The Great Industrial Ming Dynasty Started from Beiping

Chapter 45 State-of-the-Art Factory

Everyone had to listen to Wan San about technical matters, including Zhu Gaochi.

Talking about her special skills, Wan San beamed with joy, as if she had changed herself, and her tone was full of confidence.

"Northern Railway is not as good as Southern Railway. The iron mines in Fujian and Guangdong are the best. Iron ore is so good. Even charcoal is worse than Beiping."

"If you use the iron ore in these two areas to make steam engines, it is an excellent material, but unfortunately the transportation is too expensive to use."

"That's why we used iron ore from Miyun, Lianhua, and Wu'an." Wan San was afraid that the nobleman would worry about the poor quality, so he hurriedly explained: "My lord, don't worry, the quality of iron ore in these places is not as good as that of Nantie, but it is not as good as it is." Not much."

"How can we understand technical matters, Master Wan is the master." Zhu Gaochi trusted Wan San extremely in his words.

Leaving the material room, just entering the iron smelting workshop, a wave of heat hits the face, and the blast furnace is burning vigorously.

"My lord, be careful." Zhang Quan held Zhu Gaochi and prevented him from getting too close.

There are several square ponds, one of which is in use.

The hot molten iron released from the blast furnace flows into the square pond from the fire pond, and the movement is scary.

Three craftsmen stood on a stone platform several feet wide, and were sprinkling some ashes of unknown composition into it.Two craftsmen quickly stirred it with extremely long wooden sticks, and it didn't take long for two or three inches to be burned, and the rest was used repeatedly until it could no longer be used.

Wan San followed Zhang Quan to stand in front of the nobleman, and turned around to explain: "This is a special muddy mud that is dried in the sun, sifted with a pound and sifted into fine grains, and then sprinkled into molten iron."

The nobleman is not afraid of sweating, already let Wan Sangao take a look, and he recognizes the eldest son more and more in his heart.

The eldest son really values ​​their craftsmen, not just lip service.

The skill of a craftsman is like this molten iron.

It's all iron.

But the difference between iron and iron is like cloud and mud.Wansan is convinced and is willing to use all his abilities for the nobleman. Of course, he also has Xiao Jiujiu.

The eight-level and third-class system protects Wansan's interests. His apprentices can live and work in the factory without affecting his reputation.

In essence, he has mastered the right to speak in the factory.

Such as this molten iron.

Wan San was also very satisfied when he saw how well the fifth child on the wall had mastered the temperature of the molten iron.

Whether it is the third child, the fifth child, or even the ninth child.

The core technology of the factory is in the hands of his apprentices, which is the reliance for generations to eat.

Regarding the iron smelting process in the factory, although Zhu Gaochi did not understand the detailed process and could only rely on Wansan, he was not ignorant.

From the fried steel method in the Jin Dynasty, to the casting and forging in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and then the pig iron sprinkling method in the early Ming Dynasty, and the Su steel method invented by Suzhou craftsmen in the future.

According to the standards of later generations, if an invention is a scientist, then there were countless inventors in ancient China.

Just like the famous Watt, the Watt steam engine he improved was a huge change in the history of steam engine development.

He is also a craftsman, born in a family of craftsmen, his father was a skilled shipbuilder, and Watt also started as an apprentice in an instrument repair shop.

artisan.

He was the inventor of human history before modern technology, so the factory was technically controlled by Wan San, and Zhu Gaochi didn't feel disgusted in his heart.

As long as Wansan is willing to train apprentices, what difference does it make if his apprentices work in factories?
And this technology is not only in the hands of Wansan.

The process of iron smelting workshop involves the production process of low carbon steel and high carbon steel.

Wrought iron is a common name for steel with very low carbon content. The country that first made steel in the world was China. The lump iron carburizing method from the pre-Qin period to the mid-Western Han Dynasty was a primary steel-making process.

In the early Ming Dynasty, according to "Chinese Iron and Steel History".

After more than [-] years of development, all walks of life, including the iron smelting industry, have been restored and are close to the level of the Song Dynasty.

According to "The History of the Development of Iron Smelting Technology in Ancient China" and "Ancient Chinese Metal Technology", the iron smelting process in the Ming Dynasty, including wrought iron, pig iron, and steel, was actually an "iron-carbon alloy".

Wansan can become a craftsman because he has thoroughly understood this technology and became an industry promoter, but it does not mean that he is the only craftsman in the country.

As he said, the quality of iron ore in Fujian and Guangdong is better than that in Beiping, which in disguise means that the level of iron smelting in the two places is not worse than that in Beiping.There are also craftsmen who have the same technical level as Wansan, or even surpass him.

"What are the special ingredients?" Zhu Gaochi asked curiously.

Wan San didn't hide anything, and said honestly: "Grass ash, clay, dry straw."

These materials can't be hidden from people, Wansan also cares about these, the important thing is the technique, you can learn it just by looking at it, it's not that simple.

There are some things that you can't learn in a lifetime if you don't talk about them.

Zhu Gaochi was sweating profusely, looking at the busy iron smelting workshop, hesitating whether to leave or not.

"There's nothing to see in the future." Wansan and his seniors explained proactively, "The future is hard work, and it will take a few more days."

The iron juice flows out, smelted to five fires, made slurry with loess and water, put in fine straw, soaked for one or two nights, put iron in the slurry, soaked for half a day, took it out and smelted to ten fires, must cast ten tendons of iron, It can be said that it is familiar only when it reaches a single tendon.

It is further divided into five-six-smelting and nine-smelting processes to produce refined iron of various hardness.

According to the needs of the steam engine, the nine refining process is adopted.

But it doesn't mean that the refined iron produced by the ninth refinement is necessarily better than the refined iron produced by the fifth refinement.

The former is rigid, while the latter is soft, and the two are suitable for different needs.

Zhu Gaochi understood.

According to later generations, the difference between low carbon steel and high carbon steel.

In the late Ming Dynasty, refined iron produced by two iron-smelting processes was used to make Hongyi cannons and bird guns respectively.

Everyone left the iron smelting workshop, only feeling cool.

Zhang Quan stopped Zhu Gaochi, took out a handkerchief, and wanted to help the eldest son dry the sweat on his body, worried that he would catch a cold if he was blown by the wind.

Zhu Gaochi took the handkerchief and wiped off the sweat himself.

Everyone waited quietly.

No one thought there was anything wrong.

The nobleman is young, so he can't tolerate sloppiness. If something goes wrong, no one present will be easy to get along with.

"Let's go." Zhu Gaochi smiled.

Behind is the mold workshop.

The technology of pouring iron tools according to the soil embryo mold.

the whole factory.

With the help of the hydraulic power of the Fenghe River in Daxing Village, water trucks replace manpower, and double-acting piston bellows technology, blast furnace technology, iron smelting technology, irrigation technology...

All are directed by Wan San.

In the professional works of Westerners, especially the books before the [-]th century, the ancient Chinese double-acting piston bellows technology is often mentioned.

Because if there is no double-acting piston bellows technology, the western iron-smelting technology cannot be developed.

The double-acting piston bellows technology greatly increases the temperature in the furnace, making coal the condition to replace charcoal.The essence of the industrial revolution is an era in which coal replaces firewood and becomes an emerging fuel.

In the [-]th century, Agrigora described the wind blowing equipment in Europe at that time in his book "On Natural Metals". Among them, the hand-pulled, foot-operated, and water-powered blowers were only in the period of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods in China and the Han Dynasty. At the same time, China had already used the more efficient double-acting piston bellows.

In the early seventeenth century, China's double-acting piston bellows were introduced to the West, laying the foundation for the industrial revolution that began in the mid-eighteenth century.

In the [-]th century, Western scholars proposed the most perfect blower in the world, which was improved from the Chinese bellows.

But how should Ming craftsmen face the great changes that the West is about to enter the Renaissance.

The geographical location of the West makes it easy to absorb the technology and civilization of other regions. When one country comes up with new technology, other countries will also absorb it.

There was no object for him to learn from around the Ming Dynasty, and he would not start to learn from and imitate until the arrival of Western missionaries. By then, it was too late. The nearly 300-year-old feudal dynasty had accumulated too many evils to recover.

"We have a request regarding the grading of craftsmen." After visiting his factory, Zhu Gaochi took Wansan and his apprentices back to his office.

In the eight-level and third-class craftsman system, Wan San did not understand his own thinking, and the standard was a bit low, so he also needed to be suppressed.

(End of this chapter)