Bessemer Process

After taking a shower, Artys returned to his room, where he sat at his desk, grabbed a piece of parchment, and began sketching plans for the first innovations he intended to make.

Although Artys had limited authority within his father's land, he felt he could at least negotiate with his father about implementing such technology, before he had the power to implement more technology himself. If his father asked where he found such plants, he could simply say that he acquired them from a Yi Ti merchant. The sooner House Royce could mass-produce steel, the better for his plans.

After some time, Artys finished the designs of one of the most important inventions in steel production. Without her, the Industrial Revolution of her previous life would never have happened. It was known in its previous life as the "Bessemer Converter" or the "Bessemer Process". Through this process, 3-5 tons of steel can be manufactured in a matter of 20 minutes.

The Bessemer process essentially worked by removing impurities from iron by oxidation. He utilized the flow of air through the molten material to achieve this. If we coat the inside of the converter with dolomite or limestone, they could produce a larger amount of slag as a by-product, which could be used as a cheap phosphate fertilizer. Thus, this technology helped not only in industrialization, but also in agriculture.

Every component of the machine could be manufactured by a late medieval society, and any horse or water wheel could power it. Obviously, as technology advanced, it could improve it to be powered by steam engines. However, that was for the future; he needed an initial model built for now. High-quality steel was now a rare commodity; with the introduction of the Bessemer process he achieved many things with it, the uses of high quality steel were endless.

Ultimately, Artys would need a blast furnace to convert iron ore into pig iron, which was then converted into steel by the Bessemer process. Although nowadays the blast furnace should already be invented. He was sure that a resource-rich region like the land of House Royce would already have one in their local town. If they didn't, he would simply convince his father to build one next to the Bessemer Converter. He developed a second set of blueprints for the blast furnace, in case there wasn't already one in Runestone.

After finishing his projects and letting them dry, Artys picked up the pieces of parchment and held them carefully as he approached his father's office. The sun was just starting to set when he knocked on the sturdy wooden doors. Shortly after, he could hear the deep voice of his father's answer.

"In between"

Artys took a deep breath and let it out before entering his father's office. Inside the room was a large table where her father was sitting, reviewing paperwork. A small library within the room lined the walls, mostly filled with books of direct importance to managing the kingdom's affairs.

A small oil lamp was lit and sat on the table, illuminating the darkened room and, most importantly, the parchment the Lord was writing on. Yohn Royce didn't even look away from his son as he concentrated entirely on his paperwork.

"This better be important..."

Artys cleared his throat and presented the documents to his father, who had spent most of the afternoon drafting them.

"I would like you to take a look at this. It is of utmost importance for the production of steel for our House."

Yohn paused at his son's request and placed the quill on the table. He looked at his son with a questioning look as if wondering if his time would be wasted going through the documents. Even so, he picked them up and examined them once or twice before placing them on the table and sighing.

"What exactly am I looking at here?"

Yohn Royce may have been an efficient statesman and a renowned Knight, but he didn't care about engineering. As such, he needed an explanation for the plants.

Artys swallowed the saliva that had accumulated in his mouth and began preaching to his father about the beauty of this new invention.

"Father, with this device we will be able to produce large quantities of high quality steel in a short period of 20 minutes. Not only that, but the by-product of this device could act as an efficient fertilizer to increase agricultural production."

A look of shock appeared on Yohn's face as he examined the plants once more. Although he didn't fully understand what he was seeing, the prospects that Artys boasted about were simply too good to ignore. However, a sudden question popped into his mind as he expressed his concern.

"Where did you get this?"

Artys had been expecting such a question and as such wove a great story of how he encountered a traveling merchant from Yi Ti, who had traded the blueprints to Artys for a small fee. Although his father was skeptical of this claim, he decided to act on Artys' request.

"Okay, tomorrow I will summon the best blacksmith in the region; if he can confirm that this technology is legitimate, I will implement it as soon as possible."

Artys smiled and bowed respectfully to his father; honestly, this had gone better than he thought.

"Thanks for listening to my request, Dad."

With that said, Yohn picked up his pen and went back to his paperwork.

"If that's all, then you're fired."

Artys bowed once more to the proud Lord before leaving his room with a wide smile on his face. The introduction of the Bessemer process and the Blast Furnace were just the first phases of his modernization plans. His next objective would be to implement the four-field system and basic irrigation. Something he wouldn't be able to explain trading with merchants. So he would have to take the time to visit the fields and talk to the commoners.

However, these were his plans for the future.