: We had a great conversation. Master Xi took off his shirt and looked eager to try. He is the iron smelting master in the Smelting Bureau, and he has been working on it for many years, and he also wants to find something harder than iron.

If you find it, it will be a pioneering work, and there are many uses for it, such as weapons.

In a battle between equal soldiers, if you can easily cut off your opponent's weapons during a handover, the significance of this to the country is simply immeasurable!

And Wang Kang now boasts that he can refine something harder than iron, steel!

What is steel? They have never heard of it.

They also saw the whole process, the same novelty, unprecedented!

Although their suspicion of Wang Kang has diminished, they simply don't believe that Wang Kang can refine it!

What many craftsmen in their entire smelting bureau can't do, can a prodigal son do it?

This is simply a fantasy!

Therefore, Master Xi decided to test it himself. He did not believe that Wang Kang could refine it.

Li Zheng and others also had the same idea. This was not malicious, but normal logical thinking. No one would believe it.

Moreover, there is a bet between them. This bet is worth one hundred thousand gold coins. With these one hundred thousand gold coins, it can bring better development to the Smelting Bureau.

The cooling of molten iron takes time. This is a process of heat dissipation, called solidification!

The filled molds are placed on a cart and transported to another excavated cellar.

Because it is underground, the temperature is very low, and several large buckets of water are placed here, and the ground is sprayed to absorb heat.

This also takes time, and all the craftsmen, including Wang Kang, are also waiting here, because this is their first refining furnace.

And they all want to see whether it is successful.

Wang Kang sat aside and felt very relieved, while Li Zheng and the others were a little impatient and stared there.

"Haha, let me tell you, are you so urgent?" Seeing this scene, Wang Kang laughed.

After getting along several times, the two saw each other much less, and there was no tit-for-tat confrontation like before.

Wang Kang also saw clearly that these people had no malicious intentions, they just had an obsession as old craftsmen.

This trait is very common and is found in all old scholars.

Hearing Wang Kang's voice, wáng fǔ chén came over and asked: "Master Kang, why did you make it into this shape?"

He looked at the long mold, puzzled.

Wang Kang smiled and said: "It is to support the tunnel."

"Tunnel support?" Li Zheng listened to the conversation between the two, thought for a while and said: "It does need support. I have estimated that the width of Dongshan is about two to three miles."

"For excavation over such a long distance, and with pedestrians in the future, support is really needed, and it needs to be quite solid."

"Isn't it just appropriate to use this support?" Wang fǔ chén said: "Look at the mold if it is poured, it will be slightly thicker than your thumb."

"Of course not, that's just the main thing, it still needs concrete pouring!" Wang Kang said with a smile.

"What is concrete?" Li Zheng asked doubtfully, and he felt a little embarrassed after asking. Indeed, he had asked too many such questions today.

Wang Kang had no reaction and patiently explained: "Concrete is mixed with cement, sand, gravel and other materials..."

Wang Kang said and drew a schematic diagram on the ground with his finger, "First erect the steel bars, then pour the mixture and finally solidify. This is called reinforced concrete!"

"RC?"

"Cement is those gray earth-like things you bake in the south, right?" Li Zhengdao.

"right!"

After hearing this, several people were silent. It was something new and they had never heard of it before.

Li Zhengzhen wanted to ask, do you belong to the Ministry of Industry, or do they belong to the Ministry of Industry?

Why are there so many new inventions, and they all have great effects?

After a while, wáng                                                                                                  In Xinfeng County we were not willing to come to your Xinfeng County this time we came with a low sigh, said, "We came here because of the order of Lord Shangshu and the entrustment of Lord Bureau Cheng."

"It's an eye-opener. It's really an eye-opener."

"Although we are in the Ministry of Industry, what we see and know is completely inferior to you."

Li Zheng also had the same expression, "In the past few days, we have learned what you want to do, which is to dig mountains and build roads, and dig tunnels directly."

"To be honest, the Ministry of Industry and Industry has never thought of such an idea, but you did it!"

"amazing!"

At this time, Master Xi said: "No matter whether the steel you want to make can be successful or not, you have won the bet between us. The increase in furnace temperature and the refractory bricks have proved it."

"The material used to make the mold is the high alumina bauxite you mentioned! It's a pity that we didn't believe you in every possible way before."

"And that bellows must have something else going on!"

"Nowadays, everything really makes us feel ashamed!"

Seeing several people talking like this, Wang Kang also stood up and said hurriedly: "Everyone, your words are too strong. I also had some poor words before, so please forgive me."

This is how Wang Kang behaves. If others treat him ill, he will return it in every possible way.

But if you are more polite, you should return the favor.

"No, no, we are still arrogant and look down on you!" Li Zheng said hurriedly.

After several interactions, there was a feeling of meeting each other and letting go of grudges. In comparison, Wang Kang was still willing to deal with craftsmen like Li Zheng and others.

Go straight, as long as you can get recognition, it will be the same over there.

A few people sat down and chatted while waiting. Wang fǔ chén looked at Wang Kang and said: "Master Kang, since you want to smelt iron on a large scale, have you discovered an iron mine?"

"I also saw the iron ore during refining. It was obviously newly excavated."

"Yes!" Wang Kang nodded and didn't hide anything. He couldn't hide it either.

"As expected!" Wang fǔ chén said: "Outsiders say that Xinfeng County is a barren land, but it actually has a lot of iron ore reserves!"

"In March, when Xinfeng County was not yet a fiefdom of your Earl's Mansion, a batch of iron ore was excavated and shipped to our Smelting Bureau."

"I didn't expect that now that it's in your hands, another one will be excavated."

At this time, Li Zheng sighed: "Our iron ore resources in Zhao State are originally small, and the Ministry of Industry of the imperial court only controls two, but they have been mined for many years and are about to become poor ores."

"And most of the rest are in the hands of the established nobles."

wáng                                                                                                                                                                      indulge in the money’s

"Because our Smelting Bureau wants to buy iron ore. How ironic this is. Buying and selling is normal, but do you know? Those old nobles are completely waiting for the price to sell it through their control!"

"It's really disgusting!"

Seeing that several people were heartbroken, Wang Kang also fell into deep thought. No wonder Emperor Zhao wanted to cut the price vigorously. It turned out that the old nobles were involved in so many aspects...

A few people chatted for a while, and after a few hours, the foreman came over and said, "Master Kang, the molten iron has completely solidified!"

"Oh? Really?" After hearing this, Master Xi stood up in a hurry, and Wang Kang was also surprised.
Chapter completed!