not stopped. Hoarding coking coal.

He Xi was also very surprised by the changes in these people, and he asked Ge Tiangong what was going on. Ge Tiangong said: "Everyone feels the virtue of the teacher and is willing to be used by the teacher? ”

He Xi didn't believe in this thing, but the emperor was not short of hungry soldiers, so with a stroke of his pen, he rewarded all the treasure money he brought to the craftsmen, and everyone in the participants had a share. Immediately ordered Xu Bao'er to return to the palace to report to the prince. Let the prince pay for it.

After all, in He Xi's view, not to mention the Hongwu period, it was the most abundant period of the Ming treasury. Even if the money is not enough, it should not be discounted on steelmaking projects. In this era, this project is equivalent to two bombs and one satellite of New China. Definitely at the strategic level. There is a sense of strategic priority.

Therefore, he is not soft at all in spending money.

So, the craftsmen who were originally highly motivated, after a rain of money. It is also eaten and lived on the construction site. Progress is flying.

First of all, the second route is to introduce the molten iron into the square tank and stir it. However, because the craftsmen did not grasp the heat well, the first few furnaces were still wrought iron. But after the third furnace, it's steel.

It's just that the quality is not very stable.

However, the armor required for iron armor does not require too high steel quality. As long as it's steel.

He Xi immediately dispatched a group of craftsmen to start building water hammers by the blast furnace.

The use of water power is familiar to the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty. However, hydraulic power has not been directly used for machining before. This requires some temporary changes. It's going to take time.

He Xi didn't care about this side of the matter, he still waited for the new blast furnace to be built successfully.

Ten days later, the new blast furnace was finally completed.

However, it is much smaller than the previous blast furnace, about one person taller. However, the duct blower did not reduce anything. It is still fed from above, and the molten steel is directly produced below, which is not enough to feed, and what is invested is not iron ore, but pig iron.

Under He Xi's gaze, the second experiment began.

Originally, He Xi thought that it would be a day and a night. But by the afternoon, the craftsmen had already reported that the molten steel could be produced.

This time it was much faster than expected.

What is even more surprising is that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived.

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, you are here like this." He Xi was surprised when he saw the prince suddenly coming.

The prince took a group of attendants with him. said: "Brother He has not been in the palace for the past few days, my father has been talking about you, and I have been busy with the southern expedition during this period, and I am free today, so I naturally want to see you." How's it going? ”

He Xi said: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince came down just in time, and this is just the time to open the furnace." ”

The prince looked at the small blast furnace, and although there was a distance, he could still feel a wave of heat rushing in. Turned autumn into a hot summer. said, "Is that good?" Look at your achievements. ”

"The furnace is open------ shouted, shirtless, craftsman in calf shorts. With a long iron rod, he aimed at the taphole under the small blast furnace and stabbed it hard, but after a few strokes, the reserved opening was opened.

Red molten iron gushed out from the taphole.

The molten iron gradually settles down from the channel reserved on the ground.

At the same time, a cart of coke and pig iron was pushed onto the mouth of the furnace from the reserved slope, and then the material was carefully added to the red-hot furnace from above. This is also a key improvement.

This improvement is to use the temperature of the furnace to continuously put in materials, so that the blast furnace can run 24 hours a day.

Huge fuel savings and increased production efficiency. Unless there is a problem with the blast furnace and needs to be repaired, it can be kept all the time, and even in modern iron and steel enterprises, there must be no power outage. That's the reason too. Without him, once the heating stops, the molten steel will solidify in the iron furnace, destroying the entire furnace.

He Xi actually didn't understand the significance of these improvements, and even didn't quite understand the technical essentials of this blast furnace. It just put forward the principle of the carrying program, and then inspired the enthusiasm of the craftsmen. It can be said that it is the integration of thousands of years of steelmaking technology in China.

That's what it does.

He Xi didn't pay attention to the craftsmen who were adding materials. Instead, look at the solidified ingots.

The prince didn't go to check it out in person. Instead, it moved slightly. A guard next to him stepped forward and struck each other with two steel ingots that still had residual warmth, listening to the sound. Then his face changed slightly. And he put the ingots on a platform of earth. One leg is slightly stepped forward and the other leg forms a lunge. Hands on the knife. The body is slightly squatting. There seemed to be a force bursting out from the soles of his feet, and with a loud bang, the waist knife came out of the sheath and slashed down. I first heard the sound of "collapse", and then I heard the sound of "buzzing".

The former is the sound of a long knife breaking, and the latter is a section of the hilt of a broken long knife, as if the remaining strength is not dissipated, and it is shaking incessantly.

The guards who drew their swords had already broken open and blood was dripping down.

Only then did the prince step forward and look at the steel ingot, there was only a shallow trace. When I touched it with my hand, it seemed that I couldn't see it. But if you touch it carefully, you can still feel it.

The prince said, "Good steel." It's really good steel. ”

The prince knew very well what his personal guards were equipped with. After the prince personally guarded the generals of the capital, everyone's armor and blades were the best. Especially the blade in the hand. They are all made of hundreds of steels, and they are the best weapons. There are not many in the army, and it is only used by him, his father, and the generals in the army, and it is estimated that there are more than 10,000 in the whole country.

I don't dare to cut iron like mud, but I should also cut a few points into the ingot. At least a gap, not a straight break.

You can see the quality of this ingot.

He Xi smiled lightly and said, "His Royal Highness the Prince, this is the preliminary result. In a few days, there will be more subtle things for the prince to see. ”

The prince said, "But, your new armor and water hammer? ”

He Xi was slightly stunned and said, "The prince knows." ”

The crown prince said: "Father is very concerned about you, what you are doing here. My father made people report every day. Actually, I came here today, and there is something to do. ”

Zhu Yuanzhang's concern, in the eyes of the prince, is the favor of He Xi. The courtiers of the Ming Dynasty, there are I don't know how many people. I don't expect that kind of treatment. But He Xi felt a little bitter. However, he was already mentally prepared.

He Xi suppressed the bitterness in his heart and said, "What does the prince command?" ”

The prince said, "How many days will your new armor be completed, and, are you sure?" ”

He Xi said: "Everything is going well, the next furnace of molten steel can come out." If it doesn't go well, it's also between three or five days. ”

The prince said, "Brother He, do you know what I've been busy with these days? ”

He Xi said: "The prince just said that it was a matter of the southern expedition. ”

The prince said: "The matter of the southern expedition has been almost prepared, with the Marquis of Yingchuan as the commander, the Marquis of Xiping as the deputy marshal, the army of Sichuan and Huguang. The first part of the Beijing camp, a total of 300,000 people. Among them, there are about 100,000 elites. In the past few days, military orders have been issued and they have rushed to various places in the southwest. And the Marquis of Yingchuan went out of Beijing, that is, these few days. Father wants to let the Marquis of Yingchuan take a look at your new armor before leaving. You know what that means. ”

The prince turned and tossed the steel ingot in his hand aside. looked at He Xi with blazing eyes.

He Xi was stunned for a moment, pondered for a while, and said, "The minister guessed a few points." I just don't dare to say anything. ”

As soon as the prince waved his hand, the people around him immediately took a few dozen steps back.

The prince said: "Naturally, you can't say these things to others, but Brother He is his own person." Father thinks so highly of you, there are some words. I, as an elder brother, will also tell you about it. The father is the founder of the country, the majesty has shocked the world, the subjects of the world are indifferent and surrendered, and there are no monarchs and ministers suspicious, let alone afraid of the Marquis of Yingchuan, hum, the Marquis of Yingchuan is good at using soldiers, but it can be compared to the work of his father and emperor Chen Youliang and Zhang Shicheng in Dongping? ”

"However, people's hearts are unpredictable, and they want both kings and ministers. Not only should the father uphold the magnanimous heart, but also the ministers should know the ability of the court. Don't think about things you shouldn't think, even if you have thoughts that you shouldn't think, you should know that he can't do it. ”