Ancient promotion routine

Blacksmith Lu went forward and put away the small hammer, blueprints, measuring sticks and thread ends on the table, then flipped up his clothes and sat down opposite Zhang Yanjin. He laughed and said, "These days are good."

Then he said: "Sanlang brought a barbarian's scimitar the day before yesterday and wanted me to make a full moon scimitar for him. I've been busy with it these days."

Just as he was speaking, blacksmith Lu sighed as if sighing with emotion. He looked at his rough hands and said, "My lord is kind enough to let me stay in the mansion to forge iron, and my craft gradually improved, and gradually Some people come to learn from teachers, but they have never been so respected as they have been in this period of time."

Zhang Yanjin looked at Blacksmith Lu's big black hands. Due to long-term friction, the black iron color of the fingertips had penetrated into the fingerprints, and there was also a thick light yellow callus on the place where the tiger's mouth often held tools.

These are accumulated over the years, recording the time Lu blacksmiths have spent polishing each piece of iron.

"Master Lu, you are skilled in craftsmanship and have taught many apprentices. Now the apprentices are gradually able to take the lead. You can be regarded as a generation of famous teachers." Zhang Yanjin also said kindly, for this kind of craftsman, he would not look at the servants Looking at it with eyes, he regarded him as a normal person instead.

Looking at blacksmith Lu, Zhang Yanjin couldn't help but think, what is this man doing in this life?Like blacksmith Lu, doing things that he thinks are valuable for many years, or like him, just want to be stable and rich, and be a dandy?

Thinking of this, Zhang Yanjin's thoughts turned sharply. Wasn't Li Rongniang in history also fighting for something that she thought was valuable when she reached the pinnacle of power step by step?Or was it forced by the situation step by step to get to that step?

The wrinkles on Blacksmith Lu's face finally relaxed. He smiled slightly and said, "Erlang, if you hadn't asked me to make the stirrups and saddles for you, I'm afraid I'll be blacksmithing for a few more years, and I can only watch my apprentices blacksmithing." Yes, but now I find that the experience I have accumulated in blacksmithing and making objects is still useful. I think that even if I can't strike iron in the future, I can still pass on the skills and give them pointers. This is also a beautiful thing. "

"Master Lu, would you like to get a little more fame?" Zhang Yanjin smiled heartily.

During the time he came to Great Wei, he found that because of the prosperity of Great Wei, the well-known craftsmen in the Great Wei Dynasty were exquisite in craftsmanship, dexterous in mind, and cared about fame.

"Erlang, so you came up with something new again?" Lu Tiejiang understood.

Zhang Yanjin was also unambiguous. He took out the stick figure he had drawn from his cuff and handed it to Blacksmith Lu.

Blacksmith Lu flipped it open, and saw that what was drawn on the paper was a half crescent-shaped object, the outermost layer was slightly wavy, with a gap in the middle, and several nail-like things were drawn around it.

"What kind of rare object is this?" Blacksmith Lu was confused again, and the wrinkles between his brows piled up again.

Zhang Yanjin said clearly: "Master Lu, this is a new horseshoe I came up with, it can also be called a horseshoe."

"Horseshoes? Horseshoes? Or are they for horses?" Master Lu narrowed his bright eyes because of his careful scrutiny.

Zhang Yanjin nodded, got up and walked to Master Lu and said, "The reason why this horseshoe is called a horseshoe is for horses, and the reason why it is called a horseshoe is because the half-crescent-shaped iron piece is nailed to the horseshoe with these nails." .”

"Nail it on the horse's hoof?" Blacksmith Lu's eyes widened.It was the first time he heard of nailing something to the horse's hoof. If such a long nail was nailed on, wouldn't the horse be in pain?

Zhang Yanjin couldn't help laughing, and he explained patiently: "Master Lu, you can go outside with me to see the horses in your backyard."

Blacksmith Lu asked his apprentices to look at the iron shop, and followed Zhang Yanjin to the backyard with a vague understanding.

Zhang Yanjin pointed to the horse's hoof and said, "Master Lu, look at the outermost layer of the horse's hoof. The reason why it is so round is because you often trim it."

"Well, it's like this. It needs to be repaired every two or three days, and the mud inside should be cleaned out, otherwise those dirty things will be stuffed in, and it will get sick." Blacksmith Lu stroked his beard and nodded. nod.

Zhang Yanjin pointed to her finger and explained in plain language: "The outermost layer of a horse's hoof is just like human nails. It won't hurt to cut the nails, because there is no flesh and blood inside, so nailing his palms won't hurt." It hurts, and after the horseshoe is nailed, his horse's hoof will not be injured, and there will be no mud and sand to get in."

"Really?" Blacksmith Lu paused as he stroked his beard, and turned to look at Zhang Yanjin.

Zhang Yanjin nodded, pursed his lips and smiled, and said confidently: "Master Lu, we still use the old rules to measure the horses I brought and get a more accurate number. After making the horseshoes, nail them to my horse first. Come on, let's see the effect first."

"Okay!" Although Blacksmith Lu still had some doubts in his heart, Zhang Yanjin was so confident that he agreed immediately: "I will call my apprentices to help me measure the data, let me look at the horseshoe diagram again, and start working in a while !"

Under the measurement of four or five people, Master Lu had a score in his mind after a while. He put on the leather coat and gloves for blacksmithing, and poured the molten iron smelted by his apprentice into the mold, and waited until it cooled. , Then hit it with a hammer.

With the sound of "呲", a horseshoe was forged.

Master Lu's apprentices looked at the master's smooth movements in one go, and they were full of admiration in their hearts.

Master Lu was unequivocal. He took a look at the refined horseshoe, and selected a few strong nails according to the thickness of the horseshoe. Then he came to Zhang Yanjin and said, "How about this horseshoe?"

Zhang Yanjin weighed the horseshoe, and found that the shape was almost the same as the horseshoe he had seen before, but the weight was slightly heavier.

"What's the matter?" Blacksmith Lu asked in confusion when he saw that Zhang Yanjin was silent.He is extremely confident in his craft.

Zhang Yanjin thought for a while and said, "There must be nothing wrong with the construction of this horseshoe. I just think it is a little heavier. If the weight can be reduced, it will reduce the burden on the horse."

"This is already made of the purest iron." Master Lu shook his head slightly and said: "If you want to be lighter, you must reduce the amount of iron, but based on old experience, if the amount of iron is less Some, I’m afraid it’s not solid.”

"Master Nalu, what do you usually use to smelt iron?"

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Zhang Yanjin paused for a moment, afraid that Master Lu would not understand, so he changed the way of saying: "You extract iron from the ore, what do you use to light the fire?"

"Firewood." Blacksmith Lu said in a daze, "Even if some Taoists refine elixirs, they still use firewood."

"Then no one uses coal?" Zhang Yanjin asked as he walked towards the backyard.

Master Lu laughed and said, "Erlang, coal is only used by poor people who have no money and can't afford firewood. My Great Wei is so rich, how can anyone still use coal?"

"But the coal burns so hot." Zhang Yanjin was also dumbfounded. Could it be that the coal in his memory is different from the coal that people in the Wei Dynasty thought?

"It can't be used if the fire is too big. Once the coal is burned, a poisonous gas will be produced. After people smell it, this poisonous gas can be fatal."

Blacksmith Lu was very puzzled: "Besides, there are actually some people who have used coal to smelt iron, and the pig iron produced is not as pure as firewood."

Zhang Yanjin nodded, and probably understood why people in the Great Wei Dynasty did not use coal. Coal contains sulfur, nitrogen and other substances. If there is no ventilation when burning, carbon monoxide will be produced, and people will be poisoned to death if they inhale a large amount of carbon monoxide. Also known as gas poisoning.

In addition, the process of smelting coal is not up to the standard, and the quality of the coal is not good enough, but if some useless residues in the coal can be removed, wouldn't it be possible to smelt more pure iron?

Here Blacksmith Lu saw that Zhang Yanjin was silent, so he ordered his apprentices to fix the horses in a temporary wooden fence, fearing that when the horses were shoed, the horses would run away in fright or kick people.

When Zhang Yanjin was brought back to his senses by the neighing of the horse, he saw Blacksmith Lu squatting as if he was facing a formidable enemy, lifting the horse's leg tied by the hemp rope with one hand, and placing it on the bench, while his knee was on the bench. Support the bench to prevent the bench from being kicked down by the horse, and the other hand holds the hammer and is ready to drive the horse's shoe into the horse's hoof.

Reluctantly, the horse had never experienced these things before, so he raised his head and groaned, trying to break free, but his body had already been tied to the wooden fence by hemp rope, and every time he moved, the whole wooden fence creaked even more. non-stop.

The few horses that were still in the stable also stopped to graze, staring at Blacksmith Lu's movements with those big Tongling eyes in horror.

It was also the first time that Lu blacksmith's apprentices saw someone who was going to nail the horseshoes with iron, and they all surrounded them, first to prevent the horses from breaking free from the shackles of the wooden fence due to panic, and second, to be ready to protect their master Lu at any time. Blacksmith, prevent Blacksmith Lu from being kicked by a horse.

"Master, you have done another major event that has never been done before or since!" A thick and strong apprentice with two red spots on his dark cheeks was more excited because of his excitement. It is shining in the sun.

"Shut up, don't hurry up and pass me the nails!" Lu Tiejiang was also panicked, and when he heard the apprentice's incoherent words, he said angrily.

The dark-cheeked apprentice was not afraid, he smiled and handed the nail over.

There are three iron nails on the left, three iron nails on the right, and one iron nail on the left and right hooked on the small half-crescent point. Then he put the horse's hoof down and slowly stood up from the ground.

The apprentices next to him stepped forward to help Blacksmith Lu and wiped their sweat with water. Several apprentices also went to check the condition of the horses.

Looking at the scene where everyone was in a hurry, Zhang Yanjin inexplicably felt that it was a bit funny, but he couldn't laugh, so he could only endure it.

"Erlang, do you think what I just nailed is okay?" Blacksmith Lu came to Zhang Yanjin and asked.

Zhang Yanjin nodded vigorously and said: "Master Lu has worked hard. In fact, it is not difficult to nail horseshoes on horses. If you save three, let your apprentices nail them."

Blacksmith Lu, who is devoted to his work and loves his disciples, shook his hands and refused: "No, I'd better do this kind of dangerous thing a few times first, and let them do it after it's really all right."

Zhang Yanjin knew Blacksmith Lu's temper, so he didn't stop him.

With the first experience, shoeing the other three horseshoes went much smoother.

Blacksmith Lu glanced at the horse in the wooden fence, seeing that the horse's eyes were still wide open, he hesitated and said, "Is it really all right?"

Zhang Yanjin pursed her lips and smiled, and said directly: "Since it has been nailed up, why don't you let the horse out and let it walk around a few times."

As the wooden fence was opened, the clatter of horseshoes sounded in the courtyard.

The shoed horse was still a little uncomfortable before, but after taking two steps, he felt that he seemed to be fine, so he started to run in big strides.

"It's really all right!" Blacksmith Lu was a little moved, then looked at Zhang Yanjin excitedly, and said, "Erlang, if the horse's hooves are separated by two layers of iron, it will not be afraid even if it walks on thorny roads or gravel roads!"

As Lu Blacksmith's excited voice sounded, the small backyard also boiled up, Erlang... this is another meritorious service!