Zhao Hu and Sun Zhou each taught one.
Soon, the two fellows learned.
They were having a blast.
In the end, each insisted on taking a firearm back with them.
How could Fang Er agree to that?
After promising them that they could come and play anytime, the two fellows finally gave up.
Returning to Fang Family Village, after giving Changsun Chong the silver, the two of them stayed for a meal and then left.
As they left, Changsun Chong even seemed a little reluctant.
The iron ore had arrived, and steel refining could now be put on the agenda.
In the afternoon, Fang Er began selecting materials for the blast furnace in the workshop.
He took out the mining encyclopedia and compared it with the various clays that Zhao Hu and the others had found.
After comparison, it turned out that there were suitable ones among these samples.
That was kaolin.
It was a white clay with a melting point of over seventeen hundred degrees.
The melting point of steel was only around fifteen hundred degrees, so kaolin was sufficient for making refractory bricks.
He learned from Zhao Hu that there was a small hill about seven or eight li away from the Fang family’s home, entirely made of this earth.
Using an afternoon.
Fang Er, with his guards, used ox carts to transport a sufficient amount of kaolin.
Early the next morning, they began the construction of the blast furnace.
The kaolin was made into unfired brick blanks, which dried and took shape in the morning.
In the open space in the middle of the blacksmith's workshop, a circular pit five meters in diameter and one meter deep was dug.
The pit was filled with refractory bricks to serve as the foundation.
Then, the masons who were finishing their work in the carpenter’s workshop were called over.
Under Fang Er's command, an oval blast furnace, three meters wide and five meters high, was constructed.
Next to the blast furnace, a charging platform of the same height was erected using I-beams exchanged from the system.
The entire furnace was divided into five sections from top to bottom, according to the temperature zones inside the furnace.
The top was the throat, where the temperature was only around two hundred degrees.
The raw materials for steel refining were fed in from here.
Below were the belly and the bosh, where the temperatures were around five hundred and eight hundred degrees, respectively.
The lower it went, the higher the temperature.
The crucible was located between one meter and one point five meters from the ground, where the temperature was the highest, ideally reaching between fourteen hundred and eighteen hundred degrees Celsius.
Further down was the hearth, which had two openings: the taphole, slightly lower, and the slag hole, slightly higher.
As the steel melted, some impurities that could not be vaporized would slowly float to the top of the molten steel. By opening the slag hole, the impurities could be discharged.
After everything was done, steel could not be refined directly.
Because the bricks used were just air-dried, and Fang Er wanted to save trouble, he didn't build a special brick kiln.
He directly fired the furnace, baking it from the inside out.
The flames in the furnace continued for a day and a night.
The refractory bricks slowly changed as the temperature changed.
From gray clay blanks, they turned into real bricks of a deep red color.
By the time the temperature in the furnace had completely cooled down, it was already the third day.
The ashes inside were cleaned out.
Everything was ready!
The prepared charcoal, pig iron ingots, and limestone were fed into the blast furnace.
The charcoal was ignited, and the cover of the top charging port was closed.
As the charcoal burned, a black plume of smoke began to emerge from the reserved smoke vent on the cover, rising straight into the sky.
Since it was the first time refining steel, various data needed to be gradually explored.
Fang Er stayed by the workshop the entire time.
Chang'an City was bustling with activity.
Yuchi Jingde and his son finally returned, escorting the captives.
Outside Chang'an City, on the Wei River Bridge, Li Er, along with a group of ministers, had been waiting there early.
At the same time, at the same location.
Li Er was doing the opposite.
Of course, this was something he would never have imagined.
Yuchi Jingde and his troops approached from a distance in a mighty procession.
Behind them were a large number of captives.
The sight of three thousand elite soldiers escorting twenty thousand captives stunned the onlookers who had gathered to witness the spectacle!
General Yuchi is truly formidable! With only three thousand men, he not only repelled Jieli but also captured so many prisoners!
I thought we were going to suffer from war again this time, but I didn't expect us to win!
Yes, when I heard the news a few days ago, I couldn't believe it!
With so many captives, the court will probably sell them as slaves. I wonder if they can use some of the money to help with disaster relief. This drought is truly devastating.
Who says not? Look at the grain in the fields, it’s all dead, with not a single harvest!
The crowd of onlookers, while talking about the war, gradually shifted to discussing the drought.
They had no idea that their unintentional words were being recorded by spies in the crowd.
Your subject has met the Emperor. Thanks to the satchel charges and the efforts of the soldiers, we have finally fulfilled our mission!
Yuchi Jingde arrived at the Wei River Bridge, dismounted, and reported to Li Er.
Good! Good! Good! Jingde, you are indeed my reliance!
Li Er stepped forward, patted Yuchi Jingde on the shoulder, and praised him repeatedly. Then, he cast his gaze towards Yuchi Baolin, who was behind him.
Baolin, you have also done well. Being able to shoot down a leader this time deserves a reward!
He then praised the other generals.
These men, hearing Li Er's words, were all pleased with themselves.
After the ceremonial display, they marched back to the court.
The Eastern Palace.
Yuchi Jingde personally recounted the events of the Jingyang battle.
The civil and military officials had already learned some details from the victory report, but upon hearing Yuchi Jingde’s retelling.
They became even more aware of how hard-won this victory was.
Your Majesty, I have a request!
Yuchi Jingde knelt on the ground and said to Li Er.
Jingde, rise and speak.
Li Er, seeing his serious demeanor, sat back on the dragon throne.
The great victory this time is thanks to the satchel charges and those mist grenades. Fang Anzhi has made such a great contribution, I request that he be promoted!
Yuchi Jingde remained kneeling and continued speaking.
You may rise. This matter has already been discussed by my ministers. Keming, do you have a conclusion?
Li Er turned his gaze to Du Ruhui.
Keming was his courtesy name.
Reporting to Your Majesty, your subject believes that such a merit is unprecedented in history. If there are future wars, we cannot keep promoting him indefinitely. Therefore, your subject suggests directly promoting Commandant Fang three ranks, and not granting further promotions for this matter in the future.
Du Ruhui stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said.
Li Er did not express his opinion, stroking his goatee, and looked at the other ministers.
Your subject believes it is feasible.
Fang Xuanling also stepped forward to support Du Ruhui, saying.
Your Majesty, the previous reward for Fang Anzhi was the eighth-rank upper御武校尉 (Yǔ Wǔ Xiào Wèi). A promotion of three ranks would only make him a seventh-rank lower 翊麾副尉 (Yì Huī Fù Wèi), which is rather insufficient given the importance of satchel charges to our Great Tang.
Li Jing looked at Fang and Du with some dissatisfaction.
He was the God of War of the Great Tang!
He understood the importance of things that could influence the outcome of a battle better than strategists like Fang and Du.
Your subject agrees with Pharmacist's opinion. 翊麾副尉 (Yì Huī Fù Wèi) is indeed rather insufficient.
Yuchi Jingde suddenly interjected.