Rise of a Lonely City: From Exiled Prince to Ruler of the Nine Provinces

The discovery of the Black Mountain iron ore deposits was like unearthing an inexhaustible treasure trove in the northern lands.

However, ore is ultimately just cold stone. Only through smelting in the fire and tempering it through countless hammer blows can it be transformed into a steel blade that can cut through iron like mud, and into the backbone that supports the nation's destiny.

Xiao Chen knew that "good ore is not enough; you also need a good furnace."

Traditional iron smelting methods are not only inefficient and consume enormous amounts of fuel, but they also make it difficult to remove impurities, resulting in mostly brittle and unusable pig iron.

Without innovation in smelting technology, even possessing a mountain of gold would be a waste of resources.

Therefore, as soon as the exploration team discovered the mineral vein, Xiao Chen ordered the Institute of Geology and the Bureau of Industry and Commerce to join forces to plan and build a modern iron smelting workshop of unprecedented scale, leading technology, and fully water-powered operation and coke smelting at the foot of Black Mountain and on the banks of the White Water River – "Black Mountain Iron City".

The site was chosen at the southern foot of Black Mountain, backed by the mine and facing the White Water River. Tens of thousands of engineers and displaced people worked tirelessly day and night, like industrious worker ants, felling trees, quarrying stones, leveling the land, and digging the foundation.

In just one month, a new industrial city, spanning five square miles, rose from the ground. The city's layout is well-organized:

Huge ore yards, coal warehouses, and limestone yards, with raw materials piled up like mountains.

Dozens of giant coking kilns burn day and night, turning high-quality coal transported from Heishan Town into coke, which replaces traditional charcoal, has higher calorific value, and is more durable.

In the core area, twelve towering "Black Mountain-style" giant blast furnaces, each five zhang high, stand majestically, like twelve steel giants overlooking the earth.

Steelmaking workshops, steel casting workshops, forging workshops, and foundries stood side by side, responsible for processing pig iron into various steel products and ironware.

Along the banks of the Baishui River, ten enormous "water pumps" roar day and night, using complex gears and connecting rods to convert the surging water power into strong wind power, which is then fed into the blast furnace.

"Open the furnace!"

At the command of Ou Tiejian, the head of the Construction Department, the craftsmen who were already prepared set off simultaneously.

"Open the gate!" In the power zone, the huge sluice gate slowly rose, and the rushing water of the Baishui River surged down, impacting the huge waterwheel.

"Crunch—crunch—" The heavy gears turned slowly, driving the connecting rod that was hundreds of feet long, which in turn propelled the bellows next to the blast furnace in the smelting area.

"Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—" A powerful airflow was continuously injected into the bottom of the blast furnace through the ceramic "air duct".

The blast furnace was already filled with coke and iron ore.

With the injection of wind, the fire in the furnace was instantly ignited to its maximum. With a "boom," flames burst forth from the furnace opening, turning half the sky a fiery red.

"Add more ingredients!"

The craftsmen chanted slogans as they used pulley systems and zigzag ramps to push carts loaded with ore and coke to the top of the blast furnace and dump them into the furnace.

The whole process is labor-saving, efficient, and safe.

With the continuous support of hydraulic blasting, the furnace temperature rapidly climbed to over a thousand degrees.

The hard ore gradually melts at high temperatures, and impurities separate from the molten iron and sink to the bottom of the furnace.

"Made in iron!"

Several hours later, with a loud shout, the taphole at the bottom of the blast furnace was opened by the "iron spade".

"Whoosh—!"

A torrent of molten iron, golden and reddish-brown and dazzlingly bright, roared out of the blast furnace like an angry dragon, rushing along the refractory brick "channels" and surging into the "ladle" below. The molten iron churned, sparks flew, and waves of heat hit us, making it hard to breathe.

"It's done!"

As the blacksmith gazed at the surging molten iron, tears streamed down his face. "This molten iron...this quality...it's ten times better than the best iron I've ever seen!"

Molten iron, once cooled, becomes pig iron.

Although pig iron is hard, it is brittle and easily broken, making it unsuitable for directly manufacturing weapons.

It must undergo decarburization to be converted into steel.

"The Steel-Frying Method!"

The craftsmen ladled molten iron into the "steel-frying furnace" and stirred it continuously with "willow sticks," just like stir-frying vegetables.

The oxygen in the air reacts with the carbon in the molten iron, producing a hissing sound and sparks flying.

As the iron is stirred, its color gradually changes from red to white, then from white to blue, and its carbon content continuously decreases, eventually becoming "wrought iron" or "low-carbon steel".

"The steel-filling method!"

Another, more advanced process. The craftsmen layered pig iron and wrought iron and heated them in the "Su Steel Furnace".

Pig iron has a low melting point, so it melts first and seeps into the gaps of wrought iron, "pouring" it in.

By combining the two materials, their strengths are complemented and their weaknesses are compensated for, resulting in "canned steel" with moderate carbon content and excellent performance.

"Hundred-Refined Steel!" The "Hundred-Refining Method" is used to create divine weapons.

The roasted steel ingots are repeatedly heated, folded, and forged, undergoing a rigorous process to remove impurities and refine the grains.

Folding it a hundred times yields "hundred-refined steel," which is incredibly sharp and extremely tough.

The refined steel needs to be forged into shape. In the past, this was all done by blacksmiths by hand, hammering it one hammer blow at a time, which was time-consuming, laborious, and of inconsistent quality.

In "Black Mountain Iron City," everything changed revolutionaryly. "Hydraulic forging hammers" were widely used.

The huge waterwheel drives the cam, which converts the rotational motion into a reciprocating motion, driving the iron "forging hammer" weighing hundreds of kilograms to slam onto the anvil with a "thud! thud! thud!"

It exerts even force, maintains a stable frequency, and never tires.

The craftsman only needs to hold iron tongs to control the position and angle of the iron material.

"Bang!" With a single blow, sparks flew and the iron material instantly deformed.

It is dozens of times more efficient than manual labor, and the quality is more uniform and denser.

"Black Mountain Iron City" is operating at full capacity, with twelve blast furnaces running day and night. The "steel-frying furnace" and "steel-filling furnace" are blazing with fire, and the "water-powered forging hammer" is roaring incessantly.

Molten iron flowed, sparks flew, and the sound of hammers shook the heavens.

Finished steel ingots, iron plates, and iron bars are neatly stacked, awaiting shipment.

Steel knives, spears, arrowheads, armor plates, farm implements, and tools poured out of the workshop like a flowing river, filling the huge warehouse.

The "Black Mountain Steel Knife" is sharp and tough, capable of cleaving an ordinary iron knife in two; the "Black Mountain Heavy Armor" offers strong protection yet is lightweight; and the "Armor-Piercing Crossbow" can easily penetrate leather armor and even iron armor.

The "Black Mountain Plow" is lightweight and durable, allowing for deep and meticulous plowing; the "Black Mountain Axe" splits firewood like mud; the "Black Mountain Saw" saws wood as easily as rotting wood.

The output and quality of "Black Mountain Iron City" shocked everyone.

Daily iron production reaches 100,000 jin and steel production reaches 30,000 jin.

One year's output is equivalent to three years' output for the entire Great Xia territory.

It has stable quality, extremely low scrap rate, and uniform specifications, making it easy for large-scale production and maintenance.

Because of the use of water power and coke, costs have been significantly reduced, and the price is only half of the market price.

The Hanyuan Army began a complete re-equipment change. The soldiers held gleaming steel swords and wore sturdy yet lightweight iron armor, greatly boosting their morale and combat effectiveness.

Caravans transported "Black Mountain Ironware" to all corners of the world, and "Hanyuan Iron" became synonymous with "high quality and low price," selling like hotcakes and becoming extremely scarce.

Xiao Chen personally inspected "Black Mountain Iron City".

Looking at the towering blast furnace, listening to the deafening roar, and smelling the intense metallic aroma, his heart surged with emotion.

"This city is the heart of my Cold Abyss, the cornerstone of my nation's destiny."

Xiao Chen said to his accompanying ministers, "Steel is power. With it, we can build strong ships and powerful cannons, construct formidable cities and high walls, manufacture excellent agricultural tools, and enrich the country and strengthen the army."

"Your Highness is wise."

The blacksmith said, "With this Iron City, all ironware in the world will come from my hands."

"Not only that."

Xiao Chen's gaze was profound. "We must make this Iron City the cradle of the Industrial Revolution. Next, we'll use this steel to build machines! Trains! Ships! Let this torrent of steel change the world!"

The establishment of "Black Mountain Iron City" signifies that Han Yuan has completely seized control of the core "steel hegemony" of the industrial age.

It not only provided the Cold Abyss with invincible weapons, but also with tools to transform the world.

Han Yuan is striding forward from a military superpower of the cold weapon era to the industrial age.