Chapter 22 Archaeologists thought they dug the wrong grave
"Your Majesty, this thing is indeed like mud at first, but after a few hours, it will become as hard as stone."
Li Shimin was greatly surprised when he heard this: "Seriously?"
"A villain dare not deceive the emperor." Baiqisi secret agent knelt down and said.
"I think this was passed down by Xiaoyaozi again." Li Shimin tightened his fists: "Have you not found any clues about Xiaoyaozi?"
"The villain is incompetent."
Li Shimin hammered the table hard: "Hmph, I don't want to listen to your nonsense. Before my patience is exhausted, you'd better find Xiaoyaozi, otherwise..."
"No." Secret agent Baiqisi complained secretly, but he could only accept the order bravely.
Li Shimin asked the eunuch to put the lump of cement aside, while he continued to process the memorial. Unconsciously, the sun was setting.
Stretching, Li Shimin stood up from the chair and said, "This stool improved by a man from Yun County is really easy to use. I no longer have to bend my legs when correcting memorials every day."
"What time is it now?"
"It's already time to report back to Your Majesty," the eunuch replied cautiously.
Li Shimin nodded, feeling a little hungry. Just as he was about to pass on the meal, he suddenly remembered something and walked to the place where the cement was placed.
When he leaned down and took a look, Li Shimin was stunned. The soft lump of cement had indeed condensed into a dusty object, which looked a bit like a brick. He picked it up and knocked it, and the sound was muffled.
What surprised Li Shimin even more was that he tried to break it off with his hands, but except for some shards, it was not broken.
Simply, Li Shimin threw the cement block in his hand to the ground.
With a bang, the bricks fell into the Tai Chi Hall, and the reverberation caused the Jinwu guards guarding the outside to be startled, and they rushed in one after another.
"Back off." Li Shimin waved away the Jinwu Guards, squatted down and picked up the cement block. There were only tiny pieces, but there was no sign of the whole being broken.
"This thing is so strong." Li Shimin was amazed.
"Go and call me Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling, Cheng Yaojin, and Li Jing."
"promise."
Not long after, a group of civil servants and generals hurried over, and Li Shimin asked the eunuch to carry the cement block and walk around in front of them.
"If this thing is used to build a city wall, do you think it is feasible?"
Cheng Yaojin, Li Jing and other generals picked up the cement blocks and looked at them again and again.
"It's hard enough, but I don't know if it can withstand wind, frost, rain, snow and sun."
Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling and other civil servants also came forward to observe.
"But I don't know how much this thing cost."
The generals were concerned about whether this thing was durable and strong. After all, the strength of the city wall ultimately determined the life and death of the soldiers, so it was natural that they could not be careless.
But what civil servants care about is the cost. In fact, most city walls are still made of rammed earth. It is not without better craftsmanship. They are built with green bricks and glued with glutinous rice juice. Such city walls can last for hundreds of years.
It was rotten, but the cost was too high, and there were not many cities like this in the Tang Dynasty.
Facing everyone's questions, Li Shimin couldn't answer them and could only pretend to be incomprehensible.
"Do you know who made this thing?"
Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling looked at each other.
"Could it be that the supervisor was researched?"
Li Shimin shook his head.
Cheng Yaojin laughed loudly: "I see, in the whole world, the only ones who can come up with these weird things are the men from Qin County and the men from Yun County."
"Cheng Aiqing still understands them." Li Shimin smiled and nodded.
"I heard that a man from Qin County and a man from Yun County have opened a new cement workshop. My dear friends, you might as well go and find out with me. How about that?"
Naturally, everyone would not refuse, not to mention they also wanted to know whether this cement could be used to build city walls.
Therefore, Li Shimin took a group of civil servants and generals, put on civilian clothes and headed to Chang'an County.
At the same time, Qin Hao and Yun Ye were also conducting experiments in the cement workshop.
None of them have a specific formula for cement, they just know the rough raw materials and production methods. They need to go through experiments again and again to find the most suitable ratio of raw materials and production process.
This also makes many farmers do not understand. When the two princes made cement from the beginning, they thought they were children playing with mud, and wondered why these two princes were still acting like children who had not grown up.
.
It was not until the first batch of cement solidified that these farmers realized that the two lords had come up with something incredible.
However, now that everything is out, is it necessary to be so picky? Does it just work?
Just when Qin Hao and Yun Ye were immersed in constantly improving the formula, Li Shimin came with someone.
Back then, Qin Hao and Yun Ye treated many wounded soldiers at Zuowuwei. Some of them were old enough to retire and had lost their homes due to years of war, so they defected to Qin Hao and Yun Ye. These soldiers did not know Li Shimin, but
They knew Cheng Yaojin and quickly saluted.
"Are these the soldiers of your Zuo Wuwei?" Li Shimin looked at Cheng Yaojin with a half-smile.
Cheng Yaojin said with a smile: "They are all old and have no place to live. I thought that these two boys are not bad-hearted and treat people well. After fighting for so many years, I can find a good home for them. I am an old man."
Shuai has done his best."
Li Shimin said nothing after hearing this. Of course he knew that Cheng Yaojin had selfish motives for doing this, but Cheng Yaojin was right. These soldiers had fought for the Tang Dynasty for many years. If he could not let them enjoy their old age, then he would
This emperor failed in his duty. Unfortunately, the Tang Dynasty was in ruins and could not afford to reward these soldiers with so much money. Qin Hao and Yun Ye were wiping his ass by accepting these people.
Moreover, what Li Shimin liked most about Cheng Yaojin was his honesty. People always have their own small thoughts. Civil servants don't love money and military attachés are not afraid of death. That is too idealistic. As an emperor, he can tolerate the selfishness of ministers.
But we cannot tolerate ministers pretending to be public-minded when they clearly have selfish motives. That is treating the emperor like a monkey.
All dynasties have treated the emperor like a monkey, and they have never ended well in the end.
"Let's go and see what they are doing inside." Li Shimin waved his sleeves and took the lead into the cement workshop.
The cement workshop was very gray. Even though Qin Hao and Yun Ye had asked people to close the windows, the wind at the door would always blow the cement dust everywhere.
"Ahem." Li Shimin covered his mouth and nose, and suddenly found that the workers inside all had something that looked like a pig's mouth.
Qin Hao and Yun Ye were squatting on the ground wearing "pig mouth" and discussing the formula of cement. Yun Ye was too immersed in it and didn't even notice the changes around him, but Qin Hao noticed the footsteps behind him.
Finally, he clearly felt that his five senses were more sensitive than before.
"See your Majesty." Qin Hao stood up and bowed to Li Shimin.
Yun Ye was startled by Li Shimin's huge formation. He was stunned for a while before he came back to his senses and quickly saluted.
Li Shimin originally planned to tease Yun Ye, but when he opened his mouth, he felt dust entering his mouth again, so he could only continue to cover his mouth and nose.
Upon seeing this, Qin Hao quickly asked someone to bring him a homemade dust mask.
Li Shimin hesitated for a moment but did not take it. He was an emperor, so what's the point of wearing a pig's snout?
"Your Majesty, this cement workshop has a lot of dust. If it is inhaled, it will cause lung damage. You should wear it." Qin Hao persuaded.
Li Shimin finally put on a dust mask. Although he felt a little difficult to breathe, luckily there was no dust getting into his mouth and nose.
"Qin Aiqing, Yun Aiqing, what are you doing?"
Qin Hao explained: "Reporting to your Majesty, my junior brother and I are experimenting to adjust the cement formula."
Li Shimin heard this and asked doubtfully: "Have you not already developed the cement? Why do you still need to adjust the formula?"
"Your Majesty, my junior brother and I have only heard about this cement from Master, but have never received the exact formula. Master often said that a slight error can make a huge difference. Any deviation in the proportion of raw materials will lead to cement
The final effect after solidification.”
"This cement is different from others. Once it solidifies, it has no plasticity. The proportions of limestone, clay, and iron ore powder need to be accurately quantified, otherwise it will be difficult to ensure the quality of the construction."
After listening to Qin Hao's explanation, Li Shimin thought to himself, as expected, it was Xiaoyaozi who made the cement again.
"Oh? How's your research going?"
Qin Hao and Yun Ye looked at each other.
"After these two days of experiments, it was finally determined that the proportion of limestone and clay iron ore powder should be maintained at: 80%, 10%, 10%. The best effect will be achieved after solidification."
"Oh? Is this the cement you just mixed?" Li Shimin became interested and squatted down to inspect the newly hardened cement block.
"Exactly."
Li Shimin smiled at Qin Hao: "Qin Aiqing, can someone check whether the cement is hard?"
"There is nothing you can't do."
"Okay, come on, bring me the hammer!"
Cheng Yaojin snatched the hammer from Jin Wuwei and said, "Haha, Your Majesty, I will let Old Cheng test it for you."
As he said that, he picked up the hammer and smashed it towards the cement block.
Just hearing "bang bang" sounds one after another, the civil servants and generals present were stunned.
Although some flying debris was thrown off the cement block by Cheng Yaojin, the whole piece was still very intact, and when the hammer hit the cement block, it made the sound of metal and stone hitting each other, and even sparks were produced by the friction.
Cheng Yaojin rounded the ball and smashed it more than a dozen times before Li Shimin asked him to stop.
"Your Majesty, this thing is almost as hard as a stone. Old Cheng's hands are shaking from the shock."
Li Shimin knew that Cheng Yaojin would not fool him, but he still picked up the hammer and smashed it a few times. The result was the same as when Cheng Yaojin did it. The cement block was not smashed, but a few dents were made on the surface.
of small pits.
"How can this thing be so hard?" Li Shimin secretly clicked his tongue.
Li Jing looked at Qin Hao with bright eyes: "Mr. Qin County, can this thing be used to build city walls?"
"Building a city wall? The hardness of cement is sufficient, but this material is afraid of weathering, and its hardness will decrease after a few decades. Moreover, if the city wall is made of cement as the main body, it will be difficult to strengthen and repair it in the future."
"Decades? It's a pity to say so." Li Jing sighed in disappointment.
Ancient city wall construction standards were based on hundreds of years. A few decades is equivalent to a lifespan reduced by half. The most terrible thing is Qin Hao's last sentence. It is difficult to reinforce. Most city walls have to be repaired before they completely collapse.
Repairing and rebuilding it every few decades would be a waste of time and money.
Li Shimin frowned when he heard this. So, isn't this cement just like chicken ribs, tasteless and a pity to throw away?
"How much does this cement cost?"
Qin Hao and Yun Ye looked at each other: "According to a rough estimate, the cost of building a three-story building, including other materials such as sand, gravel, bricks, etc., should be around five guans."
"What? Wu Guan?"
Du Ruhui and other civil servants screamed in surprise.
Li Shimin didn't know how much money it would cost to build a house among the private sector, so he could only wait for what Du Ruhui and others would say.
Sure enough, Du Ruhui came to Qin Hao excitedly.
"Mr. Qin County, Your Majesty, this matter is related to the destiny of the country, so don't talk nonsense!"
Qin Hao said calmly: "Wuguan is already a conservative estimate, and it may be even lower."
"If the cost of this thing is so low, it may indeed be used to build a city wall, but I don't know how much labor it will take to build it." Du Ruhui bowed deeply to Li Shimin.
In ancient times, corvee has always been a headache for the court and the people.
There are fewer corvees, city walls need to be repaired, palaces need to be built, and the emperor's tomb also needs to be built. We can't let the army do the repairs, right? What if there is an invasion by foreign enemies? So we can only mobilize the people to do the repairs.
However, if there are too many corvees and they are too frequent, the land will be deserted and the people will not be able to make a living. This is how Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty played himself to death. Otherwise, if the conquest of Goguryeo failed, the world would not be in chaos.
"If we only count the main structure, a three-story building with seven or eight strong laborers should be enough." Qin Hao remembers that when he was a child, five or six people were enough to build a house in the countryside. However, considering that in ancient times,
Without an excavator, it would definitely be more troublesome to dig the foundation, so I counted two or three more people.
Du Ruhui and other civil servants all had expressions of disbelief.
Qin Hao said unhurriedly: "The academy will break ground soon, won't we know then?"
"So, I am looking forward to your academy more and more." Li Shimin laughed.
When leaving, Li Shimin did not forget to get a few bags of freshly prepared cement from the cement workshop. Qin Hao also wrote the correct method of using cement on a piece of paper and gave it to Li Shimin.
Yun Ye looked at Li Shimin's back with a strange expression on his face.
"Senior Brother, do you think that if a thousand years later, when our generation does archeology and finds that the ancient tombs are all cement concrete structures, will they think that the people of the Tang Dynasty obtained high technology from aliens?"
"Perhaps foreigners will use this to deny our history and think that these were built by us later." When Qin Hao thought of such a scene, he felt inexplicably happy.
On the other side, after Li Shimin returned to the palace, he called the Minister of Industry over.
"I order you to build a three-story building next to the Taiji Hall. Use this cement to build it. If you don't understand anything, just ask the Qin County man and the Yun County man."
The Minister of Industry was dumbfounded. He had never seen this thing before.