Chapter 60

It's not surprising that Yang Hegao couldn't make it, and what Zhang Han asked him to do wasn't to make chainmail, but to pull iron wires and coil them into springs. Zhang Han himself didn't know the exact principles behind this, so it would be strange to expect Yang Hegao to do it perfectly right away.

"Old Yang, you need to number the rulers and various tools, and keep a record of the time. Write down the strength of the iron wire each time it comes out, the duration and height of the furnace fire, and the purity and origin of the iron. This way, each time a different product comes out, you will gradually have a better understanding of what kind of iron wire can be pulled. Once you pass this step of pulling the wire, you can then coil it into iron rings. Try step by step, and over time, you will succeed."

"Yes, Master, I will follow your instructions and do my best."

Yang Hegao specialized in making weapons. In his view, springs were for carriages, which should have been Li Changnian's job. However, since Zhang Han gave it to him, he didn't dare refuse. Fortunately, Wang Debang, who had a good relationship with him, often brought his own people to help. However, the help was limited, as Wang Debang's team was also small, and making firelocks was new to everyone. Even though a few had been made, they were far from being skilled. Five or six people spent a lot of time just drilling the gun barrels, and they had to do many other small tasks. The carriage side also needed more people, and they had to learn to read at night. Everyone was very busy.

"There might be a shortage of people, and you've all been working hard lately. We will gradually recruit more people." Zhang Han smiled warmly and patted Yang Hegao's shoulder, saying, "Old Yang, you are a loyal and honest person. Honest people are not afraid of hard work, but they are afraid of being taken advantage of. Rest assured, I won't let you down. I see how much everyone does."

"Master..."

Yang Hegao's eyes were a bit moist, and he quickly wiped them with his rough hand, afraid that others would see.

Craftsmen also have their dignity and don't like to cry in front of a crowd.

Zhang Han turned his head at the right moment and looked at Old Cai, smiling, "Old Cai, I heard you are from Lingqiu?"

"Yes, I am from Lingqiu." Old Cai quickly stood up and smiled, "Why did you ask about this, Master?"

"Why did you become a bandit?"

"Master..." Old Cai's face turned red, and it was noticeable even on his dark skin, showing how embarrassed he was. He stammered, "My brother and I were originally ironworkers. Later, the furnace collapsed, and we ended up in Xinping Fort. We wanted to continue as blacksmiths, but there wasn't much work here, and we couldn't even afford food. We had to become bandits. At least we had some strength and courage, so we could earn a living. Now, under Master, it feels better to do our old job. I'm really not cut out to be a bandit."

Zhang Han nodded and pointed to a young man in his twenties behind Old Cai, asking, "Is this your brother?"

"Yes, that's Cai Jiu, my brother."

Cai Jiu was a bit shy and nervous, perhaps due to his honest nature. He tried to avoid Zhang Han, but when he couldn't, he quickly came forward to greet him.

"Cai Jiu, come here, I have some questions for you." Zhang Han's tone was very friendly and familiar, showing his skill in dealing with people.

Cai Jiu's face relaxed a bit, and he approached, stammering, "Master, what do you want to ask? I will answer everything."

"Have you and your brother ever set up a furnace?"

"My brother is the one who builds the furnace, and I fan the furnace. My brother also inspects the furnace, and I sometimes transport the ore. We do all kinds of hard labor. We are used to hard work."

"How many people does one furnace require?"

"Our furnace was large and used nearly seven hundred people. It took several months to build."

Building an iron furnace for smelting iron and steel is a highly specialized task. Zhang Han had no experience with this in his previous life and knew very little about it, only some rudimentary methods of steelmaking, which had failed. However, he knew some small techniques and methods. After chatting with Cai Jiu, he realized that iron smelting in the Ming Dynasty was not a simple task.

To obtain a license to smelt iron, one could start work. In the Qing Dynasty, mining was strictly prohibited. The reason was simple: the Qing Dynasty was weak and an external colonial regime, so it was wary of miners. Miners are different from farmers; they need a certain level of organization and the courage to venture out. A large mine could have dozens of furnaces, each with hundreds of people, and a large mine could gather tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people. The Qing Dynasty was not as strong as the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty was not as strong as the Song Dynasty, which had a more developed mining industry. The Ming Dynasty also prohibited private mining early on, fearing that improper management would lead to miners rebelling. There were indeed several miner rebellions in the early and middle Ming Dynasty, which took a lot of effort to quell. The combat ability of miners was not comparable to that of farmers. What made Qi Jiguang's army so strong? It was built on the backbone of miners from Yiwu!

While chatting with Cai Jiu, Zhang Han seemed to recall some texts: "Iron furnaces are made with salt and mud, often built near mountains or surrounded by large wooden frames, shaped with salt mud. It takes months to build, and any gap in the salt mud will ruin the entire effort. One furnace can hold two thousand pounds of iron, using wood, coal, or charcoal, depending on the region. Four people fan the furnace, and six people pull the ropes. After the iron is smelted, it flows out through a hole in the side, which is sealed with mud. Every six hours, a batch of iron is produced. After it is removed, the hole is sealed again, and the furnace is reheated."

Cai Jiu was one of the furnace fans, working with four others and six helpers pulling the ropes, working day and night. Just the fanning required ten people per shift, and many more were needed for other tasks, such as building the furnace with salt mud, gathering and transporting wood and charcoal, and carrying the ore, which was heavy labor. Daily food and supplies also needed to be transported, and after the iron was smelted, impurities had to be removed, and the iron had to be cast into ingots and transported out. The price of iron varied by region, and the selling price in the production area and other regions was different. In Fujian, iron cost only a few cents per pound, but in the south, it could cost more than five cents. In places like Xinping Fort, high-quality Fujian iron could cost over one tael per pound. Ten thousand pounds of Fujian iron could fetch a thousand taels of silver, which was a very high price and very profitable.

Zhang Han was not particularly interested in Fujian iron, which he used for the weapons of his guards and the firelocks. Local supplies were insufficient, but Datong had plenty, and many places around Xuanfu sold Fujian iron. Even if ordinary border troops didn't use it, officers and their retainers did. Northern iron, made with coal, had many impurities and was of average quality. Jin iron, a type of northern iron, was widely used to make weapons for the troops and armor, but not for the best weapons. Zhang Han was more interested in making various iron tools, such as horseshoes, iron pots, and shovels. There were many uses for iron, and it oxidized quickly in this era, so the demand was high. If he had a few furnaces producing hundreds of thousands of pounds of iron a year, he could make a good profit by making various tools, earning tens of thousands of taels of silver a year. The key was to have a smuggling route, as the demand for iron tools was high. Jin iron was of average quality, so he wasn't too worried about it being used to make weapons by the Mongols or the Jurchens. Of course, if it could be used for weapons, that would mean higher sales and higher profits, as high-quality iron for weapons was more expensive and in higher demand.

"Cai Jiu, it would be a waste to lose your skills. Your brother has a lot of responsibility here and can't leave. If I set up a furnace in Lingqiu, would you be willing to go back and manage it? As the furnace master, your monthly salary would be higher than a shopkeeper's, and you would manage hundreds of people. It would be a hundred times better than helping to shoe horses here, but it depends on whether you are willing."

Cai Jiu was in his mid-twenties. If he were a well-trained Shanxi merchant, he could have been a shopkeeper at this age. Cai Jiu had been working in the mountains since he was a teenager and became a vagrant with Old Cai before he was twenty. He looked honest and experienced, but he was a bit soft-spoken. Zhang Han needed to ask if he was willing, as he couldn't force him.

"Master..." Cai Jiu's face turned red, and he was unsure. He wanted to look back at Old Cai, but Zhang Han kept his gaze on him, preventing him from turning his head. After some thought, Cai Jiu said, "Being a furnace master is something I never dreamed of, but if Master trusts me, I am willing to try. However, setting up a furnace in the mountains requires a strong presence. Otherwise, it would be hard to deal with the local gentry and the village ruffians."

Setting up a furnace and smelting iron is essentially about making money, and extortion is inevitable.

In Lingqiu, Zheng Guochang and Ma Cheng'en couldn't help, as it was under the jurisdiction of the Shanxi provincial administration, and the Shanxi governor also had authority. Zhang Han didn't have solid connections there yet, but he could get help from the Zhang family in Puzhou. He planned to write to his third uncle and ask Zhang Xuezeng to help greet the local officials. Additionally, once Zhang Quanchang took office, with the strong backing of the Shanxi military commander, the situation in Lingqiu would be stable.

Zhang Han continued, "You don't need to worry about the gentry. I will take care of that. As for the ruffians, are your people dead? Give them weapons and let them fight back. Don't be afraid of killing people. Someone will take responsibility, and you won't be held accountable."

Cai Jiu was a bit afraid and nervous. In those days, setting up a mine required fighting. Iron mines were relatively easier, but silver and copper mines, or even gold mines, required killing to establish dominance. Even in Lingqiu, setting up a furnace required several fights to establish a presence.