Chapter 434 The First Furnace of Steel in the Ming Dynasty
Chapter 434 The First Furnace of Steel in the Ming Dynasty
Author: fire pine cone
Chapter 434 The First Furnace of Steel in the Ming Dynasty
"Why did I do that?" Zhu Fan said with a smile. He vaguely noticed Zhu Su's inner apology, smiled and patted Zhu Su's shoulder.
Zhu Su also smiled back, "Ruming, both of them have already started working in the government. There is no need to say more about some things. My brothers, just keep everything to yourself."
"At first he thought it was a coal problem," Zhu Fan continued. "So he invited himself out of Beijing, intending to look around to see if he could find coal of good quality."
"So he looked around for suitable coal, and when he arrived in Guangping Prefecture, he accidentally found a descendant of a blacksmith from the Song Dynasty. He had a secret method passed down from his ancestors, which could make the flames emitted by coals several times hotter than usual. It only takes a moment to melt and make hundreds of steel."
"Coke!" An idea flashed in Zhu Su's mind, and he finally understood the problem with his failure in steelmaking.
"I really know." Zhu Fan looked as expected.
Zhu Su slapped his head in regret and said that he was angry because he had ignored the knowledge that when making steel, he must use good coke to provide a higher furnace temperature.
In the previous blast furnace steelmaking process, I focused on building a blast furnace for steelmaking based on the knowledge of later generations, but forgot to build a coke oven for refining coke. After a little refinement with the existing rough coal of the Ming Dynasty, Just use it to make steel. Isn't it strange if it succeeds?
If you say that you are popular, have you made the mistake of taking it for granted? After all, have you never refined steel yourself? You think that if you build a blast furnace, you will be able to tinker with steel sooner or later!
"So, do I have a way to refine the so-called coke?" Zhu Fan asked tentatively.
Zhu Su, who became a little excited because he had figured out the key, did not feel the weirdness of Zhu Fan's tone at all. He immediately ordered someone to bring a pen and paper, and according to the impression in his mind, he copied the shape of a standard inverted flame coke oven. The design drawings were drawn. That kind of coke oven is extremely efficient and can even collect benzene and other chemical substances generated during the carbonization of coal during the coking process.
Thanks to the apartment he rented in his previous life, which was adjacent to the library, and to "Friends of Dual-Use Talents". All the books he read before time travel are deeply imprinted in his mind, so that would be the only golden leg he has after time travel. refer to.
"Is my method more perfect than that of the blacksmith's descendants?" Zhu Fan looked at Zhu Su with a half-smile, and he also took out a "family secret method" with a drawing of the kiln. The secret method is It looks much inferior, just an ordinary earthen kiln.
"Uh...hahaha..." Zhu Su was stunned and tried to fool him with a smile.
Our ancestors also had their own leg skills. During the Song Dynasty, some Chinese craftsmen had already learned how to make coke. As for the Yuan Dynasty, this technology, like many other inheritances, was lost due to the invasion of foreign tribes until the Ming Dynasty. It developed again in the middle and later stages.
In the excitement, I actually forgot that the descendant of that technology had been found by Zhu Fan...
Fortunately, Zhu Fan didn't pursue it too closely. He was used to the sudden appearance of a lot of knowledge from his younger brother. As for Ru Ming, he no longer believed what Zhu Su said was derived from "lost ancient books". Now that Zhu Su had a better way to make coke, the two brothers immediately took action, commanding the craftsmen to build several coke ovens, and excitedly prepared to start a new attempt to mass-produce steel in the Ming Dynasty.
At that time, even the steel-making blast furnace was rebuilt by the two brothers, using the new refractory bricks recovered by Zhu Fan. The quality of the previous furnace bricks was uneven, the insulation effect was limited, and the blast furnace even cracked and molten steel flowed out.
accident.
Using a new type of refractory brick, the two of them were full of confidence in the wrong experiment.
After finally going to work in Yitong, Zhu Su waited for the first batch of molten steel to come out. During that period of confinement, in addition to taking care of various matters in the Imperial College, he and Zhu Fan almost spent time in the experimental base in the back mountain. Watching the craftsmen carefully
After smashing open many steel molds to reveal the shimmering metal blocks inside, both brothers looked nervous.
Although each blast furnace has successfully produced metals, the quality of those metals cannot be known until they are tried.
"Dang!" There was a crisp sound, and the craftsman used all his strength to chop a big knife on the refined metal block. The big knife, which was almost the highest standard standard of the Ministry of Industry of the Ming Dynasty, collapsed visibly to the naked eye.
There was a gap, but the piece of metal was almost undamaged.
"Congratulations to the two palace masters! No steel! No hundred refined steel!" The craftsman threw the knife away and fell to his knees with a plop. He cried with joy and burst into tears. "I have been blacksmithing for decades, and I have never seen this.
It’s better than that kind of fine steel!”
"Is it really made of stainless steel?" Zhu Su looked surprised, and Zhu Fan even felt weak and almost slid off his chair.
He pushed away the guard who was trying to help him, and approached Zhu Su in two or three steps, "Sure enough, it's fine steel, Lao Wu, God bless the Ming Dynasty, they are done!"
"With such fine steel, he will definitely be invincible after the bright moon!" Zhu Su was also excited.
Some people may think that there is nothing strange about whether the steel can be smelted hundreds of times. But Zhu Su knows the significance of that furnace of steel to the Ming Dynasty. Traditional steel-making requires craftsmen to constantly hammer and cast, often
Just a sword requires several craftsmen to work sleeplessly for several months.
The blast furnace steelmaking method can produce such high-quality fine steel in batches, which means that the Ming Dynasty can even use standard weapons and armor made of hundreds of refined steel to equip the army. In the era of cold weapons,
It’s simply a dimensionality reduction attack!
Just imagine, when the two armies came into battle, the weapons of the soldiers of the Northern Yuan Dynasty could not penetrate the fine steel armor of the Ming army. However, the weapons of the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty were extremely sharp, and ordinary armor could not withstand it...
How to fight?
Moreover, Zhu Su soon discovered that the knocking sound of the steel produced in several marked blast furnaces was obviously duller. Before the steel in those blast furnaces was refined, he specifically asked him to go through multiple coal washing steps. Those furnaces
The steel produced is obviously qualified low carbon steel!
Mild steel is the best choice for making flintlock barrels!
In other words, the basic conditions for the manufacture of more modern muskets and artillery are generally in place!
"Dog! Go and get the gold and silver!" Zhu Su was overjoyed. "I ask for a heavy reward for the many craftsmen present! They all deny him the meritorious services of the Ming Dynasty!"
"He will go to see his father and ask him to popularize this steel-making method!" Zhu Fan was also beaming with joy. He and Lao Wu had accomplished such a great feat, and his father would be very happy. Otherwise, he would not have said that.
What reminded Zhu Su of something, he grabbed Zhu Fan, who wanted to go and tell the good news: "Don't worry yet."
"Building steel furnaces in such a big way... I'm afraid the imperial court won't be able to bear it now."
"He and his fourth brother had already gone to look for dad before. Dad said that the government's treasury is now empty, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to have enough power to allocate funds."
Talking about being popular doesn’t mean it’s about money...it’s hard to move without money, and it’s hard for a clever woman to make a meal without rice!
"What?" Zhu Fan was extremely unhappy. "Practice more steel a month earlier, and the Ming Dynasty will be even stronger."
"How can we ignore this important military matter? He went to tell his father that even if he sells everything in the Zhu family, he still wants to find a way to make money and build more blast furnaces."
"...He is coming with me." Zhu Su also gritted his teeth. Zhu Fan said it right. In any case, investment in scientific research is indispensable. "Dad said before that we already have a way, so we need to think about it for some time."
moon."
"They go and urge him. If it doesn't work out well, we'll force Dad to make a decision on the spot!"