When it comes to technical matters, everyone has to listen to Wan San, including Zhu Gaochi.

Talking about his own skills, Wan San's eyebrows danced, as if he had changed into a different person, and his tone was full of confidence.

"The northern iron is not as good as the southern railway, the iron ore in Fujian and Guangdong is the best, the iron ore is so, and even the charcoal is better than the northern iron." Wan San is like a few family treasures, and he forgot his scruples when he spoke.

"If you use iron ore from these two regions to make a steam engine, it is an excellent material, but unfortunately it is too expensive to transport."

"So the iron ore from Miyun, Lianhua, and Wu'an is used." Wan San was afraid that the nobles would worry about the poor quality, so he hurriedly explained: "Don't worry, the quality of iron ore in these places is not as good as that of Southern Railway, but it is not much worse." ”

"Where do we understand technical things, Master Wan is in charge." Zhu Gaochi was extremely trusting in his words.

After leaving the material room, I just entered the iron-smelting workshop, and there was a heat wave in my face, and the blast furnace was burning vigorously.

"Childe be careful." Zhang Quan grabbed Zhu Gaochi and didn't let him get too close.

There are several square ponds, one of which is in use.

The hot molten iron discharged from the blast furnace flowed from the fire pond into the square pond, and the movement was terrifying to watch.

Three craftsmen stood on a stone platform several feet wide, sprinkling some ash of unknown composition into it. The two craftsmen quickly stirred it with an extremely long wooden stick, and it didn't take long to burn two or three inches, and the rest was used repeatedly until it could no longer be used.

Wan Sanxue Zhang Quan stood in front of the nobleman, and explained while turning around: "This is a special tidal sludge to dry, and after using a scoop to sieve the noodles, it is sprinkled into molten iron. ”

The nobleman is not afraid of sweating, and he has already let Wan Sangao take a look, and he recognizes the eldest prince more and more in his heart.

The eldest prince really values their craftsmen, not just words.

The skill of the craftsman is like this molten iron.

It's all iron.

But the difference between iron and iron is like mud. Wan San was convinced, and he was willing to give all his skills for the nobles, of course, he also had Xiao Jiujiu.

The eighth-level third-class system protects Wansan's interests, and his apprentices can settle down in the factory without affecting his reputation.

In essence, he has the right to speak in the factory.

For example, this molten iron.

Looking at the fifth man's mastery of the hot metal on the wall, Wansan was also very satisfied.

Whether it is the third or fifth, or even the ninth.

The core technology of the factory, in the hands of his apprentices, is the dependence of generations to eat.

Regarding the iron-smelting process in the factory, although Zhu Gaochi does not understand the detailed process and can only rely on Wansan, he is not ignorant.

From the Jin Dynasty's steel frying method, to the Tang and Song dynasties' casting and forging, and then the pig iron pouring method in the early Ming Dynasty, and the Suzhou steel method invented by Suzhou craftsmen in the future.

According to the standards of later generations, if the invention is a scientist, then there were countless inventors in ancient China.

Just like the famous Watt, the Watt steam engine he improved was a huge change in the history of the development of the steam engine.

He was also a craftsman, coming from a family of craftsmen, his father was a skilled shipwright, and Watt also started as an apprentice in an instrument repair shop.

Craftsman.

is the inventor of human history before modern science and technology, so the factory is technically controlled by Wansan, and Zhu Gaochi has no disgust in his heart.

As long as Wan San is willing to train apprentices and his apprentices work in factories, what difference does it make?

And this technology is not only in the hands of Wansan.

The process of the iron smelting workshop involves the production process of low carbon steel and high carbon steel.

Wrought iron is a common name for steel with a very low carbon content, and the world's earliest steelmaking country is China, and the carburizing method of block iron from the pre-Qin to the middle of the Western Han Dynasty is a primary process for making steel.

By the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, according to the "History of Chinese Iron and Steel".

After more than 20 years of development, all walks of life, including the iron-smelting industry, which did not advance but retreated in the previous dynasties, have been restored and are close to the level of the Song Dynasty.

According to the "History of the Development of Iron Smelting Technology in Ancient China" and "Ancient Chinese Metal Technology", the process of iron smelting in the Ming Dynasty included wrought iron, pig iron, and steel, which were actually "iron-carbon alloys".

Wan San can become a craftsman, because he has thoroughly understood this technology and become an industry promoter, but it does not mean that he is the only craftsman in the country.

As he said, the quality of iron ore in Fujian and Guangdong is better than that of Beiping, which in disguise means that the iron smelting level of the two places is not worse than that of Beiping. There are also craftsmen whose technical level is comparable to Wansan, and even surpasses him.

"What's the special miscellaneous stuff?" Zhu Gaochi asked curiously.

Wan San didn't hide it, and said honestly: "Grass ash, clay, dry straw." ”

These materials can't be hidden from people, Wansan also cares about these, the important thing is technology, you can learn it just by looking at it, where is it so simple.

There are some things that you can't learn in a lifetime if you don't say anything.

Zhu Gaochi was sweating, looked at the busy iron-smelting workshop, and hesitated to leave.

"There's not much to see in the future." Wan Sanren became old and refined, and took the initiative to explain: "In the future, it will be the work of the water mill, and it will take a few days." ”

Iron juice flows out, refining to five fires, using loess and water to make pulp, into fine straw, soaking for one or two nights, putting the iron in the pulp, soaking for half a day, taking out and refining to ten fires, must be pig iron ten times, refining to one time, can be cooked.

It is then divided into five or six refining and nine refining and other processes to produce a variety of refined iron with different hardness.

According to the needs of the steam engine, the nine-refining process is adopted.

But it doesn't mean that the refined iron refined by the ninth refining is necessarily better than the refined iron refined by the fifth.

The former is rigid, the latter is soft, and both are suitable for different needs.

Zhu Gao was blazing.

According to later generations, the difference between low-carbon steel and high-carbon steel.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the refined iron produced by the two iron-smelting processes was used to make Hongyi cannons and bird guns respectively.

Everyone left the iron-smelting workshop, only to feel cool.

Zhang Quan stopped Zhu Gaochi and took out a handkerchief, wanting to help the eldest prince wipe the sweat off his body, worried that he would catch a cold if he was blown by the wind.

Zhu Gaochi took the handkerchief and wiped off the sweat by himself.

The crowd waited quietly.

No one thinks there's anything wrong.

The noble man is young, but he can't tolerate sloppiness, if there is really a three long and two short, no one present is easy to deal with.

"Let's go." Zhu Gaochi said with a smile.

Behind it is the mold workshop.

The process technology of pouring iron tools according to the mold of the clay embryo.

The entire plant.

With the help of the hydraulic power of Fenghe River in Daxing Village, the manpower is replaced by a water wheel, and the double-action piston bellows technology, blast furnace technology, iron smelting technology, and irrigation technology are adopted......

All are guided by Mansan.

In the professional writings of Westerners, especially those before the twentieth century, the ancient Chinese double-acting piston bellows technology is often mentioned.

Because if there is no double-acting piston bellows technology, then the iron smelting technology in the West will not be developed.

The double-acting piston bellows technology greatly increases the temperature in the furnace and makes coal have the conditions to replace charcoal. The essence of the Industrial Revolution was the era of coal replacing firewood as a new fuel.

In the fifteenth century, Agripgra described the blower equipment in Europe at that time in his book "On Natural Metals", in which the hand-pulled, foot-pedal, and hydraulically driven blower was still only in the water drainage technology of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period of China and the Han Dynasty, while China at the same time had already used a more efficient double-acting piston bellows.

In the early seventeenth century, China's double-acting piston bellows were introduced to the West, laying the foundation for the industrial revolution that began in the mid-eighteenth century.

In the nineteenth century, Western scholars proposed that the most perfect blower in the world was based on the Chinese bellows.

But how should the Ming craftsmen face the great changes that the West is about to enter the Renaissance and begin?

The geographical location of the West makes it convenient to absorb the technology and civilization of other regions, and if one country comes up with new technology, the rest of the countries will also absorb it.

There was no object for him to study around the Ming Dynasty, and he would not begin to borrow and imitate until the missionaries of the West arrived, and it was too late at that time, and the feudal dynasty of nearly three hundred years had accumulated too many disadvantages to return to the sky.

"Regarding the issue of craftsman grading, we have a request." After visiting his factory, Zhu Gaochi took Wansan and his apprentices back to his office.

The eighth-level third-class craftsman system, Wan San didn't understand his thoughts, and his standards were a little low, so he also needed to be suppressed.