After sending off the Black Mamba, Ouyang Shuo returned to the Manor.
After returning from the capital, Song Jia had already returned to the Eastern Fence Sword Sect. The huge Marquis Mansion was empty.
On the other hand, Bing'er had already finished school. The little girl had been obedient for half a year, and she could finally relax. At this time, who knew where she had run off to with Little Black and Little White?
Now that the little lass had her own ideas, she wouldn't stick to her older brother all the time.
After drinking some wine, Ouyang Shuo felt a little dizzy, so he went back to his study and took a nap.
In the afternoon, Ouyang Shuo brought two guards to the No.7 Research Institute.
Seeing that it was almost the end of the year, Ouyang Shuo also wanted to know what the 7th Research Institute had achieved in the past six months. Ouyang Shuo basically did not interfere with the daily work of the research institute.
The 7th Research Institute in the East District was a small building made of stone, its architectural style somewhat similar to the alchemy workshop next to it. There was also a large open space behind the research institute, used for all kinds of experiments.
Sun Xiaoyue's grandfather, Elder Sun, spent most of his time at the North Sea Shipyard. The research institute was usually managed by the alchemist Magnus and the firearms grandmaster Liu Mo. Currently, their main focus was on steelmaking technology.
The work of the research institute clearly caused Magnus to be very excited. Upon seeing Ouyang Shuo, he said warmly, "Oh, your Lordship, welcome, welcome!" As he spoke, he moved to embrace Ouyang Shuo.
The personal guard behind Ouyang Shuo immediately stepped forward with his left hand on his saber and assumed a defensive stance.
Magnus, seeing this, let out an embarrassed laugh. The current Ouyang Shuo was no longer the young lord of the past.
"Is Liu Mo around?" Ouyang Shuo hadn't seen his sworn brother for a long time.
Magnus was, after all, a Westerner with a cheerful personality. Faced with the awkward situation just now, he just laughed it off and said, "Liu is at the testing grounds, testing a newly developed steelmaking technology."
"Oh? Has the steelmaking technology taken shape? "Ouyang Shuo was overjoyed.
"Of course!" Magnus was rather smug.
"Come, let's go take a look!" Ouyang Shuo was slightly impatient.
China's ancient steelmaking technology began in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods. There were two main methods: carburizing and decarbonizing. With the increase in demand for steel products, the wrought iron smelting method and pig iron decarburization method could not meet the requirements. In the later period of the Western Han Dynasty, the technique of "frying steel" appeared. The invention of the stir-frying technology allowed the steel to enter a mature stage.
The blacksmith would heat up the fine iron and forge it over a hundred times. With each forging, the blacksmith would weigh and lighten, until the weight of the iron would not decrease, and it would become steel that had been tempered a hundred times. The Wei-Jin Dynasty was the golden age of the Hundred Tempered Steel technology.
During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, there was another breakthrough in steelmaking technology, and the "steel filling" smelting method was invented.
The steel pouring method used both pig iron and wrought iron at the same time. The pig iron had a high carbon content and a lower melting point than the wrought iron. The two raw materials were combined and heated together. The dissolved pig iron was poured into the gaps of the loose wrought iron as a carburizing agent, increasing the carbon content of the wrought iron and turning it into steel.
During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the steel pouring method was greatly promoted and applied.
During the Song and Ming Dynasties, with the development of cold forging technology and quenching technology, the types and properties of steel were further improved. At that time, steelmaking technology was the most advanced in the world.
Unfortunately, after the Qing Dynasty, due to the Qing Dynasty's seclusion, China's steel-making technology stagnated and did not make any breakthroughs. In the end, it was overtaken by the Western countries, ushering in a period of humiliating history.
What the 7th Research Institute restored was the steel pouring method of the Sui and Tang Dynasties.
As a firearms expert, Liu Mo knew China's ancient steelmaking technology like the back of his hand. In addition, there were books that recorded all kinds of steelmaking technology, such as "Dream Creek Writings" and "Heavenly Works".
Even so, restoring the steel pouring method was a bumpy road.
The 7th Research Institute spent half a year, and after repeated trials and experiments, they finally managed to develop the steel pouring method. Otherwise, why would the technique manual be so precious? If there was a ready-made "Steel Pouring Technique Manual", there would be no need to painstakingly experiment and they would be able to directly grasp the ratio and heat control.
In the backyard, there was a huge smelting furnace, and there was a complete set of supporting facilities around it.
Liu Mo was busy in front of the smelting furnace, instructing the craftsmen on how to control the heat.
When they saw Ouyang Shuo, the craftsmen all bowed: "Greetings Marquis!"
Ouyang Shuo waved his hand, indicating for them to continue working.
"Big Brother Liu!" Ouyang Shuo called out to Liu Mo.
As the territory grew stronger day by day, Liu Mo and the other players' attitude towards Ouyang Shuo also subtly changed. Although they weren't as respectful to Ouyang Shuo as the natives, at least they weren't as casual as they were in the beginning.
Liu Mo was just a technical maniac, and he didn't care about these red tape.
The two of them chatted in the backyard.
According to Liu Mo, restoring the steel pouring method was only the first step.
Next, Liu Mo was prepared to make a further breakthrough on the basis of the steel pouring method, so that the territory's steelmaking technology could catch up to the level of western countries.
One of them was the choice of fuel.
In ancient times, charcoal was used as fuel, and they didn't use solvents that contained phosphorus. Therefore, the phosphorus content in ancient pig iron was very low. The temperature of the cast iron furnace used in ancient times wasn't high enough to fully melt iron.
Liu Mo wanted to use coal to replace charcoal.
Ouyang Shuo frowned, and he seemed to be in a difficult position. China's coal mines were mainly distributed in Mongolia and Hedong provinces, and there were no coal mines in Lianzhou Basin.
Feng Qiuhuang's Luofeng County was located in Hedong.
It seemed that he had to find time to discuss this with Feng Qiuhuang, Ouyang Shuo thought.
"I will think of a way to solve the problem of coal. Brother Liu, don't worry!"
"Alright!" Liu Mo was overjoyed.
Since the steelmaking technology had already taken shape, Ouyang Shuo immediately decided to build a large steel mill in Shanhai City to satisfy the territory's demand for steel.
Ouyang Shuo handed the location and construction of the steel mill to Liu Mo.
After returning to the Marquis's Mansion, Ouyang Shuo immediately sent a letter to Feng Qiuhuang to discuss the coal trade between the territories.
Ouyang Shuo wanted the Bank of the Four Seas to invest in a large coal mine in Luofeng County, and the mined coal would be used to supply Shanhai City's demand for coal.
Of course, the prerequisite was that they had to find a 'Coal Mining Technical Manual'. Otherwise, everything would be in vain.
In ancient China, coal was known as black stone, and it wasn't widely used. It would take a lot of effort to find such a technical manual.
Ouyang Shuo entrusted Hequan Ji Chamber of Commerce and Cui Clan Chamber of Commerce to help him search.
Mulan County, Lord's Mansion.
After New Year's Day, the weather in Lianzhou Basin started to turn cold, and the bustle died down.
Looking at the bleak scenery outside the window, Mu Lanyue was in a daze. After returning from the capital, Mu Lanyue had a lot on her mind, and she would stare blankly outside the window from time to time.
Those who didn't know better would think that she was in love.
Li Feixue stood behind Mu Lanyue, twirling a dagger in her hand. The dagger was very exquisite, and Mu Lanyue had bought it for her in the capital.
After the Battle of the Southern Fortress, Li Feixue joined Mulan County. At first, her father's death made Li Feixue depressed for a period of time. It was Mu Lanyue who took good care of her and treated her like a younger sister that allowed her to walk out of the shadow and start a new life. Hence, she was very dependent on Mu Lanyue.
Under her insistence, she became Mu Lanyue's personal guard.
Although Li Feixue was just a little girl, her martial arts skills were not to be underestimated. With her personal protection, Mu Lanyue's safety was guaranteed. Mu Guiying now spent most of her time in the military camp.
Unexpectedly, without Mu Guiying's company, Mu Lanyue became much more independent. She became less dependent and more resolute. Her radiance also started to shine in the territory.
Back then, she was still a young girl, but now, she was handling the affairs of the territory well.
Managing an entire county was indeed quite a challenge for Mulan Yue.
Fortunately, Mu Lanyue was born with the talent to develop the territory's economy. Coupled with her unyielding character, she stumbled along the way and managed Mulan County well.
Otherwise, Mu Lanyue wouldn't have become one of the three powerhouses of Lianzhou Basin in her previous life. She wouldn't have been at a disadvantage when fighting against the two vicious wolves, Ba Dao and Dawn Wind Waning Moon.
Mu Lanyue's strength was that she was good at learning from others.
Inspired by Shanhai City's vigorous development of special industries, Mu Lanyue promoted the cultivation of rapeseed in her territory. She set her sights on the oil in the "daily necessities".
As expected, rapeseed oil was very popular, and it brought great returns to Mulan County.
Not only that, Mu Lanyue also introduced Shanhai City's colorful silkworm breeding industry, which was quite impressive.
Mulan County's economic strength was also ranked among the top in the Shanhai Alliance.
In terms of government affairs, Mu Lanyue copied the structure of Shanhai City.
Dealing with government affairs was her weakness.
Under the influence of Gaia, the NPCs spawned by the system were not as old-fashioned as the ancient people. However, they still had some doubts about Mu Lanyue, a young lord.
This was also the reason why it was difficult for a female lord to stand out.
Mu Lanyue wasn't like Feng Qiuhuang and Bai Hua, who had a group of people to assist her. She lacked experience, so she could only follow suit when dealing with government affairs.
Most of the government affairs were handled by her subordinates.
Mu Lanyue snapped out of her daze and said, "Feixue, go and call Big Sister Mu over."
"Yes!" Li Feixue responded crisply. She put away her dagger and jogged out, her pigtails swaying back and forth, making her look more playful.
Not long after, Mu Guiying rushed over.
"Big Sister, I think it's time to incorporate Mulan County into Big Brother Wuyi's territory." Mu Lanyue's words were shocking. This was also a question she had been thinking about, and she had clearly come to a conclusion.
Mu Guiying fell silent. She knew that although Mu Lanyue looked weak and innocent, she was actually a girl with a mind of her own. Once she made up her mind, it would be difficult to change it.
"Okay, then let's go to Shanhai City."
"Big Sister, you agree?" Mu Lanyue said happily.
"Of course I support you!" Mu Guiying said happily. Seeing Mu Lanyue's growth was also a kind of comfort for her. (。)
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