Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 54: Refractory Bricks, the Beginning of Reform [Seeking Follow-up Reading]

After noon.

The fact that there were notices and more meals served in the public kitchen proved that the news that Li Mao and others were arrested for embezzlement by Liu Kuan's men quickly spread throughout the iron yard.

As Shen Lin and Zheng Zhiliang had discovered, the ironworkers had long suffered from the communal kitchen pests like Li Mao. Even the live-in workers were no exception, as sometimes their families didn't bring them meals and they had to eat at the communal kitchen.

It was only because Li Mao was Zhang Yi's nephew that he had to swallow his anger and dared not speak out.

Now that they knew that Li Mao and Jia Dong had been arrested, the craftsmen all applauded.

In addition, the news that Liu Kuan offered a reward to the bricklayers, ate in the public kitchen and scolded Li Mao yesterday also spread. In the eyes of the craftsmen, he has become a good official who is friendly to the people.

Therefore, in the afternoon, when Liu Kuan and Wang Buqun once again recruited craftsmen from all over the venue to build a coking oven and promised to subsidize a meal and salt every day, many craftsmen responded positively.

Liuhe Ironworks was one of the largest ironworks in the Ming Dynasty, and its craftsmen were full of talented people.

In addition to those engaged in smelting and casting, there are also bricklayers, carpenters, potters, etc.

After some selection, Liu Kuan easily gathered the required craftsmen.

So the construction of the coke oven began on the third day after he arrived at Liuhe Iron Works...

Coking can actually be developed into a coal industry and an independent factory can be built.

But at present Liu Kuan is anxious to realize blast furnace ironmaking and (converter) steelmaking, and it is still experimental, so he chose to build a coking oven in Liuhe Ironworks first.

Taking into account the water supply problem and the future use of water power, both the coke oven and the blast furnace will be built on the banks of Chushui River.

It’s just that the coking oven is built further downstream.

Whether it is coking or blast furnace ironmaking, it will inevitably cause greater pollution than the Liuhe Iron Works. However, the smelting industry in Daming has not even started yet, and environmental issues can only be ignored for the time being.

After selecting the site for the coking oven, Liu Kuan found a group of lime-burning craftsmen in the ironworks, taught them the method of burning cement, and asked them to try to burn cement.

Given a specific formula, trial production of cement should be easier than firing new refractory bricks.

If you want to achieve blast furnace ironmaking, new refractory bricks are the key.

Liu Kuan inquired and checked and found out that the refractory bricks used in the iron smelting furnaces at Liuhe Iron Works are made of clay as the main material.

According to the information Liu Kuan had, clay refractory bricks were also widely used in blast furnace ironmaking in later generations, but they were also supplemented with other types of refractory bricks. Bricks with different properties were used in different places, and the coordination was important.

It was almost impossible to achieve this in the early Ming Dynasty - Liu Kuan did not have so much information about refractory bricks in his computer. If he wanted to train relevant talents in the Ming Dynasty to conduct research, it would probably take at least ten years.

Therefore, Liu Kuan planned to first burn a new type of clay refractory brick.

There are many types of clay, and the performance of clay refractory bricks can vary greatly due to different firing processes.

The original refractory bricks of Liuhe Iron Works were only adequate for ironmaking and steelmaking, and were unlikely to be suitable for blast furnace ironmaking.

It is necessary to fire a new type of clay refractory brick with better performance before blast furnace ironmaking can be carried out safely.

After ironmaking in the blast furnace, the next step is steelmaking in the converter, which requires another kind of alkaline refractory brick.

Therefore, although the dozens of brickmakers in the iron yard are inconspicuous, they are the key to whether the Science and Technology Department can achieve blast furnace ironmaking and converter steelmaking this time.

So, after the site for the coke oven was chosen, Liu Kuan handed it over to Wang Buqun to oversee. As for the kiln site, he personally oversaw it.

That day, Liu Kuancai arrived at the kiln and took a look around when he heard excited cheers coming from brick kiln No. 4.

Liu Kuan immediately rushed over with his entourage and guards.

As soon as we arrived, we heard Zhang Daniu's loud voice cheering, "We did it!"

It's only been a few days, and Brick Kiln No. 4 has already produced a new type of refractory brick?

While being surprised, Liu Kuan was also delighted.

Quicken your pace and rush over.

When we arrived at the place, we saw brickmakers like Zhang Qiba and Zhang Daniu cheering around the experimental miniature blast furnace.

Seeing Liu Kuan and others arrive, the craftsmen stopped shouting, but their faces were still filled with excitement.

Zhang Qiba took the lead in bowing to Liu Kuan.

Liu Kuan smiled and asked directly, "Did your team produce refractory bricks that meet the requirements?"

"Reporting to the Deputy Master, that is correct."

After saying that, he asked the other craftsmen to make way so that Liu Kuan could check the miniature blast furnace.

The craftsmen's experimental method was simple. They used the original fire bricks (the name for refractory bricks at that time) to build a miniature blast furnace, and burned the new refractory bricks made according to Liu Kuan's requirements in it.

If the fire bricks of the micro blast furnace are all cracked, but the new refractory bricks inside are fine, it means that the new refractory bricks are basically qualified.

When Liu Kuan looked over, he saw that the fire bricks in the inner layer of the miniature blast furnace were cracked, but the new refractory bricks inside were red but intact.

Liu Kuan nodded and said, "I will leave someone to watch you try it again later. If there are no problems, your team will be considered the winner and will receive a reward of thirty strings of cash."

Zhang Qiba had long since realized that while Deputy Officer Liu was a good official, he wasn't easy to fool, so the request for another test wasn't surprising to him. So he bowed again and said, "Master Deputy Officer, rest assured, we won't cheat."

Liu Kuan smiled and nodded without saying much. After asking Shen Lin and Zheng Zhiliang to stay, he took the others away.

When Liu Kuan returned to the iron smelting office, he saw someone waiting for him.

However, the memorial approved by Zhu Yuanzhang was finally sent back.

Liu Kuan opened the memorial and read it quickly. The result was as expected. Zhu Yuanzhang approved all of his reform ideas for the Liuhe Iron Works!

After putting away the memorial, Liu Kuan couldn't help but look into the courtyard through the hall door, and saw the yellow leaves on the two big trees rustling.

"got windy."

···
After lunch the next day.

All the foremen, master carpenters and senior carpenters were notified by the clerk to go to the open space in front of the iron smelting office to listen to the officials announce an important event.

Zhang Qiba's skills were considered superior, but he was relegated to the middle rank because he had offended a minor official. However, he was the foreman of ten craftsmen, so he was also notified.

Along the way, craftsmen he knew kept congratulating him, and even strangers came up to him to chat.

"Brother Zhang, I heard you made the new fire bricks the officials want?"

"I was just lucky that it burned out before the other groups."

"Did the official really give a reward of thirty strings of cash?"

"Of course it's true. I received it before I got off work yesterday."

"Well, you've made a killing this time, brother! You can get at least ten more pounds of meat and a few more pounds of wine for the New Year, and even buy a dozen feet of cloth for your wife and children. I'm afraid you won't be able to spend it all!"

The craftsman who said this had an envious look on his face, wishing he was the one to get the reward.

Zhang Qiba waved his hand and said, "This reward money belongs to our group, not just me. I have divided it equally, three strings of cash each."

"Equally?" The craftsman who spoke to him was very surprised and couldn't help shaking his head. "You are really... righteous."

He wanted to say that Zhang Qiba was stupid, but then he changed his words because he thought that Zhang Qiba had done something for the official and was now a celebrity in the iron field, so it would be difficult to offend him.

After dealing with several conversations along the way, Zhang Qiba finally arrived at the iron smelting office.

In the past, he disliked coming here the most because the officials from the iron smelting factory always wanted to do something bad to him.

But today I am filled with inexplicable anticipation.

"It's said that the official has something important to announce. If it's about that Deputy Liu, it should be a good thing, right?"

Thinking this in his mind, Zhang Qiba waited patiently.

Soon everyone arrived and the officials came out of the yamen.

The leader is indeed the deputy Liu who looks only in his twenties...
Liu Kuan looked around at the ironworks workers present, and without saying any polite words, he went straight to the topic of the meeting.

"Everyone! I have been ordered by the Emperor to come to Liuhe Iron Works not only to make steel, but also to see your Liuhe Iron Works transformed into the first steel mill of the Ming Dynasty!"

"Some people may ask, what is the difference between a steel mill and an ironworks? Don't worry, let me explain it to you slowly..."

Then, Liu Kuan used plain language to explain to the craftsmen present his vision for the Liuhe Iron and Steel Plant, as well as the difference between a steel plant and an ironyard.

"In short, the Liuhe Iron and Steel Plant will be under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry's Science and Technology Department, and every aspect will be different from the previous ironworks."

"The biggest difference is the management and employment of craftsmen - the ironworks recruited craftsmen from local or foreign areas to serve, and after their service period ended, they returned home and did their own work."

"But the craftsmen at the steel mill are employees from the moment they start working there until they retire..."

After hearing this, some craftsmen couldn't help showing panic and questioning in a low voice before Liu Kuan finished speaking.

"Doesn't this mean we'll be serving in the ironworks forever?"

"What about my family?"

"The little food rations we receive from the imperial government are only enough for us to eat. How can we support our wives and children?"

"You can't do this, sir! If you do this, we'll be dead!"

"···"

The craftsmen's voices of doubt and criticism grew louder and louder, forcing Liu Kuan to stop speaking.

Upon seeing this, Wang Guangyue led the Yiluansi officers and soldiers to shout, "Silence!"

After three consecutive calls, the craftsmen finally quieted down.

Liu Kuan glanced at the craftsmen and said in a somewhat speechless tone, "Can't you all just listen to me finish what I have to say?"

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(End of this chapter)