The research institute produced the finished ammonium sulfate fertilizer in January, and then conducted experiments using "Songcai", also known as Chinese cabbage, which has a relatively short growth cycle.

After more than 20 days, the mature Chinese cabbages grew better and stronger than those grown without fertilizer, and the yield also increased a lot.

Newspapers immediately followed up with publicity, and the national memorial offices were mobilized to spread the news that Zhao Zhen had invented a new fertilizer throughout the country. The proportions of the ingredients were also quickly conveyed, requiring people from all over the country to make and apply fertilizer themselves.

Zhao Zhen was very outstanding during this period.

Newspapers and the Imperial Court praised him highly, not only promoting the effectiveness of the new fertilizer invented by the government, but also encouraging the people to use their brains more, conduct their own research and development, and invent more, and the court would reward them.

For a time, there was a craze for invention across the country. In the next few decades, many useful things were invented and reported to the Invention Bureau for patents.

But that’s all in the past.

Zhao Zhen was very happy that he had become so famous for no reason, and most importantly, he had a reason to ask Zhao Jun for a notebook to play with.

I just want to find more inventions and creations from history. What's wrong with me?

This made Zhao Jun roll his eyes and be speechless.

In April, Zhao Jun went to Wu'an.

As we all know, Hebei Province in my country is an important steel base and the country's number one steel-producing province.

The reason for this is that, firstly, there are a lot of iron and coal mines here, and secondly, the transportation is very convenient.

Among them, Handan Iron and Steel and Tangshan Iron and Steel are the most famous.

But in the Song Dynasty, Tangshan was not important.

That was the territory of the Liao Kingdom.

But why didn't Zhao Jun choose Handan, which was later famous for its coal and high-grade iron ore producing area?

Because of the traffic.

In the Song Dynasty, Handan had only some small rivers, but no medium or large rivers.

The nearest large rivers are Fushui and Mingshui, 40 kilometers away.

Wu'an also produces coal and iron, but it is only a few kilometers away from Mingshui, and Mingshui is connected to Zhangshui, which is connected to Yongji Canal.

Therefore, Wu'an was more suitable for steel smelting than Handan at this time.

Zhao Jun gathered blacksmiths in Bianliang to build a small steel factory. After several years of experiments, he finally developed the Bestwell air steelmaking process and the Bessemer converter steelmaking process.

Then it is imperative to build a steel plant.

Since last year, he has ordered the construction of a canal between Wu'an and Mingshui, and the expansion of the Mingshui River. He also began to build a factory to the east of Wu'an, at the foot of the Jiulongshan mining area in later generations.

After a year of hard work, the canal was built, the river channel was expanded, the factory building was almost completed, and a large number of smelting equipment and tools were prepared.

On April 6, outside the Wu'an County, Wu'an County Magistrate Han Gongyan and Cai Zhi, the technical official in charge of the construction, were already waiting.

Zhao Jun slowly approached.

A group of officials, both large and small, hurried forward and said, "Greetings to the Magistrate!"

"Um."

Zhao Jun got off the carriage and nodded, "Who is Cai Zhi?"

"I am here."

Cai Zhi, the director of Wuan Mine Iron and Steel Foundry, hurried forward and said.

This person's great-grandfather Cai Wan was the envoy of the Three Smelters in Wu'an Yuancheng in the early Song Dynasty. It can be said that his ancestor was specifically responsible for smelting and manufacturing.

"Wu'an has a long history of ironmaking, but this time we're talking about steelmaking. Do you have confidence?"

Zhao Jun asked with a smile.

"I will never refuse even if it means death!"

Cai Zhi said hurriedly.

"Well, let me explain the situation."

"yes."

Cai Zhi talked as everyone walked.

Wu'an's iron smelting history can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

At that time, charcoal was used as the material for iron smelting. Later, when the blower was invented, coal was used to smelt iron.

However, coal contains many impurities, mainly sulfur and phosphorus, which leads to poor quality. Therefore, the quality of ironware in the Song Dynasty was not very good. Historical records show that it was "extremely brittle and easy to break."

Jia Changchao once said, "If it is not made with precision, it will be brittle."

There is no way. In fact, after the Song Dynasty, coal has become the main refining method. The cost of charcoal is still too high, which will inevitably lead to a decline in quality.

However, Zhao Jun's Bestway air steelmaking process can perfectly solve this problem. By adding air, the sulfur and phosphorus in the molten iron can be oxidized into easily separated oxides, thereby reducing the sulfur and phosphorus in the molten iron and turning iron into steel.

In fact, the Bessemer converter steelmaking process and the Bestwell air steelmaking process complement each other. One can greatly improve steelmaking efficiency, while the other can reduce production costs and improve steel quality.

After several years of experiments, Zhao Jun has now produced a steel converter suitable for these two methods. Now is the time to start large-scale production.

The group soon arrived at the steel plant. At that time, the steel plant was built on the original smelter. Due to the limited level of development, it was definitely not the kind of steel plant building in later generations. It was just built with rammed earth walls and bricks.

There are even some blast furnaces placed directly outdoors, and they can only be covered with sheds on rainy days.

It looks very rough and simple, but it is already the best ironworks available.

When Zhao Jun arrived, everything had been set up. He looked around and saw that the iron-making process was still the blast furnace iron-making method of the Song Dynasty. The blast furnace was made of refractory clay, and iron was smelted inside using coal.

He had previously used charcoal to smelt normal iron, and then used the Tang Dynasty's steel pouring method to produce a large amount of steel, which he then poured into a mold to make a converter.

The whole process was not a problem at all with the craftsmanship of the Song Dynasty.

After all, the mold manufacturing technology of the Song Dynasty was so advanced that it could produce not only converters, but even iron men weighing several tons, and they would still look lifelike.

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