Yuan Shu's first sentence left everyone at a loss. Isn't it necessary for people to make iron into steel? It is said that a piece of iron can be forged into steel after being forged a hundred times. Is there any reason for this?
Looking at the faces of the people below, Yuan Shu knew that he was looking in the wrong direction. Things that were too advanced were a bit difficult for them to accept, so he had to simplify them.
"Let me put it bluntly, this is iron ore, the molten iron it produces is pig iron, and what you produce through frying and refining is called wrought iron.
They all contain a substance called carbon. Pig iron has the highest carbon content and is hard and brittle, while wrought iron has the lowest carbon content and is soft. Neither of these two irons can be used as ordnance iron.
We often say that steel is somewhere in between, with a carbon content greater than that of wrought iron and less than that of pig iron. Only in this way can iron have both the softness of pig iron and the hardness of wrought iron. Only when it is moderately soft and hard can it be forged into something sharp and sharp.
A durable weapon."
After Yuan Shu finished speaking, he paused and glanced at the craftsmen in front of him.
Almost all the craftsmen had hooded faces. They knew what carbon was, but how did it get into the iron and how to get it out? They heard it like a book from heaven.
"Sir, since you said that pig iron has more carbon and wrought iron has less carbon, is it possible to find a way to fuse the two to get steel for ordnance?"
Just when Yuan Shu was disappointed, a voice sounded, and then he saw a somewhat thin young man standing up, his eyes shining brightly.
"Yes, who are you?"
Unexpectedly, there was an understanding person here, and Yuan Shu couldn't help but feel very relieved.
"I, Zheng Hun, from Duke Wen, pay my respects to Mr. Zhou Mu."
The young man knelt down and saluted Yuan Shu.
"Zheng Hun? Are you the one who designed that giant scattering crossbow?"
Hearing that the man had a Chinese character, Yuan Shu couldn't help but have doubts. It was actually very difficult to have a Chinese character in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Generally speaking, the working people had plain Chinese characters and basically no formal characters. However, this man's conversation and temperament were also different.
Like an ordinary craftsman, who is he?
"It's down there."
Zheng Hun nodded elegantly to Yuan Shu.
"Open the Sky Eye Technique."
In order not to let go of any talent, Yuan Shu silently activated the Heavenly Eye Technique. Colorful glare flashed through his eyes, and his eyes turned into a strange and bizarre world.
Selectively turning off those useless light beams, there were only three light beams shining in his eyes. First of all, it was Dian Wei beside him. The light beam was purple with gold in it, extremely bright. Then Master Zhou was blue with green in it, and Zheng Hun was.
Purple with blue, extremely magnificent.
This Zheng Hun is a talent, we must keep him.
"Mr. Wen, right? I think you are not as simple as an ordinary craftsman, right?"
Now that he saw how powerful Zheng Hun was, Yuan Shu secretly made up his mind not to let him go.
"Sir, I am from Kaifeng, my ancestor is Zheng Zhong, and my brother is Zheng Tai and Zheng Gongye."
Yuan Shu asked, and Zheng Hun had no choice but to tell him his family background.
Zheng Hun's brother Zheng Tai was a capable person in history. When General He Jin came to power, Zheng Tai was appointed as Minister of the Secretariat. Later, he was moved to serve as the Censor. When he failed to remonstrate with him, he abandoned his official position.
Dong Zhuo was conscripted as Yilang during the dictatorship. Later, he joined forces with He Yong and Xun You to conspire to kill Dong Zhuo. However, he fled back to Yuan Shu and served as the governor of Yangzhou. Finally, he died on the road.
Although Xun You has not served under Dong Zhuo since Yuan Shu arrived, Zheng Tai's trajectory has not changed. After it was revealed that he teamed up with He Yong to assassinate Dong Zhuo, he fled to Nanyang and is now working under Yuan Shao.
As for Zheng Hun's grandfather, he was an outstanding figure. He and his father Zheng Xing were known as the predecessors of Zheng. He was a Confucian scholar no less than Zheng Xuan. He was a well-deserved Confucian figure and was respected by future generations.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Since you are the son of the Zheng family, Dian Wei, please help me see Mr. Wen away."
Since you are a member of a big family, I have plenty of ways to treat you.
"Here."
Although he didn't know what Yuan Shu meant, Dian Wei still came to Zheng Hun.
"Sir, what does this mean?"
Hearing Yuan Shu's words, Zheng Hun was stunned on the spot. It stands to reason that his family background is so impressive, and if you don't say three points of courtesy, you won't be expelled on the spot.
Yuan Shu looked at Zheng Hun's desperate look and couldn't help but smile. You, a son of a wealthy family, sneaked into my craftsman's camp to work as a blacksmith. If you didn't love this profession very much, he wouldn't believe it even if you beat him to death. So he just needs to catch him.
At this point, Zheng Hun can be easily captured.
"Without him, what I want to teach you next is my secret method. Naturally, the so-called secret method can only be taught to my own craftsmen. Wen Gong is from a wealthy family. It's a pity, Dian Wei, to see the guest off."
Yuan Shu shook his head and sighed, asking Dian Wei to see off his guests.
"What's so difficult about this? As long as your secret method is truly exquisite, I consider you to be the master."
Zheng Hun has been extremely smart since he was a child. He can read scriptures and various classics. How can a person who can do this be stupid? He immediately heard the meaning of Yuan Shu's words. He should not spread it to outsiders. Doesn't that mean he must recognize it himself?
Lord? Anyway, I came to Jizhou because I took a fancy to Yuan Shu's potential, so why not accept him as my Lord?
"Is this true?"
Yuan Shu turned his head sharply and stared at Zheng Hun with burning eyes.
"a man of his words."
Zheng Hun nodded.
"Okay, come on, come on."
Yuan Shu directly took Zheng Hun to the iron-making furnace.
"The method I'm talking about is called the steel pouring method. As the name suggests, the steel pouring method is to put the wrought iron obtained by frying steel in a container, and then pour the newly melted pig iron from top to bottom. As long as the control is proper, you can get the wrought iron.
, that is, fine steel.”
After Yuan Shu finished speaking, all the blacksmiths were still confused, even Master Zhou was the same. Only Zheng Hun lowered his head, full of thoughts.
"What the adults say is indeed feasible, but what is the proportion?"
After Zheng Hun thought for a while, he raised his head and looked at Yuan Shu.
"As the saying goes, true knowledge comes from practice. The proportion depends entirely on your ability as Duke Wen."
Yuan Shu did smile. Although he knew the general method, he didn't know the specific proportion.
"Okay, then I'll give it a try."
Practice brings true knowledge. This sentence is full of truth. Everything is tried step by step. Since you say it is possible, then give it a try.
"Well, Master Zhou, all the needs must be satisfied by Wen Gong. It doesn't matter how many furnaces of iron are made. Do you understand?"
"promise."
Master Zhou nodded.
"Well, then I'll wait for your good news."
After Yuan Shu finished speaking, he took Dian Wei and left the craftsman camp. After all, he still had a lot to do, so it would be better to leave these things to professionals.
The next day, Xun You and Tian Feng came to the Prefectural Mufu again. After their statistics and planning yesterday, they had drawn up a charter for the expedition and came specifically to give Yuan Shu a look.
