Chapter 453: The Heaviness of the Furnace (Please give me a monthly ticket!!! More chapters will be added soon!)

On the third day, the dwarves followed Rand to the Burning Lands, which was the planned industrial zone of the Dukedom of the Moon.

As to why not the next day.

That was naturally because many dwarves were drunk.

The tavern does not provide high-quality beer, but even ordinary distilled ale is a good-tasting wine.

At least if you want to drink good wine of the same quality elsewhere, the cost will not be too low.

For these dwarf craftsmen, it is not realistic to drink freely.

It was a rare occasion that the lord paid for the meal, so of course we could eat and drink as much as we wanted.

In the Dwarf Kingdom, there is only one time when ordinary dwarves can eat and drink as much as they want.

That is when the new king ascends the throne.

At that time, the Dwarf Kingdom would hold banquets in various places to celebrate the ascension of the new king.

Maybe at that time, only the new dwarf king would be unhappy.

Because at that time the dwarf king had to go through a complicated coronation ceremony and could not enjoy eating and drinking with the people.

It's a nightmare.

It’s not that there are no ambitious dwarf kings, but the dwarves have no possibility of expansion. Dwarves spend their entire years in mines, keeping company with hearthfires.

I am not very used to living in other terrains.

And humans don't have much interest in the dwarfs' land.

It was literally a land of ravines and mountains, and the dwarves were no weak race.

When the dwarf craftsmen first came here, they were also a little arrogant.

Grand Duke Land expressed his goodwill, so the dwarf also expressed his goodwill, that's all.

It was obvious what they were here to do.

Help the native human lords who do not understand true smelting and forging, and understand the wisdom of the dwarves.

For these dwarf craftsmen, this is equivalent to helping the countryside.

Otherwise, why would this human lord travel so far across the ocean to come to the mountain kingdom to seek the friendship of the dwarves?

However, after these dwarf craftsmen arrived here, they were very satisfied with the generous hospitality shown to them by Grand Duke Rand.

It seems that Grand Duke Land really needs them and is indeed very generous.

It seems that they have to show some real skills to make Grand Duke Rand realize that his generosity will not be wasted.

…

Burning land.

The sky also turned gray and yellow because of the clouds.

It was almost dusk when we arrived at the burning land.

The scenery of the Burning Land is not pleasant.

But the dwarves don't mind this environment.

Dwarves are creatures that live in mining areas all year round. Their rock-like skin is proof of their adaptability. The non-dangerous environment of the Burning Lands is already too green for the dwarves.

After all, this is a land that can support a large number of Burning Land bandits.

Of course, now I am called a prospective citizen of Duke Rand of the Moon Phase.

These bandits from the Burning Land did not have many complaints about Rand's arrangements and worked automatically for a long time.

In fact, there were many who resisted, but they were either buried by the bandit leaders or dealt with by the sheriff.

Rand also knew this, but for such an unruly group of bandits to be able to perform like this, Rand was already very satisfied with the current performance.

"This is the industrial zone. The living area here has been built, and residential and entertainment facilities are already in place. I think you will like it here by then." Rand introduced.

The dwarf craftsmen, however, did not care much about these things.

It’s not that they don’t care about life at all, but the scene before them is finally not what they imagined.

What lay before the dwarf craftsman was a prototype.

But this prototype is already grand enough, enough for them to see the...great vision contained therein.

The royal city of the Dwarf Kingdom also has a metallurgical area that is far larger and more complete than this one.

The scene they saw now might be nothing compared to what happened in the Dwarf King's City.

But that is the culmination of nearly a thousand years of technology of the Dwarf Kingdom.

And what is this place? An industrial zone of a duke in the human kingdom? And it's not even a prototype that can be considered a half-finished product?

All the dwarven craftsmen stopped and ignored the words of Grand Duke Rand who ordered the construction of this area.

Look at the flowing magma, the high-temperature blast furnaces, and the mountains of ore.

The rusty iron beams rise high into the clouds, like endless iron towers, announcing their existence to the sky.

Although there is a shortage of iron ore raw materials, insufficient technical accumulation and even more shortage of manpower.

Not many blast furnaces are operating here. Only a few tall iron buildings emitting black smoke and flames can be seen in the distance.

Further away, there are many incomplete facilities, some of which have only laid a foundation, and some have been built a little.

But we can already see the beginnings of this.

Rand never takes anyone on tour here.

Because if a smart person comes here, he can see some clues.

Although it is only a rudimentary prototype now.

But we can still see the overall plan. If all the plans are completed, it will definitely not be the production capacity needed by a dukedom that is not much larger than an earldom.

For a complete dukedom, the production capacity generated by such an industrial zone would far exceed the capacity.

If this place is truly built, it will be the true industrial heart of the kingdom.

Rand's ambitions were suppressed here.

So at the moment, there's still a lot that hasn't been built here.

Rand knew that food should be eaten one bite at a time and things should be done one at a time.

However, when he first served as the Hand of the King, King Marcus promised him that he would go south...

He can take as much as he wants.

So how much can he get?

Of course, these dwarf craftsmen also saw a lot.

Those who are familiar with metallurgy and casting certainly know what can be achieved with such zoning.

Looking into the distance, the chimneys in the distance stood like ancient gods, covered with thick smoke and dust, steam and flames gushed out of the furnace mouth, forming a dazzling column of light pointing straight to the sky. The black sky became heavier under the firelight, as if the entire sky was about to be swallowed by the power of steel.

Every time the fire burns, it is like the beating of a heart; every sound of steel colliding echoes Rand's ambition.

Ashes would always float across the sky above the burning land, and the nearby blast furnaces seemed infinitely tall, rolling and tumbling together a mixture of ash and slag through the solid metal surface.

Of course, no matter how grand the plan is, everything now is just a piece of land under construction.

In the future, countless instruments, machines, armors, and swords may be produced from here.

These standard equipment, which cannot be considered as magic weapons, may also be stained with countless blood.

These will all be built slowly.

The arrival of dwarven craftsmen will accelerate this process, and possible dwarven engineering masters in the future will further speed it up.

The dwarves finally came to their senses and looked towards Grand Duke Moon Phase.

At this time, they finally had some substantial feelings about the duke who sent a fleet across the ocean to the dwarf kingdom in search of dwarf craftsmen and engineering masters.

A dwarf craftsman with a long beard, who looked older than the other dwarves, walked up to Rand.

He pointed at the towering building in front of him, pounded his chest, performed a dwarf's etiquette, then performed a human's etiquette, and then said in the common language of the continent with a strong dwarf accent: "Respected Duke, no offense, but this stove in front of you..."

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

"I call it a blast furnace." Rand explained the meaning of a blast furnace. "You can simply understand that it is an efficient smelting furnace."

In fact, blast furnaces can be used to make steel, and by now, the furnace temperature and carbon content for steelmaking have finally been figured out.

It is almost impossible for an ordinary time traveler to forge steel solely by relying on his own abilities.

It is very difficult to make a furnace that can maintain its properties at such high temperatures and is resistant enough to high temperatures.

Then comes the complex iron-carbon alloy phase transformation.

There are seven phases in total.

And there aren't enough suitable thermometers to tell you exactly what temperature the oven is at.

The specific carbon content of the cast steel is also difficult to control.

Since the successful construction of the blast furnace, there has actually been some steel production, but that was all due to luck. During the iron smelting process, steel with good properties was occasionally produced.

But today, the eighth year since Rand came to this world, he has accumulated countless technologies.

Finally, I have touched the threshold of steelmaking.

Of course, due to material limitations, only the ancient furnace moved up from the tenth floor of the ruins can produce steel.

Ordinary blast furnaces cannot withstand such furnace temperatures and the repeated phase changes of the alloys in the furnace.

But being able to produce steel is really amazing.

Everyone knows.

Steel is an iron-carbon alloy that is 35 times harder than cast iron.

"Can this furnace produce iron faster?" asked the dwarf craftsman.

"Yes, the output is greater and the quality is better." Rand paused and pointed to an extremely tall metal foundry here, "and one of them can produce steel."

"Steel?" The experienced dwarf craftsman was a little incredulous, so he confirmed, "Is it the material used for those magic weapons?"

"If you don't mean magic metal, then yes," Rand said.

The Dwarven Kingdom also has some extremely precious steel. This alloy has unimaginable physical properties and is not mixed with magical power.

What does this mean? It means that steel can also be infused with magical metals, further increasing its strength.

Mithril is as light as a feather, adamantium is indestructible, and orichalcum is indestructible.

Each magical metal is worth a fortune.

A steel sword mixed with various magical metals, with some runes added, might be able to be forged into a legendary artifact.

Only those legendary heroes who can leave behind great epics are qualified to be equipped with such weapons.

The dwarves had to smelt steel countless times before they were lucky enough to get some steel.

These steels will be stored in the dwarf's treasury until they are needed, at which time they will be used by the most talented forging masters to forge armor or weapons.

And here, if the duke is not lying, it seems that he has been able to make steel accurately? For Rand, who owns the ancient forge, making steel is still a very difficult task.

But it can finally be considered to be in semi-production.

"So, great, wise, and intelligent Duke, is there anything you need us to do for you?" The senior dwarf craftsman was very humble towards Rand.

Everything in front of them was obvious. Since the Duke brought them here to see all this, he was obviously not bragging.

Now the dwarves no longer have the slight arrogance they had when they first arrived at Crescent Moon Harbor.

This is obviously not a rural area that needs help.

They were even a little confused.

Since the Grand Duke of Rand has done such a great thing, what does he need them for? To show off? "I need craftsmen to improve some technology, build some projects, and popularize some more common but effective things." Rand said.

"But you can..." The senior dwarf craftsman was still a little puzzled, but he said a little and then stopped talking.

But Rand knew what he was trying to say.

"I can already get fine steel, why do I need ordinary weapons and armor?" Rand smiled. "Really?"

The man was only as tall as Rand's waist, short and strong, with a beautiful and long beard. The senior dwarf craftsman nodded, that was what he meant.

Rand shook his head.

"I need more than just an upper limit," Rand said. "No matter how good the weapons are, the abilities of one or two heroes are capped. A top-level professional wearing heavy steel armor can only kill a hundred people on the battlefield at most. If the enemies are all veterans with good coordination, they may be surrounded and killed after killing a dozen or so."

"The existence of a king can certainly change the outcome of a battle, and can even capture a city single-handedly, but that is the limit," Rand said.

"I need the power of the masses. When a large number of ordinary people undergo rigorous training and wear better armor, they can achieve what these heroes cannot." Rand finished explaining his philosophy.

And the dwarf craftsmen also understood why Rand needed them.

The old, senior dwarf smith whispered, "So, Lord Rand, what exactly do you want us to do?"

"First, I need you to improve some equipment," Rand said. "I want to use the power of nature."

"Such as hydraulic forging hammers and hydraulic wire drawing machines." Rand informed of his needs.

These two technologies can only be developed after some industrial foundation is established.

Otherwise, there is no point in developing it in the first place.

If the quality of the steel is not good enough, it will break into pieces when hit by a hydraulic forging hammer that has poorly controlled force.

The hydraulic wire drawing machine is okay, and it can use slightly inferior iron ingots to make iron wire.

With these two technologies, Rand began to mass-produce plate armor and chain mail.

And in this magical world, Rand believed that these dwarf craftsmen must know some magical crafts.

Rand also plans to get some advanced equipment to equip the strong men in the hideout.

There are already some powerful people in the hideout now. As a grand duke, Rand still has some senior and elite professionals working for him.

(End of this chapter)