(Two chapters and one chapter, brothers, no more in the afternoon)

In fact, before the iron ore enters the blast furnace, it needs a firing process, which is to calcine the impurities in the original ore and refine it into purer iron concentrate.

Why is smelting actually playing with fire? Because when all ores are calcined in the fire, their melting points are different, and if you master the heat, you can smelt all the impurities with low melting points, leaving refined iron minerals with higher melting points.

In this step, anthracite coal is required to provide a huge amount of heat in order to burn the impurities in the original minerals clean.

But once it enters the blast furnace, in fact, the best material is not charcoal, but coke, steelmaking must be coking, coke can provide higher heat than coal, and it is also more resistant to burning, so it is the first choice for ironmaking.

So what Yang Ming had to do next was to bring Yun Dingxing, Dugu Huaien, He Yan and other craftsmen to prepare for coking.

Coke is made of coal, and the whole Shanxi is short of coal in Hedong, but compared with other places in Shanxi, if it is a nationwide comparison, the coal reserves in Hedong can be called rich, mainly distributed in Yuan County and Jishan County, of which Jishan County and Wenxi County are neighbors, close to each other.

Yang Ming came down this time, originally to inspect the situation of the kiln, but now it has developed into a general mobilization of the entire Hedong.

Taishou Dou Qing complained bitterly, where are you, where is there something, can't you let me retire comfortably?

On the Jishan County side, a large amount of coal was requisitioned, and the government recruited ordinary people to drive mule carts and ox carts to send truckloads of coal to Wenxi County.

The new mine is progressing rapidly due to the large number of people joining in, many barracks are already being built, and several blast furnaces have been erected.

In the corner of the mine, Yang Ming led hundreds of top craftsmen to study how to screen refined coal for coking.

China was the first country in the world to invent coking technology and use coke, but that was at the end of the Song Dynasty, and the current Great Sui was very unfamiliar with coking, so these things described by Yang Ming were tantamount to fantasy in the eyes of craftsmen.

But because of the experience of the blast furnace, no one will not take Yang Ming's words seriously.

Yun Dingxing, the top smelting expert, is now like an apprentice, holding a booklet in his hand, and carefully recording every word Yang Ming said.

Yang Ming squatted on the ground, and everyone else also squatted down, Yang Ming smiled:

"Don't be inhibited, we're going to talk about a complicated matter, and we're going to have a lot of time to talk about, so sit down."

Yuan Dingxing said: "The minister doesn't dare to sit, how can there be a reason for the venerable to stand and the humble to sit?" ”

Yang Ming suddenly frowned.

"The minister commanded," Yun Dingxing's expression remained unchanged, and he took the lead to sit down, and the other craftsmen also sat on the ground.

Yang Ming continued: "The material of iron depends on the smelting process, and the smelting depends on the fuel, and the heat provided by charcoal is not suitable for the use of blast furnaces, so we should use coal. ”

Yun Dingxing was stunned for a moment, and then spoke again: "Didn't Your Highness say a few days ago that coal is suitable for low-level furnaces?" ”

"This coal is not the other coal," Yang Ming still likes this kind of question-and-answer environment, and explained with a smile:

"The coal used in the blast furnace is the coal after smelting, so it can be called coking coal, and to refine coking coal, the first thing we have to do is to screen the impurities in the stinky coal (bituminous coal), and use the purest coal to burn the coking coal."

Taifu Cheng He Yan asked, "So how to screen stinky coal?" ”

"Wash with water," Yang Ming picked up the branch in his hand and began to gesture on the ground.

To wash coal, it is necessary to wash with water, first build a washing pool, pour coal into it, and then use a fine bamboo sieve to wash it with water over and over again, in order to clean out the yellow sand, soil, slime, sawdust, broken grass and gangue mixed in the coal to obtain pure and clean coal.

The coal used for coking should not be larger than three centimeters, because the coal is large and there must be impurities in it.

After all, this thing is dug out of the ground, and it is bound to various minerals underground, and coal washing is to sift through these excess minerals.

"With refined coal, coking is easy to say," Yang Ming said: "Pile up all the refined coal in a clean area, cover it with soil, leave a smoke outlet, leave an ignition port below, set the coal pile on fire, let it burn for about ten days, then peel off the overburden, and the bottom is coking coal." ”

Everyone looked confused, how could coal be so wasted? You've burned it all, shouldn't the rest be soot?

Someone raised such a question, Yang Ming explained: "That's why the soil is covered, refined coal does not contact the air, can not be fully burned, it is impossible to burn into ash, only burned into agglomeration, this agglomeration, is coking coal." ”

Everyone looked puzzled, and someone said: "I believe in the prince anyway, so I might as well try it according to the prince's method first." ”

"That's exactly how it should be," Yun Dingxing said, "Since His Highness said that coking coal is the best material for blast furnace smelting, we might as well make coking coal first." ”

Yang Ming threw away the branch in his hand and clapped his hands: "Without further ado, you will do it immediately." ”

Next, after a discussion among hundreds of craftsmen, they divided their labor and cooperated, and each went down to prepare.

And Yang Ming, accompanied by the guards, wandered around the mine.

His method of coking is a soil method, and the coke produced cannot be compared with later generations, but at the moment, it is considered a top technology.

Today's mine, there are three or four thousand people working, craftsmen day and night to work, because of the prince's presence, no one dares to be lazy, are working hard, in order to win the prince's favor, carp jumping dragon gate.

Yang Ming casually asked someone: Are you tired? The other party must have said that he was not tired, even if he was already tired and couldn't stand up, if Yang Ming was not the prince, I am afraid it would be another answer.

Xu Deyan, the Cheng of Hedong County, and several county commanders are now following Yang Ming, they don't know how to smelt, and they are mainly responsible for resource scheduling.

"The coal from Jishan County is sent here, the road is not close, and it consumes quite manpower," Yang Ming put his hand in front of him, and said in a deep voice: "It is better to build a washing field on the edge of the Jishan coal kiln, and the refined coal washed out is light in weight and relatively easier to transport." ”

Jishan County Ling Xue Kui hurriedly took up the pen to record, and then said: "Dare to ask Your Highness, is all the coal kilns built washing fields?" ”

Yang Ming nodded: "If the coal kiln is too small, you won't need it, and those with a daily output of more than 20 baskets can use it." ”

A basket of coal is 300 catties, and 20 baskets are 6,000 catties, which is equivalent to three tons, how much is three tons, and the small agricultural tricycle is full, which is three tons.

The kiln with a daily output of three tons, this is a high-yield kiln, unlike later generations, a certain coal mine in Jincheng, Shanxi, with a daily output of 26,000 tons, Shanxi's coal seems to be inexhaustible, digging for thousands of years, and still digging.

Of course, if you dig according to the daily output of three tons, you can still dig for more than 100,000 years.

Yang Ming doesn't have the ability to transform the coal kiln, he only understands the soil method and some principles, but he can't do high-tech.

From ancient times to the present, going to the coal kiln is the most painful and bitter errand, and the risk is extremely high, otherwise it would not be spread: desperate to go to the coal kiln.

Yang Ming continued to instruct: "The coal that is being transported to Wenxi at the moment does not need to be stopped, but water washing yards should be added to each coal kiln as soon as possible. ”

"The minister is ordered," the county ordered Xue Kui to take the pen and record it again.

Yang Ming suddenly turned around and frowned: "Since you heard it, do it now, do you think that there is a lot of time for loneliness?" ”

Well? Don't dare, Xue Kui hurriedly said: "The minister will do it." ”

Next, Yang Ming instructed Xu Deyan to increase the food supply of the people in the refining field, to give enough meat, and to purchase wine, fruits and vegetables from various counties, so that the people could properly satisfy their hunger.

Da Sui's wine is not high, generally drinking one catty, it is similar to drinking three or five bottles of beer, you can't get drunk, and it's rare to be like Yang Ming who can't do it with one catty.

He is the crown prince, and now that he is sitting here, he naturally has to distinguish himself from others and provide better treatment to the people.

Because all the people are thinking in their minds, working for the prince, they will definitely be able to eat well, Yang Ming can't let them down, it has something to do with his identity.

It's like going to a restaurant alone, you always have to reward the little guy, right? Those who are not too rich will be rewarded a few, those who are rich will be rewarded more, and the super-rich will naturally be rewarded more.

If the treatment of the prince is not as good as that of others, then the people will equate the prince with these others in their minds, and then the prince will not be as high as they imagined.

Ordinary people, under normal circumstances, they can see the county order, they are considered to be long-term knowledge, and if they can see Taishou, they are all talking points that can be shown off for a lifetime, as for the higher royal family, in the eyes of the people, it is almost like a fairy.

Yang Ming not only provided better food for the people, but also rewarded money and cloth, which has nothing to do with the amount of effort, everyone has a share.

This reward will not cost much money at all, but the people will be very happy, they will be satisfied, a bite of food, a few pieces of cloth, and some reward, and they will be willing to give you their lives.

Sometimes Yang Ming thinks about it and feels very sad, human life is like a mustard, it is really worthless.

A few days later, a simple coal washing pond was prepared, and it took a day to dry the refined coal, then pile it up and cover it with earth and ignite it, leaving it to burn naturally.

After ten days, when the temperature of the coal pile has cooled down, coking coal can be obtained.

And Yang Ming's movements in Hedong naturally spread to Luoyang.

Someone mentioned this matter at the court meeting, but Yang Guangli ignored it, so naturally no one dared to mention it again.

After getting off the court meeting, Yang Guang called Pei Ju and was furious.

"I asked him to supervise the country, but he is better to go to Hedong to make iron, is this what he should do?"

Pei Ju hurriedly said: "The prince has always been cautious in doing things, this time he stationed in Wenxi and set up a large refining ground, I am afraid that there is a reason, and the minister thinks that it should be caused by the strict order of Taifu Temple with His Majesty to supply military supplies." ”

Yang Guang snorted coldly: "I asked Taifu Temple to do it, but I didn't let him do it, as a prince, how can I work in one place because of the heavy state affairs?" Is it important for me to only smelt iron in the Great Sui? ”

Pei Ju's eyes drooped, and then he raised his head and said:

"The armament of the million army, on the current ability of the Taifu Temple, a year and a half, can not be delivered, the prince is also for His Majesty to share the worries, only to go to Hedong to supervise the construction, today's court meeting, the people of the Yushitai also said, the prince after the transformation of the blast furnace, the material is excellent, for the breakthrough of the process, refining the technology, the minister thinks, Your Majesty why not be patient, see what kind of movement the prince will make."

Hearing this, Yang Guang's anger subsided slightly, frowned and shook his head:

"I'm afraid he's going to make trouble, what kind of smelting does he know, and who taught him the method of changing the blast furnace?"

Pei Ju rubbed his hands and pondered: "As far as the minister knows, the prince rarely touches smelting, although this time it is quite exciting, but the results are remarkable, a blast furnace, so that those conceited craftsmen are full of praise, it can be seen that this process is a little ahead, is it still from the secretary of the province?" ”

Yang Guang was stunned for a moment, and said in confusion: "The secretary province's collection of books on smelting, there are Tengben in Taifu Temple, and the craftsmen of Taifu Temple have never seen this kind of skill at present, how can it be from the secretary province?" ”

"That's true," Pei Ju nodded: "It is said that there are frequent exchanges between the prince and the craftsmen, perhaps something has been figured out from these people, but the prince's various arrangements are clear and meticulous, and it seems that he has already made a plan." ”

Yang Guangdao: "He has such a bright brain, take a peek and see the whole leopard? ”

"It should not only be smart," Pei Ju said: "Before the courtier Pei Shi got married, he once said to the minister that the prince regarded the "Examination of the Work" and "Qi Min's Technique" as the most treasure, which shows that the prince's interest in this area has long been there. ”

Yang Guang suddenly raised his forehead and smiled bitterly: "As the heir of the emperor, it is really rare to prefer handicrafts, so I let him be the prince, is it delaying him?" ”

"Isn't that right?" Yang Guang suddenly raised his head: "What kind of heavenly creation, where did he see it?" ”

Pei Ju was immediately hesitant and didn't dare to answer positively.

Yang Guang said anxiously: "You said it." ”

Pei Ju said: "It seems to be Yong'an Palace." ”

This. Yang Guang frowned suddenly, he guessed why Pei Ju didn't dare to say it, because after the death of the queen mother Dugu Jialuo, all the classics of Yong'an Palace had been sealed into his inner library.

And what books are in his inner library, Yang Guang is clear, after all, he is a person who really likes to learn.

Since it is not in his own inner library, it can only be in one place, and most of the tombs of the father and mother are made as funeral goods, and those eunuchs and slaves dare not steal it.

The ancients valued filial piety, not to mention that it was a book that probably didn't exist at all based on speculation, even if there were more important things buried in it, it was impossible for Yang Guang to open his father's tomb and take it out.

If this is replaced by Yang Yong's tomb, he will secretly pick it up.

"You're going to rot in your stomach about this matter," Yang Guang's eyes were cold, and he looked directly at Pei Judao.

Pei Ju hurriedly said: "The minister will not say a word until he dies." ”

Yang Guang nodded, it doesn't matter if you can't find the book, doesn't you still have your own son? Since my son likes this kind of knowledge, he naturally studied it carefully, isn't this just a living heavenly creation?

It seems that the queen mother is hiding her secrets? He didn't even pass on such an important thing to me.

"Just let him try it, I want to see what he can do in Hedong," Yang Guang smiled helplessly, and said, "Shiju will accompany me to practice calligraphy." ”

"Your Majesty, please," Pei Ju raised his sleeves and polished the ink.

Dugu Su had thought about tying up his daughter and sending her to Jingshi, but it was a bit difficult, because Yang Ming was living in the palace right now, and it was not so simple for you to send someone to the palace.

But this moment is different, Yang Ming is in Hedong.

So Dugu Su called his second son Dugu Xin and instructed:

"If you keep it closed like this, Feng'er will have to copy our house, so you will take someone to tie her up and send her to Hedong to hand it over to His Royal Highness the Prince."

Dugu Feng'er has been locked up for more than half a year, originally she thought that her father was playing with her, who knew that it was true, so she smashed the furniture in her house, and the doors and windows were broken.

As a result, the outside of the house was sealed with a wooden board for her, and the seal was very strong.

She can't stand the restraints, she didn't completely recover from her madness, and now she is locked in a confined space, and the whole person is like crazy, smashing everywhere.

So much so that in the Zhao Guogong Mansion, the sound of clanging and smashing things can be heard every day.

Dugu Su was also afraid of suffocating his daughter out of illness, but he wanted to teach her a lesson and keep a longer memory, so that she could honestly agree to return to Yang Ming, but it had no effect at all.

Since that's the case, it can only be tied up and sent away, I can't cure you, the prince can always cure you, right?

So Dugu Xin led people to tie up his sister, and took a dozen maids who were responsible for serving and living, and went to Hedong.

"Feng'er, listen to your brother, our grandpa is also for your good, the girl's family always doesn't marry, what's this called?"

In the carriage, Dugu Xin worked hard to persuade the girl who was tied hand and foot.

Dugu Feng'er snorted coldly: "Are you going to tie me up to Jingshi?" ”

"No, it's Hedong," Dugu said.

Dugu Feng'er was stunned for a moment: "Why are you going to Hedong?" ”

Dugu said: "Because the prince is in the east of the river." ”

The corners of Dugu Feng'er's mouth moved, and she fell silent, she no longer had any ability to resist, she belonged to being slaughtered by others, but when she thought of seeing Yang Ming in Hedong, her heart suddenly became nervous.

She has not seen Yang Ming for three and a half years, that is the person she thinks about day and night.

"By the way, I forgot to tell you," Dugu Xin said: "The crown princess, the crown princess, the prince Liangdi Chen, are all pregnant now, aren't you very familiar with the Chen family?" Don't you envy others? ”

"She should have had it a long time ago, and it's too late to have it now," Dugu Feng'er said lightly.

Dugu Xin smiled: "What about you? Sooner or later, people will always have it, and you don't even have a name. ”

After that, Dugu Xin's face suddenly darkened, and he sighed: "You should have been the earliest, the prince treats you with great kindness and never abandons you, how can you bear to be negative?" ”

Dugu Feng'er's expression froze, and she burst into tears in an instant.

Coke is made.

It took 12 days to dig up the mound, which was full of charred coal, which was pounded into large pieces with a hammer and laid under the blast furnace.

Prior to this, Yang Ming also improved the firing of the low furnace and added limestone as a solvent in order to remove the impurities in the iron ore more effectively.

In this way, through the blessing of anthracite and limestone, the refined iron fired in the low furnace is more pure.

The craftsmen looked at the pile of successfully fired refined iron, and praised endlessly, doing this business for half a lifetime, they had never seen such a black and shiny fine iron, for a while, everyone's admiration for the prince was like a surging river.

This is no longer called sycophancy, this is a heartfelt compliment.

Yun Dingxing commanded the craftsmen to send those refined iron into the blast furnace, and then waited with great anticipation, he was now a five-body devotee to Yang Ming's skills, such a good refined iron, the pig iron burned out must be of unprecedented quality.

This time, the smelting time of the blast furnace was greatly shortened, and it was only two hours, and the craftsman in charge of watching the fire was already dancing excitedly, shouting that the fine iron had turned into water.

Yang Ming said happily: "Out of the furnace molten iron, directly fill the steel." ”

Yun Dingxing was old, jumped three times with joy, screamed strangely in his mouth, and immediately ordered the craftsman to take out the pig iron that had been prepared long ago, put it into the fusion pool made of new materials, and then poured the molten iron into it.

The loud sound of snorting, accompanied by the splashing of sparks, and the thick smoke suddenly rose.

The main purpose of the steel filling method is not to adjust the carbon content of iron, but to eliminate inclusions and make it more refined.

Pig iron becomes steel due to the infiltration of carbon elements, and wrought iron also becomes steel due to decarburization, and the combination of the two can be fired to produce high-quality steel.

In the iron pool, the flame boils, and this process is that the wrought iron and pig iron begin to fuse, and the oxygen in the wrought iron is used to oxidize the silicon, manganese, carbon and other elements in the pig iron.

When this process ends, it depends on when the molten iron calms down, and then the debris that is discharged from the surface layer, that is, the iron slag, is removed, and then the rest is refined steel.

An hour and a half later, there was no movement in the iron pool.

Today's molten iron can be directly fed into the mold, and it can also be forged thousands of times, of course, because the molten iron is too pure, the forging process is no longer to remove impurities, but to stereotype.

The molten iron is scooped out and poured into a cross-knife mould table, where it is quenched by a two-liquid quenching method to accelerate the cooling process.

Yang Ming, along with all the craftsmen, was waiting quietly.

When the molten iron in the mold has gradually solidified and is in a semi-shaped state, the craftsmen will clamp it out with iron tongs and forge it on the forging table.

Just look at the red cutter body after each forging, there is no layer of black impurities on the surface, and everyone already knows that there has been a major breakthrough in the steel filling process of Dasui.

At this time, the entire refinery was already boiling, more boiling than the molten iron in the molten iron pool.

Many artisans hugged each other and wept, glad that they were able to witness the birth of this extraordinary craftsmanship.

With a snort, the blade cooled into the water.

Then, the craftsmen loaded the handle of the knife, and after opening the blade, handed it to Yun Dingxing, who held the knife in both hands, knelt in front of Yang Ming, and said with tears in his eyes:

"Please try the knife."

Then, everyone knelt on the ground and shouted: Please try the knife.

Yang Ming took a deep breath, took the knife, and said:

"Take the best armor."

Chen Kui did not hesitate to untie the Mingguang armor on his body and put it into a one-person-thick test knife pillar.

In front of everyone, Yang Ming held the knife forward, took a deep breath, and slashed out.

Just listening to the click, the Mingguang armor with the best craftsmanship of the Great Sui is chest-high and cracked, and the breach is straight and crisp.

Looking at the blade again, it was unscathed.

Yun Dingxing trembled, knelt on the ground, and cried bitterly.

The voices of the crown prince Yingwu and the great Sui Yonggu resounded in the refining field.

(End of chapter)