In late autumn in the North, we can already experience the power of the coming severe cold, and our breath forms a string of white mist in the air.
On the bank of Xinshui River, a, well, strictly speaking, there were three large-scale camps built along the river bank. The camps were not far from each other, about a hundred steps away. The walls of the camps were the earliest
It is made of wood and earth structure, and now it is basically replaced with red bricks, and will gradually become the shape of a dock.
In the middle of the camp, besides the workhouses, there are workhouses. The wood on Luliang Mountain was cut down, then dragged down the mountain, bundled together, and made into a raft. By the way, it carried some mined ore and followed the water flow down to here.
The wood was piled on the river bank waiting to dry in the shade, while the ore basically went into the towering furnace in the camp and was refined into various raw materials.
The thick blast furnaces are spewing black smoke day and night, and water and land transportation have basically not stopped. Most of the small-scale workshops in Beiqu have been moved here. Ordinary gun heads, arrows, and iron armor are all produced here.
What was left in Beiqu was further fine processing and smelting. For example, the War Sword made at the thirty-year level and the Modao made at the fifty-level level both came from Beiqu.
Coal has become the main fuel. Fortunately, even in later generations, Shanxi still has a lot of open-pit coal seams. For Fei Qian now, just three camps like this, even if they are fully started, they will probably not be used up in three to five years.
That layer on the surface.
However, the quality of iron refined from coal is naturally inferior, but it also brings additional interesting additional effects...
Fei Qian held two iron spear heads. After looking at them, he handed them to Xu Shu and said with a smile: "Yuan Zhi, look at the difference in quality between these two spear heads?"
Xu Shu took the two spear heads, weighed them out of habit, and tested the hardness of the spear heads on the soil, and then said: "Zhonglang, this...can't see it clearly, there doesn't seem to be much difference..."
Fei Qian smiled and then motioned to the craftsmen on the side to demonstrate.
The craftsman picked up two gun heads, and then led Fei Qian and others to a stove. He clamped the two gun heads with iron tongs and heated them in the raging fire.
After a while, the spear heads were licked red by the flames. The craftsman skillfully picked up the two spear heads, placed them on the anvil, picked up the hammer on the side and started hammering them quickly.
The spear heads were soon gradually knocked flat, and then the difference emerged. One of the spear heads cracked immediately under the knocks, just like an ice cube falling to the ground, and broke into pieces of different sizes.
A few pieces, and the other gun head turned into a round cake-shaped iron block under continuous hammering, and it did not crack...
"This..." Xu Shu opened his eyes wide.
The iron ore in Luliang Mountain is of average quality. If it is not screened and some lime is not added for desulfurization, then the smelted hot metal will contain high sulfur content after the steel is fried. When there is too much sulfur content, the steel will generate heat.
Crisp effect.
But let alone the Han Dynasty, even in later generations, how many people can understand the thermal brittleness effect of steel? At normal temperature, or when it is completely melted into molten iron, this thermal brittleness basically does not show up, except in
It is particularly obvious when hot processing is performed at around 1000 degrees. At this time, steel with high sulfur content is like paper and will break when smashed.
To put it simply, ordinary steel that has not been desulfurized is difficult to undergo simple secondary thermal processing...
Fei Qian nodded to the craftsman, and then moved a little away from the extremely hot blast furnace. After a while, Fei Qian was already sweating a little.
"These are the gun heads destined for the east..." Fei Qian whispered to Xu Shu.
Gold in troubled times and antiques in prosperous times. But in troubled times, there are things more valuable than gold. One is of course food and grass, and the other is of course weapons.
Xu Shu suddenly understood, and then showed a tacit smile.
In marching combat, weapons and other things will naturally suffer some wear and tear, but on the battlefield, it is impossible to set up any blast furnace to melt all the materials and then pour them. It can only be maintained through superficial thermal processing, and the gun sent by Fei Qian
The head is at this moment...
Moreover, Fei Qian also said that the land in Bingzhou is barren and the quality of the gun heads is poorer. Of course, the price is cheaper. In the eyes of people like Yuan Shao, soldiers are just consumables. As for items such as gun heads, they are almost as good as
, basically don’t understand, let alone ask too many questions.
As for the craftsmen in Yuan Shaojun's army who encountered this kind of problem, most of them simply discarded the faulty ironware as scrap. Unless someone paid special attention to it, they would naturally not take the initiative to report it. Therefore, the result was
The attrition rate of ordnance is greatly increased.
Basically, the caravans heading east now are transporting spearheads and arrowheads with relatively high sulfur content, in exchange for grain, grass, cloth and other materials.
Xu Shu suddenly thought of something, and then said: "So, is there some problem with the relationship between Yuan Cheqi and the Zhen family in Hebei?"
There are also iron ore mines in Jizhou, but they are basically controlled by the Zhen family. Yuan Cheqi traveled thousands of miles to find Feiqian to buy these gun heads. One is that the price here is lower in Feiqian, and the other is that he may not want to be restricted by the Zhen family.
psychological factors.
The current Han Dynasty is too dependent on the gentry.
There is no one, so I am looking for aristocratic family.
If you don't have money or food, you have to find a noble family.
If you don't have salt, iron, tea, daily necessities, etc., you need to find a family...
In order to take back the salt and iron from the hands of the emperor, for a long time after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the aristocratic families tried their best to get this piece of fat back again.
The aristocratic family was a malignant tumor that only attached itself to the Han Dynasty. After dragging down the Han Dynasty in the future, it itself also fell into a path of decline.
Yuan Shao was in Jizhou, and although he had the governor in charge, the formation of the army and the production of materials for life were inseparable from the Hebei gentry. Therefore, people like Tian Feng and senior cadres could hold high positions. Among Yuan Shao's ranks and Yuzhou
People fight in separate courts.
Fei Qian shook his head and said: "There may not be any conflict, I'm afraid it's just that the terms between each other have not been agreed upon." Then Yuan Shao united with the Zhen family through marriage, which is probably a mutually recognized transaction.
But as long as Yuan Shao is not willing to be completely controlled by the local Zhen family, he will inevitably choose Fei Qian for transactions, just like the merchants in later generations who always have to prepare a few more.
Fei Qian looked toward the east and said: "What's more, Yuan Cheqi's demand for ordnance has been quite large recently. He has been buying it everywhere, and Hebei alone can't supply it for a while... so this kind of business should continue for a while..."
"Is Yuan Cheqi ready to take action according to Zhonglang's wishes?" Xu Shu said, "If you want to go south, you must first secure the north..."
Fei Qian nodded and said: "Recently, the proportion of grain and grass exchanged in the east... Well, the quantity is declining, while the quantity of salt, tea, cloth and other supplies is rising... These people in the east are also hoarding grain and grass...
…”
This winter may be the last window of time to stock up on food and grass. With wars happening all over the country, food and grass are even more precious than gold...
I didn’t eat breakfast, I really couldn’t eat it... I felt like throwing up after the first bite... MMP... As the ancients said, having a talent is like being pregnant, and there is indeed some truth to it...
