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

The success of the hydraulic blower was like a key, opening a new door for Hanyuan's iron smelting technology.

The stable increase in furnace temperature resulted in a visible change in the quality of the molten iron.

The blacksmith and the craftsmen in his workshop were immersed in an almost fanatical atmosphere of exploration.

But Xiao Chen wanted more than that.

"Master Ou, the iron is better now than before, but it's still not enough."

Xiao Chen picked up a newly forged iron ingot, weighed it in his hand, and said, "What we need is a precious sword that can cut through iron like mud, and armor that can withstand strong bows and crossbows. It must be steel, refined steel."

The blacksmith's excitement subsided slightly, replaced by a thoughtful expression: "Your Highness, I understand."

We've tried it these past few days. Simply increasing the furnace temperature does remove more impurities, and the iron produced is purer and harder, but it still seems to be missing a layer from true 'steel'... It's always too tough, either too brittle or too soft.

Ancient texts say that steel is forged through repeated tempering; does this truly mean it must be hammered and forged a thousand times?

"Practicing a thousand hammer blows is one approach, but it's too slow and not suitable for mass production."

Xiao Chen shook his head, searching his memory for vague fragments of knowledge from his past life. "Perhaps... we can try the 'steel-frying method' or the 'steel-casting method'?"

"Frying steel? Casting steel?" The blacksmith and the craftsmen around him looked bewildered.

Xiao Chen ordered someone to bring a sand table and used a twig to draw on it to explain: "'Stirring method', simply put, is to stir the molten pig iron in a blast furnace without pouring it into a casting tank, while simultaneously blowing in air.

Some of the carbon in pig iron will be oxidized, reducing the carbon content, and thus it becomes steel.

The key is to control the stirring time and the amount of air blown in, and to control the carbon content.

Seeing the craftsmen's half-understanding looks, he knew that the principle was too advanced for them, so he changed his approach: "Or, let's try the 'steel-pouring method'."

Heat together pig iron with a lower melting point but higher carbon content and wrought iron with a higher melting point but lower carbon content.

Molten iron from pig iron is poured into the gaps of wrought iron, and the two are fused together, taking the best of both worlds to produce steel with a suitable carbon content.

This might be easier to get started with.

"Pig iron... wrought iron... fusion?"

The blacksmith murmured repeatedly, his cloudy eyes gradually brightening. "Your Highness means, like kneading dough, to 'mix' two different types of iron together? Brilliant! Cast iron is brittle and hard, wrought iron is tough and soft, combining the two into one... I think I understand now!"

"It's just an idea. How exactly to 'knead' it, what the temperature should be, and what the proportions should be, all of that will depend on you trying it out one by one."

Xiao Chen encouraged him, "Don't be afraid of failure. Every failure is a learning experience. Just ask for what you need."

With a new direction, the furnaces in the ironworks burned even brighter.

The craftsmen were divided into several groups. One group continued to optimize the hydraulic blast furnace, striving to produce pig iron and wrought iron of more uniform quality.

The other group began building specialized "roasting furnaces" and "steel-filling furnaces".

The steel-making team was the first to encounter difficulties.

Following Xiao Chen's instructions, they built a shallow square pool, poured in molten iron, and then stirred it vigorously with a long-handled iron rod while simultaneously blowing air from the side using a bellows.

However, if the stirring is uneven, the molten iron will solidify into a lump; or if the air is blown too vigorously, the molten iron will oxidize excessively and turn into a pile of honeycomb-like waste.

For several days in a row, the waste slag piled up into a small mountain, but only a few pounds of usable steel were produced.

The steelmaking team attempted to layer wrought iron sheets and pig iron blocks into a specially made crucible, seal it, and heat it.

However, either the temperature was insufficient, preventing the two from fully merging; or the temperature was overheated, turning everything into scrap metal. Progress was slow.

A sense of defeat began to spread among the people.

Some people began to doubt whether these two unheard-of methods were really feasible, as they were a waste of a lot of precious iron and charcoal.

The blacksmith was so anxious that blisters appeared on his lips, and he stayed by the furnace day and night, his eyes sunken.

Upon hearing the news, Xiao Chen returned to the ironworks.

He didn't blame anyone, but silently walked to the pile of slag, picked up a few pieces to examine them carefully, and then looked at the unfused iron blocks that had failed to fuse after the steelmaking failure.

"The problem with frying steel may lie in the coordination between stirring and blowing."

Xiao Chen said to the dejected steelmaking craftsmen, "Don't rush to fry all the molten iron at once. Put in a small amount first, concentrate the airflow on one point, stir quickly, and observe the changes in the color and state of the molten iron. Record the color, time, and airflow each time, and find the pattern."

He then turned to the steel-pouring group: "The key to steel-pouring is temperature and contact. Are the wrought iron sheets too thick? Are the pig iron blocks too large? Can we forge the wrought iron into thinner foils and break the pig iron into smaller particles? Can the heating crucible be made with a jacket to make the heat more even?"

Xiao Chen's words were like a veil being lifted from the fog.

The artisans rekindled their hope and began experimenting with new ideas.

The molten iron processing team no longer tries to process too much; they only process a small spoonful of molten iron at a time. A designated person is responsible for observing the color change and recording the size and duration of the blower.

The steelmaking team began experimenting with hammering wrought iron into extremely thin sheets, crushing pig iron into bean-sized pieces, mixing them together, and then placing them into an improved clay crucible with an inner liner.

After countless sleepless nights and dozens of failures, a turning point quietly arrived one morning.

Wang Chui, an old craftsman in the steelmaking group, stared intently at a small spoonful of molten iron churning under the even blowing and rapid stirring during an experiment.

Suddenly, he shouted, "Stop the ventilation! Discharge the material!"

The craftsmen assisting nearby quickly removed the air duct, and Wang Chui used a long-handled iron spoon to scoop out the strangely bluish-gray, smooth, and uniformly textured paste and pour it into the prepared groove.

Sizzle—white smoke rose up.

After it cooled down, Wang Chui picked up the metal block, which was slightly larger than his palm, with trembling hands.

It is lighter than pig iron, darker in color than wrought iron, and produces a clear, resonant sound when struck.

He swung the hammer with all his might—clang! The metal block deformed, but did not shatter.

Then I filed it down. It felt harder than wrought iron, but not as brittle as cast iron.

"It's...it's done?" Wang Chui's voice was dry.

Almost at the same time, a suppressed cheer came from the steelworks team.

They opened a crucible that had just cooled, broke open the outer shell, and the metal ingot inside revealed a uniform texture with fine lines.

When struck with a hammer, it exhibits remarkable toughness; when polished with a grinding wheel, sparks fly, indicating a hardness significantly higher than that of ordinary wrought iron.

Xiao Chen was hastily summoned.

He carefully examined the two sets of latest results and then had the craftsmen forge knives on the spot using the two materials, which were then quenched and tested.

The knife made using the hot-frying method is sharp and tough, capable of easily cutting through three stacked copper coins, with only a slight bend in the blade.

The knife made by the crucible steel method has an excellent balance of hardness and toughness, and it only breaks after being bent repeatedly.

"It's a success!"

Xiao Chen finally broke into a broad smile. "Although it's not top-grade steel, it's real steel! Several times stronger than our previous refined iron!"

The entire ironworks was in an uproar!

The craftsmen embraced and wept. The hard work of more than twenty days and nights and the frustration of countless failures all turned into the ecstasy of success at this moment.

"Wang Chui, and Li Gan from the steel-casting team, you've done a great service! A hefty reward awaits you!"

Xiao Chen announced on the spot, "From today onwards, the frying and pouring methods will be officially incorporated into the iron smelting process. Master Ou, you will oversee the overall arrangements, quickly develop stable process specifications, and train more craftsmen. I want to see the first batch of steel weapons roll off the workshop as soon as possible!"

"Yes, Your Highness!" Ou the blacksmith and Wang Chui and the others were so excited that their voices choked with emotion.

In the following days, the ironworks was like a clockwork mechanism, fully wound up.

The frying furnace and the charging furnace were continuously replicated and improved, forming a preliminary production line.

The craftsmen kept in mind the hard-won "secret": when frying steel, the molten iron should ideally be "bluish-gray", and when pouring steel, the pig iron particles and wrought iron sheets should be "layered and compact".

The first batch of weapons made with the new steel was produced quickly.

It still retains the style of the Cold Abyss Blade, but the blade has a subtle, flowing pattern, is lighter in weight, and has a chillingly sharp edge.

During testing, the new knife easily cut through the best fine iron knife before, with only very minor damage to its own edge.

The newly forged arrowheads have increased penetrating power by nearly 50%.

The breastplate, crafted from steel plates, could effectively withstand direct hits from standard military arrows from thirty paces away.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Wang Dashan stroked the newly delivered steel knife, clearly delighted with it. "With this knife, our Hanyuan Army soldiers can cut down even more enemies on the battlefield!"

Zhang Meng tested the new arrowheads and nodded repeatedly: "Your Highness, if all cavalry were equipped with such weapons and armor, I am confident that even against an enemy several times our size, we would dare to charge head-on!"

Looking at the new equipment that gleamed with a cold luster, Xiao Chen felt a surge of pride.

Hundred-refinement steel is not just a better metal; it represents a crucial step forward for Hanyuan in terms of technological accumulation and industrial production.

This is capital that transcends its time, and a more solid foundation for competing for supremacy in the future.

Inside the workshop, the furnaces burned brightly, hammers clanged, and new power was being forged.

Outside the city, guests from Northern Yan had already stepped into this city that was undergoing a complete transformation.