Chapter 216

In the ironworks, Paul, Burns, Conrad and others looked at a red-hot sword blank on the workbench in silence.

The blacksmith Herman picked up a hammer and hit the sword blank hard.

After a sound of metal breaking, the sword blank turned into pieces.

Paul and Conrad's hearts were also broken.

Herman said helplessly: "Lord, this is it. The cast sword blank cannot be forged at all. It will break with a little force."

"Why? Why is it like this?"

Paul couldn't believe it. How could the iron he worked so hard to make become scrap iron?

"Herman, could it be that your skills are not up to par?"

"Lord Earl, I have been forging iron for more than ten years. Most of the swords in the lord's mansion are made by me."

Which step was wrong? Paul was a little anxious. He paced back and forth in the room, thinking about every process in ironmaking.

At this time, Conrad said: "My Lord, could it be because there are too many impurities in the pig iron?"

"Impurities?"

"Yes, after all, we use your newly invented 'coke' to smelt iron, maybe... there are some things in it that are different from the charcoal we used before, and then mixed into the molten iron?"

"Oh! Conrad, you are really a genius, you hit the nail on the head."

After Conrad said this, Paul remembered a piece of information he had read before, which said that pig iron smelted with coke is not suitable for transformation into wrought iron, because coke will bring impurities to the iron, making the wrought iron brittle and breaking when forging.

At the same time, he also remembered the solution to this problem - stirring method.

To use this method, first build a remelting furnace (reverberatory furnace), and then use the remelting furnace to melt the pig iron. This kind of furnace can directly use raw coal as fuel, and the iron will not directly contact the raw coal used as fuel, so the impurities in the coal will not have a harmful effect on the metal.

After the pig iron is remelted in the reverberatory furnace, the molten iron is continuously stirred on the furnace bed with a stirrer, and the molten iron is decarbonized by the circulating air in the furnace until it becomes malleable wrought iron. In this process, the impurities in the wrought iron generated are greatly reduced because the contact between the metal and the fuel is avoided.

Paul expressed his ideas. Although he didn't understand what decarbonization was, everyone thought that the Earl's method was worth a try.

So the craftsmen in the ironworks built a remelting furnace as quickly as Paul's shooting, melted and stirred the previous scrap iron, and after several days of experiments and process improvements, they finally produced wrought iron that Herman, the old blacksmith, recognized.

Paul also breathed a sigh of relief. If this level could not be passed, the previous investment would be all in vain.

Under his instructions, the 51st District Arsenal began to try to use iron to cast cannons, because iron is cheaper than copper. Once the iron cannon is successfully developed, it will greatly reduce the cost of cannons and increase the number of cannons in the Alda army.

...

As time went by, the old year was finally coming to an end, and the people in Lake Heart Town began to prepare for the New Year celebration, but some were happy and some were sad.

Little Princess Irene lay on the windowsill, staring blankly at the heavy snow outside the house.

Leah, who had just returned home from get off work - she found a job as a teacher at Weiss College, saw her like this and asked in a low voice: "Miss, are you homesick?"

"Homesick? Humph! I'm not, this is my home."

Liya sighed, she knew the little princess was just being strong-willed.

"Your Highness, how about... we go back to Jingyao?"

"Go back to Jingyao? Liya, do you want me to surrender to my father? No, I, Irene Rodney, will never make any compromises."

"Then let's send a letter to Jingyao to let them know that we are safe?"

"Send a letter? Do you want them to come to Northwest Bay to catch me?"

Liya thought to herself, it seems that the princess's resentment has not subsided, so it's better not to offend her.

So she quietly went to prepare dinner.

Irene looked at the female guard walking towards the kitchen, and felt that what she said just now was a bit harsh, and she felt guilty.

Her heart was very complicated now. On the one hand, she still had resentment, and she was afraid that her father would take her back for political marriage. On the other hand, she really missed her relatives, her sister, her mother, everyone she knew in Jingyao, and even her father who was still resentful, especially during the important days from Advent Day to New Year.

"Ah... It's really annoying!"

Irene was a little crazy.

Just when the little princess was worried, she didn't know that many eyes were staring at her.

In a house across the street, two figures were talking.

No mistakes, one post, one content, one book, one forum, one 6, one 9!

"We've finished the inspection, and there's nothing unusual around!"

"Thank you for your hard work!"

"Alas, the little princess's disturbance has made it difficult for us to celebrate the holidays."

"What are you talking about? Protecting the safety of the royal family is our basic duty. Even if the princess is in the capital, shouldn't we be careful during the holidays?"

"That's true, but I still want to do something more exciting, such as going undercover in the rebels to spy on the enemy, rather than taking care of runaway children all day long."

"If you say that again, I'll report you. We should do whatever we are told to do, don't be picky."

"Okay, okay, I got it. By the way, we have to be more careful in the future. Today, I was interrogated by the "police" here for a long time. Fortunately, I was quick-witted and good at fighting, so I didn't ask any questions."

"It seems that Earl Graman is paying more and more attention to the security of the territory. This is a good thing. The better the security, the safer the princess will be. There is nothing wrong with our identity, and nothing will happen for a while. Besides, we didn't spy on the secrets of the lord's family's industries and his military affairs. We are not afraid of being criticized."

"But I'm afraid of being caught as a stalker and a peeping Tom."

"Shut up, this isn't it? Have you been discovered?"

"Speaking of which, the changes here are really big! I heard from the locals that half a year ago, this place was a place where rabbits didn't shit."

"Oh, this is all thanks to that young lord. I have also heard a lot about his deeds."

"What an amazing guy, even the princess of the kingdom is willing to work for him."

"The things he tinkered with are really attractive. If I were a scholar, I would also like to get close to him. Have you been to the so-called "open class" at Weiss College? That microscope, my God, it's amazing!"

"Oh, don't say it. I feel sick when I think of those little bugs."