Foreman Ge said helplessly: "Sir, we must first obtain steel. Whether it is refining steel or pouring steel, it is not a one-step process. It is much more complicated than beating pig iron into armor. First make the pig iron into steel, and then use water to make it.
Hammering requires more man-hours than making armor directly."
"To make steel a hundred times, it means to beat it repeatedly until it is refined a hundred times. Needless to say, the process is complicated. Nowadays, when famous swords are made, this method is used. More often, the steel filling method is used to combine wrought iron and pig iron.
, It can be obtained by hammering it. Although it does not require hundreds of refinements, it is still very cumbersome."
After hearing this, He Xi rubbed her 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 a most fundamental and basic problem. The problem is the technology of steelmaking, and it is not very clear. What if steel is made in large batches?
He Xi doesn’t know either.
He was silent for a while and said: "We will adjourn the meeting now. Let's discuss whether there is any way to smelt steel quickly and in large quantities. If there is such a way, I will report it to the court and I will give you a lot of rewards." He originally wanted to say that he would not hesitate to seal the deal.
Hou's reward.
In his opinion, if anyone can solve this most critical problem, the reward of becoming a prince will be small.
It's just that he is not Zhu Yuanzhang after all, so he dare not make such a promise.
Immediately, after He Xi went down, in the side room next to him, the screen went back to the left and right. He took out his mobile phone and found the content about steelmaking on it, and read it again and again. But it was only less than one page.
This was pieced together by him from various sources.
The basic properties of iron, the difference between steel and iron, the prerequisites for steelmaking, etc.
But He Xi looked over and over, but couldn't get a clue. For example, it proposed a method of making steel by blowing oxygen into it. Please, this is the Ming Dynasty, where is the oxygen? Another example, is there any electroslag recasting method?
Where? In short, you can’t count on that solar charger?
He Xi thought about it in his mind, but still needed to work together. Relying on the experience and skills of these craftsmen. All he could do was to provide a few concepts.
"I really don't know how steel smelting is done in fictional novels." He Xi thought to himself.
-------
He Xi organized his thoughts and came to the lobby again. In the back hall, he heard the sound of heated discussions. He listened for a while, but there were all kinds of terminology that he didn't understand, so he had to give up.
He coughed twice and walked out of the back hall.
These craftsmen immediately knelt down and saluted, saying: "Greetings to your lord."
He Xi said: "No need to be polite, just take a seat." As he said this, he took a seat in the upright position and said: "Have you thought of anything like this?"
These craftsmen cast their eyes on Foreman Ge.
He Xi said: "Mr. Ge, please tell me."
"Yes." Foreman Ge said: "Sir, we have discussed that we can improve the steel filling method, wrap the wrought iron and pig iron together, and send them to the furnace for calcination. The pig iron first melts into molten iron and then mixes with the wrought iron.
Forging them together will be better than the steel filling method."
He Xi did not know that the method mentioned by Foreman Ge was the prototype of Su Gang in the late Ming Dynasty.
Su Steel's production base is in Wuhu. A large number of blacksmiths came from Nanjing. Because in the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang gathered the world's most skilled craftsmen in Nanjing. With the relocation of the capital in the Ming Dynasty and other events, Nanjing's importance gradually declined, and some of these skilled craftsmen went to Beijing -
Beijing. Naturally, some of it has also flowed into the private sector.
It is probably no coincidence that most of these blacksmiths in Wuhu are from Nanjing.
However, He Xi didn't care after knowing it and said, "How much steel can this method produce at one time?"
Foreman Ge pondered for a moment and said, "I can probably get out dozens of kilograms at a time."
He Xi said: "Does it need to be forged?"
Foreman Ge said: "It's still needed."
He Xi said: "If we use this method to temper all the pig iron in stock into steel, how long will it take?"
Foreman Ge stopped talking.
Fifteen thousand tons is not a small amount. It needs to be completed first, and it is absolutely impossible to complete it in three months. So there is no need to go on.
He Xi also understood the meaning of this silence. He pondered for a moment and said, "I'm going to tell you something. These are things I read in ancient books. About iron and steel. Do you know what iron is and what steel is?"
These craftsmen showed no respect at all and did not give Teacher He any reaction at all.
He Xi could only continue to preach: "Pure iron is actually relatively soft. The iron we usually see is an alloy of iron and carbon. The proportion of carbon in iron determines its performance. The iron containing more carbon is
, steel contains less carbon. The higher the carbon content, the lower the melting point. This is why the melting point of iron is 1,500 degrees, and our furnace temperature is generally around 1,300 degrees. Iron can be smelted. But
To make steel, you need higher temperatures."
"As for the concept of temperature, it means that water goes from ice to boiling, which is calculated as one hundred degrees."
Speaking of which.
The craftsmen below were even more confused.
What temperature, what alloy of iron and carbon, etc., they seem to understand. They also have to thank the Chinese language for its profoundness. Although these craftsmen interpret the words literally, they may not be able to understand these words accurately. There are some deviations, but they are not completely incomprehensible.
.
For example, what they understand about charcoal is not elemental charcoal, they don't have this concept, but figurative charcoal.
The temperature is even more incomprehensible. Because it is 1,500 degrees, is the melting point of iron fifteen times the melting point of water?
He Xi took a deep breath and didn't ask them to understand. She said: "We now need to build enough armor within three months. We can't follow the old method. So we can only find a way to make a large amount of steel and process it directly with water hammer.
.This is the most labor-saving method.”
"For large-scale steelmaking, you cannot use small furnaces, you must have blast furnaces."
He Xi said: "As for the blast furnace, does anyone know about it?"
He Xi actually drew a sketch in a hurry, which was what he understood to be a blast furnace. But this sketch was at most a conceptual drawing. He had no idea how to build it specifically.
Foreman Ge glanced at the surrounding craftsmen and found that they were all looking at him. He had no choice but to stand up on his own. After all, they did not dare to deceive Shangguan when he asked. But most of the craftsmen were timid. Foreman Ge had more contact with He Xi
.
This matter fell on him.
Foreman Ge said: "Sir, my ancestors were craftsmen in the former Song Dynasty and knew about blast furnaces. Nowadays, they are also useful for making iron. I just don't know if they are the blast furnaces you are talking about."
He Xi was overjoyed when he heard this and said, "Please Ge Lao, please come forward and draw a picture of a blast furnace for me."
"This is the position of an adult. How dare a villain touch it?" Foreman Ge said.
He Xi stepped forward and grabbed Mr. Ge's hand. Mr. Ge's hand was very hard, with many calluses on it and sharp edges and corners. He Xi pulled Mr. Ge up and said, "Why should you be polite, Mr. Ge? There is no need to be polite here."
."
He Xi forced Mr. Ge into He Xi's position. He Xi found pens, ink, paper and inkstones for Mr. Ge, and studied the ink for Mr. Ge.
During this period of time in ancient times, He Xi's calligraphy made great progress. From the ink pigs that could not be seen clearly, to the ink balls that could roughly tell what the characters were. However, he did learn to grind ink.
At this moment, He Xi wanted to know what an ancient blast furnace looked like. Therefore, he didn't care what was wrong with studying ink for Mr. Ge.
But these craftsmen were stunned.
Under normal circumstances, young nobles like He Xi would pay with their lives for losing a single hair. Whoever has a wife they like must go out with the whole family to give it to them. As for grinding ink for craftsmen like them, there is no need to think about it.
Things to think about.
Previously, He Xi said that he respected craftsmen. These craftsmen did not believe it.
Now I am doubtful.
Foreman Ge looked at He Xi and was slightly stunned. Foreman Ge thought in his heart: "Although Mr. He may not be sincere, it is already rare to be able to do this. What's the point of selling my life to you? What's more, Mr. He
Maybe I don’t have the heart of a horse’s bones. Maybe this is an opportunity for my family.”
Foreman Ge was not polite. He picked up his brush and started drawing.
He Xi couldn't help but feel ashamed after seeing it.
Foreman Ge's drawing is very poor. There is no technique or three-dimensional drawing. It is just a simple line outline, but it is something that He Xi can never do.
After a while, Foreman Ge finished the drawing.
It is a blast furnace that looks like a bottle, with a big belly and a small upper end. There is a feed port on the top and a discharge port on the bottom. There is also a long air duct.
He Xi seemed to think of something in her mind and said, "Is there any preheating here?"
Foreman Ge thought about the three words "preheating" and said: "This air duct is ignited. It is probably what adults call preheating."
He Xi said: "What kind of blower should I use?"
Foreman Ge said: "Use more water for drainage, or use animal power to drive it."
He Xi said: "Draw it and take a look."
Foreman Ge immediately drew the so-called water drain, which was a hydraulic blower. In fact, He Xi did not know that this water drain was invented by Du Shi, the prefect of Nanyang in the Han Dynasty. Since then, there have been improvements, but nothing happened.
The frame of Governor Du.
He Xi looked at the blast furnace and the blower, and didn't know what to say for a moment.
Upon seeing this, Foreman Ge immediately explained clearly the operation of the blast furnace. How to feed materials, what co-solvent should be added, etc.
It was even more difficult for He Xi to find fault.
Without him, the foundation left by our ancestors is too deep.
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 the temperature loss in the furnace. But he didn't know how to do it, but the blast furnace air duct had been designed and specially ignited for heating.
As for the blower, it is a large bellows driven by water. It seems to be good. At least it meets the requirements.
As for co-solvents, such as limestone and fluorite, the craftsmen also know them.
It seems that yes. Why can't the steel be tapped directly? What is the problem?