Lu Sanlang had always felt that he was very smart since he was very young, and even had a kind of secret joy that he was the only one who was clear while the whole world was turbid. After getting the affirmation of Zhang Shou, the affirmation of Ge Yong, and the praise of the emperor, his self-confidence swelled to a peak. However, today, he once again discovered that he did not know everything.
Especially the drawing that Zhang Shou took out to show Guan Qiu, Zhao Si and Luo Xiaoxiao. After he leaned over to take a look, he felt that the parts were weird and he had no idea what they were. After a while, his scalp felt tingling and his head felt dizzy.
Of course, if he knew that Zhang Shou had added a bunch of very complicated force decomposition diagrams in order to attack a guy like him who had good mathematical talent, he would not be so painful.
As for Guan Qiu and the other two, Guan Qiu knew quite a few words, but the other two knew nothing at all. But even for Guan Qiu, apart from looking at Zhang Shou's fragmented drawings of components, he still couldn't understand anything about the notes that were like hieroglyphics.
But after all, the latter two had learned carpentry and blacksmithing for many years. Even if they had not eaten pork, they had seen pigs run. Zhang Shou had also pointed out to them the word "grinder", which is commonly used by jade craftsmen. After whispering to each other for a while, they finally understood what the so-called lathes, drilling machines and boring machines drawn by Zhang Shou were.
Of course, the wooden structure was made by Zhao Si, and the tools for cutting and drilling were of course something Luo Xiaoxiao had to figure out. The young man, who was not very old but had a similar build to that of Carpenter Sun and Ironsmith Zhang, scratched his head and asked, "The grinders used by jade craftsmen all use high-quality steel for their tools. Dr. Zhang, this should be the same, right?"
Zhang Shou nodded and said, "I heard from your master that when our dynasty was first founded, we started to smelt steel. In the tenth year of Emperor Taizu's reign, the iron smelting rate in the world had increased several times that of the Yuan Dynasty, and even exceeded the peak period of iron smelting in the Song Dynasty. The Military Equipment Bureau had to make cannons and various fire guns, etc., so fine iron alone was not enough. Many parts required good steel, so the Military Equipment Bureau had the most blacksmiths. But many ironwares in the folk were also made of good steel. This shouldn't be difficult, right?"
Luo Xiaoxiao quickly responded, "That's right. That's why Master Sun is said to be the best carpenter in the capital. At most, some people will call him self-righteous, but in fact, he is always ranked in the top three. But my master dare not say that he is the best blacksmith. However, Master is quite famous among the blacksmiths in the capital except for the Military Equipment Bureau. He can easily get good iron and steel."
Seeing Zhang Shou's as if it was just what he expected, he said embarrassedly, "But the steel that has been smelted and sent here has a fixed number. I'm afraid I have to use your name, Dr. Zhang, to tell the master. Otherwise, I'll just be scolded if I come forward."
Zhang Shou was not surprised by Luo Xiaoxiao's statement. Even if there was a massive steel production in those days, the output of steel might be the sum of all other countries in this era, but the top wrought iron that could be called steel was a good material used in weapons and various high-demand industries, so Luo Xiaoxiao could not just come forward to make it.
While Luo Xiaoxiao was carefully examining the shape of the knife, Guan Qiu had already annoyed Zhao Si with questions one after another. Zhao Si didn't like this junior brother who seemed to be a bit stupid. Although he didn't know why Zhang Shou wanted such a useless person, it didn't stop him from keeping a distance from him.