Chapter 20: A New Beginning
Looking at the blast furnace radiating intense heat in front of him, Li Meng frowned slightly.
The larger the blast furnace, the better it retains heat, and the higher the pressure inside.
Higher pressure can lower the melting point of iron.
If the furnace is too small, heat will quickly dissipate through the furnace walls.
Without sufficient wind power, it is also difficult to raise the internal temperature of the furnace to 1300 degrees Celsius.
The Goblins pulling the bellows were sweating profusely.
They were not only hot but also had sore and tired arms.
The Goblins, with bitter expressions, had no choice but to continue.
"Boss, my hands are going to be useless!"
As the Goblins wailed in despair, time passed bit by bit.
Five hours later, at the underground riverbank in the cave.
The blast furnace on the bank emitted astonishing heat.
Even from five meters away, one could feel the scorching waves of heat.
Standing by the furnace, Li Meng used his hand to feel the temperature without directly touching it.
An hour ago, the temperature in the furnace had stopped rising.
Li Meng knew that the furnace had reached its limit.
"Then let's open the furnace!"
Looking at the blast furnace before him, Li Meng thought to himself.
Success was important, but not critical.
This was just an initial experiment; Li Meng wasn’t afraid of failure.
Even if it failed, he would gain experience and ensure success next time.
Li Meng took a few steps back, bent down, and picked up a mold placed to the side.
He then positioned the mold at the furnace's iron outlet.
Using a stick, he pried open the stone block sealing the outlet.
As the stone block was removed, molten iron, blazing hot, flowed out.
This sight made Li Meng’s eyes light up.
He hadn’t expected his first attempt at smelting iron in a blast furnace to succeed.
The molten iron, resembling lava, continuously poured into the mold.
With pig iron, the possibility of steelmaking emerged.
Pig iron, when placed in a humid environment, reacts with air and water to produce a large amount of rust.
Smelting rust and pig iron together can yield low-carbon steel.
Steelmaking is not limited to this method.
Pig iron can also be hammered into fragments for secondary smelting. Stirring molten pig iron increases its exposure to oxygen, oxidizing the carbon in the iron.
By controlling the carbon content through experiments, the process can be halted to produce medium-carbon or high-carbon steel.
Alternatively, carbon can be fully oxidized to obtain low-carbon wrought iron.
Pouring molten pig iron onto red-hot wrought iron and melting them together can produce high-carbon steel.
"Strange, such a small blast furnace shouldn’t reach the melting point of iron."
Looking at the molten iron flowing from the outlet, Li Meng pondered.
Could the oxygen content of this world differ from Earth’s?
Higher oxygen levels lead to more intense fires.
The more intense the fire, the higher the temperature.
Without dwelling too much on it, success was success; the result was what mattered most.
The successful first experiment marked a good beginning.
In the following days, Li Meng focused on one thing:
Teaching the Goblins the iron smelting process.
This included how to produce iron, temper it, quench it, forge it, and other related knowledge.
Although the Goblins weren’t very intelligent, their ability to mimic was strong.
Li Meng didn’t need the Goblins to understand the principles of iron smelting.
He only required them to follow the steps meticulously.
Half a month later, at the underground riverbank.
"This is an hourglass. When the sand runs out, it’s time to open the furnace. Understand?"
At the riverbank, Li Meng held a simple hourglass made of bamboo.
The Goblins had no concept of time.
To be precise, they lacked tools to measure it.
The Goblins at the riverbank nodded in agreement.
"Good. Starting today, you will build blast furnaces, smelt iron yourselves, and produce molten iron. Success means each of you gets a day of mating rights. Failure means you’ll never reproduce in your lifetime."
Hearing that success would grant them mating rights, the Goblins' eyes lit up.
They looked at their leader with eagerness, drool nearly dripping from their mouths.
Since eating Ogre meat from the cave, the seven Goblins had evolved into Hobgoblins in just over half a month.
Facing the excited Goblins, Li Meng waved his hand.
"Go now! You have five sunsets’ time!"
Hearing this, the Goblins quickly turned and ran towards the cave entrance.
They had to start from scratch, selecting iron ore with high iron content, finding clay for furnace construction, and gathering wood for charcoal.
Watching the Goblins’ retreating backs, Li Meng grinned.
He intended to train these seven Goblins as blacksmiths.
Once they became blacksmiths, their descendants would inherit their craft.
By then, the tribe would have a large team of blacksmiths.
"System, begin life simulation!"
Unknowingly, a month’s cooldown period had passed again.
Li Meng was filled with anticipation for the future of his simulated life.
[Start Life Simulation]
[You began a blacksmithing career. Your efforts paid off, and the tribe entered the Iron Age.]
[You forged your first spear.]
[You crafted your first crossbow.]
[You began arming your tribe, and it thrived.]
[One of your hunting teams was ambushed and annihilated by Lizardmen while collecting spider silk in the Ghost Spider Forest.]
[In the east, traces of Pigmen were discovered. A Pigmen tribe entered your territory.]
[Due to population growth in the tribe, food pressure led you to decide to wage war.]
[Please choose one of the following options:]
[1. Seek revenge on the Lizardmen.]
[2. Annihilate the Pigmen tribe that entered your territory.]
[3. Cross the river to advance south and expand hunting grounds.]
Li Meng sat on a large rock by the riverbank.
Which of the three options should he choose?
Sitting on the rock, he stared blankly at the water.
The Lizardmen had lived in the swamp for countless years.
They were a tough opponent, and attacking them was unwise.
However, the Ghost Spider Forest was near the swamp.
Without eliminating the Lizardmen, obtaining spider silk would remain a significant issue.
The second option was a big trap.
Li Meng hadn’t forgotten the predictions from his previous life simulation.
In that future, the Pigmen grew stronger due to his iron-smelting furnace, eventually giving rise to the Golden Pig King.
This indicated that the Pigmen were a vast and organized group.
Eliminating the migrating Pigmen tribe might provoke the larger group behind them.
As for the third option, it could lead to internal conflict.
Crossing the river would encroach on Gobuba’s territory.
Li Meng wasn’t confident he could defeat Gobuba yet.
If he lost the leader’s duel, he’d lose everything.
For now, the third option was also a trap.
"Choose to seek revenge on the Lizardmen!"
In the end, Li Meng decided to retaliate against the Lizardmen.