Yang Cong looked at the so-called "iron machine" in front of him and was really speechless.

How do you evaluate this thing?

You guys have really invented a "hammer"!

However, in order not to dispel the enthusiasm of these people, he cannot criticize them, and even reward them to show encouragement.

How to reward such a hammer?

He thought for a long time before he nodded slowly and said, "Well, it's not bad, this thing has a very good creative idea."

When several blacksmiths heard this, they couldn't help but look excited. They thought Yang Cong would give him a reward next.

To be honest, such a "hammer machine" is not very good, but they feel that this thing is not much worse than Zhao Qi's table board.

Their requirements are not high, and they have never expected each person to reward 10,000 taels, but they still thought about it.

One thousand taels, that's how much money is, enough for their family to buy a good house, buy another ten or twenty acres of land, and live a good life.

Unexpectedly, Yang Cong turned his tone and shook his head and said, "But, you didn't use your creativity right."

ah!

When several blacksmith disciples heard this, they immediately looked disappointed. It seemed that the reward was probably going to be ruined.

They are too nervous about the reward, so they are so worried about gains and losses.

Seeing this, Yang Cong hurriedly encouraged: "Don't be discouraged, either. If you have this creativity, it will be easy to deal with. As long as you use the creativity to make it convenient."

When several blacksmith disciples heard this, they showed hope again on their faces.

So, how can you use creativity in the right place?

They began to think about it one after another.

To be honest, inventions are not that easy. It does not mean that you can’t think of anything. Most people can come up with something. The key is that the thing you come up with must be practical and meet the needs of some people, so that it will be meaningful.

Of course, this thing is simple to say, but it is quite difficult to make.

These blacksmith disciples have a wide range of knowledge than those of this era, but they are far inferior to those of later generations. With their knowledge, how could they come up with a practical invention in a short time?

Yang Cong made them think for a while before slowly saying: "This invention mainly focuses on practicality, that is, the things you invented must be useful, and many people want to use them. For example, does the umster puller invented by Zhao Qi want to use them? And for example, what is the use of this iron machine you invented? Who would want to use them?"

When several blacksmith disciples heard this, they couldn't help but look ashamed. Indeed, the iron machine they invented was almost useless, and at most they could make iron plates the size of a palm. What's the use?

Yang Cong then guided: "It is not difficult to think about the practicality of the things you invented. You just need to think about them carefully and see what is difficult to make and the amount is large. Then, based on this need and combine your creativity to design and invent."

What is used for a large amount now and is more difficult to make?

For a moment, these disciples could not think of it. They could only look at Yang Cong with a gaze, hoping that Yang Cong could continue to give them a reminder.

Yang Cong must have ideas, otherwise he would not have guided him like this.

Seeing that these disciples were helpless, he slowly guided him: "For example, the demand for things the Ming soldiers must be very high, right? Because they have a large number of people. Once a war starts, there will be tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people at any time. If each of them needs a set, will the demand for this thing be high? Think about it carefully, what do they need?"

What do Ming army soldiers need?

Actually, there is no need to think about this. When soldiers fight, they need weapons and armor. At this moment, weapons seem to be available, because Yang Cong has invented new muskets and new cannons. As long as all the Ming soldiers are equipped with equipment, they will be invincible. It seems that the rest can only be made on armor.

There are many types of armor, including full body armor, half body armor, chain armor, armor, etc. If you count it carefully, there are probably dozens or hundreds of types. So, what does these things have to do with their "iron-machine"?

Several blacksmith disciples fell into deep thought again.

Yang Cong made them think for a while, then slowly guided: "You have never been to the battlefield, and you may not know that most soldiers do not have armor at this moment, so it is very dangerous to fight a war and you will die if you are not careful. So, if you can come up with a machine to make armor, it will be of great use."

Sure enough, what Lord Yang wants to talk about is armor. They can't think of how to use machines to make armor.

Seeing that they were silent, Yang Cong could only continue to guide: "Armor is divided into many types, but the most practical one is chain mail. Because chain mail is light, it is not a problem for soldiers to walk and march. If it is armor, it will be dozens of kilograms at any time. It is not a general who is riding a horse to lead troops. If you wear that thing, you will have to get tired of walking for a few miles. Therefore, you should put your main idea on making chain mail. Think about it carefully, how to improve this iron machine and use it as a chain mail."

The chain mail is actually a piece of thin iron sheet as thick as a finger, strung with a tough animal skin rope. The thin iron sheet now seems to be able to be made. The problem is that it takes a while to make a piece of iron. It doesn't seem to be much different from the speed of human force.

The heads of several blacksmith disciples were almost broken, but they still couldn't think of a machine to produce chain mails.

Seeing that they were all frowning and pondering, Yang Cong seemed to be unable to think of it for a while, so he could only remind him helplessly: "The armor of the chain mail is actually easy to make. Think about it, how big a piece of iron lump is needed for a piece of armor. If it is burned red, put it in a special mold, and then use a hammer worth dozens or even hundreds of kilograms. With one hammer, will the armor be done?"

This is for sure. As long as the iron on the armor is burned red, the hammer of dozens of kilograms will definitely become a hammer in the mold. The problem is that there is no such a big hammer at this moment. Who can ordinary people swing such a big hammer!

When Yang Cong saw several blacksmith disciples staring at the hammer weighing more than ten pounds, he could only continue to remind him helplessly: "Do you think you can't find such a big hammer? It's simple. Just make one by yourself. How big you want? Can our School of Physics still lack such a little iron at this moment?"

When several blacksmith disciples heard this, they suddenly realized.

Yes, is the School of Physics still lacking this little iron now? You have to know that the railway track weighs hundreds of pounds, so what is it to make a hammer weighing dozens of pounds?

They all started to get ready to make a big hammer and try the whole mold.

Seeing this, Yang Cong could only shake his head helplessly, and then explained the principle of the punching machine of later generations to them, and told them that the punching machine could not only make chain mail pieces, but also make many other things. Until several blacksmith disciples understood it, he waved his hand and signaled that they could go to work.
Chapter completed!