Li Hongyun directed the craftsn, mixing iron sand with listone powder and filling the furnace layer by layer with charcoal. Once it was filled, they ignited the fire and had the craftsn fan the flas relentlessly.
During this process, Li Hongyun discovered that these craftsn truly were re tools.
Whatever he arranged for the craftsn to do, they carried out without deviation. However, for tasks Li Hongyun did not specify, they would rather stand idly by than take initiative.
For example, during the slting process, a large amount of impurities would flow out from the bottom of the furnace.
These impurities were slted slag that needed to be cleared regularly to prevent blockages.
Li Hongyun had quite a difficult ti getting all the craftsn organized clearly, while he himself cautiously sped up or paused the flow of ti to check the state of the iron ore slting.
The ga’s unlimited supply of high-quality iron sand and charcoal was already very accommodating.
This is because, in reality, while iron ore is abundant, their iron content varies.
The main task in iron slting is to extract iron from its oxides and other impurities, so ore with higher iron content is easier to slt into high-quality iron.
Ordinary iron ore cannot be slted directly; it must be crushed, ground into very fine particles, and sifted multiple tis to ensure the efficiency of slting and the quality of the final product.
Due to the lack of large machinery in ancient tis, breaking large amounts of iron ore was a troubleso task. The craftsn preferred to find gravels with high iron content for slting.
As for charcoal, it was not easily available in ancient tis either.
Not only did they have to build kilns to produce it, but also the type of wood used made a difference; ensuring burning ti and temperature required careful selection of the wood.
Moreover, constructing charcoal kilns had high requirents during the process..
The ga also provided an unlimited supply of the finest charcoal, saving the players much effort.
Li Hongyun observed the furnace’s condition, including the color of the flas, the approximate temperature, and the color of the slag flowing out from the bottom.
The role of accelerants was apparent.
Listone powder and charcoal worked together to reduce iron oxide to iron while forming separable calcium salts with the impurities.
Since the lting point of the impurities in the furnace was lower than that of iron, a large amount of them would be discharged in a molten state during slting, while iron, having a higher lting point and not lting at this temperature, would soften into lumps and remain in the middle or bottom of the furnace.
The entire process was very lengthy, and at first, Li Hongyun was conservative, not daring to fast-forward ti too much, pausing frequently to check on progress.
But gradually, he lost patience and began to fast-forward continuously.
Day and night passed, and the slting process lasted a full three days and three nights.
The craftsn tended to the furnace 24 hours a day, taking turns overseeing the process. Periodically, they had to add a suitable amount of iron sand, charcoal, or other materials, and continuously extract the residues from the bottom.
Of course, how much to add was always decided by Li Hongyun.
It is said that craftsn with years of slting experience could just listen to the sound of the furnace to judge the burning conditions inside it and adjust the raw material input accordingly. They could also check the color changes of the flas at the bottom of the furnace to see if the iron sand had turned into spongy rough steel lumps.
This spongy rough steel lump, in the process of forging Yi Dao, is referred to as jade steel.
It’s not surprising since the principle of ancient iron slting was roughly the sa, and the skills for forging Yi Dao were also transmitted from Huaxia, with local developnts thereafter.
However, due to cultural differences between the two sides, forging techniques evolved differently.
The Qi Dynasty and the Sheng Dynasty had large armies, which ant it was inevitable that not too many resources could be spent on a single weapon. They pursued standardized weapons that could be equipped en masse. Moreover, due to the prevalence of heavy armor, ordinary swords and knives were of little use compared to large axes and long spears;
anwhile, Yi Dao, due to the low rate of armor wearing and smaller scale battles in its region, continuously refined its sword-making technique. Eventually, during the Sheng Dynasty, this technique was refined to the extent that General Deng Yuanjing ended up learning it for use in the Sheng Army’s standard blades.
"Almost there, let’s check!"
Li Hongyun saw that more and more iron clumps and charcoal ash were accumulating, and the slting process in the furnace was essentially over. He imdiately directed the craftsn to quickly break the furnace, scrape away the non-ltable slag and charcoal ash, and extract the still extrely hot spongy rough steel lumps.
This process was agonizing, as the furnace’s high temperature made pulling it apart difficult, and the flas’ heat would burn the craftsn’s skin, causing unbearable pain.
However, the craftsn could not wait for it to cool down before starting because if the iron completely cooled down, it might solidify together with many impurities.
"Such a large piece of rough steel..."
Li Hongyun was a bit stunned at what the craftsn had uncovered.
The rough steel was much larger than he had anticipated.
For his first attempt at slting iron, Li Hongyun had no estimate of how much iron sand to add or how much rough steel to produce. He had rely mastered the essence of mixing, adjusting the water and sand ratio strictly according to the formula he found, and filled the entire furnace.
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