Friend, do you regret wasting your youth? Are you ashamed of your mediocre life? Ed dares not waste his youth; right now, he is diligently writing.
On an open space in Red Iron Village, there were densely written Ed's methods for improving iron smelting, as well as sketches for modifying the iron smelting furnace.
Meanwhile, blacksmith Smith was diligently studying these things. His frequent questions to Ed showed that he truly had a great passion for his work as a blacksmith.
"My lord, what's the point of building this furnace so high?" Smith asked, pointing to the blast furnace Ed had drawn.
"It just means the temperature is higher, and it burns longer, so that the iron ore can melt." The questions inside are too profound for O'Ed to explain, and even if he could explain them, Smith wouldn't understand.
The blast furnace that Ed designed isn't very tall yet; if it were too tall, Ed might not be able to control it. These things can only be done gradually; nothing can be accomplished overnight.
"My lord, I know almost everything now. I'll go build these things right now." Smith learned very quickly.
"Yes, Smith, the iron smelting technology must not be passed on to outsiders." Ed still needs to keep it a secret for now; it's better to be careful until he becomes stronger.
Even if there are no outsiders in the territory now, there is no guarantee that there will never be outsiders coming to the territory.
"Yes, I know, my lord." These iron smelting facilities can't be completed in a short time; they will require some time to build.
A few days later, in the same place, a two-meter-tall iron smelting furnace had been built. The furnace was made entirely of clay, with some dry grass added to it to enhance its sturdiness. Because it was quite tall, iron was used to fix the outside of the furnace walls. The blower was also much larger than before.
However, this furnace was only temporary. Ed was just using it to experiment with the blast furnace ironmaking process, and he wasn't sure if the furnace could produce molten iron.
However, as long as this is successful, the others can be improved gradually in the future. Once you understand the principle and how to operate it, you can use the bricks to build a better blast furnace in the future.
"My lord, everything is ready. May we begin?" Smith asked.
"Let's begin!" With Ed's announcement, everyone started putting charcoal into the furnace, then adding crushed iron ore and limestone, layer by layer, until it reached the top of the furnace.
Since it was a temporary furnace and there was no platform for feeding materials, only a wooden frame, it took a long time to feed the materials. After the furnace lid was put on, the next step was to ignite the fire and smelt iron.
Flames began to burn in the furnace, and as the blower worked, the furnace temperature began to rise.
Ed has already explained how to handle the slag, and Smith, as a blacksmith, should know something about it. Now, it's just a long wait.
The next day, Ed walked back and forth beside the blast furnace. The temperature around the furnace made him feel uncomfortable, but when the taphole opened and the dark red molten iron slowly flowed out of the blast furnace, his uncomfortable body was filled with strength again.
Fortunately, he succeeded on his first try, and Ed was somewhat relieved. Although the molten iron wasn't perfect, he was still very happy.
Needless to say, the others, especially Smith, a blacksmith, were seeing iron ore completely melt into molten iron for the first time.
"Ah! My lord, this is amazing, it's insane!" Smith stared blankly at the flowing molten iron. Although he had learned about this beforehand, he still found it incredible when the iron ore actually turned into molten iron.
However, you can't blame him. Someone who has dealt with something for half his life suddenly appears in a different form, and no one can accept it for a while.
However, he didn't know that the molten iron was pig iron. Ed's main purpose this time was to experiment with the iron smelting process and accumulate experience for future improvements.
So let's talk about these differences later!