Ang Lee and his subordinates were having lunch at the bottom of the crater. They had no idea about the dispute above the crater. Naturally, they didn't know that the Zhan Clan and the Lang Clan had already quarreled. Moreover, the quarrel was so intense that both of their faces and necks were red. They were just short of fighting.
"Assistant Minister Li, now that we are full and have nothing else to do, why don't we go back!"
Chen Long said.
Ang Lee said, "What's the hurry? Although this crater isn't very big, it's quite interesting. Let's play for a while more and go up before dark."
Above.
The Tungsten Ore Workshop had already started smelting. Smelting Tungsten Ore required time. At the very least, the first batch of Tungsten Ore could be smelted at night. Therefore, Ang Lee wasn't in a hurry to go up. Although they could walk around above, the bottom of the crater that had never been set foot in was more interesting. Perhaps there would be more interesting discoveries.
Since Ang Lee had said so, no one had any objections. Here, Ang Lee's words were authoritative. Whatever Ang Lee said, it would be done.
After lunch, Ang Lee and the others wandered around the crater separately to see if there were any new discoveries. Although this crater was only a few hundred steps in radius and didn't seem to be a very large crater, there were too many trees and flowers. The terrain was also quite complicated. Therefore, it wasn't easy to explore the entire crater. They had to split up to explore it more efficiently.
Although it was a small crater, there would be surprises from time to time. Precious medicinal herbs and newly discovered wild prey continued to appear. In a short while, there were a lot of them.
"Assistant Minister Li, we found another small cave."
A guard came to report.
Ang Lee said happily, "Is that so? You found another cave so quickly. Have you gone in to take a look? Is there anything good inside? "
"Assistant Minister Li, we just found it. We have sent people in to take a look. Is it still not clear?"
The guard said.
Ang Lee said, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go and take a look!"
After saying that, he went to another cave with a few guards. The entrance of this cave was much smaller than the previous one. It was more hidden and not easy to be discovered.
"Let's go in and take a look."
Everyone entered the cave and met the guards who had entered before them.
"Assistant Minister Li, this cave is good. There's a hot spring inside, as well as a stone bed and stone chairs. It seems that someone used to live here."
The guard said.
Ang Lee took a look and realized that the stone bed and chairs in this cave were very similar to the stone bed and chairs in the previous cave. There were traces of people living here. It was conceivable that someone had once lived here. It was probably the ancestor of the Zhan Clan.
"Not bad, there's actually a hot spring, and it's quite big too! It's not a bad idea for the two of us to have some private time together! "
Ang Lee sighed.
"Assistant Minister Li, the water temperature is just right. It's neither too hot nor too cold."
The guard said.
He nodded with satisfaction and said, "Good, good, good. Let's go down and take a bath. After that, we'll leave the giant pit."
Just as Ang Lee was taking a bath, a group of Zhan clansmen had once again entered the cave where they had previously explored for treasures and brought out a lot of treasures. Only a part of these people had entered with Ang Lee before. More than half of them had heard that there were treasures in the cave below the giant pit, so they deliberately came to explore for treasures and brought out a lot of gems. Everyone's face was full of happy smiles. The joy of the harvest was overflowing on everyone's face.
In the evening, Ang Lee and everyone left the giant pit and returned to the top of the giant pit. After a short rest, it was time for dinner.
"Assistant Minister Li, the first furnace of ferrotungsten metal has been smelted. It's done."
Just after dinner, the patriarch of the Zhan clan ran over happily.
Although he had a disagreement with the clan leader of the Lang Tribe over the resources in the Giant Pit, the clan leader of the Zhan Tribe was still in a good mood. After all, even if he gave half of it to the Lang Tribe, the number of treasures they had was still very large. Previously, they had competed so seriously only to obtain a certain proportion.
"Oh, it's all smelted out! That's great, that's great. Let's go and have a look. "
Ang Lee said happily.
Although the smelting of ferrotungsten metal was more difficult than that of copper, and the cost was also much higher, the price of ferrotungsten metal was higher than copper. Therefore, although the cost was higher, the price of ferrotungsten metal was also very high. The profit was definitely more cost-effective than that of copper. As for the problem of sales, there was no need to worry at all. At most, they could sell it directly to the capital city. The technology in the capital city was rapidly developing, and the demand for ferrotungsten metal was very high. As long as the ferrotungsten metal was sold in the capital city, there was absolutely no need to worry about sales. No matter how much there was, they could sell it and the harvest would shock them.
"Well, not bad, not bad. The purity is enough."
Ang Lee gently tapped the ferrotungsten metal that had just been smelted out with an iron rod and said with great satisfaction.
Due to the limitations of technology, it was too difficult to smelt completely pure ferrotungsten metal. However, for the use of technology in the Tang dynasty, there was no need for particularly pure ferrotungsten metal. It didn't matter if there were some other metals. Since ancient times, the so-called ferrotungsten metal referred to the ferrotungsten alloy. It was not completely pure ferrotungsten metal.
In addition, there was a difference between ferrotungsten metal and ferrotungsten steel. The difference was reflected in the content of ferrotungsten metal. If the content of ferrotungsten metal was higher, it was called ferrotungsten metal. If the content of ferrotungsten metal was lower and the content of ferrotungsten metal was higher, it was called ferrotungsten steel. Both ferrotungsten metal and ferrotungsten steel were very hard, completely comparable to the hardness of diamonds. It was precisely because of the high hardness of ferrotungsten metal that later generations had been used in military weapons to create powerful weapons that could penetrate the enemy's defense.
According to the type of ferrotungsten metal, it could be divided into platinum and soft ferrotungsten metal. Generally, tungsten jewelry had super high hardness, gloss, and texture, but the color was black and shiny, which was not particularly beautiful and could not reach the ideal silver-white color of some consumers. Platinum was a product that matched the aesthetic standards of consumers. This so-called platinum could also be called ferrotungsten platinum plating. The manufacturing process of platinum was very simple. The molded tungsten jewelry and platinum powder were put together in a high-temperature furnace at 3,000 degrees Celsius. In a vacuum environment, the platinum powder was slowly dissolved into the tungsten jewelry, thus making the tungsten jewelry achieve a whiter and brighter visual effect. Jewelry made of platinum would also have the hardness, gloss, texture, and texture of tungsten jewelry. It would not be discolored or worn out, but the color would be whiter and closer to silver than jewelry made of tungsten.
Soft ferrotungsten metal referred to tungsten bars that had a tungsten content of about 20% and a gold content of more than 80%. Because of its high gold content, its value, or the market price, was much higher than tungsten plated gold. Soft ferrotungsten metal was mainly based on gold with a small amount of tungsten added, so in fact, it was a kind of gold alloy. The concept of ferrotungsten metal was relatively easy to confuse, and many people could not distinguish between the two, resulting in property losses. Under normal circumstances, soft ferrotungsten metal had the same golden color as gold, but from the naked eye and the touch, it was still very easy to distinguish the difference between gold and soft ferrotungsten metal.
Although soft ferrotungsten metal was almost similar to gold, its main use was to satisfy the hobby of many collectors or as a souvenir between friends. In terms of value, it could not replace gold.
According to the scientists of later generations, due to the addition of tungsten, soft ferrotungsten metal had the characteristics of corrosion resistance, wearability, and good conductivity. In addition, gold had good heat insulation and ductility, so soft ferrotungsten metal could not only be used to make gold bars, handicrafts, jewelry, and other collectible and ornamental items, but it could also be used in industries such as aviation, nuclear research, and other fields.
In order to develop the science and technology of the Tang Empire, ferrotungsten metal was inseparable. Ferrotungsten metal was very hard and could be used to cut other metals, thus facilitating the manufacture of various advanced machines. Some parts that required high wearability also required ferrotungsten metal. Therefore, the production of ferrotungsten metal was very important. In addition, ferrotungsten metal could cut iron as if it were mud. It was a treasured sword that every military general dreamed of!
Ferrotungsten metal was a very important alloy. It was a very rare resource in the Tang Empire, but it was hard to guarantee that it would not be faked. There were some criteria to determine whether ferrotungsten metal was fake or not. First, it could be judged from its weight. Ferrotungsten metal was very dense, and it had a texture when held in the hand. It was full of the feeling of heavy metal. If it felt light when worn, it must be a fake.
It could also be judged from its hardness. The hardness of ferrotungsten metal was very high, only slightly lower than that of diamonds. Its hardness was ten times that of gold and five times that of stainless steel. It would almost never be worn out. Therefore, if a blade or other hard object were to scratch the surface, the real ferrotungsten metal would not be scratched. Otherwise, it must be a fake. Judging from its appearance was also not bad. The color of ferrotungsten metal was cold silver. After being processed by a high parabolic mirror and other processes, it would have an unparalleled gloss, refraction, and texture. It would have the luster and shine of a gemstone. If the surface gloss was poor or even dull, it would undoubtedly be a fake. In addition, ferrotungsten metal was extremely resistant to wear and corrosion. It would last for a long time under normal use. It would not be oxidized or peeled off, nor would it cause skin irritation. If it became oxidized and rusty after being used for a period of time, it would definitely be a fake.
"Assistant Minister Li, this kind of ferrotungsten metal can be sold directly, right?"
The patriarch of the Zhan Clan asked. The patriarch of the Lang Clan next to him was staring straight, waiting for Ang Lee's answer.
Ang Lee smiled and nodded, "That's right. This kind of ferrotungsten metal has completely reached the standard of selling. You guys are rich."
The patriarch of the Lang Clan quickly asked, "Assistant Minister Li, how much can this big piece of ferrotungsten metal be sold for?"
"This, the price is fluctuating. I have left the capital for some time, so I am not too sure about the price. However, it is definitely much more expensive than copper."
Ang Lee said.
Now, other than the capital, only a few big cities could use ferrotungsten metal. Most of the places did not use ferrotungsten metal and did not have the ability to produce ferrotungsten metal products. Therefore, although there was no need to worry about the sales of ferrotungsten metal, there were only a few sales channels. The best sales channel was undoubtedly in the capital. It could also be sold at the most satisfactory price in the capital.
"Isn't the capital a little too far?"
The patriarch of the Zhan Clan looked at the patriarch of the Lang Clan and said softly.
The capital was indeed a little far from the Western Border Area. However, there was no other way! The core of Central Sichuan, Yizhou City, also had some demand for ferrotungsten metal. However, the demand was not high and could not catch up with the demand in the capital. The demand for ferrotungsten metal in the capital was at least a thousand times more than that in Yizhou City. After all, the main technology developed by Ang Lee, as well as a large number of workshops and research institutions, were almost all placed around the capital. The current capital of the Tang dynasty had at least 80% of the industrial production capacity of the Tang dynasty. The technology research and development capacity accounted for at least 90% of it. If one wanted to make a lot of money, they had to go to the capital. Only by going to the capital could they develop and expand their business.
"It doesn't matter if it's a little far. It's fine to go once a year! Just bring more goods at a time. "
The patriarch of the Lang Clan said.
"I'm just afraid of encountering bandits halfway! The further the journey, the higher the chances of encountering bandits. "
A clansman said.
Although there were not many large-scale bandits in the Tang dynasty at this time, there were still many small groups of hundreds of bandits. Even if the imperial court tried its best to manage them, it could not prevent the emergence of bandits. Regarding this, it was really a matter of helplessness. After all, the ecological environment of the Tang dynasty was good enough and there were many mountains. It was too difficult to annihilate thirty to fifty people running into the mountains. It was very easy to hide dozens or hundreds of people in a mountain. It was impossible to find them, let alone annihilate them. It was simply wishful thinking.
The existence of these small bandits was still very harmful to the merchants. The merchants hated bandits the most. They worked hard to buy some goods, but in the end, they were robbed by bandits. Anyone who encountered such an unlucky thing would not have a good time.
Of course, if they felt that the journey was too far, they could sell it to the merchants in Central Sichuan first. It was just that the price was slightly lower.
A furnace of tungsten weighed a few hundred kilograms. There were more furnaces being built here. If more furnaces were built, it would definitely be able to greatly increase the output of tungsten and thus obtain greater returns.
After some discussion, the patriarchs of the Lang Clan and the Zhan Clan had reached a preliminary agreement. That was, the resources in the Tiankeng belonged to the Zhan Clan. As for the gems in the cave, the two clans would mine them together. The income would be equally divided, and the mining labor provided would also be equally divided. This was the fairest way of distribution they could think of. Ang Lee also supported this.
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