Chapter 67 Weishui

There was naturally no emperor's ceremonial guard in the yamen, but the officials actually made the escort Xue Chongxun's trip very imposing in a short period of time. Not only were officials and guards walking with them, but they also brought a large sedan carrying four people from somewhere.

Unfortunately, Xue Chongxun didn't appreciate it. He felt that the sedan chair was inappropriate and directly asked his general to lead the war horse over.

A Xu servant from Wugong County hurriedly lying in front of the horse and wanted Xue Chongxun to step on his back and put on the horse, but he kicked it away with his left hand, held the sword with his left hand, and leaped on the saddle with one hand and jumped onto the horse's back.

The officials hurriedly praised: Your Majesty’s magical martial arts!

Xue Chongxun was not humble either, so he immediately looked around and said: I personally led a large army to defeat the barbarians and rebels from all sides many times before, but really can't ride a horse?

After saying that, he shouted, kicked the horse's belly lightly, and the horse raised its hooves and ran out briskly. The cavalry of the Flying Tiger Regiment immediately rode his horse to follow. For a moment, the horse's hooves rang loudly, and the horse team ran straight through the school ground toward the Wei River.

The accompanying officials hurriedly got on the horse, and other horseless entourages followed behind, and a decent guard of honor suddenly fell apart.

There is a large wheel-shaped water drain outside the workshop built next to the river. The chimney on the roof is smoked. At first glance, it looks like large mills, and there are some fire kilns being built around it.

These are not considered as factories but workshops. They do not pollute the river water much, and the biggest pollution may also be considered as the stool of human and animal feces that are densely populated here.

The river water looks very clear, and you can see green mountains and white clouds in the distance.

After a while, Xiao Dan and other officials finally caught up. Xiao Dan was obviously not the kind of person who came from the gentry and was in the Six Arts, and his physical strength seemed to be not very good.

When he caught up, he quickly got off the horse and led Xue Chongxun to explain the purpose of the workshop and what he was planning to do.

Xue Chongxun looked back and asked: Where is the old craftsman who was talking at the banquet just now?

He thought to himself that those craftsmen in their fifties have been working on this for many years, and they must know a lot of craftsmanship, and they are not official figures who don’t have so many twists and turns, so it’s easier to ask something.

Xiao Dan hurriedly said to his subordinates: Go and call Old Man He over to meet the saint!

Then the old craftsman was brought over and Xue Chongxun asked: What is your name?

The old craftsman bent down and said: The grass-roots call him He Er, others call him Old Man He, but he has no name.

Xue Chongxun smiled and said: I have a groom named Pang Er who has been following him for many years. You are all ranked second.

He joked with a craftsman, and the famous scholars who were ready to use the scenery to express their emotions in front of the emperor and did not even have the opportunity to write poems and praise merits. The emperor was not happy, so they had to follow in silence.

Xue Chongxun's plan to visit this time was indeed not to find romantic articles like "Preface to the Palace of Tengwang", nor did he think about creating some elegant interests that could be circulated. He really thought about practical techniques for inspection.

Seeing that there was smoke in the workshop, he suddenly remembered the fuel and asked the old craftsman He Er: What kind of fuel is used for melting iron?

He Er replied without thinking: I used a kiln to burn charcoal. Your Majesty saw that the kiln was being built there, which was used to burn charcoal.

No coal?

Xue Chongxun almost blurted out, and then he remembered that he had seen the memorial of the Ministry of Works. It could be thought of coal in literal meaning, so he changed his words, "Carbonifer, I heard that local authorities are using it. Could it be that the Central Divine Machinery Administration will not use this thing?

He Er was stunned for a moment. He might think that the emperor was a layman and didn't understand such things at all, so he said: It's better to use charcoal than charcoal.

Xue Chongxun said seriously: That's because you have never practiced it and burn it directly.

He knew that this kind of project could not be arranged by an illiterate craftsman, so he turned to look at Xiao Dan, built a square kiln sealed on all sides, smashed the carbide and put it in, opened holes on the side to ignite and fire, then ignited the carbide in the kiln, burned it for ten days until it stopped breathing, and made the refined charcoal inside, which was coke, and tried iron smelting... This is probably the method, if you think about it, you will be rewarded after you have finished it.

Xue Chongxun knew a little about coke. Anyway, he was an important raw material for steelmaking. He couldn't figure it out clearly. Knowing the principle does not mean being able to be an engineer himself.

Moreover, he could not have been able to squat here for such a thing just for on-site experiments. Maybe the gang of officials and craftsmen who are in charge of the matter are just a mess.

So I had to propose such a method, promise to reward others to think about it...

As for whether it can be done, only God knows.

The performance of Xiao Dan and other officials satisfied Xue Chongxun very much. He hurriedly asked someone to record the order. A clerk lay directly on the ground and took his back as a desk, while the other one was written on his back.

Seeing this, Xue Chongxun nodded with satisfaction: Work hard, I will not treat you badly if I succeed.

Yes, I will obey the imperial edict!

Xiao Dan agreed with some excitement.

This is an errand that the emperor personally gave. If he succeeded, it would be a visible contribution. It would be countless times better than doing political achievements under his silence. It is said that he would achieve twice the result with half the effort.

As the emperor, Xue Chongxun can easily reward or get promoted whenever he is happy. Is it comparable to other places?

Doing good things does not necessarily mean rewarding. The key is to do it in a visible place.

Xue Chongxun said: Haven’t you been thinking about ways to improve the durability of cannons? As long as coking coal is refined, it will be hoped that good iron for casting cannons will be refined.

All the officials agreed to it simply, and they almost slapped their chests. Then they expressed their loyalty and determination. If they were not considering the identity of the officials, they would probably curse and swear like ordinary people in the city.

Xue Chongxun went to the workshop to visit again. The supervisors and craftsmen knelt all over the ground, and there were so many smoke inside that everyone advised him not to enter such a place.

Xue Chongxun didn't care much about this, but he was really a bit amateur. Apart from knowing that his technology was relatively backward due to the restrictions of the times, he couldn't see any tricks. It was like a mountain across the street, and craftsmen made a living by relying on this. There was no technology at all.