The furnace was a big furnace that was taller than a person. In fact, it could be designed to be a little smaller. Many small smelting workshops had very small furnaces. However, the bigger and thicker the furnace, the more iron ore it could smelt, and the better the quality of the products.
In terms of output, having more small furnaces could make up for the lack of output. However, in terms of smelting quality, small furnaces were far less useful than large furnaces. Large and tall furnaces could obtain higher temperatures, which small furnaces did not have. Therefore, the quality of the smelted products was naturally inferior.
If the furnace was too small, the thickness of the furnace would definitely not be too large, which would be disadvantageous to the rise of the internal temperature. However, if the furnace was tall, the wall of the furnace would be thicker. In this way, the heat would be less likely to dissipate, and all of it would be concentrated in the furnace. Naturally, the smelting effect would be better.
Of course, to increase the temperature of the furnace, it was not enough to rely on the thickness of the furnace wall to keep it warm. It also needed to increase the firepower. The best way to increase the firepower was not to add more fuel, but to increase the oxygen. This was the so-called blowing air. By blowing more air into the furnace, it could make the fire inside the furnace bigger, and the temperature inside the furnace would naturally be higher.
The best way to blow more air into the furnace was to use a tool like the bellows. This tool had been used thousands of years before the Tang dynasty. It was a very ancient tool. The local people also knew how to make the bellows. After all, the principle was too simple. When the local blacksmiths repaired farm tools, they also needed the bellows to increase the firepower. Then, they could burn the farm tools red and repair them.
It was said that the earliest tools used to force the wind were fans and blowpipes. Ancient Egyptian goldsmiths used blowpipes with pottery mouths. The Incas sometimes used more than ten copper pipes to blow at the same time. Later, they invented the blowing air bag made of animal skin. The two ends of the bag were equipped with air pipes and piston air intakes controlled by the operator. This kind of simple blower was still used in some areas in modern times. When the wind entered, the operator used a rope to pull up the leather bag, and then stepped on it to blow the wind into the furnace. Each furnace was equipped with four blowers, and two people were operating them in opposite directions.
The bellows was a simple and practical invention. It was square in shape and belonged to a rectangular box. There was an air inlet at each end of the box. When the box was pulled out by hand, the air was sucked in from the far end. When it was pushed in, the air was sucked in from the near side. In the inward and outward processes, the air is sucked into the box, and in both cases, the compressed air is pushed into the side chamber, where it is discharged through the exhaust port. It can not only blow air, but also eject liquid.
Since ancient times, not only did the smelting industry require the use of bellows, but even ordinary people's homes also used bellows. This was because after using bellows, the stove at home would burn more brightly, which was very beneficial for cooking, so it was used very frequently.
Because there were already bellows here, there was no need to make new ones. They could just use the old ones. The bellows designed by Ang Lee were naturally more advanced. However, the more advanced the bellows were, the more time it took to make them. Because they were in a hurry to smelt, they moved the bellows from the blacksmith's shop.
It didn't matter if it was a good bellows or an ordinary bellows, as long as it could be used, it would be good. In order to increase the effect of the wind blowing, they brought almost all the bellows they could find. With so many bellows blowing together, the effect would naturally be better.
The charcoal was quickly ignited, and the iron ore and solvent limestone were also put into the furnace. Because the furnace was too big, a high platform with a ladder was designed next to the furnace, so that it was convenient to put the raw materials into the furnace.
Because the flame of the charcoal was too small, several strong men pulled the bellows. Suddenly, the small flame of the charcoal flew up, and the height of the flame increased by many times. The temperature in the furnace also increased by many times.
The next step was the boring smelting process. They kept pulling the bellows and put in qualified charcoal from time to time. As long as they kept doing this, the iron ore in the furnace would definitely be smelted into molten iron. This was only a matter of time. This smelting process would certainly take a long time, so it couldn't be completed in a short time.
Ang Lee could also use this time to give some basic training to the people surnamed Jiang and guide them in the construction of the workshop.
The work of leveling the land in the workshop was very hard work. Because the higher parts were all hard stones instead of soft soil, it was very difficult to clean them up. It was also because there were too many stones here that they didn't plant crops here. There were stones everywhere, so it was impossible to plant crops. There were also a lot of stones in the relatively flat places, and there were also a lot of stone hills. These stone hills also had to be cleaned up, otherwise, the workers would easily trip and cause injuries.
Houses and more furnaces were being built. These works were carried out at the same time as the leveling of the land. This way, the workers wouldn't be idle, and it was convenient to finish all the work quickly.
Because there were too many stones on the ground, it was very difficult to build houses. When digging the foundation, chisels had to be used. Although the houses were relatively simple, it was necessary to dig the foundation and put the wooden pillars in the foundation in order to make the houses strong enough. If they were all placed on the foundation, once there was a strong wind, these houses were likely to be blown away. The local people were very experienced in how to build strong and durable houses. They understood the characteristics of the climate in the area where they lived. They knew when there would be a strong wind and how strong the wind was. Thus, they carried out targeted construction to ensure that the built houses wouldn't be blown away by the wind.
If they wanted to build houses quickly, the best material was naturally wood. Using wood to build houses could greatly save construction time. After all, wood was very light, and the source of raw materials was sufficient. After a few wooden pillars were erected, the top was built with a wooden frame, and then the top was covered with thatch and clay. Basically, a relatively simple house could be built. If they were to build a strong stone house, it would be too time-consuming. A house would take a long time to build.
These permanent stone houses would definitely be built in the future, but now there was an urgent need for more houses. Therefore, they could only build wooden houses first. Raw materials such as stones and bricks were being prepared. When they were ready, they would definitely build a strong house.
The most abundant resources here were stone and wood. Because it was a mountainous area, there were stones and trees everywhere. These two resources were very abundant. There was also a lot of clay. At least, it was enough. Only one mountain had limestone, but the quantity was relatively large. When the local people built houses and stone cities, they used stone and limestone. Stone was the foundation, and lime could be obtained after the construction. Lime was used to bond the stone, which could make the city walls stronger. The built houses also had the effect of preventing insects.
Of course, in addition to being used to build houses and as a co-solvent for smelting iron, limestone could also be used to make cement. This material was a very important raw material for construction. Another local raw material, clay, could be used to bake bricks. With these two materials, it was easier to build houses.
The local people did not have this technology. All the better houses were made of lime and stone, the ordinary ones were made of wood, and the worse ones were made of clay and hay. This was entirely because the local technology was relatively backward, and they did not master the technology of making bricks and cement.
The technology of making bricks was very mature in the Tang Dynasty. However, the Western Detention Area did not have this technology, and it did not seem to be so urgent. As for the product of cement, it was completely a new thing brought by Ang Lee. It was normal that the local people did not master this technology. In fact, Ang Lee had already made the technology available to many people. However, those who had the technology were not willing to pass it on to others. In the interior of the Tang Dynasty, due to the urgent demand for cement, if the production of cement in a certain area was low, the imperial court would personally send the technology to the area. However, there was no large-scale construction in the Western Detention Area, so there was almost no demand for cement. Naturally, no one cared whether this area had this technology or not.
The local people did not master the technology of making cement. This could only be temporary because the Tang Dynasty would soon build roads here. The demand for cement for road construction was huge, and the cost of cement was not high. If the cement was transported from afar to the Detention Area, the price would be at least several times higher. It was really not cost-effective. It was most suitable to purchase cement locally. If there was no local cement workshop, it would be a disaster for the road construction.
In the future, many cities had cement workshops. There was no city under construction that did not have a cement workshop. Cement was a necessary raw material for the construction of cities. Moreover, it was very difficult to transport it over long distances. It was also very easy to cause serious pollution in the process of transport. Therefore, no matter from which point of view, it was necessary to build a local cement workshop.
Even if there were no limestone veins in the local area, the limestone could be transported to the local area. Then, the local cement production could be carried out. After all, transporting limestone was more convenient than transporting cement. Cement would be ruined when it rained on the road, but limestone was not afraid.
Ang Lee already had an idea about the road construction here. It was built along the river. In this way, it was necessary to build a lot of pillars. The demand for cement was very high. Therefore, it was necessary to pass on the technology of making cement to the local tribes. Let them master the technology and try to produce it. When the Tang Dynasty came to build roads, they could increase the production and sell the cement to the imperial court. This way, they could really make a lot of money.
The population of the Jiang tribe was not large. Ang Lee was a little worried that they did not have enough manpower. The iron-smelting workshop, the cement workshop, and the brick-making workshop all required a lot of manpower.
Once the imperial court wanted to build roads here, they would definitely recruit some of the local tribesmen to speed up the progress of the road construction. In this way, the manpower of the tribe would be even more tight. At that time, the manpower of the other tribes would definitely be recruited together. Would there be various mineral resources in the territories of other tribes? Ang Lee was not too sure about this for the time being. Perhaps the territories of other tribes would also have a lot of resources!
The sand on the banks of the local river was fine river sand. The quality was very good, and it completely met the requirements of the construction. The raw material of cement, limestone, was also sufficient. As long as there were stones, there were countless of them. In this way, all the raw materials for the production of concrete were available. Moreover, they could produce as much as they wanted.
The sufficient iron ore ensured the production of iron, and iron was the raw material for making steel bars. With steel bars, all the materials for making pillars and piers were available. The construction could proceed very smoothly.
"These pillars are all freshly cut trees!"
Ang Lee saw several local tribesmen building houses. The wooden pillars in the pit had green bark on them. Obviously, these were all freshly cut trees. Perhaps they were cut down nearby.
"Yes, they were freshly cut last night."
The tribesman said.
There was more than one pillar. All the surrounding pillars were fresh tree trunks. They should have been freshly cut down last night. It was no wonder. There were a lot of houses to be built here, so there was a huge demand for wood. Other than going up the mountain to cut down trees, there was no better way.
All the pits where the pillars were placed were all chiseled by the local tribesmen. This was because the ground below was full of stones. In some places, the exposed ground was full of stones. Where there was soil, the thickness of the soil was very thin. The soil was no more than half a meter. According to Ang Lee's estimation, this small amount of soil was blown here by the wind. After years of accumulation, it formed several oases with soil. Although the soil was relatively shallow, it was not a problem for many small shrubs and weeds to grow. The weeds' vitality was strong enough. Even if the soil was very thin and full of stones, these weeds could survive very well.
Weeds could survive in the cracks of stones, let alone with a certain thickness of soil. As long as the local wind and rain were good, and there was a light rain from time to time, the soil would not dry up, and the weeds would not die. Even if they looked dry on the surface, as long as there was a light rain, these seemingly dry weeds would spit out tender green again.
Because of the construction of the iron smelting workshop, all the weeds here were eradicated. It was estimated that it would be difficult for them to grow again in the future. After all, a large number of people walked back and forth. The soil was trampled to death. Even weeds could not survive.
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