Chapter 1137: Building a Steam Engine

In the blacksmith shop in the east of Hanzhong City.

The old blacksmith's wife quickly called her eldest and youngest sons over.

"Father!"

As soon as the eldest and second sons arrived, they were ready to listen to the old blacksmith's arrangements.

"Who needs a kitchen knife, iron pot and hoe again?"

The eldest son asked the old blacksmith first.

The most common things these blacksmiths forge are kitchen knives, iron pots and hoes.

The eldest son, who is about to inherit the old blacksmith shop, has become very good at forging kitchen knives, iron pots and hoes.

Especially in the level of forging iron pots, the eldest son is almost catching up with the old blacksmith himself.

"This time it's not just kitchen knives, iron pots and hoes!"

"How could the Marquis of Hanzhong forge these and call us over alone!"

The old blacksmith looked at his well-developed eldest son and couldn't help scolding him.

This eldest son's understanding and skills in blacksmithing are really good, but he is too honest.

It's the opposite of the old blacksmith's youngest son.

The youngest son is average at blacksmithing, and he doesn't like blacksmithing either, and wants to go to school.

It would be perfect if the younger son's intelligence and the older son's strength were combined.

After scolding the older son, the old blacksmith looked at the indifferent younger son and said:

"This is the drawing given by Hanzhong Hou, both of you come and take a look."

After that, the old blacksmith placed the steam engine manufacturing drawing in front of the two.

The older son looked at the dense lines and markings on the drawing and couldn't help scratching his head.

The younger son felt quite interesting after seeing it.

"The mechanism drawn on it, Hanzhong Hou said it is called a steam engine, a mechanism for boiling water."

"Both of you take a closer look and study it."

"If our iron armor shop can be the first to build this steam engine, Hanzhong Hou will reward at least one hundred taels of silver!"

One hundred taels of silver is a huge sum of money at this time.

It is enough for the old blacksmith's family of five to live a whole year with good food and drink.

The older son who was scratching his head and the younger son who was interested in the steam engine on the drawing, both of them widened their eyes when they heard their father mention one hundred taels of silver.

"Father, what kind of steam engine is this? It's so amazing!"

"It's worth the reward of one hundred taels of silver from the Marquis of Hanzhong!"

The eldest son felt more complicated about the steam engine on the blueprint.

Compared with kitchen knives, iron pots and hoes, the complexity of the steam engine was in the eyes of the old blacksmith's eldest son.

It was like a three-year-old child reading the Four Books and Five Classics.

After hearing the shock of his eldest son, the old blacksmith couldn't help but say:

"That requires our blacksmith shop to be the first to build the steam engine on the blueprint!"

"This hundred taels of silver is not so easy to get."

"This time, all the blacksmiths who opened blacksmith shops in Hanzhong City got the blueprint of the steam engine from the Marquis of Hanzhong!"

This is why the old blacksmith asked his wife to call his two sons over as soon as he returned to the blacksmith shop.

Now for them, time is the most precious thing, worth one hundred taels!

After hearing what his father said, the youngest son felt more challenging.

This is much more interesting than making kitchen knives, iron pots and hoes.

Not only is it interesting, but there is also one hundred taels of silver to get.

The youngest son felt that he was getting excited, and ironwork became more interesting.

"Father, the difficulty of this steam engine should be in various complex shapes and this chamber!"

The youngest son, who had been studying the steam engine drawings and kept silent, finally spoke to the old blacksmith.

The old blacksmith was delighted when he heard this.

He had known that his youngest son was smart.

So he had always wanted his youngest son to inherit his blacksmith shop, and the eldest son could be his helper.

It was a pity that the youngest son had no interest in ironwork.

What ironwork skills, the youngest son learned in a few days.

Now after hearing the youngest son's analysis, the old blacksmith said excitedly:

"See the door? Then how to solve this problem?"

After hearing his father's inquiry, the youngest son looked through the steam engine drawings again.

After this steam engine was manufactured, it was as big as a table.

If it was forged, it might take a year and a half.

So the youngest son was thinking at this time whether the steam engine could be cast.

"Father, I think it's difficult to forge this steam engine, and it takes too long."

"With the strength of the three of us, it may not be completed in half a year."

"So I thought of a way, that is casting!"

After the youngest son finished speaking, the old blacksmith couldn't help nodding.

After seeing the drawings of the steam engine, the old blacksmith's first reaction was also casting.

The old blacksmith was very pleased that the youngest son could think of casting in a short time.

However, compared with forging, casting has more obvious advantages and disadvantages.

Forging is to use hammering to change the shape and size of the red-hot iron bars by continuous beating.

Then change its hardness and other different characteristics through quenching.

Kitchen knives and hoes are basically forged, and blacksmiths have a wealth of forging methods and experience.

Casting is to melt the steel and pour it into a pre-prepared mold.

Then after cooling and solidification, clean up to obtain a workpiece with the same shape as the mold.

But casting requires that the mold cannot have problems.

Also, when pouring molten iron into the mold, you must control the speed and measure.

Otherwise, the workpiece will be full of bubbles and cracks after cooling.

"Yes, you and your father have the same idea!"

"But such a large steam engine, and the internal structure is a bit complicated."

"It's not easy to cast the same object as the drawing!"

The old blacksmith, like the eldest son, touched his gray hair and said with some embarrassment.

"Father, no matter how difficult it is to cast, we don't have a better way at the moment."

The youngest son took his eyes off the steam engine drawing and looked at the old blacksmith helplessly.

However, it is precisely this kind of difficult and challenging thing that can arouse the interest and desire of the youngest son to study.

After hearing this, the old blacksmith had to nod and admit that what the youngest son said was indeed the truth.

The eldest son watched his father and brother discussing what method to use to build a steam engine.

He felt it was really complicated.

"No matter what method you use, leave the hard work to me! Hahaha!"

Since it's too complicated, let's not think about it. The eldest son smiled at his father and brother.

Just like the blacksmith shop in the east of the city.

Other blacksmith shops in Hanzhong City are also determining what method to use to build this steam engine.

In the end, the blacksmiths all adopted the casting method.