Chapter 150: Tang Valley
Irtysh River, formerly known as Yiehe River.
Upstream on the Yiehe River, there is a flat mountain valley named “Tang Valley” by Li Xiao, which has now become a key location in Jin Prefecture.
Heavy troops are stationed here, with simple watchtowers rising on the high points of the valley, guarded by experienced scouts.
Sentries are scattered along the edges of the mountains.
In the depths of the mountains, elite patrol cavalry come and go, with strict vigilance.
Under layers of protection, this valley has been transformed by Li Xiao into an impregnable fortress.
This place is the Golden Mountain industrial zone that Li Xiao has devoted himself to building, and also the location of Jin Prefecture’s ironware workshops.
After a period of intense busyness, the workshops have been initially completed.
A blast furnace stands majestically, becoming the most striking presence on this land.
The blast furnace is cylindrical, gradually narrowing from bottom to top, like a steel giant reaching to the heavens.
Multiple air inlets are at the bottom, a wide charging port in the middle, and a smoke outlet at the top, with a neat and reasonable layout.
“The iron smelting furnace is actually so huge?”
Xiao Yanyan stood under the blast furnace, murmuring softly in surprise.
In her understanding, iron smelting used only stove-sized furnaces, and this towering blast furnace truly opened her eyes.
“Will this thing work?” Third Grandfather stood by, also expressing doubt.
On the contrary, the Old Master said nothing, though he had no confidence in his heart, but he greatly trusted Li Xiao.
“We’ll know once we try it!”
Li Xiao crossed his arms, calm in expression, with a faint smile on his lips.
What he built was the simplest type of iron smelting blast furnace from the industrial revolution period.
Although the construction process was not complicated, key steps like raw material ratios, operating procedures, and temperature control required precise mastery, with no room for carelessness.
“Third Uncle, you and I will load the ore.” Li Xiao called to the man beside him.
This man was not Li Sanhe, but Li Sanzhi, a distant cousin from the Li Family.
Li Sanzhi’s close brother was Li Erguzi, who helped Li Xiao manage business.
However, unlike Li Erguzi’s outgoing personality, Li Sanzhi was steady and reserved, not talkative, and had followed the Old Master and others learning blacksmithing since childhood, achieving mastery in it.
Although Li Xiao nominally had the Old Master manage the valley workshops, considering the Old Master’s advanced age and limited energy, he intended to train Li Sanzhi as the successor for the workshops.
“Da Long, do we need to add all these iron ore, coke, and lime?” Li Sanzhi looked at the mountain of raw materials on the ground and asked.
“No need.”
Li Xiao shook his head, glanced around seeing no outsiders, only close ones like the Old Master and Li Sanzhi, then said softly.
“Grandfather, Third Uncle, using this blast furnace for iron smelting, the key is to precisely control the ratios of various raw materials; not a jot more or less.”
“The ore we mine is hematite ore, with decent iron content. For smelting, every one hundred jin of iron ore requires thirty jin of coke and fifteen jin of lime.”
Of course, this ratio was not fixed, just a rough range.
In actual operation, it still needed flexible adjustment based on the ore’s purity.
Li Xiao had the Old Master and others conduct more experiments to find the most precise ratio.
With that said, Li Xiao personally helped, carefully loading iron ore, lime, and other raw materials into the blast furnace together with Li Sanzhi.
Immediately after, the ignition process began. Li Sanzhi stood by, gripping the bellows lever and rhythmically pulling it to continuously supply oxygen to the furnace for combustion.
Soon, a “sizzle” sound came from inside the blast furnace, signaling the ore gradually melting under high heat.
Rolling thick smoke carrying sparks and dust emerged from the furnace like a giant dragon breaking free, rushing skyward and spreading over Tang Valley.
The intense smoky fire scent instantly filled the entire Tang Valley, the pungent burnt smell choking throats, startling nearby birds into panicked flight in all directions.
Five hours later, scorching molten iron slowly flowed out from the channel below the blast furnace, along specially made grooves into carefully prepared molds.
In no time, the molten iron rapidly cooled and solidified into solid iron blocks.
The Old Master, Li Sanzhi, and others eagerly gathered around, carefully examining the freshly produced iron blocks, their eyes gradually showing astonishment.
“This iron block seems to be on par with wootz steel in quality.”
Li Sanzhi said in shock, his voice trembling slightly.
Wootz steel, also known as Wootz Steel, was the rarest, hardest, and most precious steel in this era.
Previously, although Li Xiao had produced Wootz Steel through crucible smelting, the process was complex with extremely low output, difficult for large-scale weapon production.
And now, the iron block from the blast furnace was no inferior to wootz steel.
The iron block’s surface was smooth and flat, almost without pores or defects, gleaming with a cold, pure metallic sheen under the firelight, appearing exceptionally dense.
Everyone touched it, feeling its heavy weight and unimaginable hardness.
The Old Master casually picked up a piece of ordinary iron and struck it against the new iron block.
A crisp “clang” rang out; the ordinary iron had a small dent, while the new iron block only had a faint mark.
“This… compared to ordinary iron blocks, it’s worlds apart.” Li Sanzhi said excitedly.
The Old Master and Third Grandfather were also beaming with smiles; they knew well the power of steel.
With high-quality steel, both military strength enhancement and agricultural production improvement would be like adding wings to a tiger.
“These next few days, let’s build a few more blast furnaces nearby.”
Li Xiao looked at the empty space beside, eyes firm, and said softly: “Grandfather, Third Grandfather, I’ll leave this place to you from now on.”
Third Grandfather patted his chest, saying firmly: “Don’t worry, Da Long. Though us brothers are old and can’t go to the battlefield to fight, iron smelting is something we can handle.”
“Third Grandfather is still vigorous despite age; I naturally trust you.” Li Xiao smiled in response.
He then solemnly instructed: “The iron smelting method must be kept strictly confidential, taught only to our own family members.”
At any time, core technology must be firmly controlled in one’s own hands; otherwise, if learned by other countries, it would bring endless trouble.
“Don’t worry, we know what we’re doing.” The Old Master said seriously, nodding heavily.
Afterward, Li Xiao reloaded raw materials into the blast furnace to keep it running.
Once the stove is lit, it’s best to keep smelting continuously day and night; otherwise, uneven heating could easily cause furnace explosion.
“Da Long, you go rest! I’ll watch the fire here.”
By now, night had fallen; the Old Master and others had returned to their tents to rest, and Li Sanzhi volunteered to stay and tend the fire.
Li Xiao didn’t refuse, as Third Grandfather would take over the night shift later.
However, before leaving, he suddenly remembered something: “Third Uncle, have you ever thought about changing your name?”
Li Xiao had been holding back on the name issue for a long time.
Although ancient gentry had naming conventions, for ordinary families like the Li Family, names were often casual.
They were usually whatever came to mind, without proper generational markers.
Most families even used numbers directly, like Li Da, Li Er, or Heavy Eight, Heavy Nine, and such.
Li Xiao’s great-grandfather was a rough man without culture and left no generational markers, leading to chaotic naming in the Li Family.
But now, the Li Family’s status had changed greatly, and they might go even higher in the future, so names really needed changing.
“Change name?”
Li Sanzhi looked puzzled; he had used this name for nearly thirty years, and changing it would feel unaccustomed.
But on second thought, he felt tempted.
“Da Long, I’ve long seen you’re no ordinary person.”
“In play words, you’re the reincarnation of the Civil Star and Martial Star, come to bring wealth to our Li Family.”
“From now on, the Li Family will be under your lead; whatever you say, we do.”
“Besides, who doesn’t want a nicer name? It’s just your second grandfather lacked the skill.”
Li Sanzhi chuckled, looking at Li Xiao eagerly.
He thought the name Li Xiao gave himself was pretty good.
Meaning “brave and skilled in combat.”
Now, who in the Northern Frontier doesn’t know Li Xiao’s name?
He didn’t seek such fame, but a new name would at least not sound like a bumpkin.
“Alright, I’ll discuss this with Grandfather. Our Li Family should set generational markers too.” Li Xiao nodded in agreement.
Actually, Li Xiao already had an idea for Li Sanzhi’s new name.
Use a homophone.
Zhi.
Great ambitions.
Then add a generational character in the middle, perfect.
The next day, Li Xiao took the freshly produced iron blocks to the other side of the valley.
The reason Li Xiao chose this valley for the armory workshop was not only its hidden location and flat terrain, but most importantly, the Yiehe River running through it.
During this time, Li Xiao had built over a dozen water wheels by the river.
The rushing water flow drove the huge wooden wheels of the water wheels to turn slowly.
Through ingeniously designed wheel devices, the water wheels transmitted the water power to the drop hammers by the river.
The drop hammer rose high, then fell with a thousand jin force, repeating to form an efficient water-powered blacksmith workshop.
In charge of forging this time was Wang Heizi.
He took the about six jin heavy iron block from Li Xiao, weighed it carefully, and asked in shock.
“Lord, what iron is this?”
“Why is it so hard in texture? Nearly half heavier than ordinary iron blocks.”
“Is it wootz steel? But not quite like it.”
Wang Heizi’s eyes widened, heart full of shock.
His family had three generations of artisans, and he learned blacksmithing from his father and grandfather in Kuyun-Ordu since childhood.
He thought he knew all kinds of steel well, even having forged meteorite iron.
Yet, this iron block from Li Xiao far exceeded his knowledge.
This iron was harder and heavier than ordinary steel, almost comparable to wootz steel, yet quite different.
“This is Hexi iron; from now on, all Jin Prefecture weapons will be forged from this iron.”
Li Xiao explained simply, then assigned Wang Heizi the task: “Use this Hexi iron to forge an armor piercing cone.”
“Make it one-piece.”
“Both the cone and handle forged entirely from Hexi iron.”
Wang Heizi accepted the order, first placing the Hexi iron in the blazing furnace fire.
Once the iron block was red-hot, he clamped it out with tongs onto the anvil.
At this moment, the forging hammer driven by the water wheel rose high, then smashed down with a thousand jin force onto the red-hot iron block.
With repeated hammer strikes, the iron block gradually took shape, soon forming the rough shape of an armor piercing cone.
Compared to manual hammering by artisans, using the drop hammer driven by water wheel not only saved effort but doubled the forging speed.
Moreover, the iron block hammered by the drop hammer became even denser and more solid.
Two hours later, a cold-gleaming, compact armor piercing cone finally appeared before everyone.
Its tip was extremely sharp, as if able to pierce any armor easily; the body had clear textures, exuding a cold, hard feel.
And it was forged entirely from one piece of Hexi iron, unbreakable even with great force.
“Is the water wheel handy to use?” Li Xiao asked.
He took the armor piercing cone, weighed it in hand, and nodded in satisfaction.
“Very handy, extremely handy.”
“With this water wheel, blacksmithing is much more convenient.” Wang Heizi nodded quickly.
“If it were before, with my eldest son helping swing the hammer, it would take nearly two days.”
“Now, done in two hours, and saves a lot of effort.”
Li Xiao chuckled lightly and nodded slightly.
Good if it’s handy.
This way, large-scale ironware forging could begin.
Then, Li Xiao took the armor piercing cone outside.
He personally mounted a war horse, preparing to test the armor piercing cone’s power himself.
Two hundred meters ahead, an iron armor captured from Iqta Cavalry was mounted on a wooden frame.
“Giddyup!”
Li Xiao shouted, clamped the horse’s flanks with his legs, gripped the armor piercing cone, and spurred the horse into a gallop.
Using the war horse’s high speed, he fiercely thrust the armor piercing cone at the iron armor.
A loud “crack” rang out; the armor piercing cone easily pierced the iron armor, poking a large hole as if it were paper.
The wooden frame behind the iron armor shattered into wood chips from the impact, breaking into several pieces.
“Whoa~”
Li Xiao steadily reined in the horse, turned to look at the pierced iron armor behind, and a light smile appeared on his face.
“Heh~ Not bad.”
While distant Xiao Yanyan, seeing this, had shocked beautiful eyes and an excited smile on her face.
“This, this is too amazing.”
“With this armor piercing cone in the future, won’t iron armors all become like paper?”
Li Xiao rode over, shaking his head lightly: “Not necessarily.”
Then, he had someone fetch a set of pockmarked armor for testing.
This time, the armor piercing cone’s power was not as strong.
It only left a dent on the pockmarked armor, failing to pierce it.
This proved that the Kara-Khanid Khanate’s iron armor forging craft was truly inferior to Western Xia’s.
But fortunately, pockmarked armor was difficult to make, and Western Xia wouldn’t have too many.
So, the armor piercing cone forged from Hexi iron still had lethal power against most iron armors.
“Forge iron armor from Hexi iron.”
Li Xiao ordered the artisans, preparing to attack with his own spear against his own shield.
Same Hexi iron, to see which was stronger.
Days later, a breastplate entirely forged from Hexi iron was set on a wooden stake.
Li Xiao charged on horseback, fiercely thrusting down with the armor piercing cone.
The wooden stake snapped, and the iron armor had a hole about two centimeters wide.
This proved that with the same material, different forging crafts led to differences in strength.
The armor plates were only compression-forged, while the armor piercing cone’s blade underwent quenching and other processes.
Harder, gaining the advantage.
But Li Xiao focused on the armor.
“Hexi iron-forged armor plates are much stronger than ordinary iron armor, but still a bit inferior to pockmarked armor.”
Li Xiao said holding the breastplate.
He was not disappointed with this result.
Because he knew it wasn’t that Hexi iron was inadequate.
But these artisans’ forging craft was inadequate.
Western Xia artisans used cold forging to turn ordinary steel into pockmarked armor.
So, if using Hexi iron instead?
Would the forged iron armor be stronger than pockmarked armor?
At this moment, Li Xiao’s longing for Western Xia became extremely strong.
“Must grab a batch of artisans skilled in cold forging technology.”
“And Divine Arm Crossbows.”
Then, Li Xiao tossed the armor piercing cone to Wang Heizi.
After three tests, the cone tip was somewhat worn and needed repair.
Meanwhile, Li Xiao gathered all the artisans in Tang Valley.
Originally Jin Prefecture’s artisans plus those plundered from Kuyun-Ordu totaled nearly five hundred.
Li Xiao had carpenters mass-produce water wheels along the Yiehe River.
Completely turning this valley into a steel base.
Beginning mass forging of weapons and equipment for Jin Prefecture Army.
Iron armor, armor piercing cones, armor piercing arrowheads, hook scythe spearheads, cavalry sabers, Tie Gu Duo, and more.
All combat weapons continuously shipped out from this valley.
……
Since returning to Jin Prefecture, Li Xiao had spent most of his time at Golden Mountain.
Now that the Tang Valley industrial base was initially built and running on its own, he finally had time to return to Hexi Fort.
Construction of Dragon City had just begun.
Although Dragon City’s scale was not large, building from scratch with current manpower would take at least several years.
Li Xiao was not in a hurry.
Instead, he took Xiao Yanyan back to Hexi Fort to inspect the wine shop and textile shop.
Over this year, both workshops had been running steadily.
Especially the textile shop, which during Li Xiao’s western expedition had produced large quantities of cotton cloth, all stored in the warehouse.
Waiting only for Tang Valley to forge armor plates, Li Xiao would hire female workers to make more cotton armor.
Li Xiao looked shocked, incredulously at the Khitan soldier kneeling before him.
He had some impression of this man, the personal guard by Xiao Tula Duo’s side.
At this moment, the personal guard looked disheveled, travel-worn, in tattered clothes, with several bandaged wounds still seeping blood, staining the cloth strips red.
He had rushed from Great Desert Prefecture, first arriving at the southernmost Huangsha Village in Jin Prefecture, then escorted by Huangsha Village’s Centurion all the way to Hexi Fort.
Upon seeing Li Xiao, the Khitan personal guard knelt with a “thud,” weeping bitterly and crying out in grief: “Governor Li, you must avenge and wipe out the shame for my governor!”
Li Xiao suppressed his shock and anger, sternly saying: “Stop crying.”
“What exactly happened? How did Xiao Tula Duo die in battle?”
Xiao Tula Duo was bold and straightforward, temperament matching Li Xiao’s; they got along well usually.
Moreover, Li Xiao’s caravans traveling to Great Desert for business relied much on Xiao Tula Duo’s protection.
How did this guy suddenly die?
“Uyghur people, Uyghur people killed the governor!” The Khitan personal guard tearfully said, words somewhat incoherent.
“I know it’s Uyghur people.” Li Xiao frowned.
“But how did the Uyghur people kill him?”
“Is the Kingdom of Qocho’s army that formidable?” Li Xiao remained skeptical about this.
Whether from history or reality, the Kingdom of Qocho was no strong power.
Yet, this vassal state, under Royal Court pressure, invaded Great Desert.
At that time, Xiao Tula Duo in Eastern Capital decisively led troops back to suppress the rebellion in Great Desert, even missing Li Xiao’s wedding.
Not long ago, battle reports from Great Desert said Xiao Tula Duo greatly defeated Qocho army outside Bie Shibali City, pursuing victoriously to Changbalyk（near Urumqi）.
Li Xiao thought the situation was settled; next, Xiao Tula Duo could counterattack into Kingdom of Qocho territory to fully suppress the rebellion.
However, things are unpredictable; suddenly came news of Xiao Tula Duo’s death in battle, making the situation extremely severe.
“It’s Shi Gu Bi!”
The Khitan personal guard mentioned this name with bloodshot eyes, gritting teeth in hate, as if to tear him to pieces.
“He secretly opened Changbalyk’s city gates at night, letting Qocho army charge straight in.”
“Governor had no defense, and thus… was cruelly killed!”
Hearing this, Li Xiao frowned.
“Shi Gu Bi?”
“It’s this guy.”
Many Uyghur people lived in Great Desert; initially to win them over, Xiao Simo appointed the prestigious Shi Gu Bi as Great Desert Deputy Governor.
During the western expedition, Li Xiao had some exchanges with Shi Gu Bi.
Thick eyebrows, big eyes, honest and reliable guy, unexpectedly became a traitor.
“Traitor, another traitor.”
Li Xiao angrily cursed: “I hate traitors the most.”
But Xiao Tula Duo was also foolish.
Knowing Shi Gu Bi was Uyghur, yet no precautions against Qocho army.
Could only say the guy was simple-minded, too straightforward.
“What’s the situation in Great Desert now?” Li Xiao asked again.
The personal guard immediately reported: “After the governor died in battle, Kingdom of Qocho army immediately returned, now besieging Bie Shibali City.”
“My young master is leading men to defend the city; please, Governor, quickly send troops to rescue.”
Xiao Tula Duo’s eldest son inherited his bravery, earning much merit during the western expedition.
But now, could only lead remnants to defend the city.
“Eastern Capital?”
“Did you go to Eastern Capital for help?” Li Xiao asked.
“We did!” The personal guard replied.
Li Xiao nodded silently, took a deep breath, stood up, and gazed south toward Great Desert.
He said lowly: “Xiao brother and I are close friends.”
“Today he died unjustly; I, Li Xiao, absolutely cannot stand by.”
“You stay and rest for now; wait while I muster troops, then go with me to Great Desert.”
Hearing Li Xiao’s words, the personal guard’s tears flowed again.
He knelt heavily in thanks: “Thank you, Governor Li.”
1.Beshbalik, also known as Ting Prefecture, was the seat of Northern Ting Governor’s Mansion during Tang Dynasty, located in present-day Xinjiang Jimusar area.
2.Changbalyk, located near Urumqi, two hundred li west of Beshbalik.
