Chapter 19: Iron Smelting Experiment
"Let's go, we're heading out!"
The cave was large enough; there was no need to explore further.
Even this space was sufficient.
With wind and water available, it was an excellent spot for smelting iron.
Li Meng led the Goblin underlings out of the cave.
Outside the cave, Li Meng began assigning tasks to the Goblins.
"You, you, and you, go into the forest and collect stones like this."
Li Meng held up a stone to demonstrate.
The stone was one he had picked up by the river inside the cave.
It had a dull gray color—it was iron ore.
This indicated that the cave was a natural iron ore mine.
The three Goblins he pointed at quickly ran into the forest.
"Gobuge, you guys gather dry wood!"
Gobuge nodded and led the remaining Goblins into the forest.
"Benben, we're going to find clay!"
Benben obediently followed Li Meng.
In the forest, Benben reached out and tapped Li Meng's back.
"What is it?"
Li Meng turned to look at Benben.
Benben pointed at himself and made a deep sound from his throat.
"Boom-boom?"
Li Meng chuckled and pointed at Benben.
"Benben!"
Then he pointed at himself.
"Boss!"
Benben looked at his boss and then down at himself.
He pointed at himself again.
"Benben?"
Li Meng nodded.
Benben then pointed at Li Meng.
"Boss!"
Li Meng nodded again.
Under Li Meng's guidance, Benben learned his new name.
In the following days, Li Meng focused on one task: preparing for the iron smelting experiment.
On the fourth day, by the underground river inside the cave:
"Boss, what are you doing?"
Gobuge curiously asked when he saw the boss stacking firewood neatly.
"Watch closely; you'll need to do the same in the future!"
Li Meng laid the firewood flat and placed a piece of iron ore on top.
"Put all the iron ore on top!"
The Goblins quickly started placing the iron ore stacked nearby onto the firewood pile.
"One layer only, no overlapping!"
After giving instructions, Li Meng knelt on the ground.
The Goblins were startled by this sudden action.
Li Meng ignored their reaction and picked up some dry wood and fluff he had prepared earlier to start a fire.
The wooden stick made a rustling sound as Li Meng twisted it.
Benben sat nearby, watching the busy Goblins with curiosity.
Within ten minutes, Li Meng smelled smoke.
Soon, white smoke started rising from the fluff.
Li Meng quickly set down the stick and carefully blew on the fluff.
Before long, a small flame appeared in the darkness.
"Fire! It's human fire!"
Gobuge shouted in surprise.
"Shut up!"
Li Meng glared at Gobuge, then quickly used the flame to ignite the dry grass in the firewood pile.
As the dry grass caught fire, the flames roared to life.
Benben flinched in fright, his massive body trembling.
Soon, the firewood was burning fiercely, and the heat waves radiated outward, fascinating the Goblins.
They never imagined that the boss could create human fire by rubbing sticks together.
"Benben, fetch water!"
Li Meng pointed at a bamboo bucket next to Benben.
The bamboo was discovered while searching for clay in the forest.
The bamboo was enormous—several people holding hands would barely encircle one.
Li Meng used the bamboo to make buckets.
Benben stood up, picked up two bamboo buckets, and fetched water from the river.
Not far away, there was a pile of yellow mud.
"Pour the water in and mix it with your hands!"
Under Li Meng's guidance, Benben mixed the yellow mud with his massive hands.
Soon, the yellow mud turned into clay.
Once it reached the desired softness, Li Meng began constructing a blast furnace with the clay.
"Gobuge, keep stacking firewood like I did earlier."
Seeing the first firewood pile burn down, Li Meng instructed Gobuge.
Gobuge nodded, somewhat understanding, and began stacking firewood with the other Goblins.
Soon, they managed to stack another pile of firewood, albeit clumsily.
The Goblins then placed iron ore on top.
"Don't use your hands—use wooden sticks!"
Li Meng stopped Gobuge when he tried to pick up charcoal with his hands.
Gobuge flinched and quickly withdrew his hands.
Using two wooden sticks, he carefully picked up a piece of charcoal and placed it on the new firewood pile.
The dry grass was ignited, and the second firewood pile began to burn.
By now, the first firewood pile had burned down.
All that remained were charcoal and brittle iron ore.
"Take those brittle iron ores to the stone slab over there and crush them into powder. Remember, don't use your hands."
The Goblins followed Li Meng's example, using wooden sticks to handle the hot iron ore.
They placed the brittle iron ore on a smooth stone slab and began smashing it with rocks.
Because the iron ore had been heated until brittle, it shattered with a light hit.
The smaller fragments were also easily crushed into powder.
Once the iron ore was pulverized, it became iron powder.
Since this was just an experiment, the first blast furnace was small.
Li Meng spent five hours building a 1.5-meter-tall blast furnace.
He spent another two hours drying it.
"It should be good to go!"
Li Meng nodded in satisfaction as he looked at the completed blast furnace.
Although the surface wasn't smooth, it was acceptable for a first attempt.
The furnace was narrower at the top and wider at the bottom.
The top had a small smoke outlet and a feeding port.
To increase oxygen and raise the furnace's temperature, the bottom had three air vents.
Each vent was connected to a bamboo tube.
The other end of the bamboo tubes was attached to simple bellows made of animal skin and bamboo.
The bellows were straightforward and didn't require much effort to make.
"Let's start. Benben, load the materials!"
Benben picked up a bamboo bucket and poured its contents of charcoal into the furnace through the feeding port.
Next came the iron powder, followed by another layer of charcoal on top.
The feeding port was sealed, leaving only a bamboo chimney for smoke.
Finally, Li Meng lit dry grass at the iron outlet using a piece of burning charcoal.
As the grass caught fire, the furnace began to burn.
"What are you waiting for? Pump air!"
Li Meng urged the Goblins to operate the bellows.
The Goblins worked in pairs, vigorously pulling the bellows.
Thick smoke poured out of the chimney as the furnace grew scorching hot.
"Keep pumping, don't stop!"
To smelt iron, high temperatures were essential.
The furnace needed to reach at least 1,300 degrees to melt the iron powder into molten iron.