Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

Of course Zhang Shikang had heard of the concept of blast furnace steelmaking, and he had also learned about it in modern history.

But his previous concept of blast furnace steelmaking was limited to a blast furnace, a very big blast furnace, and that was it.

As for how steel is produced in a blast furnace, he is not a metallurgical or chemical major, so how could he know it so clearly?

He knew that furnace temperature was the key to refining high-quality metals, and he also knew about coke.

But before that, he always thought that the raw material for coking was wood, after all, that's what coke is.

It was only in these two days that he understood that the raw material of coke is coal. Coal is heated to a certain temperature under oxygen-free conditions to produce a series of chemical reactions to produce coke.

The role of coke, like granulated black powder, is to improve its combustion efficiency, that is, to improve its high-temperature strength, and thus better remove impurities in the ore.

Molten iron reacts with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide, which can reduce the carbon content in the molten iron. Zhang Shikang was right in his speculation on this point.

But what Zhang Shikang didn't know was that the boss's operation was equivalent to the function of the converter in later generations.

Only the organic combination of blast furnace and converter can produce high-quality high-carbon steel and low-carbon steel.

The difference between steel and iron lies mainly in the carbon content and secondarily in other elements.

For steel, the different carbon content affects the performance of the steel. The higher the carbon content, the harder the metal is, and the lower the carbon content, the softer the metal is.

If the metal is too hard, it will have poor toughness, which means the steel will break easily. If the metal is too soft, it will weaken the lethality of weapons.

Of course, for the use of steel in later generations, high carbon steel and low carbon steel each have their own functions. Even pig iron is used to make castings, bridge anchors, etc. because of its high hardness, wear resistance and corrosion resistance.

But for the Ming Dynasty at that time, good metals were almost all used for military supplies. Whether it was muskets or cannons, high-carbon steel was the real necessity.

"Boss, do your second and third sons also know this method of iron smelting?" Zhang Shikang asked the eldest brother with an excited expression on his face.

The boss didn't understand why Zhang Shikang was so excited, but still answered honestly:

"My Lord President, yes, this method was originally discovered by my father by accident. Later, I and my brother continued to try to improve it in order to increase the efficiency of iron smelting."

"You three brothers have done a great job!" Zhang Shikang said, and then turned to the examiner:

"Send someone to inform Mr. Song and tell him that I found a great treasure!

Also, go get another 1,000 taels of silver and give them to the three brothers."

Of course, one must keep one's promise, and compared with the talents discovered, one thousand taels of silver is really a drop in the bucket.

After explaining the matter, Zhang Shikang squinted his eyes and smiled at the boss again, so much so that the boss felt uneasy at the sudden change of Zhang Shikang's personality.

"Boss, the General Administration of Manufacturing is in need of talents like you. I wonder if you are interested in working for the General Administration of Manufacturing after this spring exam?

Let me tell you, although you can become an official after passing the imperial examination, it is not easy to get into officialdom.

You need to be worldly-wise and tactful, and you need to know how to deal with the people. With your personality, it would be fine for you to be a minor official with no status in the officialdom. But if you want to climb up, if you are not careful, you will fall into the abyss, and it is possible that you will be ostracized and punished by others, or even be eliminated in the game of elimination of three clans.

But it is different in my General Manufacturing Bureau. The General Manufacturing Bureau is independent of the court and has a very high degree of independence.

And the main reason why my Manufacturing Bureau does this is only one, to provide a comfortable research environment for senior craftsmen like you.

In the Manufacturing General Administration, you don't need to be burdened by social relationships, nor will you be bullied by others. You just need to concentrate on your research, and you can also get good treatment and let your family live a decent life.

You should think carefully before answering. "

Having said so much, Zhang Shikang certainly hopes that the three eldest brothers can give up their officialdom and join the General Administration of Manufacturing.

For this reason, he began to persuade her earnestly.

Of course, he could force the three people to stay in the General Manufacturing Bureau, but a forced melon may quench thirst, but it is not sweet, and this will reduce people's subjective initiative.

If the three of them insisted on entering the officialdom through the imperial examination, then they could only go.

However, in order to learn the blast furnace iron-making method, the three of them would definitely have to stay in the General Manufacturing Bureau.

Zhang Shikang had his calculations made, and had even made plans to figure out how he would guide the three men if they did not join the General Manufacturing Administration.

But the boss only said one sentence after hearing this.

"Your Excellency, the three of us brothers are here to take the imperial examination in order to join the General Manufacturing Bureau."

what?

Zhang Shikang was stunned by the boss's light words.

It was as if he had ten or eight reasons in his mind to convince the other party, but the other party just fell down.

"The three of us brothers have long since found out that the Manufacturing Bureau of our Ming Dynasty is not ordinary, and there are many craftsmen with extremely high attainments.

But I was born in a humble family and had little influence, so I didn't dare to go directly to the General Administration of Manufacturing. Last year, I heard that if you participated in the spring examination for science and engineering, you could directly join the General Administration of Manufacturing if you did well. After discussing with my three brothers, we decided to participate in this spring examination." The eldest brother explained.

"Ahahaha - this is really great!" Zhang Shikang was finally overjoyed.

Just based on the method of blast furnace iron smelting, Zhang Shikang felt that it was worth it to be the chief examiner of the science and engineering subjects in this spring's imperial examination!

"But I still hope to participate in this Spring Examination. I hope the president will approve it."

Being able to pass the imperial examination is always helpful in improving one's reputation and status. Now that you are here and have been busy for several days, you naturally have to finish the exam.

"Okay, okay. But since you want to participate, the specific ranking will be determined by the examiner, accompanying examiners and others based on your ability." Zhang Shikang said with a calm mind.

If we can smelt high-quality iron, we will certainly be able to produce high-quality steel in time. With high-quality metals, the Ming Dynasty's armaments will also be upgraded to a higher level.

Zhang Shikang was in a good mood the whole day, until it was almost time to get off work, when Wang Chengen came to him from the palace with a worried look on his face.

"Sir, the Emperor is furious about Marquis Haiqing's matter. Please go and take a look."

"Zheng Zhilong?" Zhang Shikang frowned.

After asking Wang Chengen, I learned that Zheng Zhilong had failed to communicate with him and actually wrote a memorial directly to Brother Chongzhen.

After Zhang Shikang learned about the situation, he couldn't help but smile strangely.

Zheng Zhilong probably felt that he could do nothing about him, so he reported the matter to his brother Chongzhen. After all, his brother Chongzhen was the emperor of the time and he should have a different opinion.

After all, the navy does cost a lot of money. If we bypass the Marshal of Army and report it directly to the Emperor, the Emperor might give up the idea of expanding the navy.

Normally, this is a good angle.

But the problem is that Zhang Shikang is not an ordinary case.

Given the level of trust that Brother Chongzhen currently had in him, Zheng Zhilong had undoubtedly hit a wall.

Brother Chongzhen had that kind of personality. Now that the situation in the court had improved, he began to show off his ambitions again. People were urging him openly and secretly to march north to fight the Jiannu.

As for Zheng Zhilong, Chongzhen naturally looked down upon him. He even kept causing trouble for the court, so he naturally did not get what he deserved.

"What does our Majesty say?" Zhang Shikang asked with interest.

"Oh my, the emperor was so angry that he smashed the tea bowl and wanted to issue an imperial decree to deprive the Zheng family of their titles!

In order to avoid delaying military matters, you should go to the palace as soon as possible."

……