Chapter 226 An Unexpected Visit

I see.

Xia Fan immediately understood the other party's method of distinguishing steel - judging toughness and hardness by bending plasticity and chiseling with a steel chisel. Pig iron is easy to break, while wrought iron is too soft. Only the characteristics of steel can meet these two points at the same time, which is both tough and strong.

Under the condition that the carbon content cannot be determined, the experience of the blacksmith is the most reliable criterion for judgment.

"All the iron in Jinxia City was refined at once. If this news spreads to the Ministry of Industry, those old guys will definitely be scared to drop their jaws." Mo Yun was also quite excited. She has been specialized in machinery manufacturing for more than ten years and naturally knows the meaning behind mass production.

"I think their first reaction is to refuse to believe it and think we are deliberately cheating."

Ning Wanjun replied with a smile.

She was also very happy, but the reason for her happiness was slightly different. In addition to the fact that her own territory can produce a large amount of steel, another point is that she is proud of her old friend. After all, being able to come up with a plan in front of the listener and get the other party's approval is probably a rare existence in Daqi. Before the mechanical beasts were mass-produced, this furnace could be regarded as the first official achievement of Mo Yun after coming to Jinxia City, and she would naturally be delighted by it.

Only Xia Fan was the calmest.

In his opinion, whether this batch of molten iron could be regarded as steel was completely unknown, and there was no guarantee that the same result would be obtained by smelting the second furnace in the same way.

After all, its quality depends entirely on the existing pig iron and wrought iron ingots, and it is not surprising that the carbon content fluctuates greatly. In addition, no impurities were removed during the entire smelting process, and the quality of the finished product was still far from Xia Fan's ideal "steel".

Fortunately, this is just the beginning.

As he had imagined before, this batch of crude steel of varying quality will become the starting point for the rapid development of smelting technology. Based on more professional and reliable equipment, it is only a matter of time to produce steel with controllable quality and superior performance.

As the stone molds are constantly being delivered, Mo Yun has begun to select the best quality batch of raw steel for his new mechanical manufacturing bureau.

Looking at the other party's concentration and enjoyment, Xia Fan always felt that she was not picking hot steel, but browsing the commercial street where new products were put on the shelves. At the same time, he couldn't help but sigh - it turned out that the woman with a cold expression and sharp eyebrows and deep eyes would also show such an expression.

At this time, a guard walked to Ning Wanjun's side, "Your Highness, there is a visitor who claims to be the new governor of Jinxia who wants to meet you. His name is Hong Siqi, and he has all the documents, appointment and dismissal orders, etc."

Hearing this, the princess couldn't help but frowned, "Have you given it to Eunuch Li for inspection?"

"Yes, it has been confirmed that it is not a forgery."

Xia Fan saw that Ning Wanjun's eyes showed obvious impatience and boredom.

He even suspected that it was not impossible for the other party to say something like "Catch this man and put him in jail, just pretend he has never been here" the next moment.

But she finally restrained her emotions and replied in a deep voice, "Bring him here."

"Yes." The guard took the order and left.

"What was supposed to come finally came." Ning Wanjun sighed somewhat disappointedly, "Although I know that the court will not let Jinxia City become a blank area without anyone's jurisdiction, but they sent people here so quickly. It can only be said that there are too many officials in the Ministry of Personnel who have nothing to do."

Xia Fan understood the princess's feelings at the moment very well - after finally removing the obstacles and obtaining the complete Jinxia City, she was now being interfered by the court. Even if the other party failed in the end, the process was quite disgusting.

"Isn't this something that has been expected for a long time?" He comforted in a relaxed tone, "The General Affairs Bureau was established for this situation. Your decision is correct. If you arrest him or keep him away, the Ministry of Personnel will definitely notice it. It is better to put him in the government office, which will not be a pretext."

"You are right," the princess nodded, "This city no longer belongs to the court."

...

"Your Highness, if you have any instructions, I will do my best and never refuse!" Hong Siqi said loudly after paying his respects, not caring about the eyes of the people around him, "If you think your ability is still in doubt, I am willing to prove myself through the training of the reserve officer of the General Affairs Bureau!"

Xia Fan and Ning Wanjun looked at each other.

The two imagined many situations, but they didn't expect this one.

The new governor immediately expressed his attitude after introducing himself. He didn't mean that "Jinxia City should be managed by the government", let alone his dissatisfaction and resistance to the Affairs Bureau.

When they reached the position of prefect, most officials had begun to pay attention to their words and deeds. Even in front of the royal family, they would not be too servile, fearing that they would leave an impression of lack of character in the eyes of others. Even if they surrendered to the superior, they had to find a private environment and be subtle before revealing their true feelings.

Hong Siqi seemed to have no such concerns at all.

Such a straightforward declaration of service made the princess not know how to respond for a while.

While the two were silent, Hong Siqi was also quietly looking at the two people... and the scene on the beach.

Not to mention Princess Guangping and the Minister of the Privy Council, the common feature is that they are young, but he had inquired about it before submitting the visiting card, so he was not too surprised.

The furnace on the beach was more eye-catching.

He noticed that red liquid was constantly flowing out from the bottom of the furnace, which must be smelting some kind of metal. After so many years as an official, he has seen what a smelting site looks like: not only is it smoky, but there are shirtless charcoal burners everywhere, and there are many small stoves standing all over the ground like tree roots.

This was the first time Hong Siqi had seen such a giant furnace.

More importantly, he didn't see the black smoke rising from the charcoal burning at the scene, but the metal flowed out in an endless stream. It was completely unclear how they could smelt so much ore at the same time and still maintain it. The inside of the furnace is hot.

But he was certain of one thing.

From today on, Yancheng will produce more than just salt.

Hong Siqi vaguely realized that all the differences he saw had a common cause - past experience could only play a minimal role in this city. What he saw in front of him confirmed that After making his own decision, if he was not more decisive, he might not even have the chance to meet the princess.

Who to work for is not a question he needs to struggle with.

The key is how to get more benefit from it.

What do you think?

Ning Wanjun asked Xia Fan with her eyes.

Xia Fan nodded his chin slightly.

The princess immediately understood what he was thinking, turned to the new prefect and said, "Master Hong, the government suffered too much losses in the last disaster, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to recover for a long time. If you are asked to work with the governor, will you? I would have wronged you too much——"

"Not aggrieved, not aggrieved at all. Only the capital of a state has a privy council house. The prime minister is essentially the same as a state shepherd. How could I feel aggrieved?" Hong Siqi raised his hands directly to Xia Fan and said, "Master Xia, Please take care of me more in the future.”

"Each other, each other." Xia Fan cupped his hands in return.

"I saw that there were many people in front of the Secretariat, and the receptionists were overwhelmed. I guess the manpower in the mansion must be quite tight." He did not regard himself as an outsider and said, "If there is anything I can do to help, please feel free to ask "

Xia Fan pondered for a moment, "Actually, there is something really urgent, but I can't find anyone to do it for the time being."

"Oh? I'd like to hear the details."

"I heard that Leizhou seemed to have suffered a military disaster. A large number of people fled eastward. Some of them have already crossed the border of Shenzhou. If no one takes them in, they will probably reach the vicinity of Jinxia City soon."

"You want me to drive away those refugees?" Hong Siqi said without hesitation, "Don't worry, I have quite a lot of experience in this -"

"No." Xia Fan interrupted him in a solemn voice, "I hope you can assist the Secretariat in taking them in and settling them properly."

Come to 2077 and be happy~~~