Chapter 92

Chapter 92:  Metal Processing.

The hot anvil, who made the first conveyor belt.

‘Damn…’

But after completing the conveyor belt, the hot anvil felt quite frustrated.

It was because the conveyor belt was not as widely used in the empire as he had expected.

‘I’m not wrong.’

The hot anvil did not think of the conveyor belt as a failure.

He thought it would surely make a mark in the empire’s history.

In fact, thanks to Kim Ki-woo’s great interest, his attempt was recognized, wasn’t it?

But the hot anvil could not be satisfied with just that.

His goal was to become a great craftsman like the sharp-eyed one who made the waterwheel for the first time.

‘What was the problem?’

After finishing the final experiment, the hot anvil reviewed his failure.

He wondered why so many craftsmen looked sour when they saw his finished product.

The hot anvil could easily figure this out.

The fact that a strong power source had to be supplied constantly, and that many precise steel parts were needed with almost no error.

And finally, that there was not enough complex process that required the conveyor belt yet.

‘There were more problems than I thought.’

In the end, the hot anvil had to admit it.

He didn’t know about the future, but under the current circumstances, it was hard for the conveyor belt to be widely used.

As he was reflecting on his failure.

The hot anvil came across the existence of the electric furnace.

And he saw with his own eyes the enormous amount of steel pouring out at the first demonstration.

Hope sprang up again in his chest when he saw this.

‘If this much steel is produced…’

He thought he could solve one of the biggest problems of the conveyor belt, which was the lack of precise steel parts.

‘Let’s try it.’

The hot anvil decided to try again.

And he spent a long time in the laboratory, refining and refining his plans for the future.

When his plans were all completed, he went to see the director of the laboratory he belonged to, Golden Cloud.

“So. Are you feeling better?”

“Yes. Thank you for your concern.”

“That’s good to hear. But what brings you here today?”

The hot anvil got straight to the point.

“Please let me use the steam engine again.”

“Hmm. The steam engine?”

“Yes. I heard that there are two more steam engines in the laboratory.”

“Well, yes, but you know that too. There are many senior craftsmen who want to use the steam engine.”

Golden Cloud’s voice showed a reluctant tone.

But the hot anvil did not back down and continued to persuade him.

“I know what you are worried about. But you don’t have to worry. I’m not going to try anything challenging this time. Will you please take a look at this?”

The hot anvil handed over his plan.

And he waited quietly until Golden Cloud read his plan completely.

‘Good.’

The hot anvil smiled slightly.

As he read his plan, Golden Cloud’s eyes softened more and more.

He had a very good feeling about it.

How long did he wait?

Finally, Golden Cloud finished reading his plan.

As soon as he realized this, the hot anvil started talking.

“As time goes by, machines like steam engines will become more numerous and sophisticated. Naturally, precise steel parts will be in demand. Isn’t that obvious from looking at the current steam engines?”

“That’s true.”

Golden Cloud nodded his head in agreement.

Steam engine explosions were happening frequently.

Most of the reasons for these accidents were defects in the parts.

A lot of parts went into a steam engine, and if they didn’t fit the specifications even slightly, they would burst under the high pressure of the steam at some point.

The empire was trying to produce many steam engines with its capabilities, but these problems were hindering them.

“Think about buildings. If the foundation is not solid, they will collapse sooner or later. In the upcoming era of machines, the foundation is precise metal processing technology, no matter what anyone says. If you trust me, I will build that foundation with my own two hands.”

After Hot Anvil finished his argument, Golden Cloud pondered for quite a long time.

Then, he gave his answer.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t support you with the three machines you’re using right now.”

“But…”

“Listen to me. There’s one more machine coming to the lab soon. I’ll give you that one.”

As soon as Golden Cloud finished his sentence, joy filled Hot Anvil’s face.

“Really… Thank you so much!”

“Hahaha. Who doesn’t know your passion? I hope you achieve a great success this time.”

“I will live up to your expectations, sir!”

***

At that moment.

Various researches on metal processing were already underway in the lab, the university, and the palace research complex.

It was only natural.

Hot Anvil’s idea was not something special.

There were few craftsmen who didn’t know that precise parts would become more important in the future.

However, Hot Anvil was confident about this research.

‘The key is to make a lot of precise steel parts.’

And this was quite advantageous for Hot Anvil, who had already created a conveyor belt, a mechanical process.

The current metal processing research using steam engines was done by cutting metal with rotational force from the powerful power of steam engines.

Hot Anvil’s plan was also similar.

Of course, the method was very different.

While other researches made one part by one person, Hot Anvil aimed to make a large number of parts at once by dividing them into several steps.

He thought that even if it took many steps to complete, the finished parts would all come out with the same specifications as long as he didn’t change the settings once he set them up.

‘This process will make it more precise.’

Hot Anvil continued his research with confidence.

Of course, there were too many difficulties at first.

One of them was that he couldn’t divide the process as he wanted because he only had one steam engine.

As a result, he had no choice but to finish one process completely, reset it, and then proceed with the next process.

But this was soon solved.

“Haha. I knew it was extraordinary when I saw your first proposal, but you really made these precise parts in large quantities at once. You’re amazing!”

“Sir, if you support me with more steam engines, I can make more precise and numerous parts. How can it not be possible?”

Hot Anvil poured out his troubles.

But he didn’t have high expectations.

He just hoped to get one more support from the steam engines that would come to the lab in the future.

Golden Cloud nodded his head as if he knew everything.

“I have eyes too. I know what you’re talking about. I’ve been reporting all your past research processes and results to them. And this morning, this came from the capital.”

“…What is this?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to see for yourself?”

He couldn’t hide his smug smile as he handed over the document that had flown in from the capital to Hot Anvil.

Sensing something extraordinary, Hot Anvil quickly scanned the document as soon as he picked it up.

And a few moments later.

Shiver.

“Wow…!”

His hands and eyes both trembled.

After firmly engraving all the contents of the document in his head, Hot Anvil came to his senses.

He asked incredulously, as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Is this true?”

“Do I look like someone who would forge an official document? And what benefit would I get from forging it?”

“Well, that’s true. But…”

“Congratulations. The empire has decided to fully support your research. His Majesty the Emperor has taken a deep interest in your research. I knew my eyes weren’t wrong. Hahaha!”

Golden Cloud patted Hot Anvil’s back several times, who was half out of his mind.

“From now on, if you want anything, just say it. Whether it’s a steam engine or an artisan, you’ll get as much support as you want. Do you understand?”

“Yes, yes…”

He answered, but it didn’t feel real, so Hot Anvil pinched his cheek hard.

Then a burning pain rose from his cheek.

Through this, he realized that this was not a dream.

Seeing him, Golden Cloud smiled fatherly and said.

“First of all, let’s move the lab. It’s too small here to bring in many steam engines. Just pack your personal belongings for now.”

With that, his meeting with Golden Cloud ended.

After that day, the scale of Hot Anvil’s research itself changed.

He moved from a cramped lab to a spacious one, and received as many steam engines as he wanted.

Also, many new artisans were mobilized for this research.

On the first day of the research.

Hot Anvil said this in front of the artisans who had gathered this time.

“The goal of this research is one thing: to make steel parts of the same standard without skilled artisans once all the processes are set up.”

He paused for a moment, then looked around at each of the artisans and continued.

“Steel parts are not works of art. Rather, they are the opposite. The beauty of steel parts is uniformity. If they are the same parts, they should have exactly the same shape and strength. I hope you all keep this in mind.”

“Yes!”

Then the research began in earnest.

Hot Anvil and the artisans thought of various processes for each part and introduced various processing technologies that had been developed in the empire to realize them.

Hot Anvil didn’t feel ashamed at all to adopt the achievements of other artisans.

His research was to integrate these independent processing technologies and build the most ideal production system.

If there was still something unsatisfactory, he would gather with the artisans and devise it himself.

As time went by, various production processes for steel parts were established.

***

“Haha. This is amazing.”

Kim Ki-woo repeated his admiration as he looked around at five large barrels one by one.

One barrel was filled with steel parts of the same standard.

The steel parts looked identical to the naked eye.

This was a clear advance in metal processing technology.

“Was his name Hot Anvil?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“Haha. One of this year’s medal recipients has been decided!”

Who else could receive a medal if not for such an outstanding artisan?

Kim Ki-woo thought as he looked at Hot Anvil’s research journal and report on his future plans.

‘I thought he was extraordinary when he came up with the conveyor belt idea, but he already achieved such remarkable results by dividing labor.’

These people who changed the existing paradigm deserved respect.

Hot Anvil was a good example of great success achieved by combining brilliant mind, passion and hard work.

Moreover, his plan was just beginning, and Kim Ki-woo realized it as soon as he saw Hot Anvil’s plan.

This research was just the beginning.

Unless something special happened, Hot Anvil’s legend would continue on, and someday he would be able to find his name in the history books.