Transmigrated into a female county magistrate during a famine, leading her country to prosperity

There was an old saying in Shen Zheng’s previous life: “Steel is forged through repeated tempering.”

What is "refined" is self-evident, so people subconsciously think that steel is refined through iron hammering.

But what is the truth?

Yes or no.

To turn iron into steel, it not only requires hammering, but also requires the addition of other substances to adjust the hardness, toughness and other properties.

To put it simply: steel is actually an alloy of iron.

No matter how much iron is forged, it is still iron and will never turn directly into steel.

The fine iron that Shen Zheng asked for just now will be sent to the Ministry of Works from all over the Great Zhou. The Ministry of Works will then select and forge it into a tougher "iron". People in the Ministry of Works call this kind of iron "steel".

Shen Zheng did not answer Liang Fu's question just now, but Liang Fu thought about it for a long time and felt that it was not worth it.

Colored glass is very useful after it is made, but in his mind, the role of "steel" is obviously far greater than that of glass - using a treasure to create another "treasure" that is not really a treasure.

Liang Fu felt that this deal was extremely unprofitable.

Without waiting for Shen Zheng's answer, he was silent for a moment and told Shen Zheng the truth: "Sir Shen, I will tell you the truth. Do you know how the Ministry of Industry will deal with the refined iron sent to it from all over the Great Zhou?"

This sudden question interrupted Shen Zheng's thoughts, and she answered subconsciously: "Making equipment, weapons, and armor?"

Liang Fu nodded: "Mostly military equipment. Although there has been no war in the Great Zhou in recent years, military strength is still the foundation of a country."

Generally speaking, there are many foundations for establishing a country.

Public opinion, agriculture, industry, a qualified ruler, etc. are all the foundation of a country, but once a country is established, one must "defend the country."

The bigger your country is and the better your industry and agriculture are developed, the more military power you need to match it.

Just as those who lag behind will be beaten, a child carrying gold through the market will also be robbed. This is why there are so many war advocates in a seemingly stable country - if you don't fight others, others will fight you; if you don't rob others, others will rob you.

Only when the military equipment is strong enough can the country stand firm.

Liang Fu looked at Shen Zheng, then at Yu Zhengqing, and pursed his lips and said, "But in fact, those refined irons are not only used to cast weapons and other equipment, but also...refined into steel."

"steel?"

Shen Zheng looked surprised, while Yu Zhengqing looked understanding. It was obvious that he had known that the Ministry of Industry would further process the refined iron.

"Are you sure it's steel?" Shen Zheng frowned and asked Liang Fu again.

As I said, if you can’t melt iron, how can you make steel?

She felt that the Ministry of Industry might have made a mistake in their understanding of "steel", or that the "steel" Liang Fu was referring to was not the same metal substance as the "steel" she was familiar with.

Shen Zheng rarely questioned the Ministry of Works. Liang Fu felt strange when he heard this and asked, "Why did Lord Shen ask this? 'Steel' actually existed in the previous dynasty, and the method of steelmaking was also passed down through inheritance. It is extremely secret and only people from the Ministry of Works can know it."

Upon hearing this, Yu Zhengqing asked Liang Fu, "I have seen your majesty's sword in the palace. The color and texture seem to be different from ordinary iron swords. Is it... steel?"

In fact, he had heard of "steel" a long time ago, and he also knew that the Ministry of Works might have a material that was tougher than iron, but he was ultimately a civil official rather than a military general, and he didn't have much interest in these weapons.

In other words, if Yu Zhengqing wanted to get some "steel" when he went to Beijing, there might be a way.

Speaking of the emperor's sword, Liang Fu showed a little pride: "It is a sword made of steel. The Ministry of Works spent three years tempering that sword."

"Three years?!" Before Yu Zhengqing could even get a chance to be surprised, Shen Zheng screamed out in surprise, "A steel sword, it took three years to refine?!"

Liang Fu thought Shen Zheng was shocked by their craftsman spirit, and couldn't help but raise his chin: "Exactly. It's the result of thousands of hammers and tempers."

"......" Shen Zheng was speechless.

After three years of forging a "steel sword" that may not be made of steel, are you still proud of it?......

Perhaps it was because the expression on Shen Zheng's face was too obvious that Liang Fu finally noticed something was wrong. "Sir Shen, is there anything...strange?"

Shen Zheng didn't know how to start for a moment. After thinking for a long time, he asked, "Sir Liang, there are only three of us here. Could you please tell me how your Ministry of Industry refines 'steel'?"

In fact, she had a rough idea of ​​how they made the "steel", and she asked just to make sure - was what they made real steel?

"This..." This is a big secret. Liang Fu hesitated and felt a little embarrassed for a moment.

Yu Zhengqing stood by Shen Zheng without any bottom line, frowned and said: "If you don't say it, she will probably write a letter directly to His Majesty."

Liang Fu's mustache trembled when he heard this.

Write to His Majesty to ask? Will His Majesty listen? If someone else were to ask about this secret method, I'm afraid they would be thrown into prison and beheaded!

but......

Liang Fu swallowed his saliva, thinking that Shen Zheng was "one of us" after all, and she had taught him the principle of leverage before, so there was still a lot of knowledge waiting for him in the future.

So “briefly talking” about the method of steelmaking should be… no problem, right?

Liang Fu convinced himself before Shen Zheng could speak: "Okay then, I hope you two can keep it a secret for the Ministry of Industry."

Shen Zheng the chick pecks at the rice.

Then Liang Fu spoke up: "The Ministry of Industry calls this steelmaking method...refining soft iron a hundred times to make steel."

Shen Zheng immediately grasped the key word - soft iron.

These two words are really easy to understand, that is, iron becomes soft. And just from the information of these two words, Shen Zheng is certain that what they have tempered is still iron, but this kind of iron can be given a different name.

——Wrought iron.

Wrought iron is actually similar to refined iron, except that it has a lower carbon content.

The reason why pig iron is brittle is that it contains a large amount of carbon and other substances. The wrought iron obtained by heating and decarburizing pig iron will be softer and more ductile.

But there is actually a difference between wrought iron and steel - whether in terms of strength or hardness, steel is superior to wrought iron.

Liang Fu did not stop talking as he had agreed and spoke for more than two quarters of an hour.

During this time, he had been observing Shen Zheng's expression and discovered a shocking fact - Lord Shen did not seem surprised at all by this method, and even frowned twice in the middle!

Why are you frowning?

There is definitely something wrong! There is definitely something wrong!

Liang Fu's heart was pounding, and he subconsciously felt that the Ministry of Industry might have gone astray.

He spoke nervously: "Master Shen, is there something wrong with this method?"

"It's fine."

Liang Fu breathed a sigh of relief.

“But what we got…maybe there’s something wrong.”

Liang Fu's breath got stuck in his throat and he started coughing suddenly.