Chapter 1061: You Just Never Thought of It

Zhao Jin knew an argument was coming, but he had his own considerations, so he simply cut in and interrupted: "You just said it's a pool, built with bricks and stone for the bottom and walls, and then you pour the molten iron in?"

When this question was raised, Zhu Xingshu, seated at the lower end, also grew interested. Xu Housheng pulled himself together and replied, "Big Brother is correct."

"And then from over twenty jin of raw iron you can only get a little over two jin of wrought iron — what is the rest?"

"All slag. This raw molten iron is mixed with quite a lot of coal cinders and charcoal ash. With that in it, the iron quality is poor — too brittle and too prone to rust. Only by constantly stirring and forging to work those impurities out can it be made good, and that's where the heavy loss comes from. We had thought the foreigners might have some better method, but after asking Master Zhu, it turns out their side is much the same as ours. There are a few techniques, but they can only smelt steel on a small scale." Xu Housheng's true outstanding quality was that he thoroughly understood the craft of coal and iron. He had been steeped in it since childhood and was deeply interested, which was remarkable. Xu Zhenzhen, being a girl, had no convenient access to such places.

"Charcoal ash? Charcoal ash?" Zhao Jin was genuinely in a state of half-understanding, with only a few fragmented things remaining in his memory.

"Could that charcoal ash have been burned out of those bricks and stones by the molten iron?" Zhao Jin asked. Xu Housheng was about to open his mouth to refute it, but then something occurred to him. He glanced at Zhu Xingshu and asked for his opinion: "Master Zhu, I don't know the details of what happens at the furnace front — does Master Jin's point make sense?"

"... That's hard to say. Some say you shouldn't use willow wood for the business of stirring molten iron — that stuff turns to slag when it burns up. As for this brick and stone base, molten iron can't burn those materials away either, so it should..." Zhu Xingshu spoke very hesitantly.

Zhao Jin pondered for a moment, then spoke: "I also heard someone talk about this method once. They said that if the pool that catches the molten iron uses raw iron for the floor and walls, and then you spread a layer of slag from the iron smelting over it, when you pour the molten iron in and start puddling, the impurities will be far fewer, and the yield of wrought iron will be much greater."

This was truly a very vague memory for Zhao Jin; the notebook he kept as a child had only mentioned it in a single line. After he made this suggestion, Xu Housheng and Zhu Xingshu exchanged glances, their faces showing hesitation. Clearly, they had no idea whether it was right or wrong. Only after a while did Xu Housheng speak: "Brother-in-law, this method of yours is worth a try."

Zhao's Camp had one advantage over other workshops and foundries: they dared to try, and they had the capital to try. Even if it turned out wrong, Zhao's Camp could afford the loss. Other workshops and foundries were all in it to make money — how could they bear to attempt something without precedent? All their improvements and innovations came from accumulated experience and chance encounters; there was no such thing as experimentation. Under such circumstances, they naturally could not compare to Zhao's Camp.

"Little Xu, don't you worry. None of Big Brother's methods have ever failed to work." Compared to Xu Housheng and Zhu Xingshu, Wang Zhaojing was full of confidence, because over all these years together, Zhao Jin had produced far too many good ideas.

At that moment, Zhao Jin sank back into deep thought. No one else dared disturb him. After a while, Zhao Jin spoke: "Bring paper, brush, and a charcoal stick."

Once the household servant brought these in from outside, Zhao Jin used the charcoal stick to sketch a rough shape on the paper. It resembled an empty box, with an upward passage at one end and a downward passage at the other. The box was not a perfect rectangular prism but had curved surfaces. Zhao Jin drew a circle near the lower passage and said, "Put the coal here."

He then drew another circle beneath the box near the upward passage and said, "Place the raw iron or molten iron here. I remember someone saying that burning coal is not as good as burning coke. You smother the coal into coke, then put it into this furnace. The hot air from the coke fire rises and constantly heats this furnace chamber. The molten iron on that side stays hot the whole time. A blacksmith stands to the side and uses iron tongs to scoop out the wrought iron. This might work better than pouring it directly into your pool."

As Zhao Jin spoke, he gestured with his hands. Everyone more or less understood what he was describing: it was essentially a furnace. The upward passage was where the smoke and fumes escaped. The box was a furnace chamber shaped like a winter melon. Coal went on one side of the chamber, iron on the other. An opening was made in the side — that was where the stirring and iron extraction would happen.

Wang Zhaojing and Ruhui listened in complete bewilderment. By the end, Wang Zhaojing could not help but cough and even shot Zhao Jin a meaningful glance, thinking that although Big Brother had many good ideas, he was out of his depth on this one. Even though Wang Zhaojing himself knew nothing about iron smelting, he did know that smelting iron required a charcoal fire to burn the ore into molten iron — the fire and the iron had to be together. In this furnace, the coke was on one side and the iron on the other; how could it possibly melt it? It seemed that expertise truly did require specialization.

But no sooner had he signaled than Wang Zhaojing realized something was off. He noticed that the expressions on Xu Housheng's and Zhu Xingshu's faces were ones of sheer shock. They looked at Zhao Jin as if he were a ghost or a god. Zhu Xingshu, heedless of any propriety, craned his neck to look at the sketch Zhao Jin had drawn. The lines were extremely rough; without the just-given explanation, one truly could not tell what it was.

"This method, this method..." Zhu Xingshu muttered, unable to form a complete sentence. Xu Housheng had abandoned all decorum as well; his entire body was practically sprawled over that sketch, utterly ignoring the several people beside him. Only after studying it for a long while did he lift his head and say, "Brother-in-law, how did you ever think of this method? I once heard the master smiths talk about a similar method over in the Shanxi Iron Trench, but no matter how they tried, they couldn't get it to work. Brother-in-law, your method makes everything clear — you've shown how to place the iron, how to build the fire. Right, right, and you must use coke, use coal char. That burns with a steady fire, and a coal fire and a wood fire need to be hot..."

At this point, Zhao Jin coughed a few times, paused, and then answered, "I don't know the fine details either. It was my Second Uncle who saw this method when he went to Datong. He told me about it after he came back. As for exactly how to make it work well, you'll still have to figure that out yourselves. What I've said may not even be correct."

"Just having this method is enough. This method connects everything and clears the way. The only issue is that the furnace must withstand heat. Bricks fired in a porcelain kiln can be used to build it. There are bound to be top-notch master masons here in Xuzhou. For the tool that stirs the molten iron, use a wrought iron rod with a wooden block fitted over the top. The man using it can wear leather gloves. At worst, if it burns through, you just replace it. There's only one difficulty. Master Jin, you said one must watch the fire. This fire and molten iron both damage the eyes. Staring at it for years will make a man go blind. The ones who can accurately judge the heat and read the colors are all veteran masters — it's a pity to wear them out like that." Zhu Xingshu was already exhilarated. With no concern for whether he was being rude or not, he simply spoke whatever came to mind.

Xu Housheng was equally excited at this moment. Hearing Zhu Xingshu's words, he laughed and chimed in: "Master Zhu, there's no need to worry about that. Our Xu family has its own method. Do you know of the smoky quartz eye-shields?"

Zhu Xingshu slapped his forehead, a look of sudden realization on his face, and said, "Your Xu family uses these to watch the fire? No wonder, no wonder. Your Jingshan Xu family is famed as the best in coal and iron under heaven — so you had a method like this."

The two of them discussed as if no one else were present. Wang Zhaojing and Ruhui watched beside them, dumbstruck. Zhao Jin listened with a smile. He loved scenes like this most of all, where craftsmen and technicians debated the details. Such scenes always made him feel very happy. This "smoky quartz eye-shield" sounded like something profoundly arcane, but everyone present knew what it was: nothing more than black crystal polished into round discs and set into copper wire. To put it plainly, it was a type of spectacles, called "eye-shields" at this time, one of the tools used to care for the eyes, and widely used among households in Jiangnan.

This kind of device was perfectly suited for observing bright molten iron and flames, and caused very little harm to the eyes. The outstanding quality of the Xu family's ironware — who would have thought this was one of the reasons, and that it could be applied here.

Many inventions and innovations are like this. They are not necessarily strokes of breathtaking genius. Perhaps many elements had long been mastered by people, but few ever thought to blaze a new trail or consider things from a different angle. Or they were shackled by so-called ancestral established methods, believing that the old ways were the right ways. It was also closely tied to the lack of demand in this era. The few places across the realm that produced and smelted iron could already supply all needs, even exceeding demand. Naturally, there was no need to think of improvements. If demand were enormous, people would inevitably devise new methods to raise production efficiency.

After Zhao Jin voiced this idea, Xu Housheng and Zhu Xingshu were shocked, but they found nothing incomprehensible about it. They could fully grasp this whole system; they simply had never thought of it. The subsequent matching of tools, however, was something Zhao Jin had never considered at all.

"Master Jin, this method must be guarded absolutely. If others steal it, it will be a great calamity. With this method, the Xu family can thrive for a hundred years. Master Jin, you must use the death penalty as a deterrent!" Zhu Xingshu had already thought of this aspect. By now, he was simply beside himself with excitement, not even considering that if killing was needed to keep the secret, the one who most deserved to be killed was himself, the newly arrived outsider.

Wang Zhaojing shook his head with a wry smile and nodded, saying, "Master Zhu, you may set your mind at ease. We will make arrangements for this matter."

Ruhui's face also showed excitement. As the head of the Bureau of Agricultural Reclamation, the farms and related departments under him had a huge demand for iron tools and even weapons. If Zhao Jin's method could produce wrought iron on a large scale, it would greatly benefit his side as well.

Wang Zhaojing leaned over with a smile and said, "Big Brother is truly a man of limitless ability — to even know a craft like this."

"Second Uncle told me about it. Second Uncle traveled far and wide and was vastly knowledgeable. I wrote down everything he said in my notebooks." Zhao Jin answered with a sheepish laugh. Whether anyone believed it or not, everything was now credited to Second Uncle Zhao Zhenxing, which made it easy to explain.

"Second Uncle's pains were truly heartfelt." Wang Zhaojing exclaimed in admiration. Nothing could be read from his expression; it seemed to be wholehearted praise.

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