The group of people walked quickly through the tall inner bluestone wall, passed the guarding warriors who bowed their heads in salute, and arrived at an extremely wide open-air workshop, the center of bronze production.
Shulot looked around, eyes flashing. This was his first time seeing a large-scale metal smelting and casting site.
The large workshop is as wide as a square, with an open-air working space in the center, surrounded by a circle of solid storage stone houses. Large piles of red copper materials, white tin materials, and green and black charcoal are piled up in the corners, and rows of copperware
, copper farm tools, and bronze weapons were laid out in a row, glowing with red, yellow, and even cyan light. And on the outermost layer of the copper tools, a bronze cannon that was more than one meter tall was lying quietly on the ground, shining with a dark green-gold color.
Light.
Inside the workshop, against the wall, there is a row of more than a dozen clay shaft furnaces responsible for smelting copper, and twice as many small green brick furnaces. Dark red flames are burning in the furnaces, and billowing hot air is coming from
Rising from the side of the shaft furnace, the air was filled with the copper smell of verdigris powder, the burnt smell of burning wood, and the odor mixed with sweat.
Shulot sniffed lightly, his eyelids twitched, and his brows furrowed slightly. Then, his eyes paused on the bronze cannon for a moment, and then he walked towards the center of the workshop expressionlessly.
In the center, dozens of warriors stood with spears in their hands, with solemn faces. Hundreds of coppersmiths were kneeling on the ground with their upper bodies bare, their sweat already making the earthy ground wet. At the front of the craftsmen, two men were kneeling.
A craftsman leader wearing short clothes and a leather hat inlaid with copper on his head.
The two craftsman leaders lay on the ground and held their breath, watching a pair of deerskin boots getting closer and closer before their eyes. Although the boots were simple in style, they walked steadily step by step in the center where everyone was gathered. Until the boots stopped on their feet.
In front of them, the craftsmen leaders saluted respectfully, then raised their heads slightly and shouted greetings.
"Master craftsman Qin Congcan, head of the bronze workshop, master smelter (master casting), Chalape Thiam (Tiripi Thiam), greets your distinguished Majesty!"
Xiuluo nodded, his expression calm. Many long-lasting memories flashed through his mind, as well as the recent narrations of the knowledgeable elders.
In the Prepecha language, "Tiam" means metal. The Thiam family is the family that has been responsible for metal things for generations. From the mouth of the new chief Jatiri, Shulot learned about the ins and outs of this family.
Have an in-depth understanding.
At the beginning of the Kingdom of Tarasco, the "Tiam" metal family was still at the third level of the three-level system. However, with the expansion of the copper trade over the past hundred years and the invention of bronze technology at the beginning of this century, the metal family
The importance of the family gradually increased, and finally during the reign of the third ancestor, he was promoted to the second level of court nobles, directly subordinate to the royal family, but without a fief.
Yes, it is different from the stereotypes of many people in later generations. It was not until he came to this era that Shulot was surprised to find that the Mesoamerican civilization in the 15th century was already in the early Bronze Age and had a very prosperous copper trade. "Cha
"Lape" means red, and Chalape Thiam is the red metal, red copper in Prepecha language. And this special name has also been passed down by the leaders of the metal family, and has been the bronze official of the kingdom for generations.
Red copper is purple-red pure copper. Throughout the world, the red copper age has lasted for hundreds of years. In the murals of the Fourth Age, there is a scene of the Kingdom of Urisio conducting copper trade. The Prepecha people
The Patzcuaro Lake District and the Zapotec Oaxaca Mountains are the two most important copper production centers in the world. The Kingdom in the Lake is not only rich in copper mines, but also has the most mature copper casting technology.
The earliest dedicated bronze workshop was established.
Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, sometimes mixed with a certain proportion of lead to overcome the brittleness of bronze. The world's tin mines are mainly located in the south controlled by the Mexica Alliance, on both sides of the Tulsas River in Jontal.
The land of Teiscatla Pampang. It is not far from the land of the lake.
Bronze technology first appeared in the Kingdom of Tarasco and has been used in weapon forging. A large number of bronze axes and spearheads were unearthed from the Qincongcan site in later generations. As the war progressed, bronze technology was gradually introduced to surrounding countries.
With the spread, the recent Mexica Alliance has been able to cast bronze weapons. However, the optimal copper-tin mixing ratio is still regarded as a secret and is firmly in the hands of the Condor Royal Family.
In the local language, "Tiripi" means gold, and "Tiripi Thiam" means golden metal, which here refers to bronze. The meaning of this inherited name is the bronze forger. It only appeared a few decades ago
, also represents the official maturity of bronze technology in the Kingdom of Tarasco. And the Tiripi in front of him is the third person with this name.
Thinking of this, the king gathered his thoughts for a moment and carefully looked at the two people in front of him.
The smelting and casting of bronze is a job that requires both physical strength and technology. The two craftsman leaders are brothers of each other, both in their prime forties. The brother on the left, Chalape, is smiling and slightly older. He is good at smelting and is
A senior copper official who often dealt with the royal family and nobles, he was considered a technical bureaucrat. At this moment, Chalape's expression was respectful and natural, his face was slightly rounded, and he also had a smooth smile on his face.
"Charape, the knowledgeable elder mentioned you to me. I heard that after you converted to Christianity, you prayed day and night, believed in the Lord God devoutly, and were willing to dedicate the rest of your life to the Lord God?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. The Lord God of the Sun has infinite power and dominates light and flame! Since I have devoutly believed in the Lord God, I am full of power even when smelting bronze..."
"Very good! The Lord God protects us. His light falls on everyone regardless of ethnicity!"
Hearing this, Shulot smiled and nodded lightly. After becoming the chief, Jatiri gave full play to his influence and recommended many names to him, and Chalape was one of them. They were Prepe
Among the Cha people, they were the first group of elites to actively move closer to the alliance and join the feudal rule.
"Tiripi, King Suangwa has a pair of bronze armor, which is extremely strong and difficult for arrows to penetrate... Well, I heard that it was made by you?"
Tilipi on the right has his lips pursed and is slightly younger. He is a pure master craftsman, possessing the most outstanding bronze casting technology in the kingdom, but lacks experience in dealing with nobles. At this moment, facing the king's inquiry, his
His expression was much more reserved, and his face showed obvious nervousness.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty, I made the bronze armor a few years ago... My skills were not yet mature at that time... The parts of that armor were not well connected, and they were not extremely strong... Finally
The important thing is that it is too heavy..."
"Your Majesty, forgive me! Tiripi was ignorant for a moment and served the false king Suangua... Now he has devoutly converted to the Lord God and is willing to devote his life to the great you!..."
Chalape raised his head, looked at the king's face, and carefully added a word. At the same time, he stretched out his hand and quietly pulled the clan brother's short robe.
Hulot glanced at Chalape lightly, and the other person immediately lowered his head in awe. He looked at Tiripi again, and the master craftsman closed his mouth and looked at the king with a stiff expression. There was silence in the workshop, and everyone
They all had sweat on their foreheads.
"Haha! Yes, devout faith will lead to a bright future."
The king laughed out loud, and the atmosphere in the venue suddenly became much more relaxed.
"Chalape, you are an expert at smelting bronze. Please tell me about the smelting of bronze!"
Chalape nodded repeatedly. He stood up and led Shulot to the copper-smelting shaft furnace inside.
"Your Majesty, this is the shaft furnace for smelting bronze! It is built with the clay of Mother Earth. It has the power bestowed by the Sun God and can divinely strengthen red copper... The entire shaft furnace can be roughly divided into three parts.
, the bottom furnace base, the furnace hearth containing mineral materials and the outer furnace body..."
Shulot stretched out his arm and measured the specific dimensions of the shaft furnace. The entire shaft furnace was about one person tall and half a person wide. It looked like a huge clay pot buried in the soil. From the bottom of the furnace to the top of the furnace, it was 1.2 meters.
Slightly more, the material column is just over 1 meter, and the thickness of the furnace wall is 30-40 centimeters. He made a rough estimate and knew that the volume of the furnace was about one-third cubic, which is also the largest amount of bronze that can be smelted at one time.
volume,
"Your Majesty, the furnace base is under the furnace. It has a wind channel that connects to the power of the God of Wind. There is also a long and narrow air outlet on the furnace. On the lower part of the front wall of the furnace, there is a golden door for discharging materials and a hole for discharging slag.
..”
Xiulote looked at the wind ditches and vents and knew that these were passages for oxygen to flow in, but he did not find any special blowing equipment.
"Your Majesty, every time you build a furnace, you can fill it with three to four thousand kilograms of copper materials and hundreds of thousands of kilograms of tin materials. The copper materials and tin materials must be melted once, passed through the small furnace, and removed.
The dregs inside.”
As he spoke, Chalape pointed with his hand to the other side, where there was a long-term furnace built of blue bricks, but the size was only half the size of the shaft furnace. Then he pointed to the large furnace in front of him.
"Lord God bless you! Thousands of kilograms of copper and tin materials are calcined in a large furnace to cast them into bronze. It takes one day to prepare the copper and tin, and about one day to build the furnace. The furnace needs to heat up until the copper and tin melt, which takes one day.
.It will take another day to fully mix. When the temperature drops and the flame is turned off, the stove will be knocked down and the bronze will be taken out, it will take another day..."
Having said this, Chalape looked at the king, his face already filled with pride.
"God bless you! Your Majesty, in total, in about five days, each furnace can produce an astonishing more than 4,000 kilograms of bronze!"
Xiulote remained calm and nodded slowly. He was a little disappointed in his heart. The daily output of each furnace was less than a thousand kilograms, and it would take two days to build and tear down the furnace. Thinking of this, the king frowned.
"Charape, is this clay stove of yours disposable?"
"Exactly, Your Majesty!"
Chalape nodded affirmatively.
"Only if the furnace is sealed well enough can the fire be put in. After burning, in order to take out the bronze, the furnace must be dismantled. If there are enough manpower, it is not troublesome to build a furnace. In fact, in this workshop,
, what is really not enough is the supply of copper materials!”
"Insufficient firepower...low temperature...blast and oxygen..."
Shulot fell into deep thought. He tried hard to recall the wooden box used for blasting in the countryside in later generations, but his memory was already a little blurry. He thought about the principle for a moment, and stretched out his hand. The warrior commander had been prepared and handed it over in time.
With pen and paper, the young king drew a simplified blast box with his own hands right in front of Chalape.
"Charape, to increase the firepower, you need to blow air. Make a batch of large clay pots, tie the mouth of the pot tightly with a half-folded deerskin, and open an air intake valve on the deerskin. Leave a vent on the wall of the pot.
hole, and then connect a clay air duct, seal the connection with mud, and then pass it into the stove... In this way, when you pull up the deer skin, the folding valve will open to take in air. When you press the deer skin,
The valve on the leather will close, forcing the air in the clay pot into the furnace... With one pull and one press, the whole process is like beating a drum. The speed of the air blowing depends on how fast you pull and press the deer skin!"
Looking at His Majesty's paintings and narration, Chalape looked surprised. As soon as he constructed a rough situation in his mind, a low exclamation came from beside him, followed by the voice of his clan brother Tiripi.
"Open the air intake, close the air compression... Well, Your Majesty, you are really smart!"
Hearing this, Chalape's face darkened. He looked at the king carefully, but saw that the king didn't care and even smiled.
"Charape, the charcoal kiln and clay brick kiln outside the city are under construction. In addition to the blower, there will be a batch of high-quality charcoal every month, which will be supplied to you first. You need to build a batch of green charcoal that can be used repeatedly.
Brick shaft furnace, ready for the great bronze smelting!"
"As for the source of the copper and tin materials, I will solve it myself!"
"I obey your will, Your Majesty!"
After hearing Xiulote's order, Chalape quickly pulled his clan brothers and saluted the king together. Then, he stood up and continued to guide the king to a row of bronze weapons. Bertard looked solemn.
He patted Hei Lang on the shoulder. The two generals stepped forward, holding their weapons with their right hands, and guarded His Highness closely.
"With the blessing of the Lord God, according to the kingdom's decades of experience, the best copper-tin ratio is..."
Chalape paused and looked carefully at the king in front of him.
"Your Majesty, this is the secret of the kingdom. The personal guards behind you..."
"Chalape, it doesn't matter! They are all my personal guards, there is no need to avoid them. And I will send some of them to you to also participate in the production of bronze."
Xiulote shook his head. The scale of bronze smelting and casting in front of him was still too small, and production needed to be expanded quickly. Once production was expanded, more people would have to participate. The Spaniards would arrive in America in less than ten years.
These so-called secrets are actually meaningless.
"Ah...Your Majesty...I will obey your will..."
Under the vigilant eyes of the warrior commander, Chalape stretched out his hand to touch the bronze weapon in front of him and said respectfully.
"To cast a durable bronze vessel, it should be five parts copper and one part tin; to cast a broad-bladed bronze axe, it must be four parts copper and one part tin; to cast a sharp bronze spearhead, it must be three parts copper and one part tin... In total
Generally speaking, the more tin is added, the darker the gold color will be and even turn blue, and the harder the bronze weapon will be, but it will also become brittle and easy to break..."
"Okay! Chalape, you summed it up well!"
Hearing this, Xiulote nodded in admiration. A familiar line of words appeared in his mind.
"Five-fifths of the gold and tin as one are called the axes and jins. Four-quarters of the gold and tin as one are called the axes and halberds. Three-thirds of the gold and tin as one are called the broadswords."
.Bronze axes, bronze spears, and bronze swords..."
Thinking of this, the king looked solemn and looked at the other master next to him.
"Tiripi, where is the bronze sword I asked you to forge?"