Chronicles of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 75, Section 74: Ironworks
The water chestnuts from the clear pond at Zhangtai Palace were carefully selected.

Before the morning mist dissipated, the palace servants would ride rafts to scoop up the vines from the water, and then select those that were the right size and ripeness to pick.

By the time they were delivered to Lanchi Palace in the morning, the bright green and clean water chestnuts had already been washed clean, each one uniform and plump, only the size of a quail egg.

No knife needed; you can easily pry open the two symmetrical, pointed little tips with your fingers. Then, gently pinch them with pliers…

Just peel out the small, cute, milky-white water chestnut kernel and put it on a plate!
but--

The carriage sped along, and Qin Shi struggled to eat the water chestnut rice amidst the swaying and jostling: "Stop peeling, let's hurry on our way."

Wu Zi quickly put the water chestnuts back into the shallow, large-bellied bamboo basket, then quickly tidied up the carriage and helped Qin Shi lie down.

Although this might make you a little dizzy, it's still better than sitting in a position where your whole body feels like it's falling apart.

Fu Cai was also annoyed: "I never thought that Lord Qin was so impatient with traveling. I should have made the cushions thicker."

In fact, the palace road is now very flat and wide. They have accompanied the king on his tours before and are already able to kneel and sit steadily.

I don't know why the Qin ruler is tormenting me like this.

Qin Shi waved his hand, not wanting to speak.

Even the thickest cushions piled up in a carriage can't compare to the shock absorption of spring-loaded rubber wheels.

But now...

That’s all!

Let her give up on all this beautiful scenery for the rest of her life! She's already seen plenty of places in the first two or three decades, so staying home for the next few decades won't be a problem!

Despite being dizzy and swaying, the carriage finally made it to the Ironworks.

The Ironworks is located on the banks of the Wei River, with the Wei River on one side and Jingyang on the other. There is a small iron mine here.

Like all the ironworks in the Qin state, it was built relying on iron ore.

However, the iron ore production in Jingyang was quite small; according to Qin Shi's understanding, it was probably only about 500,000 to 600,000 tons.

For an iron ore mine, this is truly pitifully small.

But even with only 500,000 to 600,000 tons, it's more than enough to meet the needs of the people and the military in the vast city of Xianyang today.

The carriage moved slowly forward, but soldiers ahead quickly intercepted it.
"This is a forbidden area; entry is prohibited without the king's decree."

Wu Zi quickly dismounted from the carriage and presented the silk scroll given to him by the official in charge of the imperial seal before his departure. It bore the imperial seal of the King of Qin.

The soldier took the silk scroll and glanced at it quickly.

Although he couldn't read the large characters at the top, he recognized the bright seal at the bottom, so he quickly reported it to his superiors.

Before long, the iron official in charge of the ironworks arrived.

Meanwhile, Fu Cai helped Qin Shi slowly descend the steps.

Upon seeing that the woman emerging from the carriage was a noble lady of extraordinary bearing, the iron official was somewhat taken aback.

"My esteemed guest..." He hesitated for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the other woman's skirt and her gold-embroidered, intricately carved, multi-layered shoes, before hesitating, "This place is dirty..."

Qin Shi wanted to wear sneakers, but no matter what, he refused to wear colorful clothes.

In her opinion, although the shoes she had made were inlaid with gold and jade, how could they compare to the uniqueness of Qin Jun's shoes?
If your clothes get worn out, we've been getting new clothes and shoes made every day, so there's no need to worry.

In short, Qin Shi could only pretend to be indifferent at this moment: "It's alright, don't worry about the filth."

On the side of the iron mine near the iron official workshop, people were still mining continuously. The wind carried particles of ore dust, and the ground was a mess.

Now that we're here, "cleanliness" has nothing to do with it anymore.

After a brief moment of awkwardness, Qin Shi quickly regained his composure: "I have come here on the orders of the King to take a look. After I have seen it all, if it is convenient, I would be grateful if you could lend me a few metalworkers and blacksmiths."

The iron official bowed swiftly, and naturally, there was no response.

The soldiers let him pass with heavy steps. Qin Shi entered with two maids. Fu Cai and Wu Zi were by his side, and one of them took out a silk scarf from her sleeve and tied it around Qin Shi's face.

It wasn't to cover my face; it was just that the dust particles in the wind were too big.

Looking at the crude mining area on one side of the workshop, there were countless laborers, slaves, and prisoners, all of whom were barely clothed and emaciated.

At this moment, she witnessed firsthand the reality of being "emaciated".

The slaves had prominent bones in their chests, backs, and even cheeks, and their eye sockets were also deeply sunken, with a deep blackish-yellow skin.

The squad leader constantly patrolled the area, and if anyone slacked off, a sharp whip would lash out with a whooshing sound.

The other party only grunted once, then quickly quickened their pace.

As soon as the sergeant took a step, some people in the crowd couldn't help but shrink back.

Qin Shi quickly looked away, avoiding eye contact with them.

Looking at Fu Cai and Yi Ming, they remained expressionless, clearly taking the matter quite seriously.

Yes, ordinary people were also conscripted for various forms of forced labor.

Qin Shi sighed and turned his attention to the ore they had mined.

The iron ore mine in Jingyang is a residual sedimentary iron ore vein, which is formed by the weathering and erosion of iron ore into water, and then by the accumulation and deposition of water flow.

Therefore, most of them are inconspicuous limonite and hematite.

As their names suggest, these two types of iron ore are yellowish-brown all over and are not usually a single type of iron ore. Therefore, they are loose and porous, making them very easy to smelt.

Its disadvantages are that it is relatively light and has low hardness. Therefore, it is basically not used for weapons, but rather for supplying agricultural tools and implements.

Hematite is reddish-brown.

If you carefully collect the powder, you can see that it is the color of pig liver. Nowadays, some dyes are made from this color.

It has a slight metallic sheen on top, making it look quite different from other stones to the naked eye.

Upon seeing this, Qin Shi recalled a translucent, glass-like crystal he had found in the Qin King's treasury.

That was blue iron ore, also discovered in Jingyang. It is extremely rare among iron ore and was thus presented to the king as a precious treasure.

Although not perfectly clear and transparent, its soft texture allows it to retain a shimmering luster after polishing. It displays beautiful shades of blue, deep blue, dark green, and emerald green under different lighting conditions.

Because it was impossible to carve the whole piece, Fu Cai was planning to have the craftsmen break it up and use it to inlay pearls and jade.

Your salary and emoluments are the blood and sweat of the people.

However, Qin Shi was of low rank and had little influence, so she could not change anything on her own and continued to stride forward.

However, after walking only a few steps, they saw someone dragging a gaunt man whose age was indiscernible out of the tall, simple workshop ahead.

Then they put shackles on him and made him kneel on the gravel ground, exposed to the scorching sun.

When the iron official saw Qin Shi stop, he figured that women were probably just a bit soft-hearted.

However, the Ironworks had its own rules. If she pleaded for mercy, given that he was carrying the king's decree and was a noble person, he could simply agree and leave it at that. He could always make amends later after she left.

But they feared that she might be too soft-hearted and say naive things that might disturb and shake the people's hearts, making the rest of the population less obedient.

Therefore, he quickly took two steps to lead her away from this place: "My lord, this is the smelting place."

The small water chestnuts really do have a different texture than the big, hard ones!
Busy countdown begins!
The description of the Iron Official Workshop is based on my own research, compilation, and imagination. It is relatively small in scale, and since there are no architectural reconstruction drawings, it is for reference only.

But the details should have been done well.

We'll talk about seals later.

Regardless of the dynasty, the common people always suffered the most.