The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 150 Tang Gu
The Irtysh River, formerly known as the Yide River.

In the upper reaches of the Yide River, there is a flat valley, named "Tanggu" by Li Xiao. It has now become an important place in Jinzhou.

This place is heavily garrisoned. Simple watchtowers have been erected high up in the valley, manned by experienced scouts.

There are sentry posts scattered along the edge of the mountain range.

Deep in the mountains, elite patrol cavalry shuttled back and forth, maintaining strict vigilance.

With layers of protection, Li Xiao has built this valley into an indestructible fortress.

This is the Jinshan Industrial Zone that Li Xiao devoted all his efforts to building, and it is also the location of the Jinzhou Ironware Workshop.

After a period of intense work, the workshop has been initially completed.

A blast furnace stands tall and majestic, becoming the most eye-catching presence on this land.

The blast furnace is cylindrical in shape, gradually narrowing from bottom to top, like a steel giant standing tall.

There are multiple air inlets at the bottom, a spacious feeding port in the middle, and a smoke exhaust port at the top, with a regular and organized layout.

"The iron smelting furnace is so huge?"

Xiao Yanyan stood under the blast furnace and couldn't help but murmur softly.

In her understanding, the furnace used for iron smelting was only the size of a stove. The towering blast furnace in front of her really opened her eyes.

"Will this thing work?" Third Grandpa, standing aside, also expressed doubt.

Instead, the old man didn't say anything. Although he was unsure, he trusted Li Xiao very much.

“You’ll know if you try it!”

Li Xiao crossed his arms across his chest, his expression calm, with a faint smile on his lips.

What he built was the simplest iron-smelting blast furnace used during the Industrial Revolution.

Although the construction process is not complicated, key links such as the raw material ratio, operation steps and temperature control of iron smelting must be precisely mastered and no carelessness is allowed.

"Uncle San, let's throw the ore in." Li Xiao called to the man next to him.

This man was not Li Sanhe, but Li Sanzhi, a distant cousin of the Li family.

Li Sanzhi's biological brother is Li Ergunzi, who helps Li Xiao manage his business.

However, in stark contrast to Li Ergunzi's extroverted personality, Li Sanzhi is calm and introverted. He is not good at speaking and has been learning blacksmithing from his grandfather and others since he was a child, and he is quite proficient in it.

Although Li Xiao nominally let the old man take charge of the Valley Workshop, considering that the old man was old and had limited energy, he intended to train Li Sanzhi as the successor of the workshop.

"Dalong, do we need to add all these iron ore, coke and lime?" Li Sanzhi asked, looking at the mountains of raw materials on the ground.

"No need."

Li Xiao shook his head and looked around. Seeing that there were no outsiders around, and they were all people close to him like the old man and Li Sanzhi, he spoke softly.

"Grandpa, Third Uncle, the key to using this blast furnace to make iron is to precisely control the ratio of the various raw materials. Even a little more or less won't do."

"The ore we're mining is hematite, which has a decent iron content. When burning it, we need to mix 30 kilograms of coke and 15 kilograms of lime for every 100 kilograms of iron ore."

Of course, this ratio is not fixed, it is just a rough range.

In actual operation, flexible adjustments must be made based on the purity of the iron ore.

Li Xiao asked the old man and others to conduct more experiments and try to find the most accurate ratio.

After saying that, Li Xiao personally took action and together with Li Sanzhi carefully filled the iron ore, lime and other raw materials into the blast furnace.

Immediately afterwards, the ignition process began. Li Sanzhi stood aside, holding the bellows' lever with both hands, pushing and pulling it rhythmically to continuously supply oxygen for the combustion in the furnace.

Soon, a "hissing" sound was heard from the blast furnace, which was a signal that the ore was gradually melting under high temperature.

The thick smoke from the furnace, carrying sparks and dust, rose into the sky like a giant dragon breaking free from its restraints, and spread straight to the sky above Tanggu.

The strong smell of fireworks instantly filled the entire Tanggu. The pungent burnt smell made people's throats tight, and caused the surrounding birds to panic and flee in all directions.

Five hours later, the red-hot molten iron slowly flowed out from the channel under the blast furnace, along the special grooves, and into the carefully prepared mold.

In just a moment, the molten iron cooled rapidly and solidified into a solid block of iron.

The old man, Li Sanzhi and others couldn't wait to gather around and carefully examine the newly-molded iron block, with amazement gradually appearing in their eyes.

"This piece of iron seems to be of the same quality as wrought iron."

Li Sanzhi's face was filled with shock, and he spoke with a slightly trembling voice.

Wootz steel, also known as wootz steel, is the rarest, hardest and most precious steel in this era.

Previously, although Li Xiao had refined Wootz steel using a crucible, the operation was complicated and the output was extremely low, making it difficult to use on a large scale in weapons manufacturing.

At this moment, the iron blocks produced by the blast furnace are not inferior to the iron.

The surface of the iron block is smooth and flat, with almost no pores or flaws. In the reflection of the fire, it has a cold and pure metallic luster, and the texture appears to be exceptionally dense.

When everyone reached out to touch it, they felt its heavy weight and hardness beyond their imagination.

The old man picked up a piece of ordinary iron and struck it against the new piece of iron.

With a crisp "clang" sound, a small hole was suddenly knocked out on the ordinary iron material, while the new iron block only left a faint mark.

"This... compared to an ordinary piece of iron, there is a world of difference." Li Sanzhi said excitedly.

The old man and the third grandfather also had smiles on their faces, as they knew too well the power of steel.

With high-quality steel, both the enhancement of military strength and the improvement of agricultural production will be greatly enhanced.

"In the next few days, we will build a few more blast furnaces next to it."

Li Xiao looked at the empty space beside him with a firm gaze and said softly, "Grandpa, Third Grandpa, I'll leave this place to you from now on."

Third Grandpa patted his chest and said with a firm face, "Don't worry, Dalong. Although we brothers are old and can't go to the battlefield to fight, we can still handle the ironmaking thing."

"Third Grandpa is still strong and healthy, so I can trust him." Li Xiao responded with a smile.

Then he solemnly warned: "The method of iron smelting must be kept secret and can only be taught to our family members."

At all times, core technologies must be firmly controlled in our own hands. Otherwise, once they are learned by other countries, there will be endless troubles.

"Don't worry, we know what we are doing." The old man looked serious and nodded heavily.

Afterwards, Li Xiao reloaded raw materials into the blast furnace and let it continue to operate and smelt iron.

Once the furnace is lit, it is best to keep it burning day and night, otherwise the temperature will be uneven, which may easily lead to the risk of the furnace exploding.

"Dalong, go and rest! I'll just stay here and watch over the fire."

At this time, it was already late and the old man and others had returned to the tent to rest. Li Sanzhi volunteered to stay and watch the fire.

Li Xiao did not refuse, after all, his third uncle would come to take over the shift in the second half of the night.

However, before leaving, he suddenly remembered something: "Uncle San, have you ever thought about changing your name?"

Li Xiao has been patient about the name for a long time.

Although the ancient nobles had strict rules for naming their children, ordinary families like the Li family often named their children casually.

Almost everyone calls them whatever they think of, without even a proper generation name.

Most families even sort them directly by numbers, such as Li Da, Li Er, or Chong Ba, Chong Jiu, etc.

Li Xiao's great-grandfather was a rough man with little education, and he did not leave behind any generation name, which led to the chaotic naming of the Li family.

But now, the Li family's status is no longer what it used to be, and it may even reach a higher level in the future, so it is indeed time to change the name.

"change name?"

Li Sanzhi looked bewildered. He had been using this name for almost thirty years, and it was a little difficult to change it.

But on second thought, I couldn't help but feel moved.

"Dalong, I've long seen that you're not an ordinary person."

"To use the words from that opera, you are the reincarnation of Wen Quxing and Wu Quxing, coming to bring wealth and prosperity to our Li family."

"From now on, you will be the head of the Li family. We will do whatever you say."

"Besides, who doesn't want to have a nice-sounding name? It's a pity that your master doesn't have that ability."

Li Sanzhi chuckled and looked at Li Xiao eagerly.

He thought that the name Li Xiao gave him was very good.

It means "brave and good at fighting".

Who in the entire northern border doesn’t know the name Li Xiao now?
He didn't want to be as famous as Li Xiao, but by changing his name, at least he wouldn't sound like a country bumpkin.

"Okay, I'll discuss this with grandpa. It's time for our Li family to decide on a generation name." Li Xiao nodded in response.

In fact, Li Xiao already had an idea about Li Sanzhi's new name.

Choose a homophonic word.

Aspiration.

Have great ambitions.

It would be even more perfect if we added a generation in the middle.

The next day, Li Xiao took the newly produced iron blocks to the other side of the valley.

The reason why Li Xiao chose this valley as a weapons processing workshop was not only because of its hidden location and flat terrain, but most importantly, the Yihe River ran through the valley.

During this period, Li Xiao has built more than a dozen water wheels along the river.

The rushing water rushed down, driving the huge wooden wheel of the waterwheel to turn slowly.
Through an ingeniously designed wheel device, the waterwheel transmits the power of the water flow to the drop weight at the riverside.

The hammer was raised high, and then dropped heavily with a tremendous force, repeating this process over and over again, forming an efficient water-powered blacksmithing workshop.

The person in charge of forging this time is Wang Heizi.

He took the six-pound iron block from Li Xiao's hand, weighed it carefully, and asked in shock.

"My Lord, what kind of iron is this?"

"Why is it so hard? It's almost half the weight of ordinary iron."

"Is it iron? But it doesn't look like it."

Wang Heizi widened his eyes, his heart filled with shock.

His family has three generations of blacksmiths, and he has been following his father and grandfather to work as blacksmith in Husiwoerduo since he was a child.

He thinks he knows all kinds of steel very well and has even forged meteorites.

However, the piece of iron that Li Xiao took out was far beyond his understanding.

This iron is harder and heavier than ordinary steel, almost comparable to wrought iron, but also very different.

"This is Hexi iron. From now on, all weapons in Jinzhou will be forged with this iron."

Li Xiao briefly explained, then assigned Wang Heizi a task: "Use this piece of Hexi iron to forge an armor-piercing awl."

"It has to be one piece."

"The awl and handle are all forged from Hexi iron."

Wang Heizi took the order and placed the Hexi iron into the hot furnace first.

When the iron block is red hot, use tongs to pick it out and place it on the anvil.

At this time, the forging hammer driven by the waterwheel was raised high, and then it smashed heavily on the red-hot iron block with a tremendous force.

With repeated hammering, the iron block was gradually shaped, and soon the prototype of an armor-piercing cone was formed.

Compared with manual hammering by craftsmen, the drop hammer driven by the water wheel not only saves labor, but also more than doubles the forging speed.

Moreover, the iron blocks hit by the falling hammer become denser and more solid.

Two hours later, an armor-piercing cone with a cold glow and a sleek shape finally appeared before everyone.

Its tip is extremely sharp, as if it can easily penetrate any armor. The texture of the cone is clear, revealing a cold and hard texture.

Moreover, the entire structure is forged from a single piece of Hexi iron, and will not break even with the greatest force.

"Is this waterwheel easy to use?" Li Xiao asked.

At the same time, he took the armor-piercing cone, weighed it in his hand, and nodded with satisfaction. "It works very well. It works very well."

"With this waterwheel, forging iron will be much more convenient." Wang Heizi nodded quickly.

"If it were the old way, with my eldest son helping swing the hammer, it would still take nearly two days."

"Now, it only takes two hours, and it saves a lot of effort."

Li Xiao chuckled and nodded slightly.

It's easy to use.

This would allow large-scale iron forging to begin.

Afterwards, Li Xiao came out with an armor-piercing cone.

He personally mounted his warhorse and prepared to test the power of the armor-piercing cone himself.

Two hundred meters in front of him, a piece of iron armor captured from the Iqta cavalry was placed on a wooden frame.

"drive!"

Li Xiao shouted loudly, squeezed his legs against the horse's belly, held the armor-piercing spike in his hand, and urged the horse to gallop away.

With the help of the high-speed sprint of the warhorse, he suddenly stabbed the armor-piercing spike into the armor.

There was a loud "click" sound, and the armor-piercing spike easily penetrated the armor, and a big hole was punctured in the armor, as if it were made of paper.

The wooden frame behind the armor was also shaken by the powerful impact, causing wood chips to fly and break into several pieces.

"Xuxu~"

Li Xiao firmly pulled the reins to stop the warhorse, turned his head to look at the pierced armor behind him, and a smile suddenly appeared on his face.

"Haha~ Not bad."

Xiao Yanyan, who was far away, was shocked when she saw this situation, and an excited smile suddenly appeared on her face.

"This, this is too amazing."

"With this armor-piercing spike, won't all the iron armor become paper?"

Li Xiao came over on horseback, shook his head slightly and said, "Not necessarily."

Afterwards, he asked someone to get a set of wart nail experiments.

This time, the armor-piercing cone was not as powerful.

It only left a dent on the wart but failed to pierce the wart.

Facts have proved that the Karakhanid Khanate's iron armor forging technology is really not as good as that of the Western Xia.

Fortunately, wart armor is difficult to make, and Xixia does not have too many of them.

Therefore, the armor-piercing spikes forged from Hexi iron still have a fatal killing power against most iron armors.

"Forge armor with Hexi iron."

Li Xiao gave orders to the blacksmiths, and he was ready to use his own spear to attack his own shield.

They are both Hexi iron, but which one is stronger?

A few days later, a breastplate made entirely of Hexi iron was erected on a wooden stake.

Li Xiao charged on horseback and stabbed fiercely with an armor-piercing spike.

The wooden stake broke with a sound, and a hole about two centimeters in size was left on the armor.

It turns out that different forging processes can result in different strengths for the same material.

The armor plates have only been compacted and forged, while the sharp edge of the armor-piercing cone has undergone a series of treatments including quenching.

The harder one has the upper hand.

But Li Xiao was concerned about the armor.

"Armor plates forged from Hexi iron are much stronger than ordinary iron armor, but they are still inferior to wart armor."

Li Xiao said in a deep voice while holding the breastplate.

He was not disappointed with the result.

Because he knew that it was not because Hexi Railway was not good.

It’s because the forging skills of these craftsmen are not good enough.

Xixia craftsmen used cold forging technology to forge ordinary steel into wart armor.

So what if we change it to Hexi Railway?

Will the forged iron armor be stronger than the wart armor?
At this moment, Li Xiao's yearning for Xixia became extremely strong.

"We must recruit a group of craftsmen who are proficient in cold section technology."

"And the divine crossbow."

Then, Li Xiao threw the armor-piercing cone in his hand to Wang Heizi.

After three experiments, the cone head of the armor-piercing cone has been worn out and needs to be repaired.

At the same time, Li Xiao gathered all the blacksmiths in Tanggu.

The original blacksmiths from Jinzhou, plus the blacksmiths looted from Hu Siwoerduo, totaled nearly five hundred people.

Li Xiao asked carpenters to make a large number of water wheels along the Yide River.

The valley was completely transformed into a steel base.

Started forging a large number of weapons and equipment for the Jinzhou Army.

Iron armor, armor-piercing spikes, armor-piercing arrowheads, hooked spear heads, cavalry swords, iron bones, etc.

All weapons used in combat were continuously transported out of this valley.

……

Since returning to Jinzhou, Li Xiao has spent most of his time in Jinshan.

Now that the Tanggu Industrial Base has finally been completed and started to operate independently, he has time to return to Hexi Fort.

The construction work on Dragon City has just begun.

Although Dragon City is not large in scale, it was built from scratch after all. It would take at least several years to complete the construction with the current manpower.

Li Xiao was not in a hurry.

Instead, he took Xiao Yanyan back to Hexi Fort to inspect the wine and textile shops.

Over the past year, both workshops have been operating in an orderly manner.

Especially the textile industry, which had produced a large amount of cotton cloth during Li Xiao's western expedition, all of which was left in the warehouse.

As soon as Tang Gu forges the armor plates, Li Xiao will hire some female workers and start making more cotton armor.

Li Xiao's face was filled with astonishment, and he looked at the Khitan soldier kneeling in front of him in disbelief.

He had some impression of this man; he was the personal soldier beside Xiao Tuladuo.

At this moment, the personal soldier looked extremely miserable, dusty and ragged, with blood still seeping from several bandaged wounds on his body, soaking the cloth red.

He traveled all the way from the Great Desert State and first arrived at Huangsha Village, the southernmost tip of Jinzhou. Then, he was escorted all the way by the captain of the Huangsha Village, who led his men personally, before he finally arrived at Hexi Fort.

When the Khitan soldier saw Li Xiao, he immediately fell to his knees, weeping bitterly and crying out in grief: "General Li, you must avenge my commander!"

Li Xiao suppressed the shock and anger in his heart and shouted sternly: "Stop crying."

"What exactly happened? How could Xiao Tuladuo die in battle?"

Xiao Tuladuo is a generous and straightforward person, with a similar temperament to Li Xiao, and the two get along well with each other on weekdays.

Besides, Li Xiao's caravan relied heavily on Xiao Tuladuo's care when traveling to the desert to do business.

Why did this guy die suddenly?
"It was the Uighurs, the Uighurs who killed the governor!" The Khitan guard burst into tears and spoke incoherently.

"I know they are Uighurs." Li Xiao frowned.

"But how did the Uighurs kill him?"

"Is the Gaochang Kingdom's army so powerful?" Li Xiao remained skeptical about this.

Whether from a historical or realistic perspective, the Gaochang Kingdom was not a powerful country.

However, such a vassal state invaded the desert under the coercion of the royal court.

At that time, Xiao Tuladuo, who was still in the Eastern Capital, made a prompt decision and immediately led his troops back to the desert to quell the rebellion. He even failed to attend Li Xiao's wedding.

Not long ago, a battle report came from the desert, saying that Xiao Tuladuo defeated the Gaochang army outside the city of Beshbalik, and pursued the victory all the way to Changbala (near present-day Urumqi).

Li Xiao originally thought that the situation was settled, and all that was left was for Xiao Tuladuo to take advantage of the victory and launch a counterattack, entering the territory of Gaochang Kingdom in one fell swoop, and then he could completely put down the rebellion.

However, things are unpredictable. In a blink of an eye, the tragic news of Xiao Tuladuo's death in battle came, which undoubtedly made the situation extremely serious.

"It's Yagubi!"

When the Khitan guards mentioned this name, their eyes turned red and they gnashed their teeth in hatred, as if they wanted to tear this man into pieces.

"He secretly opened the gates of Changbala at night, allowing the Gaochang army to march straight in."

"The governor was completely defenseless, and just like that... just like that, he fell into this horrible hand!"

Hearing this, Li Xiao frowned.

"Ya Gubi?"

"It's actually this guy."

There were many Uighurs living in the desert. In order to win over these Uighurs, Xiao Simo appointed the prestigious Yagubi as the deputy governor of the desert.

During the Western Expedition, Li Xiao and Ya Gubi also had some exchanges.

A loyal and honest guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes, unexpectedly became a traitor.

"Traitor, traitor again."

Li Xiao cursed angrily: "I hate traitors the most."

But Xiao Tuladuo is also stupid.

Knowing that Yagu must be a Uighur, he did not take any precautions when facing the Gaochang army.

All I can say is that this guy is simple-minded and has a very straightforward personality.

"What's the situation in the desert now?" Li Xiao asked again.

The guards immediately reported back, "After the governor's death, the Gaochang army immediately returned and is now at the gates of Beshbalik."

"My young master is leading his men to defend the city. Please, Governor, send troops to rescue us as soon as possible."

Xiao Tuladuo's eldest son inherited his bravery and made many contributions during the Western Expedition.

But now, he can only lead the remaining soldiers to defend the city.

"Where's Dongdu?"

"Have you sent anyone to Dongdu?" Li Xiao asked.

"Yes!" replied the guard.

Li Xiao nodded silently, took a deep breath, stood up, and looked towards the south, which was the direction of the desert.

He whispered, "Brother Xiao and I are close friends."

"He died an innocent and tragic death today. I, Li Xiao, cannot sit idly by and watch."

"You stay here and rest for a while. I will gather my troops and follow me into the desert."

Hearing Li Xiao's words, the personal soldiers burst into tears again.

He knelt down and thanked her profusely, "Thank you, Commander Li."

(End of this chapter)