Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 409 Living with the Workers

In the development of human history, blast furnace iron smelting is indeed a landmark technological reform.

It has enabled humans to achieve a qualitative breakthrough in the efficiency of their utilization of metal minerals, and China had already achieved mature technology in this regard as early as the Qin and Han dynasties.

Although the quality of metal may not be very good due to the influence of many factors, at least in the Han Dynasty, the Celestial Empire was able to use iron farm tools on a large scale.

It was not until the 14th century, two hundred years later, that relatively complete blast furnace iron smelting appeared in Western Europe.

As for the Middle East...

It was not until the 19th century that the Ottoman Empire introduced European technology and blast furnaces gradually appeared, taking a direct step towards modern blast furnace steel mills.

It can be seen from this that Gellis's promotion of blast furnace iron smelting in Cyprus will be a powerful medicine for the local metal industry.

But, how can I say it?

Things don't always have a good side without a bad side.

Compared with the smaller-scale block smelting method, the risk level of blast furnace iron smelting is undoubtedly much higher.

All kinds of accidents can happen if you are not careful.

The splashing of molten iron that the master chef mentioned is just a minor problem, it's just that many people encounter it, so he focused on talking about it.

During the years that Cyprus has used blast furnaces, there have been blast furnace explosions.

According to the recollections of those involved, before the explosion, the small blast furnace emitted a rumbling thunderous sound, like the sound of a drum.

Then when the sound stopped, the blast furnace cracked and molten iron splashed. Among those who wanted to go forward to check the problem, four people died because they failed to dodge in time and were burned through the body by the molten iron.

Many times, Gellis only provided some technical principles and could not really replicate the technology in its entirety. This meant that many technological developments in the Kingdom of Jerusalem relied on the continuous practice of the craftsmen themselves.

In these practices, we not only accumulate experience in technical success, but also experience in failure.

And every failure in metal smelting often means human life.

Even hundreds of years later, for steel companies, there are actually a certain number of deaths every year. When the number of deaths is not large, it is not considered a major safety hazard.

As far as Gellis himself knows, in a certain factory in a certain year, everyone was very happy because only five people died throughout the year.

Of course, this does not mean that there will be no subsequent review.

Take the blast furnace explosion in Cyprus for example. Based on the situation at the time, Garys also led people to analyze and restore the cause of the explosion afterwards.

In a blast furnace, charging is done from above.

The heat starts from the bottom. The carbon monoxide produced by the high temperature will pass through the iron ore, reducing the iron ore while conducting heat and causing it to be carburized.

When the carburizing process reaches a certain point, it will become liquid because its melting point is lower than the temperature in the furnace and flow to the bottom of the furnace.

But if the temperature is not uniform enough, the ore charge in the upper part will not fall down for a long time, while the charge in the lower part will have already melted into molten iron.

Then the danger is coming.

If the solid charge in the upper part suddenly drops, the impact pressure on the blast furnace will easily cause the blast furnace to crack, and the huge amount of high temperature will cause terrible damage to the outside.

But this does not mean that the development of blast furnaces should be banned because of such accidents.

After understanding the cause of the accident, the craftsmen came up with a solution on their own even without Gérisse's suggestions.

The original single vent was the biggest cause of this problem. By adding more vents, more oxygen can be ensured to be input into the blast furnace.

A more efficient carbon monoxide cycle can allow temperature to be transferred faster, thereby increasing blast furnace production efficiency and improving safety.

Of course, relying solely on manpower to provide more ventilation holes would be ineffective or inefficient. Even if animal power was used, ventilation could not be stopped at will.

Metal smelting is so troublesome. There is no such thing as only smelting half a furnace, or stopping smelting halfway.

Such semi-finished products are worthless and may even destroy the blast furnace itself.

In the current environment, efficient blowing is only possible by relying on stable water power.

You see, the solution to many problems is not to prohibit development, but to improve efficiency.

But to gain these experiences, it is useless to rely on Garys to ponder alone in the office.

Any theory that is not combined with practice is just empty talk. If technical researchers do not go to the front line, they will encounter many errors and omissions in details that they have never thought of in the past.

It can be said that the devil is always in the details.

Nowadays, the kingdom has spread so wide that Garys cannot take care of everything. Moreover, if Garys goes there with his real identity, he may not see the real scene.

Marwan, who was standing by, was speechless as he watched Garys and the master chef in the field bragging to each other.

As one of the earliest followers since the Arnon Valley period, Gailis's appearance naturally could not be hidden from him.

Out of trust in Marwan, Gailis did not hide much and instead took Marwan with him to the front line.

He couldn't help but sigh at Garys' humble attitude.

Many people who have only been in charge for a few days already start to show off their power and regard themselves as aristocrats. Once someone mentions their past, they can't help but get angry and rush to veto it or try to hide it.

On the contrary, the true prophet has always been so humble and does not mind at all whether there is dirt on his body from digging for food in the fields.

It is precisely because of this that the masters in these fields have no idea that the ordinary-dressed man in front of them is the prophet himself.

At most, they thought that Gellis was just from a good family, so he was strong and a businessman or some grassroots technical backbone.

Merchants have nothing to be afraid of. Although they have a relatively high status in the social hierarchy of Jerusalem, that does not mean they can exercise any privileges.

As for the technical backbones at the grass-roots level, although they have a certain status, these people will eventually have to go to the front line and mingle with the craftsmen, or they are simply promoted from workshop masters like them, so naturally they have nothing to fear.

Even everyone regards such people as their role models. You know, Marwan standing next to them is a representative of this kind of people.

Relying on his long experience and mastery of technology, he has grown from being a blacksmith's son to becoming the big brother of Cyprus' metal smelting industry.

Even when talking to the truly powerful bishops on the island, there is no need to lower your head and you can speak directly about what you want.

In this situation where Gellis was regarded as one of their own by the masters, he asked about various details of the factory, such as pig iron production or wage income.

The blacksmiths all told him everything they knew. Take this blast furnace, for example. It has four tuyere vents. Every time 1000 pounds of pig iron is produced, 2000 pounds of iron ore, 7000 pounds of charcoal, and 130 pounds of lime are needed...

After the furnace is turned on, about 1000 pounds of pig iron can be produced every day.

There are now ten blast furnaces like this on the island. When all of them are in operation, they can produce at least 6000 pounds of iron per day.

This number may seem high, but for a kingdom that is now booming, this output is clearly insufficient.

Cannons, armor, swords, spearheads, plowshares, sickles, hoes, nails, horseshoes, door hinges, anchor hooks, gate bolts, drawbridge chains, iron railings...

Whether it is military or civilian use, iron tools are needed everywhere to improve efficiency and change past production models to adapt to the rapid development of other industries.

Such a booming steel industry is naturally inseparable from the master craftsmen working in the blast furnaces.

Take the master next to Garys for example. He is one of those with more sophisticated skills and rarely gets into trouble. Basically, his monthly salary can reach about 4 gold dinars.

This salary is almost twice that of frontline soldiers, which is quite generous.

In addition to the basic salary, the money here also includes several other parts.

First of all, although this blast furnace workshop was invested by the state-owned holding company, Cyprus Company, the craftsmen also enjoy the right to participate in dividends.

Secondly, the Cyprus company will pay additional safety allowances to blast furnaces that have no accidents throughout the year.

This safety allowance is basically half of the basic salary.

If you blindly pursue efficiency and want to get more profit dividends, but ignore the safety risks and cause production accidents, you will lose your safety allowance.

This certainly cannot prevent all accidents from happening, but it can minimize them.

As Garys' conversation with the craftsmen became more and more in-depth, Marwan, who was standing by, felt that he had gained a lot.

Many issues that had not been noticed before emerged during their casual conversations.

For the craftsmen themselves, these things may not really matter to them.

After all, it has always been like this, as if it were a matter of course, so in past meetings, such a matter of course would not be reported as a problem.

But after Garys' suggestion, everyone thought about it carefully and felt that it was indeed wrong and there was still room for improvement.

After finding that this kind of chat was quite rewarding, even the craftsmen couldn't help but become more cheerful. When they were chatting happily, they patted Garys on the shoulder and invited him to go to the tavern for a drink after work.

Of course, Garys would not refuse. Instead, he generously said that he would treat them today.

In response to this, the master chef, the ordinary craftsmen, and even Marwan, all laughed heartily.

In this era, even with the existence of Garys, entertainment options are very scarce.

In the Kingdom of Jerusalem, these entertainment activities were actually basically integrated into taverns.

There are free newspapers to read in the pub, poker to enjoy in the pub, and various chess games for entertainment in the pub...

Therefore, when people go to the bar after work, they don’t just want to drink, but actually want to enjoy the entire entertainment process.

First, a group of people, about ten in number, formed a team and came to the city of Paphos.

Nowadays, within the kingdom's sphere of influence, there is no gate tax for entering the city, so everyone found a familiar tavern nearby and sat down with the owner's enthusiastic greeting.

At the beginning, everyone ordered a glass of iced beer to moisten their throats and cool down their bodies after working in a blast furnace all day.

Since the Third Crusade, when Barbarossa led the Germans on an expedition to the Holy Land, beer has become a popular drink in the Holy Land.

The beer-making process is actually not complicated, and the raw materials required are also very simple, only water, barley and hops are enough.

Its alcohol content is basically only around 3%-5%. After adding ice cubes, the refreshing feeling can go straight to the top of your head. It is indeed a very suitable drink to quench your thirst.

Everyone drank a few gulps of beer and then asked the boss for today's newspaper.

Of course, it is today's newspaper, but since Cyprus is an isolated island after all, messages cannot be transmitted directly through the optical communication system.

Therefore, in this Cypriot newspaper, apart from reporting local news in Cyprus more promptly, news from the mainland is basically two or three days behind.

Of course, even so, it would not discourage men from chatting about everything through newspapers.

After receiving a newspaper, the craftsmen found someone who knew more words and had less experience and asked him to read it to everyone. Then the others continued to drink and expressed their opinions.

"Oh, you win again?"

"Not long ago, they just took down Aleppo, and now they want to take down Egypt? This is really like winning again and again, undefeated in every battle, right?"

"Good news."

"Not so fast."

The front page of today's newspaper happens to be the news of the victory in the naval battle, according to the description in the newspaper.

The Kingdom's navy faced off against Egypt's 18 galleys with 30 galleys. Despite being outnumbered, the Kingdom's navy relied on clever tactics and its artillery advantage to achieve a great victory with only one ship lost.

Then on the third page of the newspaper, there was a detailed description of the naval battle, and more professional people were invited to comment on it.

As for the front page, it was basically a rave review of the commanding generals and the combat soldiers.

In addition, other sectors that people are more concerned about include the entertainment sector and economic-related sectors.

There is not much to say about the entertainment section. The entertainment section of the Cyprus Daily is filled with all kinds of obscene jokes that are not suitable for children. As a local tabloid, they are very open in this regard, which is one of the reasons why the Cyprus Daily has good sales.

After hearing this, the men in the bar all smiled in tacit understanding, then clinked their glasses and drank.

After turning to the economic-related section, in addition to a basic review of prices, one writer suggested that in the next few years, even after the war was over, the kingdom's demand for steel would only continue to rise.

War is only one part of the consumption of steel. After the war, there will be an urgent need for more iron because of the reconstruction of Egypt and the excavation of canals.

Hearing this news, the craftsmen were naturally very happy.

But after hearing this, Gailis shook his head.

(End of this chapter)