42 Chapter Furnace_3

Following that, Old Blacksmith Poltan continued to discuss the differences between the "bloomery" and Carlos's "blast furnace."

The reason why a bloomery is called a "bloomery" is that it "smelts a large bloom of iron at one time."

"Iron doesn't have legs; it won't walk out of the furnace on its own," the old blacksmith gestured vigorously. "So with a bloomery, after smelting a batch of iron, you have to take apart the furnace wall to remove the iron and then rebuild it."

Mason's interest was piqued. "Can't you just melt the iron into liquid—like bronze and gold—so it pours out on its own?"

Being able to melt iron into liquid would mean being able to cast cannons, Senior Mason's thinking was very direct.