Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 124 Heading to the South Front
Bao Yu was very surprised to hear that Lu Jin suspected that the Gaoyou Salt Gang might rebel on its own.

However, the world is in chaos now, and some people are forced to revolt. Some people who are already powerful will become more ambitious, and there are countless people who want to be kings and overlords. The Gaoyou Salt Gang is so powerful that it would be normal even if they really rebelled.

So he nodded and agreed, "I understand. The Marshal means to first investigate Lu Zhen's background, keep track of his whereabouts, and then find the right person and time to place him next to him."

"Yes, that's what I mean. There's no need to rush to place spies there, but we need to prepare in advance so that we can make this move at any time when needed."

Bao Yu then said, "Then I know what to do."

Lu Jin held Bao Yu's arm and said, "This matter should be dealt with as soon as possible. You can report to me directly about intelligence matters in the future without notifying others."

"Yes, thank you for your trust, Marshal!" Bao Yu immediately bowed and agreed.

"Go ahead, report to the Ministry of Personnel first and get the appointment. Then go to the Ministry of Etiquette to get the official seal. You can go to Chongwenguan to select the required personnel yourself. Remember not to reveal the specific duties to them before selecting. Write a note to apply for the required money and food funds, and I will approve it for you." Lu Jin instructed again.

"Yes, I'll take my leave now." Bao Yu agreed again.

"Go, go out and call me those ironworkers you brought with you."

"Yes."

A moment later, not long after Bao Yu went out, several craftsmen were brought over by the guards. Lu Jin then asked the guards to call Xu Jichuan from the Construction Department as well.

A group of craftsmen hurriedly bowed to Lu Jin when they saw him.

"I've met the handsome man."

"No need to be so polite. Everyone, stand up. I heard that you are all iron smelters from Wuhu and Dangtu. Who is the iron smelter and who is the iron foundry? Please tell us your names." Lu Jin said to them.

There were a total of seven craftsmen in front of him, all of whom were technical talents recruited by Bao Yu across the river. In addition to these seven people, they also had their families. According to the classification of the Yuan Dynasty, they were all artisan households, and their lives were really not very good.

Not only did these craftsmen have no land, they also had to work for the court for several months every year for free. So when they heard that Bao Yu was recruiting people to smelt iron, they immediately agreed, even though they guessed that they might be smelting iron for the rebels.

After all, who else could open an iron mine during this chaotic time of rebellion?
Hearing Lu Jin's question, several craftsmen immediately introduced themselves.

"In reply to the Marshal, I am Zhang Hong, and this is my son Zhang Jizu. My father and I are both craftsmen in the industry. We once smelted iron in the government office." A craftsman in his forties named Zhang Hong spoke first.

"I am Fu Shicai, and this is my brother Fu Shiyi. We are also craftsmen and have worked in the government iron smelting industry."

"Replying to the commander, I am Jiang Yue, and this is my brother Jiang Xuan. We are both ironworkers."

"I am also an ironworker. My name is Shen An."

Seven craftsmen, a father and son, two pairs of brothers, and a bachelor.

Lu Jin nodded with satisfaction, then looked at Zhang Hong and his son, as well as the Fu brothers, and asked them.

"Do you know how to build an iron furnace, and how to stir-fry and pour steel?"

Zhang Hong immediately replied, "General, I know how to build iron furnaces. I am in charge of repairing furnaces at Guanye."

"Specializing in repairing furnaces?" Lu Jin asked in surprise.

Zhang Hong explained immediately.

"That's right. This official iron smelting blast furnace is two feet wide and twenty feet high. It is built with bricks and stones and lined with fire clay. After it is built, the furnace must be baked for seven days. When the furnace is completely dry and the hearth is red hot, coke, iron sand and lime are added. One iron furnace produces iron six times a day.

“Because the fire clay in this furnace is not resistant to burning, the furnace needs to be stopped every seven days and the furnace needs to be repaired before it can be used again.

"I am responsible for repairing the furnace."

Lu Jin finally understood after hearing this. He knew that blast furnaces also have a service life. When the People's Republic of China was just founded, the blast furnace technology assisted by the Soviet Union had a lifespan of only 100 furnaces. After every 100 furnaces of molten iron were produced, the furnace had to be stopped for inspection and maintenance to repair the refractory layer inside.

But he didn't expect that the Yuan Dynasty had already developed a job specializing in repairing blast furnaces.

According to Zhang Hong, each blast furnace produces iron six times a day and is shut down for seven days for maintenance, which means the lifespan of the furnaces is only about forty times. The technology is not very advanced, and if refractory bricks are developed, the lifespan can probably be extended a bit.

It was rare to meet a metallurgical master of this era, so Lu Jin asked again, "I heard that water-filled blasting was used in iron smelting during the early Song Dynasty. What kind of blasting method did your official smelter use?"

"It's also a water-pump method of blowing air. This method is extremely labor-saving. Marshal, you may not know that this method has long been widely spread. At least in Jiangnan, this method is used." Zhang Hong introduced further.

"Oh? What does the water pump look like? I've only heard of it but never seen it."

"It's just making a bigger leather wind bag, using a waterwheel to drive it, pulling the leather bag back and forth to inflate it."

"." Lu Jin felt disappointed when he heard that. He had thought that the water pump blower was very powerful, but it turned out to be an accordion-style leather bag blower. So he asked again.

"This leather bag can only blow air when you squeeze it. Why not use a wooden bellows? It can blow air when you push or pull it. Wouldn't that give you more air?"

"This, Marshal, you don't know. I have seen this wooden bellows before, but most of them are used in blacksmith shops, pushed and pulled by manpower. If there is no waterwheel available in the iron smelting, bellows can of course be used, but it is not labor-saving without a water pump, and more people need to be used." Zhang Hong explained again.

Lu Jin nodded. This was another point that could be improved. If a large wooden centrifugal blower could be built, driven by a water wheel, and combined with a heat storage chamber, the furnace temperature should be able to be increased and fuel consumption reduced.

Then he looked at the Fu brothers, "What about you two brothers? What are you good at?"

Fu Shicai said immediately.

"Replying to the commander, I am good at mixing materials. I can see the quality of the iron ore and coking coal, and I know how much material to put into the furnace and how much iron to produce each time.

"My brother is good at observing the temperature of the fire. He is quite good at the temperature of pouring steel and frying steel. He can succeed seven or eight times out of ten furnaces."

Wow, a blast furnace repairman and two furnace workers have completed the entire process of iron smelting and steel making.

"Okay, okay, once the stove is built, I'll want to see your skills. If you have the real stuff, I'll definitely reward you handsomely."

"Thank you, Marshal." Fu Shicai said happily.

Lu Jin looked at the remaining three iron craftsmen and asked them.

"I want to cast a large fire gun weighing a thousand pounds, about three inches wide inside, half a foot wide outside, and six or seven feet long. What techniques do you usually use to cast iron? Have you ever cast such a large iron?"

The craftsman named Shen An answered immediately.

"Replying to the commander, I once cast an iron bell weighing over a thousand jin, using the clay mold casting method. May I ask if the musket you are talking about is a large iron pipe?"

"That's right. It looks like this."

Lu Jin picked up a cannon barrel model from the table. It was made of wood, a cylinder with a pair of ear shafts in the middle. Anyway, all cannons look like this.

After Shen An took it, he studied it briefly and said immediately.

"If it is the size that the Marshal said, it can indeed be cast, but it will take a lot of time. It may take four or five months to cast such a large musket. You need to make a clay mold first, polish it carefully, and let it dry for several months before casting it. "Moreover, to cast such a huge ironware, you need to prepare several furnaces and cast it at the same time. If the molten iron is not enough or the temperature is different, the cast will easily crack and be unusable."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin lamented deeply. The casting technology of the Yuan Dynasty was far inferior to the iron smelting technology. The clay mold casting method was used to cast bronze ware since the Shang Dynasty, but in the Yuan Dynasty, clay molds were still used. It was not even as good as the sand casting of Peshawar mentioned on the Internet in later generations.

Lu Jin knew the general formula of sand casting, 75% quartz sand, 20% clay, and 50% coal powder. However, it was still too difficult to grind the quartz sand finely enough and in sufficient quantity. It was not that it could not be ground out, as it could be ground out with a stone mill, but the output would certainly not keep up with the consumption.

Modern casting of one ton of ironware consumes about 1.2 tons of molding sand. Although the molding sand can be reused, the consumption is still very large.

But the production of artillery could not be delayed, so he thought of a technology from the late Qing Dynasty.

"I don't have that much time. I need to cast more cannons as soon as possible. I can't let you cast one in a few months. Have you heard of the iron mold casting method?"

"Iron mold?" The three foundry craftsmen were immediately surprised.

"Yes." Lu Jin took out another model to explain to them.

"It takes several months to cast a clay mold, just to wait for the clay mold to dry out, so as to prevent moisture inside from being stimulated and entering the molten iron during pouring. This will cause sand holes in the cast iron. Am I right?"

The three craftsmen nodded immediately. They didn't expect that the commander even knew about cast iron.

Lu Jin immediately said again.

"In that case, why not replace the clay mold with an iron mold? Just make a few iron molds and reuse them. When casting, first splice the iron molds together and connect them with iron mortise and tenon joints. Apply a thin layer of mud on the inner wall to prevent it from sticking to the molten iron. Wouldn't it take a day or two for the iron mold to dry thoroughly?"

The three of them's eyes lit up when they heard that, and when they saw the wooden model that Lu Jin was fiddling with, they immediately praised it.

"General, this method is very good, but this iron mold can only be used to cast one kind of tool, and it cannot be extended to other iron tools."

Lu Jin said.

"I don't need so many types. This kind of musket has at most three or four different sizes. What I want is to be able to cast a large number of each type."

Shen An nodded immediately, "If we only make a few types, iron molds should be feasible, we can give it a try."

"Okay, let's do it." Lu Jin looked at Xu Jichuan who was serving beside him and gave them instructions.

"This is Xu Jichuan, the director of the Construction Department. Director Xu, from now on, if you need any tools or manpower, you can tell him. I will ask him to allocate houses for you, settle your families, and provide food and wages for everyone every month.

"Set up this iron smelting plant as soon as possible. If you do a good job, I will reward you generously. Not only will I give you money, but I will also give you land and property. If you have made a contribution, I can also give you an official title. I hope you will not let me down."

Several craftsmen looked at each other and hurriedly bowed to Lu Jin, saying, "Thank you for your generous gift, Marshal."

Zhang Hong was very enthusiastic when he heard that he could get land and property and be given an official title. "Marshal, where should the iron smelter be built?"

"You came here by boat, right beside the river between Chaohu Lake and Luzhou. The iron smelting we run also needs to use water power to blow air, and it would be best to use a bellows."

"Yes, that's right. I want to go and take a look today and choose a place to build the furnace first. It takes time to choose a site, and the sooner we decide on it, the sooner we can start construction." Zhang Hong requested immediately.

"Okay, you are very proactive. I will let Manager Xu arrange it for you later." Lu Jin praised immediately.

Fu Shicai was not willing to be outdone and showed off his talents in front of Lu Jin.

"General, I wonder what kind of carbon we use for iron smelting and where the ore comes from. I would like to go and take a look first. If we can determine the quality of the ore and carbon first, we can also determine the formula of the materials. If the quality of the iron ore is not good, we may need to screen and grind it in advance. Don't waste time."

"You are not bad, but you may have to wait a day or two to see the iron ore. Follow me in two days and I will take you to see the mine personally." Lu Jin made arrangements immediately.

"Yes." The Fu brothers also agreed immediately.

Lu Jin then instructed Xu Jichuan, "You should settle them first, and then come with me to Chao County and Wuwei in a few days."

"Yes." Xu Jichuan agreed immediately, and then led a group of craftsmen to settle their families.

Now all the iron smelting craftsmen have been gathered together by Lu Jin, and the coal mines in Chao County have also been controlled by him. The only thing left is the iron mine in Lujiang.

As several newly reorganized troops in Luzhou headed to the southern front to assemble, it was time to urge them to launch an attack on Lujiang.

Since the reorganization, the front line has been upgraded to a division-level unit. Lu Jin has not been to the front line to inspect it in person. It is not good to always stay in the rear, so this time he took the opportunity to go to the front line to take a look.

Two days later, Lu Jin took a boat to Chao County, accompanied by a battalion of guards from Zhu Shou's regiment, Xu Jichuan, and civil servants who were preparing to take up their posts in Lujiang and Shucheng.

The magistrate of Lujiang County was Yao Liangchen, and his chief clerk was Fan Hong; the magistrate of Shucheng County was Fang Mingyan, and his chief clerk was He Wenbin.

These two counties have not been conquered yet, so Lu Jin asked them to go to the front line first, and then they could take over the city after they were conquered.

The magistrates of these two counties were both selected through previous examinations, and their two chief clerks were from prominent families in Luzhou, namely the Fan and He families.

These families had not joined the army for a long time, and only remembered to join the army after Lu Jin defeated Kang Maocai. What were they doing before? Therefore, even if their test scores were good, they could only start as chief clerks.

When the group arrived at Chao County Wharf, Chao County Magistrate Wang Ye and Chief Clerk Hu Shilu immediately came to greet them. Chief Clerk Hu Shilu was also from a prominent family in Luzhou and also started out as a chief clerk.

When the two saw Lu Jin getting off the boat, they immediately stepped forward and said, "Welcome, Marshal."

He had informed the local officials in advance of his coming. After all, there was a battalion of soldiers to accompany him, so a surprise inspection was impossible. He could not say anything when the local officials came to greet him.

Led by the two men, Lu Jin asked them as they entered the city.

"What's the situation in Chao County? How is the implementation of the household registration system going? How many local patrol soldiers can be assembled now?"

County Magistrate Wang Ye immediately reported, "Reporting to the commander, the situation in Chao County is not bad. It was County Magistrate Qin who took the initiative to surrender the city and saved the original household registration and land register. We are still sorting out the household registration.

"According to the Marshal's request, we will first abolish the various household registrations of the Yuan court, identify the original civilian households, and then distribute land to the landless people and settle them down. In particular, there are many Tanka fishermen in Chao County, and many of them are willing to share the land. Therefore, we have recently settled the Tanka fishermen, and the patrol soldiers have not yet had time to train them."

Lu Jin nodded and expressed his understanding. After all, they had only been in office for a short time and it would take time to get things done.

"Then hurry up and complete the household registration and land distribution before March next year. Don't delay the spring ploughing."

"Yes, I will hurry up."

Lu Jin looked at the chief clerk Hu Shilu again. The chief clerks were all assistants to the county magistrate. Of course, they were also responsible for special tasks in the county sometimes. The chief clerk of Chao County, in addition to cooperating with the county magistrate in registering the people, now had the biggest job to assist in mining.

Lu Jin asked immediately.

"The coal mine in Chao County has been found. Has Jing Chunlai found the stinky coal for coking?"

Upon hearing this, Hu Shilu immediately replied, "It's all thanks to the great fortune of the commander. I brought Jing Chunlai to visit the countryside and found several mining sites. I have asked people to collect samples for trial burning. One of them is indeed the stinking coal. Jing Chunlai is now leading people to build a charcoal kiln."

Hearing this, Lu Jin waved his hand and said, "Take me to see it."

(End of this chapter)