Chapter 63 Mining and Metallurgy
"Sir, are you serious about this?" said an old craftsman.
Don't underestimate He Xi's conditions. Although not rich and powerful. But it’s also a guarantee that many people don’t get. After all, even officials of the Ming Dynasty did not have pensions after taking office. The monthly payment will be paid until the death of old age. is very attractive.
Not to mention, these craftsmen also understand He Xi's status. Now that He Xi has spoken. They have to come up with something.
Since He Xi has offered quite good conditions.
They don't dare to be ungrateful.
He Xi said: "This is not the first time for you to work with me. Which of the things I said have not been implemented?"
So these old craftsmen all agreed.
He Xi brought Ge Tiangong over and said, "I'll leave the metallurgy to you. You must write down all the experiences of these craftsmen, and then integrate them according to the methods I gave you. If there are some contradictions, conduct experiments. . Finally, a complete set of teaching materials was formed. Let students know how metal smelting is carried out. Don’t be afraid of fallacies in it, and it will not be too late to correct it in the future.”
This can also be regarded as a kind of technical investigation and sorting.
Although there is nothing too brilliant, He Xi even feels that the things compiled in this set are mostly outdated techniques that have been used in the Tang and Song Dynasties. After all, some unique skills are kept secret by the craftsmen. But to He Xi, this is not important.
There is only one basis. Use scientific experiments. He Xi does not think it is very difficult to innovate with this set of techniques.
And Ge Tiangong is not an ordinary person. In this regard, he can be regarded as having a family background. Naturally, there is a way to judge authenticity. He Xi's only worry is that Ge Tiangong has too little knowledge. After all, metallurgy is not just iron, but also copper, gold, silver and other metals.
Ge Tiangong said: "Yes."
He Xi said: "Leave the mining aspect to me."
He Xi did what he said.
I started talking to these craftsmen one by one.
He talked one by one during the day and compiled the records of the conversations at night. Although he didn't know what mining was about. But He Xi has undergone complete scientific thinking training, which is included in Chinese education.
He Xi spent several days and wrote an unknown amount of paper.
Princess Anqing felt very distressed.
Princess Anqing said: "How about you use your computer? Didn't you say typing is fast?"
He Xi looked at the computer and finally sighed and said: "No need, this computer is several years old. If in future generations, I will replace it. I don't know how many years it can run. You should do rescue excavation." . I don’t dare to work with him anymore. And even if I type it on the computer, I still have to copy it down, so why bother?”
The phone is fine. He Xi's mobile phone is considered new. After all, future generations will change their mobile phones every year or two. He Xi's mobile phone is much newer than her computer.
It's just that He Xi really can't believe the lifespan of these electronic products. After all, later generations of manufacturers have the concept of design for scrap when designing. I want these electronic products to last forever. Almost impossible.
So Princess Anqing had an important thing to do, which was to copy out the books on her mobile phone and computer.
There are two copies, one in He's house and one in the palace.
Nowadays, both mobile phones and computers are accompanied by a rosewood box, which is wrapped in layers of silk and satin. If we put it in future generations, the things out there would be enough to buy countless such electronic waste. But now these things are all to protect these two things as much as possible and extend their lifespan.
Princess Anqing said: "Then how are you doing?"
He Xi said: "It's pretty good. Mining has its own explanations, but in summary, the first one is prospecting. I really can't understand this point. They are all mysterious and mysterious. There are plants and trees for positioning. Maybe there is some truth. Some plants behave differently if there are metal minerals under them. Some use compasses to locate them, perhaps because there is a magnetic field around the iron ore, and some use Feng Shui to locate them? I really don’t understand this.”
"I can only write them down one by one so that others can identify them in the future."
He Xi said less. In fact, what kind of soil corresponds to what kind of mine? Wherever in the mountain, there is a mine.
It's all experience. It cannot rise to the theoretical height. However, He Xi listened as if he were reading a book from heaven. I even think that some of the scenes in it would be good to write into Xian Xia.
In particular, He Xi can be reminded of the story of waiting for the rabbit. The matter of prospecting is like waiting for a rabbit. Someone caught a rabbit using this method, and it was passed down as the experience of our ancestors. Other methods of catching rabbits have also been passed down.
It's just that the various methods are fragmented and cannot form a system at all. There is no consistent way to explain these phenomena in one way.
Princess Anqing actually didn't care what He Xi was talking about. She only cares about what day she will talk about it again. She blinked her big eyes and said, "Is there more?"
He Xi said: "I know everything else and can understand it. I roughly divide the key points of mining into several parts. The first is site selection. This site selection is different from the previous ore prospecting. This is for sure After the mining of minerals, where to start. Everyone has their own opinions. But generally speaking, it is based on the sudden convenience of mining. Open-pit mining. There are vertical holes and there are horizontal holes. In fact, these two are even shapes. One is horizontal and the other is open-pit mining. Vertical, ever-changing, the bottom can be dug like a maze. The most important thing is to support it. Without support, the hole will collapse, which will kill people. How to support it has its own explanation. The specifics are simply carpentry work, each The techniques are different. They are mostly frame structures. A square frame supports the surroundings. But what to do specifically? A piece of wood is pressed on top, and there are no iron nails in the middle. It is too particular. It feels like a ghost blowing a lamp. "
This is not what He Xi said. But since ancient times, mining disasters have occurred. However, people don’t know enough about why mining accidents occur. Naturally, they must be attributed to ghosts and gods. There are various rules corresponding to the ghosts and gods.
Some of them are real experiences, just wearing the skin of ghosts and gods. Some of them are just nonsense and feudal superstition, but the craftsmen believe them without any doubt and must not act rashly.
In He Xi's opinion, that was Shen Shen Nao Nao.
"Besides that, it's about letting out water and ventilating it. Water needs to be released outside to prevent rainwater from pouring in. Water must also be released inside. Let the water have a place to flow. Then there is mining and transportation. The efficiency is also very slow, almost one by one. Use a hammer to knock off the ore. Use a bamboo basket to carry it out. After the ore is carried out, it is crushed, ground, washed with water, and finally turned into mineral sand."
“I didn’t know until today that the best iron ore in Ming Dynasty is mineral sand.”
He Xi opened his eyes and said: "In a word, this method will only work if there are enough ores."
Every one of these things is physical work, even if it is not about mining, it is all kinds of preparations before mining. It was all done by one person at once. Efficiency cannot be increased.
Princess Anqing said: "What should we do?"
He Xi said: "What should we do, cold salad? Things always have to be solved. However, I can't be here with you for a while. You can just stay here to escape the summer heat."
Princess Anqing said: "Where are you going?"
He Xi said: "Of course I go to the mine. Many things cannot be solved without going to the site in person. Just looking at these things cannot be solved. And I am also curious about some things, so I go and see them."
Princess Anqing said: "What is it?"
He Xi said: "These craftsmen mentioned a method called the hot method, but I don't know if it is the hot method I think of."
In He Xi's view, using gunpowder to mine mines is a matter of course. But none of these craftsmen mentioned this matter. There was only one hot method, but they were still unclear. He Xi naturally wanted to take a look. Has anyone used gunpowder? It hasn't spread yet.
After all, in this era, technology spreads very slowly. Many people regard many technologies as the foundation of their family and pass them down to their sons rather than their daughters. It’s strange that it spreads so quickly.
Although Princess Anqing was reluctant to part with He Xi, when He Xi made up her mind, Princess Anqing could not keep her. I can only send He Xi away.
