After the Dongning Ironworks was established, the first things it built were coke ovens and iron smelting furnaces.

Using the iron smelting techniques found in smart technology, several blast furnaces were built. With the experience of Zhang Hong and others, and after some repairs, formal smelting began.

The iron smelting technology of that era was still adequate.

With Li Xin's guidance, his technical skills and experience improved somewhat.

Just a few days later, the blast furnace was completed, and the coal and iron ore transported from the West City Mining Bureau and the East City Iron Mine were ready.

Coke ovens also began to calcine coke.

Workers are also processing iron ore.

All preparations are in full swing.

Once the materials were ready, one morning, under Zhang Hong's supervision, the first batch of iron was officially calcined.

Iron ore powder and coke powder were mixed in a certain proportion and then fed into the blast furnace.

The towering iron-smelting furnace was also ignited and began to burn.

Beside the blast furnace, a huge blower began to move rhythmically.

A gentle breeze drifted into the iron-smelting furnace.

At the blast furnace mouth, brilliant sparks burst forth, rhythmically pulsating in sync with the blower.

After calcining for an hour, the temperature reached the target level.

"Open the furnace!"

At Zhang Hong's command, the workers, who were already prepared, opened the sealed furnace door at the bottom of the blast furnace.

Instantly, the orange-red molten iron flowed out and into the mold.

"It's a success! It's a success!"

The workers nearby were cheering.

Zhang Hong's face was also beaming with a bright smile.

Li Xin also laughed.

This is the first batch of molten iron in Dongning City!

Iron is the backbone of industrial development!

With iron, the Long March had hope of victory!

"Very good! Very good!"

Patting Zhang Hong on the shoulder, Li Xin exclaimed in praise, "Well done!"

It seems that this method is quite suitable!

Zhang Hong, following this method, continued building iron smelting furnaces to expand iron production!

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Zhang Hong quickly agreed.

As long as there is a sufficient supply of ore, large-scale iron smelting is possible.

With iron, there was a sufficient supply of raw materials for forging iron farm tools, weapons, and other items.

Dongning City doesn't need anything; everything is purchased from places like Jiangnan.

“Tell He Tongyuan,”

With a broad smile, Li Xin instructed, "At noon, give everyone at the Dongning Ironworks an extra meal!"

Don't skimp on the meat!

"Only by eating well can you have the energy to do big work!"

"yes!"

The attendant quickly responded.

The enthusiasm of everyone at the Dongning Ironworks has become even more fervent.

In the afternoon, the second and third furnaces of iron were also forged.

Looking at the bustling Dongning Ironworks, Li Xin felt a sense of relief, but also a hint of worry on his face.

"Your Highness, what are you thinking about?"

Zhang Hong walked over and said, "The iron smelting is on track, so we don't need to worry about it much anymore."

"Iron smelting doesn't require much attention."

Li Xin nodded and said, "However, iron alone is not enough!"

Steel is the most crucial element!

"Your Highness, rest assured!"

Zhang Hong said confidently, "I wouldn't dare say I'm very capable in steelmaking, but I'm still alright."

This afternoon, I've already arranged for people to start forging steel.

The forged steel that Zhang Hong mentioned was the crucible steelmaking process.

This method involves bundling pig iron and wrought iron together and then calcining them. After calcination, the carbon content in the pig iron and wrought iron is evenly mixed together, producing steel with a suitable carbon content.

In this era, this method has become very mature.

However, the steelmaking process is somewhat slow and inefficient.

For Li Xin, this method is somewhat outdated and cannot meet the future steel demand of Dongning City.

After all, the start of the industrial age required a large amount of steel as a foundation!

After much deliberation, Li Xin decided to search for a method for large-scale steelmaking suitable for this era within the realm of intelligent technology.

After searching for a long time, Li Xin found the method of blast furnace steelmaking.

Li Xin's blast furnace steelmaking method, strictly speaking, is the same method used in the later Great Leap Forward era of steel production.

Even the books and related knowledge found in smart technology are the same.

After all, due to the limitations of the technology of the time, more advanced steelmaking methods could not be used in this era.

After some searching, Li Xin found several different methods and prepared to teach them all to Zhang Hong and the others so that they could experiment with them.

The first method is traditional low-temperature steelmaking.

This method is also the simplest method.

Construct a primitive reverberatory furnace, using clay refractory material as the inner lining and refractory mixed with coke powder as the outer lining.

This design is both heat-resistant and prevents coal slag from sticking together.

The entire exterior of the furnace was covered with yellow mud and straw to prevent air leakage.

This method was developed through continuous experimentation during the Great Leap Forward's steelmaking campaign and became an effective approach.

After the traditional reverberatory furnace was built, the ingredients were put into the furnace for refining.

The advantage of this method is that it does not require a lot of fuel, since the fuel and raw materials do not come into direct contact, but are forged using reflected high temperatures.

There are also three effective methods for preparing the ingredients.

Firstly, it consists of 82% pig iron, 12% iron ore, and 6% limestone.

Secondly, it is all pig iron.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!