Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!
Chapter 1004 - 604: Ironware, the Revolutionary Productivity!

Chapter 1004: Chapter 604: Ironware, the Revolutionary Productivity!

"The rise of the military merit nobility and the samurai class is challenging the traditional nobility and priesthood, driving the political change of the Kingdom! However, such change still requires corresponding progress in production capacity..."

Near lunchtime, the sound of prayers from tens of thousands of samurais was heard from the camp outside the city. Xiulote listened for a moment, smiled, and then found two documents from the Mining and Metallurgy Bureau in the Kingdom report. The key to the Kingdom’s production capacity innovation lies within them.

"Respected Highness, your samurai, Necali, reports to you: In the Qinganbate mining area, there are already eight thousand mining slaves. Among them, there are over six thousand mining slaves in the six copper mining areas. In the three to four coal mining areas, there are more than a thousand mining slaves. In the surrounding logging camps, there are several hundred mining slaves..."

"Your Divine Revelation has always guided us! According to your instructions, your samurais have utilized more ventilation equipment and transport wheelbarrows. More furnaces over two meters high were built in the mining areas, adopting enlarged large bellows. Around the mining areas, walls were constructed using copper slag from the furnaces and stones from the mountains..."

"Now, the average monthly mining and smelting output of copper materials is about eight thousand pounds per thousand people, and the monthly output totals fifty thousand pounds! Chief Divine bless us! In two years, the copper output in the mining areas has doubled!..."

Seeing this, Xiulote nodded with satisfaction, feeling quite gratified.

The copper quality of Qinganbate mining area is indeed excellent. By significantly increasing mining slaves and using vertical furnaces and large bellows, the mining area has reached a monthly production of over twenty tons of copper materials. With such a significant increase in output, more bronze can be directed towards the production of agricultural tools and implements, thus fundamentally enhancing the production capacity of the entire Kingdom. Of course, mining in the Middle Ancient Times was the most burdensome and dangerous labor, unparalleled. Behind this increase in copper production, the price paid...

"Highness, your samurai begs of you: Can some new mining slaves be supplemented from the Kingdom’s eastern campaign captives? The monthly loss in the mining area is about one hundred fifty people..."

Xiulote’s eyes twinkled as he silently calculated. A monthly loss of 150 people, which means an annual loss of around one thousand eight hundred. But based on the ratio of eight thousand in the mining area...

"Each mining slave can only live for a little over four years?"

Xiulote lowered his gaze, silent for a moment. Then, his expression unchanged, he picked up the pen and wrote a new Royal Decree.

"Necali, my samurai, you have done well! Continue to increase production capacity and try to reduce losses... Increase the number of mining slaves to ten thousand. Copper output should reach over thirty tons a month!... As for the samurais consumed in suppression, I will replenish them for you!"

After writing the Royal Decree, Xiulote took out the seal and stamped the King’s emblem on it. The red emblem appeared in his eyes like blood, yet the blood color was unavoidable; it is the fuel for the progress of the era, as well as the accumulating corpses of all beings. Next was the second document, from the responsible Tecos Warrior, Mavik, of the Black Rock Mountain iron mine.

"To the highest Majesty! Your seaside scales, Mavik reports to you: The rainy season has passed, and lightning no longer strikes, the excavation of Black Rock Mountain iron mining area has returned to its normal state! In the mining area, there are now one thousand six hundred Tecos miners and four hundred loggers, busy day and night... In fact, this is open-pit mining, and the workforce in the mining area can still be increased significantly. However, the food supply in the mining area has always been a bit tight..."

At this point, Xiulote thought for a moment and nodded slightly. Around Black Rock Mountain, the residing Tecos tribespeople total less than ten thousand. Their farming level is also very limited, unable to provide much surplus food. The main food source for the mining area comes from Zicao City, four hundred li to the north. Through the waterway of the Tarsas River, downstream, this journey is not difficult, and food can be conveniently transported and arrive.

However, since the eastern campaign, Zicao County has settled too many Telascallan youths, and food is very tight. On the river plains north of Trout Fish Village, more than ten thousand Telascallan tribes are currently settled for cultivation. They will have food production only after the fall harvest next year.

"The development of the mining industry requires an agricultural basis. The southern lowlands are wide and sparsely populated, not nearly as fertile as the rivermouth and Capital Region, so further cultivation is certainly needed. Since Black Rock Mountain has iron mines and convenient waterways, the Kingdom’s development focus must tilt towards the southern seaside."

Deciding on his plan, Xiulote once again looked at the details on mining and smelting in the report. This portion should be written by the priest and craftsmen, and is quite detailed.

"Majesty, iron ore and copper ore are both essences condensed by the Earth Mother. But iron ore, baptized by the Chief Divine’s lightning, is much harder than copper ore! The miners’ speed in mining iron ore is much slower than that of copper ore. Moreover, iron smelting is more difficult, and the iron product output is lower than that of equivalent copper ore..."

Seeing this, Xiulote pondered slightly. The iron quality of Black Rock Mountain is obviously lower, showing the distinction compared to the high-quality copper of Qinganbate. Meanwhile, the Mohs hardness of iron ore is 5-6, whereas copper ore is 3.5-4.5. With current technological levels, the cost of mining and smelting iron ore is feared to be higher than copper ore.

"Iron production at Black Rock Mountain has been ongoing for two years. Following the ongoing Divine Revelations from Your Highness, and due to Your Highness’s generous rewards, priests and craftsmen have been continuously exploring, and have achieved some results..."

"Firstly, constructing vertical furnaces over two meters tall with kaolin and clay, equipped with large bellows... Fuel below, iron ore above, leveraging the Fire God’s mighty power, blowing with the Wind God’s strength, melting the Earth Mother’s essence... The smelting furnace produces molten iron, solidifying into iron material. However, at this point, the iron material is brittle and unsuitable for use. So, the craftsmen follow closely, placing it in the smelting furnace. The iron material melts a second time, and it gets better."

Seeing this, Xiulote nodded with satisfaction. The product of the smelting furnace is high-carbon pig iron. The second melting aims to reduce the carbon content in the pig iron.

Under his diligent thinking and advanced guidance, the Kingdom’s iron smelting technology quickly surpassed the original stage of the bloomery process, arriving at the stage of pig iron smelting with high temperatures in the vertical furnace. This also holds enlightenment from the Celestial Empire, technology emerging as early as the Warring States period.

"... After the smelting furnace is a row of ceramic moulds. As per Your Highness’s instructions, the current primary focus is on agricultural implements manufacturing. As for the iron mould you pointed out, craftsmen are still exploring but have made some progress... Molten iron is poured into ceramic moulds, solidifying into various agricultural implements. However, they are still slightly brittle at this stage, requiring blacksmiths to heat and continuously forge... The more forging, the better the effect, until durable implements are produced. This is repeated forging, incorporating the Chief Divine’s power, making the ironware harder!... Of course, as per your instructions, after the forging is completed, a quenching step follows, introducing the Rain Divine’s strength!... Aggregating the power of All Gods, thus obtaining hard and tough ironware!"

"Majesty... As for the ’extremely hard iron’, ’soft iron and hard iron mixed forging’, and ’semi-melted molten iron with iron powder stirring steel’, ’maintaining molten iron and long-term open-air stirring mature steel’... Uh, priests and craftsmen are striving to explore. Chief Divine bless the Kingdom! By next year, the mining area will surely see breakthrough progress!..."

At this point, Xiulote’s expression changed, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. He frowned, pondering the current situation of the Kingdom’s iron smelting.

After multiple forging times, the pig iron was forged into relatively poor quality steel, suitable for use as agricultural implements and shorter weapons. This was also the current situation at the Black Rock Mountain mining area, providing some iron agricultural implements for the Kingdom’s tillage and further exploring steelmaking processes.

To obtain higher quality steel, the Han Dynasty’s "stirring steel method" or the mature "casting steel method" of the Southern and Northern Dynasties would be required to produce wrought iron, then mix with pig iron into steel. These transitive technologies, hoping to replicate them in resource-poor Central America, still require time...

If high-quality steel is urgently needed, the bloomery process can be used to produce wrought iron, then combine it with pig iron from the vertical furnace to achieve relatively high-quality steel. However, the cost consumption and the eventual quality of the finished product leave much to be desired. Overall, the most achievable steelmaking method currently should be the Han Dynasty’s stirring steel method.

"Knowing is easy, doing is hard; accumulating thickly and then emitting thinly. The accumulation of the Kingdom’s smelting technology is insufficient; even with a clear route, bypassing several hundred years of exploration, it’s still difficult to achieve it in one step!"

Xiulote sighed softly, a helpless expression appearing on his face. For the priests and craftsmen of the Black Rock Mountain mining area, he could not demand more. In the face of sincere faith in the Chief Divine and the Kingdom’s alluring rewards, the craftsmen have already done their best. What’s remaining, is truly limited in capability and lack of experience...

"If only I could obtain craftsmen from the Old Continent..."

Divine Smoke rises, like ascending desires. The young King muttered softly. His gaze again turned to the East, thousands of miles away.