In times of chaos and famine, I traded one pound of rice for two royal flushes.

"Pass on my message to Wang Tiezhu: after the blast furnace is built, the first batch of iron produced should not be used to make farm tools."

Chu Wu was taken aback: "Then... then what should we fight?"

Qin Shaolang's gaze sharpened, as if it could pierce through the rocks.

"Make a large pot, the bigger the better. Then, improve the distillation vessel for brewing. We don't have enough grain, but we can use it to trade for more than we can eat!"

Use wine to exchange for grain!

He will use the modern distillation technology he has mastered to carry out a devastating attack on this era in exchange for the capital to survive!

Chu Wu's eyes widened instantly; he finally understood Qin Shaolang's true intentions!

Chu Wu's mind went blank, as if he had been hit hard by a heavy hammer.

Trade alcohol for grain!

These four words were like a lightning bolt that cleaved through his chaotic thoughts.

That's right! The murky liquor produced in their Lantian Town, with its bland taste, like horse piss, can still sell for tens of coins a jar. If Brother Qin could brew that legendary "soul-stirring" strong liquor, how much would it be worth?

A jar of wine, exchanged for several bushels of grain, would probably be highly sought after!

They don't have enough food, but they can create things that are a hundred times more valuable than food!

What an ingenious and brilliant idea!

"I...I understand! Brother Qin, I understand!" Chu Wu was so excited that his face turned red. He looked at Qin Shaolang's back, and his eyes were no longer filled with worship, but with almost fanatical faith.

This is no longer the wisdom of mortals; it is the magic of gods turning stones into gold!

"Go ahead and tell Wang Tiezhu to provide whatever manpower and materials he needs. I need the prototype of a blast furnace within three days. I need to see the first batch of molten iron within five days!" Qin Shaolang's voice was completely calm, as if he were stating something perfectly ordinary.

"yes!"

Chu Wu accepted the order and turned around, charging like a bull towards the temporary workshop on the other side of the valley. He wanted to tell everyone this exciting news!

……

Inside the makeshift shed, Wang Tiezhu, shirtless, wielded a sledgehammer, repeatedly hammering a red-hot piece of iron. Sparks flew, and sweat streamed down his bronze-colored muscles, exuding power.

He was a true craftsman, having spent his entire life working with steel. Qin Shaolang saved him, gave him a place to settle down, and promised to let him unleash his full potential. He was filled with gratitude and enthusiasm.

"Brother Wang! Brother Wang! Great news!" Chu Wu's voice arrived before he did.

Wang Tiezhu put down his hammer, wiped the sweat from his brow with the cloth hanging around his neck, and asked in a gruff voice, "What's all the fuss about? Is the sky falling down?"

"It's more important than the sky falling down!" Chu Wu rushed to him, panting heavily as he leaned on his knees. "Brother Qin has given the order! The first batch of iron smelted in the blast furnace will not be used to make farm tools or weapons!"

Wang Tiezhu frowned: "Then what are we going to do? Are we just going to leave those iron lumps to rust?"

He couldn't stand the waste of good iron. In his view, a piece of good iron should either be turned into a hoe to dig out grain, or into a sword to protect the country.

"Let's get the pot ready!" Chu Wu slapped his thigh and shouted excitedly, "The bigger the better! We also need to modify our brewing equipment!"

"Pots?" Wang Tiezhu was even more confused. "Why do we need so many big pots? There are over a hundred of us, one big pot is enough to cook porridge. And you want to start brewing wine... We don't even have enough grain to eat, where would we get surplus grain to brew wine?"

Chu Wu lowered his voice and mysteriously recounted Qin Shaolang's grand plan of "exchanging wine for grain".

After hearing this, Wang Tiezhu froze on the spot, and the iron pliers in his hand fell to the ground with a "clatter".

He had been a blacksmith his whole life, and his mindset had become rigid. Iron was iron, and grain was grain. He had never imagined that these two things could be so wonderfully interchanged through the medium of "wine".

"This...this will work?" Wang Tiezhu's lips were a little dry.

"If Brother Qin says it's okay, then it definitely will!" Chu Wu said decisively. "Think about it, when has Brother Qin ever made a mistake? From killing Zhao the Cripple to buying people and building the stronghold, he's calculated every step perfectly. We just need to do as he says!"

Wang Tiezhu picked up the pliers, gripped them tightly, and the veins on the rough back of his hands bulged.

He recalled Qin Shaolang's calm yet seemingly all-seeing eyes.

Yes, that young man always manages to make the most incredible, yet most correct, decisions.

"Let's do it!" Wang Tiezhu's eyes blazed with a burning light. "Damn it, all the pots I've ever made in my life combined wouldn't be as tall as a mountain. Whatever size pot Brother Qin wants, I'll make it! It's just a blast furnace, right? I'll risk my life today to build it!"

The air throughout the valley seemed to have become scorching hot because of this crazy plan.

Everyone's enthusiasm was ignited.

The pressure to survive became the driving force for creation.

Early the next morning, Qin Shaolang, along with Wang Tiezhu and several strong men, arrived at the mountain hollow he had chosen, where they planned to build the blast furnace.

Nestled against a mountainside with a slightly sloping terrain, this place boasts, most importantly, a natural ventilation shaft through which the mountain wind whistles.

"The wind is our best blower," Qin Shaolang said to Wang Tiezhu, pointing to the vent.

He crouched down and used a twig to draw a simple structural diagram of a blast furnace on the muddy ground. Although it was just a few lines, it clearly marked the positions of the furnace body, hearth, air inlet, taphole, and slag outlet.

"The furnace body should be built with stones and mud bricks, and the main body should be two zhang high. The interior should form a structure that is wider at the top and narrower at the bottom."

"The furnace wall cannot be straight; it must be curved so that the ore and fuel can be heated more evenly as they fall."

"The most crucial factor is the furnace temperature. The temperature we need is much higher than the furnace you use for blacksmithing. Therefore, we can't just use charcoal as fuel; we have to mix it with coal."

As Qin Shaolang drew, he explained it in the simplest language.

Wang Tiezhu and the other craftsmen who had come with him listened with rapt attention. They had never imagined that a simple iron-smelting furnace could contain so many intricacies. This knowledge was completely new to their ancestral craftsmanship.

"Mr. Qin... Mr. Qin," Wang Tiezhu unconsciously changed his form of address. Pointing to the thick furnace walls on the blueprints, he raised a crucial question, "With a furnace this tall, reaching the high temperatures you described, I'm afraid our own clay bricks won't be able to withstand it. I reckon the bricks will crack before the furnace even gets hot, and might even turn into mud!"

He pinpointed the crux of the problem.

The fire resistance of bricks fired in ordinary kilns is only around 700-800 degrees Celsius, while the temperature inside a primitive blast furnace must reach at least 1200 degrees Celsius. Using ordinary bricks to build a house is like trying to build a house with ice—purely wishful thinking.

The excitement on the faces of the men around him cooled down. Yes, if the bricks don't work, it's all just empty talk.

"I had already thought of that."

Qin Shaolang stood up, patted the dirt off his hands, and maintained his calm expression.

He seemed like an omniscient god, anticipating all the possible problems that might arise.