Starting from iron smelting

I saw trees falling to the ground one after another. Liu Meng trimmed the branches of the felled trees, cut the trunks into sections, and arranged the wood neatly.

Liu Meng picked out the thickest, strongest, and most regular piece of wood on the ground and erected it as the trunk of the firewood pile. He pushed the roots of the wood deep into the ground to ensure that it stood firmly and securely on the ground.

Then, Liu Meng began to stack the other wood tightly around the large wooden pillar. His movements were skillful and powerful, and each piece of wood was carefully placed in the right position to ensure the stability and solidity of the entire pile of wood. The wood was like a solid wall, surrounding the large wooden pillar in the center, forming an indestructible structure.

Afterwards, Liu Meng covered the pile of firewood with a layer of dry leaves and tightly wrapped the firewood with dry leaves. The purpose of this layer of dry leaves is to prevent the firewood from being affected by the humid climate outside and keep the inside of the firewood pile dry. The dry leaves cover the wood, as if it is a solid protective cover, isolating the firewood from the outside moisture and wind and rain.

Next, Liu Meng mixed the soil from the ground with water to make mud. Then, he evenly spread the mud on the surface of the dry leaves to cover the entire pile of firewood. This layer of mud not only strengthens the structure of the firewood pile, but more importantly, prevents water from penetrating and keeps the pile dry. Liu Meng carefully spreads the mud thickly and evenly to ensure that every part is fully covered.

After finishing the application of the mud, Liu Meng evenly dug eight ventilation holes at the bottom of the woodpile. These ventilation holes are located around the woodpile to provide sufficient air inside the charcoal kiln and promote the burning of wood. Liu Meng carefully adjusted the position and size of the ventilation holes to ensure that they can effectively provide sufficient ventilation for the charcoal kiln.

Liu Meng's movements were skillful and methodical. He was very attentive to every detail and strived to do his best. Through his unremitting efforts, a solid and complete charcoal kiln was gradually formed, laying a solid foundation for subsequent iron smelting work.

After all eight ventilation holes were dug, Liu Meng carefully checked all the preparations. He stood beside the firewood pile, staring at the large hole left on the top of the pile, waiting for the right time to ignite. He was not careless during the whole process, because he knew that ignition was a crucial step in the iron smelting process.

Liu Meng took out the ignition tool, gently touched the hay and firewood, and carefully lit the fire. At first, the tiny flame jumped on the hay, quickly spread, and gradually spread to the firewood. The flame jumped up on the top of the pile, accompanied by bursts of green smoke from the burning, and the entire pile of firewood began to heat up gradually, and the iron smelting process began.

The heat inside the charcoal kiln gradually rose, and cracks began to appear on the surface of the earth pile. In order to keep the temperature inside the charcoal kiln stable, Liu Meng prepared some wet mud in advance. He carefully applied the wet mud to the cracks to prevent the outside air from flowing in and affecting the burning of the flame. Such meticulous treatment allowed the ironmaking process to proceed smoothly and ensured the final ironmaking effect.

After completing all these preparations, Liu Meng anxiously waited for the flames to spread in the mound. As time went by, the flames gradually spread and the temperature inside the charcoal kiln began to rise. The eight vents dug at the bottom of the mound began to work, injecting fresh air into the interior, providing sufficient oxygen for the flames to burn more vigorously.

The flames extended downward along the airflow, gradually burning the wood piled on top of the firewood pile. Liu Meng watched the flames intently to ensure the smooth progress of the ironmaking process. As the flames burned downward against the current, the charcoal on the upper layer was gradually smelted and formed, while the wood on the lower layer continued to provide fuel for the flames, forming a continuous combustion process. All of this was done in order to successfully smelt high-quality iron.

As the wood was burning, Liu Meng focused on the eight air inlets at the bottom of the kiln. He kept an eye on the movement of the flames, constantly observing whether the flames would flow back to the air inlets. Once the flames spread to the vicinity of the air inlets, he would immediately take action to quickly block the air inlets, cut off the air supply, and prevent the wood from continuing to burn.

Liu Meng carefully blocked each air inlet to ensure that the flame inside the charcoal kiln could be effectively controlled. As he operated, the temperature inside the charcoal kiln gradually stabilized and the burning wood began to cool down.

Finally, Liu Meng turned his attention to the large hole on the top of the charcoal kiln and blocked it as well. This step was to prevent outside air from entering and speed up the cooling process inside the charcoal kiln. After completing this series of operations, he felt relieved and slowly waited for the charcoal kiln to cool down.

Liu Meng's movements were neat and his steps were accurate, showing his superb skills in making charcoal. As a senior craftsman in making charcoal in the sect, his every operation showed his rich experience and superb skills.

High-quality charcoal has a hard appearance and luster, and makes a crisp sound. The charcoal fired by Liu Meng shows extremely high quality in both appearance and sound. When two pieces of charcoal are knocked against each other, they make a crisp sound, which is an obvious sign of high-quality charcoal and the best proof of Liu Meng's superb skills.

After Liu Meng's careful firing, this batch of charcoal not only provided sufficient heat, but also had high quality, fully meeting the standards required for iron smelting. His work not only laid a solid foundation for the iron smelting process, but also provided a reliable guarantee for subsequent work.

In order to ensure that the charcoal is burned thoroughly, Liu Meng knows that he must wait patiently for the firewood to cool completely before proceeding to the next step. Any hasty action may cause the charcoal burning to fail, so he decided to wait with full concentration until the charcoal is completely extinguished and cooled before proceeding to the next step. This process will take nearly four days, but for Liu Meng, this is an essential step, and he does not want to affect the subsequent work progress due to impatience.

During this period of waiting, Liu Meng was not idle. He made full use of the resources on the open space and carefully built countless piles of firewood. Each pile of firewood was piled high, towering like a hill, and filled with hundreds of kilograms of charcoal. The amount of charcoal was enough to meet Lu Xiuyuan's needs for training, providing sufficient support and guarantee for subsequent work.

Meanwhile, Lu Xiuyuan was busy selecting the right ore. The appearance of the pile of iron ore surprised him. The presence of iron ore means that this area may have rich iron resources, and there may be an open-pit iron mine, where a large amount of iron ore can be obtained by digging. But on the other hand, the iron ore may also have rolled down from the surrounding mountains, in which case it is difficult to mine and transportation will also be a big challenge. Lu Xiuyuan needs to carefully consider how to handle the iron ore to maximize the use of resources while reducing the difficulty of mining and transportation.

Lu Xiuyuan picked up the tool in his hand and began to dig downwards. As the tool moved across the soil, the shallow soil layer was pushed aside, revealing the rocks underneath, which made Lu Xiuyuan very happy. These stones were brown-red in color. Although they were not magnetite with a higher iron content, they were more than enough for his needs. As Lu Xiuyuan dug, he pushed aside the shallow soil layer around him, gradually revealing layers of small pieces of ore.

During the excavation process, Lu Xiuyuan carefully screened and picked out useless impurities in the iron ore, such as stones and clay, and threw them away. Then, he broke the iron ore into small pieces, the smaller the better, and it would be even better if it could be ground into ore powder. He took great pains to find the iron blocks with the highest iron content from the ore raw materials, so that they could be used to smelt high-quality steel and make weapons. However, considering that it is currently in the experimental stage, he decided to temporarily smelt all the ore into iron, which is a safer approach.

Lu Xiuyuan was looking forward to it. He knew the importance of iron, so he carefully selected and processed each piece of iron ore. He knew that only through careful processing and smelting could these iron ores be transformed into the high-quality iron materials he needed. Although it is only in the experimental stage now, Lu Xiuyuan has already begun to conceive of future weapons and armor, hoping to create more powerful equipment through his own efforts to protect himself and those around him.

Lu Xiuyuan waved the hoe in his hand and started working without saying a word. Although his physical strength and energy were far beyond that of ordinary people, this high-intensity labor also made him feel extremely tired. Whenever he worked hard for a period of time, he needed to stop and take a deep breath, and then sit in the open space next to him to rest for a while.

While digging for ore, Lu Xiuyuan kept thinking about the details of ironmaking. He clearly remembered that ironmaking was not simply putting iron ore into a furnace and heating it. The input of limestone as a flux was also crucial. This limestone would decompose into quicklime when heated, reacting with the silica in the iron ore to promote the flow of slag. This step not only helped to separate impurities from the ore, but also improved the purity of the iron, making the final smelted steel of higher quality.

Therefore, Lu Xiuyuan not only had to select the right iron ore, but also had to collect enough limestone as auxiliary materials. He easily shoveled the soil with a hoe, and pieces of stone emerged on the ground. These stones were brown-red, and although they were not magnetite with the highest iron content, they were enough for iron smelting. Lu Xiuyuan checked the ores one by one, picked out and threw away the impurities such as stones and clay, leaving only the better quality parts. Then, he began to break the iron ore into small pieces, hoping to break them as finely as possible, or even grind them into ore powder, so as to better carry out the iron smelting process.

Lu Xiuyuan was not simply pursuing success in ironmaking. He hoped to produce high-quality steel to provide better protection and equipment for himself and the people around him. Therefore, he was very careful in every step and strived for perfection. He knew clearly that only through full preparation and hard work could he achieve his goal.

While digging and preparing the ore, Liu Meng was also busy. He used this time to build many piles of firewood on the open ground. Each pile was as high as a hill and filled with hundreds of pounds of charcoal. This charcoal would become the fuel for the iron smelting process and provide sufficient energy for the furnace. Liu Meng had to ensure not only the quantity of the firewood pile was sufficient, but also the quality of the charcoal was good to ensure the smooth progress of the iron smelting process.

During this time, Lu Xiuyuan and Liu Meng were making careful preparations for the ironmaking project. They worked hard silently, believing that as long as they put in enough sweat and effort, they would eventually be able to achieve their goals.

Lu Xiuyuan was preparing to make a blower, one of the essential tools in his ironmaking process. He thought carefully about how to make this ancient and effective device and decided to use simple and reliable materials and methods. Here is the process of how he made the ancient blower:

First, Lu Xiuyuan needed to prepare a sturdy wooden frame as the support for the blower. He selected a thick tree trunk from the surrounding trees, sawed it into the right length, and trimmed it into a square shape. Then, he used wooden dowels to connect the various parts together to ensure that the support structure was stable and reliable.

Next, Lu Xiuyuan needed to make a drum-like device to generate airflow. He found a round wooden board and polished it smooth with a tool. Then, he drilled a small hole in the center of the board to install a simple shaft.

The production of the shaft is the next important step. Lu Xiuyuan needs to find a wooden pole with a suitable diameter and sharpen one end of it so that it can be fixed on the wooden board. He uses sandpaper to polish the surface of the wooden pole very smooth to reduce friction and ensure smooth rotation.

On both sides of the board, Lu installed two wooden handles for rotating the blower. These handles are carefully designed to be easy to hold but provide enough force to make the operation smoother and easier.

Next, Lu Xiuyuan needed to make the fan part of the blower. He drew the outline of the fan blade on a thin and sturdy wooden board and cut it into the corresponding shape with a saw. Then, he used a file and sandpaper to polish each fan blade very smooth to ensure that the airflow generated by the fan when it rotates is smoother and stronger.

After completing the fan, Lu fixed it to one end of the shaft and made sure the gap between the fan and the board was just right to produce maximum airflow. He then checked the entire blower structure again to make sure each component was firmly installed and there was nothing loose or unstable.

Finally, Lu Xiuyuan conducted a simple test. He picked up the handle and gently rotated it a few times, and immediately felt the airflow generated. He nodded with satisfaction, knowing that the blower was successfully made and could be used.

Lu Xiuyuan stood on the prepared work site, staring at the bundles of prepared straw. These seemingly ordinary straws will become the key materials for his iron smelting furnace. He knew very well that in order to successfully make an iron smelting furnace, he must first prepare the right amount of straw.

He lays a layer of straw and grass stems on the ground to provide the foundation support for the furnace. Then, he lays the prepared straw flat on the straw, gradually tying the straw and straw together to form a cylinder. The size of this cylinder will determine the size of the space inside the furnace, so he needs to carefully control the tightness and thickness of the bundle.

Next, Lu Xiuyuan began to apply clay to the cylindrical mold. With his skillful hands, he applied the clay layer by layer from the bottom of the furnace upwards, thick at the bottom and gradually thinning at the top, eventually forming a solid cylindrical furnace.

After applying the clay, he smoothed out any uneven areas on the furnace and then covered it with some crushed grass stems to prevent the furnace from cracking during the drying process and to increase its durability and stability.

After the furnace is dried for the first time, Lu Xiuyuan carefully removes the straw from the furnace, leaving most of the straw attached to the furnace wall. The attached straw will become part of the furnace wall, enhancing the strength of the furnace.

Next, he cut a hole in the side of the furnace and carefully shaped it with new clay. This hole would be the passage for air to enter the furnace and the outlet for the eventual removal of the iron and slag.

After completing these steps, Lu Xiuyuan checked the structure and appearance of the entire furnace to ensure that every part was intact. He knew that this simple but effective ironmaking furnace would become an important tool for his ironmaking work and take a solid step towards his goal.