Three Kingdoms: A Million Soldiers Grown from the Fields

Chapter 65: The Method of Making Steel from Raw and Wrought Iron (Please read 4k words)

"Formation!"

In the vast training ground, as Huang Zhong lowered a command flag, the four hundred Peach Blossom Spring warriors swiftly transformed from a loose formation into a battle array.

Archers (80 people)
Swordsmen and Shieldbearers (100) [ ] Spearmen (100)

Reserve soldiers: swordsmen and shieldmen (20) and spearmen (20)

Light cavalry (80)

The battle formation was quickly deployed, and Huang Zhong was satisfied with the soldiers' morale and responsiveness.

'The patriarch's suggestion to practice stance first makes sense; the Peach Blossom Spring soldiers can distinguish directions and their response speed is faster than other soldiers.'

The archer in front of him feigned drawing his bow.

Swordsmen and shieldmen stood on the left, wielding swords and shields, while spearmen stood on the right, their spears forming a formidable forest.

A gap was left between the two, and the archer quickly retreated through this gap after feigning a draw.

The formation began to change, with swordsmen and archers alternating and exchanging positions, instantly changing the formation to one where swordsmen and archers were in front.

After the swordsmen and shieldmen formed their ranks, the spearmen followed closely behind them, also forming their own ranks.

Huang Zhong stood on the high platform and waved down another flag of a different color, while the sound of a bull horn rang out beside him.

"Enemy cavalry are harassing us!"

"Huh!"

After the flag bearers relayed the flag signals from General Huang Zhong, who was two or three hundred meters away, the swordsmen and shield bearers in the front row immediately knelt down, their shoulders resting on their shields at an angle to the ground.

Behind them, long spears stretched out like shields, forming an impregnable wall of contradictions.

Today, the spears of the Peach Blossom Spearmen can be considered true spears, with the shortest being three meters long, which can effectively traverse the battlefield.

Huang Zhong frowned slightly on the high platform.

'The speed is still too slow!'

However, considering that the formation had only been practiced for half a month, he slightly approved of it and then immediately waved down the third flag.

Sharp whistles, rapid long and short whistles.

"The enemy's main force is approaching!"

"Archers, prepare!!"

"The scouts are to proceed!"

The archers who retreated to the rear raised their bows at an angle and gently plucked the bowstrings, which constituted a volley. After all, it was a drill, and firing real arrows would risk accidentally injuring the archers, while firing empty bowstrings would harm both the bow and the archers.

Eighty skilled horsemen emerged from behind the battle lines.

The warhorse sped past the edge of the shield wall, then turned sideways, drew its bow, and fired at the imaginary enemy locked in a fierce battle with the shield wall.

After firing an arrow, they quickly turned around, making full use of the cavalry's mobility.

Huang Zhong shook his head on the high platform.

"The riders' riding skills are too poor. We need to have A-Yun take them out for rides regularly to improve them."

'The training ground is too small; we need to talk to the family head and expand it by another fifty acres to make it sufficient.'

Let's leave it at that for now; there's still a lot to improve.

"Ming Jin retreats the troops."

He turned his head and spoke, and several military musicians beside him began to strike the gongs.

The clanging of the gongs was so loud that not only the Peach Blossom Villagers in the training ground, but also people from other parts of Peach Blossom Village could hear it.

"withdraw troops!"

"withdraw troops!"

Each leader and squad leader quickly disciplined their soldiers, and before long, the Peach Blossom Clan members on the training ground were lined up again to wait.

Huang Zhong jumped down from the high platform and came to the front of the army formation.

"You performed well today, but there is still room for improvement. All teams must continue practicing standing postures and formations, and not let their guard down!"

"promise!"

Huang Zhong nodded and looked to the side. Eighty-one cavalrymen had also turned back, led by Zhao Yun.

After the Taoyuan military structure was established, Zhang Xian handed over the position of commander to Huang Zhong.

Zhao Yun was still too young and lacked the experience of Huang Zhong. However, knowing Zhao Yun's abilities, Zhang Xian entrusted him with the cavalry, who were most capable of creating opportunities in battle.

Simply put, Huang Zhong was the infantry commander, while Zhao Yun was the cavalry commander. However, in battle, the cavalry needed to do their best to cooperate with the infantry.

Unfortunately, the limitations of this era meant that cavalry could only serve as auxiliary units; training a large number of cavalrymen without stirrups would require far too much effort.

While one can certainly build a double-sided stirrup, revealing one's true strength when weak only benefits the opponent.

This thing can only be used cautiously during a surprise attack, and it must be properly disguised before use.

Zhang Xian now only has one requirement for the non-cavalry riding skills of the Peach Blossom Clan: they need to be able to serve as mounted infantrymen. They don't need to be too specialized in riding skills, but they should have some experience.

Therefore, non-cavalry soldiers in Taoyuan only trained in horsemanship for one hour a day, while cavalry soldiers spent almost the entire day on horseback.

Huang Zhong walked toward the fifty light cavalry led by Zhao Yun: "Ah Yun, the cavalry's riding skills are not yet proficient. You need to take them on more runs."

"Understood." Zhao Yun nodded. He thought so too. Fortunately, the Hebei Plain was flat and easy to traverse, making it very convenient to train horsemanship.

The different types of soldiers in Peach Blossom Village were all selected and categorized.

Those with long arms and good eyesight were assigned to the archery camp, those with strong and powerful physiques were assigned to the sword and shield camp, and the rest, those of average ability, were assigned to the spear camp.

The intensity of drills and the food provided by each battalion varied.

The sword and shield battalion was the most hardworking, with the most daily drills, so those 120 men had eggs, half a pound of fatty meat, rice, and side dishes almost every meal.

Those who could join the Sword and Shield Camp were among the strongest of the Peach Blossom Clan.

The archery corps was next in importance. Those who drew the bow had to train their physical strength by drawing the two-stone bow two hundred times a day, resulting in the most hand wounds. For this reason, Zhang Xian even specially made thumb rings for the archery corps.

Their food was only slightly worse than that of the swordsmen and shieldmen; they ate one chicken every two days, with meat at every meal, accompanied by wheat cakes and vegetable soup.

The training for the spear battalion was the easiest. There was no other way; they had already selected all the available refugees, and their quality varied greatly. It was a stroke of luck that they were able to assemble nearly two hundred good soldiers.

Those who were not selected could only be incorporated into the spear battalion.

Actually, compared to the outside world, the food at the Peach Blossom Spear Camp is not bad at all. Although there is not as much meat as at the Sword and Shield Camp or the Archer Camp, each person can at least eat one or two pieces at each meal. It is also rich in oil and fat, and it is served with egg drop soup as a base, with plenty of thick porridge.

After eating like this for a month or two, the people of Peach Blossom Spring have become healthier, and if this continues, they will eventually be able to bring everyone's food to the same level.

This is an incentive mechanism. The meals are not fixed. The more effort you put in, the better the meals you can eat.

This is just the foot soldier.

Zhao Yun's cavalry were the biggest drain on resources.

One person and one horse can provide the same food as five or six people. Not to mention the people, they eat the same amount as the sword and shield battalion. The warhorses alone need to be fed chickens, bean cakes, and hay every day, and meat every eight or nine days.

Horses are not like people; just to rest, they need to be fed a pound of concentrated feed (pure grain) and several pounds of hay every day.

If we were to start moving around, we would need two or three pounds of concentrated feed and double the amount of hay.

Taoyuan now has one hundred warhorses, and the daily consumption alone is over a thousand catties.

After giving some instructions, Huang Zhong watched Zhao Yun leave Taoyuan with eighty cavalrymen, then turned and walked to the infantry training ground.

A corner of Peach Blossom Spring.

The clanging of the hammer was particularly jarring.

Zhang Xian watched with excitement as the iron material held in He the blacksmith's hands gradually flattened.

Water forging is feasible, and the air force of the water purifier greatly increases the furnace temperature, which also speeds up the heating of the iron material.

Blacksmith He was getting more and more into the swing of things, his tongs flying up and down, gradually shaping the iron sheet. Wiping away the sweat, Blacksmith He picked up the iron sheet and put it back into the furnace, and the originally dull orange iron sheet turned reddish-brown again.

Clang clang clang.

Sparks flew everywhere, and the temperature was sweltering, but Zhang Xian found it all incredibly fascinating, as if he were right there at a sword-forging competition.

Although he was just watching, he kept comparing He the blacksmith's technique with the forging competition videos he had watched.

Men are no joke when it comes to speed bumps; he even remembers every step those top knifemakers take when forging knives.

With his arms crossed and one hand stroking his chin, he said, "If we could produce coking coal and use it with the power of a water-cooled forging hammer to forge high-quality steel knives, it shouldn't be too difficult, right?"

Forging swords is so much fun, and now that he has the opportunity to try it, Zhang Xian naturally started learning.

Crafting Level: 1 (389/500)

Skill Sub-skill: Dexterity: Your hands will increase accuracy and stability by 10% when crafting any artisan item.

This is the experience I gained from working in the bow-making workshop. The crafting attribute encompasses all crafting skills, and you can gain crafting experience no matter what you make.

Blacksmiths were no exception.

Another sheet of iron was made, about the size of a middle school textbook. The edges were uneven, and the thickness was not uniform, but it was roughly within my requirements.

As He the blacksmith got more and more into the swing of things over the course of an hour or so, his forging speed increased. Now there were four pieces of iron the size of a middle school textbook next to the blacksmith's furnace, and he could forge one piece every seventeen or eighteen minutes on average.

"Blacksmith He, take a break, I'll give it a try."

After watching for an hour or so, he couldn't resist the urge to try it himself.

"Huh?" Blacksmith He was stunned for a moment, as if he hadn't quite grasped what was happening.

When did wealthy families start to take up blacksmithing?
"Oh, go rest for a while. I've had some salt water prepared, go and drink some."

"Ah, the manor lord is kind and benevolent."

He the blacksmith took off his leather skirt, his body drenched in sweat. He walked down from the platform and headed toward the shed where Zhang Xian was standing.

Zhang Xian then jumped onto the high platform.

The blacksmith's workshop here was also raised to isolate moisture and to better coordinate the waterwheel's rotating rod.

After watching from the audience for an hour or so, he had learned almost everything about the process of forging iron sheets from Blacksmith He.

He used iron tongs to pick up a piece of wrought iron and put it into the furnace.

He nudged the raft of the water exhaust pipe at his feet, and the flames in the furnace immediately shot up, only to be blocked by the top of the furnace and reflected back down.

The deep iron gradually turned red, and then turned orange-red.

When the iron in the furnace turned almost white from the red, Zhang Xian quickly used iron tongs to pick it up and carried it to the water forging hammer beside him.

clang!
Fireworks were flying everywhere, but thankfully he was wearing a leather skirt.

What a lot of strength.

Zhang Xian felt his hands go numb from the shock, so he adjusted how he gripped the metal clamp.

Another clang.

A layer of dark oxide impurities peeled off the iron material.

It just makes you feel relieved.

After hammering the iron a few times with a water forging hammer, he would then heat the iron in a clamp, and after it was heated, he would forge it again.

After repeating this process several times, a piece of iron that wasn't very neat or flat emerged from his hands.

Looking at the piece of iron he was holding, and with the video comparison of the knife-forging competition playing in his mind, he suddenly seemed to have thought of something and asked the blacksmith He below the stage.

What auxiliary materials did you use in iron smelting in the past?

“Lime, wood powder,” Blacksmith He replied loudly.

What effect will it have?

He the blacksmith shook his head: "My master didn't tell me, but the furnace with added lime and wood powder will produce molten iron faster."

Zhang Xian's eyes lit up, and he roughly understood its purpose.

He nodded, put down the piece of iron in his hand, disconnected the connecting rod of the water forging hammer, and asked again, "What's the difference between pig iron and wrought iron?"

He the blacksmith approached Zhang Xian and said, “Master said that a plow made by directly pouring molten iron is a cast iron plow, which is hard and brittle. If cast iron is repeatedly forged, it becomes wrought iron, which is tough and strong.”

Zhang Xian nodded again, having figured out the difference between pig iron and wrought iron. A flash of inspiration struck him, and he jumped off the platform, squatted down, and started drawing on the ground.

He drew a furnace shape and listed a bunch of calculation formulas that others couldn't understand.

After a while, he threw away the wooden stick in his hand, stood up, nodded, and smiled.

"So that's what the steel-frying method is all about."

"I understand."

"Master, what do you mean you understand?" The blacksmith He, standing to the side, was completely baffled.

"It's nothing, you can rest for a while before continuing. Oh, and remember to get a guillotine; those metal sheets still need to be heated and cut."

"Yes, Master." Blacksmith He replied and went back up to the platform without taking a break.

Zhang Xian smiled, turned around, and left.

He had just figured out the key to the steel-frying method and now wanted to go back and calculate it more carefully.

Although the frying method of steelmaking had already been used in the Eastern Han Dynasty, not every blacksmith knew how to do it. The mainstream method among the people was still the blooming process, just like in Taoyuan today.

If he can verify the steelmaking method, the efficiency of wrought iron production in Taoyuan will undoubtedly increase, and more importantly, the cost will be greatly reduced.

The settlement with the Zhou family was half cash and half salt and iron. The price of wrought iron was naturally higher than that of iron ore. If the steel-making method were available, Taoyuan would no longer need to purchase pig iron and wrought iron; they could directly buy iron ore and refine it themselves.

Thinking of this, he ran back to his small courtyard, took out the precious A4 paper and 2B pencil from his backpack, and began to list out the formulas.

Fortunately, I had only been out of school for half a year, and I hadn't completely forgotten the knowledge I learned from my teachers.

The key to the steelmaking method lies in the furnace temperature.

The blacksmith He said that adding limestone and wood powder to the furnace would produce molten iron faster, which means that limestone and wood powder can lower the melting point of iron ore.

The key is limestone, which is indeed a co-solvent.

The natural temperature of charcoal is over 900 degrees Celsius. With the furnace type for heat retention and the forced air supply, it should be able to reach 1300-1400 degrees Celsius. This temperature should be sufficient, considering the limestone as a solvent aid.

The second key element is the carbon element in the molten iron.

The phrase "speculating on steel" has already hit the nail on the head.

Stirring molten iron can remove carbon.

So how do we control the degree of decarbonization?

Zhang Xian bit the tip of his pen.

If the carbon content is too low, the iron will be wasted; if it is too high, it will become brittle.

The fingers tapped rhythmically on the table.

Now that we have the temperature, flux, and furnace type, all we're missing is a method for judging pig iron and wrought iron.

Think about it, think quickly, this should have been covered in physics class.
Zhang Xian frowned in thought, his mind filled with countless fragments of information. Suddenly, he seemed to grasp something, and a memory surged into his mind.

magnetic force?

Strongly magnetic pure iron phase, weakly magnetic austenite! You'll know once you try it with a magnet!
Inspiration struck him, and he began to write rapidly again, his calculations becoming increasingly fluent as he went on.

"It's done!"

Zhang Xian picked up the A4 paper and flicked it, then shook his head and laughed, "I was so focused on using tools to verify things that I almost forgot that people are also tools. Experience is also a way to distinguish between raw iron and wrought iron and steel!"

(End of this chapter)