HNYWEF -Chapter 148 Talking Past Each Other

Seventeenth day of the winter month, in the fourth year of Zhenguan.

In the courtyard of the Directorate of Construction, a temporary shed had been set up. Under it were rows of benches, all filled with people.

They were all ironworkers from the Ministry of Works.

The older ones were in their fifties, temples streaked with gray, hands covered in decades of calluses. The younger ones were barely in their early twenties, eyes bright, staring at the small makeshift platform ahead.

A man stood on the stage.

Zhou Xiong.

He wore a slightly worn robe, standing in the center of the platform, holding a piece of iron in his hand, his face completely expressionless.

Yan Lide stood in the front row below the stage, holding a notebook, ready to record.

“Lord Zhou, you may begin.”

Zhou Xiong nodded.

He raised the piece of iron for everyone below to see.

Then he spoke.

“The effect of carbon equivalent on weld cold cracking is primarily related to the maximum hardness in the heat-affected zone.”

The crowd below exchanged glances.

Carbon equivalent? Welding? Heat-affected zone?

Zhou Xiong turned the iron piece over in his hand.

“Different types of iron have different carbon equivalents. Pig iron has a high carbon equivalent, which tends to form martensitic structures, leading to brittleness. Wrought iron has a low carbon equivalent, so it has better toughness, but lower strength.”

The crowd fell silent for a moment.

Martensite?

What kind of “-ite” was that?

Zhou Xiong didn’t notice.

He picked up another piece of iron.

“The essence of clad steel is composite dissimilar materials. Through forge welding, metallurgical bonding at the interface is achieved, combining the hardness of high-carbon material with the toughness of low-carbon material. The bonding strength at the interface depends on the thickness and purity of the diffusion layer.”

He stacked the two iron pieces together and made a forging gesture.

“When operating, one must control heat input. If the heat input is too high, grains become coarse and toughness decreases. If it is too low, the bonding at the interface will be weak, leading to delamination.”

An older blacksmith finally couldn’t help raising his hand.

“Lord… what is that carbon equivalent thing you mentioned?”

Zhou Xiong looked at him.

“Carbon equivalent is the combined effect of carbon and other alloying elements on hardenability. The formula is carbon plus manganese divided by six, plus chromium, molybdenum, and vanadium divided by five, plus nickel and copper divided by fifteen.”

The blacksmith’s mouth opened, but no sound came out.

Zhou Xiong continued.

“Pig iron typically has a carbon equivalent of around 4.3, which is a hypereutectic structure. Wrought iron is below 0.02, which corresponds to a hypoeutectoid steel.”

Another blacksmith raised his hand.

“Lord… what does hypereutectic mean?”

Zhou Xiong paused slightly.

He lowered his head and looked at the iron in his hand.

What did “hypereutectic” mean?

It meant carbon content exceeding the eutectic point.

But what was the eutectic point?

It was a point on the iron-carbon phase diagram.

And what was the iron-carbon phase diagram…

He lifted his head and looked at the people below.

They were all staring at him.

Every face was blank with confusion.

Suddenly, he felt something was off.

Below him, some people had their mouths open, some scratched their heads, others turned to look at their neighbors, their eyes asking: Did you understand any of that?

The neighbors all shook their heads.

Zhou Xiong continued speaking.

“When forging clad steel, oxide inclusions at the interface must be avoided. Oxide inclusions reduce bonding strength and lead to delamination. During forge welding, the temperature must be controlled within the austenite range so that recrystallization can achieve bonding at the interface.”

He picked up a piece of iron and examined it under the light.

“This piece shows a clear decarburized layer on the fracture surface, about 0.2 millimeters thick. The decarburized layer reduces surface hardness and must be ground away. During grinding, material removal must be carefully controlled so as not to affect final dimensions.”

He set the iron down.

“Also, iron purity is very important. Excess impurities cause segregation, which leads to non-uniform microstructures and affects mechanical properties. Phosphorus and sulfur content must be controlled. Phosphorus reduces low-temperature toughness, while sulfur causes hot shortness.”

He finished speaking.

Standing on the platform, he looked down at the crowd.

They were all looking at him.

No one spoke.

The silence was so deep that even the sound of wind passing over the shed roof could be heard.

A young blacksmith finally couldn’t hold it in and whispered to the man beside him:

“Did you understand… any of what the Lord just said?”

The man thought for a moment.

“I heard… iron… furnace… hammer… that’s about it.”

“And that carbon… what was it again?”

“No idea.”

“And that martensite thing?”

“No idea either.”

“What O…what zone?”

“I don’t know.”

The young blacksmith scratched his head.

“So what exactly did we understand then?”

The older blacksmith sighed.

“The Marquis really has skills… but we truly can’t understand a word of it…”

He didn’t continue.

Those murmurs drifted into Zhou Xiong’s ears.

He stood on the platform, motionless.

He didn’t know what he had just said.

He only knew—none of them understood.

And they were looking at him like that.

Like he was something strange.

His hands began to tremble.

Very slightly.

But he felt it.

閻立德 noticed something was wrong and stepped up onto the platform.

He stood beside Zhou Xiong and waved lightly toward the crowd below.

“Everyone.”

The crowd quieted down.

Yan Lide said, “The Marquis Zhou has immersed himself in this field for many years and has formed his own style. What he speaks are methods you have never encountered before. Those who understand it are fortunate. Those who don’t should ask humbly—do not speak carelessly.”

The people below looked at each other and nodded.

It made sense.

But Zhou Xiong, standing there, suddenly felt a buzzing in his head.

“Formed his own style.”

It was a polite phrase.

But to him, it sounded like they were saying everything he spoke was nonsense no one could understand.

He turned around.

And stepped down from the platform.

He walked past Yan Lide.

Yan Lide froze for a moment.

“Marquis?”

Zhou Xiong didn’t stop.

He crossed the courtyard, passed through the moon gate, and went to a quiet corner where no one was around.

He squatted down.

Reached into his robes and pulled something out.

A rolled paper tube, stuffed with crushed tea leaves.

He took out a fire starter, lit it, and took a drag.

White smoke drifted from his lips, dispersing into the cold air.

He squatted there, watching that thin wisp of smoke.

Completely still.

Footsteps came from behind him.

Yan Lide stood a short distance away, watching him.

That figure curled up in the corner, squatting by the wall, holding the smoking thing between his fingers.

He watched the white smoke drift away.

But he did not walk over.

He just stood there, watching.

After a while, he turned around and walked back.

He returned to the craftsmen.

They were still murmuring quietly.

He waved his hand.

“Everyone disperse.”

The blacksmiths froze for a moment.

Yan Lide repeated,

“Disperse. We’ll continue tomorrow.”

The craftsmen looked at each other, then stood up and left in small groups.

The courtyard gradually fell silent.

Yan Lide stood there for a moment longer and glanced toward the corner.

That figure was still squatting there.

Motionless.

Only a thread of white smoke drifted upward, slowly dissolving into the gray sky.

He watched it for a while.

Then turned and walked into the room.

Leaving behind that corner.

And the faint wisp of smoke still rising.