Although Mao Xiang scolded the subordinate who reported the news to his body in his heart, he was even furious in his heart, thinking about how to deal with him when he returned.
But now faced with Lao Zhu's displeasure, Mao Xiang could only kneel on the ground, not even daring to raise his head, waiting for Lao Zhu's resignation.
When Han Du heard Lao Zhu call out "Mao Xiang", his heart couldn't help but jump a few times. Suddenly, he felt the hairs on his body stand up, and he felt a chill even under the warm sun.
Han Du looked at Mao Xiang without any trace, and saw that he was thin and thin. Although he was a man, his facial features were three-dimensional and exquisite, and he could not be said to be heroic. Instead, he gave people a handsome and feminine feeling.
To put it simply, this Mao Xiang is unisexly beautiful.
Although there are very few records about Mao Xiang in official history, in unofficial history, it is rumored that he was Lao Zhu's first spy chief and the legendary first commander of the Jinyi Guards.
There are also rumors that before Lao Zhu established the Jin Yiwei, he had his own independent spy system to facilitate Lao Zhu to collect information from all parties.
Now it seems that this rumor may be true.
Anyone who is an official dislikes Jinyiwei, and Han Du does the same. He doesn't want Lao Zhu to know exactly what he ate that day.
Therefore, Han Du instinctively resisted Mao Xiang. It's not about likes and dislikes, but he instinctively wanted to stay away from him.
Han Du was observing Mao Xiang. Suddenly he felt a slight tingling between his eyebrows. He looked up and saw Lao Zhu glaring at him with an unkind expression.
There is murderous intent in his eyes.
Han Du shrank his neck with a guilty conscience and avoided Old Zhu's sword-like gaze. He knew what Old Zhu meant. Isn't it because he concealed the quantity of steel? But you can't blame him, he was there again today.
Having never been to the Banknote Bureau, who would have known that Mr. Huang and the others had practiced so much.
But he didn't dare to explain this to Lao Zhu here. Even if he explained it, Lao Zhu might not listen. He might be angered and punish him. In that case, he would do it with Mao Xiang.
They are inseparable brothers, so it is better not to say anything.
Lao Zhu glared at Han Du and then withdrew his gaze. Lao Zhu was worthy of being an emperor, and his acting skills were at the level of a movie king. When he looked at Han Du, his face was gloomy. When he turned back to look at Huang Lao, he was already
Like a spring breeze.
He said to Mr. Huang in a gentle and polite tone: "Thank you, brother, how much steel can you make in one day?" Mr. Huang also felt that something was wrong in the atmosphere just now, but seeing that the emperor was so easy to talk to, he didn't think much about it.
Facing the emperor's question, Huang Lao glanced at Han Du carefully and saw that he had an expressionless face and showed no expression.
Mr. Huang said truthfully: "No hard work, no hard work, just working for the emperor. We can probably smelt 80,000 kilograms of steel like this in a day."
Eighty thousand catties!
When he heard this number, even with Lao Zhu's imperial character, his heart couldn't help but beat a few times. It was as if 80,000 kilograms of steel were pressing on his heart.
This is not 80,000 jins of iron. If it were pig iron, the imperial court would be able to smelt 70,000 to 80,000 jins of iron in one day. But this is high-quality steel, and 80,000 jins is enough for the imperial court to consume for a year.
But here, it’s just the output of one furnace in Handu in one day.
Lao Zhu was filled with joy, and his eyes no longer looked murderous when he looked at Han Du, and his eyes were full of appreciation.
"Lead the way, I'll go see how you make it."
Han Du immediately ran to Lao Zhu's side, bowing like a dog-legger and saying, "Your Majesty, please come this way."
"Your Majesty, be careful, there is a small hole here, I will find someone to fill it later..."
"Your Majesty, pay attention. There is a small bump ahead. I will have someone shovel it later..."
Lao Zhu walked in front with his head held high, and Han Du who followed him looked more like a cute pet wagging his tail.
Come to the blast furnace.
Handu specially found an open space to build the blast furnace, and built a one-foot-high wall around the furnace with masonry and cement. This was to prevent people from prying into the blast furnace, which is a powerful tool for making steel.
It’s okay if no one knows about it now. Once word spreads about it in the future, it will naturally attract people to covet it. Secondly, because the temperature of the molten steel produced by the blast furnace is extremely high, let alone being close to the blast furnace.
The dead grass ignites.
Not only did Handu have people clean up all the flammable things around the blast furnace, he even piled coal outside the fence.
"The common people pay homage to the Emperor."
Seeing the emperor coming here, the craftsmen all knelt down and saluted.
"No courtesy, please get up and go do your own thing."
Lao Zhu's voice was loud and clear, reaching everyone's ears clearly.
"Thank you, Your Majesty..."
The craftsman stood up, turned around, and went to work on his own.
Lao Zhu looked up at the tall stove and asked casually: "Bao'er, what do you look like?"
Li Wenzhong took a closer look at the blast furnace and said, "Your Majesty, it looks like a gourd."
When Han Du heard this, he was also surprised. He raised his head and glanced at the blast furnace. Cao Guogong was right, it did look like a gourd.
After hearing this, Lao Zhu smiled and said: "You have good eyesight, Bao'er. I didn't expect that such a thing can directly refine iron and stone into fine steel."
Turning to look at Han Du, he asked doubtfully: "Why is this?"
In Lao Zhu's understanding, iron and stone can only be made into pig iron. If you want fine steel, it must be tempered over and over again.
"Your Majesty, in the past, iron stone could only be smelted into pig iron. That was because the temperature of the furnace was not high enough to refine the impurities in the pig iron. To put it simply, it was not fully burned. The reason why pig iron could be smelted into steel is because
During the tempering process, the impurities inside can be removed bit by bit through constant folding and hammering."
"When I understood this at that time, I was thinking, since the pig iron with the impurities removed is refined steel, can I directly remove the impurities by raising the temperature of the furnace? After all, the furnace can even refine iron.
If we raise the temperature further, we might be able to refine the impurities. I didn't expect that I just tried it once and it actually succeeded, which is a great blessing to the Emperor."
Han Du spoke in detail, and Lao Zhu also listened carefully. After listening, he couldn't help but sigh: "It's reasonable and well-founded, and there are traces to follow. Not bad."
He pointed at the blast furnace and asked, "Then why did you make the furnace look like this?"
Han Du had already thought of an excuse for this and explained in an orderly manner: "At that time, I was racking my brains on how to increase the temperature of the stove. I didn't have any clue at first. Perhaps it was because of Emperor Hongfu's care that one day I
When I saw my family boiling water, I suddenly thought of a way. I found that when boiling a pot of water and covering the lid, the water boiling time is much shorter than when the lid is not covered. The water boils faster, which means that the water boils faster.
The temperature of the water in the pot is higher. I thought at that time, since the temperature inside the pot can be increased by covering it with a lid, can the temperature of the furnace be increased in this way?"
"So I thought of this method, sealing all the heat of the furnace inside the furnace. Unexpectedly, it actually worked."
Han Du's explanation made Lao Zhu very satisfied.
The ins and outs of the matter are clear and traceable. Especially Han Du did not pretend to say something to him, get help from God, if there was divine help, etc., but instead made guesses from the existing things from shallow to deep.
and temptation.
Lao Zhu especially appreciates the ability to move from one phenomenon in life to another, from small to large.
Seeing that Han Du had explained clearly, Lao Zhu nodded and asked, "Is this furnace of iron ready to be smelted? I want to see it with my own eyes."
Han Du was not sure about this, so he turned to look at Mr. Huang.
"It will take about half an hour to get back to the emperor." Mr. Huang immediately replied.
Lao Zhu nodded and said casually: "Then I'll wait here."
How can you wait here?
Han Du is still aware of how dangerous it is here. He dares to let Lao Zhu stay here. If something goes wrong, he will not be able to survive.
He quickly persuaded: "Your Majesty, it's safe here now, but when the molten steel comes out, it won't be safe here. We might as well exit first, and we can still see it clearly outside."
Mr. Huang also helped, "Yes, Your Majesty. When the molten steel is being produced, the heat wave is rolling here, and even the clothes on your clothes are about to be roasted. Even the common people try to stay as far away as possible. Your Majesty must not stay here."
.”
Seeing that both Han Du and Huang Lao were so insistent, Lao Zhu followed his instructions and retreated outside.
Seeing this, Han Du quickly arranged for someone to bring a chair for Lao Zhu to sit on.
He stood nearby and waited quietly.
Half an hour passed quickly.
When everything was ready, a craftsman shouted, "Open... the furnace... click..."
Han Du leaned over and reminded Lao Zhu in his ear, "Your Majesty, just look at it twice at a time. The molten steel is bright and dazzling, so don't look at it for a long time. Looking at it for a long time will be harmful to your eyes."
After hearing this, Lao Zhu nodded slightly.
As the thick furnace door was opened, a stream of red molten steel flowed out along the groove. There were bursts of fireworks wherever it went, and balls of flames suddenly burst out from the molten steel, as if the molten steel was burning.
Generally, gorgeous and dazzling.
Everyone present heard Han Du's reminder. After looking at it twice, they felt their eyes were a little uncomfortable and they looked away without daring to look again.
Feeling the heat surging in front of him like a tide, Lao Zhu no longer persisted and led everyone further away.
Lao Zhu looked at Han Du beside him, smiled and sighed: "You have done a great job, you have solved an urgent need for the court."
What's the urgent need, why don't I know?
Han Du's eyes were dazed, but Lao Zhu didn't say anything, and he didn't dare to ask. It must be some confidential things, and he shouldn't let himself know.
But Han Du doesn't care, as long as Lao Zhu says he has merit.
Han Du had a simple and honest smile on his face and said humbly: "It's all because of the Emperor's great blessings. I don't dare to take credit..."