Chronicles of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 190, Section 189: Refined Steel
Ji Heng was clearly quite satisfied with Qin's ambitions, and soon after, he issued an edict to suspend the construction of the palace.

In this way, a large number of conscripted laborers were able to return to their hometowns.

It is harvest time now, and the law-abiding laborers are naturally at home cultivating and harvesting.

These laborers, who had committed numerous minor offenses and were forced to serve in the military, were pardoned and returned to their hometowns. Along their journey, one could see their hurried footsteps and joyful smiles everywhere.

Lady Ba and Wuyou were now sitting in a carriage, leading the caravan on a hurried journey to Xianyang City. They were inevitably shocked when they saw it along the way.

Even with express messengers, it would take three days to deliver news from Xianyang and Dongjun. Because they had talked with the Imperial Censor for a while, the news was delayed.

I only learned a few days ago that the King was going to appoint a Queen.

Then I recalled the news from the palace that Consort Lanchi wanted to meet with merchants from all over the country...

The two dared not hesitate any longer. They hurriedly gathered the gifts they were about to present and rushed over, wanting to make a good impression on the new queen as soon as possible.

However, before they even entered Xianyang City, they received new news outside the city!
—The king not only personally went to Shanglin Garden to hunt geese to present to the queen, but also bestowed four additional personal guards upon her, and they stayed at Lanchi every day!
The Queen's favor is so absolute!
Madam Ba and Wuyou were discussing how to present the gift when they heard the news, and their expressions became serious.

Wu You frowned:

"If we had known this would happen, we should have gone to Xianyang immediately upon hearing the news."

Lady Ba then ordered her servants to get out of the carriage: "You all ride quickly to Xianyang City and buy lots of pearls, jade, silk, and rare items."

Upon seeing this, Wu You felt a pang of sadness.

As a woman, Lady Ba naturally had a closer relationship with the Queen, while he had previously made his fortune by trading livestock, and his business and connections were different from Lady Ba's.

But it's okay.

Thinking of the treasures he had brought from the Western Regions, he felt quite confident.

This queen is so beloved by the King of Qin, who has unified the world, and now that they don't know her temperament, they can't help but feel uneasy.

Qin Shi, however, paid no heed to their anxiety.

Great news came from the Iron Official Workshop today, and she should have immediately sent someone to prepare a vehicle to check it out.

Unfortunately, my period, which I hadn't had since I got sick, quietly returned today.

Nowadays, there are no suitable sleeping pants or sanitary napkins. The only basic sanitary napkins are made by the women, who have prepared them beforehand. They are made by burning fine mugwort into ash and then putting it into soft silk cloth.

The user experience is so-so that it's usable.

Qin Shi had no choice but to stay at Lanchi Palace, and he even lost the energy to take a walk.

The female official holding the Yin Codex made a note of the matter, and then asked:

"Should we report this to the Xianyang Palace?"

The implication was that if the Queen was unwell, there was no need for the King to come.

However, the Qin state does not currently have any taboos about women's menstruation, nor does it regard it as unclean.

Even if this were true, Qin Shi could not simply admit that he was unworthy.

She shook her head:

"You just need to record it."

The other person lowered their head silently, not daring to say another word.

The woman with the red hair glanced at him, and at that moment she became even more considerate:

"Does the Queen suffer from abdominal pain or coldness? Should she seek medical attention and receive some care?"

Qin Shi didn't feel uncomfortable at all.

But there's never a bad thing to take care of yourself.

Therefore, she instructed, "Take some mugwort and coarse salt, stir-fry them, put them in a brocade bag, and apply them to my stomach as a hot compress."

Now that the summer heat has subsided, the temperature is just right at 20 or 30 degrees Celsius, and a slight warm compress is indeed very comfortable.

She was slightly disappointed: "I had wanted to visit the Ironworks."

The Red Maiden smiled and said, "The Queen is now in charge of the harem and is very busy. Even if the Ironworks really has treasures, they should be presented to Xianyang Palace. Why would the Queen need to go in person?" She said confidently, "Now that news has come, later on, someone might bring the results of their refining to the Queen and ask for an audience."

as predicted.

At noon, an official named Tie Guan would loudly kowtow outside the Lanchi Hall.

When Qin Shiyun allowed him to enter the palace, he saw that the other party's eyebrows and eyes were full of joy, as well as a confident eagerness to try.

"Seeing how happy the iron official is, it seems that this new iron smelting technology has been successfully developed."

She asked with a smile.

The iron official bowed deeply: "Indeed."

"I have finally lived up to the Queen's expectations."

"Now, Gao Ye of Chu and Tie Yan of Qin are personally leading their craftsmen to test the new blast furnaces, using coke for heating, and repeatedly forging and refining the steel... Your Majesty, please take a look!"

He presented the long box in his hand, and a maidservant took it and opened it to see a gleaming short sword on top.

Then, the Red Maiden handed it over. Qin Shi saw that, although he did not understand iron forging, he could tell that the color and craftsmanship of this iron sword were very different from the dark and not very sturdy ironware he had seen before.

Therefore, she carefully picked up the dagger and asked again:
"Could this sword really cut a hair in two?"

The iron official had clearly conducted countless experiments before daring to present this extremely reliable item to the Xianyang Palace.

He was immediately smug: "Your Majesty, please try."

The blade was sharpened to an extremely fine point; at a glance, one could tell that it gleamed with a cold light and was exceptionally sharp.

Qin Shi didn't need to blow on his hair; he simply picked up an unused brush and lightly drew a line on it.

Flutter and rustle.

Then his whiskers scattered all over the ground.

"Great!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands in praise.

Then he asked, "Is it resilient enough to withstand setbacks?"

Previously, due to differences in temperature and forging processes, ironware was actually quite fragile, easily broken, and not sharp enough.

In terms of durability, it is far inferior to copper.

The iron official bowed deeply once more:

"Your Majesty, please rest assured."

"This is a closely guarded secret of the Chu craftsmen. Now we have such hot coke, as hot as subterranean fire, which melts the iron and removes all impurities."

Then there's annealing and forging, the art of refining.

Such ironware is indestructible and extremely tough, and can no longer be easily broken!

He couldn't help but beam with joy: "We even followed the Queen's orders and fired a piece of glass in a vertical furnace—this glass has exceptionally few impurities, is as clear as a mirror, and has a bright color, far surpassing the previous one."

"These are all waiting outside the hall."

His cheeks flushed with excitement, and he was clearly already anticipating his immense wealth and fortune.

"We have indeed lived up to the Queen's expectations!"
If Qin Shi were still a noblewoman in the Lanchi Palace, his excited display of merit and treasure would naturally have been left before the king.

But now, the one who has guided them in improving this technology and made significant breakthroughs is their Queen of Qin.

The Queen herself came to inspect and oversee this project.

Thus, everyone at the Iron Official Workshop was filled with enthusiasm and high spirits.

After hundreds of craftsmen conducted repeated trials, and now that everything is in order, this result should naturally be inspected by the Queen herself!
"Great!" Qin Shi was overjoyed.

"The Ironworks has achieved such remarkable results entirely thanks to your hard work and dedication. In that case, I will inform the King, and all those in charge will be rewarded!"

　It's not easy... Who starts by improving refractory materials? *sighs* I sigh at my own procrastination.

　　(End of this chapter)