Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 567 Lady Shexiang was not yet born
The target set by Lu Jin for blast furnaces, namely that the annual output of a single furnace should not be less than 10,000 tons, is not actually aggressive; on the contrary, it is rather conservative.

Later generations generally classified the size of blast furnaces by their effective volume in cubic meters. After all, the density of iron is constant, and by multiplying it by the effective volume of the furnace, the output of the blast furnace can be easily calculated.

In later classifications of blast furnaces, those with a capacity of less than 100 cubic meters were called small blast furnaces. These blast furnaces had a maximum annual capacity of only a few hundred thousand tons and were outdated production capacity that had long been phased out. By the time Lu Jin came over, these blast furnaces were no longer seen in China.

Then, blast furnaces with a volume of 100 to 1000 cubic meters are considered medium-sized blast furnaces. These types of blast furnaces generally have an annual output of one to two million tons or more. Only those with a volume of more than 1000 cubic meters can be considered true large blast furnaces, which are also the main equipment of major steel companies.

For example, Hebei has a monster blast furnace with an effective volume of 5000 cubic meters per furnace, producing 25 million tons per year. Four furnaces would produce 100 million tons per year. Keep in mind that China's total annual steel production in later generations was only 1 billion tons, so those four furnaces accounted for one-tenth of that.

In comparison, the annual production target of 10,000 tons proposed by Lu Jin is a furnace that is extremely small. If the annual production target is only 10,000 tons, such a furnace would only be about 20 cubic meters in volume, a little over one meter in diameter, and eight or nine meters high.

It should be noted that the iron smelting sites unearthed in later generations from the Han Dynasty show that the earthen blast furnaces built in the Han Dynasty were as tall as six meters. If Lu Jin has piled up so much "high technology", and the furnaces he built are not even as big as those of the Han Dynasty, then he is really going backwards. What kind of technological progress or productivity improvement is he talking about?

Therefore, with an effective volume of 30 to 50 cubic meters, a furnace diameter of two to three meters, a height of 10 to 15 meters, and an annual output of 15,000 to 50,000 tons, this level of blast furnace is most suitable for the Ming Dynasty to use for practice. There may be some technical difficulties, but how can we make progress without striving to improve our technology?

Furthermore, the larger your furnace is, the more the upstream mining industry must upgrade accordingly; otherwise, it would be a laughing stock if the iron ore supply couldn't keep up.

Based on an annual output of 50,000 tons of pig iron, the grade of Ma'anshan iron ore varies, with an average iron content of around 33%. In other words, if you want to produce 50,000 tons of iron per year, you would have to mine 150,000 tons of ore annually.

Based on a year of 350 days, at least 428 to 500 tons would need to be mined every day. If we assume that each adult worker can mine an average of 500 kilograms per day using only manual mining, then it would take four people to mine one ton, and two thousand people to mine 500 tons. This is roughly the limit of manual mining.

If we continue to increase blast furnace output, we need to upgrade mining equipment and processes. For example, we need to drill blast holes, use gunpowder to break up the ore, then use steam excavators to scoop it up, and then use narrow-gauge mining trains. Only this combination of measures can satisfy the appetite of large blast furnaces.

Regarding ore transportation, it's not particularly urgent right now, because the ironworks currently selected are either built directly next to the iron mine or near rivers, making water transport convenient, so the demand for heavy-haul railways is not too pressing.

Therefore, considering the situation of upstream and downstream industries, this indicator is quite reasonable.

After assigning tasks to the kiln group, Lu Jin looked at the other students again and called out their names once more.

"Liu Fang".

"arrive."

"Ye Chen, Xu Qiubai, and Su Heng, the four of you will form a team to develop an air compressor. Liu Fang is more proficient in physics and chemistry, so he will be the team leader."

"The principle of an air compressor is actually just a high-pressure air tank, an air pump, and an air filter. It's not difficult at all."

"The key to this thing, apart from welding the gas tank, lies entirely in the air pump. You can start with the simplest piston air pump. Among you, only Ye Chen participated in the development of the first-generation steam engine and is familiar with piston devices, so he will be in charge of the air pump."

"Xu Qiubai and Su Heng are more skilled in precision machinery and machining, so you two will be responsible for precision devices such as barometers and high-pressure valves. Liu Fang, as the team leader, will be responsible for the overall design."

"Yes!" the four replied in unison, but after agreeing, team leader Liu Fang asked in confusion.

“Your Majesty, since this air compressor is relatively simple, why do we need four people? I think three people would be enough.” After saying that, he glanced at Li Xianzong of the kiln group, clearly indicating that he wanted to compete with him.

"Moreover, the furnace team has many projects to complete. Our air compressor is so simple, we'll probably finish it before them. After we finish this project, what's our next step?"

Lu Jin could naturally see that this person had a competitive spirit, but as long as it wasn't about causing trouble or holding others back, he didn't mind healthy competition among students.

So Lu Jin said, "Of course your group also has other projects to do. In fact, the research directions of your two groups are two branches of thermodynamics. They specialize in studying various furnaces and kilns, and they study high-temperature physics and high-temperature chemistry."

"Your group can also be called the Low Temperature Group. Your research focuses on low temperature physics and low temperature chemistry. After you've figured out the air compressor, the next step is to make refrigeration machines, build cold storage warehouses, and ice factories. However, the lowest temperature for cold storage and ice factories is only around -30 degrees Celsius, which is only within the normal low temperature range, the temperature range that naturally exists in nature."

"After we set up the custom ice factory, the next step is to move towards ultra-low temperatures of -200 degrees Celsius, and research air cryogenic fractionation equipment to produce dry ice, liquid oxygen, and liquid nitrogen. These are the three technologies for carbon dioxide blasting mining, oxygen top-blown converter steelmaking, and artificial ammonia synthesis, respectively. Do you understand?"

"Understood!" the four replied in unison.

Liu Fang was also extremely excited after hearing this. He had only heard about the principle of artificial temperature control in books and when Lu Jin was lecturing, but he had never seen the real thing. Moreover, even if he told others about this, they would just think it was a fantasy or a supernatural thing. Sometimes he even doubted whether these theories could really become reality.

He never imagined that he would be able to implement this artificial low temperature technology himself in the future. The thought of being able to master these methods of reversing temperature and turning summer into winter, comparable to the abilities of gods and ghosts, filled him with excitement!

After arranging the low-temperature group, Lu Jin called out names again.

"Mao Xin, Hu Guangyao, Du Feng, Qiao Zhenbang."

"To!"

"The four of you will form a chemical engineering team, with Mao Xinlai as the team leader, to be responsible for the construction of the first chemical plant in Daming. You will start by producing three acids and two alkalis. However, four of you will definitely not be enough. Once the students from Enke arrive, you can also select outstanding students to join. From now on, you will focus on the field of chemical engineering."

"Yes!" After the four agreed, team leader Mao Xin frowned and asked again.

"Your Majesty, I have another question."

"You said."

"The Gongshu Secret Manual records four methods for the industrial production of acids and alkalis: one is the lead chamber method for sulfuric acid production, another is the Lan's alkali production method proposed by the predecessor Gongshu Lan (Lubulan), another is the Solvay alkali production method proposed by the predecessor Gongshu Suo, and the third is the combined alkali production method proposed by the predecessor Gongshu Bang (Hou Debang). Which of these four methods should we use?" Mao Xin asked immediately.

Lu Jin didn't answer directly, but instead asked, "What do you think?"

"this."

Seeing that Mao Xin was hesitant, Lu Jin had to remind him, "The lead chamber process for producing sulfuric acid requires a large amount of lead. We currently have lead from Korea, so we are not too short of it. However, the disadvantage of the lead chamber process is that it can only produce sulfuric acid, and the efficiency is extremely low. What we need more is alkali, but we cannot produce it."

"The lead chamber process was just an early exploration in chemical production and was not mature enough. The later Lansbury process (Lubran process) uses sulfuric acid and salt to produce soda ash, but this method was also not mature enough. It would directly release hydrochloric acid fumes into the air, causing serious pollution and even acid rain in some areas, so it was not considered."

"The last method (Hou Debang's) combined alkali production method is currently only a concept. It involves passing ammonia gas into saturated brine, then introducing carbon dioxide to produce sodium bicarbonate, which is then calcined and decomposed into soda ash, carbon dioxide, and ammonium chloride. This combined alkali production method is highly efficient in utilizing raw materials and reduces the generation of pollutants and waste. The byproduct, ammonium chloride, has a nitrogen content of 26% and can be used as nitrogen fertilizer for fertilizing fields. It seems to have many advantages. However, this technology is still too advanced for our current needs. For one thing, where are we going to find the large amount of ammonia gas required for this reaction?"
"Until the technology for artificial ammonia synthesis is mastered, it is simply impossible to achieve, so you can only choose the Soxhlet process for alkali production."

To everyone's surprise, Mao Xin retorted, "But the Soxhlet process also uses ammonia. Moreover, the initial steps of the Soxhlet process are almost the same as the combined process. Ammonia and carbon dioxide are passed into saturated brine, and then the mixture is precipitated and calcined to decompose into soda ash, carbon dioxide, and water. In addition, there is calcium chloride waste residue that cannot be treated."

However, Lu Jin frowned immediately upon hearing this and said, "You only remember the calcium chloride waste, right? Although the Soxhlet process uses ammonia, the ammonia can be recovered from ammonium chloride and recycled. The ammonia used is basically not lost. Even if there is a slight leak, ammonia can be extracted from the gas washing water to replenish it, so the consumption of ammonia is very small."

"In addition, there's the calcium chloride waste you mentioned. Only useless waste is waste. We desperately need chlorides now, whether as a water purifier, bleaching powder, bleaching wool and pulp, or to produce potassium chlorate, manufacture pull-action tubes, pull-action grenades, pull-action artillery, or even to make matches. All of these require chlorides. No matter how much calcium chloride waste you have, you can use it all up in the end. If it's useful waste, is it still waste?"

Mao Xinyan immediately fell silent.

However, at this moment, Liu Fang, the leader of the low-temperature team, silently raised his hand. Seeing this, Lu Jin asked again, "What do you have to say now?"

Liu Fang immediately said, "Your Majesty, in fact, besides high-pressure ammonia synthesis, there is another method for artificially synthesizing ammonia."

Lu Jin frowned immediately and asked, "Are you talking about the cyanamide process?"

“Yes, by passing nitrogen gas through calcium carbide (calcium carbide) and heating it at high temperature, we can obtain calcium cyanamide and carbon. Then, by adding water to the calcium cyanamide to react, we can obtain ammonia and calcium carbonate (lime). Although the yield is not as high as that of ammonia synthesis by high pressure, it can still be used to produce ammonia.” Liu Fang immediately raised his head and said, to show off his excellent chemistry grades in class.

This guy has a good memory, and he can recite the text quite well, but Lu Jin immediately retorted, "Then you have to separate the liquid nitrogen first! What's the point of you talking if there isn't enough liquid nitrogen to participate in the production?"

Liu Fang's attempt to show off backfired, and he was scolded instead. He immediately lowered his head and stammered, not daring to say another word.
Lu Jin looked at Mao Xin again, "Do you have any other questions?"

Mao Xin immediately asked again, "Your Majesty, in the production of sulfuric acid, is saltpeter or vanadium pentoxide used as a catalyst? Saltpeter is a controlled resource of the imperial court. If we use saltpeter, it requires special approval from the imperial court. If we use vanadium pentoxide, where do we find vanadium ore?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin immediately made arrangements: "Saltpeter is out of the question. We are about to begin military reforms and the army will be fully armed with firearms. This will increase the demand for gunpowder, and saltpeter cannot be wasted. Therefore, we can only use vanadium pentoxide as a catalyst. As for the vanadium ore you want, there is some in Chizhou Prefecture, Anhui. You can go there to look for it."

Mao Xin nodded and then asked, "I have one last question: where should this chemical plant be built?"

"Built in Haimen County."

"Haimen?" Mao Xin looked confused, unable to recall where Haimen was for a moment.

"It's on the north bank of the Yangtze River, at the corner where the Yangtze River flows into the sea, next to the Chongming Sandbar," Lu Jin reminded him.

"Why build it there? It's so remote."

Lu Jin immediately replied, "Of course, it's to prevent chemical pollution. The main emissions from the Soxhlet process are chlorides. Fortunately, chlorine is hydrophilic, and since the plant is located in Haimen, which is surrounded by water on three sides, even if chlorine leaks, it can be absorbed by the surrounding river and seawater."

"Moreover, the area is very remote and has a small population. As long as it does not pose a threat to people, the chlorine gas will not cause much pollution when it is absorbed by the water. It will soon be washed into the sea and digested by the seawater, since there is already a lot of chlorine in the seawater."

"In addition, Haimen County is close to the Jianghuai Saltworks. The production of soda ash requires a large amount of salt, and the Jianghuai Saltworks can provide raw materials for production nearby."

Mao Xin then looked enlightened and said, "I see, I understand now."

"Do you have any other questions?"

"temporarily unavailable."

"Okay, let's leave it at that for now." Lu Jin nodded immediately, then looked at everyone.
"Let's set up these three groups for now. The rest of you, continue to complete your respective projects. Also, once the students from Enke arrive, you will take turns teaching the new students so that they can graduate as soon as possible and start working. As for other projects, I will assign them to you when the opportunity arises in the future."

"Yes!" everyone answered in unison.

A few days after the group of students left, Xia Yu from the Privy Council General Staff also came to Lu Jin and presented him with his draft 'Yunnan-Guizhou Campaign Operation Plan'.

Lu Jin glanced at it and found that the overall plan was basically the same as the Southern Expedition of Fu Youde and Mu Ying in the early Ming Dynasty in the original history. However, there was nothing that could be done. There was only one way to attack the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau from the direction of Jiangxi and Hunan. This was a limitation of geographical conditions. Lu Jin couldn't come up with any new tricks. He couldn't very well send paratroopers to fly over Guizhou.
Xia Yu's plan was simple: send troops directly from Hunan, advance along the Yuan River to Guizhou, and make it easier to transport supplies to the army by water.

After entering the heart of Guizhou, a detachment was left to guard the various local chieftains of the cave tribes, while the main force continued its advance into Yunnan.

Conquering Yunnan is also quite simple. Although Yunnan looks very large on the map, there are only two centers to attack. One is Liang Wang Bazalawarmi of the Yuan Dynasty, who has 100,000 troops and his main base is in Kunming.

In addition, there is the Duan family, the local tyrants entrenched in Dali. This fellow also has fifty to sixty thousand soldiers under his command. As long as the Ming Dynasty annihilates the Liang King in Kunming, the Duan family in Dali, and their large military force, the rest of Yunnan can be pacified by issuing a proclamation.

This is how the Ming Dynasty fought in the original history. As I said before, geographical limitations left them no room to maneuver, so they had to fight the same way no matter who came.

After reading it, Lu Jin asked Xia Yu, "You said you want to leave a garrison in Guizhou to keep an eye on the Eight Great Caves Barbarians there. How many troops do you think should be deployed, and which unit should be used?"

Xia Yu immediately said, "Of the five army groups of the imperial court, four are currently unable to move. The only one that can serve as a strategic mobile force is the Second Army Group of Duke Qi (Zhu Liangzu). However, their 100,000-plus men will definitely be used as the main force."

"In Guizhou, there are many chieftains, and they cannot unite to deal with the imperial army. Once the army of hundreds of thousands arrives, they will surely submit. Even if they fight, one or two chieftains will find it difficult to contend with the imperial army. In addition, the area is mostly mountainous with limited grain production, and it is inconvenient to transport grain from other places. Therefore, I believe that the focus should be on quality rather than quantity when stationing troops. One elite force is sufficient."

"I believe that we can transfer one army, or two divisions, totaling 27000 men, from the Fourth Army Group of the Duke of E (Miao Daheng) in Sichuan to garrison Guizhou and guard the army's supply lines. That would be sufficient."

"Furthermore, Sichuan currently has no enemies and is considered an absolute rear area. There's no point in leaving that army group idle. They are also relatively close to Hunan and can quickly assemble there without affecting this year's war."

Lu Jin nodded upon hearing this, "Then let's do it this way. Immediately send an order to Sichuan, instructing Miao Daheng to send an army to assemble in Changsha, and for the Second Army in Fujian to also assemble in Changsha. They must arrive before July."

"Also, send a message to Zhu Liangzu and Liao Yongzhong, ordering them to return to the capital. I will personally give them their missions. When the troops are assembling in Changsha, Feng Sheng will take charge."

"Yes!" Xia Yu immediately accepted the order and left to find Feng Guoyong to draft a troop mobilization order.

Lu Jin, meanwhile, gazed towards the entrance of the main hall and muttered to himself, "Guizhou... Lady Shexiang... no, at this time, Shexiang shouldn't have been born yet. What a pity."

(End of this chapter)