The Rise of the European Emperor

Chapter 2168: Lorraine Iron

In fact, even if Francois I knew about this, he would not take it seriously, at most he would be upset. why? Originally, the German princes chose him in history to fight the powerful Charles V and prevent the Habsburg family from being too strong.

But now, because of Marin's intervention, Prince Juan of Spain did not die, and Charles failed to inherit the Spanish throne. Naturally, the German princes would not worry that the Habsburg family was too strong, and there would be no fight between the King of France and Charles. idea.

Of course, when the Habsburg family conquered the whole of Switzerland, the princes would still feel the pressure. It's just that there is no pressure from Charles V who united Spain.

In other words, Marin's disruption this time was just to break an extravagant hope of Francois I, not something he could have had at his fingertips. There will definitely be rifts between the two sides at that time, but they will not meet each other in battle.

On the contrary, Anthony, Duke of Lorraine, whose plan was exposed by Marin, completely hated Marin. After all, Marin didn't give him face very much this time. Originally, Anthony, who was also the Duke of Lorraine and the Duke of Bar in France, ate very well no matter in Germany or France, and everyone gave him face. Unlike Marin this time, he couldn't get off the stage on the spot. As for nobles, what they want is face, and interests sometimes give way to face. Therefore, between Duke Anthony and Marin, it is considered to be a bridge. If there is a chance to stab the knife, the opponent will never be vague. Even though Marin promised to purchase more iron ore in Lorraine, it did not reduce Duke Anthony's hatred of Marin.

Why did Marin buy low-quality iron ore from Lorraine? This involves the issue of weapons and equipment. Lorraine iron ore is of low grade and high in phosphorus. This kind of steel smelted from iron ore is fine for making farm tools and simple tools, but it is deadly for making weapons and armor.

High phosphorus content will make steel highly brittle, and it is easy to shatter when it collides with the enemy's weapon armor. Used on firearms, it is more deadly and will cause the chamber to explode.

Even if Marin uses quicklime as a slagging agent, it has a certain desulfurization and dephosphorization effect, but it is good for desulfurization, but the dephosphorization effect is not very good. Dephosphorization mainly depends on oxidation reaction to generate P2O5 and discharge it. But dephosphorization is best done in a low temperature environment, but how high is the temperature of the steelmaking furnace? Not only is it not conducive to dephosphorization, but it may also reversely regenerate phosphorus-containing impurities, reducing the dephosphorization effect.

In later generations, the method of oxygen top blowing is mainly used to increase the oxygen supply, so that oxygen and phosphorus can form P2O5 (sublimation into gas at 360 degrees). This method has a strong dephosphorization ability. But in this era, not to mention oxygen top blowing, air top blowing is very difficult.

Therefore, even if quicklime is used to dephosphorize, the steel produced from Lorraine iron ore with high phosphorus content is still of poor quality and cannot be used for casting guns and making barrels. It's not that it can't be made, it's just that the quality is poor.

Why did the French never beat the British in naval battles in later generations? In addition to the fact that the British have the technology of reverberatory furnace secondary refining of steel for casting guns, the Lorraine iron ore used by the French themselves has high phosphorus content, which is also an important factor for the French to always suffer.

The same is the same as naval guns. The French cannons made of steel smelted from Lorraine iron ore often explode. How can they compare with British naval guns?

In fact, German Gothic plate armor and Italian Milan plate armor also refused to use steel produced by Lorraine iron ore. Without him, the quality will be affected.

What does Marin want Lorraine Iron Mine for? Make farm tools! The steel smelted in the Lorraine Iron Mine is not good for weapons and armor, but it is no problem for making farm tools. For example, a hoe deals with soil, not something that is also steel. Therefore, high phosphorus content is not a problem. Of course, it is not acceptable to use it as a mining pick, because it is easy to break, after all, it contains high phosphorus and is brittle. But mine picks are not farming tools...

On the one hand, Marin wanted to sell farm tools to these unfriendly princes. After all, the cost of blast furnace iron smelting in Beihai was relatively low, and coke was still used.

However, Marin was worried that these hostile princes would buy back the iron farm tools made in Beihai, melt them down and make them into weapons and armor, and use them to attack Beihai. Therefore, Marin has been reluctant to sell ironware to the princes before.

However, the ironware produced from Lorraine iron ore is different.

Even if this kind of inferior steel product is melted, the quality is still not good. It is no problem to make farm tools and daily utensils, but it is definitely a problem to make weapons, armor and even guns.

On the one hand, you can make money by selling iron farm tools, and on the other hand, you don’t have to worry about hostile forces using them to make weapons and armor against you. Why not do it?

If he traveled to ancient China, Marin would also try to find a way to trade with the grassland tribes, and deliberately use an iron pot with high phosphorus content to trade with the grassland people. In this case, if the opponent uses it to forge a sword, it will be unlucky, and it will easily collapse if it is cut...

What? You said iron ore with high phosphorus content like Lorraine iron ore is hard to find? Don't you know that bones are high in phosphorus? Especially fish bones. When smelting iron, add some fish bone meal, and the phosphorus content of the smelted iron will increase. At that time, it will be no problem to make an iron pot, but it will be easy to break when making a machete...

Bone ashes are a miraculous thing. When this thing is added to china clay, the fired ceramics are high-quality bone china. However, when it is added to iron ore, what is smelted is inferior brittle iron.

Of course, the phosphorus content should not be too high. If the phosphorus content is too high, there will be problems even in making agricultural tools, which will cause the agricultural tools to break easily. Therefore, Marin also needs to let his craftsmen test a variety of steels with phosphorus content, and select the steel that is just suitable for making farm tools, but not suitable for making guns.

If it is too obvious, even the farm tools made are seriously problematic, then no princes will melt them down to make weapons and armor. So, for this ratio, we need to try more...

In order to make the vassals willing to buy the iron farm tools of Beihai, Marin vowed to brag - it is because of our new iron farm tools that Beihai has a bumper harvest every year...

As for the real high-yield secret fertilizer in Beihai, Marin didn't mention a word, and the question was Italian volcanic ash. There is a kind, you go to compete with France and Spain for the Kingdom of Naples...

Under Marin's obviously misleading propaganda, it turns out that many princes became interested in the iron farm tools of Beihai.

Moreover, Marin is not purely cheating. In order to enhance his persuasiveness, Marin even took out Qu Yuanli, which made the princes marvel again and again. However, Marin did not come up with the most advanced artifacts such as the Prader pear car and Mai Samarium. He came to make money, not to lead the princes to get rich together. So, giving a little of the good stuff is enough. It would be silly to take out all the good things.

In fact, Quyuanli is a magic tool for self-cultivating farmers, and it is the same for nobles.

why? Because the biggest feature of Quyuanli is to save animal power. The straight plow, which originally required two oxen to pull, can be pulled by one ox after it has been turned into a curved plow.

This is of great significance to ordinary self-cultivating farmers and can save animal power. But for the nobles, animal power is not a problem at all, they have enough cattle and horses. And self-cultivating farmers, in this era of Europe, do not have to pay taxes. Therefore, even if Marin sells Quyuanli to various countries, it will not bring huge changes to the nobles' farms. At most, it saves the number of livestock used, but the labor efficiency has not been greatly improved, and the output has not been greatly affected.

Of course, this does not affect the princes present in amazement after listening to Marin's introduction. After all, this thing sounds grand. Moreover, it is said to come from the legendary Eastern Empire, making it even more mysterious...

Moreover, the so-called "Prad plow cart" in Beihai is actually a combination of a curved shaft plow and a Saxon heavy plow. The Saxon heavy plow, also known as the Saxon wheel plow, has a wheel that controls the depth of the plow and the direction of the plow. It's just that the plowshare of the Saxon heavy plow is straight, while the plow with a curved shaft is curved. The Prader plow cart is to replace the straight plow head with a curved shaft plow, and let three curved shaft plows be arranged side by side on the wheel plow to form a plow cart with higher farming effect, nothing more.

In addition to iron agricultural tools such as shovels, shovels, hoes, and plows, there are also daily necessities such as kitchen knives, axes, and carriage iron frames. When exporting to hostile princes, low-quality iron such as Lorraine iron will be used as much as possible. In short, Marin will not give opponents the opportunity to strengthen themselves. In addition, the arquebus "made by Master Hans" will also be made of Lorraine iron.

Please remember the first domain name of this book: . Mobile version reading website:

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like