Ming Zhengzhi, I am Zheng Kezang

As for whether China's iron smelting industry was ahead of the West or lagging behind the West before modern times, the Chinese metallurgical historians before Zheng Kezang's lifetime had such diametrically opposite perceptions.But even the "very" faction has to admit that, at least in metal wire drawing technology, China is far behind the West.Therefore, Zheng Kezang decided to put the so-called "second fire" on the improvement and absorption of this technology.

"When I went back to the state of prison, I have never heard of wire drawing." The officials of Zheng's Ministry of Industry and the craftsmen of the iron smelting workshop are all from the south, and most of them are from Fujian and Zhejiang. Drawing flats is extenuating. "However, the Ministry of Industry still has artisans who can make iron wire and so on."

"For the time being, I would like to trouble Master Liu to arrange a craftsman to demonstrate for Yu."

Zheng Kezang asked so, and soon he saw a human wire drawing machine consisting of a wooden bench, a drilled iron mold, and pliers placed in front of him. A big and round craftsman polished a tapered iron bar through the Drill a hole through an iron mold placed flat on a wooden bench, and then clamp the sharp end with pliers and pull it vigorously, then a metal strip that is much thinner than the previous iron strip was pulled out, and then replaced with another Thinner iron rods are pulled out from the thinner holes until they are drawn into the iron wires of the size required by Zheng Kezang.

"How much iron wire can these craftsmen produce in a day?" Zheng Kezang's question was not a question but an obvious reprimand, obviously he was very dissatisfied with such production efficiency. "Forget it, forget it, I have a sketch here, Mr. Liu can try to make one." Zheng Kezang's method is to use the pulley block method to winch, and under the same initial steps, use animal power or water power to drive. Multiple strands of wire are drawn together into shape at one time with a constant force. "I'm waiting to see the result"

The biggest function of the iron wire drawn by the wire drawing machine is to make iron rings for chain mail. With these iron wires and iron rings, an ordinary armor craftsman can produce a suit every two months when the weaving level is still very poor. The chain mail that is attached to the top of the head and the neck protection, and waits for the skill to be skilled in the future, and can produce two collars or even more in a month.

Since all the weight of the chain mail is borne by the shoulders and the brain, it can effectively protect against the slashing of swords and the puncture of spears, and it can also protect against the shooting of bows and crossbows at a certain distance. Gothic or super-gothic full-body knight armor is on par, but its protective power is enough for Zheng Jun to face the unarmored green battalion. Compared with the double-layer cotton armor of the Eight Banners soldiers, although it is not as cheap and easy to produce, it is suitable for Taiwan's cotton And areas with a large shortage of cotton products.

"I have seen the results of the trial production. Mr. Liu and several master craftsmen have worked hard." A word from the superior will keep the subordinates busy for several months, but finally saw the expected result, Zheng Kezang still Very satisfied. "Master Liu, do you know how many catties of iron wire a machine like this can produce in a month?"

"If you go back to Jianguo, if there is no shortage of iron bars, one wire drawing machine can produce [-] catties of iron wire a month." Seeing Zheng Kezang's eyes flickering, he thought that there was a member of the Ministry of Industry, Liu Wailang, who was dissatisfied with the production quantity. Busy explaining. "The iron material used for wire drawing needs to be tempered, and it cannot be drawn into the required size at one time, so"

"25 catties?" Zheng Kezang made some calculations. A collar of chain mail needs about [-] catties of iron wire. In this way, the iron wire produced by one machine a month can guarantee at least sixty collars of chain mail. It should be sufficient for the time being, and besides, there is no more pig iron that can be exclusively used for wire drawing machines. "Then build two more, one of which is a spare." Zheng Kezang decided so. "The iron wire produced is fully used for the production of chain mail."

"No!" This time Liu Tong's response was much stronger than the one before he was asked to try out the wire drawing machine.

But the chain mail is only part of Zheng Kezang's improvement of the production of the iron workshop, and what is to be done next is the real focus.

"Hey! Fourth Tang, what are you doing here if you're not working hard at the porcelain kiln?" In Chunrifang, one of the iron smelting workshops of the Ministry of Industry, a few gray-headed smelting craftsmen looked at the newcomer. The few people in the building were doing a lot of construction, and they couldn't help but make fun of it. "Could it be that you didn't start a business and came to us to cheat for food."

"Li Wu, your old man knows how to spray dung all over his mouth," although the other side was very busy, but he had the energy to talk to this side. "It's not that you don't have time to eat and have nothing to do. It's not because the Ministry ordered us to help you build some hydraulic forging hammers. You just want to invite me to come, and I don't come to your crappy place."

"Jianguo, I have seen this hydraulic forging hammer before. It's just that the strong one is slow, and the fast one is light. It is not suitable for making objects." Speaking of wire drawing or forging, it is not an iron smelting workshop. It's just that it's inconvenient for Zheng Kezang to meddle in the arsenal of the Ministry of War all the time, so he set up a small workshop named after the test in the iron smelting workshop under the Yuheng Qingli Division of the Ministry of Industry. "Isn't it a bit wasteful to make such a big fanfare?"

"Extravagant fee?" Zheng Kezang looked at Liu Tong and smiled. "Master Liu, do you know what Qingtang warts are?" In fact, warts did not come from the Qingtang area, but the product of the Xixia party members, known as the strongest armor of that era. "This kind of armor does not need to be heated at all when it is forged, and it is all made of human hard hammer. Do you think that the craftsmen of this domain have so much time and energy to forge this kind of armor?" Zheng Kezang pointed to the hydraulic forging under construction. hammer. "But they can!"

Zheng Kezang said in his mouth, but felt helpless in his heart. To be honest, the 10-jin forging hammer is enough to make armor, but if you want to make a steel cannon with an overwhelming range, the forging hammer must be at least To 20 tons, 20 tons.But it is by no means an easy task to make a [-]-jin fine-iron forging hammer, not to mention that Dongning only produces a little over [-] jin of pig iron a month, and there is simply not enough iron for him to squander. So many iron materials have also been made into a steam hammer, but Zheng Kezang does not have enough power to drive it. At that time, hydraulic machines are no longer enough, and how to make a steam-powered machine is only a question of Du Niang. He couldn't get over the hurdle that he couldn't get over when he looked up information on the Internet and did pasting and copying.

Of course, Zheng Kezang's helplessness is only temporary. Although he can't surpass the current level of technology, even so, the application of cold-forged armor and chain mail is enough to cope with all types of bows and arrows currently equipped by the Qing army, not to mention that he still has We plan to hire Venetian craftsmen to come to Taiwan to teach how to produce the Zheng Jun Iron Man Armor (European Plate Armor) with a hardness of more than hv500, a toughness of more than 100j/cm2, and a curved hard shell structure, so as to resist the Qing army. Excellent bird gun.

"Your Highness, with all due respect, the plate armor that was popular in the age of knights has lost its due effect in front of muskets." Hearing Zheng Kezang's request, Stevenson, the new curator of the British Guilin Chamber of Commerce, made a very westernized statement. shrugging action. "Of course, quite a few ancestral craftsmen in Venice went bankrupt because plate armor fell out of fashion"

"Master of the Museum of History," Zheng Kezang cut off the other party's unfinished words, and asked directly. "The owner only needs to tell Yu Neng whether to invite him or not. If you can't do it, Yu Zi will ask for help from Macau, Luzon or even Japan. I think they should be happy to see what happens."

Zheng Kezang's tone made Stevenson squint his blue eyes, but Stevenson understood that the monarchs of the East have always been strong, if they can't oppress each other with stronger force, they can only follow the opponent It means to do it, and Britain is just a latecomer in East Asia, so he can't be tough on this point.

"Since His Highness insists, we will naturally not lose money, but it will take time, at least a year and a half."

"Okay, we can wait for more than a year and a half." Zheng Kezang ordered a plate of silver ingots to be placed. "Here is a deposit of 200 taels, and the owner will take it away." Stevenson counted it, and put the silver aside without asking anyone to weigh it in detail. "That's the matter," Zheng Kezang continued, watching Stevenson put on the businessman's usual smile again. "Let Master Liu sign the contract for you later, and Yu won't interfere. By the way, when will the black slave whom Yu ordered last time arrive."

"Your Highness, it will take three months to travel from the high officials to Mumbai, and it will also take one month from Mumbai to East Africa." Stevenson explained. "Although the Muslim regime in East Africa originally had a slave market, there is no need for our people to go deep into the mainland to capture slaves, but it will take at least eight or nine months to go back and forth. Your Highness is a little too impatient."

"It's the last ship to set off during the sugar period," Zheng Kezang calculated. "So, it will be after the New Year?" Stevenson nodded. "Forget it, let's talk about it at that time." The matter was put on hold, but Zheng Kezang didn't just make a special trip to Beishanwei Island for two things. "I still need a hundred sail craftsmen, can you help me?"

"It seems a bit difficult." Stevenson smirked. "Unless we go to Europe to recruit, even if we call all the sailmakers from all the European settlements along the Indian route, there may not be as many as 100 people."

"I'm afraid the owner of the museum is exaggerating?" There was something in Zheng Kezang's eyes that made Stevenson feel uneasy. "How many European ships are there along the coast from Daming to Tianzhu? Isn't there a craftsman who prepares sails and mends on each ship? Will there be less than 100 people?"

"Your Highness is probably confused." Stevenson hurriedly explained. "Sewing and sailing are not the same thing at all. Making European soft sails requires special skills, and usually only specialized craftsmen can be found in the ports of mainland Europe, and those who accompany the ship can only sew on the edge of the hole. Just mending."

"Really? I want to go back and ask those barbarian teachers." Zheng Kezang didn't fully believe what the British said. "In addition, the domain needs ten craftsmen who can make chime clocks and ten craftsmen who can make glass. Can you help find them all?"

"This?" Self-ringing clocks and glass products are the stepping stones for Europeans to open up the Asian market. How can the British be willing to hand over these resources. "I'm afraid it will be difficult."

"If that's the case, that's all." Zheng Kezang understood that if he couldn't get it from the British, he couldn't get it from the Portuguese, Spaniards, and Dutch people who were more entrenched in East Asia, so he stopped thinking about it. "Then sell another twenty Andalusian stallions for the rest, let alone this."

"Please rest assured, Your Highness, I will do my best."

"Well, I need ten more wheelwrights who can make four-wheeled carriages, and I need more"