Chapter two hundred and forty-ninth double furnace ironmaking
Han Qian arrived in Xuzhou and initially integrated more than 1,200 troops and horses to ensure that the four surnames and the Tanzhou soldiers and horses that had penetrated into Xuzhou did not dare to act rashly. The most urgent thing he had to do was to build the Five Willow River.
Weir, built houses, cultivated fields, and resettled the Feng family slaves and the refugees who were left in Xuzhou.
In this way, they can gain a more solid foundation to establish a foothold in Syria. Otherwise, with only 1,200 troops and such a complicated situation in Syria, how could he contain Tanzhou from the upper reaches of the Yuan River?
Not to mention containing Tanzhou from the upper reaches of the Yuanjiang River, Han Qian was not able to even deal with the thousands of elites from Tanzhou who had penetrated into Xuzhou and formed a camp at the foot of the Zhongfang Mountain, let alone the four surnames in the deep mountains and old forests on both sides of the Yuanjiang River.
, staring at them like poisonous snakes.
And the native people outside Xuzhou are equally hostile to them!
Standing in front of the city wall of Longya City, he could even see the vigilant and hateful eyes of the spies from Jiming Village hidden in the bushes. Even two people on his side were careless and chased a bird a few days ago.
The wounded elk accidentally ran to Lao Longtou and was killed and wounded by the soldiers there.
Han Qian had to tolerate these things for the time being. At this time, he did not have the capital to fight against the surrounding native surnames.
There is no basic-sized group to support his father and son, and they cannot obtain basic supplies from the local area. The 1,200 troops with unstable morale are really not enough!
And they have 1,200 men. After fighting with other forces, if there are large casualties, there will be no place to supplement them.
The slaves of the Feng family and a group of refugees who were trapped in Xuzhou were resettled and brought over, and the guest people who had moved to Xuzhou before but had serious conflicts with the native people were further gathered together to resolve the current instability in the population.
Due to factors, Han Qian and his father finally established a foothold in Xuzhou.
However, even if all the Feng family slaves, refugees and guest Han people were brought over, the total number of men, women, old and young would only be 60,000 to 70,000, which is only equivalent to a relatively large county in the Jiangdong region.
With this population base alone, on the one hand, we must arrange for 20,000 to 30,000 people in such a short period of time; on the other hand, we must deal with the Tanzhou soldiers and horses that have infiltrated into the country in the autumn and winter of next year, and settle the four major families.
To deal with the hostility of the peripheral native surnames and ensure the ability to suppress Tanzhou from the upper reaches of the Yuanjiang River, where is the shortcut?
Han Qian pinned his greatest hopes on his improvement of the contemporary method of making iron and steel.
He had spent the past four months studying the method of making iron and steel in Yandangji. He also built a forging house, a variety of experimental iron-making furnaces, and a hand-forged furnace.
Bellows, summoning Chen Jitang and others to continuously test new methods.
Even in order to adapt to the iron ore, pig iron materials and coal produced in Xuzhou, they did not hesitate to occupy the tight transportation capacity of the Xuzhou fleet, transport iron ore, pig iron materials, coal and stone from Xuzhou, and conduct various experiments.
The main reason is that the composition of iron ore, coal and coal produced in different places are very different. Han Qian wants to find a set of smelting methods based on iron ore, pig iron and coal produced in Xuzhou or even Longya Mountain.
The law of iron.
Otherwise, why would Du Junyi directly take over the position of engineer at the Longya City Ironmaking Ground without mastering the real theory of ironmaking?
Because the process used in the Longya City Ironmaking Factory was improved over and over again by the Yandangji Forge. In addition to Chen Jitang and Du Junyi, there were six craftsmen from the Han family and more than a dozen slaves from the village who participated in the process for four months.
At this time, they all came to Xuzhou.
As for the iron smelting yard built by Ji Xiyao in Longya Mountain, both the furnace and the process used were new methods improved by Han Qian in Yandangji.
At present, the only way to imitate charcoal firing is to smolder coal and stone to remove impurities. It was only after arriving in Xuzhou that the experiment was started.
Although Xuzhou is rich in forest resources, even if charcoal is used to make iron, it cannot be used up in a short time. However, the current method of washing and smoldering coal and stone to remove impurities can still save a lot of manpower compared to burning charcoal.
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The most urgent thing that Han Qian has at the moment is manpower. Almost everyone doesn't think he can accomplish anything with the few manpower he has!
Otherwise, how could Tanzhou let him cross Dongting Lake so easily?
Of course, after Du Junyi switched to using smoldering and impurity-free coal to make iron, two new changes appeared in the previously determined iron-making process, but these two were good changes...
"After we use smoldering coal instead of charcoal, the furnace temperature has been significantly improved, and the same period of iron melting time can be shortened by almost 12 times; in addition, the supporting force of smoldering coal after burning is much stronger than that of charcoal
..." Du Junyi reported to Han Qian the new changes he had observed during this period.
"Yes, this is a good thing! Take me to see it!" Han Qian led Du Junyi and others, striding towards the iron smelting yard behind Longya City.
Increasing the furnace temperature is not simply a matter of shortening the time for making pig iron by one-tenth or two-tenths.
After four months of experimentation, Han Qian has determined that the melting point of iron is directly related to the carbon content. The lower the carbon content, the higher the melting point.
This is also the key to the fact that in today's world, soft iron with almost zero carbon content can only be obtained through continuous forging that may last for months or years.
The impurities are removed from the iron material, and the carbon content is reduced to a very low level, that is, the steel is made into soft iron, so it is called soft iron. In fact, it is what later generations called wrought iron, also known as old iron.
Because the carbon content of soft iron is extremely low and the melting point is extremely high, the current furnace temperature cannot melt the soft iron, so there is no way to obtain real wrought iron directly through furnace smelting.
Therefore, increasing the furnace temperature is always the key to improving the method of making iron and casting steel.
Nowadays, using smoldering coal instead of charcoal can increase the furnace temperature, and even directly lead out the molten molten iron for stirring. When the molten iron is not cooled, the impurities are exposed to the air for further combustion and are directly removed. Other impurities can also be directly removed.
Can slag be deposited under the molten iron through combustion, thereby directly reducing the carbon content and impurity content. How much effort will this save in subsequent forging?
This method was tested by Han Qian in Yandangji using a small ironmaking shaft furnace.
However, there is no way to build large-scale blasting facilities in Yandangji. The fuel is mainly charcoal, which is difficult to pile up too high. As a result, the temperature of the furnace cannot be raised to the extent that Han Qian expected, and the cooling rate of the molten iron is too fast, so the effect is not very satisfactory.
, but it also proved to be worth the effort to explore.
The vertical blast furnace built here in Longya Mountain is twice as high as the experimental furnace in Yandangji. It can build a larger water-powered or animal-powered blast box and can accumulate more fuel. At this time, the coal and stone are smoldering.
It can further increase the furnace temperature, providing Han Qian with an even wider space for imagination.
Han Qian was thinking in his mind, what if the molten iron from the vertical iron-making furnace was introduced into a new crucible furnace, stirred to remove carbon and impurities under high-temperature conditions, and then taken out for cooling?
This is actually a combination of the current iron-making and steel-frying processes. It is also called the double-furnace method in later generations. It is more fuel-efficient and more efficient than cooling the molten iron into pig iron blocks and then heating, melting, decarburizing and removing impurities. Much more!
Han Qian does not expect to be able to directly obtain truly pure wrought iron, but if this method can obtain refined iron with a moderate carbon content, how much more effort will it save than the current method of frying steel?
The supporting force of the remaining coal is significantly improved, which is also a phenomenon worthy of loud applause.
The shaft furnace built here in Longya Mountain makes iron. The molten iron outlet and slag outlet are located at the lower part. The carbon feeding port is located at the upper part. After ignition, the carbon material supports the iron ore for reaction, and the resulting molten iron flows from the gap. Lead it out to the bottom, but stop making iron before the charcoal material can no longer support it to prevent the material from collapsing.
How much iron a shaft furnace can smelt at a time and how much iron ore can be added are directly related to the supporting force of the residual charcoal.
At present, there is a vertical iron-making furnace in Longya Mountain. One furnace of molten iron can produce 700 kilograms of iron. If the supporting force of the residual stone for smoldering coal is significantly improved, one furnace of molten iron can be increased to 1,000 kilograms. How much can the efficiency be improved again? ?
With this foundation, it will also be convenient to build a vertical blast furnace with a larger furnace volume in the future and a furnace that can produce two thousand kilograms or even four thousand kilograms!
These experiences were all discovered by Han Qian in Yandangji in the past four months. He left Jinling and fled, "destroyed" many experimental furnaces, and naturally he had to bring out all the Han family craftsmen who had mastered these experiences.
Han Qian rushed to the iron smelting yard where sentries were on duty.
The ironmaking field is built between a gentle slope and the southwest wall of Longya City. Although there are only three vertical ironmaking furnaces more than ten feet high and some smaller forging furnaces, it covers an area of more than a hundred acres and the charcoal-burning kiln is also It is built in an iron smelting yard, so it is necessary to ensure that there is a coal yard and a mine yard of sufficient area.
After Han Qian confirmed that Du Junyi had not exaggerated the effectiveness of smoldering coal, he immediately stopped an iron-making furnace and built a crucible furnace capable of high-temperature stirring or frying at the outlet of the molten iron to test the double-furnace steelmaking method he had been thinking about for a long time... …
If this method can be achieved, although the high-performance steel parts required to make the scorpion cannon crossbow arm are still difficult to make, the cost of armor, scale armor, fine iron swords, war spears and other armor made by Longya Mountain will be It can be significantly reduced to one third of the level of other iron yards in the world.
The cost cannot be further reduced, mainly because the ironmaking yard he built here is not in a suitable location, and the ironmaking output is limited by the mining and transportation of iron ore and coal.
If the double-furnace method works, Han Qian's next step is to deploy hundreds of more strong laborers to increase the number of workers in the coal mines and iron ore mines!
Just imagine, if ordinary iron arrowheads are replaced by fine iron arrow clusters or fine steel arrow clusters, how much will the penetration power be improved?
Even if the canal is specially built for the Wuliu River construction site in the early stage, the shovel, shovel, plow and other agricultural tools for cultivating grain fields will be much more efficient than ordinary iron tools.
In the next half month, Xuzhou seemed to be facing the calm before the rainstorm. The four wealthy families, Tanzhou soldiers and horses, and the wealthy residents were all waiting to see how Jinling would decide the fate of the Han family and his son, so they did not take any action.
Han Qian stayed in Longya City and personally watched the double furnaces being transformed.
The structure of the crucible furnace for stirring or frying molten iron is simpler than that of the vertical furnace, and its volume and height are also much lower. It is just located at the molten iron outlet of the vertical furnace. This only needs to be on a stable foundation. Basically, digging a sloping pit to build a furnace can solve the problem.
Therefore, the transformation process of the first experimental double furnace was still simple.
Fifteen days later, the molten iron from the first double furnace was introduced into a long mold for cooling. Looking at the cooled iron block with a clear luster, this is not fine iron or fine steel, what is it?
The casting of swords involves the performance requirements of the blade and spine, which is quite complicated to deal with. However, the armor pieces and decks required for armor and scale armor only need to be simply forged with thin iron.
At this time, if you compare it with the armor made by the traditional fried steel forging method, you will find that the performance of the armor made by the new method is almost the same.
A pair of armor is made up of hundreds of armor pieces, and scale armor has an even greater number of armor pieces. The traditional armor-making technology involves heating and frying small pieces of pig iron and then repeatedly forging them into shape.
It usually takes a master armor maker a year to make a good pair of armor.
If the armor pieces are not fried and forged, and thin iron sheets are directly used as armor pieces, if you want to obtain considerable protection, the iron armor will have to be more than twice as heavy.
If a soldier puts on such armor, his energy may be exhausted in one charge.
Protective power, armor weight and armor-making efficiency are always three contradictions that are difficult to reconcile in contemporary armor craftsmanship.
The refined iron smelted by the new method also needs to be cold forged to a certain extent under a hydraulic forging hammer so that the quality of the armor can be further improved. However, compared with the traditional armor-piercing and scale-armor craftsmanship, the efficiency is much higher, and
The requirements for armor craftsmen can also be greatly reduced.
Han Qian confirmed that the refined iron refined by the new method could be used to make armor, so he immediately recruited more than a hundred young men aged 14 to 16 from the Feng family's slaves and generals' disciples as apprentices, and added them to the armor workshop.
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Zuo Si's scouts were the best among the best, and they captured a lot when they were guarding Xichuan, including returning criminals, Xi clan members, and boat gang guards. As long as they had achieved military merit, received military honors, or needed to be incorporated into the state camp to serve,
They were all allowed to take the captured soldiers and armor directly back home.
Therefore, the 1,200 men and horses that Han Qian gathered in Xuzhou this time are generally complete in weapons and armor, and there are not many missing parts. Generally speaking, there is no need to rush to expand the number of armor craftsmen here in Longya Mountain.
of the workshop.
However, the most important thing worn by Xuzhou soldiers, horses and generals is leather armor.
In addition to six to seven hundred pairs of leather armor, there are also more than a hundred pieces of heavier iron armor in the army, but there are only about twenty pairs of fine steel armor.
A warrior with strong martial arts skills and strong strength like Tian Cheng, who wears leather armor on the inside and fine steel armor on the outside, dares to charge into the formation as long as he is not facing a crossbow and shooting in front of him, or facing a long bow and arrow array.
Leather armor or slightly thinner iron leaf armor can withstand ordinary iron arrow clusters at a longer distance, but if the opponent's long bow is equipped with sharper and more penetrating fine steel arrows,
What about clusters?
The improvement of materials corresponds to not only the improvement of productivity, but also the improvement of killing ability and efficiency!
