Chapter 37

Chapter 37:  <The Age of Steel>

At that moment.

If gunpowder was stirring at the Imperial University, then at the Black Sky Ironworks they were on the verge of a great leap in steel production.

They had meticulously prepared for the decarburization process of pig iron over the past period.

And now.

“Let’s begin!”

Under the watchful eyes of countless craftsmen including Kim Kiwoo.

The final experiment of wrought iron production was underway.

They had already practiced enough beforehand. Therefore, the craftsman did not hesitate to open the outlet of the blast furnace.

Clang clang clang!

Then molten pig iron poured into a round barrel.

After all the pig iron was contained in the barrel, the craftsman closed the outlet.

The first hurdle was safely passed.

Then it was time to proceed with the next step.

“Turn the waterwheel!”

“Yes!”

Following the instructions of the senior craftsman, the craftsmen moved swiftly.

Clank clank.

Soon the waterwheel started to spin vigorously by the craftsmen.

Squeak squeak!

At the same time, a loud sound of metal scraping echoed. It was coming from the metal rod that connected the waterwheel and the wheel.

The wheel turned by the power of the waterwheel and started to stir up molten iron in a circular barrel with a long paddle attached to it.

‘Good.’

So far everything went well without any problems.

They had already done enough experiments on decarburization process of pig iron but it was unpredictable what would happen in practice.

But fortunately nothing unexpected happened so far.

It was a good start.

It wasn’t just Kim Kiwoo’s thought.

“Wow… The waterwheel is really amazing. It can turn such a big paddle by itself.”

The industrial director exclaimed as he watched the paddle spinning by the waterwheel.

It would have been difficult for a human to stir molten iron on top of that glowing barrel. No, it was almost impossible.

It was hard enough for a human to endure that tremendous heat, let alone stirring such a big paddle.

Until now, the waterwheel had made many tasks easier or more efficient, but this was something that seemed impossible without the waterwheel.

Kim Kiwoo chuckled and said.

“It’s too early to be surprised by this.”

“What do you mean?”

“We have just begun to use the power of flowing water. And the water will keep flowing.”

“Surely it will.”

Unless the world ends, water flows from top to bottom. The river never stops.

“That means, more ways to use it will appear over time.”

“Hmm… Do you think something else will come out of here?”

“Haha. You seem to underestimate human curiosity. Now that we know how to use the power of water, it will surely be as I say. I’ll bet on it.”

Kim Kiwoo asserted. He knew that later they would even make electricity with hydropower.

“Haha. I hope it will be as you say. If the power of water is used more, surely the lives of the imperial people will improve.”

“It will. And not only the power of water, but also other powers of nature will be used.”

“Other powers?”

“Yes. Don’t you think there are only powers of water to use?”

“Um…”

The waterwheel was just spreading across the empire.

But other powers than water.

It was a topic he had never thought of before.

Seeing his expression, Kim Kiwoo smiled and continued.

“You don’t have to think too hard. The power of wind can also be used by humans, right?”

“…Ah!”

An exclamation burst out of the industrial director’s mouth.

Come to think of it, just like water flows, wind blows.

That is, just as they made a waterwheel to use the power of water, they could also use the power of wind.

The industrial director understood Kim Kiwoo’s intention.

“Not only water and wind, but also many other phenomena in nature can give us power. For example…”

Kim Kiwoo raised his finger and pointed at the molten iron being mixed by the paddle.

“The iron?”

“No. The heat around it.”

“Heat…”

The industrial director furrowed his brow.

He understood the concept of using the power of water and wind.

But to turn heat into power?

He couldn’t comprehend what that meant.

“How did we manage to utilize iron?”

“Well… we used charcoal as fuel.”

“Right. We used the heat from charcoal to melt iron ore. And we also made cement and bricks with the same principle, didn’t we?”

“Yes, you are right.”

“But is there a way to convert this heat into power? Like we made waterwheels to harness the power of water.”

Only then did the industrial director grasp Kim Ki-woo’s words.

“Is that possible?”

“I don’t know. It might be hard for now. But I don’t think it will be impossible forever.”

The industrial director pondered Kim Ki-woo’s words.

‘Using heat…’

But no matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t come up with a way.

How could heat be turned into power? Could such a device be made?

However…

‘Someday, His Majesty will find a way.’

His Majesty had made many things possible that seemed impossible.

Wasn’t it because he never settled for the present that the current empire was built?

He felt that in the future, as His Majesty said, they would be able to use various natural forces.

Of course, he wouldn’t be able to lead the research on this with his old and frail body.

He didn’t have much time left to live.

‘But I can still play a role in spreading His Majesty’s intentions.’

There were many people with better brains than him at the Imperial University.

His role was to inform them of these absurd words that His Majesty occasionally threw out.

The industrial director had been doing this. And he did the same this time.

After returning to the capital, he wrote down this conversation with Kim Ki-woo and spread it widely at the Imperial University.

This became the catalyst for scholars to open their eyes to the concept of energy.

***

While their conversation continued, the experiment of producing wrought iron went on.

The molten iron was stirred by a furnace for enough time, then poured into ingots and made into iron bars.

After the iron bars cooled sufficiently,

Kim Ki-woo approached them himself.

“Give me a hammer.”

The craftsmen were startled by his appearance.

“Do you want to do it yourself? We can do it for you…”

“It’s fine. I want to try it myself.”

Not only the craftsmen, but also the officials and guards looked worried, but Kim Ki-woo didn’t care.

What was so dangerous about this?

Being too protected was not always pleasant. Like now.

Kim Ki-woo took a hammer and swung it down at the iron bar.

Clang!

“Wow!”

Just one strike.

But the result was clear. The craftsmen had lived with iron for a long time, so they understood it better than anyone else.

The iron bar was dented.

This would never happen if it was cast iron.

That meant…

“It’s wrought iron!”

“We succeeded! Hahaha!”

The doubt that this method would produce wrought iron disappeared quickly.

The craftsmen hugged each other and expressed their joy. Kim Ki-woo also smiled broadly.

“Good. Now we just need to find the right time by changing how long we stir the furnace.”

“We’ll do that.”

“Okay. I trust you.”

“The experiment was practically successful.

Now they just needed to find the optimal time.

That meant there was nothing more for Kim Ki-woo to do here.

It was time to move on to the next step.

How to make wrought iron into steel.

That is, the crucible steel method.

***

Kim Ki-woo moved busily.

Still, it took more time to implement the crucible steel method than to make the decarburization process of cast iron.

‘I have to make a crucible furnace underground.’

Of course, he didn’t make it deep in the ground.

He made it deep enough for people to put in and take out the crucibles.

‘That way, I can make crucible steel continuously.’

If he made such a facility on the ground, he would have to go up and down the stairs to take out the crucibles.

Even if that was possible, he would have to make a wide space where he could step safely…

There was no need to bother with that. It was easier to make it underground from the beginning.

There were plenty of builders and laborers in the Black Sky. Kim Ki-woo used them as much as possible.

They dug up the ground and made an underground furnace, and surrounded it with fire-resistant bricks.

And they installed a bellows connected to a waterwheel that faced the underground.

After this work, the crucible furnace was finally completed.

“How does it look to you?”

“Hmm… I don’t see anything wrong with it.”

The industrial director and Kim Ki-woo checked the crucible furnace for the last time.

“I don’t see anything wrong with it either.”

Kim Ki-woo and the industrial director came out of the crucible furnace.

And they checked each of the ten crucibles.

“Did you fill them with different ratios?”

“Yes. We filled them with different amounts of wrought iron and cast iron.”

A crucible that could hold about 13~15kg of iron.

Now it was time to experiment with how much wrought iron and cast iron to mix in it.

When they found the ratio that produced the best quality steel, they would fill the crucibles with iron according to that ratio and make steel.

“Let’s get started then.”

They had reached the long-awaited climax.

Unlike before, when they decarburized cast iron, there was nothing more to prepare.

As Kim Ki-woo gave his order, they filled the furnace with enough coke.

Whoosh!

And they lit it up.

Whoo! Whoo!

The bellows connected to the waterwheel blew air into the coke.

The furnace began to heat up gradually.

Soon, intense heat emanated from around it.

“It looks like we can put in the crucibles now.”

At the craftsman’s words, Kim Ki-woo nodded his head.

“Put in the crucibles.”

Then they put in ten crucibles with lids on them into the furnace.

Of course, they carefully used tongs to put in the crucibles from a distance.

The heat was too strong. If they slipped and fell into the crucible furnace, they would die on the spot.

There was no one who could survive at that temperature.

Time passed like that.

Fortunately, there were no special problems during that time.

The craftsmen were already skilled enough in using coke.

It wasn’t like they put any flammable material in the crucibles, so there wasn’t much chance of a big accident happening.

“Your Majesty. The time is up.”

“Is that so? Then let’s take out the crucibles now.”

“Understood.”

As Kim Ki-woo’s command fell, the craftsmen began to move.

“Creak…”

The craftsmen soon groaned.

The furnace was estimated to rise up to 1,600 degrees Celsius.

It was a process of approaching such a hot furnace and taking out the crucibles.

Even from a distance, the heat reached Kim Ki-woo and made him sweat. How hot must it be for them?

The crucible furnace was open.

That meant that heat was spreading strongly around it.

It was hard to breathe just by getting close to it.

But someone had to go there personally to get those crucibles out.

The craftsmen sweated like rain and used tongs to take out one crucible at a time.

‘It’s a hellish environment.’

Kim Ki-woo watched as the craftsmen took out one crucible and put in another one, and thought:

They wouldn’t live long doing this work.

Kim Ki-woo pushed his thoughts aside and watched their actions closely.

The craftsmen opened the lids after taking out the crucibles.

And they discarded the slag debris separated by lime powder.

After removing the slag, they put the molten iron into molds.

‘It’s finally over.’

Kim Ki-woo clenched his fist tightly.

He was confident of success.

The iron was perfectly melted. Surely carbon had spread evenly in its molten state.

Among them, he would find the best ratio for making high-quality steel.

Once he confirmed the optimal ratio, it would be over.

He would finally be able to mass-produce high-quality steel.

It was the end of a long or short journey.

<The Age of Steel.> The End.