"Greenspan, quickly tell me about the progress of the ironworks. I see you've already built several large chimneys, and each one is smoking. There should be significant progress, right?" Charles asked Greenspan eagerly as soon as he sat down.
Since seeing those chimneys outside of town, he had been holding back, waiting to ask about them all day.
"Sir, you guessed correctly. Not only have we made progress, but we've also exceeded the task you gave me. The day before yesterday, we were already able to smelt steel from crucibles," Greenspan reported to Charles with a bow.
"Already able to smelt steel directly? How is that possible? You don't have anyone guiding you, how could it be so fast?" Charles Godfrey asked, but a happy smile was already on his face.
He had originally thought they would only start producing cast iron parts, or at most begin large-scale production of wrought iron. He never expected it to far exceed his expectations. It seemed those tall chimneys were indeed for steelmaking.
"Everything is proceeding according to your arrangements. Many of the steelworkers and coal miners you introduced are very skilled in steelmaking and coal mining, respectively. Plus, we recruited several other engineering technicians who moved from Philadelphia.
They quickly completed the task according to your specifications. They even built a waterwheel-driven forging hammer for crushing pig iron, which is currently in trial operation. If it works well, we plan to build several more," Greenspan said, detailing the work's achievements, yet not forgetting to praise Charles Godfrey.
"Is that so? Then I must go and see!" Charles stood up. "But if that's the case, won't there be too much steel and ironware produced? Will we be able to sell it?"
However, as soon as Charles asked, he realized his question was flawed. Pittsburgh was currently preparing for major construction. Even if steel couldn't be sold before, with so many projects he had planned, there was definitely no need to worry about steel sales now.
"Of course, it sells, and it's very popular. It's just that directly smelting pig iron into steel takes too much time, so the output of steel is truly limited. We are trying to use the European method of wrought iron chain steel.
Although it adds an extra step, the time actually decreases. We were already too busy with direct steelmaking, and after adding a process, the steelmaking time shortened, but it consumed a large amount of wrought iron. Our new steel and wrought iron products are much better quality than Hans', but the price is the same, so everyone wants to buy our products.
Therefore, there hasn't been much change in the steel and iron production on the chain. Now, several crucibles are continuously smelting, and we're still too busy. If it weren't for this, we wouldn't have thought of using a waterwheel to drive the forging hammer. But it's good that you're back now. I can just ask for your instructions, sir. Should we expand the production scale? Hehe! A lot of money is currently being earned by others," Greenspan said, grinning widely.
"Haha! Expanding production is a bit troublesome. There's no rush now. Let's wait until I've seen the ironworks first. Come, you lead the way. If it's really as good as you say, I will definitely reward you and the others who have contributed," Charles said with a wave of his hand.
Greenspan, of course, wouldn't refuse the opportunity to show his master the results. He enthusiastically led Charles Godfrey to the ironworks, continuously bringing up the matter of expanding the workshop along the way. He also mentioned that even if they expanded, no additional funds would be needed, as the income from the ironworks and the mill during this period would be sufficient to support it.
Charles Godfrey hadn't expected Greenspan to already have ample funds. It seemed the ironworks was indeed a profitable business, and his initial move had been correct.
"This is my cast iron workshop?" Charles looked at the workshop in disbelief.
The exterior of the workshop, apart from the chimneys, hadn't changed, but its interior was now a bustling scene of activity, completely devoid of its former desolation and disarray.
Some workers were holding long iron rods, stirring vigorously in the blast furnaces. Other workers were lifting and moving cooled pig iron to the side, preparing it for crushing. Still others were carrying crushed pig iron, placing it into high-temperature crucibles along with charcoal, ready to smelt steel.
The entire workshop was bustling with people, busy and orderly, a scene of great prosperity.
"Sir, we now have all the equipment for coking coal, smelting and crushing pig iron, and smelting steel in one place. The area of this workshop is simply not enough. Also, for manufacturing steel products, like Bergnan and William do, the space they occupy isn't large, but the steel and finished products need a separate warehouse for storage.
This place is already too small. And most importantly, steel production cannot be expanded, which is very inefficient. At the very least, things like firearm manufacturing should be moved out to save space," Greenspan said gravely.
Because Charles hadn't relented along the way, he no longer dared to directly suggest expanding the workshop.
Charles also saw the problems facing this workshop.
The original workshop was small, relying primarily on manual labor for production, and could be located by the river near the Pittsburgh fortress. But with Pittsburgh's expansion, the workshop was now enclosed within the town. This was not only detrimental to Pittsburgh's development but also to the workshop's own growth.
His workshop's original footprint was not large, and with his requirement for some water-powered equipment, the entire workshop was already crammed from the start. Now, it definitely needed to expand.
The reason Charles hadn't immediately agreed to the expansion was that he was considering a complete relocation, planning to move the entire workshop to a location near coal mines and a river.
This would not only solve the power problem but also, once the canal was built, allow for direct water transport of manufactured steel products to the east and the import of high-quality iron ore from other areas. Pittsburgh's coal resources were indeed abundant, and two large rivers flowed through the town. Such a place should be easy to find.
And… Charles waved his hand in front of his nose. Having the steelworks too close to the village and town caused too much pollution.
"Don't mention expansion again. I've already decided to upgrade the workshop into a steel plant and relocate it entirely to a place near a coal mine and river. This can only be decided after a suitable site has been chosen. Additionally, you should also focus your main energy on the tax officer and the Pittsburgh Bank manager, so that Patrick and others don't take advantage of any loopholes."
"Yes, sir! I will follow all your instructions. I'll just let them continue production as is, and not expand the scale of production anymore."
Greenspan stopped talking upon hearing about the complete relocation.
He had mixed feelings about the development of the ironworks. From a long-term perspective of the workshop's development, he knew it would be more suitable to move it outside the town. However, since he was the person in charge of the town center exchange, if the ironworks moved, he might no longer be able to manage it. Whether for profit or sentiment, he found it more acceptable to expand in the current location.
However, even if he wanted to manage this workshop now, it was unlikely he would have the time and energy. The position of tax officer alone would consume most of his energy, and there was also the Pittsburgh Bank manager position waiting for him.
Not to mention this workshop, even the trading center, Charles had already decided to hand over to Charlotte to manage. After hearing Charles' decision to relocate, Greenspan stopped thinking about it and honestly began to describe the changes in the workshop.
According to the goal Charles set at the beginning, the first thing to achieve was coking. Although there were no formal coking workers, they managed to succeed simply by following the guidance of a few steelworkers who had used coke before.
Coking, if managed extensively, is actually relatively easy. It involves placing raw coal in a container and baking it at high temperatures, causing the oil and water in the coal to separate as coal tar. A small portion of highly volatile components separates as coal gas, and what remains is brittle coke.
Currently, the workshop bakes raw coal in a large iron barrel. Unfortunately, only coal tar can be obtained from the separated substances; the very useful coal gas cannot be collected at all and is directly discharged through the chimney. This not only causes waste but also poses a great danger to residents around the workshop due to the arbitrary discharge of toxic gases.
Fortunately, the coking work has not been going on for long, so the harm is not yet significant. However, Charles immediately instructed the workers to find a way to treat the discharged gas. If it truly cannot be collected and utilized, then they should use the flammability of coal gas to ignite and burn it, reducing its concentration.
The most important improvement was the high-temperature crucible. There wasn't much to see about this; it just needed to withstand multiple steelmaking cycles without breaking immediately. Greenspan only mentioned that they basically had to replace a crucible after three days of continuous firing.
Fortunately, the current production scale was not large, so frequent replacements were not troublesome. However, Charles still asked them to continue developing better quality ones.
Another impressive sight was the pig iron crushing equipment, which was a simple water-powered large iron hammer. Utilizing mature waterwheel technology, it hammered once every half day, which was very inefficient but saved a lot of manpower.
Charles had only vaguely ordered the construction of tall chimneys, without strict regulations on how to build them. However, the workers' talents were quite remarkable. Due to technical reasons, taller chimneys require a stronger base. Although these chimneys were relatively short, and the wind blew directly into the town, they were exceptionally sturdy.
In the workshop, one could also see some improvements made by the workers, such as a special stone cover added to the blast furnace, sealing off the blast furnace where coke was burning, with a central circular hole that only exposed the mouth of the high-temperature crucible. This was used to increase the furnace temperature, thereby making steel smelting easier.
There were also many other small improvements. According to Greenspan, these were all copied by the steelworkers based on the equipment from their former factories, making Charles secretly sigh with emotion.
Fortunately, there was such a group of skilled workers; otherwise, he truly wouldn't know when the steel problem would finally be solved. And now, his first step as the "Steel king" had finally been successfully taken.