Smuggling Daming

"No, the quality of steel used for artillery is extremely high, and charcoal must be used to smelt iron, so that the smelted steel meets the requirements!" Priest Nader said seriously.

"Why not? We have always used coke for ironmaking. This kind of fuel is very powerful, and it is easy to smelt iron from ore. But if we use charcoal, the price is too expensive, and the second is that it is burned out. The firepower is inferior to that of coke, iron ore is not easy to produce iron, and it is not worthwhile to calculate!" Regarding the words of Priest Nader, one of the burly iron masters was very dissatisfied. The iron master's name was Zhao, because He is tall and tall, so others call him Zhao Tieta. He is the best craftsman among the group of iron smelting masters, and he is also the head of several Han craftsmen.

"Of course not. Although I don't know how this kind of coke is made, I know that it is coal. Our European blacksmiths have already tested it. The iron made from coal is too brittle to be used at all, so This kind of coke will definitely have a bad effect on the quality of iron, so it must not be used!" Priest Nader said very stubbornly.

Priest Nader's words made Zhao Tieta and others very unconvinced. They have used coke to make iron for generations, but now this Frangji said that the iron made from coke is not good. This is an insult to their craftsmanship. , Just when he was about to refute a few more words, he was interrupted by Zhou Zhong who came up with a smile: "Master Zhao, you don't have to argue with Priest Nader anymore, what he said is indeed right, you just follow what Priest Nader said Say, use charcoal to make iron!"

Seeing that Zhou Zhong had come, Zhao Tieta and the others immediately saluted him.They are all able to eat their fill now, thanks to Zhou Zhong, so Zhao Tieta and others did not dare to argue any more, and they all nodded in agreement at the moment, and at this time Priest Nader also showed a bit of complacency on his face, because he I feel that my opinion is taken seriously by Zhou Zhong.

In fact, it’s not that Zhou Zhong doesn’t know that coke is the best fuel for ironmaking, but the reason why he agrees with Priest Nader’s opinion to abandon coke is mainly because he knows that most of Ming’s coke is refined by local methods, and many of them are unqualified.Coke contains a lot of sulfur, phosphorus and other elements, and the iron produced from this kind of coke is naturally of poor quality.

Speaking of which, during the Tang and Song Dynasties, charcoal was mostly used for ironmaking. For example, the ironmaking technology that the Japanese country learned from the Tang Dynasty made the Japanese swords very sharp, but with the increase of the population of the Central Plains.The forest area has been greatly reduced, and the supply of charcoal cannot keep up, so in desperation, other fuels are used, and the people of the Central Plains are very clever in refining coal into coke, but unfortunately because the technology is not up to standard.Coke contains some impurities, and the quality of steel made from coke is not good.This is also the main reason why Daming's weapons are not as good as Japanese swords.

In addition to the fuel for ironmaking, there are many aspects of the ironmaking furnace that need to be modified. Although Priest Nader usually doesn't like to talk, he is a very rigorous person and strives for perfection in everything he does. Therefore, even if there is a slight flaw, he will ask the craftsman They make changes.This made Zhou Zhong suspect that the other party was not a Spaniard, but a German.

Zhou Zhong rarely has free time today.So I stayed in the blacksmith shop all morning, and had a meal with Priest Nader and the iron smelters at noon, a big bowl of rice with fresh sea fish, although the quality of the rice was not very good, the sea fish was a bit fishy, But at least keep full, you can eat as much as you can, and there must be no leftovers.

Taking advantage of the opportunity of eating and resting, Zhou Zhong found Zhao Tieta who was eating with some iron smelting masters squatting in the corner, and then said with a smile: "Master Zhao, let you use charcoal to make iron today, do you have any opinions?"

Seeing that Zhou Zhong came to find him in person, just for the iron smelting fuel in the morning, Zhao Tieta was also excited, put down his job and bowed to Zhou Zhong, "Master, Priest Nader really knows a lot about iron smelting. , some things also opened our eyes, but for the fuel for ironmaking, I think it is more cost-effective to use coke than charcoal!"

Zhou Zhong also knew that what Zhao Tieta said was from his heart, but unfortunately because of his limited knowledge, he couldn't understand why Zhou Zhong gave up coke.Thinking of this, Zhou Zhong felt that it was necessary to give them a lesson, so he briefly explained the difference between coke and charcoal. Of course, he didn't dare to talk about the elements, but tried to speak in a language that Daming could understand. .Although Zhao Tieta and the few iron smelters around him could not read, they had worked with iron and steel for half their lives, so they could understand what Zhou Zhong said.

"Boss, I didn't expect you to know how to make iron, and you know more than us iron smelters. No wonder everyone else wants to study. Scholars know more than us bastards!" After listening to Zhou Zhong's story, one of them A master iron smelter said enviously, they were illiterate and had a natural awe of scholars, now that they heard Zhou Zhong talking about iron smelting, they naturally attributed the credit to the scholars.

Zhou Zhong smiled when he heard this, of course he couldn't tell the other party that this is the knowledge he brought from later generations, but at this moment Zhao Tieta suddenly said: "Master, according to what you said, it's not that coke can't make iron The main reason is that when coal is smelted into coke, there are still some impurities in it that are harmful to iron, so the quality of the smelted iron is very poor. Is it because we try to remove all the impurities in the coke so that it can be smelted? Isn’t iron inferior to the quality of iron made from charcoal?”

Regarding Zhao Tieta's question, Zhou Zhong nodded with certainty and said: "Of course, the burning temperature of coke is much higher than that of charcoal. If the impurities in it can be removed, the steel produced is not as good as that produced by charcoal." The quality of the steel produced is poor, and even much stronger, and the price of coke is also lower than that of charcoal, so naturally it is more cost-effective to use coke!"

"Hey! That's easy. I don't think so, my boss. While helping Priest Nader, we will also study how to make better coke. If we can really make coke that is no worse than charcoal, the chamber of commerce can also Save a lot of money!" Zhao Tieta said excitedly as he slapped his thigh, and several other iron smelters also nodded in agreement.

"You...do you still know how to make coke?" Zhou Zhong was also very surprised when he heard this. He invited Zhao Tieta and the others mainly because of their iron-making ability. He never thought that these people would know other people. Technology.

Seeing Zhou Zhong's surprised look, Zhao Tieta touched the back of his head and laughed with several iron smelting masters, and then said: "My master, see what you said, how can an iron smelter not know how to make coke? We use iron smelting All the coke is smelted by ourselves, we didn’t know there are so many specialties about coke before, but it’s not too late to know now, let’s go back and think about it, see if we can make coke better.”

It was only then that Zhou Zhong finally remembered that he was now in the Ming Dynasty. Although the social division of labor in this era was very clear, it could not be compared with later generations. Coke is usually bought by many people, mostly iron smelters who set up an earthen kiln to make coke. After all, this can save a lot of money.

Thinking of this, Zhou Zhong is also refreshed. If it can really improve the technology of coking, this is definitely an epoch-making reform: "Okay, since Master Zhao and the others are willing to study the technology of coking, as the president, I can't do it either." Let everyone spend their energy for nothing, how about this, I will offer 1000 taels of silver in the name of the chamber of commerce, as long as you can smelt qualified coke, then this thousand silver will be yours!"

Zhou Zhong was afraid that Zhao Tieta and the others would not believe him when he said this, so he beckoned Wangcai and asked him to prepare pens and ink for himself. He wrote down two reward documents in black and white, signed them himself, and handed one of them to Zhao Tieta said: "Master Zhao, you keep this. If you research coke and I don't pay, you can use this document to collect debts from me!"

"This... this must never be allowed!" Zhao Tieta has never seen such a formation. In their view, they are all members of the chamber of commerce, and it is appropriate to contribute to the chamber of commerce, and the rewards are not considered. However, it was a little shocking for Zhou Zhong to write this matter into a document.

Zhou Zhong also knew that Zhao Tiejiang and the others might not understand what he did, but it could make them fully trust their promise, so no matter how Zhao Tieta and others refused, Zhou Zhong still insisted on letting them Accepting the document, in the end the other party couldn't resist him, so Zhao Tieta had to take the document with trembling hands and put it in his arms.

However, although Zhou Zhong knew the significance of refining coke, but for him now, artillery is what he urgently needs, so he did not forget to warn Zhao Tieta to let them help Priest Nader use charcoal to refine coke. For iron, the research on coke can only be started when suitable steel for guns is smelted. Zhao Tieta and the others also knew this, so they all nodded in agreement.

After lunch, Zhou Zhong stayed in the iron shop for more than an hour. Originally, he wanted to see how Priest Nader smelted iron. Maybe he could make some suggestions, but seeing Priest Nader's appearance , it is estimated that the iron-making furnace alone will have to go through a few days of modification, and it is impossible to raise the fire, so in the end Zhou Zhong simply left first.

After leaving the blacksmith shop, Zhou Zhong first went to the pier. Zhou Zhong was also very satisfied when he saw the boats coming and going in Beigang. Under the leadership, Beigang will only become more prosperous.Next, Zhou Zhong came to Beigang Teahouse again, intending to spend some time here, but when he first arrived here, he received two news that surprised him! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation.)