There is no doubt that the iron pot is a heavy tool.

When there was no way to produce iron pots by casting, craftsmen had to rely on craftsmen to forge them with hammers, which was time-consuming and labor-intensive, resulting in high costs.

If the cost of iron pot is high, it cannot be promoted.

Now that coke is available, the labor cost of making a pot is about the same as that of making a hoe, and the labor price has been low enough to be promoted on a large scale.

Compared with clay cookware, iron pots have many advantages. First, iron pots are thin and light, and have a large capacity. The capacity of a medium-sized iron pot is equal to that of a large urn, and you should know that large clay pots are not easy to produce.

, the larger the pottery is, the easier it is to burn out when fired. The production cost of a large urn is not low.

Second, iron pots heat very quickly, thus saving firewood. Using iron pots to cook can save two-thirds of the firewood compared to clay cooking utensils. You must know that in ancient times, firewood was a precious commodity, and ordinary people often did not even bother to keep out the cold.

There is no firewood. Because iron pots require iron, the cost is definitely much higher than that of clay. However, iron pots are only expensive for a short time, but saving firewood lasts a long time. After conversion, it is estimated that the iron pot will be used for one or two years.

The firewood saved has evened out the purchase cost. In other words, in the long run, buying iron pots is more cost-effective than using clay utensils.

Third, it is still heating. Iron can rise to extremely high temperatures, so it can be fried and cooked, and there are extremely rich cooking methods. However, clay utensils have extremely low temperatures, and there are only three cooking methods: stewing and kang. From the practical point of view,

In terms of sex, the iron pot wins again.

The fourth advantage of iron pots is that they are light. A large pottery urn weighs twenty kilograms, while an iron pot only weighs a few kilograms. This is a weight difference of more than ten kilograms when marching. By saving weight, you can carry more food.

Logistics capabilities will be enhanced.

The fourth advantage of an iron pot is its size. There is no large pot that can cook food for a hundred people at a time. However, an iron pot that can cook food for a hundred people at a time can be made at will.

When marching, a camp of cooks was set up and a few large iron pots were brought with them. At each camp, the soldiers cooked porridge themselves, while the camp of cooks was responsible for cooking in large pots. In this way, they could eat delicious hot dishes while marching.

, how much morale needs to be enhanced.

The iron pot is truly an artifact, and Li Mengxi is very sure that the iron pot will become an excellent commodity.

If we say that paper has a limited market and can only be sold to scholars, steel-filled weapons and spirits can only be sold as high-end products, medicines are not produced enough, even if they are not enough, and white linen has not yet been produced due to restrictions on the scale of looms,

There are also cultured pearls, which can only be harvested after several years. If all these top products cannot be dumped on a large scale, then the iron pot is the only thing that can be dumped all over the world.

The use of coke makes the production cost of iron pots ridiculously low. The cost is low enough that a slight increase in price can make a profit. The iron pot is easy to use, coupled with the low price, and Julu's expertise in technology.

Monopoly, it is estimated that the release of the iron pot will directly cut the court's salt and iron tax in half.

The scale of making iron pots is not a problem. With sufficient iron materials and coke, casting tens of thousands of pots a day is not a problem. Iron is not difficult to obtain, but coal is not easy to obtain, which restricts the production of iron pots.

Only coal.

With the first big pot produced, Li Mengxi ordered the tofu to be fetched. The tofu was cut into small pieces and poured into the pot in baskets. He poured half the pot of tofu, poured in a few baskets of bean sprouts, and poured in a few bowls of oil.

, add a few scoops of flour, then sprinkle in two bowls of chopped green onions, a bowl of garlic, a bag of shredded ginger and Sichuan peppercorns, pour in half a pound of salt, and then turn on the fire and bring to a boil.

The heating efficiency of the iron pot is too fast. In less than two seconds, the water will boil, and in another quarter, the vegetables will be cooked.

Li Mengxi called the craftsmen over to eat vegetables. A large pot of vegetables was served to each of the craftsmen, and each of the craftsmen was given a large bowl, enough to feed two hundred and thirty-seven people.

A pot big enough to feed more than two hundred people has aroused countless discussions.

Liu Bei ate a bowl of hot tofu soup and said it was delicious.

Li Mengxi said with a smile, "Mr. Xuande may not know that the iron pot has the magical effect of curing diseases."

"Oh?" Liu Bei was surprised, "Is there such a thing?"

The magical effect of iron pot in curing diseases lies in its iron supplement.

Among poor groups, iron deficiency will be very serious. As long as iron is added with vinegar, it will react and become iron that can be absorbed by the body.

From this point of view, when iron pots are put into use, the supporting vinegar industry should be expanded simultaneously. With enough vinegar, people in Zhi Nei will cook food with iron pots and vinegar. If they eat like this for two years, the iron deficiency will be reduced.

Greatly improved.

From this point of view, in order to maximize the iron-supplementing effect of vinegar, you can use iron bottles to store vinegar. Of course, iron bottles and vinegar will react when placed together, but what is important is reaction. If the iron bottles and vinegar are left for a long time, the reaction will occur.

The iron bottle was corroded and there was a lot of iron in the vinegar.

Then, when the vinegar aged in iron bottles is distributed to the people, it will already be vinegar with added trace elements of iron. This measure will increase the efficiency of iron supplementation by as much as ten times.

Coke cast iron was a great success, but due to lack of coal, it could not be produced on a large scale and could only be used for testing purposes.

After Li Mengxi cast iron pots, he also cast agricultural tools, swords, arrowheads, armor pieces, etc. The molten iron refined with coke is very fluid, and the casting performance is unquestionable. Because of this extremely outstanding casting advantage, coke cast iron

It is more advantageous in casting large-scale utensils.

The problem lies here, among the commonly used ironware, there are not many large ironwares, and iron pots are among the commonly used large ones.

The iron pot is the first utensil most suitable for production with coke.

The second piece is the nail plate.

The reason why it is a piece of armor is that although a piece of armor is a small instrument like an arrowhead, the arrowhead is short and thick, and the arrowhead can be cast from molten iron that is not completely melted.

But the armor pieces are not only small, but also too thin. It is possible to cast the armor pieces with molten iron. The common method is to use pig iron with high carbon content to melt into molten iron. The melting point of pig iron is low, and the molten iron flows.

If the mold is stronger, then the molten iron can be poured into a slightly thicker mold to cast the armor piece into shape.

After the armor pieces cast from pig iron are formed, because the pig iron is too brittle, the outer layer of carbon can only be removed as a last resort. After the outer layer is decarbonized, it becomes tough, which makes the armor pieces actually become steel clips - the outside.

It is decarburized wrought iron with a layer of pig iron inside, which is tough on the outside and hard on the inside, giving it a certain degree of defense.

However, with this casting method, due to the high carbon content of the pig iron, the inside is relatively brittle, and the mold is too thick, resulting in the armor pieces being too heavy.

This is how ordinary low-quality nail polishing is done.

Now that coke is available, iron with a slightly lower carbon content can be used for casting.

Li Mengxi selected some filled steel, and then used coke to melt it into water. After smelting, the melted molten iron was slightly more viscous than the molten pig iron.

Then, molten iron is poured into the armor plate mold and cast into shape.

More than fifty pieces of iron armor were cast. After being set on fire and decarburized, the toughness of the armor pieces was greatly enhanced.

But when Li Mengxi took the armor piece to compare with other forged armor pieces, he was shocked to find that the defense power of his own armor piece was even worse.

This seems wrong. Because of the coke, pig iron with a slightly lower carbon content is used, and the core of the nail plate should be stronger. However, according to the test and comparison results, the nail plate appears to be more brittle.

If it's not the iron, it must be the coke.

"It's... sulfur element." Li Mengxi suddenly understood.
Chapter completed!