Emperor Sui Yang

Chapter 460 Ask the Prince to Test the Knife
(Two chapters and one chapter, brothers, no more in the afternoon)
In fact, iron ore needs a firing process before it enters the blast furnace. This process is to calcine the impurities in the original ore and extract purer iron ore.

Why do you say that smelting is actually playing with fire?Because all ores have different melting points when they are calcined in the fire, and by mastering the heat, all impurities with low melting points can be smelted, leaving refined iron minerals with higher melting points.

In this step, anthracite is required to provide huge heat, in order to burn off the impurities in the original minerals.

But once it enters the blast furnace, the best material is actually not charcoal, but coke. Steel making must be made of coke. Coke can provide higher heat than coal and is more resistant to burning, so it is the first choice for iron making.

So the next thing Yang Ming had to do was to bring along Yun Dingxing, Dugu Huai'en, He Yan and other craftsmen to prepare for coking.

Coke is made from coal, and the whole of Shanxi is short of coal in Hedong. However, compared with other places in Shanxi, if it is compared on a national scale, the coal reserves in Hedong can be called rich, and they are mainly distributed in the Yuan within the territory. Jishan County and Jishan County, of which Jishan County and Wenxi County are neighbors, are very close.

Yang Ming came down this time to inspect the situation of the kiln, but now it has developed into the mobilization of the entire Hedong.

Dou Qing, the prefect, kept complaining. Wherever you are, there will be troubles. Can't you let me retire comfortably?

In Jishan County, a large amount of coal was confiscated, and the government recruited people to drive mule carts and ox carts to send carts of coal to Wenxi County.

Due to the large number of people joining in, the new mine is progressing rapidly. Many barracks are already under construction, and several blast furnaces have also been erected.

In a corner of the mine, Yang Ming and hundreds of top craftsmen were studying how to sift clean coal from coal for coking.

China was the first country in the world to invent coking technology and use coke, but that was at the end of the Song Dynasty. The current Sui Dynasty is very unfamiliar with coking, so the things Yang Ming described are in the eyes of craftsmen. Different from the Arabian Nights.

But because of the lessons learned from the blast furnace, no one would take Yang Ming's words seriously now.

Yun Dingxing, the top smelting expert, looks like an apprentice right now, holding a pamphlet in his hand, carefully recording every word Yang Ming said.

Yang Ming squatted on the ground, and everyone else followed suit. Yang Ming smiled and said:
"Don't be restrained, everyone. What we are going to talk about is very complicated and will take a lot of time. Please sit down."

Yuan Dingxing said: "I dare not sit down. How can there be a reason for the honorable to stand and the humble to sit?"

Yang Ming frowned suddenly.

"The minister takes orders," Yun Dingxing took the lead to sit down with his expression unchanged, and the other craftsmen also sat down on the floor.

Yang Ming continued: "The material of iron depends on the smelting process, and smelting depends on the fuel. The heat provided by charcoal is not suitable for blast furnaces. We should use coal."

Yun Dingxing was taken aback, then spoke again: "Didn't Your Highness say a few days ago that coal is suitable for low furnaces?"

"This coal is not that coal." Yang Ming still liked this kind of question-and-answer environment, and explained with a smile:
"The coal used in the blast furnace is coal after smelting, so it can be called coking coal. To smelt coking coal, the first thing we need to do is to screen the impurities in smelly coal (bituminous coal) and use the purest coal. Burn out the coke."

He Yan, the Prime Minister of the Taifu, asked: "Then how to screen the stinky coal?"

"Wash with water," Yang Ming picked up the branch in his hand and began to gesture on the ground.

Washing coal with water means washing with water. First, build a washing pool, pour the coal into it, and then use a fine bamboo sieve to wash it with water over and over again, in order to remove the yellow sand, soil, and slime mixed in the coal. , Sawdust, broken grass, and gangue are cleaned out to obtain pure and clean coal.

The coal used for coking cannot be larger than three centimeters, because the coal is large and there must be impurities in it.

After all, this thing is dug out from the ground, and it is bonded together with various minerals in the ground. Coal washing is to screen out these excess minerals.

"With clean coal, it's easy to talk about coking," Yang Ming said, "Pile up all the clean coal in a clean area, cover the top with soil, leave a smoke outlet, and leave a burner below, ignite the coal pile, and let it burn. In about ten days, when the overburden is removed, there will be coking coal underneath."

Everyone was stunned, how could coal be so wasted?You burned it all, shouldn't the rest be soot?

Someone raised such a question, and Yang Ming explained: "That's why it needs to be covered with soil. Clean coal cannot be fully burned without contact with the air. It's coking coal."

Everyone looked puzzled, and someone said: "I believe the prince anyway, so I might as well try following the prince's method first."

"That's right," Yun Dingxing stood up and said, "Since His Highness said that coking coal is the best material for blast furnace smelting, we might as well make coking coal first."

Yang Ming threw away the branch in his hand and clapped his hands: "It's not too late, everyone should do it right away."

Next, after discussing with hundreds of craftsmen, they divided the labor and cooperated, and each went down to prepare.

Yang Ming, on the other hand, was wandering around in the mine accompanied by the guards.

His method of coking is a simple method, and the coke produced cannot be compared with later generations, but at present, it is considered a top technology.

There are 4000 to [-] people working in the mine today, and the craftsmen are rushing to work day and night. Because of the prince's presence, no one dares to be lazy, and they are all working hard, hoping to win the favor of the prince, and the carp leaps over the dragon's gate.

Yang Ming asked someone casually: Are you tired?The other party definitely said that he was not tired, even if he was so tired that he could hardly stand up, if Yang Ming wasn't the prince, it might be another answer.

Xu Deyan, the prime minister of Hedong County, and several county magistrates are currently following Yang Ming. They don't understand smelting and are mainly responsible for resource scheduling.

"The coal from Jishan County is sent here. The road is not close, and it is quite labor-intensive," Yang Ming said in a deep voice with his hands behind his back, "It's better to build a washing plant next to the coal mine in Jishan, and the clean coal washed out Lightweight and relatively better to transport.”

Xue Kui, the magistrate of Jishan County, hurriedly picked up a pen to record, and then said: "Dare to ask Your Highness, are all coal mines built with water washing stations?"

Yang Ming nodded: "The coal kilns that are too small are not used. Those with a daily output of more than [-] baskets can be used."

One basket of coal is three hundred catties, and twenty baskets is six thousand catties, which is equivalent to three tons. How much is three tons? A full agricultural tricycle is three tons.

A kiln with a daily output of three tons is a high-yield kiln. Unlike later generations, a certain coal mine in Jincheng, Shanxi produced [-] tons a day. Shanxi’s coal seems to be endless. It has been dug for thousands of years and is still being dug.

Of course, if it is dug according to the daily output of three tons, it can still be dug for 10,000+ years.

Yang Ming doesn't have the ability to transform coal mines. He only understands simple methods and some principles, but he can't do high-tech.

From ancient times to the present, going to the coal mines has been the hardest and most difficult job, and the risk is extremely high, otherwise it would not have been spread: Going to the coal mines when there is nowhere to go.

Yang Ming continued to instruct: "The coal that is currently being transported to Wenxi does not need to stop, but water washing stations must be installed in each coal mine as soon as possible."

"The minister takes orders," the county magistrate Xue Kui took up his pen and recorded again.

Yang Ming turned around suddenly, frowned and said, "Since I heard it, let's do it now. Do you think you have plenty of time to be alone?"

Um?Dare not dare, Xue Kui hurriedly said: "I will do it now."

Next, Yang Ming ordered Xu Deyan to increase the food supply for the peasants in the refinery, to provide enough meat, and to purchase wine, fruits and vegetables from various counties to satisfy the greed of the peasants.

Da Sui's wine is not high in alcohol, usually drinking a catty is about the same as drinking three to five bottles of beer, and you can't get drunk. It's rare for a catty like Yang Ming's.

He is the crown prince, and now that he is sitting here, he must be different from others and provide better treatment for civilian husbands.

Because all the civilian husbands were thinking in their minds that if they worked for the prince, they would definitely be able to eat well. Yang Ming couldn't let them down. This had something to do with his identity.

It's like going to a restaurant alone, you always have to tip the boy, right?Those who are not very rich will be rewarded less, those who are rich will be rewarded more, and the very rich will naturally be rewarded more.

If the treatment for the prince is not as good as that of others, then the peasants will equate the prince with these others in their minds, and the prince will not be as high as they imagined.

Ordinary people, seeing the county magistrate under normal circumstances is considered knowledgeable, and being able to see the prefect is something that can be used to show off for a lifetime. As for the higher royal family, in the eyes of the common people, they are almost like gods.

Yang Ming not only provided better food for the peasants, but also rewarded them with money and cloth. This has nothing to do with the amount of effort, everyone has a share.

This kind of reward doesn't cost a lot of money at all, but the folk husbands will be very happy and satisfied. If you have a bite of food, a few pieces of cloth, and some money, they will work hard for you.

Sometimes Yang Ming thinks about it and feels very sad, human life is worthless, it is really worthless.

A few days later, a simple coal washing pool was completed. It took a day to dry and clean the clean coal, and then piled it up and covered it with soil and ignited it, allowing it to burn naturally.

After ten days, when the temperature of the coal pile drops, coking coal can be obtained.

And Yang Ming's commotion in Hedong naturally spread to Luoyang.

Someone mentioned this matter at the court meeting, but Yang Guangli ignored it, so naturally no one dared to mention it again.

After the court meeting, Yang Guang called Pei Ju over and was furious.

"I asked him to supervise the country, but he was lucky. He went to Hedong to make iron. Is this what he should do?"

Pei Ju hurriedly said: "The crown prince has always been cautious in doing things. This time, he has entered Wenxi and set up a training ground. There may be a reason. I think it should be due to His Majesty's strict order to supply military supplies to the Taifu Temple."

Yang Guang snorted coldly: "I asked the Taifu Temple to do it, but I didn't ask him to do it. As a prince, how can I focus on the heavy state affairs? Is iron smelting the only important thing in my Sui Dynasty?"

Pei Ju lowered his eyes, then raised his head and said:

"As far as the current capabilities of the Taifu Temple are concerned, the military equipment of a million troops cannot be delivered within a year and a half. The crown prince also went to Hedong to supervise the construction for His Majesty's concern. At the court meeting today, the people from Yushitai also Having said that, the material of the blast furnace transformed by the crown prince is excellent, it is a breakthrough technique and a refined technique, I think that your majesty might as well be patient and see what the crown prince will do."

Hearing this, Yang Guang's anger subsided a little, he frowned and shook his head, saying:
"I'm afraid he's going to make trouble. What kind of smelting does he know? Who taught him how to change the blast furnace?"

Pei Ju rubbed his hands and pondered: "As far as I know, the crown prince seldom touches smelting. Although this time is quite motivating, the effect is remarkable. A blast furnace has won praises from craftsmen who are proud of their skills. It can be seen that this The craftsmanship is a bit ahead of its time, is it still from the perspective of the Secretary Department?"

Yang Guang was stunned for a moment, and asked in confusion: "The Secretary's Ministry has a collection of books on smelting, and there are copies at Taifu Temple. At present, the craftsmen in Taifu Temple have never seen this kind of skill. How could it come from the Secretary's Ministry?"

"That's true," Pei Ju nodded and said, "It is said that the crown prince communicates frequently with the craftsmen, and perhaps he has figured out something from these people, but the crown prince's arrangements are clear and meticulous, and it seems that he has already planned it."

Yang Guangdao: "His mind is so bright, can he see the whole leopard at a glance?"

"It shouldn't be just because of intelligence," Pei Ju said, "Before my daughter, Mrs. Pei, told me that the crown prince regards "Kao Gong Ji" and "Qi Min Yao Shu" as the most precious things, it shows that the crown prince cares about them. I have been interested in this aspect for a long time. Last year, the courtier also said that the prince always talked about reading a book called "Tiangong Kaiwu", saying that it has detailed records on manual production. , Presumably the prince learned the knowledge of official smelting from this book."

Yang Guang immediately supported his forehead and smiled wryly: "As the heir of the emperor, it is really rare to prefer handicrafts. So I let him be the crown prince, is it delaying him?"

"Wrong?" Yang Guang raised his head suddenly: "Then what kind of natural craftsmanship, and where did he see it?"

Pei Ju faltered immediately, not daring to answer directly.

Yang Guang said anxiously: "You said it."

Pei Ju said: "It seems to be Yong'an Palace."

This... Yang Guang frowned suddenly, he guessed why Pei Ju didn't dare to say anything, because after his mother Dugu Jialuo passed away, all the classics of Yong'an Palace had been sealed into his internal treasury.

And Yang Guang knows exactly what books are in his inner library, after all, he is a person who really likes learning.

Since it is not in one's own treasury, it can only be in one place. Most of the tombs of the father and mother are used as funerary objects, and those eunuchs and servants dare not steal them.

The ancients valued filial piety, not to mention a book that may be non-existent based on guesswork, even if there were more important things buried in it, Yang Guang would not be able to open the tomb of his parents to get it out.

If this was Yang Yong's tomb, he would dig it up secretly.

"You're going to rot in your stomach about this matter," Yang Guang said, looking directly at Pei Ju with piercing eyes.

Pei Ju hurriedly said, "I will not speak until I die."

Yang Guang nodded, it doesn't matter if he can't find the book, doesn't he still have his own son?Since my son likes this aspect of knowledge, he naturally studied it carefully. Isn't this a living work of nature?

It seems that the queen mother is hiding her secrets from herself?He didn't pass on such an important thing to me.

"Let him try it. I want to see what he can come up with in Hedong." Yang Guang said with a helpless smile, "Shiji will accompany me to practice calligraphy."

"Please, Your Majesty," Pei Ju raised his sleeve and rubbed ink.

Dugu Zhuan had thought about tying up his daughter and sending her to the capital before, but it was a bit difficult, because Yang Ming was currently living in the palace, and it was not that simple for you to send someone to the palace.

But it was different now, Yang Ming was in Hedong.

So Dugu Zhuan called his second son, Dugu Xin, and told him:

"If we continue to be locked up like this, Feng'er will have to copy our house. In this way, you will lead someone to tie her up and send her to Hedong to be handed over to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Dugu Feng'er has been in confinement for more than half a year. At first she thought her father was just playing around with her, but who knew it was true, so she smashed the furniture in her house to pieces. broken.

As a result, the outside of the house was sealed again with wooden boards, and the seal was very strong.

She couldn't stand being restrained. She hadn't completely recovered from her madness, and now she was locked in a confined space, and she seemed to be crazy again, smashing everywhere.

So much so that in Zhao Guogong's mansion, the sound of jingling and smashing things can be heard every day.

Dugu Zuan was also afraid of making her daughter sick, but wanted to teach her a lesson and improve her memory so that she could honestly agree to return to Yang Ming's side, but it didn't work at all.

That being the case, it can only be tied up and sent away. I can't cure you, but the crown prince can always cure you, right?
So Dugu Xun tied up his younger sister, took a dozen maids who were in charge of taking care of daily life, and headed towards the east of the river.

"Feng'er, listen to my brother, my grandpa is also doing it for your own good. The girl's family always refuses to marry. What is this?"

In the carriage, Dugu Xin tried his best to persuade the girl who was tied up.

Dugu Feng'er snorted coldly: "Are you going to tie me to the capital?"

"No, it's Hedong," Dugu Xin said.

Dugu Feng'er was stunned and said, "Why are you going to Hedong?"

Dugu Xin said: "Because the crown prince is in Hedong."

The corner of Dugu Feng'er's mouth twitched, and she fell silent. She no longer has the ability to resist, and she is at the mercy of others, but when she thinks of meeting Yang Ming in Hedong, she also becomes nervous.

She hadn't seen Yang Ming for three and a half years. He was someone she missed day and night.

"By the way, I forgot to tell you," Dugu Xin said, "Princess Concubine, Crown Prince's side concubine, and Prince Liangdi, Chen Shi, are all pregnant now. Aren't you familiar with Chen Shi? Don't you envy him?"

"She should have had it long ago, it's too late now," Dugu Feng'er said lightly.

Dugu Xin smiled and said: "What about you? No matter sooner or later, people will have it, but you don't even have a title."

After finishing speaking, Dugu Xin's face darkened suddenly, and he sighed: "You should be the first one, the crown prince treats you with great kindness, and will never leave you, how can you bear to bear it?"

Dugu Feng'er's expression froze, and she shed tears instantly.

Coke is made.

It took twelve days, and after the mound was scraped, there were agglomerates of charred clean coal inside, which were smashed into large pieces with a hammer and laid under the blast furnace.

Prior to this, Yang Ming improved the firing of the low furnace and added limestone as a solvent in order to more effectively remove impurities in the iron ore.

In this way, through the blessing of anthracite and limestone, the refined iron fired in the low furnace is more pure.

The craftsmen looked at the pile of refined iron that had been successfully fired, and praised it endlessly. They had never seen such black and shiny refined iron in half their life in this business. For a while, everyone's admiration for the prince was like a surging river. endlessly.

This is no longer flattering, this is sincere admiration.

Yun Dingxing commanded the craftsmen to send the refined iron into the blast furnace, and then waited with great anticipation. He is now fully convinced of Yang Ming's skills. With such good refined iron, the pig iron produced must be unprecedented. See quality.

This time, the smelting time of the blast furnace was greatly shortened to only two hours, and the craftsman in charge of watching the fire was already dancing with excitement, shouting that the refined iron had melted into water.

Yang Ming said happily: "Molten iron is poured out of the furnace and poured directly into steel."

Yun Dingxing jumped three times with joy, and with a strange cry, he immediately ordered the craftsmen to take out the pig iron that had been prepared, put it into the fusion pool made of new materials, and then pour the molten iron just like this went in.

With the violent sound of chi chi chi, accompanied by sparks flying around, thick smoke rose suddenly.

The main purpose of the steel pouring method is not to adjust the carbon content in iron, but to remove impurities and make it more refined.

Pig iron becomes steel because of the infiltration of carbon, and wrought iron becomes steel because of decarburization. When the two are combined, high-quality steel can be produced.

In the molten iron pool, the flame boils. This process is the fusion of wrought iron and pig iron. The oxygen in the wrought iron is used to oxidize silicon, manganese, carbon and other elements in the pig iron.

When this process ends depends on when the molten iron calms down, and then the discharged impurities on the surface, that is, iron slag, are removed, and the rest is refined steel.

An hour and a half later, there was no more movement in the iron pool.

Today's molten iron can be directly put into the mold, and it can also be forged through repeated tempering. Of course, because the molten iron is too pure, the process of forging is not to remove impurities, but to shape it.

The molten iron is scooped out, poured into a mold table with horizontal knives, and then quenched with a double-liquid quenching method to accelerate its cooling process.

Yang Ming and all the craftsmen were waiting quietly.

After the molten iron in the mold gradually solidified and was in a semi-formed state, the craftsmen clamped it out with iron tongs and forged it on the forging platform.

Just looking at the bright red knife body after each forging, there is no layer of black impurities on the surface, and everyone already knows that Da Sui's steel pouring process has made a major breakthrough.

At this time, the entire refinery was already boiling, more boiling than the molten iron in the molten iron pool.

Many artisans embraced and wept, thankful that they were able to witness the birth of this extraordinary craftsmanship.

With a snort, the blade plunged into the water to cool it down.

Then, the craftsmen installed the handle of the knife, and after sharpening it, handed it to Yun Dingxing. Yun Dingxing held the knife in both hands, knelt in front of Yang Ming, and said in tears:
"Please ask the prince to try the knife."

Then, everyone knelt down one after another, shouting in their mouths: Please try the sword, the prince.

Yang Ming took a deep breath, took the knife, and said:
"Take a pair of your best armor."

Chen Kui took off the bright light armor on his body without hesitation, and put it into a test knife column as thick as a person.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Yang Ming held the knife forward, took a deep breath, and slashed out with the knife.

There was only a click, and the Mingguang armor, the best craftsmanship of the Sui Dynasty, was split up to the chest, and the breach was straight and crisp.

Looking at the blade again, it was unscathed.

Yun Dingxing trembled all over, fell to his knees, and cried bitterly.

The voices of Prince Yingwu and Great Sui Yonggu resounded through the training ground.

(End of this chapter)