Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

Of course, the problem of improving steel quality and glass quality is not easy to solve, and it cannot be overcome by a single mine.

In this era, the smelting process has been very mature, but there are still many difficulties in making steel stronger and more durable.

Without Jiang Xinghuo's intervention, with the passage of time, more than a hundred years later, by the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the traditional Chinese steel pouring method would have reached its technical peak, that is, the pig iron covering method and the pig iron pouring method (i.e. Su Gang) will be invented.

However, the peak of the steel filling method is not the last threshold for the steel industry to enter the modern industry.

Because if you want to freely mix molybdenum and other elements like a wizard who can easily mix various potions, you need to master the technology of refining liquid molten steel. Only by heating the steel to a liquid state can the carbon and other elements in it be freely and accurately controlled. The ratio of forged steel, filled steel, and even wrought iron carburized steel cannot be accurately controlled.

Smelting liquid steel requires the emergence of the converter steelmaking method.

Before the converter steel-making method, if you wanted to enchant, you could only follow the extremely inefficient way of the Japanese.

Why are Japanese katana swords not uniform in quality despite their high quality? This is because although the forging of samurai swords basically uses Japan's unique "Tatar-type" low-temperature steelmaking method, not only the labor level is different, but the raw materials are also different.

From the perspective of raw materials, the Japanese use what they call relatively special iron sand such as "Akame" and "True Sand", but to put it bluntly, they are different associated ores in iron ores in different regions, which are blind box types. The probability of enchantment, and the quality that can be obtained, all depends on which element among nickel, chromium, molybdenum, and cobalt is associated with it.

Iron sands such as "Akame" and "True Sand" are basically not used in China, a country with a large population that pursues the unification of armament and weapon systems, because it contains a lot of impurities, because it is very troublesome to smelt and the efficiency is very low. Katana swords The production rate of steel is very low. Generally, 25-30 tons of raw materials are needed to produce 1 ton of katana steel, which is not very cost-effective.

But from a manual level, since the Japanese only have this thing, they are not afraid of trouble. Instead, they try their best to tap its potential. Not to mention, they actually dug it out, that is, different materials can be used in different parts and then folded. The process of forging into a knife, folding and forging is actually the process of changing the carbon content. However, this was not a quantifiable task in ancient times, because the craftsmen saw in this process that the final result was not the final result, and it had to be quenched in the end. To get the final result, the previous steps can only rely on the experience of the craftsman. Therefore, if you want to become a qualified sword forger in Japan, you need a long period of forging experience. It is basically impossible to produce standard equipment like the Ming Dynasty.

But no matter what, even if the artillery barrels are made of special steel using manual methods to partially replace the current copper cannons, this suspected associated molybdenite mine is still very valuable.

In Jiang Xinghuo's memory, the molybdenum ore in China seems to be mainly concentrated in southern Jiangxi and Northeast China. There are associated mines in Tangshan in Nanjing. He really has no impression of it, but since it has attracted his attention, he needs to explore it carefully. For a moment.

Ye Zongxing immediately ordered the miners to dig the mine deeper in order to roughly estimate the reserves and proportions of various minerals in the mine.

While waiting, Jiang Xinghuo was also thinking that he didn't know why his luck suddenly got better, but judging from the constant reports, he had indeed found a treasure. The only thing he was worried about now was this Will molybdenite be excavated in small quantities? If so, then the mining value is not great.

But this problem later proved to be nothing to worry about.

In fact, what Jiang Xinghuo didn't know was that the origin of molybdenite is mainly caused by high- and medium-temperature hydrothermal fluids, and its deposits are related to acidic rocks. Later mineralogists believed that molybdenite has industrial value. Molybdenite deposits are mostly related to underground hot liquids and are most widely distributed in quartz veins or quartzized rocks.

Why are there hot springs in Tangshan? Naturally, this is because there is still uncooled magma under the ground, and hot steam will continue to emerge. The hot gas is very concentrated, and the water-bearing rock formations with gaps have turned into high-temperature hot water due to heat, and it will also be accompanied by steam, so A natural hot spring is formed.

But similarly, the underground thermal liquid in Tangshan also promoted the production of molybdenite over a long period of time.

In every large mine, there will be branches of large and small veins intertwined with the mine tunnels. If the mine is newly dug, the mineral distribution will be uneven due to uneven layering, and it will not be possible to rely on only one mine. The method is completely certain and is full of chance. However, since it has not been dug out by anyone, it is possible to determine the overall mineral distribution in this area by excavating adjacent mines side by side.

After the news spread, although everyone didn't know what it was and what it was used for, it made all the miners very excited because they knew that this was definitely a great job for them.

The treatment at the Tangshan Mine is very good. Now that there are rare mineral veins, even if they are tightly guarded, they cannot steal them or sell them. However, the mine makes a lot of money and they have a long-term livelihood. If they work hard, it will be enough to support their family. Old and young.

Although Jiang Xinghuo still felt a little unsure, he could understand the joy of these miners. After all, for them, digging for everything was digging, but if the veins were rare, then the probability of their income increasing would be higher. Perhaps for high-ranking officials, This glimmer of hope doesn't matter to the nobles, but to these poor people at the bottom, it is inevitable for everyone to be excited.

"Mr. Ye, this time the front of the mine is dug by people alone. I'm afraid it won't be clear in a short time. What do you think we should do?"

At this time, a craftsman from the Ministry of Industry came to report, and Ye Zongxing then asked Jiang Xinghuo for instructions.

Jiang Xinghuo pondered for a moment and said: "First of all, we need to determine whether we can continue to explode. If the explosives will cause the danger of the mine collapse, then we should dig it manually. Secondly, we need to see if there are other entrances to this vein that are easier to dig. If there is another entrance, how far it is from the location of this mine, these conditions need to be checked, and we cannot rush to explode."

Ye Zongxing nodded and went down to the mine to check the situation in person to see if it was suitable for directional blasting. He came out and looked at other small mines excavated outside, and he had a rough idea.

"National Master." Ye Zongxing frowned and thought for a moment, "I think we should give it a try."

Jiang Xinghuo looked at him: "Are you sure? Don't take risks just to show me the results today. It doesn't matter if you wait a few days to dig manually. If it kills the miners, it's not worth it."

Ye Zongxing smiled and said: "Yes, and there is definitely no danger. As long as careful preparations are made, I think it will be feasible."

In terms of experience in fixed-point blasting, Ye Zongxing must be the most experienced engineer in the world. He has blasted countless dams and riverbeds in Jiangnan alone, and also blasted customs and city walls in Annan. He is also very good at summarizing and reflecting. It can be said that the master is better than the master. Therefore, although Ye Zongxing was taught by himself, Jiang Xinghuo is still willing to choose to trust his judgment rather than his own on this matter.

"National Master, I plan to use a medium-deep hole to blast."

Ye Zongxing immediately told Jiang Xinghuo the plan he had made. His plan was very concise, just like an experienced veteran on the battlefield commanding his new recruits to fight.

In the process of coal mining, as the mining depth continues to extend, continuous excavation is required. During the excavation process, the support of the tunnel is required. Blasting technology is the fastest and most effective method during the excavation of the tunnel. Here, unlike blasting dams and city walls, medium-deep hole blasting technology is the most useful.

Because the medium-deep hole blasting technology has a good rock crushing effect during the blasting process, it reduces blasting flying rocks, and the size of the rocks basically meets the requirements of the project. There are rarely large rocks that exceed the specifications, and it is not difficult to transport. According to Ye Zongxing's plan is to wait for a certain period of time after each blast. If there is no sign of collapse of the mine, then use a large number of wooden frames to fix it, then withdraw the manpower to carry the earth and stone, and continue the blasting operation. In general, this repeats. It is to use explosives to open the road and then move the soil. The plan is very reliable and very safe, but it is a bit expensive.

Moreover, medium-deep hole blasting has another advantage, that is, the directional propulsion effect is better than other methods. The blast pile is concentrated and has a certain degree of looseness. The blasted holes are convenient for transporting ore.

Of course, this also means that the requirements for technical details are relatively high, and ordinary people cannot play it.

Jiang Xinghuo was not in a hurry to go back, so after hearing this, he nodded slightly and said, "Yes, I will do as you said, but if there is any trouble, then withdraw immediately. No matter what loss you have, it is better than losing it." Little life is strong.”

"Don't worry, National Master, you won't make fun of the miners' lives. Besides, you don't know my skills. This mountain structure can withstand continuous blasting. Moreover, we have enough manpower to transport earth and rocks in turns."

Ye Zongxing turned around and left, and Jiang Xinghuo suddenly stopped him: "Zhixing."

"National Division?"

"You are my disciple. You should also pay attention to your own safety."

"good!"

Ye Zongxing, who had a dark face, grinned, showing his white teeth.

Ye Zongxing summoned all the craftsmen from the Ministry of Works. These people were all veterans of gunpowder, so they were not nervous at this time.

"Still the old rules, first tell us what to pay attention to, and then divide the work."

Ye Zongxing said calmly and concisely: "The distance between each explosive package and the determination of the resistance line depend on the hardness of the specific rock. Needless to say, you are all veterans. What I want to say is, first , the drill hole for stuffing the explosive bag cannot be careless, it must be done according to the standard, otherwise the detonation effect cannot be guaranteed; secondly, when filling the explosive bag, the amount of gunpowder must be controlled, and the gunpowder must be evenly distributed; thirdly, all Explosive packages use two detonating cords. When detonating, control the lengths of the detonating cords at different depths to ensure that there is a tiny gap between the front and rear during simultaneous detonation. Do you understand?"

"clear!"

The craftsmen said in unison.

Ye Zongxing narrowed his eyes: "Since everyone is so confident, then we will implement it according to the plan. Lao Li, the three of you are responsible for guarding the entrance and exit, and the subsequent transportation of earth, stone and wooden frames. Lao Liu, the five of you are responsible for blasting , Lao Sun, you and Lao Huang are responsible for monitoring the situation of the mountain. The others and I will go into the mine to investigate the situation after the waiting time for blasting, and figure out the specific distribution of the ore veins as soon as possible, how about it?"

"OK."

"I have no opinion!"

"."

"Yes." Ye Zongxing nodded with satisfaction, "Then let's start immediately."

Everyone dispersed and began to get busy.

The first round of detonation went smoothly, and the transportation of earth and rock was also very convenient, because although the differential detonation technology used was relatively primitive and there was no remote control explosion, it still relied on double detonating cords, but the explosive package detonated in the front could pass through the stress wave. The superposition further breaks the rock and provides a new free surface for the explosive package that is detonated later. As the saying goes, it is to walk out of the way, which can effectively reduce the rock resistance, and this method can also make the surrounding soil and rocks that are blasted level. The movement in the direction collides with each other during the explosion process, causing the rock blocks that have produced micro cracks to further disintegrate and break. Therefore, the looseness of the earth and rock is relatively good, making it easy to clean and transport.

But there are still inevitable surprises that are not accidents.

——Water stains appeared in the mine.

There are hot springs nearby in Tangshan, and there is water in the rock formations deep in the mountain. This is normal, but for explosions that require precise detonation, it is very fatal.

Water damage will greatly affect gunpowder blasting and may cause a negative chain reaction.

"Come on, let me go take a look."

Ye Zongxing's heart sank, but he still said calmly.

The light in the mine was not very good to begin with, and because of the continuous wind during this period, the mine became even darker and colder.

But Ye Zongxing was not afraid at all. He wore a fine cotton mask and gloves, carried a bag on his back, tools hanging on his waist, and a lamp in his hand, and stepped into the dark mine tunnel.

Ye Zongxing was not very familiar with this mine, and the situation here was so changeable that it was impossible to accurately judge based on memory or common sense alone, so he had to go and see it in person.

Ye Zongxing walked deeper along the mine tunnel until he reached about a few hundred steps. The air became more and more sultry. He felt an extremely depressing environment. The temperature in the mine had approached the upper limit of the human body, and there was no trace of it at the beginning. The coldness turned into hot and humid.

This feeling was similar to soaking in a hot spring. Beads of sweat appeared on Ye Zongxing's forehead, but he did not stop and was still walking forward firmly.

This place was already very far away from the entrance of the mine. There was no one else in the mine except for their group, and he also heard a faint strange noise coming from the depths of the mine, like the chirping of some kind of insect, which was audible. His tailbone trembled.

The width of the mine tunnel is not actually narrow, but the mine walls are very hard and very low. At the last section of the road, Ye Zongxing had to lean against the wall to move forward, otherwise he would easily be hit on his head.

Everything here is fresh, surrounded by wooden frames used to stabilize the mine tunnels, and the ventilation shaft has not yet been drilled. It is a little difficult to breathe, but there is still wind flowing.

This mine tunnel was very deep and extended straight forward. Ye Zongxing and others trudged in it for a while before they saw the end.

At the end of the mine tunnel is an open area, the ground is covered with black ore fragments, and there are indeed water stains on the rock wall here.

"It's difficult to handle." A craftsman looked a little solemn.

If there is a lot of water, even if there is no steam engine, you can manually pump it out and do it slowly. The most feared situation is the situation where there are water stains but no water accumulation.

"Master Ye, what should I do?"

Ye Zongxing thought about this kind of problem he had encountered before in the humid areas south of the Yangtze River, but he was still a little unsure, so he said: "Drill the holes first."

Several people braved the high temperature and humidity to drill holes into the rock wall with explosive packets. Ye Zongxing tried it with his own fingers, and then tried it with a bamboo pole tied with cotton gauze that he carried with him.

"It's okay, I can clean it up."

Ye Zongxing pondered for a moment, his voice came through the mask, and he said angrily: "Use a cotton gauze pole to clean the inside, and then split the explosive packets. The amount of explosives remains the same, but drill a deep hole and split it into two packets. Use fine sand to block the spaces between them.”

The clogged section is blocked with fine sand, which is similar to the principle of a homemade water filtering device in the field. This is because this device can function as a simple water filter, squeezing out the water in the clogged section and increasing the density of the stuffed section.

"Drilling and charging and stuffing work will begin immediately."

Subsequently, the second round of detonation was successfully completed, and the cycle continued. After four rounds of detonation, it was finally confirmed that the Tangshan coal mine did contain a large amount of associated molybdenite, rather than an occasional small-scale mine.

When the stilbeta mine was blasted and excavated, everyone else stayed far away. Only Jiang Xinghuo squatted not far from the pit, holding a magnifying glass and carefully looking at the piles of minerals being shipped out.

During the Industrial Revolution, the two most important sectors of heavy industry were the coal and iron sectors. Now, under his own hand, they were beginning to move in a new direction.

"We have indeed dug up a molybdenum ore. What an unexpected surprise."

Although Jiang Xinghuo didn't know the exact number of tons, he roughly estimated that the quantity would definitely be enough for the initial stage of industrialization.

In fact, these were all discovered in later generations, but because times have changed, it was still a scarce resource in the past. The annual output of molybdenum ore was more than ten tons or dozens of tons. The invaders would vigorously plunder it, but it was discovered in later generations. At that time, other larger mines had already replaced it, so this small associated mine was not well known.

Of course, these all belong to Jiang Xinghuo now.

Improving the performance of steel requires a series of supporting technologies, but molybdenite is not only used to cast steel, but is also used to improve the quality of glass manufacturing. It can be used now.

Moreover, in Jiang Xinghuo's view, if it is not used in glass manufacturing, molybdenumite can be used as a scarce metal resource, which will be used exclusively for the upgrading and transformation of weapon materials in the future, and then create a technology that cannot be replicated by other countries. Technology generation difference.

Because molybdenum has a very high melting point, ranking sixth among natural elements, it is called a refractory metal. With the current metallurgical level of countries around the world, it can only be used indirectly through Japan's forging method. If you want to melt it directly, It doesn’t have that furnace temperature, and even Ming Dynasty couldn’t do it.

In later generations, molybdenum was called "the first gold in steel". Molybdenum has always occupied the most important position in the application of the steel industry. This thing is really powerful. As an alloying element of steel, molybdenum can improve the strength of steel. Strength, especially high temperature strength and toughness, improve the corrosion resistance of steel in acid-base solutions and liquid metals, improve the wear resistance of steel and improve hardenability, weldability and heat resistance. In the field of metallurgy, its It is far more important than other metals and can be said to be the best choice for making steel.

It can only be said that if Ming Dynasty can fully utilize metals such as nickel, chromium, molybdenum, and cobalt, it will be enough to treat other countries as primitive people, because for other countries, they are still at a technical level that cannot melt steel. The Ming Dynasty that can integrate other high-melting-point elements into steel to make war weapons is simply an extraterrestrial technology.

——————

Jiang Xinghuo gained a lot from Tangshan and his party.

Immediately afterwards, he continued to inspect the iron smelting yards under the Ministry of Industry and the artillery foundry opened by the Ordnance Bureau of the Ministry of Industry.

With the growth of the light industry sector and the realization of large-scale export of products during the Industrial Revolution, Jiang Xinghuo has now begun to pay more attention to the improvement of the heavy industry sector. Coal and iron are not separated. After looking at coal, it is natural to look at iron.

The four words "salt and iron franchise" are not called for nothing.

In fact, although the scale of the iron smelting industry is not as large as that of the salt industry, the management model is basically the same. According to Lao Zhu's rules, it is a national monopoly, and there are specialized people as blacksmiths to undertake corresponding production tasks. And it is passed down hereditary to descendants.

So since iron is a state monopoly, will the situation among the private sector be unable to happen like table salt, and the government-run iron smelting industry will not be able to meet the normal needs of the people?

The answer may be surprising, no, and it is quite abundant.

The current annual iron output of the government-run iron smelting yards in the Ming Dynasty, converted into tons, is about eight or nine thousand tons. Even in the highest years, it did not exceed the threshold of ten thousand tons. But even so, it is still necessary to use As for the endless use, by the middle and late Hongwu period, there would be a backlog of iron production every year. At the most, the backlog was about 20,000 tons, which meant that the national iron production was surplus for more than two years. In order to use up this surplus iron production, Lao Zhu issued an order to stop smelting iron in the official iron smelting yard. It stopped for eight years, and then started smelting again. As a result, in just two years, there was a backlog of 20,000 tons.

This time Lao Zhu had no choice but to directly issue an order to stop smelting iron in all government-run iron smelting yards. If the private sector needed it, they could smelt it themselves, but the state would impose a 15% iron smelting tax.

The reason why this happens is that there is little demand for iron among the people. They basically make farm tools, kitchen knives, iron pots, etc. These things do not require good iron at all, they just need to be fooled with white iron.

Nowadays, the main steel needs of the official iron smelting yards of the Ming Dynasty are actually provided by the military, including swords, guns, armor, arrowheads, and firecrackers.

In the iron smelting yard of the Ministry of Industry.

The huge iron-making furnace has been lit, and the temperature is very high. Dozens of shirtless men are wandering around the furnace, busy and busy.

"Soon!"

"Just hold on a little longer and you'll be fine. Look! We're almost successful!"

Along with various cheers, black and red impurities began to appear inside the stove.

This is the waste from refining.

Jiang Xinghuo and others came in quietly and did not interrupt these craftsmen.

After observing for a moment, he roughly figured out the way. This should be a variant of the crucible steelmaking method, but the problem is that the melting temperature of steel is above 1500 degrees, and that of pig iron is above 1200 degrees. The small crucible is fire-resistant, but the output is not good, at least it must reach Steel can be melted into molten steel only at 1600 degrees, which is impossible in such a large furnace.

"This is a square furnace, smelting molten iron."

The accompanying official from the Ministry of Industry explained.

Sure enough, it was molten iron, not molten steel, which meant that the temperature could not reach 1,600 degrees.

Although this kind of open iron-making furnace has human and animal power to blow the air, you can tell by just looking at it that the thermal efficiency is not high, and there is no way to effectively collect and retain heat.

The reason why the converter steelmaking method is needed is that the key to liquid steel (molten steel) is a high furnace temperature. In fact, in the ancient East and West, there was no liquid steelmaking. To make steel, the only way to make steel is through wrought iron. It was not until the mid-19th century that liquid steelmaking was available with the invention of the open-hearth furnace, and carbon could be obtained in a stupid way, and steel could be manufactured quickly and efficiently on a large scale.

Therefore, these people were smelting wrought iron.

Don't underestimate this technology just because wrought iron is "iron" rather than "steel". In fact, the melting point of wrought iron is not only far higher than pig iron, but even higher than steel. Therefore, in ancient times, it seemed that liquid steel was impossible to obtain in both the East and the West. Likewise, wrought iron cannot be obtained directly through liquid smelting.

Now these craftsmen want to obtain wrought iron. In addition to repeatedly forging it through sponge iron that is initially reduced from iron ore, it is somewhat similar to the extremely low production efficiency method used in Japan to make steel knives. It is smelted in this square furnace. Pig iron is then decarburized through heat treatment to become malleable cast iron. The malleable cast iron is further forged to remove slag and decarburize to obtain wrought iron.

With wrought iron, there is steel.

Because wrought iron transforms into steel, it only needs carburizing.

However, after these impurities were burned away, a strong and pungent burnt smell wafted out.

"Wasted? Failed?"

"How could this happen? How could this happen?"

The onlookers wailed, and many people beat their chests and stamped their feet in annoyance.

New attempts have to pay a price. The cost of this batch of pig iron is valuable, but now it has become waste. This loss is difficult for them to accept.

"Hahahaha! This is scrap copper and rotten iron! Scrap copper and rotten iron! Are all Annan people fools?"

Suddenly there was a sound of disdain and ridicule from the side. Jiang Xinghuo stretched his head and looked inside. He found a dirty old master wearing a shabby cotton jacket and a felt hat standing in the distance with a sallow face, looking at him with disdain. Watching them.

The green-robed official from the Ministry of Industry who was standing next to the square furnace for smelting iron also turned his head with a puzzled expression. It was none other than Hu Yuancheng, the former left prime minister and king of Wei of Annan Kingdom who was thrown to work here.

I have to say that although Xiao Hu is not young, he really loves what he does.

When he was asked to manage the iron smelting yard, he did not sit in the duty room drinking tea, but personally studied and improved the iron smelting technology.