"Husband, I'm back!"
Lantian County, Yunshan Residence.
Han Yuxi pushed open the door and entered. She saw Li Zexuan who had just finished practicing his swordsmanship in the front yard and said with a smile.
"How did my wife come back so quickly today?"
Li Zexuan took the handkerchief from Xiao He and wiped the sweat on his forehead. He was full of curiosity.
Because Ye Fashan was in Guan Cheng, Han Yuxi had been going to the residence next door early in the morning to chat with Old Madam Ye and Old Madam Ye. The main reason was that she was afraid that the Old Madam would be too worried and get a mental illness over time!
"Haha! Husband, aren't you asking the obvious? Yesterday, you told Grandmother that Guan Cheng had fallen and that Fa Shan and the others had been rescued. Grandmother's mood instantly improved. Why would she need me to comfort her? When I went there just now, Grandmother had already left with Grandfather. I heard from the servant that they had gone to the Academy early in the morning! "
Han Yuxi said with a smile.
After Ye Fashan escaped from Guan Cheng, he did not return to the capital with the army. After bidding farewell to Little Yu 'er, Iron Egg, Meng Wenhao, Liu Rengui and the others, he left for Nanyang. He planned to go home and bid farewell to his parents before going to the south to visit the famous mountains and great rivers. He wanted to visit the reclusive experts and pursue his own path!
As for the merits, he did not care at all!
Li Zexuan smiled and said, "Grandfather and Grandmother have reached the age where they should be enjoying their old age. Something like this happened a while ago and it really made them worry a lot. In the end, I did not expect Fa Shan to accompany Little Yu 'er to Guan Cheng. This child is kind. The Ye family really has a successor. Grandfather and the others should be happy for Fa Shan!"
Han Yuxi asked curiously, "Husband, do you value Fa Shan a lot?"
Li Zexuan now had hundreds of students, but she had never seen Li Zexuan value someone so much.
Li Zexuan thought to himself that the future leader of the world's Daoist sects was definitely important to him. However, he could not say such things out loud. He thought for a while and said, "The monk is very talented and intelligent. He is different from the other rich kids. He can endure hardships. It would be hard for someone like him to not succeed in the future. That's why I said that the Ye family has a successor!"
Han Yuxi nodded with a smile. Then, she rolled her eyes and said, "Husband, Iron Egg has helped a lot during this expedition. Do you think His Majesty will reward him?"
In the end, this was his biological sister. Back then, after Iron Egg went to manage the city, Han Yuxi was extremely worried every day. Now that Iron Egg was about to return in triumph, Han Yuxi, as his sister, began to worry about whether her younger brother would be able to get the reward he deserved!
Li Zexuan patted his wife's shoulder and replied, "Wife, don't worry! His Majesty has always been fair in his rewards and punishments. Iron Egg's contribution is obvious to all. His Majesty will definitely not ignore it. Actually, I don't want to see His Majesty reward Iron Egg too much. He is still young. If the reward is too much, I'm afraid he will lose the motivation to improve himself! "
Han Yuxi said thoughtfully, "Mm! Husband, you have a point! However, Iron Egg's contribution this time is not that great. I think he should only get some reward money! "
"Young Master, Young Master!"
Just then, Song Xiaosi's voice came from outside the courtyard.
Li Zexuan turned around and said, "What is it? Come in and talk! "
Han Yuxi saw that Li Zexuan had something important to do, so she went into the house first.
Song Xiaosi entered the courtyard and walked to Li Zexuan's side. He bowed and said, "Young Master, the drainage canal beside the Ba River has already drained all the water in the Mei Village section of the river. Today, the foundation of the dam will be built. Do you want to go and take a look?"
Li Zexuan heard this and his spirit was lifted. He said with a face full of joy, "Okay! You go first! I will change my clothes and be there soon. "
The reason why Li Zexuan did not personally participate in this battle was mainly because he was focused on the Ba River dam. In the past half a month, under the joint efforts of him, Mo Huai, and Yan Shaoning, they had solved many engineering problems in the construction of the dam. The most important thing was that Li Zexuan had solved the most critical problem in the reinforced concrete dam project — steelmaking!
Next to the ironworks of the workshop, a small steel mill appeared.
The ancient people did know how to make steel. In the late Spring and Autumn period (before 476 BC), man-made steel had already appeared in China. By the time of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the technology of steelmaking had already been mastered. The most commonly used techniques were stir-frying and tempered steel.
The so-called stir-frying was to heat pig iron until it was melted or basically melted, then stir it in the furnace. The carbon contained in the pig iron would be removed by the oxygen in the air, thus obtaining steel. The quality of steel produced by this method was not high.
As for tempered steel, it was to repeatedly heat, fold, and forge a piece of iron. The purpose was to make the structure of the steel dense, the composition of the steel body more uniform, reduce impurities, and thus improve the quality of the steel. Therefore, the quality of the swords made from tempered steel was very high.
Although the quality of tempered steel was high, this method had low output and high cost, and it was difficult to meet the needs of industrial development.
The method Li Zexuan used was the converter steelmaking method. This method was invented by the British H. Bessemer in 1856. The oxidizing agent used in the process was oxygen. Air was blown into the molten pig iron to oxidize the impurities such as silicon and manganese. A large amount of heat was released during the oxidation process (1% silicon could raise the temperature of pig iron by 200 degrees Celsius), allowing the furnace to reach a high enough temperature.
Converter steelmaking was carried out in the converter. The shape of the converter was like a pear, with refractory bricks on the inner wall and many small holes (tuyere) on the side of the furnace. Compressed air was blown into the furnace from these small holes. It was also called a side-blown converter. In the beginning, the converter was horizontal. Liquid pig iron at 1300 degrees Celsius was poured in and a certain amount of quicklime was added. Then air was blown in and the converter was rotated to make it stand upright.
At this time, the surface of the liquid pig iron reacted violently, causing iron, silicon, and manganese to oxidize (FeO, SiO2, MnO) and form slag. Using the convection of the molten steel and slag, the reaction spread throughout the furnace. A moment later, when there was only a small amount of silicon and manganese left in the molten steel, the carbon began to oxidize and form carbon monoxide (exothermic), causing the molten steel to boil violently.
A huge flame appeared at the mouth of the furnace due to the overflowing carbon monoxide burning. Finally, phosphorus also oxidized and further formed ferrous phosphate. Ferrous phosphate then reacted with quicklime to form stable calcium phosphate and calcium sulfide, which together became slag.
When the phosphorus and sulfur gradually decreased, the flame subsided, and brown iron oxide appeared at the mouth of the furnace, indicating that the steel had been refined.
The steel produced by this method, whether in terms of output or quality, was superior to the stir-frying method and the Hundred Tempered Steel Method!
When Mo Huai saw the large amount of high-quality steel produced at the mouth of the converter, he exclaimed in disbelief. It must be known that the Mo Family was not only proficient in construction, but also in steel-making and sword-making. In the end, he discovered that Li Zexuan, who was not a member of the Mo Family, actually had such heaven-defying steel-making skills. Mo Huai could not help but be even more convinced of Li Zexuan because of this!
After solving the steel-making process, Li Zexuan experimented with the mixture of steel and cement. The degree of hardness was comparable to that of a boulder.
It was precisely because he solved these basic problems that he was able to build the foundation of the dam today.
After changing out of his training clothes, Li Zexuan wore a white scholar's robe and came to the bank of the Ba River. From afar, he could see the black mass of workers on both sides of the river.
In order to speed up the progress of the project, Li Zexuan used the tactic of overwhelming the workers, just like the last time when he built Yanhuang College. He recruited more than 10,000 craftsmen and commoners. Basically, all the young and strong people in Lantian County were recruited.
This was a classic example of not having enough time, so he made up for it with numbers. After all, he had money!
"Yamachō, you're here!"
Mo Huai's eyes were sharp. After discovering Li Zexuan's arrival, he hurriedly came up to greet him.
"Mm! Mr. Mo, I heard that the dam is going to build its foundation today, so I came to take a look! "
Li Zexuan smiled and looked at the Ba River in front of him.
Due to the drainage canal next to it, the water in this section of the river had already been drained, revealing the yellow riverbed. The soft sand on the riverbed had already been dug away by the craftsmen and commoners. In a while, they would be building the foundation from where they were dug away. Seeing this scene, Li Zexuan felt a surge of pride in his chest.
With a sigh, he said, "After several months, we've finally passed the most difficult time. Before this, who would have thought that we could cut off the surging Ba River in such a short period of time? Now, not only are we cutting it off, but we also have to build a dam with a width of several feet in the middle. From now on, the natural moat will be cleared! "
Hearing this, Mo Huai laughed and said, "In the end, Yamachō's plan is the most appropriate. Moreover, Yamachō has invested so much manpower, material, and financial resources. If we can't produce results as soon as possible, it would make this old man look incompetent!"
Li Zexuan hurriedly said, "Why do you say that, Mr. Mo? During this period of time, the one who has worked the hardest is none other than you! When the dam is completed, you will be the hero of the entire Lantian County. All the people who have benefited from the dam will be grateful to you! "
"Hey, Yamachō, according to what you said, I don't have to work hard ~?"
While the two were talking, Yan Shaoning walked over from the side and said half-jokingly.
He and Li Zexuan were very good friends, but because he was also on duty at Yanhuang College, when there were people from the college present, he would usually call Li Zexuan Yamachō and not directly call him by his name. This was to give face to his own friend!
Li Zexuan turned to look at Yan Shaoning and said, "Haha! It's all hard work! It's all hard work! Oh, right, Shaoning, why don't I see Ink Girl? "
Yan Shaoning's eyebrows twitched and he almost vomited blood. A trace of embarrassment appeared on his face. He thought to himself, This bad friend of mine is really touching the pot that doesn't boil. Mo Huai is still in front of me. Is it appropriate for you to mention his daughter in front of him?
"Ahem! She … Why is she here? She should be in the workshop right now! "
After being reminded by Li Zexuan, Yan Shaoning didn't dare to face Mo Huai as usual. He was nervous and uneasy like a son-in-law meeting his father-in-law!
"Young Master, Elder Mo, the materials are ready. Should we start building the dam's foundation?"
At this moment, Faubert came over to resolve Yan Shaoning's embarrassment and said.
"Yes! Let's start ~! "
Li Zexuan smiled and nodded.
…
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