The spring is bright, warm and cold at first.
In this spring, although all kinds of creatures have already begun to devote themselves to the short and eternal life process with extremely strong energy, God is not happy.
After spring comes, when even the laziest locust trees have taken out their leaf buds, the temperature begins to fluctuate like a roller coaster.
Fortunately, the ground temperature has warmed up, and the lowest temperature is only about 10 degrees Celsius. Even cold-blooded insects can barely tolerate it. Only those with weak constitutions will unfortunately be eliminated in this season full of vitality.
Today is a slightly cold day, and many insects choose to hibernate. However, a large group of ants did not stay in the warm underground nests. Instead, they climbed up this tall and large poplar tree that has stood upright for many years.
This is an ant army, a newly formed army of the King of Divine Envoys under the command of the protagonist. The commander is Mantis. They are on a mission.
The mission target is a hive at the top of a big tree.
This poplar tree is the poplar tree near the entrance of the nest in "East Yang City". The bee nest in the tree is also an old acquaintance of the protagonist.
The protagonist had the idea of this hive a long time ago. At that time, he mainly wanted to obtain some bee eggs and tame them to serve as mounts for flying knights. Some honey was also available as a substitute for the scarce honeydew at the time.
However, bees are no different from ordinary insects. They are very similar to ants and have a social structure. Each bee will turn into the most fearless warrior when the nest is attacked.
The protagonist was not sure that he could achieve sufficient results with low casualties. In addition, the fly mount was still competent enough at the time, and the aphid colony was also growing steadily, so the protagonist gave up this unrealistic idea.
What prompted the protagonist to make up his mind again was the technological progress of the God Envoy King's army.
After the copper smelting experiment, "Dongyang City" dug a new copper smelting blast furnace again, improved the copper outlet, and finally obtained a small amount of usable copper nuggets.
But the problem that comes with it is that the ants have no way to process the copper that has been extracted.
When ants process stone tools, they need to find gravel pieces of the right size and shape, or they can heat large pieces of gravel and then sprinkle water on them to break them up, and then look for suitable pieces. Then keep grinding to get tools like a gravel knife.
However, this process is not suitable for processing copper. The copper block will only melt when heated and will not crack into a suitable shape, and the polishing efficiency is also very low.
In the human world, bronze wares are generally cast.
The protagonist also wanted to learn from this method at the beginning. For example, the mold for making copper knives can cast a large number of finished products at one time. It is not only highly efficient, but also can achieve standardized production.
The commonly used mold casting method is the lost wax method.
The lost wax method, also known as the "lost wax method" and "investment method", is a precision casting method used for metal objects made of bronze and other materials. The lost wax method is a major creation of early metal civilization. It occupies an important historical position in the history of Eastern and Western metallurgy and plays an important role in promoting the evolution of casting technology.
The general method is to use beeswax to make a casting model, then fill the mud core with other refractory materials and lay it into an outer mold. After heating and baking, all the wax mold melts and is lost, turning the entire casting model into an empty shell. Then the molten liquid is poured inside, and the utensil is cast.
The advantage of the lost wax method is that it can cast castings with complex shapes, and the cast objects are exquisite and clear, with a hollow effect. Moreover, raw materials such as wax can be reused, which also reduces costs.
The principle of lost wax casting technology originated from the lost wax method. The lost wax method is more primitive than the lost wax method. It burns and destroys the internal wax and other fillers, which is very wasteful. China's burning method technology was first seen in the middle and late Shang Dynasty. This technology gradually disappeared after the appearance of the lost wax method.
The history of China's lost-wax method can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The earliest bronze ware cast using the lost-wax method was Xiong Shenyu, king of the Communist Party of Chu. In addition, the cloud-patterned copper ban in the mid-Spring and Autumn Period and the drum pier in Suizhou unearthed from the Chu tomb in Xiasi, Xichuan The bronze panzun unearthed from the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng during the Warring States Period is also a typical artifact made by the lost wax method. From the Han and Tang dynasties to the Ming and Qing dynasties, the lost wax method was passed down and carried forward by generations of craftsmen and has endured for a long time. It is still a commonly used bronze casting technique today.
In the West, the lost wax method also has a long history. Ancient civilizations in Iran, Mesopotamia, Egypt and other places already used the lost wax method to cast ornaments and small devices around the middle of the third millennium BC or earlier. , earlier than China. In ancient Greece and Rome, the lost wax method was widely used to cast lifelike statues, and its exquisite craftsmanship is still amazing today.
The biggest and most important difference between the Chinese and Western lost wax methods lies in the preparation method of the wax material used and the making technique of the wax model, which also affects the process flow and even the artistic style of the casting.
Traditional Chinese wax materials are composed of beeswax (or beeswax, paraffin wax), rosin and vegetable oil (or beef tallow, sheep fat), in different proportions according to climate conditions.
During preparation, wax, rosin and oil are put in sequence in a heated container, and stirred into a paste while melting; take it out after cooling slightly, and repeatedly draw it to become a suitable wax.
This technological measure is of decisive significance. It is a multi-phase system composed of solid dispersed phase and liquid dispersed medium. When the composition is constant, its plasticity depends on the dispersion and distribution uniformity of the solid phase and liquid phase. Through repeated mechanical drawing, the solid wax is fully mixed with liquid rosin and oil, and the color changes from dark yellow to light yellow, becoming a wax with excellent plasticity that can be twisted, bent, and rolled into sheets under pressure. Shape into stems and roll into strips.
The wax material with such good plasticity gives the caster a great degree of freedom of operation. According to different situations and needs, it can be shaped by hand (hence the term "pinch wax"), or it can be molded with a "plectrum". Forming (commonly known as "wax pulling"), or using a wooden template to press the wax into shape ("stripping wax").
In other words, the traditional Chinese lost-wax method is used to make wax patterns in a solid state using wax processed by special techniques.
The Western lost wax method uses wax and rosin to prepare wax materials. In order to improve the plasticity, a small amount of animal and vegetable oils must be added. Wax molds are formed using liquid or semi-liquid wax materials by pouring, enameling or brushing techniques. In some cases, the wax is pressed into sheets and attached to the inner surface of the mold. Detailed modifications often rely on engraving.
No matter which Chinese or Western lost wax method is used, a large amount of wax is required. Although wax is not rare in nature, the protagonist's current choices are very limited.
This forced him to turn his attention to this nest of bees that he had coveted for a long time.
