Three Kingdoms: A Million Soldiers Grown from the Fields

Chapter 184 Tires
"This one was fumigated for 45 minutes, the color is light, it bounces back slowly, and the nail marks won't fade for ages..."

"This piece of wood has been fumigated for an hour, which has increased the sulfur content, making it too dark in color. It's hard and cracks as soon as you bend it."

"This piece was soaked for half an hour, stretches well, and rebounds quickly! It only turned white after being folded more than ten times! It's not too sticky when near hot water anymore? Let's try its abrasion resistance..."

A few days later at the rubber factory.

Zhang Xian picked up a piece of dark brown film that looked the best, walked to the corner of the wall, pressed one corner of it onto a rough bluestone slab, and rubbed it back and forth vigorously.

A harsh rustling sound rang out.

After rubbing it dozens of times, he picked up the film to examine it. The rubbed area had become lighter in color and looked somewhat rough, but it was not easily worn or torn like raw rubber!

"Great! This is great!" Zhang Xian's eyes blazed with ecstatic joy!
He looked at the film that had been exposed to sulfur soot repeatedly. Although it was still different from the tire rubber he remembered, it was undoubtedly a qualitative leap!
"Keep going! Let's try again!"

He did not slacken his efforts just because he had seen a glimmer of hope; his figure was almost never still in the workshop.

For several days, he didn't even leave the workshop. When he was tired, he would just set up a tent outside the rubber factory and sleep. When he was thirsty or hungry, someone would come and bring him food and drink.

Xun Yu knew that his lord was busy with a very important matter, so he basically took care of all the official duties by himself.

Sometimes when we're really too busy, we just ask a few students who have kept records to come and help out.

When the morning dew of a new day falls.

After Zhang Xian lifted the metal seal again, a scene like that in a movie suddenly unfolded before his eyes.

[The vision for the future has been activated!]

The video was playing rapidly in front of him at an unknown speed.

It was a factory stained black with grease.

A man with Western features is disassembling and adjusting a machine.

Two brass rollers rotated in opposite directions amidst the hissing of the steam engine, and the milky white clumps were drawn into the gaps, crushed into thin sheets, and then clumped together again.

Under mechanical shearing, the rubber material loses its stiffness and becomes as flexible as dough.

Shaping, heating, steam.

His steps are now very similar to Zhang Xian's, except that with the help of machines, the production capacity is much larger.

Metal containers provide excellent airtightness, allowing the pre-shaped and engraved raw rubber to be continuously permeated by the rising sulfurous gases.

When the steam stopped and the container cooled down, the man opened it and a row of rubber products were successfully produced.

As the program neared its end.

Zhang Xian's eyes lit up again, and he tilted his head to look at Lu Da, who had come over to help, and asked.

How long did I stand there in a daze?

Lu Da, puzzled, scratched his head and said, "My lord, you're not spacing out."

"Oh," Zhang Xian nodded slightly.

The lipstick crease could no longer be suppressed.

He put down the metal lid he was holding and straightened up.

"Pack all these things up. I'm going to the water forge with Lao He."

Lu Da was taken aback again: "Aren't you going to try?"

Zhang Xian shook his head: "I already know what to do."

[Future Vision] is nothing short of miraculous; although the chance of triggering it is extremely low, the rewards it brings each time are unparalleled.

He has mastered the system production of vulcanized rubber.

By the way.
He also mastered the preparation of steam engines.

Thanks to the engineer featured in the video, and thanks to Future Vision for the extended period of time it has been activated.

The environment in the video clip we just saw was clearly the Western world in the early industrial era, and the machinery used was steam-powered.

This is killing two birds with one stone!

Stepping out of the rubber factory, Zhang Xian felt a sense of clarity.

The rubber plantation behind him had been troubling him for almost a month, but now, thanks to his efforts, he has finally achieved his goal.

Who says cheating doesn't require personal effort?! If you didn't work hard, could you possibly cheat?!
With a short whistle, the dark shadow appeared silently. No one could see where it came from; all they knew was that it would appear behind their lord in less than ten seconds after the lord blew the whistle.

He mounted his horse and headed straight for the Jinyang Water Forge.

On the banks of the Fen River.

The roar of the forging hammer continued.

Agricultural tools and military equipment were constantly produced here.

The two Tong brothers now have one stationed at the Luchishui Forging Workshop and the other here, ensuring the production of ironware and the training of blacksmiths in Taiyuan County.

Old He arrived later.

He found Zhang Xian, who was already busy, and after asking a few questions, he joined in.

Zhang Xian is making a rubber open mill, which consists of two large iron rollers that can be preheated and rotate in opposite directions.

The latex sheets will be repeatedly rolled and stretched between the rollers, which will fuse the individual latex sheets into one and allow the sulfur powder to be more tightly integrated with the latex.

There is no need to worry about latex vulcanization during this period. The vulcanization reaction temperature of latex is around 150 degrees Celsius, while the preheating temperature of the open mill will not exceed 100 degrees Celsius.

Once the latex is repeatedly rolled and made easier to shape, it can be shaped into forms such as tires before being sent into a steam chamber for vulcanization.

Through the film "Future Vision," Zhang Xian also learned that molding must precede vulcanization, because once vulcanized, the rubber loses its plasticity.

The construction of the open mill took some effort and was not completed until mid-May.

In mid-May, the Fen River is full of water and flows turbulently.

The massive waterwheel in the water forging workshop emitted a deep, continuous roar as it was struck by the turbulent water flow, driving various connecting rods, gears, and drive shafts within the workshop to convert the surging water power into electricity.

In a corner of the workshop, on a specially cleared open space, a strangely shaped machine has been assembled.

This is the refining machine that Zhang Xian and Lao He and others have spent nearly a month building.

Since there was no steam power, Zhang Xian installed many external gears and connecting rods to drive the rollers, which could be rotated by water or animal power.

Two cast iron rollers, as thick as a strong man's thigh and polished to a mirror shine, rotate in opposite directions under the meshing of gears and the power provided by the Fen River.

The roller was hollow inside and connected to a roaring charcoal stove next to it via pipes. The heat from the stove was drawn into the roller, giving the cold metal surface a warm glow. Zhang Xian was dressed in shorts, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and his face was still smudged with oil.

He stared at the slowly rotating, warm iron roller.

On the wooden table next to it were several blocks of raw rubber that had just been delivered from the rubber factory, and a jar of finely ground sulfur powder.

"Old He, start the fire! Heat up the rollers, but control the heat carefully, don't let it get too hot," Zhang Xian said.

As a blacksmith, Lao He was naturally an expert in temperature control. He immediately adjusted the air damper of the charcoal furnace, and the dark red charcoal fire suddenly burst into orange flames, with heat flowing into the rollers through the pipes.

Before long, one could feel a distinct warmth as one approached the roller. He tested it with the back of his hand and then bowed to his lord.

"The temperature is just right, my lord."

"Then apply glue!"

Zhang Xian personally picked up a heavy block of raw rubber, waited for the right moment, and steadily dropped it between two counter-rotating rollers!
"Hiss—Buzz!"

The raw rubber block is instantly gripped by the rotating rollers and then rolled in! Under the immense pressure and friction, the tough rubber block is stretched, crushed, and folded like dough!
The warm roller surface makes the rubber softer and more compliant.

The raw rubber blocks were repeatedly kneaded, torn, and then glued together in the gap between the rollers, producing a popping sound and a slight tearing sound.

Soon, the originally thick block of rubber was crushed into a sheet of evenly thick tape.

"Old Sun, you spread the sulfur powder! Keep your hand steady!"

Zhang Xian continued to hold onto the tape, letting it be repeatedly crushed.

Old Sun obeyed orders, grabbed a handful of fine sulfur powder, and at the precise moment the tape was rolled up and spread out, he flicked his wrist, scattering the pale yellow powder evenly onto the surface of the spread tape like a fairy scattering flowers!
When sulfur powder comes into contact with the warm tape, some of it adheres to it like snowflakes.

As the rollers continue to rotate and crush, the sprinkled sulfur powder is deeply kneaded into the colloid!

Each rolling and folding process allows the sulfur and gum to blend more evenly and deeply.

The tape's color became deeper and more uniform during the kneading process, and its texture visibly became more flexible and smooth, with a warm, lustrous sheen on its surface.

Lu Da and Lao He stood by, watching without daring to utter a sound.

"It's done!" Zhang Xian observed the state of the tape and felt that the sulfur powder had been fully incorporated and the adhesive had been kneaded until it was even and flexible.

He moved a lever next to him, increasing the gap between the two rollers.

The dark brown tape, kneaded to the texture of fine leather, obediently slid out from the roller gap and lay flat on the wooden platform below, still warm from the machine and emitting a faint smell of sulfur and saturated rubber.

"Quick! Shape it while it's hot!" Zhang Xian called to the carpenter who was already prepared.

Several experienced carpenters immediately stepped forward, each holding a specially made hardwood mold with grooves.

They quickly covered the two newly made wheels with warm tape!

These wheels are wider than ordinary wheels, about the width of an adult's foot.

It was several times wider than a normal wheel.

The carpenters worked swiftly, using wooden mallets wrapped in damp cloths to carefully tap and press the soft tape firmly along the curve of the wooden ring!
The edges are carefully folded in and secured with a special fish glue.

Soon, two wooden wheels covered with a thick layer of dark brown rubber appeared before everyone's eyes.

The rubber sheet is tightly attached to the wooden ring, with a smooth surface and the anti-slip texture of the inner wooden ring faintly visible.

"Send it to the steam room!" Zhang Xian's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible tension.

The so-called steaming room is a newly built brick kiln. The interior space of the kiln is not large and is built with thick blue bricks, with great emphasis on airtightness.

The bottom of the kiln has a fire channel that connects to a specially made large iron pot next to it.

At this moment, the water in the large iron pot was boiling, and scalding steam poured into the steaming room through the fire channel.

The entire steam room was filled with thick, scorching white steam, and the temperature was incredibly high.

Sun Tao's two apprentices were wearing thick, water-soaked linen clothes.

They carefully lifted the two rubber-covered wooden wheels with long iron hooks, quickly placed them into the steaming room and suspended them on a specially made iron frame, then swiftly closed the kiln door and sealed the gaps tightly with wet mud!
"Fire! Keep the steam plentiful!" Zhang Xian ordered from the side.

The charcoal fire was turned up to its strongest setting, the water in the iron pot boiled violently, and even more scorching steam was sent into the steaming room.

Time ticked by as everyone waited anxiously outside the steam room.

The only sounds coming from the steam room were the bubbling of boiling water and the hissing of flowing steam.

Zhang Xian stared intently at a hollow copper pipe inserted into the wall of the steam room, with a simple pressure gauge covered by a thin sheepskin attached to the outer end of the pipe.

The internal pressure can be roughly estimated by using the height of the sheepskin bulge caused by steam pressure.

At this point, the height to which the sheepskin bulge is lifted indicates that the temperature and pressure inside the steam chamber are steadily increasing.

About half an hour later, he decisively ordered: "Stop the fire! Remove the charcoal! Let it cool naturally! No one is allowed to open the door prematurely!"

Sun Tao's two pottery apprentices stepped forward to clean the charcoal fire under the iron pot.

The agonizing cooling process lasted for almost another hour.

When the heavy kiln door of the steaming chamber was pulled open by the iron hook, a wave of heat mixed with the strong smell of cooked rubber and the lingering aroma of sulfur rushed out!

As the white mist dissipated, everyone held their breath and looked on.

On the iron frame, two wooden wheels hung silently.

The dark brown rubber covering it became even deeper in color, approaching a warm, deep chestnut hue.

"It's done! The vulcanization is complete!" Zhang Xian's eyes burst with uncontrollable elation!
He couldn't wait to have the tires carried out of the steam room.

The originally soft rubber now feels warm to the touch, and its texture has become exceptionally tough and elastic, with a heavy feel.

He pressed down hard with his fingers a few times, but with his superhuman strength, he could only leave a very shallow mark. Almost the instant his fingers left, the mark disappeared!
I scratched it with my fingernail, and it only left a faint white mark. The tire was completely undamaged!

"Load it! Test the wheels!" he ordered, and immediately someone stepped forward and loaded the two wooden rims onto a flatbed cart.

Zhang Xian himself climbed onto the cart shaft and had Mo Ying pull it.

"drive!"

As Mo Ying moved with some unsteady steps, the cart with tires made its way onto the mud road outside the water forge.

stable.

It feels much more stable than wooden wheels.

The wide tires give the wheels better grip.

Although the other components of the cart were not improved, the addition of tires alone increased the speed slightly!
The ability to traverse terrain has also increased significantly!
(End of this chapter)