After five years of teaching support, Daming became an empire on which the sun never sets.

Chapter 171 A blast furnace like this can't be used
"In addition, after the technical improvement of gunpowder, it can also be used in Hongwu iron cannons." Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Let the Gunpowder Bureau allocate a large amount of new black powder. We have seen the ratio of the two gunpowder formulas just now. The amount of saltpeter has increased, and the sulfur The amount of charcoal and charcoal is reduced. In terms of material mining, there should be a new emphasis on the mining of saltpeter in the country.”

"According to the order!" Shan Anren said, "But the emperor, if you make [-] machine guns, the amount of iron will be greatly increased."

"If the official smelter is not enough, you can purchase it from the civilian smelter." Zhu Yuanzhang said.

In the iron smelting of the Ming Dynasty, private smelting was not prohibited, and there were not only official smelting but also private smelting furnaces.

This leads to the fact that the iron in the official possession is not very sufficient, and there is a large amount of iron in the private sector.

"We are making [-] magic machine guns now, and we will make more than [-] or even [-] in the future, so we will need more iron. Therefore, we will issue a decree to call on the whole people to make iron." Zhu Yuanzhang said, "In addition, Iron ore mining efforts should also be increased.”

"Okay, you go down and do it first."

At this moment, he frowned. If the Ministry of Industry purchased iron on a large scale, then in a short period of time, private iron might not be enough.

There are more than 200 iron ore deposits discovered in Daming so far, which is not a small number.

However, although there are many pits discovered, the mining intensity is very small, and the amount of iron used in ancient times is far lower than in modern times.

Therefore, increasing the intensity of iron ore mining is the top priority.

"Wei Chen retire." Shan Anren said.

"Wait." Shan Anren was about to leave when Zhu Biao stopped him.

"Is there anything else Biao'er?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

……

"Mr. Qin also taught Erchen the method of blast furnace ironmaking." Zhu Biao said, "Using blast furnace ironmaking is much more advanced than traditional shaft furnace ironmaking. Not only can more pig iron be produced, but it is also purer and more efficient. high."

After speaking, he took out an album: "This is Erchen's class record."

Mr. Qin also taught more advanced iron-making methods! ?Zhu Yuanzhang was even more pleasantly surprised when he heard it. Not only did he teach him how to improve the fire gun, but he also changed it into a more powerful machine gun. He also taught him how to make iron.

Together with Shan Anren, the two hurriedly opened Zhu Biao's class record.

I was shocked when I saw it: the blast furnace used for ironmaking is actually 70 meters long!
That is more than 20 feet!
"This is simply a behemoth! How many kilograms of iron can this furnace produce in one day!?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked with his mouth open.

"It's very difficult to build such a blast furnace." Shan Anren said in shock when he came to see it. "With such a large space in the furnace, I am afraid that the amount of iron produced in one day will catch up with the amount of iron produced in the next year."

"We Daming, do we have so much iron ore? Is there so much fuel?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

"Mr. Qin said that the blast furnace with a height of 24 feet can produce more than 1 tons of iron a day, which is 2000 million catties of iron!" Zhu Biao said.

"2000 million catties of iron!?" Zhu Yuanzhang and Shan Anren were stunned when they heard the words, "I don't have that much iron in Ming Dynasty. I guess even if I add all the iron from the people, it's not as much iron as a blast furnace can produce in a day, right?"

"Such a large blast furnace is not suitable for my current iron ore mining in Daming."

"Yes, I can't use it, I can't use it." Shan Anren said.

"At that time, Erchen also asked this question, can the blast furnace used for ironmaking be made smaller." Zhu Biao said, "Mr. Qin said that it can be made smaller, but it can't be too small. If the space inside the furnace is too small, the iron produced will be impure. "

"That is to say, the bigger the blast furnace, the better. And once it is ignited and smelted, it cannot be stopped, because once it is stopped, the cost is too high."

"Do you still have to smelt iron day and night?" The two were stunned. They couldn't imagine the amount of iron smelted in a year in a 24-foot-high blast furnace that was smelted day and night.

Previously, they all felt that Daming had more than 200 iron mines, which were completely sufficient and even had a surplus.

But judging from the present, if a 24-foot blast furnace is used, it is estimated that [-] iron ore will not last long.

"Mr. Qin didn't say, how big is the smallest blast furnace?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

"Five feet tall, no matter how small it is," Zhu Biao said.

"The five-zhang blast furnace is also a giant for us! Whether it is construction or heating, it is a difficult thing." Shan Anren sighed.

"No matter how difficult the difficulties are, we must overcome them, and do everything in accordance with the more advanced blast furnace standards taught by Mr. Qin." Zhu Yuanzhang said, "After all, as long as Mr. Qin teaches, it is godlike knowledge, which has never been published. error."

"In addition, Mr. Qin said..." Zhu Biao added, "Pig iron is too brittle because of its high carbon content. After the pig iron comes out of the blast furnace, it must be sent to the steelmaking plant to make steel immediately."

"The so-called smelting into steel is the process by which craftsmen in ancient times beat out the carbon in pig iron."

"Steel is harder than iron and is used in more places, and pig iron with too much carbon is too little useful."

"Steel is a harder metal than iron. If carbon can be controlled between 0.6% and 2.0%, it can be used to make guns. Such steel, no matter how powerful the gunpowder is, will not explode." Zhu Biaodao spread knowledge to the two,
"You haven't taken Mr. Qin's course, so you may not understand percentages. 0.6% means only six out of a thousand, and 2.0% means only two out of a hundred."

"As for the technology of steelmaking, the decarburization technology has been recorded in the book. I didn't understand it very well at the time. If there is a specialization in the art industry, I will leave it to the artisans of the Armament Bureau to study it."

"Okay!" Shan Anren said.

"You build the blast furnace for steelmaking right next to the blast furnace for ironmaking, so that it is convenient to transport." Zhu Yuanzhang said.

"The minister obeys the order!" Shan Anren finished speaking, and then retreated.

"Huh!" After seeing Shan Anren leave, Zhu Yuanzhang let out a long sigh, as if he had just recovered from the huge surprise, "We are so happy today!"

"Such a powerful firearm, coupled with iron-smelting and steel-making technology, is completely enough to change my Ming's national fortune!"

"It's a big change!"

"Father is absolutely right." Zhu Biao also said excitedly, "Therefore, when the servants listened to Mr. Qin's lecture, they did not dare to be distracted at all, and not only recorded everything he painted. Graphics, even every word he said, for fear of missing out."

"You did the right thing!" Zhu Yuanzhang said, "These skills are really important to me, Daming."

"The previous statement that the Ming Dynasty's territory was a rooster figure, that occupying the immortal island of Yingzhou can change the national fortune, etc., are all illusory. But this time, it is the craftsmanship that will truly change my national fortune in the Ming Dynasty." Zhu Yuanzhang said, " It is far more reliable that steel and craftsmanship change the fortunes of the country than miracles."

(End of this chapter)