Steel Dynasty - Chapter 559

[Chapter 559 Furnace lining materials]

It was very quiet in the study.

After a while, Xiao Ming had completed the drawings, and then suddenly there was a sound of footsteps outside the study.

“Your Highness, the old slave is back.”

Hearing this voice, Xiao Ming brought a smile to his lips. The person who came was none other than Qian Dafu.

This time Xiao Ming suddenly remembered that the converter steelmaking method was not a whim. The most important thing was that Qian Dafu discovered a magnesite mine in Fengguo, and this ore was the material needed for alkaline furnace lining.

In 1856, the Englishman Besmer invented the bottom-blown acid converter steelmaking method. This method was the beginning of modern steelmaking. It produced a large amount of cheap steel for Europe and further promoted the industrial revolution in Europe.

However, because this method cannot remove sulfur and phosphorus, its development has been limited. In 1879, the Thomas bottom-blown alkaline converter steelmaking method appeared in Europe. This method used a converter with an alkaline lining to process high-phosphorus pig iron. The quality of steel is further improved.

Because of the lessons learned from the past, Xiao Ming transitioned from acidic furnace lining to alkaline furnace lining. In the past, he did not introduce the converter steelmaking method because of material limitations. But now that magnesite ore has been found, the material of the furnace lining will not be a problem.

“Come in.” Xiao Ming said.

At this time, the door of the study room was pushed open, and Qian Dafu walked in with a dusty look on his face. With a smile on his face, he reached out and took a stone from his arms and said to Xiao Ming: “Your Highness, this is the magnesite mine.”

Xiao Ming Nodding, the ore in Qian Dafu’s hand was square, with a very smooth surface, somewhat similar to salt crystals, but Xiao Ming recognized it as magnesite at a glance.

“You can’t be wrong, this is magnesite.” Xiao Ming grinned and said, “Now your prospecting team is becoming more and more sophisticated, and the harvest in Laizhou during this period has been good.”

Qian Dafu’s expression now changed He was a little dark, and showed his white teeth when he smiled, and he said: “Your Highness, you can’t make a fool of yourself, but Laizhou is really a treasure land. Not only the Lingmei Mine, but also many gold and silver mines have been found. We’ll wait for you below. “The gold and silver mines are not moving for the time being. The magnesite needs to be moved. At least some must be collected for use. The world is in chaos now. Even if you have money, you can’t buy anything.

Bartering

is the right way. .” Xiao Ming said thoughtfully.

Just as Qian Dafu said, Laizhou is indeed a treasure. Not only does the reserve of gold mines rank first in the country, but the reserves of magnesite are also second in the country. The discovery of magnesite was also an accident while looking for gold and silver mines. found.

“Yes, Your Highness, I will arrange this after I return.” Qian Dafu said.

In the past three years, Qian Dafu has gone through a lot of hardships from an old housekeeper to a master of minerals. It was precisely because of his hard work that Xiao Ming got through the most difficult period at the beginning.

During this time, the prospecting team has become more and more mature. After thinking about it, he decided not to let Qian Dafu go to the mine himself. After all, Qian Dafu is now in his fifties.

After pondering for a while, he said: “Dafu, when you come back this time, please stop running around with the prospecting team. I have established the Minerals Department in Qingzhou. From now on, you will be in charge of the Minerals Department and manage the minerals in the country.” Just show up.”

“Your Highness, did I do something wrong?” Qian Dafu looked frightened.

Shaking his head with a wry smile, Xiao Ming said: “Where did you want to go? It’s just that you are old now, and there is no one around you who can talk to my mother and concubine when she comes back from Chang’an this time. You have served my mother and concubine for more than ten years.” In

the new year, I can accompany my mother and concubine to relieve my boredom.”

Speaking of Concubine Zhen, Qian Dafu sighed, “This time the chaos in Chang’an is really pitiful for the empress. In this case, I will leave the mining matter to you. My nephew, now that he has achieved success in Bowen College, it is time for him to go out and practice.”

Xiao Ming nodded. Xiao Ming met Qian Dafu’s nephew when he inspected the mine last time. This time. When Qian Dafu mentioned it, he agreed to it.

The master and servant said something more, and Xiao Ming took Qian Dafu to the backyard. Qian Dafu had been running around outside during this period, but he had not seen Concubine Zhen yet.

“Empress!”

Seeing Concubine Zhen, Qian Dafu trotted over and suddenly knelt down in front of Concubine Zhen. His eyes became sore and he started crying.

Since escaping from death, there are only two most important people left in Qian Dafu’s life, one is Concubine Zhen and the other is his nephew.

Having served Concubine Zhen for more than ten years, Concubine Zhen was both his master and relative to Qian Dafu.

Concubine Zhen was joking with Fei Yue’er when suddenly a dark-looking man knelt down in front of her. She leaned back in surprise. It was not until she recognized that it was Qian Dafu that she felt relieved.

She first rolled her eyes at Xiao Ming and said, “Ming’er, my mother asked Qian Dafu to come to Qingzhou to serve you. Why did you let him go out to do such hard work as prospecting for mines?”

When she arrived in Qingzhou, Concubine Zhen asked Xiao Ming about Qian Dafu. He knew where Qian Dafu had gone. Seeing Qian Dafu like this, he couldn’t help but laugh for a while.

Xiao Ming wanted to explain, but was overtaken by Qian Dafu, who said: “Empress, Your Highness trusts this old slave, and he is worried about leaving the prospecting matter to others.”

Concubine Zhen sighed, “You That’s why he has always been a good man. It’s good to come back this time. When are you going to go back?”

“His Highness said that the old slave should stay in Qingzhou and there is no need to go out in the future,” Qian Dafu said.

Concubine Zhen nodded, glanced at Xiao Ming and said: “Well, that’s pretty much it. From now on, you can accompany me to talk and relieve your boredom. It’s been a while since I’ve been here in Qingzhou. I still haven’t left the palace. You can accompany me some other time.” Follow me around Qingzhou City.”

“Mother, please leave this to me,” Qian Dafu said happily.

Xiao Ming breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this. Concubine Zhen had been staying in the palace during this period, and now she was willing to prove that she was finally relieved.

After chatting with Concubine Zhen for a while, Xiao Ming took the drawings and went to the steel workshop. Qian Dafu came back and confirmed that the magnesite was real. Now he could go ahead and build the converter steelmaking production line.

Once converter steelmaking is put on the agenda, it means that a large amount of cheap steel will become possible, but the only drawback is the oxygen blowing technology in converter steelmaking.

In fact, due to technical limitations, air was blown instead of oxygen in the initial converter steelmaking. The real oxygen blowing technology only appeared in 1952.

He has also studied industrial oxygen production. Qingzhou today simply cannot overcome this technology. It is a high technology to condense the air to more than 100 degrees below zero and then separate it.

So in view of this, he decided to use the traditional method of blowing air. After all, even during World War I, this method was still not lagging behind and was enough for him to use.

(End of chapter)