Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 362 - 232 Ancient Sword Forging! (8600 words for monthly ticket)_3

Chapter 362: Chapter 232 Ancient Sword Forging! (8600 words for monthly ticket)_3

Li Hongyun directed the craftsmen, mixing iron sand with limestone powder and filling the furnace layer by layer with charcoal. Once it was filled, they ignited the fire and had the craftsmen fan the flames relentlessly.

During this process, Li Hongyun discovered that these craftsmen truly were mere tools.

Whatever he arranged for the craftsmen to do, they carried out without deviation. However, for tasks Li Hongyun did not specify, they would rather stand idly by than take initiative.

For example, during the smelting process, a large amount of impurities would flow out from the bottom of the furnace.

These impurities were smelted slag that needed to be cleared regularly to prevent blockages.

Li Hongyun had quite a difficult time getting all the craftsmen organized clearly, while he himself cautiously sped up or paused the flow of time to check the state of the iron ore smelting.

The game’s unlimited supply of high-quality iron sand and charcoal was already very accommodating.

This is because, in reality, while iron ore is abundant, their iron content varies.

The main task in iron smelting is to extract iron from its oxides and other impurities, so ore with higher iron content is easier to smelt into high-quality iron.

Ordinary iron ore cannot be smelted directly; it must be crushed, ground into very fine particles, and sifted multiple times to ensure the efficiency of smelting and the quality of the final product.

Due to the lack of large machinery in ancient times, breaking large amounts of iron ore was a troublesome task. The craftsmen preferred to find gravels with high iron content for smelting.

As for charcoal, it was not easily available in ancient times either.

Not only did they have to build kilns to produce it, but also the type of wood used made a difference; ensuring burning time and temperature required careful selection of the wood.

Moreover, constructing charcoal kilns had high requirements during the process..

The game also provided an unlimited supply of the finest charcoal, saving the players much effort.

Li Hongyun observed the furnace’s condition, including the color of the flames, the approximate temperature, and the color of the slag flowing out from the bottom.

The role of accelerants was apparent.

Limestone powder and charcoal worked together to reduce iron oxide to iron while forming separable calcium salts with the impurities.

Since the melting point of the impurities in the furnace was lower than that of iron, a large amount of them would be discharged in a molten state during smelting, while iron, having a higher melting point and not melting at this temperature, would soften into lumps and remain in the middle or bottom of the furnace.

The entire process was very lengthy, and at first, Li Hongyun was conservative, not daring to fast-forward time too much, pausing frequently to check on progress.

But gradually, he lost patience and began to fast-forward continuously.

Day and night passed, and the smelting process lasted a full three days and three nights.

The craftsmen tended to the furnace 24 hours a day, taking turns overseeing the process. Periodically, they had to add a suitable amount of iron sand, charcoal, or other materials, and continuously extract the residues from the bottom.

Of course, how much to add was always decided by Li Hongyun.

It is said that craftsmen with years of smelting experience could just listen to the sound of the furnace to judge the burning conditions inside it and adjust the raw material input accordingly. They could also check the color changes of the flames at the bottom of the furnace to see if the iron sand had turned into spongy rough steel lumps.

This spongy rough steel lump, in the process of forging Yi Dao, is referred to as jade steel.

It’s not surprising since the principle of ancient iron smelting was roughly the same, and the skills for forging Yi Dao were also transmitted from Huaxia, with local developments thereafter.

However, due to cultural differences between the two sides, forging techniques evolved differently.

The Qi Dynasty and the Sheng Dynasty had large armies, which meant it was inevitable that not too many resources could be spent on a single weapon. They pursued standardized weapons that could be equipped en masse. Moreover, due to the prevalence of heavy armor, ordinary swords and knives were of little use compared to large axes and long spears;

Meanwhile, Yi Dao, due to the low rate of armor wearing and smaller scale battles in its region, continuously refined its sword-making technique. Eventually, during the Sheng Dynasty, this technique was refined to the extent that General Deng Yuanjing ended up learning it for use in the Sheng Army’s standard blades.

"Almost there, let’s check!"

Li Hongyun saw that more and more iron clumps and charcoal ash were accumulating, and the smelting process in the furnace was essentially over. He immediately directed the craftsmen to quickly break the furnace, scrape away the non-meltable slag and charcoal ash, and extract the still extremely hot spongy rough steel lumps.

This process was agonizing, as the furnace’s high temperature made pulling it apart difficult, and the flames’ heat would burn the craftsmen’s skin, causing unbearable pain.

However, the craftsmen could not wait for it to cool down before starting because if the iron completely cooled down, it might solidify together with many impurities.

"Such a large piece of rough steel..."

Li Hongyun was a bit stunned at what the craftsmen had uncovered.

The rough steel was much larger than he had anticipated.

For his first attempt at smelting iron, Li Hongyun had no estimate of how much iron sand to add or how much rough steel to produce. He had merely mastered the essence of mixing, adjusting the water and sand ratio strictly according to the formula he found, and filled the entire furnace.

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