Lord of Winter: Beginning with Daily Intelligence - Chapter 500 - 309: Steam Creations
Chapter 500: Chapter 309: Steam Creations
The workshop district on the west side of the Red Tide Main City still lay in fog on this late summer morning.
Morning light slowly streamed into the factory area from the east, illuminating the white steam and furnace smoke billowing in mid-air, rendering the entire forge workshop as a steel beast breathing gently.
The door creaked open as Louis and his entourage stepped into the trial area.
He walked at the front, followed by Mike, Hillco, Bradley, and the young genius with bright eyes and a drawing tube on his back — Hamilton.
As they entered, a scalding wave of heat rushed towards them, mixed with the scents of coal, machine oil, and red-hot iron ingots, making their brows fiery.
“A really warm welcome,” Hillco remarked, shielding the steam with his sleeve and grumbled in a low voice.
But no one responded to him, as everyone’s attention was captured by the massive, roaring steam forge machine.
“Click-clack, click-clack, click-clack…”
That was the heartbeat of the iron.
The upgraded steam engine was running at an extremely high frequency, with the flywheel spinning rapidly beside, driving the huge connecting rod hammer to smash down.
Amidst the sparks flying, the red gold metal on the anvil was constantly being flattened, rolled, and solidified again.
Pieces of iron were forming at a speed visible to the eye.
The artisan team had long been in place, and seeing Louis arrive, they worked even harder.
A robust worker steadfastly held the wheel lock lever, keeping his sight fixed on the main spindle.
Another tall, thin man kneeled halfway on the side, swiftly jotting down pressure and speed records, the paper dampened by the steam.
Two apprentices took turns rushing up to apply alchemical grease on the pistons, their movements swift yet calm, even with a flush of excitement on their faces.
The old artisan standing behind the main valve was sweating profusely, occasionally rotating the valve ring to adjust the steam rhythm.
Amidst the roar of steam, the hammer rumbled like a military drum, the air seemingly heated by this rhythm.
Mike stepped forward half a step, his tone filled with pride, as he introduced to Louis:
“Lord Louis, behold, this is the ’Heavy Hammer One’. The jointed structure, the power comes from the steam piston driving the flywheel shaft, which then transmits to the hammer joint.”
He gestured at the connection between the piston and flywheel, speaking louder than the steam sound: “It can strike metals at a stable frequency, with efficiency about three times that of manual labor, and without fatigue or pause.”
Louis turned his head to watch the rapidly spinning flywheel and connecting rods.
He didn’t immediately speak but quietly observed how the iron beast shaped the glowing metal, hammer by hammer.
Hamilton, standing by, seeing Mike’s gesture, instinctively straightened his back, as if gathering some courage.
“I… I redesigned its gear track structure,” he said, somewhat nervously, his voice not loud but his eyes gleaming,
“optimized the engagement accuracy between the piston and flywheel. Under the third scale steam pressure, it can… can operate continuously and steadily for over seventy cycles… virtually without losing speed.”
After saying this, Hamilton slightly lowered his head, his hand subconsciously clutching the drawing tube behind him, his ears blushing red.
Faced with the legendary Lord who rebuilt the Northern Territory, although he had seen him a few times, he still wasn’t accustomed to how to interact.
Louis slightly turned to look at the seemingly immature young man, smiling lightly: “You’ve done well, Hamilton, better than I imagined.”
The boy was momentarily stunned, as if he hadn’t realized this praise was directed at him.
“To think of reducing the load on the structure rather than simply increasing pressure shows you truly understand its operating principles.” Louis continued, “That’s not something sheer rote learning can achieve; it’s your own work.
The steam path has just started taking its first step, and the future is long, needing young people like you to continue forging ahead. You did well, Hamilton.”
In that moment, the youth’s eyes widened, as if sunlight had illuminated the deepest corner of his heart.
“Yes, yes! I’ll definitely keep striving!” Hamilton hurriedly bowed, his voice filled with excitement, nearly cracking, as if he were about to ascend instantly.
Meanwhile, Mike nodded at the side, full of pride for his protégé.
Having viewed the Heavy Hammer One, Mike led the group to the adjacent furnace platform.
It was a compression furnace embedded in the foundation with a cast iron shell, pitch black, operating at full speed.
“Whoosh—!”
The blower port roared like a dragon’s mouth, hot air currents sweeping ground debris, flames dancing wildly within the furnace as blacksmiths took advantage of the peak temperature to extract iron embryos.
“Steam pressure through this linkage,” Mike said while pointing at a set of steam pipes and gears, “drives the bellows to pump air, allowing precise control of temperature fluctuations. Now, it’s solely relied upon to maintain the furnace temperature.”
He grinned: “No longer need four strong men taking shifts to crank the blower. Manpower saved, temperature stabilized.”
Bradley nodded: “If this thing were promoted to every casting furnace, productivity would more than double.”
Louis stepped closer, the heat wave surging towards him: “Temperature stabilized, wind force steady, higher efficiency, and safer.”
Mike nodded repeatedly: “Exactly so! Previously, relying on manual air pumping often led to uneven wind volumes, either failing to penetrate or blowing apart the iron embryo.
With our current testing, this steam blower can complete a heating curve within ten breaths, nearly every time staying within the optimal temperature range!”
“Which means,” Bradley interjected, scanning the artisans pulling the iron embryo, “the same amount of coal is used less; the same manpower can achieve more.”
“Indeed.” Mike chuckled, “Moreover, it can link multiple blower ports, one furnace for three machines.”
