Chapter 34 The enthusiasm of craftsmen
If one person is rewarded, then the three armies will be brave and will be rewarded. If one person is killed, the three armies will be frightened and must be killed.
He Xi unintentionally followed this art of war, and his kindness to the Ge family was like Shang Yang's standing timber at the city gate. Completely captured the trust of these craftsmen. While He Xi was sleeping soundly, almost all the craftsmen were awake.
Some craftsmen wished that they were the ones who died today.
One by one, they thought hard and tried to find ways to perfect the method of steelmaking based on He Xi's theory.
In the same era, so-called peerless geniuses are rare. But there are a lot of geniuses. To put it bluntly, these craftsmen who can be selected may be slightly less powerful than Foreman Ge. But the decision is not much different, more like it should be between brothers.
Each has strengths in different aspects.
Whatever Foreman Ge can think of, they can think of it too. Not to mention improving on Foreman Ge's plan. Everyone has their own ideas.
So, there was a meeting early the next morning. For the first time, He Xi saw the enthusiastic speeches of almost all the craftsmen.
To be honest, He Xi didn't know much about some details. Many craftsmen didn’t quite understand what He Xi said.
However, He Xi knew exactly what he was doing. It doesn't matter if you don't understand, he asked Ge Tiangong to take notes. Then list all the opinions, and then discuss them one by one. If there is a conflict, choose one. If there is no conflict, merge them.
The discussion lasted a whole day.
Only then did we discuss two options. It is to implement the two routes of Foreman Ge.
And a timetable was planned. After about ten days of preparation, the second experiment can be carried out.
Don’t think ten days is a long time. Among other things, rebuild the blast furnace. Even if refractory bricks are removed from the old blast furnace, it will take some time for the blast furnace to completely dry out. This is already the fastest.
In fact, at this time, the coking earth kiln had already started and never stopped. Hoarding coking coal.
He Xi was also surprised by the changes in these people. He asked Ge Tiangong what happened. Ge Tiangong said: "Everyone appreciates the teacher's virtue and is willing to be used by him?"
He Xi didn't really believe this, but the emperor was not short of hungry soldiers, so with a stroke of his pen, he rewarded all the treasures he brought to the craftsmen, and everyone involved had a share. Xu Baoer was immediately ordered to return to the palace and report to the prince. Let the prince make money.
After all, in He Xi's view, not to mention the Hongwu period, it was the most abundant period for the Ming Dynasty's treasury. Even if Daming does not have enough money, it should not discount its steelmaking project. In this era, this project is equivalent to New China’s two bombs and one satellite. Definitely on a strategic level. There is a sense of strategic priority.
Therefore, he did not hesitate to spend money at all.
As a result, the craftsmen who were originally highly motivated were rained with money. Even food and accommodation are on the construction site. Progress is rapid.
First, for the second completed route, the molten iron is introduced into the square pool for stirring. However, because the craftsmen could not control the heat well, the first few furnaces produced still wrought iron. But after the third furnace, it’s steel.
It's just that the quality is not very stable.
However, the steel quality requirements for the armor pieces required for iron armor are not too high. As long as it's steel.
He Xi immediately dispatched some craftsmen to start building the water hammer beside the blast furnace.
The use of water power was familiar to Ming craftsmen. But hydraulic power has not been directly used for machining before. This requires some temporary changes. This will all take time.
He Xi did not care about the matters here. He was still waiting for the construction of the new blast furnace to be successful.
Ten days later, the new blast furnace was finally completed.
However, it is much smaller than the previous blast furnace, about as tall as a person. The duct blower doesn't cut anything though. Feeding is still done from the top, and molten steel comes out directly from the bottom. If there is not enough feed, what is put in is not iron ore, but pig iron.
Under He Xi's watchful eye, the second experiment began.
Originally, He Xi thought it would take one day and one night. But by the afternoon, the craftsmen had reported that molten steel could be produced.
This time the speed was much faster than expected.
What surprised He Xi even more was that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince arrived.
"His Royal Highness, you are here like this." He Xi said in shock when he saw the prince suddenly arriving.
The prince was accompanied by a group of attendants. He said: "Brother He has not been in the palace these days. My father has been talking about you. He has been busy with the Southern Expedition. I have free time today, so I naturally want to see you. How is everything going well?"
He Xi said: "The prince came just in time, the furnace is just about to start."
The prince looked at the small blast furnace. Even though it was some distance away, he could still feel a wave of heat coming towards it. Turning autumn into a sweltering summer. Said: "Is that good? Look at your results, Brother He."
"The furnace is on--" shouted a shirtless craftsman wearing calf shorts. Use a long iron rod to aim at the tap hole under the small blast furnace and stab it hard. In just a few strokes, the reserved hole was opened.
The red molten iron surged out from the tap hole.
The molten iron gradually settled from the channel reserved on the ground.
At the same time, someone pushed a cart and pushed carts of coke and pig iron onto the furnace mouth from the reserved slope, and then carefully added the materials into the red furnace from above. This is also a key improvement.
This improvement is to use the temperature of the furnace to continuously input materials so that the blast furnace can operate around the clock.
Greatly save fuel and improve production efficiency. Unless there is a problem with the blast furnace and it needs to be repaired, it can continue without interruption. Even in modern steel companies, power outage is absolutely not allowed. This is also the reason. Otherwise, once the heating stops, the molten steel will solidify in the iron furnace, destroying the entire steel furnace.
He Xi actually didn't understand the significance of these improvements, or even the technical essentials of this blast furnace. It just put forward the principles of the promotion program and then stimulated the enthusiasm of the craftsmen. It can be said to be the integration of China's thousands of years of steelmaking technology.
Just achieve this effect.
He Xi didn't pay attention to the craftsmen who were adding materials. Instead, he looked at the solidified steel ingots.
The prince did not go and check it himself. But it moved slightly. A guard next to him stepped forward and knocked two still-warm steel ingots against each other to listen for the sound. Then his face changed slightly. Then he placed the steel ingot on an earth platform. One leg comes forward slightly, and the other leg forms a lunge. Press your hand on the knife. Squat down slightly. There seemed to be a force bursting out from the soles of the feet. With a clang, the sword was unsheathed and slashed down. First, there was a "collapse", and then an unstoppable "buzz" sound.
The former is the sound of a long knife breaking, and the latter is the broken handle of a long knife. It seems that it has no remaining strength and is shaking constantly.
The guard who drew the sword had his mouth broken open and blood was flowing down.
The prince then stepped forward and looked at the steel ingot. There was only a shallow mark. When I touch it with my hand, it seems to be invisible. But if you touch it carefully, you can still feel it.
The prince said: "Good steel. Really good steel."
The prince knew very well what equipment his personal bodyguards were equipped with. After the prince's personal bodyguards are all lieutenant generals, everyone has the best armor and weapons. Especially the weapon in his hand. They are all made from fine steel and are the best weapons. There are not many in the army, and they are only used by him, his father, and the generals in the army as personal guards. The number in the whole country is estimated to be more than 10,000.
I don't dare to cut through the iron like clay, but I should cut into the steel ingot a little bit. At least there will be a gap, rather than a direct break.
This shows the quality of this steel ingot.
He Xi smiled softly and said: "Your Highness, this is the preliminary result. If it takes a few days, there will be something more subtle for the prince to see."
The prince said: "But, your new armor and water hammer?"
He Xi was stunned for a moment and said, "The prince knows."
The prince said: "Father is very concerned about you and what you are doing here. Father has people report to you every day. In fact, I came here today because I have something to do."
Zhu Yuanzhang's concern, in the prince's view, was a show of favor for He Xi. There are countless ministers of the Ming Dynasty. Not expecting this kind of treatment. But He Xi felt a little bit bitter. However, he was mentally prepared.
He Xi suppressed the bitterness in her heart and said, "What are the prince's orders?"
The prince said: "How many days will it take to complete your new armor? Also, are you sure about it?"
He Xi said: "If everything goes well, the next batch of molten steel will come out. If it doesn't go well, it will only happen in these three to five days."
The prince said: "Brother He, do you know what I have been busy with these days?"
He Xi said: "The prince just said that it was about the Southern Expedition."
The prince said: "We are almost ready for the Southern Expedition. We have the Marquis of Yingchuan as the commander-in-chief and the Marquis of Xiping as the deputy commander-in-chief. They will lead the army in Sichuan and Huguang. The first camp in Beijing has a total of 300,000 people. Among them, there are probably ten elites. Tens of thousands of people. In the past few days, military orders have been issued and they have rushed to various places in the southwest. And the Marquis of Yingchuan has been out of the capital for a few days. My father wants the Marquis of Yingchuan to take a look at your new armor before leaving. Do you know the meaning behind it? .”
The prince turned around and threw aside the steel ingot in his hand. He looked at He Xi with sharp eyes.
He Xi was stunned, thought for a while, and said, "I have some guesses. I just don't dare to lie."
The prince waved his hand, and the people around him immediately took a few dozen steps back.
The prince said: "Of course you can't say these things to others, but Brother He is one of our own. My father values you so much, so I have something to say. As an elder brother, I also want to tell you. My father is the founding king of the country, and he is majestic and powerful. Now the world is under heaven, and the subjects of the world are indifferent and unsubmissive. No monarch or ministers trust him, and they are not afraid of the Marquis of Yingchuan. Hmph, the Marquis of Yingchuan is good at using troops, but can it compare to the achievements of my father, who defeated Chen Youliang in the west and defeated Zhang Shicheng in the east?"
"However, people's hearts are unpredictable, and they want both the monarch and his ministers. Not only must the father be magnanimous, but also the ministers must know the capabilities of the court. Don't think about things you shouldn't think about. Even if you have thoughts that you shouldn't think about, you can't do it. You should know that he can’t do it.”
