Early July.
In order to put the iron yard into operation as soon as possible, Liu Yan spent a lot of money and hired more than a hundred craftsmen alone, recruiting almost all the craftsmen from nearby Wangjiazhuang. At the same time, Liu Yan also mobilized more than 400 military households from various places to work in the ruins of the bandit camp deep in Tiechu Mountain for more than ten days before the iron yard began to take shape.
Of course, for the sake of confidentiality, Liu Yan only ordered the construction of corresponding houses this time and did not mine iron ore.
The subsequent mining and smelting matters were handled by the chief Gao Yunshan, his disciples, and military households transferred from various parts of Wangjiazhuang.
Liu Yan didn't need to worry about mining. After all, Gao Yunshan was originally doing this, and he directly handed over the preparations for mining to a few apprentices. Nowadays, gunpowder can be used for mining, which is very convenient and progress is very rapid. Various equipment for mining are also in place. It took Liu Yan a lot of effort to obtain these things.
Moreover, the operation of the iron ore is also carried out first. After the iron yard has reserved a part of the iron ore, the iron smelting yard will start smelting.
What really attracted Liu Yan was the smelting process.
So after a while, after the first batch of iron ore was produced in the mine that was put into production first, Liu Yan came to the iron yard again and began his own guidance and inspection tour.
Liu Yan rushed to the iron yard, and flag officer Miao Shao and chief officer Gao Yunshan came out to greet him. At this time, Gao Yunshan has been in charge here for some time, but he still has not fully adapted to his new identity. He still maintains his original low profile in dealing with the people and things around him.
After Liu Yan exchanged a few pleasantries with the two of them, he went straight to the topic and, accompanied by Gao Yunshan and Miao Shao, came to the iron smelting field.
At this time, three blast furnaces have been built in the ironmaking field, and the remaining three blast furnaces are under construction. Some remaining houses and facilities are also being built. Of course, the craftsmen who are still busy building here are basically military households in Wangjiazhuang. For the sake of confidentiality, the outside craftsmen have been dismissed one after another.
"Sir, are you coming to guide us in making iron?"
Gao Yunshan and Miao Shao were both surprised. They didn't expect Liu Yan to know how to make iron. Gao Yunshan, in particular, thought to himself: "Isn't this gentleman an amateur commanding an expert? If that's the case, how can I do it?"
In fact, what Liu Yan has to do is very simple, which is to add a regenerator to the ironmaking furnace in the ironmaking yard.
At this time, the iron-smelting furnaces used for iron-making in the Ming Dynasty were all open, and the thermal efficiency of the fuel was very low. According to Liu Yan's method, a regenerator is built with heat-resistant materials to increase the thermal efficiency of the fuel.
The greater function of this regenerator is actually to increase the furnace temperature, which can be used in steelmaking. The maximum temperature of the furnace for smelting pig iron is less than 1,200 degrees, and the molten steel needs to be melted to reach 1,600 degrees. However, there are not yet enough heat-resistant materials to make a furnace. Liu Yan can only try it with the existing blast furnace, and then seize the time to develop refractory bricks for building steel-making furnaces.
At this time, Gao Yunshan was under the command of Liu Yan. Although he was a little murmuring in his heart, he still took the order and was calling the manpower at the iron smelting yard to rebuild the iron smelting furnace according to Liu Yan's wishes. It happened that the masons who were building the ironworks were all there, so this happened to be done at the same time.
By renovating the iron smelting furnace, Liu Yan became acquainted with Tang Yuan, the director of the iron smelting yard. This Tang Yuan was a disciple of Gao Yunshan. He was probably in his thirties, but he looked as if he was forty or fifty years old.
The design drawings of the new ironmaking furnace are actually in Liu Yan's mind. Throughout the day, the ironmaking field was busy with preparations for steelmaking. Under the command of Gao Yunshan, the craftsmen of the ironmaking field were burning bricks. As materials were being prepared, the carpenters rolled up their sleeves and got to work, and the entire ironworks was a busy scene.
That night, Liu Yan saw that the preparations for steelmaking were not over yet, and it looked like it would be tomorrow, so he slept directly in the office room of the iron yard.
Gao Yunshan is still busy. Although Gao Yunshan is not very optimistic about Liu Yan's command, but for some reason, after listening to Liu Yan's words, Gao Yunshan subconsciously believed that he would be able to refine the essence according to Liu Yan's method. Tie Lai, it’s really strange to think about it.
At this time, Gao Yunshan, who had worked part-time as a blacksmith all his life, seemed very excited. He rolled up his sleeves and kept shouting at his blacksmiths and apprentices, making final preparations for transforming the blast furnace and making iron.
"Everyone, please work harder! We must be ready tonight. Every morning, we will smelt the first furnace of refined iron. Your Excellency is still waiting for news from us!"
In fact, according to the renovation drawings given by Liu Yan, the renovation project of the iron smelting furnace in the ironmaking yard is not complicated, and even the bricks do not need to be fired. Gao Yunshan and Tang Yuan discussed it and demolished a half-built charcoal kiln. Together with the collapsed furnace, they had enough refractory bricks for Liu Yan's needs.
What everyone spent time preparing was charcoal, iron materials, and clearing out all people and objects within fifty steps of the new iron furnace.
According to Liu Yan, this iron-making was a test of the water. For safety reasons, the area around the iron-smelting furnace must be cleared to prevent the furnace from suddenly collapsing and catching fire during the iron-making process.
Early the next morning, Gao Yunshan and a group of craftsmen, who had been busy all night, gathered next to the Xinye Iron Furnace. Everyone's faces were full of joy and curiosity.
At this time, Liu Yan also rushed over and took a closer look at the new iron smelting furnace.
I saw that this new iron smelting furnace was actually a pit dug directly on the top of the pit next to the original iron smelting furnace, and a small brick house was built. The brick house had a honeycomb-like refractory brick structure.
After that, the craftsmen dug out a passage leading to the blast vent of the stove, which was also built with bricks. On the brick house, a passage was also built with bricks, close to the stove top. A chimney was built in the middle of the passage, and a convex tube structure was set up. A fan made of iron sheets was installed behind the convex tube and was shaken manually. The smoke can escape from the chimney, and the light hot air can be drawn by fans into the regenerator to increase the temperature in the iron smelting furnace.
The rest of the work is all finishing work, the work of the carpenter and blacksmith.
Miao Shao looked at this weird-looking blast furnace and whispered, "Is this kind of furnace really easy to use?"
Liu Yan heard it and said with a smile: "Don't worry, it will definitely be useful!"
Over there, after receiving Liu Yan's advice, Gao Yunshan led the carpenters and blacksmiths to modify the air blast vent so that it led directly to the regenerator, and the air inlet was placed on the regenerator side. These tasks are not difficult. Gao Yunshan and several carpenters and blacksmiths completed the renovation in a few clicks.
At this time, Liu Yan specifically looked up at the top of the furnace. If it was to refine iron, the ideal regenerator would of course be to close the top of the furnace. But at the moment, it was just a renovation, so he had to consider opening the furnace top. Feed.
Therefore, Liu Yan's plan could only be to use iron sheets to make a large speaker that could cover the top of the furnace after feeding the materials. Above the bell mouth is a curved iron pipe, and the other end can be inserted into the brick passage.
In short, Liu Yan's design was very crude and far inferior to the steel-making furnaces of later generations. However, Gao Yunshan and others were still shocked by one of the details.
"Sir, why do the iron blades of this fan spin so fast when I shake it slightly?"
Gao Yunshan looked at the newly prepared iron furnace and asked curiously.
In fact, in other iron smelting furnaces, the fan rotates very slowly. No matter how hard the furnace worker works, it cannot rotate too fast. Therefore, in the blacksmith shop, there is a saying that the furnace worker is as tired as a plowing cow.
The reason why the fan of this new iron furnace can spin so fast is because Liu Yan specially designed a variable speed gear made of wood to drive the hand-cranked fan.
The idea of this speed change gear was inspired by Liu Yan's sight of the pulley block he had taken out at the ironmaking site yesterday, and he asked Gao Yunshan to take someone to install it.
Although Gao Yunshan led people to install these gears, he didn't know what they were or what their function was. Naturally, he couldn't understand the mystery, so he asked this question.
"There's a lot to learn to understand this."
Liu Yan is not just trying to deal with Gao Yunshan. The reason why this fan rotates faster is like a bicycle chain. People who know it find it very simple, but people who don't know it have to figure out a lot of things before they can understand it.
Gao Yunshan let out a disappointed sigh after hearing this, but his expression was natural and not angry.
After all, in this era, craftsmen and masters from all walks of life are guarding their own unique skills. This is a way for one person to make a living and pass it on to the family. Since Liu Yan didn't want to talk, Gao Yunshan naturally couldn't ask further questions.
"Master Gao, when I am free for a while, I will take the time to give lectures and give everyone some of the things I know. If you want to learn, just come and listen to the lectures. Remember to bring the people in the iron yard who want to learn, craftsmen Either as an apprentice or as an apprentice.”
Liu Yan's words made Gao Yunshan's eyes widen, as if an egg had been stuffed into his mouth. For a moment, he even thought that Liu Yan had lost his mind!
Gao Yunshan opened his mouth, and it took him a long time to come back to his senses. He nodded quickly, why don't you learn? These skills of Liu Yan can be passed down from generation to generation!
Tang Yuan, the supervisor next to him, was very excited after hearing Liu Yan's words, and murmured: "My lord is really not an ordinary person!"
Gao Yunshan glared at Tang Yuan and said, "Do you even need to say this?"
At this time, the new iron furnace has been built and the charcoal and iron materials have been prepared. The only thing left is to accept the results.
Although Liu Yan still looked confident, he was also worried. After all, he had only seen how to make iron in books, but he had never practiced it. The specific situation would not be known until he practiced it. Fortunately, Gao Yunshan and others are experts. Even if there are any shortcomings in the technology proposed by Liu Yan, these skilled craftsmen can correct it themselves.
"This stove has a lot of extra charcoal, and it may consume more charcoal..."
At this moment, a blacksmith next to him muttered in a low voice, and was immediately slapped by Gao Yunshan next to him. The blacksmith quickly shrank his neck and stopped talking, but there was still some hesitation in his eyes.
However, the blacksmith's words also attracted Gao Yunshan's attention. After all, if refined iron is really refined, it will probably cost a lot more than the previous refining of pig iron. Moreover, Liu Yan will definitely start making steel on a large scale by then, and the cost of the iron yard will increase dramatically by then!
"When the time comes, the cost of the iron yard will be so high. Will adults have enough money and food to support it? Don't give up halfway!"
Gao Yunshan also murmured in his heart. He had just found a good job in Wangjiazhuang, but he couldn't just give up halfway.
Just when Gao Yunshan was muttering secretly, Liu Yan saw that everything was ready and shouted: "Fire!"
Some people died, but not completely...
