A product of wealth and nobility

  Shi Gao and the two of them returned home, their family background was strong, Shi's stepmother was the emperor's sister, she could directly enter the palace to ask about the situation. Even if it was his sister, Zhao Kuangyin couldn't bear to mention the bet. Speaking vaguely, Song Jiu had agreed to give 400 million strings of cash to the court.

  That's right.

  Actually, Song Jiu spent a lot of money to make a big show, but he only saw Song Jiu making a show and didn't mention the matter of the money. The contract money for the land of Hezhou's common people was only given less than half, and Song Jiu also didn't get any benefits from the group of officials who were in contact with him. Zhao brothers were also disappointed. Except for Bo Cai letting the two brothers not care about it, others also hoped that this would happen, as the beauty of the capital city is also their glory. Moreover, in the future, they will have to pay so many taxes, which is no different from increasing a source of income for the imperial court. However, now this income is gradually being taken lightly by the two brothers, and what they value are various technologies. Only if Hezhou develops successfully, will this greedy boy have the motivation to continuously research, and the imperial court will get more and more technology.

  So the two brothers tacitly helped Song Jiu create some momentum behind his back, which is why the Gao and Shi families took action.

  Still hasn't really invested, let's see if Song Jiu can send people to heaven, and with the addition of gunpowder, this new steel, everything is possible on the riverside, at that time we can invest.

  Song Jiu also knew that, for the time being, he didn't think much about it and even rarely went back. He wrote some teaching materials to let the students learn on their own. Dr. Yan and Dr. Zhang were anxious after reading them, but they couldn't say anything. They wondered if they should extend the school term again. Song Jiu still took this steel mill as the main focus. In fact, it was still a primitive steel factory with technical levels equivalent to those in Europe in the 16th or 17th century. Perhaps the technology content wasn't high, but handing it over to one person to be in charge would exhaust that person.

  But in the future, things will be more complicated on River State, and this money won't be easy to make.

  Ten days later, the scaffolding was removed, and the wood and mud inside were also hollowed out, but the interior still needed to be decorated. After four more days, preheating began. The weather grew colder, and the water in the canal started to freeze. Song Jiu spent these few days moving between several kilns, worried that his cement would go wrong. Fortunately, perhaps because the bonfires lit around it maintained the temperature, or perhaps its cold resistance was better than Song Jiu had expected, or perhaps it just hadn't gotten to the coldest moment yet - in any case, no problems arose.

  Many officials came over to inspect in between.

  After the formal smelting of iron, Zhao Kuangyi rushed over again. After making such a big fuss and spending countless money and silk, there are two things: iron and steel. Iron is crucial; without iron, there would be no steel.

  Not long after leaving the furnace, Zhao Kuangyi looked at Song Jiu's face and didn't ask again. It was a confident yet slightly arrogant face, asking would only get a slap in the face and haggling with oneself. He said lightly: "Song Jiu, can you make wooden carts and flowing horses?"

  This matter was also heard by Song Jiu, and many people came to watch, including a group of idle officials from the government office, as well as Wang Quanbin's son Wang Shenzong. From their mouths, Song Jiu learned much about the court's situation. At first, Later Shu official Zhang Tingwei advised Wang Zhaoyuan, who was in charge of the Secretariat, and Wang Zhaoyuan believed him. He advised Later Shu Emperor Mengchang to send Sun Yu, Zhao Yantao, and Yang Kan with a wax letter to Northern Han, proposing that they jointly attack Song. The three men disguised themselves as merchants and took a detour before arriving at the Eastern Capital. They were preparing to head to Northern Han when Zhao Yantao, for some reason, perhaps seeing how strong the Song dynasty was or because of their shared surname, secretly presented the wax letter to Zhao Kuangyin. There was also a medical officer from Sichuan named Mu Zhaosi who served as a court physician. After reading the wax letter, Zhao Kuangyin summoned Mu Zhaosi and asked him about the situation in Sichuan. Mu Zhaosi replied: "Jingnan is the gateway to Xichuan, Jiangnan, and Guangnan. Now that we have taken this place, it will be easy to advance on Shu." Upon receiving the wax letter, Zhao Kuangyin laughed loudly and said: "My western campaign has a good name now!"

  You want to deal with me, it's no wonder I have to deal with you, this is the great righteousness of sending troops.

  Let Wang Quanbin be the commander, Cui Yanjin as the deputy commander of Fengzhou Road, Wang Renxiang as the supervisor, Liu Guangyi as the deputy commander of Guizhou Road, Cao Bin as the supervisor, Shen Yilun as the transportation commissioner, and Cao Han as the southwest transportation commissioner. The two roads prepared 60,000 troops to attack Later Shu. To punish Li Chuyu's warning, another edict was issued: those who could guide the army, provide food for the soldiers, lead the crowd to surrender, and surrender the city would be rewarded. Wherever the expeditionary camp went, they were not allowed to burn down houses, beat officials and civilians, open up hills and graves, cut down mulberry trees, and those who disobeyed would be punished by military law.

  Again, on the north bank of Bian River at Youyongmen Gate, a grand mansion with over 500 rooms was built to store supplies and equipment, preparing for the settlement of Meng Chang, the ruler of Later Shu. Before the army even departed, Meng Chang's residence had already been prepared, what kind of confidence is this?

  Of course confidence is a good thing, but logistics are also a headache.

  But what kind of wooden carriage would Song Jiu make? It seemed that in his previous life, he had heard people imitate it, but Song Jiu hadn't seen the real thing, so he shook his head and sighed.

  "It seems you're no match for Zhuge Liang either."

  "Two great kings, since ancient times how many Zhuge Liangs have emerged, I wouldn't dare to compare myself with him." Song Jiu felt very stifled.

  "Aren't you good at material science? It seems that material science isn't omnipotent after all."

  "One man alone can accomplish nothing, but if ten thousand men stand together, nothing is impossible."

  "This remark is quite profound. Zhao Kuangyi nodded his head and said, 'His Majesty and I also attach great importance to this matter; otherwise, why would we let the Crown Prince go to your place to study?'"

  A simple sentence made Song Jiu feel confused. The fact that the Song Dynasty valued literature and despised martial arts was actually caused by Zhao Kuangyi, but during this period of time, Song Jiu vaguely discovered that something was wrong. Zhao Kuangyi's way of thinking was not conservative, on the contrary, it was slightly radical, and he didn't take Confucianism very seriously either. What went wrong? Was the Battle of Gaoliang River having such a far-reaching impact?

  Song Jiu didn't understand.

  It's out of the oven.

  The temperature dropped, and it cooled down quickly. It was possible to make a comparison by casting one device first to test its toughness and hardness. Although there were still many defects, it was definitely much better than the iron smelted in the Song Dynasty. Moreover, the waste rate was lower, the speed was faster, the efficiency was higher, and the cost also decreased slightly. Zhao Kuangyi let out a sigh of relief, finally getting something right. For this, the entire court had been ***, and who knows how much money had been spent? Looking at the iron water flowing smoothly from the slot, Zhao Kuangyi said: "It's also a great achievement."

  "The two great kings, I don't want the imperial reward, I request the imperial court to dredge the Bian River."

  "You don't say it and I won't know? As long as you come out with good steel, there's no need for you to say it, I will also make a good thing of it and help you."

  After sending off Zhao Kuangyi, the next step is to refine steel. This not only involves the furnace, but also the methods of smelting iron and refining steel from various minerals, which are quite particular. However, their principles are not too complicated, and compared to Europeans in the 16th and 17th centuries, perhaps some details are not as good, but they may not have understood the Song Dynasty's principles as clearly either, leading to some inevitable differences. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, neither particularly good nor particularly bad.

  Put iron bars and charcoal in layers, start ignition.

  Send Minfu back first. But there's still something, the ones who stay will be the future workers and officials of this workshop, Song Jiu must explain not only various precautions and operation procedures but also principles, if you don't know the principles, you'll just mess around.

  Song Jiuye also clearly stated one thing, which is to continuously improve technology.

  Different materials, different temperatures, and variations in details will produce steel of different qualities. Song Jiu couldn't figure it out either, and he had to slowly explore and continuously improve the technology in order to perfect it.

  In other words, the steel and iron produced at that time still had such and such problems, although its quality was many times better than that of the Song Dynasty.

  These situations all reacted in the imperial court.

  Everyone can understand that Song Jiu was just lucky enough to meet a good master, not a god who is all-powerful, including his astonishment at the wooden cart and the flowing horse.

  A few days later, a rain and snow fell outside the capital city, and the cold winter really arrived.

  New steel is finally out of the oven.

  The monarch and his ministers came over to take a look.

  This is a big deal in this era.

  After the steel rod that has become slightly thicker is removed, hammering begins. Song Jiuzhen had previously explained this before, saying that the so-called "hundred-refined steel" becomes lighter with each refinement, but this is a misconception - it's not that impurities are being removed. In reality, there are very few impurities to begin with. During each hammering process, an oxidation reaction occurs, and what gets knocked off is iron oxide. If the steel were truly refined a hundred times, ten kilograms of iron would not be left with even one kilogram of iron remaining - the remaining nine kilograms of iron would all have turned into iron oxide, wasted in the furnace slag. It's good steel, but the waste is heartbreaking to behold.

  Everyone is half-believing and half-doubting, whether it's true or not can be verified by comparing with this new steel.

  Steel rods also need to be forged, so they are rough and large, with some oxidation, some carbon infiltration, and other reactions. Both of these must be hammered away. However, the waste is not severe, at least 10 kg of iron can become 7-8 kg of steel.

  There were craftsmen and tools, so they made a wooden sword. They drew out a guard's wooden sword and hacked at each other, both swords appearing with a notch of about the same size.

  Song Jiuluo was slightly disappointed, no matter how the wooden sword in the guard's hand was made. If it was made with charcoal, the temperature would not be enough and the quality would definitely not keep up. If it was made with coal, the sulfur content would be too high to be frightening, and the toughness would also not keep up. Unless it was truly a hundred-refined steel, that was impossible. Was there still a problem somewhere?

  I'm a bit confused.

  It has brought great joy to the monarch and his ministers. Firstly, Song Jiuzi mentioned several times that the traditional method of steel production is a waste. The iron ore yields less iron, and the repeated hammering in the refining process results in an even greater loss of iron. Labor is also wasted, as multiple people are needed to hammer a single piece of steel into shape, unlike the new method which can produce it in one go. Secondly, the efficiency has improved significantly, with faster production speeds and mass production capabilities. Furthermore, the use of gunpowder will lead to a surge in steel production during the Song Dynasty.

  Zhao Kuangyin burst out laughing and said: "Song Jiu, this time you have rendered great service to the imperial court."

  "This is what your humble servant should do."

  "Those who have merits shall be rewarded, those who have faults shall be punished. Let me reward you with something. You are still young and it's not good for you to be promoted too quickly. I will reward you with 10,000 bolts of silk."

  This reward is the best, but some Confucian officials still think it's a small way, and they will make trouble when promoting officials again, but giving money is not a problem. What Song Jiuxian lacks most now is money.

  Song Jiudao said with great joy: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

  The affairs here have come to an end, and the rest will be formally taken over by the imperial court.

  Song Jiuhui returned home and got something out, that was a heavenly thing. But another matter made him worried.