So what if I traveled through time? I'll continue to roll in another place

Xiao Yueshan was working non-stop, and Zhou Yao was also busy in Xizhou. He thought it was a waste of time to travel back and forth from the smelter to the county government office, so he took his followers and lived in the smelter.

Kong Nanlu stayed in the county government office and hadn't seen Zhou Yao for a month or two. She thought that if she failed to complete the task assigned by Mrs. Shen, she would be in danger if she went back.

She had pestered Zhou Hong several times, hoping that he would take her to the smelter. But the boy was smart and was unwilling to offend the adults, so he refused to give in. The two of them could only remain deadlocked in the county government office.

Yan Luo wrote to Zhang Baiyu about Zhou Yao's stay in the smelter. At first, they both thought that this young man with a successful career was just here for a show, and seeing him accept the woman sent by the palace on the first day, this impression was further deepened.

They didn't expect that Mr. Zhou would actually go to the smelter to stay and eat and live there. Both of them felt a bit of admiration for him.

With this persistence, it seems that this Lord Zhou will definitely achieve something. Zhang Baiyu and Yan Luo began to care about Zhou Yao's movements, hoping to do their best so that they can be counted when the time comes for commendation.

Wenxiong was originally quite resentful about having to live with Zhou Yao in the smelting plant. This young man was eager for quick success, but he was old and had no career prospects, so why should he suffer with him?

After two days here, I found the conditions at the smelter to be poor. Even if the supervisor tried to curry favor with me, it was still not as comfortable as the county government office.

Wen Xiong was just thinking about when to bring up the matter of moving back home, but Zhou Yao took the initiative to find him and said, "The conditions at the smelter are tough. Tomorrow, Master Wen, you don't have to live at the smelter. You just need to come over once a day at noon."

This was a great thing for Wenxiong. After expressing his gratitude repeatedly, he returned to the county government office happily.

Zhou Yao had his reasons for doing so. After observing for a while, he found that although Wen Xiong was familiar with smelting, he had no idea about updating smelting methods and was not very outstanding.

Moreover, Wenxiong is afraid of hardship, and tying him to the smelter will only backfire.

As a result, Zhou Yao decided to manage the smelter alone.

Copper smelting came before iron smelting, so the iron smelting technology of the Zhao Dynasty, like that of any other country or region in the world, was derived from copper smelting technology.

The melting point of red copper is about one thousand degrees Celsius, while the melting point of pure iron is about one thousand five hundred degrees Celsius. If only a set of equipment for smelting copper is used to smelt iron ore, it will be difficult to obtain useful molten iron.

Although Zhou Yao has never done related work and has never eaten pork, he has seen pigs run.

He carefully inspected the smelting equipment and found that the equipment currently in use was not capable of smelting pure iron. Both the temperature and durability needed to be improved, and it was imperative to improve the equipment.

There are two ways to increase the smelting temperature. One is to strengthen the blast, and the other is to increase the height of the furnace body. This requires that the furnaces currently used will gradually develop from pit type to vertical furnace.

The furnace for smelting metal evolved from a pit-type to a vertical type. The industrial history of mankind may have evolved over hundreds of years, but with his prophetic eyes, he could directly draw the furnaces of later generations and let the workers make them.

He studied engineering, so drawing was no problem for him. He finished the blueprint in just two or three days.

Qian Xing, the supervisor of the Nantai mining area, did not take this bookish-looking man seriously, and was somewhat dismissive after seeing his drawings. "Master Zhou, we have always used this furnace well. You can ask around. Our Nantai furnace has the most fire, and we pay the most copper and iron to the court every year."

"We have never seen a furnace like yours. Who can make it?" Qian Xing shook the blueprint. "Your blueprint is so complicated. How can we find so many workers in such a short time? If the smelting is delayed, we will have no explanation."

Seeing Qian Xing's hesitation, Zhou Yao took out the money box Xiao Yueshan had prepared for him and placed it on the blueprint. "I understand Mr. Qian's concerns. The normal smelting of Nantai does not need to be delayed. Please help me find some workers to build the fire channel according to the blueprint."

The cash box looked quite heavy, and Qian Xing's dissatisfaction instantly lessened. If Lord Zhou was willing to pay, that would be a different matter.

Seeing that Qian Xing did not refuse, Zhou Yao continued, "In the early stage, we need workers who can make pottery. Once the fire channel is repaired, we will invite some smelting experts. Mr. Qian is most familiar with the situation in the mine, so please worry about it together."

"Okay, okay. I will do it according to Lord Zhou's wishes." Qian Xing picked up the drawings and the cash box.

"I am on the construction site every day. We must hire honest and hardworking workers, not those old hands who are cunning and cunning. If this matter is done well, it will also be the credit of Lord Qian." Zhou Yao used both soft and hard tactics.

"Yes." Qian Xing agreed hurriedly. As expected, once the money was spent, things became much easier. Qian Xing immediately ordered people to start firing the pottery kiln according to Zhou Yao's requirements.

Looking at Qian Xing's back, Zhou Yao sighed, his wife is really a smart person.

The kiln fire channel and blast device used to make the kiln need to be further improved to enhance the entire fire channel's tolerance to high temperatures, expand the kiln chamber diameter, and raise the furnace body so that the rising gas flow in the furnace can extend its contact time with the ore and improve energy utilization.

Although he only had some basic knowledge, the research foundation of his predecessors had already pointed him in the right direction, reducing a lot of trial and error costs and time.

He didn't know how to smelt ceramics and metals, but there were plenty of people in Nantai who could do it. Plus with the experience of the workers at the Nantai smelter, he could achieve the desired effect after a few more attempts.

Wenxiong visited the smelter every day. When he saw the new pottery kiln fire channel taking shape, this old man who had been immersed in officialdom for more than 30 years was also moved, "This is definitely worthy of being recorded in the Zhaoshi!"

He said he didn't want to go back to the county government office and wanted to stay in the smelter with Zhou Yao.

It was fine if Wenxiong was willing to help, as it would be helpful to have more people to help. Zhou Yao didn't care what his motives were, as long as he did his job well. Even Wenxiong thought it was profitable, so Qian Xing became more interested.

When the new smelting furnace is completed and put into use, the furnace temperature is enough to melt the iron, thus obtaining liquid pig iron.

These liquid pig iron can be directly cast into tools. The cast farm tools and weapons are hard in texture and much sharper than those made before.

After several trials, Zhou Yao improved the details of the fire channel and the blast device according to the test results, and further improved the drawings. When he returned to Beijing with these finished products, as long as the cabinet gave an order, iron ore smelters across the country could upgrade according to the drawings.

Zhou Yao ordered people to build several new furnaces according to the blueprints. Seeing that batches of molten iron could be mass-produced, this would definitely be a great achievement.

Qian Xing found him with the money box Zhou Yao had given him, and smiled in a cautious and flattering manner, "Master Zhou, I was blind and did not recognize a great man. I hope you will be magnanimous and forgive me."

"Why? This is the hard-earned money for Lord Qian and the brothers. Why is Lord Qian returning it?" Zhou Yao said with a smile. He looked at the box, which was just as heavy as before.

"I dare not, I dare not." Qian Xing saluted repeatedly. He was really confused. Others bribed their superiors, but he was the only one who took the superior's money. When the popular Lord Zhou returned to Beijing, he didn't know how he would report him.

"Now that the molten iron has been smelted and all kinds of tools have been made, Lord Wen and I will return to the capital soon. I also want to ask Lord Qian to help me with a few things." He said slowly, "Please keep this silver for me. My brothers have worked hard in the past few months, so reward them more."

Looking at this cold-faced man, Qian Xing felt a little frightened after realizing it belatedly.

"I have two things to trouble you with, sir. First, register all the workers involved in the construction of the new furnace and manage them separately. Each person should be marked with the corresponding process. Second, I have a few things that I would like you to supervise the casting. If they are cast, please send a letter to Zhou Mansion in the capital."

He took out another stack of drawings, which were the barrel design drafts he had drawn during this period of time.

The requirements for making guns are higher. He had discussed with Xiao Yueshan before coming here. It would be easier to make a cannon first, and the display effect would be better. However, he had never made a weapon before. He drew this cannon based on the appearance of the cannons he had seen in later generations. The details still needed to be carefully considered.

Qian Xing had seen Zhou Yao's strength and now obeyed his orders. He immediately took the blueprint and put it away carefully. "Just give your instructions, sir. I will definitely follow your instructions and not make any mistakes."

"Very good, Lord Qian, please go and do your work first." He was finally done and could go home. He couldn't wait to see his wife.