Chapter 42 Iron Smelting

[The Tang army was able to equip men and horses and ensure the protective power of these armors, which was related to the iron smelting technology at that time.

During the Han Dynasty, the technology of refining steel appeared in the Central Plains. In the process of forging iron, the number of folding and forging was greatly increased, and the quality of steel was improved by repeated hammering.

Later, steelmaking appeared, which is to heat pig iron into semi-liquid and liquid state, then add iron ore powder, stir continuously, use iron ore powder and oxygen in the air to remove part of the carbon in pig iron, reduce the carbon content in pig iron, remove slag, and directly obtain steel. This technology greatly increased the output of steel, and provided conditions for the army to equip a large area of ​​iron weapons and armor. 】

The two steelmaking processes are displayed separately on the sky screen.

[Similarly, the vertical furnace for iron smelting in the Han Dynasty also developed. On the one hand, the furnace type was expanded, and on the other hand, the blasting equipment of the vertical furnace also changed from using leather bags to blow air manually to using horse-drawn blasting machines. Later, Du Shiyou, the governor of Nanyang, invented a water-powered blasting machine.]

The picture shows a water raft standing on the shore, with two horizontal wheels connected by ropes. When the lower wheel is pushed by the water flow, the upper wheel also rotates. Finally, after conduction, the raft fans open and close to blow air.

Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

Liu Che was somewhat proud. The hundred-fold steelmaking and steel-frying methods were both the technologies of his Han dynasty, and they were already being used at this time. The Han army's expedition to the Xiongnu, in addition to having enough time to recuperate and having excellent generals, was also closely related to the large number of iron weapons produced by this advanced steelmaking technology.

"However, Tianmu described the steelmaking method in this way: carbon, oxygen..." Liu Che pondered Tianmu's words. The Han Dynasty did not have these words. "Carbon" is in iron and "pig iron". Since there is pig iron, should there also be "wrought iron"? He understood air, so is this "oxygen" present in the air a kind of "gas"?
Before he could think further, the water row in the sky attracted his attention again.

"This thing has not appeared under my rule, maybe it will appear in the future Han Dynasty." Liu Che thought about it. Now there are horse rafts, but no water rafts, and there is no Nanyang governor named Du Shi. However, this did not prevent him from ordering his subordinates to record the appearance of the water rafts and send them to the Ministry of Personnel for them to manufacture.

Eastern Han Dynasty, the seventh year of Jianwu.

Liu Xiu remembered Du Shi. In the early years of Jianwu, Du Shi served as the Imperial Censor. Later, he went to Hedong County to suppress Yang Yi and others who surrendered to the Han Dynasty and then rebelled. After that, he began to serve in the local area. Now he has just arrived in Nanyang as the governor.

Seeing the water-filled raft developed by Du Shi in the sky, Liu Xiu was in good mood. He thought that Du Shi was indeed a talented person whom he had always been optimistic about. With such achievements, he should be highly rewarded.

Tang Dynasty, the third year of Zhenguan.

Everyone agreed with Tianmu's mention of ironware and iron smelting.

"It is true that the Tang Dynasty has armor and weapons, but those bandits in other places do not." Changsun Wuji thought of the various forces before and said. Apart from other things, many peasant armies do lack armor and weapons. They do have them, but the number is very small, far from being comparable to the armored proportion of the elite Tang army.

Although the Tang Dynasty was just established and all aspects were still under construction, the Tang Dynasty still had a certain reserve of men, horses, and armor, so it was not difficult to equip a fully armored cavalry.

Others, like Emperor Wu of Han, were more curious about the descriptions of the miracles. Regarding "carbon" - burning charcoal was not new at that time, and this "carbon" was the Chinese character "charcoal" with an additional "stone" radical. Are the two related? Why does "carbon" exist in iron?

【During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the steelmaking method appeared and entered the stage of steelmaking. The steelmaking method also distinguished between pig iron and wrought iron. "The pig iron and wrought iron were mixed to make knives and sickles." Pig iron is pig iron, and wrought iron is wrought iron. Pig iron and wrought iron are mixed and smelted several times to make iron carburized into steel. The steel made by this method is also called "old iron."】

In the picture, the craftsman first stirs the pig iron into wrought iron, and then heats it together with the new pig iron. The pig iron melts before the wrought iron, and then is poured into the wrought iron. After repeated forging, steel is finally obtained. It seems to be more efficient than the previous steelmaking method.

[The pouring steel method is simpler to operate than the previous steelmaking method. As long as the craftsmen master the ratio of pig iron and wrought iron, they can produce steel with different carbon contents. At the same time, using this method, the efficiency is improved and the steel output is also higher. It has become one of the main smelting methods in the Southern and Northern Dynasties and even in later dynasties.

The production of large amounts of steel was also one of the conditions for the production of armor and cavalry equipment during the Northern and Southern Dynasties and even the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

Ming Dynasty, Hongwu Years.

After all, the method of pouring steel had already existed, and the emperors and ministers of the Ming Dynasty did not pay much attention to it. They quickly grasped the most important content in this passage: "steel with different carbon contents".

"In other words, all steel contains this thing called 'carbon'?" Fu Youde asked. As a general who has been fighting for many years, he is most sensitive to armor and weapons. Similarly, he is also very concerned about the quality of these iron products. "So, what are the differences between steels with different carbon contents?"

Zhu Biao linked to the previous article: "The steelmaking method is to reduce the carbon content in pig iron, and wrought iron is formed by frying pig iron. Does that mean that the carbon content in pig iron is higher than that in wrought iron?"

Another person recalled: "Wrought iron seemed to be more flexible and softer, while pig iron was very hard."

In other words, the higher the carbon content, the harder the iron will be. When pouring steel, as long as the right proportion is followed, the tools the court wants can be made. At this time, the craftsmen have already figured out in practice that different proportions of wrought iron and pig iron can produce different steels, but they have not completely figured out the difference between them.

Carbon, what exactly is this thing?
The dynasties before the Northern and Southern Dynasties did not have time to study these contents, but were busy recording the steel pouring method and preparing to apply it in their own dynasties.

[During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the further application of the steel-pouring method laid the foundation for the popularization of a large number of iron armor and weapons.

At the same time, the extensive use of forging in the production of ironware promoted the diversification of ironware's shape and the complexity of its structure, and improved its practicability. This also had an impact on weapons and armor, with more diverse shapes and improved quality.

As for the armor of the Tang Dynasty, there are many types. "There are thirteen types of armor: one is Mingguang armor, two is Guangyao armor, three is Xilin armor, four is Shanwen armor, five is Niaozhu armor, six is ​​Baibu armor, seven is Fujuan armor, eight is Bubei armor, nine is Infantry armor, ten is leather armor, eleven is wooden armor, twelfth is chain mail armor, and thirteenth is horse armor."

The armor style of the Tang army was roughly similar to that of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. At the same time, the armor plates made in the Tang Dynasty were larger, layered, and covered a wide range, from the upper body to the ankles, which was all within the range of armor protection. This made the protection capabilities of the Tang Dynasty cavalry more complete than those of previous cavalry.

The weapons of the Tang cavalry also benefited from the development and promotion of iron smelting technology. They were more lethal and easier to use, which greatly facilitated the charging of the Tang cavalry.

Han Dynasty, Jian'an period.

Cao Cao looked at the Tang army's wide variety of armor, as well as the horse armor, his eyes full of envy.

He needed armor so much! Not the kind of scattered armor, but a complete set of armor like this. Moreover, it was all iron armor! Thinking back to the Battle of Guandu, he still envied Yuan Shao's 300 horse armors.

If he had enough sets of armor, including horse armor, he would be able to arm a powerful cavalry, and the combat effectiveness of such heavy cavalry would be enough for him to conquer all directions.

In the early years of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang looked at the various armors in the miracle and said, "The Han Dynasty can try to imitate some of these shapes." Although steel had not yet been refined through the pouring steel method, it would not be a big deal to imitate the shape of the armor. As long as the pouring steel method was truly applied, such armor could be manufactured.

"The protection range extends all the way to the ankles. No wonder Emperor Taizong of Tang repeatedly led cavalry deep into the enemy's camp, even his horses were killed, but he himself had no major problems." Given Li Shimin's style of leading troops to charge, how could the enemy not shoot arrows and hack at him crazily? According to current armor, important parts can indeed be protected, but the ankles and other extremities may not be protected.

Including Li Daozon, who was shot into a hedgehog but was still fine, all thanks to this kind of armor.

This fighting style is indeed not something that can be easily copied, otherwise you might die from a hidden arrow after just a few charges.

"However, when the Tang army was conquering local forces, it is very likely that they did not have complete horse armor." Otherwise, with the protection provided by armor, the war horses would not necessarily die so easily.

[The reason why the Tang Army, or the Black Armor Army led by Li Shimin, was so powerful and could achieve remarkable results every time, in addition to the superior hard conditions, was also related to their cavalry tactics.

The cavalry of the Tang army did not rely solely on heavy cavalry attacks. On the contrary, ever since Li Shimin led his troops into battle, the Tang cavalry paid great attention to "everything is changing", and were flexible and changeable. They would often cooperate with the infantry. After the infantry came into contact with the enemy, they would aim at the exposed flanks or weak points of the enemy, strike them in the waist, and make detours to defeat the enemy and win.

Moreover, the Tang army did not completely copy the armored cavalry. On the contrary, after the Sui Dynasty's conquest, the Tang Dynasty realized the importance of cavalry mobility. In many cases, the war horses were not fully armored, but a simplified version of heavy cavalry in which the men were armored but the horses were not, ensuring the cavalry's flexibility and ability to fight in a rush.

This fighting style of the cavalry was not only reflected in the black armor soldiers led by Li Shimin, which created the glory of the black armor soldiers, but was also inherited by the Tang Dynasty in the future. The peak of the Tang cavalry's raiding was the battle of Tang's destruction of DTZ. Li Jing ordered the elite cavalry to drive straight to the Turkic king's tent and defeated the Turks. 】

Tang Dynasty, the ninth year of Wude.

Li Yuan didn't pay much attention to the narration of the Tang cavalry, because these things were his own experiences and he knew them very well. But the following content completely drew his attention back: "Li Jing destroyed DTZ?"

Li Yuan was shocked. He knew Li Jing, but until now, Li Jing had not destroyed DTZ. And he was about to abdicate to his second son. So it was obvious who would be in power when Li Jing destroyed DTZ: "You destroyed DTZ?!" He looked at Li Shimin.

"Yeah, my son said that we will conquer the Turks and put Jie Li's neck on. Yeye, you have to believe me, son." Li Shimin said seriously. He was speaking from the bottom of his heart, just like what he said in the seventh year of Wude. As a general of the Han Dynasty, Huo Qubing wanted to conquer the Huns. As a king of the Tang Dynasty and now the crown prince, how could he not think about conquering the Turks and adding to the glory of the Tang Dynasty?

Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

"That's true. Having soldiers also requires methods. Blindly using troops will not bring victory, even if they appear to be extremely powerful on the surface." Wei Qing nodded. The Tang army's cavalry tactics were very consistent with the situation and needs of the Tang Dynasty. Like an extremely sharp knife, they cut through the enemy's vital points and then used roundabout methods to make the enemy collapse. Everything was well-organized and very effective.

Huo Qubing's eyes were bright: "The Tang army rushed to fight, Li Jing destroyed DTZ, and the elite cavalry went straight to the king's tent. This must be a tactic of long-distance cavalry raids to destroy DTZ in one fell swoop!"

After several battles, Huo Qubing had successfully pushed his troops to the Qilian Mountains. He believed that the next step would be to completely destroy the Xiongnu royal court, just like Li Jing destroyed DTZ, to completely eliminate the possibility of the Xiongnu invading the Han Dynasty.

What's more, the Han Dynasty now knows more advanced iron smelting technology, and can equip soldiers better. In this way, the combat effectiveness of the Han soldiers, especially the cavalry led by him, will be further improved.

The appearance of Li Jing also triggered a wave of praise in the dynasties after the Tang Dynasty.

[Finally, let me mention the situation of war horses in the Tang Dynasty.

After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, it immediately began to implement horse policies, moving horses to the Longyou area to set up official ranches. Subsequently, relevant institutions were established at both the central and local levels. At the same time, horses were continuously obtained from nomadic peoples such as the Turks, and crossbred with horses from the Central Plains to obtain better quality war horses.

In addition, since the Northern Dynasties, the number of horses in the Tang Dynasty increased rapidly and the quality of war horses was also high due to the horse-breeding experience of various nomadic peoples such as the Xianbei.

During the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, in addition to the horses in the military towns and post stations, the number of horses in the animal husbandry supervision institutions directly under the central court reached 700,000; and because of the large number of horses, the Tang army's infantry was equipped with a certain number of horses to ensure mobility. 】

Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

"Longyou area?" Liu Che looked at the map, which was where the four Hexi counties were located, "That is indeed a good place to raise horses." Anyway, this place has been incorporated into the territory of the Han Dynasty, and there is no need to bother to seize it from the Huns.

[Let’s talk about Li Shimin again.]

At this time, the Tang Dynasty not only pacified the north, but also many forces in the south, such as Xiao Xing, Du Fuwei and others, surrendered to the Tang Dynasty one after another. Overall, the situation of the Tang Dynasty showed a thriving trend.

After most of the external affairs were dealt with, the Tang Dynasty embarked on a path of stable development?

No, of course not. On the contrary, the turbulent undercurrent had already begun to emerge in the central government in the early years of the Wude era, and the political game never stopped.

As mentioned earlier, when the Tang Dynasty was just established, in the first year of Wude, Li Yuan appointed Li Jiancheng as the crown prince, and named Li Shimin as the King of Qin and Li Yuanji as the King of Qi. At the same time, Li Shimin was also appointed as the Minister of the Chancellery, the Right General of Wuhou, and the Governor of Yongzhou.

After eliminating Xue Rengao, Li Yuan granted Li Shimin the positions of Taiwei, Shangshu Ling of the Shaanxi East Road, Zuo Wuhou General, and Governor of Liangzhou. During that time, he also handed over the Guandong troops to Li Shimin for control and dispatch.

After pacifying Liu Wuzhou and recovering Jinyang and other places, Li Shimin was appointed as the Shangshu Ling of Yizhou Daoxingtai.

After capturing the two kings in the Battle of Hulao in Luoyang, Li Shimin was granted the title of General Tiance and was appointed as the Minister of Civil Service. He also changed the original position of the Minister of the Executive Office of the East Shaanxi Circuit to the Minister of the Grand Executive Office of the East Shaanxi Circuit.

In the fifth year of Wude, after suppressing Liu Heita, a subordinate of Dou Jiande, Li Shimin was appointed as the general of the left and right twelve guards.

　The theory of steel frying appeared in the second century BC, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. The Han Dynasty's advantage over the Xiongnu was also partly due to the development of steel technology in the Central Plains.

　　The traditional and simplified forms of 炭 and 炭 are the same.

　　During the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang established an iron smelting plant specifically responsible for iron smelting.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)