Dajin picked up a god of war

Chapter 548 True and False Steel
"Master Wei was recommended by General Craftsman. I naturally know that he has the best craftsmanship."

While the others were joking, Wang Mi saw Wei Ninger repeatedly beating the pig iron into wrought iron, and then handed it over to the apprentices while the iron was still soft.

The next step, the operation is relatively simple, Wei Ninger does not intend to do it herself, there is absolutely no problem in handing it over to the apprentices.

Wang Mi came to the forging table and watched the apprentices swiftly stretch the pliable and mature iron material into a more pliable iron rod.

There is still a distance of [-] miles from forging a qualified steel plate here. Wang Mi watched it seriously, and asked some questions from time to time.

For example, from pig iron to wrought iron, about how many times it needs to be repeated, where are these iron materials mined and so on.

"Unexpectedly, Wang Shilang is really an expert, and he actually knows that different iron materials make forged steel plates different."

"I do know some things, but I don't know the specific differences. However, the iron materials in the workshop should be the best, but there is no doubt about this."

In the end, it was in the palace, even if the Sima family said it didn't count, but the status was still there. Not to mention precious metals like gold and silver, copper and iron grade metals were still the best in terms of supply.

Wei Ning'er got off the blast furnace and said with a smile, "These iron materials are all picked from the Stone Town near Jiankang, and they are indeed of high quality."

Stone City, which is indeed rich in minerals.

"I remember that there was a lot of copper in Stone City. Could it be that iron has been discovered recently?"

This Wang Shilang was not an ordinary person. Wang Mi only said a few words and shocked the apprentices and their master Lao Wei.

"Wang Shilang really is Bo Wen Guang Ji, the little ones are really convinced!"

"Master Wei, you don't need to flatter me blindly. I only know some hearsay information, and the specific situation is not clear."

"It's just that Stone City is very close to Jiankang. If there are high-quality iron materials there, it will be of great benefit to what we will do in the future."

Wei Ninger raised the blast furnace fire again. The key point of pouring steel is the combination of wrought iron and pig iron. You must master the heat, and the timing can't be wrong.

At this step, the apprentices can already do a good job, but now that Wang Mi is a high-ranking official here, he must do it himself.

"Wang Shilang is right. Since iron ore was also discovered in Stone City, it is much easier to do errands in the workshop."

Wei Ning'er is an expert in blacksmithing. Before entering the palace, he had been running this job all year round in Jiankang City for more than ten years. Now he has been in the palace for seven or eight years.

Wang Mi was right, the new batch of iron materials are indeed of high quality, and they were all newly excavated from Stone City.

It has more iron content and is easier to forge, which can be clearly seen from the number of repeated beatings and the style of the finished product.

The apprentices put the coiled wrought iron bars aside, and then put the unforged pig iron into the circle of wrought iron bars.

At this point, it can be said that the emergence of steel is one step closer.

Next, these raw and cooked iron materials will enter the forging blast furnace again, and at this time, the blast furnace that was originally open in the open air needs to be sealed.

The sealing step is also very important. If the sealing is not complete, let alone steel, even high-quality wrought iron cannot be obtained, and a furnace of iron is wasted.

This is absolutely not allowed!
Why was a mature craftsman competing for everyone in ancient times?

It is because the loss of raw materials can be reduced only with a certain level of technical proficiency, and this is really important for the ancient imperial courts where raw materials were scarce and transportation was unfavorable!

"Master Wei, what kind of mud do you need to seal?"

"Which mud works best?"

Wei Ninger repeatedly beat the yellow mud block prepared by his apprentice several times, held it in his hand, and began to seal it along the edge of the blast furnace.

"It doesn't matter if you say this. Ever since I was a child, I started to learn from a teacher. The master taught me to use yellow clay, and I have been using yellow clay since I was a child."

"But, this yellow mud has been sealed for a long time, won't it crack?"

"Will this be bad for the iron in the furnace?"

He picked up a piece of yellow mud and weighed it in his hand. It was indeed quite heavy.

"This, Xiao did not think about it, but the problem Wang Shilang said does occasionally arise, but what effect will it have on the iron material, Xiao has no knowledge, and really can't see it."

The limitation of ancient craftsmen lies in this. Their skills are obviously very good, but in the face of some small problems, they always lack the motivation to study further.

Sometimes there will be a selfish idea that after teaching the apprentice, the master will have nothing to eat, and he does not necessarily want to teach the apprentice exactly the unique secret skills that he knows.

"Master Wei, listen to me, you might as well try adding a few strands of hair into the yellow mud so that it won't break."

"hair?"

"Wang Shilang is joking, this thing is precious, the little ladies on the street make a new bun, and a string of copper coins can't buy it!"

When it comes to hair, Old Wei suddenly became worried. He is a sincere person, and he immediately thought of the expensive buns sold in the street market.

These buns are used by the wealthy and noble ladies in order to weave new buns. That is to say, the rich and fluffy buns we have seen from ancient books, some towering into the sky, some Holding both cheeks, in fact, it is often not made by the owner's own hair, and it is also necessary to use a bun wig.

Of course, in ancient times, there was no process for making plastic wigs. All wigs were actually made of real hair, and the price was naturally expensive.

Most of the craftsmen in the inner court are not very wealthy, how can they dare to use them?

"Master Wei, you misunderstood, you don't need so much hair, and it won't make you bald at all."

In front of Wang Mi's eyes, several elementary school apprentices had already opened their hands and started to protect their heads.

In other words, if these ancient people practiced what kind of parents, these things were not a problem for him, Wang Mi.

"You don't need a lot of hair, just a few."

"Just use mine." While speaking, Wang Mi pulled out a few hairs from the bun and mixed them into the yellow mud that was about to go to the blast furnace.

"This...this is unacceptable!"

"I can't make it, Master Wei, hurry up and work!"

The blue silk has fallen, irretrievably.

No way, Lao Wei could only follow Wang Mi's instructions to rub the yellow mud block again, and paste it on the edge of the blast furnace.

In this way, after repeated firing for a period of time, fresh crude steel can be obtained. Of course, from a modern perspective, what the ancients called steel is not real steel, but fake.

The carbon content is still very high, and the strength cannot be raised at all.

(End of this chapter)