I was the Founding Father of the United States

Chapter 191 Refining Reflector Furnace

Life in Robinburg is very different from that in England, and also very different from that in Rhode Island in New England.

What are the specific differences?

Is it a vast primeval forest rarely seen in Britain, or Indians who have to come to the Robinburg dock trading market to sell bison meat and furs in exchange for salt, ironware and food?

Blake Wyatt disagreed, pointing out that Robin, Rhode Island, also had primeval forests, and towns in Pennsylvania had small numbers of converted Native Americans.

What truly sets Robinburg apart is its people!

To be precise, it refers to the 1,582 immigrants who came to the West with the Governor!

These immigrants, including himself, had worked together for the past month to cut down trees, build houses and kilns, clear land to plant wheat and corn, and patrol the neighborhood on horseback with guns.

Everyone was dedicated to their duties, everyone was full of hope, and everyone helped each other as if they were true friends and family—something that would be impossible in England!

In Britain, people are wary of strangers because being friendly to strangers can get them into trouble.

In Robinburg, even if two people don't know each other—you're a soldier on patrol and I'm a steelworker—we'll greet each other with smiles and chat about recent events when we meet on the street, just like family!

That's right, we're family!

We are neighbors and colleagues, we follow the same leader, we believe in the same God, we will take care of each other's children, our fates are intertwined, and our future graves and souls ascending to heaven will be close together!

These are the sayings that pastors often mention in sermons and in their daily lives. After initial hesitation, Blake gradually accepted them, just like everyone else.

Yes!

There is no doubt about that; everyone is indeed working hard for a better future under the Governor's leadership.

We cut down trees together, we cultivate the land together, we build houses together, our children play together, and our happy life needs the protection of God, His Excellency the Governor, and every member of our family!

There is no king, no noble lord, no harsh tax collectors here, only a fair and generous governor and each other!

In His Excellency the Governor’s words, we are a true community of shared destiny!

A week ago, His Excellency the Governor began allocating land.

Although these lands were not on the plains of Pitt and Robinburg, but in the primeval forests along the upper Allegheny River, each person received at least thirty acres, which delighted many and filled them with gratitude toward the Governor.

Surprisingly, the Governor said that this was a reward they deserved, and that they still needed to work hard to create a better future for themselves and their children.

Blake Wyatt agreed wholeheartedly, and after discussing it with his wife Laura, he decided not to take possession of the land immediately.

He was a technician at a steel mill, his wife worked at a wool mill, and their two children were in school.

Their family is currently unable to operate a farm, and if the land is not developed within a year of receiving it, it will be reclaimed by the Governor's Office.

Therefore, he planned to wait until the new immigrants arrived before accepting the land and hiring them to cultivate and develop it.

In any case, you have already promised that the land they all received will be of roughly equal value.

Those who do not choose to receive land can now receive a plot of land for free in Robinburg.

The Governor's Office will hire construction teams to build rows of two-story red brick houses, which will be sold at cost price as compensation for them. Moreover, they will still be able to get their own land in the future, only in a more remote location.

Blake was not a farmer; he made his living by steelmaking. For him, the land and house in Robinburg were far better than the undeveloped forests and wastelands.

Everyone knows how much hard work and sweat it takes to turn forests and wastelands into farmland, so why would he want to suffer like that?

Many others shared his views; almost all craftsmen and skilled workers opted for homesteads and houses rather than immediately acquiring thirty acres of wasteland and farmland.

Unlike skilled immigrants, more than half of the Western Army soldiers did not ask for houses in Robinburg, but instead chose to receive land.

According to the Governor's Office's decree, officers and soldiers in service could extend the land development period, but only for a maximum of three years. If the land development did not meet the standards after three years, it would be reclaimed.

So, as soon as these soldiers received the land, they asked the chaplain and the college students in the literacy class to write letters home, requesting that their families in Europe and the East come to the West to help run the farm.

On the surface, each person is entitled to one immigration quota per year, but in reality, the clerks at the land registry office directly implied that as long as the number of relatives does not exceed ten, once they arrive in Philadelphia, the governor's office can arrange for them to be taken to Robinburg, without having to worry about British checkpoints.

Robinburg is expected to welcome at least several hundred new immigrants in the coming months.

That afternoon.

Near the makeshift dock on the south bank of the Ohio River, Chen Wenbin, accompanied by three guards, arrived at the steel plant under construction. Manager James Merlin and an assistant manager accompanied him on the inspection.

After visiting the blast furnaces that were producing molten iron, the group entered the completed wrought iron refining plant, where they saw five...

A worker is building the reflector roof and chimney of the refining reverberatory furnace.

The entire project is nearing completion. All that's needed is to connect the exhaust fan at the top of the chimney to the waterwheel outside, and this stirring refining reverberatory furnace will be able to mass-produce wrought iron.

Chen Wenbin walked over and carefully examined the construction curvature of the arched reverberatory furnace roof before nodding to James Merlin behind him and saying, "James, your construction progress is good. In just one month, you've not only put the blast furnace into operation, but the reverberatory furnace is also almost finished. Excellent work efficiency!"

Upon hearing this, James Merlin stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "Sir, we have experienced workers and engineers, as well as the blueprints you provided, so our efficiency is naturally very high."

After speaking, he looked at the refining reverberatory furnace in front of him and hesitated, "But Your Excellency—the coal and pig iron in this kind of furnace don't come into direct contact; they only use the heat reflected from the top of the furnace to bake them. Can the pig iron really be melted and turned into wrought iron?"

"Why don't we just try it and see if it works?"

Chen Wenbin patted the outer arm of the reverberatory furnace and explained, "The reverberatory furnace for refining appeared in the 1680s. British mines have been using it to purify metals such as copper, tin and lead. Of course, it can also be used to smelt iron."

The only problem is that its furnace temperature is a bit low, requiring constant manual stirring to prevent the molten iron from solidifying. Then, after simple forging to remove the iron oxide impurities, usable wrought iron can be obtained.

Compared to the previous method of manually forging pig iron to obtain wrought iron, the stirring reverberatory furnace has a much higher production efficiency, requiring only iron...

The ore supply is plentiful; we can even use it to manufacture rails for the Mara Railway, which stretches for thousands of miles!

Thinking of the railway's prospects, he paused, stared at Merlin and his deputy, and said seriously, "This is the steel mill's core secret. The steel mill must strictly implement the confidentiality system, and everyone who knows the technical details must be reliable."

I don't want Europe to have the same reverberatory refining furnaces in a few months!

Believe me, if the technology is leaked, someone will definitely pay the price!

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