Zhang Chong and the guards used up the grain, then mounted their horses and ran towards Mount Tai in the east, where there was a small iron official post set up by Zhang Chong.
Qingzhou has benefited from salt and iron since ancient times. At that time, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty set up forty-eight iron officials in the world. Among them, there were seven in Qingyan, and two of them were in Jinan, namely Dongpingling and Licheng.
Therefore, there were a lot of iron workers in Jinan, so Zhang Chong asked Ji Sun to help recruit some iron workers to the mountains. In fact, Taiping Road had already developed influence among the major iron officials in Jinan.
After all, these iron official slaves were the most exploited group by the Han court. They worked day and night and ate sour water. Even if they were injured at all during the work, they would be abandoned by the officials and left to fend for themselves. Therefore,
Most of these people believe in Taiping Dao, and there is nothing else but to stay together and stay warm.
Taiping Dao also attaches great importance to iron official slaves. Because you rebelled, in addition to food and grass, you will also have weapons and armor, and craftsman slaves who can forge iron weapons are naturally the targets of Taiping Dao. In addition, because iron official slaves work together, they are particularly able to
He is hard-working and organized, and with a little training he becomes a strong soldier.
It is precisely because the iron official slaves or iron workers are so important that Jinan did not want to send them away. Later, they decided to sacrifice the sun and said that Huang Tian's great cause was the most important, so they sent 20 iron workers, most of whom were smelters.
There are also three knife makers and a armor maker who make farm tool molds.
This armor craftsman is a real master craftsman, and it is also a great gift given to Zhang Chong by his grandson.
The Han court had very strict supervision over this kind of special craftsmen. All armor-makers had to be registered and no supernumeraries were allowed to exist at all. This armor-maker was introduced to Sun Yat-sen after he avenged his blood and helped him fake his death to escape.
Of Taiping Road.
The Iron Office that Zhang Chong was going to now was built by him for these more than 20 iron workers. He also sent more than 200 hard-working and strong Shanliao children there to teach these iron workers.
When Zhang Chong was about to arrive at the iron official station built in the valley, the iron officials were already waiting outside the station. The leader was a powerful man with scars on his arms. He was the only one in the station.
The armor craftsman, Deng Zhi.
Zhang Chong got off his horse and complained about Deng Zhi, saying:
"Old Deng, don't do these false courtesy with me in the future. If you have this skill, it would be a great gift to me to give more lessons in blacksmithing to our Shanliao apprentices."
Deng Zhi also has a story. This man should have had a future as an iron officer in Dongpingling. He once presented a fine armor to the iron officer, but who knew that this would lead to death for him.
The iron officer naturally didn't want to keep this fine armor after he got it, and he didn't need it, so why keep it. So, he dedicated this armor to Gao Zong, the meritorious officer of Dongpingling.
Gao Zong liked this armor very much, and then he came up with the idea of bringing the craftsman who made this armor to Wubao to be a slave craftsman. You must know that making armor is a serious crime, so Gao Zong could only do it secretly.
But the incident was discovered by Liu Yao, the patrolling commander at the time. In order to silence him, Gao Zong had no choice but to send people to kill Deng Zhi's family. Deng Zhi was later rescued by Ji Sun, who was preaching nearby, and Ji Sun even helped him to kill Deng Zhi.
The killer who destroyed his family. But the real culprit, Gao Zong, was unable to help Deng Zhi. Later, when he pushed Deng Zhi into the mountain, he said:
"If you follow Taishan Qu, he may be able to avenge you in the future."
Deng Zhi naturally had a deep hatred for his whole family, but he was a man with no trace of bitterness on his face. Only his hoarse voice could express how much he hated.
So at this moment, Deng Zhi replied to Zhang Chong in his usual hoarse voice:
"Qu, if you don't tell me, I will teach those people with all my heart. All of this is for Huang Tian's great cause. But the etiquette of teaching and returning to the religion cannot be abolished. Otherwise, there will be no respect and inferiority. Wouldn't it be a mess?"
Zhang Chong was very proud of this kind of technical talents. Although he did not agree with Deng Zhi's words, he did not get entangled and directly led the craftsmen into the Iron Official's Office.
On the way, Zhang Chong asked about the current progress of the institute. Deng Zhi was the most skilled ironworker in the institute, so he was naturally promoted to the iron officer by Zhang Chong.
Deng Zhi nodded and started counting to Zhang Chong based on his memory:
"So far we have produced a total of 400 iron hoes, 200 iron fans, 40 ring-head knives, and one armor collar. In addition, there are still 300 kilograms of iron ingots left."
Zhang Chong nodded, then looked at the Shanliao apprentices who were still forging iron, and asked Deng Zhi:
"How many of these two hundred Shanliao disciples are able to serve as teachers now?"
Deng Zhi shook his head:
"Not one."
Probably because he was worried that Zhang Chong would think they were hiding something, he explained to Zhang Chong:
"It's like this. As ironworkers, if we devote ourselves to teaching, it will take three years to get ahead. If some ruthless ironworkers lead apprentices, it may take ten years to touch the crucible."
Zhang Chong understood that he actually had a way to speed up this learning process. It was nothing more than streamlining the ironwork's smelting, forging, quenching and other environments, and then dividing the work and then specializing it.
But Zhang Chong couldn't do that now, because he wanted to raise two hundred seeds that could lead people, instead of just fishing for a little bit of production capacity. So, Zhang Chong nodded, and then started to continue walking.
At this moment, Zhang Chong had walked to the only large crucible iron-making furnace in the institute.
This thing looks about four meters high, less than two meters wide, and about one meter deep underground. But this is the pinnacle of iron-making technology in this world. Later generations probably still used this kind of crucible to make iron-making furnaces around the time of the Republic of China.
. So even though it looks like a mound, it is actually moving forward.
At that time, in order to build this iron furnace, Zhang Chong bribed an iron official and sent a furnace maker to the mountains for three months to build the furnace, and then he went back. But it doesn't matter, such technical talents are recorded in
Zhang Chong's little notebook has been published, and as long as there is a chance, he will definitely dig into the walls of Hanting.
When the stove was being built, Zhang Chong was there during the whole process in order to learn from it. The craftsman didn't hide it, so he started making the stove in front of Zhang Chong. He might be laughing in his heart, he could learn it just by looking at it, but he still wanted him to do it.
What.
But in fact, the craftsman really underestimated Zhang Chong. He really could learn just by looking, because he understood physics and chemistry.
The craftsman first dug a rectangular pit in the ground, leaving it as the furnace door, and then began to apply thin mud around the walls of the pit.
After that, we started to make refractory bricks. After the fire bricks were burned out, we started to build the furnace roof. Then we put a layer of refractory mud on the inside. This mud is very particular, it must be volcanic mud. After finishing the inner wall, we need to add another layer of refractory mud.
The outer wall is being coated with a layer of grass plaster.
After that, we will make the furnace door, furnace pit, kiln chamber, and chimney.
The furnace door is mainly for ventilation, and the furnace pool is inside the door, which is used as a wind nest during combustion. After that is the furnace, and the inner wall is also painted with straw mortar. This place is where the crucibles and charcoal and other fuels are arranged in rows. The furnace
The last step is to erect three chimneys, which are easy to understand and are used for exhausting smoke.
In this way, an iron-smelting furnace is ready.
After that, Deng Zhi started to smelt the first furnace of iron. First, he had to place the clay crucible in the furnace, and then put crushed iron ore and charcoal into it. There was a trick in this. If you didn't know this, those people would
Those who imitate their masters will produce nothing but rubbish.
Before Deng Zhi put the iron ore and charcoal into the crucible, he had actually laid a layer of brick fragments on the bottom of the crucible. Deng Zhi placed these himself and did not tell outsiders that these brick fragments had the effect of
Its function is to ventilate the bottom of the furnace.
And if they are outsiders, they only saw Deng Zhi directly putting iron ore and charcoal. If they want to steal the example and learn from it themselves, they will only be able to smelt scrap iron in the end.
So when he told Zhang Chong this clever trick, Zhang Chong suddenly realized that ancient craftsmen really had a strong sense of anti-theft!
Then Deng Zhi continued to put in charcoal, and then put in a crucible, and then followed the steps step by step. After filling the iron ore, spread a layer of charcoal, then put in the crucible, and finally filled the furnace.
Therefore, a furnace of iron actually consists of three crucibles. After that, it is ignited, blasted, and waited until the ore in the crucible is melted into pig iron.
When Zhang Chong saw this standard Han Dynasty ironmaking process, he had already thought about how to improve it.
One is the combustion aid. Nowadays, craftsmen generally use charcoal, so Zhang Chong will replace it with coal, which is easier to smelt.
There is also ventilation. Nowadays, a cowhide bag is used to exhaust air. This thing is very labor-intensive. At that time, in order to smelt the iron, the apprentices of Shanliao had to waste a lot of energy. Therefore, Zhang Chong thought of using water power
Come to discharge the bags, but the design is still under construction and has not yet been finalized.
So what can be done immediately is to find coal to improve charcoal, which Zhang Chong will do later.
In later generations, Shandong was a major coal mining province, especially Jinan where he was located. Zhang Chong searched hard and finally found an open-pit coal mine for him, and then he hurriedly transported a batch of coal to the Iron Office.
One of the purposes of this visit is to see the efficacy of coal.
But just now Deng Zhi told him that the effect can be good or bad. The good thing is that the temperature rises quickly, but the bad thing is that the iron produced is too raw.
Too raw?
Zhang Chong suddenly realized that this means that the smelted iron contains high carbon content and is brittle. After Zhang Chong thought about it carefully, it may be because coal is more likely to stick to the iron ore, causing the smelted iron to contain too many impurities.
.
Just when Zhang Chong felt that his reforms would end in failure, Deng Zhi said again:
“But coal is still better than charcoal!”
Zhang Chong was surprised as to why.
Then Deng Zhi explained that this charcoal material is not resistant to burning, so when smelting, you have to constantly put charcoal into the furnace. This is not only time-consuming, but also extremely dangerous. But now that this coal is used, one furnace can completely burn the charcoal.
It is very convenient to tap the iron. Although the cast iron is a bit brittle, it can be used just as well if they forge more.
Hearing this, Zhang Chong was happy, okay, as long as it can be useful.
Then Zhang Chong came to the armor-making area, which is the most important place in this iron official institute.
It was also here that Deng Zhi led ten apprentices and made the first collar.
At this moment, this armor is hanging on the wooden frame and has been coated with a layer of paint. This armor is a typical two-crotch armor, which is two pieces of armor on the chest and back. The two armors are then tied together with two belts.
The pieces are tied together. When the time comes to wear this armor, it must be paired with a two-crotch shirt, otherwise the iron will be quite harsh.
Zhang Chong equipped his army with this kind of armor. It was simple to make and had good protective power. As long as the production of iron sheets was increased, it could be installed in the army on a large scale.
But the difficulty now is how to increase the production of iron sheets on a large scale. Zhang Chong asked how long it took to make this collar. Deng Zhi said that it would take two months at the earliest.
If you calculate it this way, Zhang Chong can only get six armors in one year, so what's the use of it? Zhang Chong also estimates that the most time-consuming part of this is the two-sided armor.