Rise of Rurik

In the East, large-scale smelting of pig iron has always been a national project.

There were as many as 64 large state-owned iron factories in the Western Han Dynasty, which produced molten iron from clay blast furnaces, and used it to finish processing into carbon steel, thus achieving the Wuwei of the Han Dynasty. It's the kind of big iron factory that almost starts smelting and won't stop unless the blast furnace is eventually eroded to the point of hopelessness by molten iron. In that kind of smelting, artisans supply the furnace with ore and charcoal, and even coke made from burning coal. The craftsmen on the other side constantly estimated the furnace temperature and controlled the opening and closing of the slag outlet of the tap hole.

However, the Ross tribe does not have such strong industrial strength to ensure the continuous operation of an "iron-eating monster". However, the blast furnace was stopped because there were no raw materials. As long as the internal debris was cleaned up before the next use, the damage to the furnace itself was not great. In other words, its biggest damage is actually damage to the price/performance ratio. Because in an iron plant where the supply of fuel ore is very stable, it is really unthinkable to have the blast furnace suddenly shut down.

Rurik was ready to accept that the furnace was forced to shut down after finishing the ore smelting. Ah, the big deal is that after the new ore is in place, the furnace will start up for the second time.

The crimson flames swayed up along with the gray-black smoke, and the stove's flame color and thick smoke proved that the temperature of the stove was too low.

Rurik was silent for a while. "Kravassen."

"exist."

"Maybe the stove will be kept burning until tomorrow. We will burn all night!"

"Huh? Do it again?! Didn't we just harden it?"

Apparently, Clavasson was referring to the incineration operations carried out by the original hardening furnaces.

"It's different!" Rurik corrected. "We're serious now. We have to keep the furnace at the limit of temperature before putting in the ore."

Clavasson could see that Rurik obviously had a thousand words. He was a boy with great wisdom, but it was impossible for him to understand in a short time.

Fortunately, don't ask too much, just follow Rurik's orders strictly.

For Rurik, he assumed that blacksmiths could not operate a blast furnace without a teacher. Even if Rurik had only theoretical foundations, he chose to be the object of worship by blacksmiths, and was the only technical advisor who could guide people and use this furnace to make molten iron.

The long heating furnace operation continued uninterrupted until close to noon the next day. Those mercenaries who sweated all night had now become a group of sturdy fishermen who were hired. Just like the mercenaries, the newcomers People also went into battle shirtless,

Their sweaty backs in the sun are a testament to their hardships.

"It's really hard!"

Seeing this smelting scene in full swing, Rurik had to sigh with emotion.

Always pay attention to the flame-colored Kravason and Kawi, they finally waited for the moment of desire.

Kawi hurriedly ran close to Rurik who was watching. He pointed to the flames: "The yellow fire has been going on for a while. My dear, we shouldn't waste any more time."

"Okay! Start putting in the ore!"

"okay!"

No matter how much sweat he sheds, it is for the present moment. Rurik looked at Kawei's running back, paying particular attention to his sweat-soaked sackcloth.

A large amount of ore was thrown into the furnace, and inside the furnace at this moment, those chromites, which act as refractory bricks, have built a solid layer of insulation, and they have undertaken all the hematite and magnetite.

All the prepared ores were thrown in, and the flame color turned red again almost instantly.

Kawei raised a deep brow, he knew that the furnace temperature had suddenly plummeted.

Clavasson's brows wrinkled everyone, he stood beside Rurik and asked nervously, "It turned into a red flame, what should I do?"

"It's okay, I know it."

"Huh? This is also in your plan?"

"Yes, everything is in the plan." Rurik turned his head suddenly, "Klavassen."

"exist."

"It is impossible to smelt all the ore in two days! Kawei will continue to bring his brothers to serve this furnace around the clock, and you. Since you are against the direct condensation of molten iron on the sand and gravel, make it for me Lots of clay molds! I didn't ask for much, I ended up needing a batch of boxy cast iron ingots, and making the corresponding molds must be easy."

"This..." Clavasson asked hesitantly, "Then why don't we just cast the tool?"

"Forget it. When we smelt for the second time, we will talk about it when we are very well prepared. As for those iron ingots, I will teach you new smelting skills in the future. Those iron ingots are the raw materials."

Rurik was just trying to betray him, and although Clavassen was curious, it was no nonsense given the heavy tasks on his shoulders. He didn't even want to be a spectator anymore, and immediately worried about his fellow blacksmiths, most of the potters in the tribe.

On the one hand, the blast furnace that has eaten a belly of ore is undergoing a long roast, and the melting of the pig iron is taking place slowly at a relatively microscopic level, and the changes in the crowd are destined to become a furnace of pig iron.

On the other side, after the blacksmiths and potters got together for a small meeting, there was a pottery-making movement in the cluttered streets of the tribe.

Because a news spread like wildfire!

It was rumored among the tribe that the great Rurik needed a lot of pottery, and as long as it could hold molten iron, Rurik would give the potter a sum of money. Almost all the people in the entire tribe who know how to make pottery are involved in this money-making operation. Their idea is extremely simple.

When Rurik felt that the smelting had reached the point where iron could be tapped, it was already the third day after the ignition.

Within three days, the tribesmen made a large number of pottery of varying quality, and they burned pottery and charcoal recklessly.

At least a lot of pottery to hold the molten iron has been made. No matter how bad the quality is, it is better than letting the pig iron cool directly on the sand and gravel ground.

The long burn challenges the patience of all involved.

No one can count how much charcoal they consumed, but from the bright smile of Yangguan, the charcoal burner, Rurik could be sure that they made a lot of money.

Rurik was standing beside the stove, specifically, twenty steps away from the end of the drainage trough at the tap hole. He didn't want to risk his life being sprayed out by the molten iron.

At the same time, hearing the news that the molten iron casting was about to be completed, when the sky was just dawning, a large number of clansmen rushed to the early gathering and gathered near the Kravasen's house. One after another, as many as 2,000 people became spectators. They pointed at the still lively smelting site.

Rurik became the center of attention.

He got up early, just to stand by the stove to witness a great moment, and to take advantage of the hot molten iron while the clansmen were watching, to attract a wave of popularity to himself.

Everyone awaits Rurik's order.

Kravason and Kawi, the two of them stood beside Rurik, facing a very tense moment, their hearts were beating wildly, and their bodies were shaking uncontrollably.

"Are you nervous?" Rurik, who was calm as water, asked knowingly.

"Certainly. Soon... we're going to witness a miracle," Clavason said.

"A miracle? No. You'll get used to it later."

Rurik was really confident. In the past, he often observed the color of the flame spewing from the end of the furnace mouth. There was even a period of time when the mercenaries operating the blower were working too hard, and more air was continuously injected at a high pressure. The furnace, the hot flame at the mouth of the furnace has become yellow-white!

What does this mean? If you have a see-through eye, I am afraid that you can see that the hottest belly has almost reached the level of perfection.

Oh, if two days of high-intensity incineration can't smelt pig iron, it makes no sense.

"Now, open two exits?" Clavason asked cautiously.

"Then let's start. Open the slag opening first, wait for the slag to flow almost, then the tap hole!"

"Good Le!" Clavasson immediately entrusted this glorious task to his son Kawhi.

The young Kawi, armed with a special long-handled shovel, began to pull out all the clay that had closed the slag opening.

A furnace is a solid shell, only a few holes are weak points. The clay that blocks the slag outlet is originally clay, which resists the erosion of the slag and is easily hollowed out.

The slag outlet was unclogged. When Kawei took out the tongs, he saw that it was completely magma silicate slag, which had become a very thin paste under extreme high temperature. Under the pressure of the slag in the furnace, a stream of magma spewed out of the slag outlet, so scared that Kawei sat directly on the ground, but he didn't care to pick up the tongs, and even scrambled to the side, watching the continuous flow as if " The slag gushing out like "mountain spring water" couldn't help but hold his chest and feel that he almost lost his life.

The scene shocked all the onlookers, and Kravason was worried about his son, who almost sat on the ground.

As for Lilia, she was supported by someone to witness what happened today, and when she saw that her husband was almost injured, she almost fainted.

Rurik tried his best to remain calm, not wanting to panic under the watchful eyes of thousands of onlookers. He forced himself not to panic, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead suddenly, and continued to order Kawei who had just stood up: "Don't be afraid, it's just slag! After they run out, you open the tap hole! Be careful, molten iron is very similar to slag. The spring water spews out, be careful not to get burned!"

"I! I understand."

Kawei was so frightened that it was like a young child touching a water glass full of boiling water for the first time. After he was scalded, he would never touch boiling water rashly again in this life. The same is true for Kawi. He has learned a lesson and becomes extremely cautious when opening the tap hole.

At the same time? Those mercenaries were ready with a large number of pottery to carry molten iron, and all the casting molds were also lined up.

Cravasen took his part in the elaborate clay crucible specially used for smelting bronze. According to Rurik's explanation, he estimated that this crucible was the only one that was not afraid of molten iron corrosion.

This is indeed the case. The temperature of pig iron water is not much higher than that of bronze water. A crucible filled with a large amount of refractory ore will melt and disintegrate at a higher temperature.

The tap hole at the bottom of the furnace was pierced!

At the moment of the piercing, Kawi realized that something was wrong. He felt a very strong pressure, and his hands could hardly control the iron rod of the tongs.

"Everything is ready! The iron is out!"

Kawei roared and pulled out the tongs instantly. At the same time, a hot, almost white iron stream, like a small stream, was flowing in the iron canal.

Rurik's eyes widened, obviously he was not happy for a moment because of the great success, some just rushed forward, urging the mercenary who was in control of the pottery, received the molten iron almost, and pushed the pottery away.

The task is just to hold the pottery container that allows the molten iron to condense into white iron, and is pushed away one after another. The hot molten iron is indeed eroding the wall of the pottery, but the molten iron itself is rapidly cooling, and its almost white color is slowly changing. Red fades.

The hot molten iron is still flowing continuously. Due to the reduction of the molten iron capacity in the furnace, the pressure has been weakened a lot, so that the flowing molten iron is no longer so violent.

This is the moment that Clavason has been waiting for!

Suddenly, his crucible was aimed at the lead slot, which was full of molten iron.

"Hey! It's a good time to cast." He chuckled and clamped the crucible with tongs, and while Rurik was stunned, he aimed the "mouth" of the crucible at the feeding port of the largest mold.

The hot molten iron is really like the smooth pouring mold of spring water, that is, it pours with a lot of flames.

Some of the vent holes reserved on the mold are also spewing invisible hot gas, and the mold itself has become a very hot existence.

Out of sight of Rurik, a large cast-iron cauldron was rapidly forming. Complete smelting molten iron, after all, it has the most essential difference from glass, and when it cools to a critical temperature, it quickly hardens into a dark red solid.

Seeing that there was still a bit of molten iron in the crucible held by the tongs, Klaverson stretched his head to knock, and shook his head: "Oh, my crucible is too large."

"The casting is completed?" Rurik was anxious, but a natural idea of ​​seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages prevented him from approaching the casting site rashly.

"And those axes."

"Hurry up then. I hope to see your casting soon."

What Rurik actually wanted was to quickly get a long-awaited cauldron, which Kravassen naturally understood as an axe his old friend longed for mass-produced.

All the prepared molds have been cast, and the pig iron stored in the entire furnace has been collected in a short period of time.

The molten iron held by a large number of clay containers is rapidly condensing, and they are naturally cooled by the wind blowing in the indeterminate direction. Some people with very few eyes are standing on the roofs or uncut trees in some settlements, watching. The legendary changes in molten iron in a large number of pottery.

The luminosity of the molten iron that was originally emitting bright yellow light began to decline, and the molten iron that was first contained was obviously hardened, turned into a dark red, and continued to change to gray-black.

Rurik kept his hands behind his back, his eyes fixed on the largest mold, and he wished to splash water on the mold to speed up the cooling. But he wouldn't do it. The violent cooling brought about the cracking of the iron pot, which was terrible.

This is the tap hole for the rushing molten iron, and there is no new molten iron flowing out. It didn't actually flow too fast, a small part had been at the bottom of the furnace, and they started to congeal naturally, once again mixed with the ferrochrome alloy that had turned into the hearth liner.

The stove was supposed to be recycled, and Rurik shook his head when he looked at the completely extinguished stove.

Kawei roared, attracting the attention of many mercenaries and hired coolies: "The furnace is empty! I will close the exit."

Rurik gestured to his eyes, and Kawi understood it. A blast furnace produced a large amount of pig iron, it was closed because there was not enough raw material, and the next time it was opened is unknown.

After a long wait, Kravassen estimated the molten iron based on the approximate setting time of bronze ware, and he felt that the time was ripe.

Holding the molten iron in his hand forging the steel sword, he looked at Rurik: "Sir, it's time to look at the axe."

"Finally finished?"

"Yes."

Rurik nodded, and then walked over boldly, only to see Kravassen's strong right hand clenching the molten iron, beating fiercely against the mold. The pottery, which was eroded by molten iron and became fragile, cracked into a large number of fragments, and after a beat, the cast iron axe piece was successfully cast, accompanied by a large number of iron bars that outlined the drainage groove.

Seeing this feat, all the onlookers were stunned.

Those with excellent eyesight watched the lively from a distance, they began to exclaim, and after a while, the exclamation of thousands of onlookers turned into a fierce roar.

Clavasson simply smiled and bent over. He held the axe high and faced the sun in the sky, thanking God for his grace.

Pig iron casting did succeed.

Klavassen knocked and pulled down the four cast iron axe pieces. As for the iron protrusions on the axe pieces that belonged to the drainage grooves, it was irrelevant.

The axe is not polished, its appearance is very rough, but its shape is specially made, just provide a wooden stick, and the twine can be tightly trapped on the stick. This cast axe blade can fully meet the living needs of ordinary people. The only finishing process it needs to do now is to use sandstone to polish a sharp blade. I am afraid that this work cannot be done by a blacksmith. It will be the buyer's business.

A bucket of water was poured over the hot axe blade, which made it touchable by the way.

Clavasson held four axe blades in his hand, and approached Rurik cheerfully to show off: "Look, we succeeded. We made axe blades very easily."

Rurik was really happy, but pig iron tools were too poor, and perhaps the most useful tool they could make were iron scissors.

Rurik squeezed out a smile, pointed at the largest mold and urged, "Time should be enough, break it for me, I want to see my iron pan."

"Time is indeed enough." Cravason felt itchy, and he immediately called a few strong men who were eager to try, and even his son Kawhi.

A group of people held their own hammers, shouting their horns to beat the largest mold.

The pottery mold disintegrated rapidly, and in broad daylight, it appeared gray-black.

Seeing this, Rurik was sure that the conclusion he had just drawn was extremely correct.

His eyes widened, not only was he amazed that this was an iron pot that basically satisfied himself and him, but also that it was gray iron, the easiest cast iron to obtain.

Rurik's stupor attracted the praise-hungry Clavasson to urge, "My lord, what do you think?"

Rurik immediately came to his senses: "Oh, that's great. It's actually gray...gray."

This "grey" was really meaningful, and Kravason could sense the subtlety of Rurik's attitude, but he didn't know what it was.

What exactly does it mean?

In order to obtain carbon steel, Rurik wished that the blast furnace could directly burn white iron at a higher temperature in one step. Since all he obtained was dark gray gray iron, he was not at a loss at all.

Gray iron is the most cost-effective cast iron, and it will take over the burden of popularizing iron tools for the entire tribe and servants.