Great Song

Daoist Zhen was so determined, Su Song felt a little worried.However, this is true. Cannons do need extremely high-quality copper and iron to withstand the impact of explosives and prevent the chamber from exploding.After thinking for a long time, he still accompanied Zhen Qiong to the workshop for forging weapons.

As soon as he entered the gate of the workshop, a master craftsman hurried over: "The young one was busy at the back just now, and I couldn't meet him far away. I ask the supervisor to forgive me."

Su Song waved his hand: "I just brought Daoist Zhen to have a look, you go and get busy."

The great craftsman didn't dare to leave, on the contrary, he became more and more fearful.A master craftsman like him had heard about the fact that the Military Weapons Supervisor wanted to make new firearms, and he knew better that this was an important matter that the officials were concerned about, so he even sent a priest to supervise the work.Although they don't know where the Taoist leader came from, the servants are all very afraid and secretly call him "True Lord Thunder".This name, no matter how you put it, should be a big man with a height of eight feet, a beard and tiger eyes, right?The Daoist brought by the supervisor is so handsome, and he doesn't look very old, could it be the bottle-holding boy next to Zhenjun?

Da Jiang's mind fluctuated, and he secretly looked at the two of them.Zhen Qiong didn't care about the eyes of others, and went straight to the warehouse where the iron materials were stored, and searched for a long time with great interest.I went to see the craftsmen smoldering the steel and beating their weapons.Finally, I took a few swords and took a closer look, then called the craftsman and asked: "Is the weapon used here a little bit brittle, and this one is tougher?"

The Military Weapons Supervision is located in the capital, but it is to forge weapons for the imperial guards in Beijing.This question was a bit harsh, as if blaming them for not being dedicated enough.The craftsman was so frightened that he lost his wits, and hurriedly said: "Master Dao Mingjian! The iron ingots are all escorted into Beijing from various places. Some state capitals have better iron mines, while others are worse. Small ones can only be cast and forged according to their materials. There is no other way. !"

"That's true." Zhen Qiong turned to Su Song and said, "This is not just a problem with the ore. If coal is used to burn the furnace when making iron, the sulfur seeping out of the coal will mix into the iron, making the iron hard and brittle, making it unusable. Where can you build guns?"

The imperial court was severely short of copper, and it was feared that iron would still be used for guns, and unusable iron was a big problem.Su Song frowned slightly: "I also know the grades of mineral materials. But what is burned is also related to the finished materials, but I have never heard of it."

"If the supervisor doesn't believe it, you can choose the same mineral material and try it with coal and charcoal separately. The burning will definitely be different." Zhen Qiong immediately said, "It's not just what the furnace is used for, but what kind of aid is added during the firing process. , How to forge the entry and exit is also a matter of great importance. The mineral materials are messy, and only by removing the waste and preserving the essence can we get the top grade. This is like the best steel, which needs to be hammered and hammered before it can be formed."

Su Song understands the truth, but it is difficult to make a decision without evidence.Unexpectedly, the big craftsman at the side seemed to think of something, and suddenly said in a low voice: "Supervisor, what the Taoist said makes sense. The villain's father is a good swordsman, and he doesn't like to use the iron bought outside, and he relies on charcoal stoves." Forging. It is also said that with other iron materials, such a good knife cannot be made."

To be able to enter the military weapons inspection, the craftsmanship must be amazing, but you can't copy the good swords before?Is there really such a big difference between coal and charcoal?

Su Song frowned even tighter: "Nowadays, coal-fired stoves are used everywhere. Not to mention the fierce fire, it is easier to get than wood. If it is replaced with charcoal, the furnace will probably stop working."

Trees need time to grow, and the wood used to burn the furnace is an extremely terrifying number.Even the Son of Heaven couldn't get so much charcoal.

Zhen Qiong waited for this question, and said with a smile: "Smoldering wood can turn into charcoal, and smoldering coal can naturally turn into coke. Coke is more resistant to burning than coal and contains less impurities. If it is coking, it can solve the fuel!"

Zhen Qiong has smelted coke, but one more process can improve the quality of the iron material, so why not do it?

"If it's true, maybe you can give it a try." Su Song is not a person who only listens to people's bragging and believes it.Immediately, they took Zhen Qiong together to find an iron stove and started trial production.

■

"Why is Qiong'er interested in going to the Military Weapons Supervision again?" Han Miao asked with a smile when Zhen Qiong finished messing with the meal and was about to go out.

He was obviously half-dead before, dragging his feet to go to the Military Weapons Supervision, and then became more active than anyone else in a blink of an eye, how could he not ask more questions?

Zhen Qiong seemed to have encountered some happy event, and said with a beaming smile: "The furnace is going to be opened today, so I have to arrive earlier. I will be able to smelt better iron materials!"

"Isn't it making firearms? Why did you change it to making iron?" Han Miao frowned.Qionger can also smelt iron?By the way, he said that he has a very good understanding of gold and stone, including copper and iron, right?

"That's the job of a craftsman, and I have to do it myself." Zhen Qiong rubbed her hands excitedly, "Su Supervisor has said that if it is done today, I will look around at the workshop of the Military Supervisor! "

Han Miao: "..."

How does this statement sound like a child who just got a new doll?Su Song really has a big heart.

After coughing, Han Miao laughed and said, "After all, it's not my own alchemy room, Qiong'er had better be careful."

But Zhen Qiong chuckled: "Because it's not my alchemy, I can do whatever I want!"

Han Miao: "..."

All right, just be happy.

■

"Teacher, do you think this material is enough?" A master craftsman stood and asked cautiously.

The boy who thought he was just a boy holding a bottle turned out to be a confidant sent by the emperor, and he can even persuade the supervisor, how can he not make people feel frightened?It's just that the original recipe was suddenly changed, not to mention the addition of medicinal materials, and even the coal was replaced with coke. Rao is a master of iron smelting all the year round, so he is not sure now.

"Enough! Try it on the stove!" Zhen Qiong only glanced at it, then nodded quickly.

Seeing his approval, the master turned to look at Supervisor Su again.Seeing that the other party also nodded slightly, he breathed a sigh of relief, and asked someone to pour the iron ore and medicine into the furnace together.This is the only big furnace in their military department. If something goes wrong and the slag accumulates in the furnace, he can't afford it!

The ore was put into the furnace, and the wind blew even harder.Standing aside, Su Song looked at the scene in front of him and was filled with emotion.Obviously, two days ago, they were still discussing making guns, but suddenly it became iron making, which was really unexpected.However, this matter is more important than artillery.Don't say that making good iron can make the blade sharper and the armor stronger. Even if it's just that the farm tools are stronger, the court and the people of the world will benefit a lot.He just looked at the novelty of the explosives, how could he think that Daoist Zhen's knowledge is more powerful than he thought?

If good iron can be produced this time, he will also advise the emperor to let Daoist Zhen concentrate on metallurgy, which may be more useful than forcing him to make cannons.

Because it was a trial firing, I didn't dare to fill the furnace too full. I didn't know how long I waited, but the master's expression suddenly changed: "Why so fast?"

"But is there a problem?" Su Song asked immediately.

"I can't see the problem, but it's faster than before. Could it be because the coke is more resistant to burning?" The two took refuge outside.After all, it was too dangerous to open the furnace, and no one dared to let Shangguan be by his side.

Being invited out of the workshop, Su Song was still a little worried at first, but after a while, the master craftsman ran out with a happy face: "It's done! It's really done! The slag has been burned clean, more than before. A three-point iron!"

Three points are less than one point, but what if each blast furnace can get three points more?Su Song also showed joy: "The Taoist priest's method is really effective!"

Zhen Qiong was not surprised by this result at all, and raised her head high: "That's natural. Copper mines are more difficult, but the ash blowing method can also precipitate the silver first, saving some effort. But it takes a lot of work to hammer and forge the iron." You need to put some thought into it. There is still room for improvement in your Guangang method."

The steel filling method is to make soft iron (wrought iron) into strips, put them in a furnace, insert crushed pig iron blocks in the gaps, seal them with mud and reheat them.It is also the most convenient way to produce steel.This is a good way for Su Song to go through the historical materials and see the real thing.How did it get to Zhen Qiong's mouth, can it be changed?

However, looking at the smug trail, Su Song has no objection this time.With a smile on his lips, he cupped his hands and said, "Then I will trouble the Taoist priest."

■

The situation of the Military Weapons Supervision was surging, but at this moment in the court, no one had the heart to intervene.Following the news of the Chaozhou earthquake, the emperor took this as an excuse to replace officials on a large scale and reset ministers.After all, he is a young emperor, so how can he use a veteran?Half a year after ascension to the throne, such measures were justified, but the list came as a surprise.The Prime Minister Han Qi, who should resign the most, is still sitting firmly in his seat!

When retiring from the Shanling envoy, Han Qi did submit a speech, but the emperor did not agree.Now that the news is out, it is inevitable that he must be impeached to rule the country and be domineering.The bullets were still kept unpublished, and the emperor once again rejected Han Qi's petition to resign.

Now everyone understands that this is to use Han Xianggong.Not to mention Han Qi, even Zeng Gongliang, who was in power for the same three dynasties, also kept the position of Zhengshitang.It's been ten years, and after three dynasties, is there no one who can't stand it?However, the rest of the princes seemed to be deaf and blind, and had no intention of doing anything.The deep meaning is not to mention how interesting it is.

Of course, how could these outsiders guess it? It's not that the husbands didn't want to do it, but they knew the reason why Han Qi regained his position.It's a telescope and a dynamite. When it's time to go, do you need to say more about the purpose of recommending such a trail?But no matter what, it is a court secret, and I have never even attended the court meeting.Even using this impeachment is suspected of leaking the banned Chinese language.It's like touching a hedgehog, which makes people feel overwhelmed.

When they were in a state of desperation and had nothing to do, another group of people focused on this flaw.

"Going in and out of the Military Weapons Supervision, teaching the craftsmen the yellow and white techniques? This small way is also bold." The old man in the robes narrowed his eyes slightly when he heard the disciple's report.

He is the head of the Shangqing Sect in Beijing, in charge of a temple, and is deeply trusted by the Tian family.Now that the new emperor ascends the throne, everyone is watching the changes quietly, hoping to see that the new official family likes to have a temper and occupy a place for their own family.Unexpectedly, an unknown trail suddenly appeared, how could it not attract attention?

And he didn't rely on longevity or elixir, but instead used the method of turning stones into gold, and went to the military department to make trouble.This kind of xinxing method has never been seen before, and it also makes people feel a little jealous.

"Does the Dao Lu Academy not have a Dao ultimatum for this son?" The old Taoist asked again.The Daolu Academy is in charge of the world's Taoist sects, and all registered Taoist priests should have degree certificates.If you can't find it, it's a savage Taoist!

"It's absolutely true!" The disciple below said in a low voice, "This Xiaodao also said that Chen likes men, and he is a Taoist priest of Huoju."

No family, no sect, but somewhat involved with Mr. Han.The origin was odd enough.The old Taoist pondered for a long time, and then said: "Look for the door in the palace, and refer to him."

This generation of patriarchs want to revive the mountain gate and restore the reverence of Emperor Zhenzong. How can a child disturb him?What's more, this son obviously goes to the Jindan school, while the Shangqing school emphasizes talismans and respects the law and precepts, which is completely contrary to Taoism.He must be expelled from the capital as soon as possible while he is not on his feet!

The author has something to say: Well, there were blast furnaces in the Han Dynasty, steel pouring in the Song Dynasty, and coke in the Ming Dynasty, all of which are not uncommon =w=