Chapter 2812 2814【Great development of science and technology】

   "Father, this is the newly produced steel from Tiangongfang." Xiang Nan presented the best steel from Tiangongfang to Li Xi as if offering a treasure.

   Li Xi was taken aback for a moment, took it over, observed it carefully, and kept nodding.

  Such a luster, such a material, such a weight, such a sound, it is undoubtedly good steel.

   "Is this really steel from Tiangongfang?" Li Wei asked suspiciously.

   "That's right." Xiang Nan nodded and said, "Moreover, the output of one batch can reach a thousand catties, and six batches can be produced in one day."

   "Six thousand catties of steel a day?" Li Xi nearly popped his eyes out when he heard that.

  Before this, due to the backward technology, the production of Fengchao Iron and Steel was extremely low, and it was only 10,000 to 20,000 catties a year. Now Xiangnan's Tiangong workshop can produce six thousand catties a day.

  The output in two days is comparable to the output in the past year. This is simply going against the sky!

  As an emperor who once fought on the battlefield, he naturally knows how valuable weapons made of good steel are.

   It is not an exaggeration to say that those weapons made of pig iron will break if cut by a steel knife. There is such an idiom as "cut iron like mud".

  If all the weapons of the soldiers of the Rich Dynasty were replaced with steel, when the time came, when they fought with those foreigners, their weapons would be broken and they would become bare-handed.

   At that time, even if they have an army of one hundred thousand, they will be nothing more than a hundred thousand lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

   "Is there really such a high output?" Li Xi couldn't believe it.

   "Really." Xiang Nan nodded, "If Father is interested, you can visit the workshop in person."

   "Okay, okay, okay." Li Xi nodded, and then ordered Cao Ji to drive.

  …

   Soon, Li Xi came to Tiangongfang.

  Since Tiangongfang was founded, it was the first time for him to come here.

  At first, I thought that this was just Xiang Nan's idleness and fun.

  After arriving, he was surprised to find that Xiang Nan's Tiangong Workshop was so big.

  It covers an area of ​​10,000 mu. There are many houses, people flow, and the noise is abnormal.

"Father, please look, this is the coke workshop, this is the glass workshop, this is the lime workshop, this is the liquor workshop, this is the frosting workshop..." Xiang Nan introduced one by one, "in front is the steelmaking workshop. Square."

   "Coke?!" Li Wei was puzzled.

"Father, steelmaking requires extremely high temperatures, firewood is not hot enough, and charcoal is too expensive, so I use coke." Xiang Nan introduced, "After the coal is processed, it will become coke, which can It provides extremely high temperature, which is used for steelmaking."

  Li Xi nodded, "What does the glass workshop do?"

  Ancient glass was called medicine jade, water jade, Guan jade, Poli and so on. The name glass did not become popular until the Song Dynasty.

  Xiang Nan smiled and ordered someone to fetch a piece of glass.

  Li Xi took a look, but was slightly taken aback, "Isn't this a crystal?"

  I saw that the piece of glass was crystal clear and cool to the touch. No matter whether you looked at it or touched it, it was definitely crystal.

   "Father, glass is man-made, and crystal is natural." Xiang Nan laughed, "Come and see."

  Li Xi went into the workshop and took a look. Sure enough, he saw molten glass flowing out of the furnace. After cooling, it became a large piece of glass, which made him exclaim in wonder.

   Moreover, crystals were quite valuable and rare in ancient times. In folklore, the palace where the Dragon King of the East China Sea lives is called the Crystal Palace. Using crystal as a palace is extremely rich.

  Now Xiang Nan can produce crystals. To use the description of making daily progress and fighting for gold, it is not enough, it is like sitting on a gold mine.

  …

   Just when Li Bi was amazed, he heard an earth-shattering cry, which made Li Zhen startled suddenly.

   "Father, the steel is about to be released, let's go and see it." Xiang Nan laughed.

  As soon as Li Xi heard it, he immediately followed.

  When we arrived at the steelmaking workshop, there was a wave of heat in front of us, which almost sent Li Xi into a tumble.

   Then he saw billowing molten iron pouring out from the bottom of the blast furnace, pouring it into the mold, and after cooling, it became pieces of steel ingots.

  Looking at these steel ingots just out of the oven, they were exactly the same as what Xiang Nan offered just now, and finally believed that such good steel was smelted by his son.

   "It's a gift from God!" Li Xi couldn't help admiring, "I have such good steel in the rich dynasty, why should I be afraid of those barbarians!"

   "Yes, father." Xiang Nan nodded.

   The industrial level of the surrounding countries of Toyocho varies from high to low, but none surpass Toyocho. Especially steelmaking technology, which was even more high-tech in ancient times, was basically not mastered by those countries.

  Even the Turks, who started out as iron smelters, begged for 3,000 pieces of farm tools and tens of thousands of catties of iron after submitting to the Tang Dynasty. It can be seen that their iron production and smelting technology are still far behind that of the Tang Dynasty.

  The toughness, strength, durability and corrosion resistance of steel are much better than iron. Therefore, if there is a war, the soldiers of the rich dynasty with steel weapons can beat those foreigners with iron weapons to pieces.

   "Yin'er, well done." Li Xi praised again.

  He originally thought that his son was running around in this workshop because he was not doing his job properly. Only now do I know that what he is doing is the real business.

   "Thank you, Father." Xiang Nan bowed and said, "It is the duty of the sons and ministers to solve the problems of the father."

   "Well said." Li Xi laughed.

  It is really not easy for the Tian family father and son to achieve this step.

  …

   Time flies, half a year has passed.

  Qu Xiaofeng and Zhao Sese were pregnant one after another.

   This also made Emperor Li Zhen and Empress Zhang Meiniang very happy.

  For the royal family, offspring are very important. Only when the population is prosperous and the number of sons and blessings is high can the dynasty last forever.

  In the past six months, Xiang Nan's Tiangong Workshop has become more and more prosperous.

  In addition to producing steel, it also produces glass products, such as glass mirrors, glass statues, and glass tea sets. There are also spirits, lime, soap, white sugar, high-end porcelain, etc., each of which was very popular after being launched.

  Especially glass mirrors and glass statues, which became very popular in Beijing after their launch.

  Bronze mirrors were often used in ancient China. Although bronze mirrors can also illuminate people, compared with glass mirrors, they are much blurred and hazy, which is why it is called "mirror flowers and water moon".

   Therefore, as soon as the brighter and more realistic glass mirrors came out, they were quickly sought after by princes and nobles, and almost everyone was proud of owning a glass mirror.

   As for the glass statues, it is even more fun.

  Those glass statues are all blown out with dies, and the process is very simple.

  But outsiders don't know that glass is man-made, and think that those statues are carved from crystal, so they are naturally willing to spend a lot of money to buy them.

  A glass Buddha statue costs no more than a hundred and ten renminbi, but the selling price can reach a thousand taels of silver, which is tens of thousands of times the profit. Even so, the supply exceeds the demand, it's like digging a gold mine.

  Relying on glass, soap, icing, porcelain and other products, Tiangongfang made a lot of money, which further supported the next research and development. Such as steam engines, hydraulic lathes, smoothbore guns, rifled guns, smokeless gunpowder and so on.

  (end of this chapter)