Chapter 710: 42 Chapter Furnace_3 Chapter 710: 42 Chapter Furnace_3 Following that, Old Blacksmith Poltan continued to discuss the differences between the “bloory” and Carlos’s “blast furnace.”
The reason why a bloory is called a “bloory” is that it “slts a large bloom of iron at one ti.”
“Iron doesn’t have legs; it won’t walk out of the furnace on its own,” the old blacksmith gestured vigorously. “So with a bloory, after slting a batch of iron, you have to take apart the furnace wall to remove the iron and then rebuild it.”
Mason’s interest was piqued. “Can’t you just lt the iron into liquid—like bronze and gold—so it pours out on its own?”
Being able to lt iron into liquid would an being able to cast cannons, Senior Mason’s thinking was very direct.
“That’s impossible, the temperature of a bloory is not enough to lt iron into liquid. Iron is not like gold or bronze; it’s extrely difficult to lt. The forges we common blacksmiths use can only make iron slightly softer. It’s far from being able to lt iron into liquid.”
“The iron isn’t lted during the slting process? Then how is it slted?” Winters asked curiously.
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“Err… I actually don’t know,” Old Blacksmith Poltan answered sowhat embarrassedly with a wry smile. “Blacksmiths can slt iron, but why can you get iron by just burning iron ore with charcoal? Nobody knows. Why does iron get soft when heated? Nobody knows that either. Why? Maybe it’s because of magic.”
Winters laughed heartily.
Old Blacksmith Poltan suggested to Mason, “Casting is much harder than forging. Any blacksmith can forge, but there are very few that understand how to cast. If you want to cast cannons, it’s best to use bronze.”
“But where can I find copper material?” Mason was sowhat disappointed.
“You can’t make a silk purse from a sow’s ear,” the old blacksmith admitted, unable to help. “Without straw, you can’t make bricks.”
Mason sighed heavily.
“There will be a way,” Winters consoled Senior Mason. “Worst cos to worst, we’ll buy copper from outside.”
“However,” Old Blacksmith Poltan’s tone was hesitant. “There’s a rumor that the royal blacksmiths in the north have invented a thod that allows you to lt iron into water and cast it. So people call that kind of iron ‘cast iron.’ It’s just hearsay, though; I’m not clear on the specifics of how it’s done. In my guess, you would need a really powerful slting furnace.”
“Really?” Mason was overjoyed.
“I don’t know if it’s true…”
After remaining silent for a while, Andre spoke up gruffly, “We don’t even know if that furnace from earlier works, so you shouldn’t worry about so cast iron business that we can’t even see. If you ask , you’d better start thinking about what to do if we can’t slt any iron…”
“We’ll research it when we return,” Winters said casually, asking the elder for more information, “Please continue telling us about the slting furnace.”
Old Blacksmith Poltan earnestly replied, “Actually, I don’t understand the blast furnace either, otherwise I would have personally helped you with it. Mr. Soria is thodical and has rules for slting iron. Even if he isn’t an expert, he’s learned from one. When I first t Mr. Soria, I only had ten percent confidence; now it’s at least fifty percent.”
The old blacksmith lanted, “Although Mr. Soria is still young, his skills have already far surpassed mine. My whole life… sigh, it’s been busy doing nothing.”
“How could that be?” Winters chuckled, shaking his head. “As far as I see, young Mr. Soria’s slting furnace has been set up, but the real problems are still to co.”
“After all is said and done, just what is a blast furnace?” Andre yawned. “That brick tower from earlier is a blast furnace? It didn’t seem like much.”
Old Blacksmith Poltan explained it to Andre again.
To put it simply, a bloory is like a cup with an opening on top for charging materials. You have to take it apart after each use and put it back together;
A blast furnace, however, is like a cup with a tap: you charge it from the top and draw off the iron from the bottom, allowing for continuous lting.
The old blacksmith used a crude but vivid taphor, “A blast furnace is like a person constantly drinking water from the top and urinating from the bottom. A bloory is like drinking a large glass of water once a day and urinating once. Naturally, it can’t compare to continuously drinking and urinating.”
Andre laughed so hard the carriage began to tremble.
“What if we repair the road after the autumn harvest?” Winters contemplated, “Build it to the standard of a Legion main road and turn it into a paved Guzhi Road?”
Old Blacksmith Poltan could only ride in a carriage due to physical limitations. Winters, wanting to consult the elder more, also took the carriage, and he brought Andre and Senior Mason along.
The carriage was not small, but it was quite crowded with three military officers inside. Winters and Andre had to endure the discomfort of cramped knees.
Moreover, the road between Revodan and Forging Village was in poor condition, jostling them severely, which reawakened Winters’s obsession with road construction.
“Road construction in winter?” Mason asked instinctively.
“That’s the only ti we’re free.”
“We might not have enough manpower.”
“We’ll start small, fixing the road from Revodan to Forging Village for now. The rest can be slowly repaired when we have ti,” Winters said, supporting his forehead. “Big and small issues abound like a tangled ball of yarn. Let’s tackle them one at a ti.”
“That’s about right,” Mason nodded, then suddenly realized sothing seed amiss. “Who’s going to do the construction?”
Mason looked at Winters, Winters silently looked out the window;
Mason then looked at Andre, who also silently looked out the window.
“Why is it called an Artillery branch?” Mason’s expression was complex as he muttered. “It should be called the ‘Miscellaneous Troops’ Branch!’
“Senior, you might want to consider this,” Winters earnestly flattered, his praise thick as he said, “In the entire army, from top to bottom, who else has the capability, except for you?”
“Exactly,” Andre agreed firmly, “The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility.”
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