Chronicles of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 184, Section 183: The Coke is Formed
Qin Shi wanted to be a virtuous queen.

For example, we can learn from the virtuous people in other works who get up early to help the king change his clothes and send him off to work.

In fact, although she was physically healthy and had good stamina, she was still exhausted at night.

When I woke up, it was already broad daylight.

Fortunately, she is now the one in charge of the six palaces, and the customs of the Qin harem are not as strict as in later generations, where one still needs to pay respects to others every day.

And getting up late... is also part of fulfilling my duties.

She wasn't particularly remorseful, but having just eaten breakfast and not yet having the energy to get back to work, a servant came to report:
Black Eyes had drawn what she wanted.

World map!

Qin Shi suddenly stood up!

Then he hurriedly led his attendants to that side hall.

The Red Maiden hurriedly chased after her, advising, "The Queen need not go herself; simply have someone bring the items up..."

No.

She couldn't risk being killed by anyone who even glanced at something like that!

Therefore, two more squads of guards were ordered to follow.

Seeing how serious she was, the Red Maiden silently made a note of it.

Before long, Qin Shi arrived at the entrance of the side hall.

The area was already guarded, and upon seeing the Queen arrive, they quickly and respectfully bowed.

After she pushed open the palace door, she quickly closed it again.

Then he personally took charge of the candles and, together with Hei Mu who was waiting nearby, watched the result of his painstaking efforts.

That's a world map with two sides, top and bottom.

Hanging prominently on the north and south sides of the palace wall, the map, several meters high and wide, evokes a sense of awe and intimidation.

Qin Shi didn't have the ability to remember every line and every character on it, but just by looking at the direction and pattern, even if there were slight differences, it wasn't a big problem.

Because of the many countries and geographical conditions mentioned above, it has not yet been achieved.

With thousands of years of history, who knows what major changes or tectonic movements might occur overseas today?

All she wanted to do was create a rough outline.

The doors inside the hall were tightly closed, but the lights were on.

She and Hei Mu walked slowly along the wall inside, their shadows reflected on the window frames, creating an atmosphere of secrecy and solemnity that made everyone afraid to look up.

The soldiers who guarded the place day and night and forbade anyone from entering were puzzled: after all, he was just a convict selected from among the criminals, so what ability did he have to make the queen so cautious?
A moment later, Qin Shi finally came out.

"Someone come here," she ordered immediately.

“This place must be strictly guarded. No one shall be allowed to enter unless the King and I come.”

The two squads of soldiers she brought quickly took over from the previous soldiers and coordinated their duties. In just a short time, they had already assigned their defensive responsibilities.

In addition-

"Let Hei Mu wander around the Orchid Pond for a few days, and don't let him strain his eyes."

Then, looking into those trembling yet somewhat uneasy dark eyes, she said slowly, "Take good care of your eyes. I will need them for a long time to come."

Her words instantly calmed Hei Mu down.

During his time at Lanchi Palace, he slept soundly and ate his fill every day, with meat, eggs, and dairy products readily available. He had never lived such a good life in his entire life.

Even though he was taken back by his so-called biological father, a nobleman, he has never enjoyed the life he has now.

For him, it was something he wouldn't even dare to dream of.

Since the important person said he would still need his eyes, he must cherish them!
Then he instructed, "Go to the Imperial Household Department and summon a carpenter skilled in micro-carving. It would be best if he is illiterate, but if he knows a little, it will not be a problem."

After all, they don't recognize the simplified Chinese characters on it.

The Red Maiden nodded, then asked, "Should we order the Minister of the Imperial Household to select carpenters again?" The Queen had already ordered the construction of a plough and had recruited a batch of carpenters.

While we may not have enough now, it's always good to have more just in case.

Yes, and there's also the curved plow.

Qin Shi's expression softened as he recalled the series of good news that had come his way.

"There's no need to conscript them yet; I'll go back and organize the imperial edict."

Wheelbarrow, curved plow, pottery stove and honeycomb briquettes.

This item was distributed in all directions, including everything from farming tools to heating equipment and transportation vehicles.

This can be considered her first contribution to the Qin state, which gave her a new life.

Now, it all depends on whether the Ironworks has made progress and whether it can quickly and efficiently produce a more durable iron plowshare for the curved plow.

……

Meanwhile, at the Iron Official Workshop.

Tie Yan was inspecting the blast furnace once again, and after looking it over from top to bottom, he was quite satisfied.
"They're completely dry now."

As the deputy leader of the "New Iron Smelting Project Team," he was newly appointed and devoted all his enthusiasm to following the orders of his superior.

News came from Xianyang Palace the day before yesterday that the noblewoman who appointed him has now become the Queen of their Great Qin!
This further fueled his passion for work.

He has inspected all the newly completed blast furnaces again today.

He was an old Qin man, and he offered his heartfelt prayers to the king.

But Gao Ye, the Chu craftsman who was also the project leader, was becoming increasingly irritable.

"Is your queen trying to deceive me?"

"They clearly said they had a better forging process, yet they still haven't let us start work. Is this delay an attempt to cheat us out of our unique technique?"

Now that they have submitted, they can no longer hide their crude steelmaking techniques.

In the past two weeks, the artisans of Chu have been almost completely drained by the crowd.

This Qin blacksmith has even broken away from him and successfully forged it twice!
Although its quality is still slightly different from what he forged in the Chu Kingdom, it is already exceptionally fine.

What's most terrifying about these cunning Qin people is that each of their processes is like flowing water, with upstream processes and downstream processes.

Such a winding and continuous route is incredibly efficient.

If they had had their iron-forging methods when they conquered the State of Chu, the State of Chu probably wouldn't have been able to resist for so many years.

Tie Yan sneered, "What do you mean, 'your queen'? Don't forget, there is only our Qin Kingdom now!"

"Since she is the queen chosen by the king, how could her words be false?"

And didn't the Queen give these instructions long ago?

If a workman wants to be good, he must first sharpen his weapon.

To forge powerful weapons, one must have the finest iron.

This high-quality iron requires an exceptionally high furnace temperature.

How is furnace temperature determined?
It takes criminals to mine asbestos and mix it with various refractory materials to create this rudimentary version of a blast furnace.

Later, a new type of bellows was introduced.

Finally, all that's left is for the coal to be slowly calcined into coke within the brick walls, only then can...

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he heard someone shout from not far away:
"The coke is ready!"

"The coke is ready!"

Tie Yan and Gao Ye exchanged a glance, and then ran off at the same time!

At the same time, he shouted urgently, "Send a cartload quickly! Open the furnace—"

　Coming!
　　(End of this chapter)