I studied in modern times

Chapter 989 Water-Powered Forging Hammer
On the day of Dingyou in the second month of the third year of the Yuanyou reign of the Great Song Dynasty (20)

Zhao Xu looked at the machine in front of him, which was powered by water and was hammering the steel placed on an iron ingot.

A trapezoidal iron hammer weighing over 100 pounds repeatedly pounded the steel, making it slowly thinner.

A smile appeared on his lips.

The tech tree for hydraulic forging hammers is now open!

The principle of a hydraulic forging hammer is actually quite simple.

It's practically ready-made!
For example, in the past, the tea mills in Bianjing (Kaifeng) used dozens of water jet mills to grind tea cakes.

With those dozens of water cones, the tea mill business can earn tens of thousands of strings of cash in profit for Zhao Xu's sealed pile warehouse every year.

However, that income is now gone.

In the eighth year of the Yuanfeng era, Zhao Xu abolished the Dike and Embankment Office and the Tea Mill Office in the name of "not competing with the people for profit".

This led to the complete withdrawal of government officials from the Bianjing tea-grinding market.

This is crucial!

In the past, all privately owned tea shops, restaurants, and eateries in Bianjing and even Kaifeng Prefecture had to have their tea ground into powder by designated tea mills.

This is also why the tea mill can earn tens of thousands of strings of cash annually.

After Zhao Xu was dismissed, the sealed treasury lost tens of thousands of strings of cash in revenue each year.

However, in the common people, more than a dozen tea mills of varying sizes emerged in just one year of the Yuan You era.

Now, the number of tea mills in the prefecture has soared to dozens.

Their business has expanded from grinding tea to grinding flour, rice, beans, and more...

Of course, there are people who can do this kind of business.

They were all prominent households within the Kaifeng Prefecture.

Because, although water cones are simple, they require a favorable river environment.

Those who can occupy such places either have strong fists, strong backing, or both.

Ordinary people who rashly get involved will either lose everything or have their families ruined.

Nevertheless, the booming watermill industry has cultivated an unprecedented number of skilled workers in related industries.

The number of civil engineers responsible for site selection and construction, as well as carpenters, blacksmiths, and technical talents who manufacture related parts and develop larger and heavier hammers, all began to surge.

As for why these mills did it this way?
The answer is simple—window guidance!
When Cai Jing was still alive, Zhao Xu used Cai Jing to provide support to all the workshops within the Kaifeng Prefecture that relied on him for their livelihood.

Official documents were issued to water mills, spinning mills, stacking yards, and kilns, among others.

Everyone was required to conduct their own production arrangements and technological research in accordance with government guidance.

Simply put, these workshops not only had mandatory expansion requirements.

There are also mandatory requirements for technological investment.

If they don't meet the standards, kick them out immediately and don't let them make a living this way!
Of course, those who meet the standards can enjoy more than just tax breaks and other preferential policies from the government.

They can also enjoy various preferential policies provided by the government.

This includes, but is not limited to, priority land acquisition, expedited approval, and credit lubrication through pawnshops.

And most importantly, government orders!

This is not the kind of forced buying and selling or gambling that used to be done.

Instead, the government bought up all the remaining products from the workshops at market prices.

Alternatively, the government could place direct orders and sign contracts, instantly releasing the workshop's production capacity.

At the same time, the best workers in these workshops could also receive technical assistance from various government departments, including Shen Kuo's specialized military equipment manufacturing bureau, Su Song's Ministry of Works, the Hanlin Academy, and the Directorate of Works.

The water-powered forging hammer in front of Zhao Xu was manufactured using more than a dozen technologies from the Yuanyou Hunyun Bureau.

After all, it was quite difficult to manufacture a water-powered forging hammer at the end of the 11th century that was equivalent to the technological level of continental Europe in the 14th century.

After that hydraulic forging hammer hammers a piece of steel into a sheet.

A blacksmith then stepped forward and used pliers to remove the iron plate. The blacksmith then carried the plate to another water-powered forging hammer.

The hammer of this forging hammer is square, larger, heavier, and positioned lower. When the sheet metal is placed on the ingot of this forging hammer, the hammer begins to strike it repeatedly, gradually smoothing out the uneven bumps on the sheet metal.

Finally, a qualified steel plate with a smooth surface and a thickness of only half an inch (about 1.5 centimeters) was hammered into shape.

This is a miracle that no human can achieve.

A miracle that only technology can achieve!

Medieval Europeans used trapezoidal and square forging hammers to create the plate armor worn by those iron cans.

Zhao Xu looked at the steel plate that was brought to him.

He looked at the workshop owner who had been following Qian Xie around with a big smile on his face.

"Excellent!" Zhao Xu praised, "You have accomplished this task, and I will certainly reward you handsomely!"

As he spoke, Zhao Xu took off a jade pendant from his waist and handed it to Tong Guan beside him: "This is a gift from me!"

This jade pendant was commissioned by Zhao Xu and made in the palace.

The jade material is only average; including the workmanship and the material, the cost of one piece is probably only about ten strings of cash.

Zhao Xu ordered the Imperial Household Department to carve several hundred pieces at once.

The purpose is to use it as a reward for others under such circumstances.

kindness……

This idea was something Zhao Xu learned from a male celebrity in modern times.

However, that male celebrity was used to pick up girls.

He used it to win people's hearts.

"I, a humble servant, kowtow to express my gratitude to Heaven!" The workshop owner, who looked to be only in his thirties, was fair-skinned and plump, and quite clever. Upon seeing this, he immediately knelt down to express his thanks.

"Get up!"

Zhao Xu chuckled and watched as Tong Guan handed his jade pendant to him, then said, "Besides this jade, I have another reward for you!"

"First of all, your workshop and other properties owned by your family will be exempt from all taxes this year!"

"Furthermore, from this day forward, you are no longer a commoner!"

"I will order the relevant officials to record your name and place of origin so that you may serve as palace attendants!"

Upon hearing this, the workshop owner was overjoyed and immediately changed his address, bowing and saying, "Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace!"

Zhao Xu nodded and said, "Minister Jia, please rise!"

But in his heart, Zhao Xu knew very well that this person's success was not without reason.

This man was named Jia Quan, a native of Bianjing New City, and was indeed a commoner.

But... his uncle was named Han Gonglian, his grandfather was named Jia Xian, and his father and brothers were all officials in the Hanlin Academy of Astronomy.

In other words, he simply lacked mathematical and astronomical talent and could not enter the Hanlin Astronomical Academy to receive the emperor's salary.

Therefore, he could only do some small business in Bianjing City.

When his uncle Han Gonglian was appreciated by Su Song, he was promoted to the Yuanyou Hunyun Bureau.

His life was changed from that moment on.

In the first year of the Yuan You era, with his own efforts and the support of his uncles and aunts, he opened a water-powered mill outside Bianjing City.

Ultimately, through his own efforts, he became the first to complete the bounty Zhao Xu had placed on all the water-powered workshops—the water-powered forging hammer.

Of course, this would apply if you had an uncle named Han Gonglian and a grandfather named Jia Xian.

It's highly likely to succeed!
Otherwise, why would the technology of the Yuanyou Hunyun Bureau be delegated to him?
Why are these forging hammers able to produce high-quality steel in the blast furnaces of Xuzhou?

Without connections or networks, how can you succeed?

However, Zhao Xu didn't care about this.

All he wants is success!
He was generous with his rewards as long as the candidate succeeded.

This is what they call a hero whose origins don't matter!

(End of this chapter)