The cheers of the molten iron shook the entire construction site. Almost all the slaves were looking up at the chimneys near the construction site. One of the chimneys had been smoking some time ago. That was the kiln firing pottery. The other chimneys had only been lit in the past few days.
Hearing the cheers, Mao Ada quickly ran out of the carpenters' shed and set up a canopy to look into the distance. Many slaves also put down their work like him, but their moods were very different. Iron was too scarce, and it was too important. A very important part of the history of human civilization was how to get enough iron.
Not to mention the end of the Ming Dynasty, even in the 1980s and 1990s before China's steel production exploded, people who could get some unplanned steel in China were amazing. It was because steel was so important that the Chinese turned it into cabbages.
While Zhou Qingfeng was distressed about how to obtain steel, Mao Ada had always been proud of the two iron tools that he had hidden in his hands, treating them as treasures. However, he did not expect that Herkulun, which could be said to be a barren civilization, could actually produce molten iron. This was practically ruining his livelihood.
Mao Ada was still unhappy when he saw Cai Zhiwei, who had come from Hetuala with his assistant Jin Ge, running up. The two were considered master and disciple, so their relationship was much more harmonious. They set up their easels and began to sketch the smoking chimneys, the cheering slaves, and the tall iron furnace in the distance.
The news of molten iron had already made Mao Ada unhappy. Seeing that Cai Zhiwei was actually going to draw the relevant people and things, he went forward to express his disdain and said, "This is not a beautiful landscape. What's there to draw?"
Cai Zhiwei also smiled bitterly. "The chief said that this is a historic moment and wanted me to draw it for record. I've been drawing this every day recently. The Jianzhou Khan's request for me to draw the chief's portrait has been delayed. "
"That kid really doesn't know what's good for him. The Jianzhou Khan is such a distinguished person, and he dares to neglect him." Mao Ada sneered in a low voice. "I've never heard of him calling himself 'chief'. He must have made it up. Ridiculous! "
Cai Zhiwei grunted a few times but did not answer. He continued to draw. It didn't take long for the news of molten iron to spread to the city of Ekulen, alarming all the people in the city. When Zhou Qingfeng produced pottery, it was already a pleasant surprise. Now that he produced iron, he was even more ecstatic. Division Chief Uța had hurriedly led a large group of people over just to see the rarity of this iron smelting furnace.
In ancient China, the nomadic, fishing, and hunting tribes in the north had put in a lot of effort to obtain iron tools. On the grassland, an iron pot could easily be exchanged for a few women. In Northeast Liaoning, Daoist Masters had to empty their pockets to obtain iron. The Daming Dynasty relied on this blockade of technology and trade to gain a unilateral advantage in national power.
The Kuluns in the city were overjoyed that Zhou Qingfeng was able to create an ironmaking furnace, and they all came to watch. In fact, the technology of this iron smelting furnace was not high. He followed the diagram and built a small blast furnace that was used to smelt steel using the indigenous method. The bricks used to build the furnace were pottery bricks that were fired from the kiln, and their heat resistance was not even up to standard.
In order to obtain high-calorific value firewood, Zhou Qingfeng even built a small coking furnace. In order to break the ore, he had to mobilize hundreds of slaves to smash it with stones. The whole process was full of difficulties and extremely complicated. He learned and tried at the same time, taking a big risk.
But even with this unorthodox technology, the iron smelting furnace made too much noise. Zhou Qingfeng could not hide it, so he could only openly show it to the Daoist barbarians. But he hid some of the craftsmen and apprentices that he had painstakingly trained and kept it a secret, even if the technical level of these people was extremely low.
When Uța rushed over, the iron smelting furnace was burning the second batch of iron ore. The molten iron that was already out of the furnace was poured into the clay mold, waiting for further processing. When he saw the dark red hot iron ingot, he immediately lifted Zhou Qingfeng up high and cheered loudly. A large group of Baylor and Baylor who followed him also shouted excitedly.
Zhou Qingfeng was continuously lifted up and down by Uța. He had a formal smile on his face, but he was cursing in his heart, "Why are you so happy? The iron refined and the craftsmen trained are not for you to use. This is for me. "
As Uța's butler, Old Man Sun also came forward and said happily, "Little Zhou, you're a Baylor now. Uța has just announced to everyone that you're promoted to be the Baylor of Heculun. From today onwards, you can set up your own house. "
Zhou Qingfeng was previously a 'Baylor', which was equivalent to Chu Ying's subordinate. But now, with just a few words from Uța, he had nominally turned him into an independent force. Uța chattered and gave Zhou Qingfeng a lot of benefits. In the end, he borrowed Old Man Sun's mouth to ask him how to divide the iron used to forge the furnace.
"Division Leader, the iron ore is too little." Zhou Qingfeng showed Uța part of the process of iron smelting and took the opportunity to complain, "There are only so many ores in the city. Even if we refine all of them, there won't be many iron ingots. If Division Leader can get the iron ore, I can give half of the iron ingots to Division Leader. As for the rest, as long as someone offers, I'm also willing to sell it. "
Zhou Qingfeng's conditions were good, but the key was still the iron ore. There were no decent iron ores around Heculun. Even if there were, they didn't have the technology to mine them. Uța also understood this. He nodded and replied, "I'll send someone to ask the other tribes. It is said that there are ores in the east and north. They should be willing to exchange with us."
The matter of iron ore was left to Uța to think of a solution. Zhou Qingfeng really had no other way. However, there was another matter that needed Uța's help. He was still not fluent in Manchu, so he asked Old Man Sun to tell Uța on his behalf — I want to exchange some slaves with the Baylor Baylor in the city.
What?
Exchange slaves?
Old Man Sun did not understand for a moment, so he deliberately asked again, "You want to exchange the slaves that you have trained with Uța? That's a big loss! "
One by one, Zhou Qingfeng controlled more than seven hundred slaves. After a month of training, these slaves had been greatly improved in both their physique and mental appearance. Work like building a city had always been hard. It was not surprising that more than half of the one hundred slaves would die. Although the scale of Zhou Qingfeng's small stronghold was not large, it was not an easy task.
However, Zhou Qingfeng tried his best to maintain the death rate of the slaves at a relatively low level. Many of the slaves learned a lot of knowledge in the process of labor. Some of them even became stronger after eating and sleeping well. From Old Man Sun's point of view, the slaves in Zhou Qingfeng's hands could be considered strong, obedient, and sensible. They absolutely couldn't be sold or exchanged.
Zhou Qingfeng did not value these slaves at all. He said with certainty, "I want to exchange about half of the slaves in my hands, those who are working hard on the construction site. There are about three hundred of them, and most of them were sent by Chu Ying. I want to discuss with Uța in private. I want to exchange at least one for two. "
During this time, Chu Ying had been training Uța's troops. It was said that the training was very good. He had previously sent more than four hundred slaves to Zhou Qingfeng. Zhou Qingfeng obviously wanted to do something to these slaves. But when Old Man Sun heard that he wanted to exchange the strong slaves for ordinary slaves, he was very distressed. He hesitated for a while before telling Uța about this.
Uța was also very surprised to hear this request. He did not understand and reached out to grab a slave who was working. He asked in not very fluent Chinese, "Like this, one for three?"
Exchange for three? Old Man Sun obviously increased the price for Zhou Qingfeng.
The slave who was pulled out was about 1.7 meters tall. He had a good physique and looked very honest. In Uța's view, this was a very good slave. He did not need to do too much training to go to war. He did not believe that Zhou Qingfeng would exchange such a good slave.
Looking at Uța's surprised expression, Zhou Qingfeng immediately changed the price. He laughed and said, "This strong one for four." He pulled over a dozen slaves from the construction site, picked out the best ones, and shouted, "These are all one for four, and the weaker ones are one for three. By the way, I don't want those who are too young, and I don't want those who are too old or sick. "
While Zhou Qingfeng was bargaining with Uța, other people in the city also gathered around to ask what was going on. When they heard that Zhou Qingfeng wanted to exchange slaves, they immediately became interested. Zhou Qingfeng had made this lumberyard very lively, and the nobles in the city paid attention to it every day. The fact that he trained the slaves well was also known by everyone.
Most of the more than ten thousand people in Ehekulun were slaves in a personal relationship. They were commodities that could be traded by the nobles at will. But good slaves were a minority. Most of the slaves were struggling on the verge of death. Hearing that Zhou Qingfeng wanted to exchange slaves, someone quickly raised the price and shouted, "one for five, one for six."
Even Uța could not control the lively situation. Soon, more than three hundred places for exchange were all divided. The nobles in the city felt that they were at a great advantage. They immediately ordered their people to bring out their weak, sick, and even dying slaves for exchange.
Zhou Qingfeng was picky about the slaves that were sent to him as if he was picking up garbage. He opened his Third Eye to investigate all the slaves. He rejected some slaves that were really worthless and bargained for those that were worth reforming. In the end, he exchanged more than three hundred strong slaves for more than a thousand ordinary and even sick slaves.
Seeing Zhou Qingfeng's squandering, Old Man Sun beat his chest and scolded him loudly, "I don't want the slaves who can work. What's the use of those who can't work?"
Zhou Qingfeng, on the other hand, laughed heartily and said, "When the original slaves were in my hands, they couldn't work just by looking at them. I could train the original batch well, so why can't I train the current batch well? And most of those slaves were originally Chu Ying and Da Shan's slaves. I only raised them for a month.
Don't think that those who were exchanged today are strong. In fact, those are the ones that I picked out. I need blacksmiths, carpenters, masons, or smart slaves who can learn to understand and be commanded.
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