Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 80 Return
September 9, evening.

"Are you sure this is iron ore?" Li Xianqing asked hesitantly, looking at the ore on the table.

The ore is octahedral and granular, with stripes on the surface parallel to the long diagonal direction of the crystal plane, and the overall density is extremely dense.

"This should be magnetite." Zhang Ruosong glanced at the blacksmith Pablo Escuta next to him and said with a smile, "This ore is the main mineral raw material for iron smelting. After high-temperature refining, it will become the iron material we urgently need."

“How are the reserves?”

"Although I haven't done a detailed survey, I walked half the mountain and took a rough look. I think it's quite rich."

"How far is it from Shixing Fort where this...magnetite was discovered?"

"About four kilometers."

"Ruosong, with our current resources and capabilities, can we...smelt iron?" Li Xianqing asked.

"It should be possible." Zhang Ruosong thought for a moment and said affirmatively: "Although I have never smelted iron, we are relatively familiar with the method and chemical principles of iron production. We can build an earthen blast furnace and try smelting it. Of course, during the initial smelting process, it will take many trials to smelt qualified iron materials, and by then, a large amount of iron ore and fuel may be wasted."

"Fuel?" Li Xianqing suddenly thought of something. "We don't have any coal yet, but we can't burn wood to make iron. ...I don't think we can reach this temperature either."

"What a coincidence! There's actually coal on this island," Zhang Ruosong said with a smile. "There's a rich coal belt about 90 kilometers north of Shixing Fort. ... I think it's in Nanaimo. ... The coal seams are very shallow, so they can be mined directly from the open pit in the early stages."

"It's more than 90 kilometers north of Shixing Fort!" Li Xianqing couldn't help but sigh when he heard this. "How can we have the extra manpower and resources to build another stronghold more than 90 kilometers to the north?"

"Since we can't get coal, we can only burn charcoal." Zhang Ruosong spread his hands helplessly. "The technology is not difficult. It's nothing more than building a charcoal kiln. At this time, whether it was the Ming Dynasty or Europe, charcoal was basically used to smelt iron. Anyway, there is plenty of wood around Shixing Fort. Even if we burn for seven or eight years, there will be no shortage of wood."

"In that case, then... give it a try?" Li Xianqing was quite tempted.

If they could produce steel, it would mean that they already had the foundation for industrial development.

"Well, let's try it." Zhang Ruosong nodded.

In the future, if we want to achieve great development, we must produce our own steel. Whether it is manufacturing machinery and equipment or producing weapons and equipment, we cannot do without a sufficient supply of steel raw materials.

The dozen or so tons of iron looted from Mexico last year were consumed over a year and used to make a lot of farm tools and daily tools, and there is not much left.

That’s it, so try to use it sparingly.

If the "Breaking Waves" had not purchased enough iron from the Ming Dynasty, the entire Shixing Fort would have used up the little remaining iron in a short time.

Of course, Shixing Fort cannot always rely on purchasing iron materials from the Ming Dynasty to meet the needs of future industrial and agricultural development. This is too uneconomical.

Based on current navigation conditions, only one round trip across the Pacific Ocean can be made each year.

If Shixing Fort could produce steel by itself, it would be able to free up a lot of space for immigration ships, which could then be used to purchase more urgently needed supplies and...people.

"Oh, right? If we're going to smelt iron, we might be short on manpower again." Zhang Ruosong raised a new question. "The iron ore is over four kilometers from Shixing Fort, and it has to be transported back and forth by horse-drawn or ox-drawn carts. Then there's the construction of the iron smelting furnace, and the workers needed once it goes into production. All in all, we'll need at least fifty or sixty strong men."

"With winter here, all other outdoor labor has largely ceased. Therefore, we can mobilize the Yin people (Indians) to mine small amounts of iron ore and then refine it in small batches. We don't need a lot, just 60 to 70 tons a year, enough to meet daily production and living needs. Once we have more manpower, more craftsmen, and a certain level of technical expertise, we can begin the large-scale steelmaking process."

"That's fine." Zhang Ruosong smiled bitterly after hearing this. "So, the biggest bottleneck restricting our development right now is population. Without sufficient human resources, no matter what we want to do, we will be stretched to the limit."

"Everything will be fine," Li Xianqing said. "At least in the past two years, we have established a firm foothold through construction. The beginning of a business is always difficult, but I firmly believe that through the unremitting efforts of all of us, Shixingbao will gradually grow and develop."

"I don't know when the 'Wavebreaker' will return. If it can bring back over 200 people, then our manpower shortage problem in Shixing Fort might be alleviated to some extent."

"According to the schedule, he should be back soon..."

"Dudu..."

As they were talking, they suddenly heard a sharp horn sound from outside, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps coming from far away.

"Director, the Breaking Waves is back!" The door was knocked once before the visitor impatiently opened it, revealing an excited and joyful face.

"Huh..." Li Xianqing and Zhang Ruosong looked at each other, both showing expressions of relief, "They are finally... back!"

As soon as the words fell, the two of them stood up almost at the same time and walked quickly out of the house.
-
Looking at the coastline getting closer and closer, the crew members on the deck of the "Wavebreaker" gathered at the side of the ship, waving their arms and shouting towards the shore.

The simple pier on the shore seemed to be crowded with people, and dense black dots were also waving their arms vigorously to welcome their return.

It took nine months and over 20,000 kilometers, starting from Qiming Island, traveling to Mexico and Peru, and then crossing the Pacific Ocean to the Chinese mainland. Now, after weathering all the storms and overcoming all the difficulties, they have finally returned.

On an autumn evening, the ship, loaded with supplies and immigrants, arrived safely back at Shixing Port amid everyone's eager anticipation.

"Everyone...is everything okay?"

As it was almost evening and the sky was dim, the "Breaking Waves" did not go directly to the shore, but anchored on the sea surface dozens of meters away from the pier.

As soon as Luo Zhenhui and several crew members landed on the small boat, Li Xianqing immediately stepped forward, held his hands, and asked with concern.

"Two people died, but the rest are all safe." Luo Zhenhui said, "This trip is a complete success."

Li Xianqing heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

"Two people died" refers to the two Spanish sailors who died, and "the rest are safe" implies that all the time travelers on the ship are safe.

“How many people did you pull back?”

"Three hundred and twenty-two people." Luo Zhenhui showed a hint of regret on his face, "Twenty-five immigrants died on the way."

"Three hundred and twenty-two?... That's so many!" Li Xianqing looked at him in surprise, "You actually brought back more than three hundred people!"

"We can't just watch some people starve to death on the streets," Luo Zhenhui said with a wry smile. "If I had a hundred ships, I'd be eager to bring back a hundred thousand people!"

"Is the situation in the Ming Dynasty already very bad?"

"Guangzhou is a major southern port and one of the only two open trade ports in the Ming Dynasty. Yet, its streets are filled with refugees and beggars. For a simple sum of steamed bun, they can be summoned to seek survival at sea. By analogy, the famine-stricken north must be even worse off."

"So..." Li Xianqing said softly, "So, we need to speed up our development so that we can save more people in the Ming Dynasty and preserve more vitality for Chinese civilization."

"This trip to the mainland not only explored immigration routes, but also brought us so many valuable population resources. Then, our Shixing Fort, and our entire group, will also prosper from the beginning!"

"Hey, why don't I see Shengxin?"

As the small boats ferried back and forth, most of the travelers had disembarked from the "Breaking Waves" and were warmly hugging and comforting their companions who stayed behind.

Li Xianqing looked around but didn't see the former navigator Meng Shengxin, so he looked up and looked around.

"Meng Shengxin and Zhong Minghui stayed in Guangzhou."

"Ah?" Li Xianqing looked at Luo Zhenhui in surprise.

"They stayed in Guangzhou and planned to build a trading post there as a receiving point for our immigrants from the mainland."

"...However, this is also a temporary solution. From now on, we must find a reliable place to stay near Daming, which can serve as a transit point for receiving immigrants and gathering supplies."

"...Also, we should establish a supply point in the central Pacific Ocean so that immigrants can stop and rest during their journey. This will help reduce the losses among the immigrants."

"...Oh, by the way, we brought back quite a few children this time. They need to be well nurtured and educated. In time, they will become our most loyal supporters and the inheritors of our business."

"...Currently, there are many forces in the Ming Dynasty waters, including Ming Dynasty pirates and European colonists. They may pose a certain degree of threat to our immigration activities. Therefore, the necessary naval armaments must be further strengthened to prepare for emergencies."

"besides……"
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End of the first volume
(End of this chapter)