Wu Qian was very open today. His knowledge was quite complicated and he was interested in everything. When Hong Tao demonstrated the power of the cannon and explained the working principle of the cannon, he probably understood it, so he became concerned about the knowledge of casting. However, when he heard that the cannon weighed thousands of kilograms and had a huge force when it was launched and could not be carried by a shipbuilding technology of Jinhewan. When Hong Tao demonstrated the sextant to him and the moon distance watch, he became an astronomical enthusiast again, holding the sextant to the sun, his eyes were so thorny that he still refused to let go. What made him give up the sextant was a pile of gray soil and a large gray stone. Hong Tao said that this pile of soil and water would turn into a big stone next to him in a day or two, which was stronger than the stone. When the hammer hit him, it was just a white dot.

"Husband is a talented man! This is a divine land! Unfortunately, it cannot be used in the world... Cough cough cough..." Wu Qian did not mind the cement ash that stained his purple robe. He grabbed it hard and refused to let go. He even put it under his nose and smelled it.

"! No! Wrong! There is no divine soil? This thing is called cement. It is made of limestone. It is very cheaper and is cheaper than asking craftsmen to dig mountains and carve stones. I have given a bag of samples from the official and Zheng Xiang. I want the court to allocate some of the unbearable war soldiers to produce this kind of cement. If the cement workshop can be put into production, I can turn the river back, move the mountains and rivers, and turn the sea into mulberry fields! As long as I use bamboo to weave the skeletons and pour this object into mixed stones, the Yongjiang River will be blocked in two or three months. I want it to divert the way there and let it flow there. Lord Wu is a parent official, so he should know the use of this object, right?" Hong Tao did not miss any opportunity to deceive officials of the Southern Song Dynasty. One more person can agree with his theory. He can influence the Southern Song Dynasty court more. He can make this dynasty develop in the direction he wants.

"River embankment!" Wu Qian was indeed not a nerd who was studying hard, and his eyes lit up instantly.

"That's right, the Yongjiang River has tides upwards every year, and the farmlands on the riverside are unbearable. If you can build a dam on the riverside where the sea tides are often poured back, you can do it once and for all without spending too much manpower. You dare not say that it will take a hundred years. At least decades will be fine." After a few decades of effort, Hong Tao was waiting for Wu Qian to get into the trap. In history, he personally directed the construction of the Tashan Weir project, which shows that he is just a good thing. If he wants to do what he likes, he will definitely achieve twice the result with half the effort, so that he will quickly agree with part of his ideas.

"Good! Great good! I didn't expect that my husband would not only fight, but also have the strategies of herders. This is also a matter of worrying after taking office. I wonder if the river embankment that my husband said is really feasible?" When I met Hong Tao, the big fox, Wu Qian was unlucky, and was troubled by him. I don't know how many poems I would lose in the future. I was busy building the embankment, so I still have the time to write it.

"It is not feasible, it is not me, but you. If you have to wait for the court to start abolition of the wing soldiers and start a cement workshop, it may not be possible to do it in a few months. Even if it is done, there will not be much cement produced, and it will be used to reinforce the front-line city. It is estimated that it will not be the turn of the people to use it within a few years. Without cement, it will be useless to say anything. I have a faster and better way. I wonder if Lord Wu is interested in listening?" Flies do not bite seamless eggs. Hong Tao, this big fly, is specialized in finding gaps, which is human weakness. Whether it is a good person or a bad person, a clean official, a corrupt official, a Chinese or a foreigner, as long as it is a human being, they have weaknesses. Wu Qian's weakness is that he wants to do things too much and does practical things. This is probably his lifelong pursuit. As long as you think, it is your weakness.

"Mr. Please tell me..." Wu Qian had lost the necessary vigilance against Hong Tao. He was really not a qualified politician and did not put his own interests first in every minute.

"The court has too many things, and they will not care about cement for a while, but this thing does not require the court to control it like salt and iron wine. It can be produced by the people themselves. Even if they don't build river embankments, the people can use it to build houses at their own homes. The demand is very high, and relying on the court alone is not realistic. Do you think this will be done? Find a few local merchants and I will join forces with them to establish a cement workshop. I will provide technology and they will provide the cement with the first to supply it to your river embankments. When the river embankments are repaired, cement can be bought and sold at will. How about it?" This is Hong Tao's ultimate goal. He wanted to lay maggots in Mingzhou. Just fooling sea merchants can no longer satisfy him. He wants to penetrate into the Southern Song society and lay as many maggots as possible, so as to erode the rotten meat on the highly developed feudal dynasty of the Southern Song Dynasty to be riddled with holes, and dig up the dirty roots to produce new branches.

Why choose Mingzhou as the breakthrough point? It’s very simple. Since ancient times, merchants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang have been known for their flexible minds and bold operations. They have been born with the genes of doing business, and it is easier to talk about business with them. Moreover, the handicraft industry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is very developed, even more developed than Guangzhou and Quanzhou. In addition, there are dense rivers and developed transportation. If you invest in and build cement workshops, traffic issues must be considered. Otherwise, if you can’t be transported out after production, it will not be useless. If Guangzhou and Quanzhou can influence the province and the road, starting from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the influence will go upstream along the Yangtze River, covering the entire Yangtze River basin, with a radiation area many times larger.

"This matter can be done! But someone has not been in Mingzhou for a long time and is not very familiar with local merchants. He has to ask the judge to discuss this matter together. I wonder what her husband wants?" Wu Qian didn't have so many ignorant things. After hearing Hong Tao's proposal, he thought for a while and felt that nothing was wrong. Except for the court's explicit ban on private industries, all other industries can be started on their own. As long as the tax is paid normally, the court will not control it. Even if Hong Tao doesn't tell him, it can still be done. Now Hong Tao greeted him first. This is kindness and righteousness. He doesn't want to make more money. He only thinks about the people. He has no reason to refuse. Now Wu Qianyue is more and more pleasing to Hong Tao. If it weren't for Hong Tao being a foreigner, he would have been willing to invite Hong Tao to his mansion to entertain him for a few days.

Wu Qian left, happily, and left with three large sailboat models in his arms. It was a packaging box of Zhuyeqing brand perfume, a gift from Hong Tao to Wu Qian and his family. Before leaving, the two made an appointment to meet on the boat three days later. At that time, Wu Qian would bring more Mingzhou officials and merchants to hold a symposium on the issue of cement workshops, hoping to put this matter into practice as soon as possible.

The generals have the same kind of soldiers! Similarly, the kind of leaders have the same kind of subordinates. Wu Qian is a practical man, and the local officials he brought have become practical man. Even the Tongzong, named Sun, put the supervision matters second and helped Wu Qian and Hong Tao to figure out the cement workshop. The Tongzong position is very interesting. He is nominally the second-in-command, but he firmly controls the rights of the first-in-command. This position represents the central government. There is a Tongzong around him. Without the consent of the Tongzong, many government orders cannot be issued. Moreover, the local officials have no jurisdiction over the Tongzong, and they cannot be replaced at will.

Punishment Sun Tong was a native of Mingzhou and was a censor. If Wu Qian and Hong Tao wanted to do something else, he might really interfere. The censors of the Song Dynasty were all picky and none of them were easy to talk to. However, this time, Punishment Sun Tong didn't say a word of nonsense, and he worked harder than Wu Qian. The reason was very simple. He had suffered from the backflow of sea water since he was a child, building and benefiting his hometown. If he dared to speak out, he would not have to impeach Wu Qian, and his hometown elders could drown him with their spits.

To build a cement workshop, you must first find the right limestone, first burn the limestone into quicklime, and then fully grind several raw materials according to the formula provided by Hong Tao, mix them in a basket, and mix them in a certain proportion to obtain a grayish-white powder, that is, cement. This cement is different from later silicate cement. It has high corrosion resistance but a slightly lower strength. It is generally only about 300, and the highest is no more than 400, and the maintenance period is slightly longer. However, it also has the advantage that it is relatively simple to make. If it can be improved in grinding technology, the strength can be strengthened.

Why didn't Hong Tao get the silicate cement from later generations, that is, Portland cement? Because he doesn't know how to play with a vertical kiln. If he wants to burn silicate cement, he must have a vertical kiln. Hong Tao has seen that thing, but he has only seen it. He doesn't know what it looks like, how to build it, and how to work. Another point is that it is not as simple as imagined. It is either throwing the stone into the furnace and calcining it for a certain period of time, taking it out and grinding it into powder, it is silicate cement. The ingredients must be controlled in all aspects of material selection, raw materials, clinker, and grinding, otherwise the things burned are not necessarily silicate cement. Without chemical preparations, Hong Tao has no place to find minerals full of silicates, and cannot ensure the stability of the ingredients in each process, so he has no hope of silicate cement.

At present, he thinks that this simple mixed cement is most suitable for the productivity and production technology at this time. Quicklime was understood by the Chinese since the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Lime kilns were found in the Song Dynasty. The second raw material is waste bricks, pottery, porcelain fragments, and iron slag. These things are not difficult to find, and they are very large in quantity, so they are considered waste utilization. The third raw material is called cooked gypsum. This thing is not a new thing in the Song Dynasty. It has special gypsum ore. The dug out is 2-water gypsum. After calcination, it is semi-water gypsum, which is cooked gypsum. (To be continued.)
Chapter completed!