Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 213: Huge Iron Works

Because the Feixi Iron Works had a hydraulic rolling mill, the speed of making armor plates was very fast. In one hour, it could produce enough iron plates to assemble eight sets of armor. With three shifts day and night, it could produce enough armor plates for 190 sets of armor every day.

However, there are no stamping machines now, and helmets still need to be hammered by craftsmen, so the output of the full set of armor cannot be increased. In addition, the cloth assembly process slows down the progress. Otherwise, if we only talk about the output of armor plates, it is theoretically possible to produce more than 5700 sets of armor a month.

Although producing one regiment's worth of armor per month was not slow, the troops were large and time was tight. It was unrealistic to re-equip all of the troops within half a year. So for the time being, they could only re-equip the troops that had combat needs on the front line. This allowed several newly surrendered generals to take advantage of the situation.

After all, the 106th Regiment was directly under the command of Liao Yongzhong, the commander-in-chief of the th Division. It was really laughable that the commander-in-chief's personal soldiers didn't even have decent armor when they were sent out.

The 37th Army was established on the Eastern Front. Yang Jing was appointed commander-in-chief of the 37th Army with the rank of lieutenant general, the second rank. It was under the command of the 103rd and 107th Divisions. Yang Jing was also the commander-in-chief of the 103rd Division and the commander of the 4th Regiment. The 103rd Division was under the command of Yang Jing's 9th Regiment, Yu Tonghai's 13th Regiment, and Chang Yuchun's 103th Regiment. Yu Tonghai and Chang Yuchun were both colonels, the fourth rank. Yu Tonghai was also the deputy commander-in-chief of the rd Division.

Liao Yongjian served as the deputy commander-in-chief of the 37th Army, awarded the rank of major general, the third rank, and concurrently served as the commander of the 107th Division and the commander of the st Navy Regiment, which was under his command, the st Navy Regiment, Hua Gao's nd Navy Regiment, and Zhang Wen's th Regiment.

Hua Gao was awarded the rank of major colonel, the fourth rank, and concurrently served as deputy commander of the 107th Division.

Lu Jin's arrangements were all good, but before the appointment letters for the eastern front were issued, Yang Jing came hurriedly.

"Marshal, I was just drafting the appointment documents for the 36th Army on the northern front, and I found a problem with the newly formed 18th Regiment."

Lu Jin was stunned when he heard this, "What's the problem?"

He thought that there were some problems with the surrendered generals in Anqing, and that Yang Heng, the former Anqing Road Commander, knew some things that he was not clear about. However, Yang Heng pointed east and attacked west and asked Lu Jin back.

"We have made arrangements for the newly formed 18th Regiment, but why haven't we made arrangements for the 17th Regiment?"

"Seventeenth Regiment?" Lu Jin was suddenly stunned. He had forgotten who the commander of the Seventeenth Regiment was. He quickly took out his notebook to look it up. When he saw Zhang Desheng's name, he was immediately at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

"Oh, this is my fault. I forgot about the 17th Regiment. Where is Zhang Desheng's unit now?"

Yang Heng quickly replied, "Zhang Desheng was originally the deputy commander of the 8th Regiment. He went to Susong with the Marshal. The newly formed 17th Regiment was also established in Susong. It should still be in Susong or Taihu now."

Lu Jin slapped his forehead and cursed his memory. The army had been reorganizing these days and several new regiments had been formed, but he actually forgot about Zhang Desheng.

Seeing that Lu Jin finally remembered, Yang Heng quickly suggested, "Didn't the Marshal say before that he was worried about the lack of cavalry when crossing the river? Why not incorporate the Second Cavalry Regiment into the Imperial Guards and the 17th Regiment into the 105th Division to defend Luzhou, so that the Second Cavalry Regiment can be replaced."

"No, we can't change it like this. Let me think about it." Lu Jin shook his head when he heard it, and turned around and stamped his feet on the spot to think.

He pulled Zhang Desheng out of the position of Guo Zixing's deputy. Firstly, he didn't want to leave such a brave general like Zhang Desheng to eat dust under Guo Zixing. Secondly, he wanted to take him with him when crossing the river in the future. It would be a waste to leave such a brave general in Luzhou for defense.

After figuring out the key points, Lu Jin suddenly stopped and said, "Immediately recall the 17th Regiment, relocate it to Chao County, and incorporate it into the 37th Division of the 107th Army on the Eastern Front. Transfer Zhang Wen's th Regiment back to the Imperial Guards and place it under my direct command."

Yang Heng was a newly surrendered minister and obviously had not yet figured out the interpersonal relationships in the Shengwu Army. If we were to say which unit was closest to Lu Jin, it would undoubtedly be Zhang Wen and Zhu Shou, who had followed Lu Jin when he started his career. What's more, Zhang Wen was Lu Jin's brother-in-law. Based on this relationship, was there anyone more suitable than Zhang Wen to be incorporated into the Imperial Guard?
If Zhang Yunxiu could give birth to a boy and make him the crown prince, Zhang Wen would probably risk his life to protect his nephew.

"Yes." Yang Heng agreed immediately. He felt that there must be a reason why Lu Jin made such arrangements. He had just arrived and knew too little. It seemed that he had to find someone to get more familiar with him.

"Does the Marshal have any other instructions? If not, I will draft a new document."

Lu Jin thought for a moment and asked, "How is the production of flintlock muskets at the ironworks now?"

Yang Heng had never been to the iron factory. He had just learned about the situation from Xu Jichuan from the Construction Bureau. He quickly took out a small notebook and looked it up.

"The ironworks now produces more than 800 muskets per month, enough to equip a battalion. The First Combined Guard Brigade has already equipped two combat battalions with muskets, but still lacks equipment for two battalions. If the two chariot battalions are also equipped with muskets, then we still lack muskets for four battalions.

"The eight-jin field gun has now started mass production, with a monthly output of sixteen guns, enough to equip a battery. There is also a field howitzer, which has not yet been officially finalized. I wonder which model should be mass-produced? This is a memorial sent by the iron factory. Please make a decision as soon as possible, Marshal."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin frowned and thought for a moment, somewhat dissatisfied with the production speed of the iron factory.

After this adjustment, there were two main forces of Zhu Shou and Zhang Wen in Lu Jin's imperial guard. Zhu Shou's first regiment had completed the transformation to firearms, and Lu Jin wanted to transform Zhang Wen's sixth regiment into firearms as well.

But the current production of firearms is still too slow. More than 800 muskets a month can only equip one battalion. A combined brigade must have at least four musket battalions and two battalions of charioteers, which would be best equipped with short guns. In this way, a combined brigade would have six battalions of muskets, not counting the cavalry's short muskets. If the cavalry is included, there will be even more.

In this way, it would take half a year to build the firearms equipment for a combined brigade. Zhu Shou's combined brigade could barely be equipped before crossing the river, but Zhang Wen's equipment could not be assembled.

Lu Jin thought for a moment before saying, "First, draft the appointment documents for each department, have them stamped and sent out by me, and then immediately go to the ironworks to investigate the situation. In the next six months, the output of firearms must at least double, to at least two battalions of muskets per month. Go and see what is restricting the output, whether it is a lack of craftsmen or insufficient technology, and then come back and report to me."

"Yes." Yang Heng took the order again and left. He quickly revised the appointment document and gave it to Lu Jin for signature and seal. He then sent it out, and then immediately took a boat to the iron factory to investigate the production situation.

As soon as Yang Heng arrived at the iron factory, he felt his eyes were opened. The Feixi Iron Factory was located on the south bank of the Fei River. An artificial canal dug from the Fei River passed through the factory. Several horizontal water wheels were running all day long under the impact of the water flow, and through wooden gears, a steady stream of power was introduced into the huge workshop next to it.

The workshop itself was also extremely impressive. The thick walls were built with red bricks and lime plaster, as high as three or four stories, and covered with red tile roofs. The workshop covered an area of ​​30 meters long and 10 meters wide. The most outrageous thing was that there was not a single pillar in such a huge space.
To Yang Heng, this was simply unbelievable. How could a building with an area comparable to that of an imperial palace, without even a single pillar inside, support such a large roof?
There is only one such brick factory building now, and another one is under construction next to it. It is now time to erect the roof. Yang Heng watched it for a while, and then asked the craftsmen before he found out that the method of building this workshop was proposed by Lu Jin. He used the method of building a bridge, with the two walls as piers and the roof as the bridge deck, just like building an arch bridge. This is how he built such a huge workshop without pillars.

Our general is indeed from the Gongshu clan.
Then going to the iron-making area, there are rows of brick blast furnaces standing there. Each furnace is two zhang high, almost seven meters high. There are also rotating ramps and wooden pulley cranes next to them, which make it convenient for craftsmen to push carts to feed materials from the top of the furnace, or use cranes to directly lift the materials up.

Following Lu Jin's suggestion, these blast furnaces were modified by adding an iron cover to each furnace. The cover was lined with fire clay to keep it warm and prevent fire. In addition, coke and hydraulic blasting were added. These three technologies together were enough to raise the furnace temperature to over 1800℃, greatly improving the efficiency of iron smelting compared to before.

The higher the furnace temperature, the shorter the time needed to melt the ore. When there was no cover and the air was blown manually, each furnace could only produce molten iron six times a day. However, after the transformation, it can now produce iron 12 times a day. The output of a single furnace has doubled. A single furnace produces more than two tons of iron per day, about kilograms.

However, this transformation did not bring all benefits. The efficiency was indeed improved, but the life of the furnace lining was also shortened. Previously, molten iron was produced six times a day, and the furnace would be stopped for repairs of the lining only once every ten days.

Now the daily output has doubled, but the life of the furnace lining is only seven days. After burning for seven consecutive days, the furnace must be stopped and the lining must be replaced. The original cracked and damaged fire mud must be scraped off, and a new layer of fire mud must be added. The wet mud of the furnace lining must also be dried before it can be put into use again.

In the past, the furnace was under repair for ten days every month, and was in production for only twenty days. Now, the furnace is under repair for half a month every month, and is in production for only fifteen days. However, the output in these fifteen days is still more than the original twenty days.

The efficiency has indeed been improved, but the improvement is limited. If we want to increase the service life of the furnace lining, we have to develop refractory bricks so that the furnace can last longer, but Lu Jin does not have the time for that at the moment.

Yang Heng had never been involved in such matters before. This was the first time he knew that blast furnaces needed to be shut down for repairs frequently. This resulted in the fact that although the Feixi Iron Works now had many blast furnaces, only a limited number could be operated at the same time.

There are currently 16 blast furnaces in the ironworks, but only eight of them can operate stably at the same time. Even if the repair team works as hard as they can, they can only ensure that ten furnaces can operate at the same time.

Each furnace produces two and a half tons of iron per day. Eight furnaces can produce twenty tons of iron per day, which means six hundred tons per month. If it is only used to make weapons, it will never be used up, even if the casting of cannons is taken into account.

In addition to meeting the needs of the army, a portion of this iron can even be allocated for civilian use. Li Shanchang has recently allocated a lot of iron from the iron factory to various counties, asking them to make farm tools and fully guarantee the spring farming work in various counties.

There is no shortage of iron materials. The main factor restricting the production of weapons is boring machines.
Yang Heng saw the hydraulic rolling mill in the workshop. It had four stacked iron rollers, each weighing more than six tons. The four rollers together weighed more than twenty tons. They were placed on a cast iron frame with bronze bearings at both ends, and the rollers were driven by a waterwheel.

A craftsman took out a red-hot thick iron plate the size of a book from the furnace next to him, and put it between the iron rollers of a rolling mill to roll it repeatedly. The iron plate was immediately pressed thinner and thinner, and its area became larger and larger, until it became the size of half a desk.

Then I was transferred to another place, where there was an extra-large pivot scissors. People could ride directly on the handles of the scissors and use the pressure of their whole body to control the scissors to cut the iron plate into palm-sized iron pieces.

These iron sheets will then be handed over to skilled armor-making masters, who will hammer and refine them by hand, then shape and trim them, and finally punch and heat-treat them to make steel armor sheets. As for the assembly work of nailing rivets on the cloth, it is no longer their responsibility.

When Yang Heng saw the rolling mill weighing tens of thousands of pounds, he understood why this ironworks produced such a large amount of armor.

After walking a few steps forward, he heard a series of harsh friction sounds. Yang Heng looked up and saw a row of black iron grinding wheels. The upper and lower iron grinding wheels were rotating, making harsh friction sounds.

The sand next to it was filled with round iron balls and shells, piled up like a pyramid.

He curiously asked the craftsman next to him, "What is this?"

"The Marshal said this is called a bead grinding machine, which is specially used to grind stone balls and iron balls. Our iron factory is grinding cannonballs and muskets."

Yang Heng picked up a smooth, round iron ball, which felt very heavy in his hand. Looking at a cannon placed next to it, he guessed that this should be the eight-jin field cannon that was being mass-produced. In other words, the iron ball in his hand weighed eight jin.

Yang Heng asked curiously, "Can't this shell be cast directly? Why do we have to grind it again?"

The craftsman also shook his head. "We don't know either. We only know that the higher-ups ordered us to do this. We heard that the Marshal said that the smaller the gap between the shell and the barrel, the tighter the fit, the greater the power of the cannon and the farther it can hit.

"If it is not polished, you can only fire the cannonball two miles if you put four pounds of gunpowder in it. If it is polished and smooth, you can only put three pounds of gunpowder in it and still fire the cannonball three miles away. You put less gunpowder in it, save money, and fire farther. Do you think you should polish it?"

Yang Heng looked at the craftsman in surprise and said in shock, "You know a lot. You can also fire cannons?"

The craftsman shook his head. "No, but I've seen it before. The factory sometimes tests the guns. Every time they deliver the guns, they have to fire one round for acceptance. Otherwise, the Marshal won't accept them.

"Besides, the Marshal also encourages us craftsmen to learn more. He has set up night schools in the factory. All craftsmen in the ironworks can go to school after work to learn to read and write. They must not only learn the skills well, but also understand the principles. If they can put forward suggestions for improvement, the Marshal will also give them other rewards. I heard that they can be selected for professional titles and rewarded with three mansions."

Yang Heng was even more surprised. He didn't expect that Lu Jin had set up such a system in the iron factory, teaching craftsmen to read and rewarding them with mansions. This was really unheard of.
(End of this chapter)