Although Mao Xiang scolded the subordinate who reported the news to him in his heart, he was even furious in his heart, thinking about how to deal with him after returning.
But now faced with Lao Zhu's displeasure, Mao Xiang could only kneel on the ground, not even daring to raise his head, waiting for Lao Zhu's resignation.
When Han Du heard Lao Zhu shouting "Mao Xiang", his heart couldn't help but jump a few times. Suddenly, he felt the hairs on his body stand up, and he felt a chill even under the warm sun.
Han Du looked at Mao Xiang without any trace, and saw that he was thin and thin. Although he was a man, his facial features were three-dimensional and exquisite, and he could not be said to be heroic. Instead, he gave people a feeling of handsomeness and softness.
To put it simply, this Mao Xiang is unisexly beautiful.
Mao Xiang, although there are very few records about him in official history, in unofficial history, it is rumored that he was Lao Zhu's first spy chief and the legendary first commander of the Jinyi Guards.
There are also rumors that before Lao Zhu established the Jinyiwei, he had his own independent spy system to facilitate Lao Zhu to collect information from all parties.
Now it seems that this rumor may be true.
Anyone who is an official dislikes Jin Yiwei, and Han Du does the same. He doesn't want Lao Zhu to know exactly what he ate that day.
Therefore, Han Du instinctively resisted Mao Xiang. It’s not about likes and dislikes, it’s just that I instinctively want to stay away from him.
Han Du was observing Mao Xiang. Suddenly he felt a slight tingling between his eyebrows. He looked up and saw Lao Zhu glaring at him with an unkind expression.
There was murderous intent in his eyes.
Han Du shrank his neck with a guilty conscience and avoided Old Zhu's sword-like gaze. He knew what Lao Zhu meant. Wasn't it because he concealed the quantity of steel? But you can't blame him. He hasn't been to the banknote bureau today. Who knew that Mr. Huang and the others had already practiced so much.
But he didn't dare to explain this to Lao Zhu here. Even if he explained it, Lao Zhu might not listen. He might be angered and punish him. In that case, he would do it with Mao Xiang. They are inseparable brothers, so it is better not to say anything.
Lao Zhu glared at Han Du and then withdrew his gaze. Lao Zhu deserves to be an emperor, and his acting skills are at the level of a movie king. When he looked at Han Du, his face was gloomy. When he turned back to look at Huang Lao, he was already feeling refreshed.
He said to Mr. Huang in a gentle and polite tone: "Brother, thank you for your hard work. How much steel can you make in one day?" Mr. Huang also felt that something was wrong in the atmosphere just now, but seeing that the emperor was so easy to talk to, he didn't think much about it.
Faced with the emperor's question, Mr. Huang carefully glanced at Han Du and saw that he had an expressionless face without any expression.
Mr. Huang said truthfully: "It's not hard, it's not hard, it's all for the emperor. We can make about 80,000 kilograms of steel like this in a day now."
Eighty thousand catties!
Hearing this number, even with Lao Zhu's imperial character, his heart couldn't help but beat a few times. It was like 80,000 kilograms of steel weighing on his heart.
This is not 80,000 kilograms of iron. If it were pig iron, the imperial court would be able to smelt 70,000 to 80,000 kilograms of iron in one day. But this is high-quality steel, and 80,000 kilograms is enough for the imperial court to consume for a year.
But here, it is just the output of one furnace in Handu in one day.
Lao Zhu was filled with joy, and the look he looked at Han Du no longer had murderous intent, but was full of appreciation.
"Lead the way, I'll go see how you make it."
Han Du immediately ran to Lao Zhu's side, bowing like a bitch and saying, "Your Majesty, please come this way."
"Your Majesty, be careful. There is a small hole here. I will find someone to fill it later..."
"Your Majesty, pay attention. There is a small bump ahead. I will have someone shovel it later..."
Lao Zhu walked in front with his head held high, and Han Du who followed him looked more like a cute pet wagging his tail.
Come to the blast furnace.
Han Du specially found an open space to build a blast furnace, and built a one-foot-high wall around the furnace using masonry and cement. The purpose is to prevent anyone from prying into it. It’s okay if no one knows about the blast furnace, which is a powerful tool for making steel. Once word spreads about it in the future, it will naturally attract people to covet it. Secondly, it is because the temperature of the molten steel produced by the blast furnace is extremely high. Let alone being close to the blast furnace, dry grass can be ignited even from a foot away.
Handu not only had people clean up all the flammable things around the blast furnace, but also piled coal outside the fence.
"The common people pay their respects to the Emperor."
Seeing the emperor coming here, the craftsmen knelt down and saluted.
"No courtesy, please get up and go do your own thing."
Lao Zhu's voice was loud and clear, reaching everyone's ears clearly.
"Thank you, Your Majesty..."
The craftsman stood up, turned around and went to work on his own.
Lao Zhu looked up at the tall stove and asked casually: "Bao'er, what do you look like?"
Li Wenzhong took a closer look at the blast furnace and said, "Your Majesty, it looks like a gourd."
When Han Du heard this, he was also surprised. He raised his head and glanced at the blast furnace. Cao Guogong was right, it did look like a gourd.
After hearing this, Lao Zhu smiled and said: "Bao'er, you have good eyesight. I didn't expect that such a thing can directly refine iron and stone into refined steel."
Turning to look at Han Du, he asked doubtfully: "Why is this?"
In Lao Zhu's understanding, iron stone can only be turned into pig iron. If you want fine steel, it must be tempered again and again.
"Your Majesty, in the past, iron stone could only be smelted into pig iron. That was because the temperature of the furnace was not enough to refine the impurities in the pig iron. To put it simply, it was not fully burned. The reason why pig iron can be smelted into steel is because During the tempering process, the impurities inside can be removed bit by bit through constant folding and hammering.”
“When I understood this at that time, I was thinking, since the pig iron with the impurities removed is refined steel, can we directly remove the impurities by raising the temperature of the furnace? After all, the furnace can even refine iron. If we raise the temperature further, we might be able to refine the impurities. I didn't expect that I just tried it once and it actually succeeded, which is a great blessing to the Emperor."
Han Du spoke in detail, and Lao Zhu also listened attentively. After listening, he couldn't help but sigh: "It's reasonable and well-founded, and there are traces to follow. Not bad."
He pointed at the blast furnace and asked, "Then why did you make the furnace look like this?"
Han Du had already thought of an excuse for this and explained in an orderly manner: "At that time, I was racking my brains on how to increase the temperature of the stove. I didn't have any clue at first. Perhaps it was because of the care of Emperor Hongfu that one day I When I saw my family boiling water, I suddenly thought of a way. I found that when a pot of water is boiled and the lid is put on, the water boils in a much shorter time than when the lid is not put on. The water boils faster, which means that the water boils faster. The temperature of the water in the pot is higher. I thought at that time, since the temperature inside the pot can be increased by covering it with a lid, can the temperature of the furnace be increased in this way?"
"So, I thought of this method, sealing all the heat of the furnace inside the furnace. Unexpectedly, it actually worked."
Han Du's explanation made Lao Zhu very satisfied.
The ins and outs of what happened are clear and traceable. In particular, Han Du didn't pretend to be a ghost and tell him something about getting help from heaven, if there was any divine help, etc., but instead made guesses and tests based on the existing things from shallow to deep.
Be able to move from one phenomenon to another in life, from small to large. Lao Zhu especially appreciated this.
Seeing that Han Du had explained clearly, Lao Zhu nodded and asked, "Is this furnace of iron ready to be smelted? I want to see it with my own eyes."
Han Du was not sure about this, so he turned to look at Mr. Huang.
"It will take about half an hour to get back to the emperor." Mr. Huang immediately replied.
Lao Zhu nodded and said casually: "Then I will wait here."
How can you wait here?
Han Du still knows how dangerous it is here. If you dare to let Lao Zhu stay here, if something goes wrong, he won't be able to survive.
He quickly persuaded: "Your Majesty, it's safe here now, but when the molten steel comes out, it won't be safe here. We might as well exit first. We can still see it clearly outside."
Mr. Huang also helped, "Yes, Your Majesty. When the molten steel was being produced, the heat wave was rolling here, and even the clothes on your clothes seemed to be roasted. Even the common people tried to stay away as much as possible. Your Majesty must not stay here." .”
Seeing that both Han Du and Huang Lao were so insistent, Lao Zhu followed his instructions and retreated outside.
Seeing this, Han Du quickly arranged for someone to bring a chair for Lao Zhu to sit on.
He stood nearby and waited quietly.
Half an hour passed quickly.
When everything was ready, a craftsman shouted, "Turn on the furnace..."
Han Du leaned over and reminded Lao Zhu in his ear, "Your Majesty, just look at it twice at a time. The molten steel is bright and dazzling, so don't look at it for a long time. Looking at it for a long time will be harmful to your eyes."
Lao Zhu nodded slightly after hearing this.
As the thick furnace door was opened, a stream of red molten steel flowed out along the groove. There were bursts of fireworks wherever they went, and balls of flames suddenly exploded from the molten steel, as if the molten steel was burning, brilliant and dazzling.
Everyone present heard Han Du's reminder. After a few glances, they felt that their eyes felt a little uncomfortable, and they looked away without daring to look again.
Feeling the heat surging in front of him like a tide, Lao Zhu no longer persisted and led everyone further away.
Lao Zhu looked at Han Du beside him, smiled and sighed: "You have done a great job, you have solved an urgent need for the court."
Why don’t I know what’s so urgent?
Han Du's eyes were blank, but Lao Zhu didn't say anything, and he didn't dare to ask. I think it's something confidential that I shouldn't let myself know.
But Han Du didn't care, as long as Lao Zhu said he had merit.
Han Du put on a simple and honest smile on his face and said humbly: "It's all because of the Emperor's great blessings. I dare not take the credit..."
