Ma'am help, the general is in trouble again

Chapter 64 Fu County Workshop (two chapters in one)

After nightfall, Fu County is deserted and quiet. Although there is no curfew like the capital Taiyuan City, but it is freezing cold, and few passers-by will walk outside.

The faint moonlight shone on the cobblestone road, most of the shops on both sides of the street were closed, and the rows of residences were rarely lit.

In order to save expensive lamp oil, the common people basically work at sunrise and rest at sunset, except for a few well-off families who have a little night life.

But when he came to West Market, where workshops were concentrated, Zheng Quchi found that this seemed to be the only brightly lit place in the entire city and county.

The bluestone slabs on the street reflect the light from the lanterns at the shop heads, making the shadows of people very long.

Zheng Quchi and Wei Yao got off the horse, he led the horse and led the way, and she followed behind him like a grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden.

It was the first time for her to enter this treasure-like place for craftsmen.

In the past, she could only imagine and assume what the ancient workshop should look like through books or words.

How they used to prosper and liven up one period after another, and how they withered and changed in the end, became a symbolic term in an era.

Workshop, in fact, if understood in modern terms, is an ancient factory and a place for handicraft production.

She was dizzying along the way, and saw kilns, weaving workshops, cellar grain and wine workshops, blacksmith shops for casting iron, and some rare vehicle manufacturing workshops, jade workshops, etc.

Unexpectedly, in a small Fu County, although there are no master craftsmen in town, the sparrows are small and complete, and all practical and civilian-owned products are being produced.

"The section ahead is a folk workshop. Is there a place you want to go?"

Seeing her shaking her head, "Wow~" this time, and "Hiss~" that way, he found it interesting and thought she was interested and wanted to go in and have a look.

No one is in a hurry to work in the private workshops, but many of them are still operating and constructing. On the contrary, the government-run workshops have been very busy these days, especially the casting department and the official kiln, which are working overtime every day.

At the dividing point between the private and government-run workshops, Wei Yao stopped, turned around and asked her: "The official kiln is in front, what are your plans?"

Zheng Quchi raised her head, and there was a stone archway in front of it, engraved on the archway with a few large characters "Ingenious workmanship", she was a little fascinated by it, and subconsciously said: "Let's go to the place where the iron is smelted first."

"Are you going to the Foundry Department?"

Is that the name?
"Yeah." She nodded.

Wei Yao's eyes darkened slightly, but she smiled meaninglessly and easy-goingly: "Okay, let's go."

The two came to the Foundry Division, and after pushing open the door, they saw many blacksmiths busy shuttling around inside.

They were all wearing only a pair of trousers, with their upper body exposed, their shiny muscles, and their sweaty biceps pounding against the red iron.

She glanced over, and there were at least a dozen blacksmiths in the long passage.

Regarding their arrival, these blacksmiths did not deliberately stop their work. They just greeted Weiyao when they recognized Weiyao, and then continued to concentrate on beating with their hands.

The indoor temperature was very high, and Zheng Quchi had just come in from the cold and windy outdoors, and after a while, fine sweat broke out on his forehead.

Wei Yao gestured to her: "Okay, this is Fu County's Casting Department. You can do whatever you want."

Zheng Quchi said there was no rush.

She walked to the coal stove and looked at the smelting furnace.

According to the visual inspection, it is about three meters high, and a manual blower device is installed next to the furnace body. Zheng Quchi has seen this thing in the materials. Sheepskin and cowhide are made into skin bags for blowing wind.

Now that this kind of manual blower equipment is available, the temperature of the smelting furnace is conservatively estimated to be over 1000 degrees. She doesn't know the exact temperature, but in this way, many things in her mind can be achieved.

She watched the flames burn for a while, and then watched how the blacksmiths smelted and cast iron, and she had a certainty in her heart.

They used the "internal heating" method, adding crushed iron ore and charcoal into the furnace in layers and blasting them to melt.

This method is still relatively primitive, the current smelting technology of Ye Kingdom is based on that of the late Song Dynasty... Probably, she only has a general understanding of alchemy, which is not accurate.

At first, the blacksmiths thought Master Wei was just bringing someone in to see the progress, but after they came in, they neither asked nor disturbed them, they just stood by the door with their arms folded, looking around and following each other. Strange child-like.

Zheng Quchi ran to the wooden hanger again, looked at the finished ironware cast on it, and then went to Weiyao: "I still want to go to the calcination kiln to see."

Wei Yao didn't know what to think, and she was responsive to her requests.

He took her to the kiln for smelting iron ore. The kiln is a very common steamed bun shape, built with adobe or bricks, and consists of the kiln door, fire chamber, front chamber, back chamber, chimney and other parts. composition.

As soon as he approached, a fiery breath rolled over his body. There are quite a few kilns here, all of which are burning, and charcoal and briquettes are piled up around them.

"I don't know how much lime can be made in a day?" she murmured.

"What is lime?"

Zheng Quchi immediately changed his words: "It's chalk."

"All that was made earlier was transported to Guijiaopo to build the city wall, and it is in a hurry right now, and there is not much left."

As soon as she saw the kiln, she knew she was going to die.

She originally planned to learn how to make cement like the predecessors in the book, but after some observations, it is obvious that the conditions in Ye Kingdom are simply difficult to meet.

The difficulties are as follows.

Limestone is calcined together with clay at high temperatures to make cement.

First, the temperature required is very high, at least 1500 degrees and above for a long enough time. Compared with simple burning quicklime, it is much more difficult, at least under the current technological conditions of Ye State, it is very difficult do it.

But this is not impossible for her.

Second, some raw materials for cement are hard to come by.

Third, even if all the above are solved, there is still a technology of grinding powder.

All the components of cement must be in a very fine powder state. Modern technology uses large ball mills and winnowing to achieve powderization.

But here, what is used to realize it, a mill?

Even if all of these can be achieved, this project is really not an ordinary one. If she can take her time, can this damaged city wall, this Yu Wensheng, this nomadic barbarian, and even more potential dangers wait?

So she finally decided to make a semi-finished cement first. Although it is not as strong as authentic cement, it is much simpler and easier to make.

"Can you pass me some chalk? I want to make a more useful concrete than mortar."

Wei Yao didn't understand civil engineering, so he asked, "Is this necessary?"

Zheng Quchi answered him patiently: "Do you know why the stone foundation of the city wall is not stable now?"

"Is it because of the mortar in your mouth?" He thought of what she had said before.

Zheng Quchi nodded, then shook his head again: "Yes, and no, the most important thing is, do you know what season it is?"

Wei Yao heard it mysteriously, but the person passing by unconsciously stopped and turned his head to listen.

"Can I know that? It's winter now."

"To put it simply, if the weather is not cold enough, water cannot be solidified into ice, but the mortar of the cast wall is just the opposite. If it is soaked in snow, water and cold dew in winter without enough temperature and sunlight, it will remain the same in the coming year. Just a pile of tofu scum."

Is this the reason?
Wei Yao remembered what she said before: "So you plan to use another kind of mud instead?"

So... "That's right."

Weiyao's reaction was different from Zheng Quchi's expectation, and he finally couldn't help laughing: "Okay, you should stop messing around, you don't know, Master Yuan and Master Yin have already expected it, A solution has been found.”

Zheng Quchi was stunned for a moment, then asked strangely, "What can they do?"

Wei Yao didn't hide from her either: "They reported to the county that they need a large amount of rice. Although they don't know the specific purpose, the general has agreed to them and urgently mobilized from the counties..."

"稌米?" This seems to be glutinous rice, right? "How much rice does this need? Isn't the county now short of grain and rice, and the grain depots are tight?"

She made a special trip to find out about grain prices in Fu County, and she also heard from the owner of the rice shop that the price of rice grains has risen. It is all because of the recent drought in Fu County, which has greatly reduced grain production. Maybe there will be hunger panic next year.

When she was building a new house, she wanted to fix glutinous rice mortar, which was firmly bonded, but she gave up because of the high price and some waste, but now they are regardless of the cost?
Sure enough, Wei Yao's expression was serious: "No matter how nervous you are, you must ensure the integrity of the city wall."

Zheng Quchi also understands that the city wall is crucial to the military defense of Fu County and the invasion of foreign enemies, but... "But the problem is not about this."

She is bald.

Sure enough, the interlacing is like a mountain. With her vivid explanation before, a stonemason can probably understand it after listening to it, but he just doesn't understand.

It's okay if you don't understand, he still doesn't listen to persuasion.

Seeing her eagerness, Wei Yao looked like a groundhog trying to win favor, his eyes suddenly filled with kindness and earnestness.

"Ah Qing, I know you want to help, but you are no better than the craftsmen who specialize in this job, so you don't have to worry about it. With the two from Jixia Academy here, I believe the city wall will be completed as scheduled."

Zheng Quchi: "..."

Hello, what do you mean?Engage in academic discrimination, that is, if she graduated from a regular university, he will look down on wild craftsmen like her who work without a license, right?

"If they want Yimi, I think I know what they are going to do. I can tell you responsibly that this is impossible to solve the current problem." She said angrily.

Wei Yao only looked at her but didn't speak, but obviously felt that she was talking sourly.

Seeing his expression, Zheng Quchi immediately understood that no matter what she said, it was useless, and he would not give up until he hit the south wall once.

"Okay, let's put this matter aside for now, let's talk about another matter."

"Is there anything else?" He laughed happily, "Is your little head just thinking about things all day long?"

She didn't joke with him: "I have seen the weapons of our Fuxian government soldiers before, and I have also visited the forging technology of the foundry department just now. The wrought iron weapons they make are not hard enough and easy to bend and deform. I think I can use another This kind of forging method will make the weapons equipped in Fu County more refined, no, it is a big step."

As soon as these words came out, Wei Yao's pupils tightened, and she was stunned.

He grabbed her shoulder with his hand: "what did you say?"

"A material that is more durable, sharp, and tough than iron."

Rolling in his throat, he asked in a deep voice, "What is that?"

"steel!"

"Steel?" He had never heard the word.

"That's right, you can't make steel without being tempered."

He silently recited "Steel can't be made without hard training" a few times, then raised his eyes, glanced around, pulled Zheng Quchi, and the two found a secluded place away from everyone's eyes and ears.

He stared at her brightly, and asked again: "You are serious about what you said? Can that thing called steel be sharper and tougher than iron?"

"There's no evidence for what you say, Brother Wei, if you don't believe me, just let me try."

"……it is good."

"Steelmaking requires the assistance of the Foundry Department and a group of blacksmiths. I hope Brother Wei can arrange some trustworthy and tight-lipped blacksmiths to help me."

"no problem."

Wei Yao readily agreed, if she could really forge "steel", why would he not do it.

I'm just afraid that she is the person with "ulterior motives", and all the plots are just paving the way for some conspiracy.

Wei Yao received a summons, claiming that she had to go to the county to do something, so she told her that if she wanted to go back to Guijialing, she would go directly to the stone archway, and someone would see her off there.

Zheng Quchi waited for Weiyao to leave, then went to the coal furnace of the foundry department to dig the slag ash all night, and then went to the kiln to rely on Weiyao's momentum to ask for some quicklime, and then kept them for dry storage Use it, because there is still one important material missing.

At this point, Zheng Quchi was exhausted.

At the same time, because she drilled into the coal stove, she really looked like a coal ball now.

Seeing the weather, she couldn't delay any longer, but she had better wash off the soot all over her body before going back to Guijialing, otherwise people would think she was stealing coal when she went back.

"This big brother."

But she calls everyone older than her, and she has not learned the main other names.

"Is it pressed? (What's the matter)" The blacksmith wiped off his sweat and replied to her in Fuxiang's local dialect.

Since she was brought by Wei Yao himself, they treated her more politely.

Zheng Quchi also replied in Sichuan dialect: "I want to wash off the ashes on my body. Look, there is water?"

The blacksmith raised his chin: "There is a water tank behind the casting department, you can scoop it up and wash it yourself."

"Oh, is there anyone there?"

The workshop was surrounded by naked men (no upper body clothes), although she wanted to clean it, she was a little worried.

"It's all working at this time, and there is no one there."

no one?That's great.

Zheng Quchi slapped the ashes on his body while walking towards the back of the casting department.

With the light coming from the Foundry Department, she really saw a water tank half a person's height, and behind the water tank was a wall.

People who are blacksmiths basically have never worked on their bodies. After a busy day, they have to come to wash before they can rest.

A bamboo pole is placed across the front of the water tank, and a cloth curtain is hung on the pole. If you want to wash your body, you can pull it off to cover it.

She looked around first, and after making sure that there was no one there, she lowered the curtain.

The water in the water tank was cold and froze her hands. She first dipped some water in it and rubbed her hands. After she got used to it, she washed her sweaty face again.

But after washing, the charcoal powder on the face and the thick eyebrows that were pretending to be thick were all messed up.

However, she carried the disguise with her, so she didn't worry about it, she just wiped it off after a while and then reapplied the makeup.

(End of this chapter)