The workshop in Handan was in full swing. From King Zhao to ordinary craftsmen, everyone gathered around a blast furnace that was more than two people high, staring intently at the blast furnace.
A raging fire burned in the furnace cavity, and tongues of flames poked out, making everyone's faces turn red.
More than a dozen workers were filling in charcoal, pulling the bellows, and throwing ore, without daring to stop for a moment. The charcoal residue stained the sweat black and carved curved marks on the cheeks.
The workers paid full attention and did not dare to be careless. This was the first time that the iron-making blast furnace of Zhao State was officially opened. Even the King of Zhao and the Prime Minister were alarmed and rushed to the workshop outside the city to watch in person. There was no room for any mistakes.
As time goes by, the iron ore is gradually melted by high temperature. Affected by the density, the molten iron precipitates to the bottom of the blast furnace, and impurities float on top.
Soon, a small, intermittent stream of golden liquid slowly flowed out from the outlet at the bottom, entered the cooling device, and condensed into a lump - pig iron.
"Successful!" Xu Da shouted excitedly, almost jumping up from the ground.
Everyone's faces showed unspeakable excitement - they had worked hard for four years and finally succeeded!
"Continue to add iron ore." Zhao Kuo clenched his hands into fists, his face flushed, half illuminated by flames and half excited.
Needless to say, the importance of blast furnaces to ironmaking is like weapons to soldiers, medicinal materials to doctors, and needles and threads to tailors.
Although iron can be made without a blast furnace, the output is severely restricted. Only with a blast furnace can the transition from bronze to iron be truly completed.
"Your Majesty, it's already filled." Xu Da rubbed his calloused hands and said at a loss.
"Is it full?" Zhao Kuo looked at the extremely fine golden molten iron and frowned. "At this rate, how much iron can be produced every day?"
"Your Majesty, it's about two hundred kilograms." Xu Da said.
"..." Zhao Kuo felt a little disappointed. Two hundred kilograms of iron was an almost negligible weight for a country.
However, Zhao Kuo squeezed out a smile on his face and said, "It's already a lot, and this is just one blast furnace. When dozens or hundreds of blast furnaces are built, and even bigger blast furnaces are built, the output will increase."
"Being able to build an iron-making blast furnace so quickly is beyond my expectation. The output is second. As the technology matures, the output will naturally become higher and higher." Lin Xiangru said with a smile.
The iron-making technology of Zhao State was very advanced. As early as the Jin Dynasty, it was possible to cast large iron tripods and cast criminal inscriptions on them. However, the mainstream has always been bronze, and pig iron is too brittle and easy to break, so it is not suitable for making weapons.
, so they are basically used for agricultural tools.
In order to change the properties of pig iron and make it more suitable for making weapons and agricultural tools, various countries in the Central Plains softened it, making the surface steel and the middle high-carbon pig iron, which solved the problem of pig iron having poor toughness and being easy to break.
This technology is more than two thousand years earlier in the Central Plains than in other regions.
As for steel, in fact, Chu State developed carburized steel two to three hundred years ago. Although Chu State has a backward system, it has always been at the forefront of technology.
However, after losing the iron-making powerhouse Wancheng, everything in the Chu State fell into the hands of the Qin State...
The current state of Chu is much weaker than it was at its peak.
Nowadays, various countries in the Central Plains have long mastered the technology of carburized steel. However, due to production problems, iron weapons have never been popularized. They are only equipped for generals and major elite legions at most.
It's different with the iron-making blast furnace. In addition to the continuous supply of iron, it also means a large amount of steel and even the improvement of steel-making technology.
Although Zhao Kuo knew nothing about steelmaking, he still knew that the difference between steel and iron was only the carbon content. If he wanted to turn pig iron into steel, he only needed to find a way to reduce the carbon content.
As for how to do it specifically, he didn't know.
He is only responsible for providing the theoretical basis, which is a simplified version. How to implement it is naturally the responsibility of Xu Da and other craftsmen.
"Xiang Guo is right. You can't become fat with just one bite. It's already a great progress." Zhao Kuo nodded. "Everyone has worked hard during this period. Every worker who participated in the construction of the blast furnace will be rewarded with three months' wages.
Workers who have made outstanding contributions to technological breakthroughs will be rewarded in accordance with national regulations. In addition, they will be promoted to the rank of chief engineer of Xu University to the rank of thirteenth-class Zuoshi."
"I dare not accept it. In fact, the blast furnace can be improved successfully, and the biggest contributor is not the subordinates." Xu Da lowered his head and said with cupped hands.
"Not Qing? Who is that?" Zhao Kuo asked in surprise. Xu Da is already the top craftsman in Zhao State. Is there anyone better than him?
"Your Majesty, I am my son. Without the help of my son, I would never be able to improve the blast furnace." Xu Da said.
"Where is your son? Bring him here for everyone to see." Zhao Kuo said in surprise.
Considering Xu Da's age, his son could be ten or twenty years old at most. Could it be that Zhao is about to produce an iron smelting genius?
There was no shortage of talents in Zhao State's affairs and internal affairs, both young and old, but there was a shortage of technical talents. Although Xunzi had a keen eye and picked some talents for Zhao, it was still far from enough.
Due to the official position since ancient times, Zhao State did not attach importance to technical talents before. This did not change until Zhao Kuo became the King of Zhao. But how could it be possible to cultivate a large number of talents in just a few years? It is already very good to be like now.
.disperse
"Your Majesty, this is my son. He is sixteen years old this year." Xu Da pointed at a particularly conspicuous person among the craftsmen and said, "Why don't you come over and pay homage to your Majesty?"
"Mrs. Xu pays homage to the king." A tall black coal ball squeezed out from the crowd, walked up to Zhao Kuo, and leaned down to salute.
He is Xu Da's son, Mrs. Xu.
She's not a woman, she's a man, but her name is Madam.
Mrs. Xu has been blacksmithing with her father since she was a child, and is a well-known child prodigy in the blacksmith circle in Handan.
"Sixteen years old..." Zhao Kuo looked at Mrs. Xu, who was nearly nine feet tall, with extremely thick limbs, dark skin, and unshaven beard. He then looked at Xu Da, who was of normal body shape but with slightly darker skin.
If you are not familiar with it, it may be difficult to tell which one is the son and which one is the father.
"Not bad." Zhao Kuo wanted to pat Mrs. Xu on the shoulder to show encouragement, so he stretched out his hand. After seeing Mrs. Xu's size, he put his hand down with some embarrassment, "I, Zhao Kuo, will be punished if I have done something wrong. If you have merit, you will be punished."
Just reward me, regardless of your age or origin. But you can’t just listen to your father’s words on this matter. I still have a few questions to ask you.”
"Excuse me, Your Majesty." Mrs. Xu said in a neither humble nor overbearing tone.
"Your father said that it was because of your help that the blast furnace was successfully improved. Is that true?" Zhao Kuo asked.