Chronicles of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 98, Section 97: The Eye of the Storm
Nowadays, building a low-end blast furnace is not difficult. Once the refractory material problem is solved, blacksmiths can memorize the structure with just one glance.

Everyone just wanted to verify that furnace temperature immediately!
However, Qin craftsman Tie Yan pointed to the annotation below the silk scroll: "There should be five to eight symmetrical wind eyes here—Qin ruler, this is too dense, each of our bellows needs a lot of space."

The bellows is what we now call a bellows. It is a huge leather bag made of wooden boards and other materials, and it requires a lot of space to pull it.

Here, the symmetrical eyelets are densely packed together, making it impossible for them to maneuver effectively.

Qin Shi glanced at Yi Ming, whose cheeks were flushed and who was excited, clearly having waited for this moment for a long time.

She stepped forward and declared loudly, "The presence of such a wind eye proves that we are about to build a new bellows."

The bellows are simple to make, requiring only a wooden frame and leather. However, they have a small airflow, making each use labor-intensive and inefficient.

But the bellows is different, especially since Qin Shi provided a piston-type bellows, which is sealed very tightly.

All of this is thanks to Yiming's profound research.

She rarely accompanied Qin Shi to serve outside, and she was not as thoughtful and meticulous as Chi Nu and Wu Zi in doing things. She even knew less about the trivial matters in the palace than they did.

But there's one thing she can do: in the field of medicine, if you give her just one word, she can settle down and delve into it.

For example, Qin Shi once said that fresh bamboo sap could cure coughs, and she has now had a lot of it roasted and tested on a small scale among the servants in Xianyang Palace.

Qin Shi had told her about Eucommia ulmoides glue earlier, and upon hearing that the glue made from this herb was very useful, she immediately began to produce a large quantity.

With the existence of this rubber-like elastic material, making the bellows more efficient and better sealed is absolutely no problem.

At this moment, she was also quite emotional.

This unwavering attitude inspired everyone, so even though they still didn't understand the bellows, they all stopped doubting it.

Yi Ming stood tall and proud, feeling quite pleased with himself.

With the most important material issue resolved, describing the remaining forging techniques becomes much simpler.

One purpose was to further refine the existing basic steelmaking technology of the Chu Kingdom.

Secondly, during the refining process, different proportions of pig iron and wrought iron are mixed to produce better, more qualified, more standardized, and quantifiable "hundred-refined steel".

The metalworkers could easily tell that this noblewoman wasn't actually an expert in iron forging. Could all her unique techniques be exclusive to the Qin royal palace?
Those few key words immediately shattered everyone's resolve.

Especially Gao Ye, a craftsman from the Chu Kingdom and now the group leader.

His proud "Hundred Refined Steel" technique was not even considered true "Hundred Refined Steel" in the eyes of the other party; it was extremely rudimentary.

As for the handling of iron materials, the other party could even readily come up with various new processes such as "steel frying," "steel pouring," and "Suzhou steelmaking"...

He stopped talking altogether.

At the same time, he developed a deep sense of awe for the Qin state, which he had always resisted: that tyrannical Qin ruler, who was not to be spoken of, could actually get such capable people to help him!

So, it's understandable that he, a mere craftsman, would seek to serve a different ruler after the fall of his kingdom in order to save the lives of his people, right?
……

After finally finishing his explanations to Gao Ye Tieyan and the others, even the iron official had written down several scrolls of tasks on bamboo slips. Qin Shi glanced at his watch and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

We set off at 6:00 and arrived at 9:00. We had a quick breakfast on the bus, and for lunch we had a boiled egg, roast beef, stir-fried vegetables, and a simple meal of wheat rice. It's already 5:00 PM now.

However, the feeling of having all the to-do items clearly defined...

so good.

Although the most basic blast furnace has not yet been built, the team leader and deputy team leader have already led their team members to other vertical furnaces to try out new materials, creating a lively scene!
And Qin Shi was finally able to return to the palace.

This time she leaves, and the next time she comes will be three days later when the blast furnace is covered and the charcoal fire is thoroughly heated—in early October, the New Year, she must present Ji Heng with the sharpest and toughest Qin sword in the world!

Then they began to work on mass production of high-quality iron swords.

Only when Ji Heng sees tangible results related to "cultivation and warfare" will he truly take her demands seriously.

Now, Qin Shi slowed her pace. She asked the iron official, "Last time I saw some artisans and slaves being punished because they were doing work that wasn't their job."

"Are there many people like this nowadays?"

The iron official was taken aback, then immediately replied, "Reporting to Lord Qin, that was merely an exception. Everyone in our ironworks is dedicated to their duties and would never..."

"Find it out."

Qin Shi interrupted him.

She was too tired to listen to any more of this pointless talk.

As long as a person is alive, they will have thoughts; those without thoughts are called walking corpses.

Once you've tasted the fleeting freedom of thought, it's addictive.

Therefore, she repeated: "Find them all and arrange them here."

"Then they are arranged in order of the number of times they have been violated."

Under such heavy pressure of rules, the consequences of making mistakes are unbearable for most people.

But what if someone repeatedly fails to correct their behavior despite being taught a lesson...

What incredible resilience and boundless creativity that must have taken!
She absolutely had to hear it.

The iron official standing to the side remained silent for a long time.

He knew it! He knew it! This Qin ruler came with the authority of the king, but he didn't do anything to make an example of him...

Now, we've caught up!
The iron official rushed out to make arrangements—many of those who had made mistakes were taken to quarry further away.

Now that the King of Qin is eager to establish his authority, his soldiers must bring them back at top speed!

……

The ironworks here is exceptionally large, with small quarries built against the mountainside, and everywhere there are laborers and criminals working tirelessly like ants.

One of the figures was thin and frail, carrying a basket that was about to topple him. He walked with blurred vision and his whole body trembling, sweat pouring down his face.

Seeing this, his companion couldn't bear it and advised him again:

"Mo, don't be so stubborn next time! Just do what you're told. How could we, of such lowly status, possibly understand those rare and precious techniques?"

"And last time, he and Xin were bumped into by a nobleman from Xianyang Palace..."

"You're still young. If you don't strengthen your body, you won't be able to hold on sooner or later."

The thin boy paused, his lungs throbbing with pain as he gasped for breath, but his heart ached with a different kind of pain:
"What about Xin?"

“Xin Jintian…”

Last time, the two of them were caught for "not doing their proper work". Because they were still young, they took all the punishment. When they were dragged back at night, they were barely breathing.

But how tenacious is its vitality today?

Mo stayed by the cold spring where the sword was being quenched for a long time, constantly changing the handkerchief to cool him down. When dawn broke, Xin woke up.

Just as he was beginning to think about his current physical condition, a squad of soldiers rushed over, carrying reference documents and materials.

Who is [Xin]?

Here I am! Goodnight.

It feels like my destiny to only finish writing now! I've been so sleepy I've slept seven or eight times...