People in the Tang Dynasty, Jian'an style

"Master Bian, no need to be so polite!" Qin Qiong said with a smile, then pointed at Li Wenbin and Cheng Yaojin and introduced them, "This is Duke Lu, and this is the famous King Qi. This time we are here to help you improve your smelting technology."

Upon hearing that the other party was the King of Qi, Bian was shocked and immediately bowed.

However, when he heard that Li Wenbin came to help them improve the smelting technology, Lao Bian's eyebrows raised slightly, and a hint of hidden disdain flashed in his eyes, but he did not show it on his face at all.

"Boss Bian, could you please show me this blast furnace used for iron smelting first?" Li Wenbin took in the other party's reaction, but did not point it out. Instead, he smiled and pointed at the blast furnace.

Hearing Li Wenbin's words, the Bian master was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "If Your Highness is interested, I would be honored!"

Manager Bian took Li Wenbin and others to the blast furnace. As soon as they approached, Li Wenbin felt a wave of heat coming towards him. Looking up, he saw smoke billowing above the blast furnace, and it seemed that the fire inside was burning brightly.

"Your Highness, this is the blast furnace used for iron smelting. We stack fuel, iron ore, and limestone layer by layer, ignite the fuel inside, and then use a blower to blow air in from the bottom. When the furnace temperature reaches a certain level, the iron in the ore is heated and turned into molten iron, which flows out from the bottom and becomes the very common pig iron. Now they are using the coke that has just been delivered to smelt iron. Coke is a new fuel, so what we need to do now is to understand its properties so that it can be used on a large scale in the future."

Manager Bian didn't know that the coke was made by Li Wenbin in front of him, so he introduced the coke in such detail.

"Haha, Master Bian, you may not know yet, but this coke is His Highness's masterpiece." Qin Qiong said with a smile after hearing Master Bian's words.

"Oh?" Bian Zhushi looked at Li Wenbin hesitantly. He had also heard of Li Wenbin's name and knew that the prince was good at making tools. However, iron smelting was different from other things. It required real experience and it was not something that could be achieved by being smart. But considering Li Wenbin's age, it was impossible for him to have any experience in iron smelting.

That's why he seemed so disdainful when he heard Li Wenbin coming to guide them in iron smelting.

"Your Highness is so talented. I didn't know that coke was made by Your Highness. I'm sorry to have embarrassed you." The owner of Bian said with a bow. As a craftsman who has been smelting iron all his life, he certainly knows the importance of coke to iron-making. Coke has good air permeability and can support the compression of large amounts of iron ore. The most important thing is that using coke to smelt iron can increase the furnace temperature, making the iron of better quality and higher in output. It is also unlike coal, which will make the iron too brittle. It can be said to be the best fuel he has ever seen in his life.

"Haha, no problem!" Li Wenbin was quite proud when he saw that the Bian official immediately became more respectful to him. The other party's respect just now was only because of his status as a prince, and now the respect is respect for his talent. The meanings of these two kinds of respect are completely different. "I just mentioned it casually at the beginning."

"Boss Bian, these should be used for blowing, right?" Li Wenbin pointed to the row of leather bags next to the blast furnace. These bags were expanding and contracting in a reciprocating motion. The air outlet was connected to the bottom of the blast furnace by an iron pipe, and the power for the bags was provided by a few horses.

"Your Highness, this thing is called a water blast furnace, and it is indeed used for blowing air. It is called a water blast furnace because it is usually driven by water power. However, the blast furnace here is only used for experiments and does not actually produce iron. It is not used very often, and there is no water source around, so it is driven by horsepower, so it is also called a horse blast furnace." The chief official stepped forward to introduce.

"Oh, I have a question I would like to ask Master Bian. When smelting iron, is it true that the higher the temperature inside the furnace, the better?" Li Wenbin said with a smile. Although there were not many areas where he could improve blast furnace iron smelting, there happened to be one right in front of him. Moreover, through this improvement, he could also shock Master Bian and his group of craftsmen and let them know their talents. This way, he would be able to better direct them during the subsequent steelmaking.

"Uh..." The chief was stunned. He was not used to Li Wenbin's jumping thoughts. He just asked about the water row, how come he suddenly jumped to the furnace temperature? But he had been engaged in iron smelting for a lifetime, so he answered these questions without hesitation. "Your Highness, if you don't consider the furnace's burning resistance and cost, the higher the furnace temperature, the better. For example, one of the biggest advantages of the coke you made is that it burns at a higher temperature than charcoal and is more resistant to burning."

After hearing the other party's answer, Li Wenbin laughed and said, "Boss Bian, since you know that the higher the temperature, the better, why do you still blow cold air into it? Isn't it like pouring cold water into a pot of boiling water? How can it possibly make the furnace temperature reach the highest level?"

As the saying goes, "One word can wake a person from his dream." Li Wenbin's seemingly joking words sounded like a thunderclap to the ears of the chief, which blew a crack in his already fixed thinking. In addition, Li Wenbin's metaphor was very vivid, which made him grasp the key point at once. He said excitedly: "Your Highness, do you mean that we can heat this air and then blow it into the furnace?"

"Haha, Manager Bian is indeed experienced and he grasped the key point at once!" Li Wenbin praised. Air preheating is actually just a thin layer of window paper, and everyone understands the principle.

But no one has ever thought of doing this, mainly because the experience of their predecessors has limited their thinking.

Li Wenbin walked up to the side of the water row, stretched out his hand and gestured on the ground, saying, "Uncle Qin and Director Bian, please look, we can build a preheating room here to heat the air and blow it into the furnace. This way, the temperature in the furnace will not drop due to the cold wind. The higher the furnace temperature, the faster the iron in the iron ore can be refined. This not only saves time, but also makes the quality of the refined iron much better than before."

As the Minister of Works, Qin Qiong had some knowledge of iron smelting, so he could understand what Li Wenbin said. However, as an official in charge of the overall situation, he heard something inappropriate in Li Wenbin's words.

Chapter 156: Confident in Making It

He then asked, "Your Highness, I understand what you said about the preheating room, but have you ever thought about it? This preheating room also consumes fuel. Although the quality of the iron produced is better, the cost is also increased. Isn't this a bit uneconomical?"

Hearing Qin Qiong's question, the excited Bian said first: "Sir, adding a preheating chamber will not increase the cost, because after the furnace temperature is increased, the smelting time will be shortened. In this way, the amount of fuel can be reduced during smelting, and the saved fuel can be used to heat the air."

"Oh, great! This is my negligence!" Qin Qiong heard the explanation of the head of the Bian. His eyes lit up and he praised Li Wenbin. At the same time, he was even more impressed by Li Wenbin's talent. He had just arrived and made a small change to the blast furnace, which immediately improved the quality of the iron produced by the blast furnace and also accelerated the time it took to produce iron. Don't underestimate this little improvement. There are countless iron-making furnaces in the Tang Dynasty. If each furnace is modified according to what Li Wenbin said, not only will the annual iron production increase a lot, but the quality of the iron will also be improved by a level. This is an amazing achievement!

"Your Highness the Prince of Qi, everyone says that you have the guidance of a god. I didn't quite believe it at first. But after meeting you today, I realized that those rumors are not exaggerated at all!" Qin Qiong was so excited when he thought about how he had achieved such a great political achievement out of nowhere that he no longer cared about his manners. He stepped forward, patted Li Wenbin on the shoulder and praised him loudly.

"No, no, uncle, you are praising me too much!" Li Wenbin hurriedly said modestly, but he couldn't hide the pride on his face, especially when he saw that the eyes of the head of the Bian were shining with admiration for him, looking at him as if he saw a pile of gold and silver treasures. He wanted to grab him and hold him in his arms and kiss him.

Craftsmen are all action-oriented. Manager Bian immediately called together several key craftsmen and explained the method of the preheating room. These people were immediately shocked, and they all looked at Li Wenbin with the same look as Manager Bian.

These people are all experts, and Li Wenbin was also there. So everyone worked together and soon came up with a detailed plan for the preheating room.

Some people also pointed out that when the preheating chamber is heated, the fuel and air are separated. This means that the fuel requirement is very low, and there is no need to use the saved coke. The cheaper coal can be used as fuel. In this way, although a preheating chamber is added, a lot of fuel costs can be saved, which can definitely reduce the cost of a furnace of iron.

As soon as this proposal was made, it immediately attracted praise from Li Wenbin, Bian Zhushi and others. Even Cheng Yaojin, who was left aside and dozing off, cheered loudly.

Qin Qiong was even more excited. Although the Ministry of Works received a lot of funds every year, there were even more places to spend the money. Therefore, as soon as he, the Minister of Works, heard that he could save money, he would immediately become more energetic.

As soon as the plan for the preheating room was finalized, Manager Bian wanted to go and do it himself, but Li Wenbin stopped him and the craftsmen.

Transforming the blast furnace was just a small move by Li Wenbin to establish his authority. His main purpose was to organize these craftsmen and have them help him develop the steel pouring method.

After all, the blast furnace only produces pig iron, but how to turn pig iron into steel? This is the most troublesome step.

The Tang Dynasty still used the steel-making method of stir-frying steel. The so-called steel-stirring is actually to melt the pig iron and then stir it continuously, just like cooking. This allows the oxygen in the air to react with the impurities and carbon in the pig iron, reducing the carbon content in the iron.

However, most of the steel produced by this method is wrought iron and low-carbon steel. If you master it well, you can also obtain some more widely used medium-carbon steel and high-carbon steel.

What Li Wenbin wanted to do was to develop the more advanced steel pouring method. Although he only had a general idea about both the frying steel method and the steel pouring method, after all, he had not specifically studied the knowledge in this area, but had only read the introduction in some miscellaneous books or on the Internet.

However, even though he only had a vague understanding of steelmaking, Li Wenbin was absolutely confident that he could develop the steel pouring method. After all, he knew the nature of steel very well.

To put it bluntly, isn't so-called steel just iron with a carbon content within a certain range?

If Li Wenbin wanted Bian and others to help him develop the steel pouring method, he had to first let them understand the difference between steel and iron.

Therefore, he had to temporarily play the role of a chemistry teacher and tried his best to explain it in simple and easy-to-understand language.

Of course, Li Wenbin was not stupid enough to talk about atoms and molecules. He just told them that there were many impurities in the iron. Of course, they knew this. Then Li Wenbin said that there was one very special impurity among these impurities. Its content would affect the properties of the iron. If it contained too much of this impurity, it would be pig iron, and if it contained too little, it would be wrought iron, and something in between would be steel.

After this, everyone understood, and then Li Wenbin explained the principle of the steel pouring method.

Although the method of pouring steel existed in the late Han Dynasty, it was not used on a large scale until the Song Dynasty.

Therefore, in the early Tang Dynasty, very few people knew about this steelmaking method. In fact, the so-called steelmaking method is to mix pig iron and wrought iron together. As long as the proportion is correct, steel will be produced.

Of course, the steel pouring method is definitely not as simple as Li Wenbin imagined, but the principle is correct. As long as we spend some energy and time to study in this direction, we can definitely come up with the steel pouring method.

After listening to Li Wenbin's method of pouring steel, Manager Bian and a group of craftsmen fell into deep thought. They also understood Li Wenbin's explanation.

If someone talked about the difference between steel in front of them, they would definitely sneer. After all, when it comes to the understanding of steel, none of them is convinced by anyone else as they have been playing with iron for almost their entire lives.

However, Li Wenbin's views on the warm-up room just now have already made them feel awe for Li Wenbin, the unique prince.

Now, after listening carefully to Li Wenbin's explanation, and verifying it with my own understanding of the properties of steel, I found that I only knew the facts before.

However, if I use Li Wenbin’s theory to explain the things that I didn’t understand, everything suddenly became clear to me.

The chief discussed quietly with the craftsmen around him for a while, then stood up and reported: "Your Highness, we all understand the steel pouring method you mentioned. Although there may be some difficulties in actual operation, there are solutions. If we are given some time to study it, we are sure to come up with this method!"

Chapter 157 Pork

"Great!" Li Wenbin was overjoyed when he heard that there was a way. He reached out and patted Bian Zhushi's shoulders twice. "Bian Zhushi, if you can come up with this steel pouring method, it will definitely increase the steel production of the Tang Dynasty several times. And as the main participants in this matter, you will definitely be famous in the history of the Tang Dynasty!"

"That's right! You all should be brave and do it. Come to me if you need anything. During this time, put aside other things at hand and focus on developing this steel pouring method."

Qin Qiong also stood up and spoke at this time.

Seeing that even the Minister fully supported the steel pouring method, the chief officials no longer had any concerns and immediately said, "Thank you for your support, Minister. We will go all out to research the steel pouring method as soon as possible!"

Although Li Wenbin is a prince, he cannot control Bian and the others. Qin Qiong is their boss, so here, Qin Qiong's words are more effective.

After Li Wenbin finished explaining the method of pouring steel, he had nothing else to do.

After all, when it comes to the actual operations of iron smelting and steelmaking, he is far behind people like Bian Zhushi, so after finishing the theoretical knowledge, Li Wenbin and Qin Qiong no longer disturbed these craftsmen who had already started to take action, and left the large workshop together.

……

When Li Wenbin returned to the palace, he was very hungry, so he asked Jinxiu to bring him lunch. Then Li Shimin brought Li Chengqian and Li Tai to visit him.

After a while, the lunch that had been prepared by the kitchen was served, including several pork dishes such as braised pork, sweet and sour pork, sweet and sour pork tenderloin, etc.

Li Chengqian and Li Tai were young, and their mouths watered when they smelled the aroma of these dishes.

Even Li Shimin couldn't help sniffing. On the one hand, he was really hungry. On the other hand, these new dishes had unique aromas that made people's appetites grow.

He picked up the chopsticks and picked up a piece of rosy-colored braised pork, put it in his mouth and tasted it. He immediately found that the meat was fat but not greasy, and it was soft and melt-in-the-mouth. It was indeed a rare delicacy.

Li Wenbin didn't expect Li Shimin to move so quickly. Before Li Wenbin could stop him, he threw the pork into his mouth with a look of enjoyment on his face.

Now he lamented in his heart, wondering if he would get furious when he found out that he was eating cheap pork?

"Well, not bad!" Li Shimin kept using his chopsticks, tasting all the dishes in front of him in the blink of an eye, and then nodded in praise. But then he looked at Li Wenbin with a somewhat playful look, and said lightly: "Wenbin, to be able to make pork that ordinary people eat so delicious, your chef is really capable!"

"Ahem..." Li Chengqian, who was standing next to him, spat out the sweet and sour pork he was chewing immediately after hearing this. He was also hungry just now.

Seeing Li Shimin picking up his chopsticks, he also took a few bites and tasted it. He found it delicious, so he didn't care about anyone else and started eating. But when he was eating happily, Li Shimin said it was pork, and he choked immediately.

Although Li Tai also felt that it was inappropriate, the braised pork was so delicious that he couldn't bear to spit it out no matter what.

"Father...Father. How did you know..." Li Wenbin was stunned when he heard Li Shimin's words. It was not specified on the dish that it was made of pork, but he immediately knew it was pork after tasting it. Could it be that he had eaten it before?

"Humph! It's just pork. What's the big deal?" Li Shimin snorted coldly, looking a little nostalgic as he said, "When I led the army to fight all over the country and the military rations were in short supply, what didn't I eat? Let alone pork, when I was so hungry, I could even catch a mouse and make a pot of soup!"

"Alas! You have grown up in the deep palace. You have never had the opportunity to experience the sufferings of the people. You have to eat pork in secret. You should know that even pork is not something that everyone can eat." Li Shimin taught with a serious face.

Li Wenbin rushed to say: "Father is right. I also know that some people in the Tang Dynasty are suffering. This is mainly caused by the lack of social wealth, but there are solutions."

"Oh? What does Wenbin think?" Li Shimin was a little surprised. He didn't expect Li Wenbin to dare to speak such big words in front of him.

"Father, this is actually very simple. As the saying goes, 'Without agriculture, there is no stability; without industry, there is no wealth; without commerce, there is no life.' Now, because of the implementation of the equal-field system, agriculture in the Tang Dynasty is very stable. At least there will be no problems in the next few decades, but this only solves the problem of food. If you want to make the people rich, you must vigorously develop industry. Industry is different from agriculture and commerce. Although agriculture also creates social wealth, due to land restrictions, the wealth created by agriculture is limited. Industry is different. Maybe someone will have an idea and create a new product, which can then support the craftsmen and their families who rely on the production of this new product, and even drive a large number of related industries. It can be said that as long as people's wisdom is endless, the social wealth that industry can create is unlimited."

When Li Wenbin said this, he couldn't help but stand up excitedly. At first he was just talking casually, but he didn't expect that he would become more and more involved the more he spoke, and in the end he even spoke out what was deep in his heart.

Seeing Li Wenbin's high spirits, Li Shimin couldn't help being a little surprised. He used to think that his son was smart and talented, and even had some unique insights into certain things, but he didn't expect that he had such a profound understanding of the three industries of agriculture, industry and commerce.

"Wenbin, you mentioned agriculture and industry, so what about the remaining business?" Li Shimin pondered for a moment and then asked. He was very familiar with the three industries of agriculture, industry and commerce, but he had never thought about it from the perspective of social wealth.

"My Lord, business is a very special industry. It does not generate any wealth in itself. It just makes a profit by buying low and selling high. This is the fundamental reason why people despise businessmen."

Li Shimin nodded. What Li Wenbin said was also the consensus of the world on businessmen.

"However, the world only sees the merchants taking advantage of opportunities, but not the mental and physical labor they put in. For example, the merchants who were very common in the Tang Dynasty, when selling goods, first of all, they had to investigate the prices of certain commodities in various places, analyze the risks and income of selling such commodities, and then spend money to buy a large number of goods, and transport them thousands of miles to the destination for sale. The mental and physical labor, risks and various costs spent in the process will be added to the original cost of the goods. Therefore, the price difference that people see the merchants earn is also earned by the merchants through their labor, but they just artificially increase the original value of the goods. In addition, merchants transport the products produced by industry and agriculture to various places for marketing, so that the wealth of the world can circulate. Only when these wealth circulates can those wealth play their own value."

When Li Wenbin talked about the profession of businessman, apart from what people saw on the Internet or in books in later generations, most of it was his own thinking, and he used many new terms. He was really afraid that Li Shimin would not understand.

Chapter 158: The Way of Merchants

"Well, Wenbin, you're right. Although everyone despises businessmen for getting something for nothing, from your analysis, businessmen actually also work hard."

After all, Li Shimin was a famous wise ruler in history with a strong ability to understand, so he understood what Li Wenbin said after thinking about it.

At this time, Li Chengqian and Li Tai were also absorbed by Li Wenbin's talk, and sat on both sides of him and listened very honestly.

"Father, now that we understand the characteristics and differences of agriculture, industry, and commerce, it will be very easy to solve the poverty of the people. Let's not talk about agriculture. Unless we suddenly get a large piece of fertile land and enough population, it will be difficult to increase it in a short time. In this case, the only way to solve this problem is to think of ways from industry and commerce. Among them, industry and agriculture are the foundation of commerce. Therefore, if we want to quickly increase social wealth, the first step is to vigorously develop industry!"

Li Wenbin said in a decisive tone.

When Li Shimin heard Li Wenbin's words, he suddenly had an idea. Thinking of Li Wenbin's actions during this period, he suddenly felt a sense of enlightenment. He blurted out: "Wenbin, the new products you have developed during this period, such as fried tea, cement, and coal, have you started to have the idea of ​​developing industry?"

"Father, you are wise. Actually, when I started to stir-fry tea, I didn't think too much about it. I was just short of money at the moment, so I wanted to make some money. However, as capital accumulated, I found that I could do many things. Although I can't help you with government affairs, if I can develop the industry and benefit the people of the Tang Dynasty, it can also be regarded as a way to relieve your worries."

Li Wenbin said sanctimoniously that he still needed Li Shimin's help to provide cover, so it was necessary to say some nice words.

"Well... I just can't understand this. After the development of industry, aren't the factory owners and businessmen the ones who benefit the most? How can the people of our Tang Dynasty also benefit from it?" Li Chengqian was young and said in confusion.

"Think about it, if industry develops, it will eventually hire people. Of course, wealthy people will not bother to work, but poor people can find a new way to earn money from it. Moreover, the more developed the industry is, the more people will be hired, and of course more people will benefit from it."

Li Wenbin explained with a smile.

"Yeah, that's right!" Li Shimin nodded and said, "Just like the cement plants and coal mines that you, Wenbin, and Wang Hexuan have run. Although I haven't done any statistics, according to my estimate, at least tens of thousands of Tang people have benefited from them."

"So many?" Li Chengqian was also very surprised. The total population of the Tang Dynasty was only more than three million households, but the two industries created by Li Wenbin actually affected 1% of the population of the Tang Dynasty at once. It was admirable just to think about it.

"Father, you actually underestimate cement and coal!" Li Wenbin immediately retorted when he heard Li Shimin's words.

"Oh?" Li Shimin was stunned and looked at Li Wenbin in surprise. Is there something that he can't see through?

"Your Majesty, you only saw cement and coal, but did not include the industries related to them. For example, the production of cement immediately led to the mining and transportation of raw materials such as coal, gypsum, and slag. Moreover, with the application and promotion of cement, more cement products will surely be invented. The same is true for coal. Although it is mainly used as a fuel for refining cement and smelting iron, our Coal Industry Association has already mastered its other functions. When it is launched, it will definitely benefit more people in the Tang Dynasty!"

Li Wenbin spoke very proudly. In his original plan, cement and coal occupied a very important position. Like another thing that was about to appear, they were both key props for Li Wenbin to layout the world.

Li Shimin looked at the high-spirited Li Wenbin and suddenly realized for the first time that he did not know his son well enough.

Although he was still skeptical about some of Li Wenbin's views, it did not affect his appreciation for Li Wenbin.

"Wenbin, although there is some truth in what you said, you place too much emphasis on the role of industry and commerce. You must know that agriculture is the foundation of a country, and scholars are the foundation of governing a country. Only when these two are in hand can the entire country be stable. Only after the country is stable can it be possible to vigorously develop industry and commerce!" Li Shimin taught earnestly.

Although Li Shimin was one of the most outstanding emperors in history, due to the limitations of the education he received since childhood, the idea of ​​building a country based on agriculture had been deeply ingrained in his bones. Therefore, although he acknowledged the importance of industry and commerce, the importance of scholars and farmers still ranked first in his heart.

"Father, I will remember what you taught me!" Li Wenbin bowed and said. He also knew that it would take more than a day or two to shake the ancients' idea of ​​valuing scholars and farmers over industry and commerce, so he did not refute it. But he smiled and said, "Father, now the politics of the Tang Dynasty is clear and the people live in peace. I have taken advantage of this great opportunity to do something in the industry so that the people of the Tang Dynasty can live a better life."

Li Shimin told Li Wenbin: You can go ahead and do this business of enriching the people through industry and commerce with confidence, don't have any worries and don't pay attention to other people's eyes. Accomplish what others dare not and cannot do. Only then can you be worthy of being the son of Li Shimin!

Hearing Li Shimin's praise, Li Wenbin was of course delighted.

During this period, he was very close to merchants, which gave many of the prince's forces the opportunity to slander him, saying that as a prince he did not intend to study and serve the country, but instead focused on these menial jobs, which brought shame to the royal family.

Although Li Wenbin disdained these words, he was still worried that these words were heard by Li Yuan. What if Li Yuan felt that his grandson had brought shame to the Li Tang royal family and ordered him not to get involved in business in the future? Then all his previous efforts would be ruined.

Fortunately, Li Shimin was open-minded and saw the importance of industry and commerce. He argued for himself in front of Li Yuan.

In this way, the last bit of worry in Li Wenbin's heart was finally dispelled, and he could do things more freely in the future.