Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 40 "Technical Transformation"

Pablo Escuta is one of the few residents of Shixing Fort who does not need to do farm work. As a professional blacksmith, he only needs to repair damaged farm tools or implements every day.

In addition, at the request of the "pirate" leader, he had to use the iron and copper materials "moved" from the town to make new farm tools and professional tools.

Of course, he couldn't do so many things alone, so the "pirate" leader gave him three assistants, a Chinese, a Spaniard, and a native Indian, to help him.

At first, in line with the existing principle of confidentiality of a craftsman, Pablo would always deliberately avoid his assistants whether he was repairing damaged farm tools or making new tools.

Moreover, during work, their inquiries about the process and steps of making tools were all glossed over with vague words. The many steps such as material selection, fire burning, hammering, forming, quenching, polishing, making, etc. were not taught or shared with them at all.

As long as he can monopolize the ironmaking technology here and keep the craftsmanship in his hands, then this group of "pirates" will not easily harm him, thus saving his own life and that of his family.

However, not long after, Pablo was surprised to find that this group of "pirates", especially those Chinese with oriental faces, did not think much of his craftsmanship at all.

Apart from the Chinese assistant who kept muttering something from time to time and showed great disdain for his secretive working style, other Chinese people would often come to the blacksmith shop to see how he worked. However, their expressions clearly showed that they did not want to steal his blacksmithing skills, but were there to watch the fun.

Yes, that’s right, he just looked like he was watching the fun.

Just like watching acrobatics or a circus on the street, his face was full of curiosity, with a hint of condescending attitude, or an air of watching a clown show.

This is so insulting!

Just as he was suppressing his anger and planning to protest against these "pirates" who disrespected him by going on strike, the Chinese assistant questioned the blowing equipment he was using.

He asked himself through the translator why, when increasing the temperature of the fire, he did not use a more efficient bellows instead of the existing "blower" that looked like an accordion and was obviously much less effective.

Pablo simply chose to ignore this stupid question.

You are just a bunch of pirates. How would you know how to smelt iron, how to make tools, or how to increase the temperature of the furnace?

These are all very professional questions, okay!

This accordion-like "blower" was made by his father at great expense by the most famous craftsman in Mexico City. It has been used for more than 30 years and has been used to make countless kitchen utensils, farm tools and hardware tools.

How can you, a bunch of pirates who know nothing, have the qualifications to tell me what to do?
Besides, this set of blowing equipment has been used in Europe for hundreds of years. Whether it is a large iron smelting workshop or professional blacksmiths like them, they all use this equipment.

However, the Chinese assistant said that this type of blower equipment has only one air inlet pipe, and two blowers are squeezed into one air inlet pipe to force the air in, so the efficiency ratio is too low.

More than a thousand years ago, the ancient Chinese were already using a blowing device with four wind bags!
The increase of tuyere can not only make the oxygen in the furnace more uniform and the combustion more complete, but also greatly increase the furnace temperature.

He also said that in Chinese history, there was a dynasty called "Song", which used a piston-type blowing equipment that could raise the furnace temperature to 1300 degrees Celsius. It could not only achieve the separation of slag and liquid iron, but also forge fine steel.

In short, this Chinese assistant expressed deep disdain for the blower equipment that he treasured.

Pablo didn't understand many of the unfamiliar and technical words he used, but he was very angry when he questioned the equipment he relied on and the technology he was proud of.

He boldly refuted him, saying that with the current level of technological development, it was impossible to have more advanced blowing equipment that could surpass his accordion-style "blower", and it was even more impossible to raise the furnace temperature to a level that could forge fine steel.

As for the claim that you Chinese had blowing equipment and smelting technology that surpasses the current ones more than a thousand years ago, he also expressed serious doubts.

The Chinese assistant seemed a little annoyed by his rebuttal and doubt, but he did not do anything rude, nor did he scold or beat him.

He just told Pablo bitterly that he would build a more efficient blowing device in a few days to prove the correctness of what he said.

Just when Pablo was very dissatisfied with this, the Chinese assistant actually organized people to spend several days making a long wooden box - a bellows.

This air-blowing device, known as a bellows, appears to be extremely simple in structure, consisting primarily of a wooden box, a push-pull wooden handle, and a movable box. When the movable box is opened, air flows through the air inlet, filling the bellows without collapsing. With another pull, the bellows' bellows are forced out, through a vent pipe, into the furnace, helping to fuel the fire and heat the iron.

The Chinese assistant said proudly that bellows like this were common in the homes of ordinary people in the Ming Dynasty and were often used in cooking. They were used to blow air, which would make the fire burn more vigorously.

Having said that, he ignored Pablo's objection and directly called on the other two assistants to remove the original accordion-style blowing equipment and replace it with this "blower" called a bellows.

After just a dozen pushes and pulls, the burning charcoal immediately began to flame up, and then the color began to turn yellow, which was completely different from the bright red color at low temperature.

A piston plate with alternating air intake and blowing on both sides reduces the size of the blower to the extreme!

What’s even more amazing is that it can actually increase the oven temperature, and it’s also very easy to operate.

On that day, Pablo used the combustion-promoting effect of the bellows to melt a discarded axe into molten iron in a very short time, and then used the mold to forge a new axe.

At this point, Pablo had to admit that the opponent's bellows was far more effective in blowing air and aiding combustion than the accordion-style "blower" he was using.

At this point, European technology seems to be much behind the Chinese civilization they belong to.

However, the other party did not seem satisfied with this improvement. They said that they could use a certain method to directly smelt the existing iron into steel, thereby obtaining a more tough and ductile material.

Although Pablo still had some doubts about this, he did not dare to show any contempt.

These Chinese people seem to really know something about steel smelting, and they can explain it very clearly.

Although they were vague about the specific steps and processes, the ideas and methods they provided are very instructive. Maybe if you try it a few times, you can really produce steel.

What surprised him even more was that the Chinese did not seem to have any intention of keeping the proposed smelting techniques and methods secret. They discussed and researched them directly with him through the translator, and even recorded them in detail with pen and paper and showed them to him to confirm whether there were any mistakes.

Admittedly, he didn't recognize any of those square characters, but the other party's honesty and straightforwardness still made him feel trusted and valued.

In addition, through a period of communication and contact, he also discovered an extremely shocking fact.

These Chinese people seem to have a wealth of knowledge!
It's not just about being able to read, write and recognize words, but also about understanding profound knowledge in many professional categories.

Astronomy, geography, mathematics, science and technology, mechanical manufacturing... and so on, there are many disciplines that are complex and extensive.

Whenever you raise a question to them, they can provide a corresponding solution.

For example, when they brought him a matchlock gun and asked him to make some modifications to it, one of the modifications was to change the fuse that ignited the gunpowder in the powder pool to a hammer that struck the flint, igniting the gunpowder and thus firing the lead bullet in the barrel.

"We can use a screw device to lock the flintlock's firing hammer. When the gunman pulls the trigger, it will be triggered and then strike the flint, igniting the gunpowder in the barrel and completing a shot." Zhang Ruosong drew a rough sketch on the paper with a half-broken pencil, then pointed to the flintlock gun firing assembly on it and explained patiently.

"You should be able to make this kind of component, right?"

"Sir, I'll try." Pablo nodded and said, "However, I don't have the tools to make a musket. It may take some time to produce these small components."

"If we don't have the tools, we can just make some ourselves." Zhang Ruosong said with a smile, "That's okay, we can do it step by step. First, get the necessary tools, and then start modifying the matchlock gun. However, we must standardize some of the calibration standards."

"Scale standard?"

"That's right." Zhang Ruosong pulled out a vernier caliper from behind him. "From now on, all production tools and molds must have a standard scale. ... In the future, all industrial products must strive to achieve a standardized model from the early stages!"

(End of this chapter)