Zhao Zhen expressed Zeng Gongliang's proposal in court.
Civil and military officials were equally divided in favor and opposition.
Zhao Zhen pretended to have a headache, saying that if the city wall was not reinforced, the Liao army would go south. If the city wall was reinforced, it would cost a lot of money, and the treasury would be unable to support it.
After Zhao Zhen said this, the courtiers fell into thinking. Strengthening the city wall must be done. It was just a matter of when.
At any other time, this matter could have been postponed, but now the national conditions of the Liao Kingdom are unpredictable, and no one is sure that the Liao Kingdom will not go south. This has become the key point of the matter.
Seeing that these people also had headaches, Zhao Zhen's goal was achieved.
Following the words of the courtiers, Zhao Zhen told Lu Yao about the new building materials in his hands.
"Lu Yao said that this thing is dozens of times stronger than before. The ancients said: Hearing is false, seeing is believing. Why don't we go to Su County tomorrow to see what this thing is like? If this thing is consistent with what Lu Yao said
If it doesn't match, I will punish him for deceiving the emperor. Do you have any objections to this matter?"
As soon as Zhao Zhen finished speaking, he saw Wen Yanbo and Han Qi leaving work at the same time, saluting and singing: "I second your proposal!"
Seconded?
Fu Bi took back half of his foot. He originally wanted to stop Zhao Zhen from this terrible idea, but two of the three ministers had already agreed, so he had better not come out to cause trouble.
The difference is that Bao Zheng has completely left work, so this position is very embarrassing.
Zhao Zhen asked: "Does Bao Qing have anything to say?"
Bao Zheng looked at the people around him, and no one had a firm look in his eyes.
The fact that Zeng Gongliang was punished still had some effect. No one knew why Zeng Gongliang was punished. Some people asked him but he refused to tell. Many people were speculating that it was related to this patrol, and they did not dare to offend Zhao Zhen at this time.
.
No matter how good-tempered he is, he is still an emperor after all.
"I have a favor to ask," Bao Zheng said.
"Bao Qing said it's okay." Zhao Zhen had a smile on his lips, but he was very worried that Bao Zheng would sing the opposite.
He didn't want such a good atmosphere to be set up by Bao Zheng alone.
Then the invitation was not in vain.
He was also very surprised why Han Qi also agreed when he asked Wen Yanbo to reconsider. He didn't know what Han Qi was thinking. As long as he agreed, it would be a good thing.
Bao Zheng said: "Although Su County is close, it is still in the capital, and more troops must be sent to protect it. Furthermore, your Majesty needs to be considerate of the people, and it is best to leave the city as early as possible."
Zhao Zhen breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Bao Zheng knew the current affairs and said, "Bao Qing has far-reaching thoughts, so he will do it right!"
"I wonder what the ministers think?"
Almost all the courtiers were thinking, this is just the four of you acting, why do you want to ask our opinions?
However, they still had to show their attitude, "I have no objection."
"Since all the ministers have agreed, we will set off for Su County from Donghua Gate at the fourth watch tomorrow."
The back mountain of Su County is covered with red cloth, with several large characters written in calligraphy on it.
Lu Yao pointed at the red cloth and taught the miners to read word by word: "Life is supreme, safety responsibility is as high as a mountain."
"Safety has no size, and life is only once."
The miner read to Lu Yao over and over again.
"You don't have to know other words, but you must remember these two sentences. Keep them in your mind and engraved on your bones, so that you can never forget them. You only have one life, and I don't want to be in peace.
Do you know that you have lost your own life or the lives of others due to your negligence?"
"Understood!"
Lu Yao took another apple from Lu Qiu's hand.
He wanted to buy a watermelon for experimentation, but there were no watermelons in this season, and even the apples he had were not cheap, costing a hundred cents each.
Lu Yao yelled at the illegal store and was so angry that he almost went to the store and smashed it. When he inquired about it, he found out that it was the same price. He instantly felt more mentally balanced.
Lu Yao put the apple on a stone slab, pointed at him and said: "For example, this is your head. The stone in my hand is about to roll down. What will happen if this stone hits your head."
Lu Yao raised his arm high, aimed at the apple and let go of his palm, only to hear a bang.
There is only half of the complete apple left.
The miners all felt a chill on their heads and took a step back.
"You see, just such a small height has such power. What if it rolled down a real mountain? Then your head will definitely be worse than this apple. For your safety, I specially invented a helmet."
Lu Yao stretched out his hand, and Lu Qiu took out an apple and a hat made of rattan and put them in Lu Yao's hands.
Lu Yao put the apple in its previous position, put a cane hat on it, then raised the stone and threw it down again.
This time the stone hit the cane hat and bounced away.
"See! This is the benefit of wearing a safety helmet. It can greatly reduce the damage caused by stones. If you don't wear a safety helmet, you will be killed. If you wear a safety helmet, you may be seriously injured. This can save your life.
From now on, everyone must wear a safety helmet whenever they enter the mine. I have ordered people to rush to make such safety helmets. Within three days, everyone will be able to wear one. If you want
If I see anyone entering the mine without wearing clothes, I will not only deduct half a month's wages from you, but also deduct the wages of the foreman. Do you all know?"
"Got it!" The miners also knew that Lu Yao was also doing it for their own good, and they felt warm in their hearts.
By the Bianshui River, Lu Yao washed two apples, gave the incomplete half of the apple to his cousin Lu Qiu, and gnawed on the whole apple.
Although apples are very expensive, they are really sweet, as if they have candy hearts.
Speaking of sugar, sugar was made from sugar cane in the Northern Song Dynasty, and the price was very high. Most people could not afford it.
Fortunately, Lu Yao brought some beets and could plant them. Two years later, he let Da Song know about cheap and sweet sugar.
Beet looks very similar to sweet potato. Its sweetness is much sweeter than that of sugar cane, and its sugar yield is also very high. Like sweet potato, it does not choose land and can be grown on any land. The yield per acre is equivalent to that of sweet potato.
By then, salt and sugar, two human necessities, will become truly affordable.
Lu Yao chewed an apple and asked vaguely: "Cousin, the official family will come to Su County tomorrow. Have the surrounding protective measures been taken? No accidents can happen. Everything must be nipped in the bud.
That’s all.”
Lu Qiu took a bite of the apple and felt the sweetness, and his eyes narrowed into a thin line.
In ancient times, eating sweet food was the happiest thing.
Lu Qiu swallowed the chewed apple in his mouth and said: "Thirteenth brother, don't worry, I have dispersed your guards long ago. I also told the guards of Uncle Cao Guo's family about this, and he took them this morning.
More than two hundred soldiers came, and there were four or five of them who were big and thick, and they couldn't get close. Those people were hiding in the surroundings, and they would take action immediately if they found anything abnormal. If they couldn't deal with it, they would give a warning in time. The safety of the official family is comparable to mine.
Life is still important, but I care more about it than you do."
Lu Yao nodded and asked, "Are the roads and walls built with cement dry?"
"Let's wait and see again at noon. In the morning, there is still some dew on it. When there is some sun at noon, it should be completely dry."
When he discovered the lime mine, Lu Yao ordered someone to build a small burning furnace, and he worked overtime in the past few days to burn 5,000 kilograms of cement.
Yesterday, almost 5,000 kilograms of cement were used up in building roads and walls, leaving only about 200 kilograms.
The road from the back mountain to the paper mill has been completely turned into a cement road.
Lu Yao was both emotional and happy. The emergence of such modern roads in the Song Dynasty was all due to him alone, and these cement roads gave him a sense of home, making him feel no longer alone. He would treat this strange Song Dynasty as a whole.
Slowly becoming familiar.
After lunch at noon.
Lu Yao called everyone over, including workers in the brewery and paper mill, and asked them to see what a miracle was.
Looking at this gray road, they didn't know why Lu Yao did this. But Lu Yao told them not to step on it, and they obeyed obediently. Anyway, there was still a big road around.
Lu Yao came forward with a huge hammer, handed it to Wang Xiaohu's hand and said: "Xiaohu, you have the strongest strength among these people. You will pick up the hammer and hit this road hard, you know."
Wang Xiaohu scratched his head and said with a naive smile: "My dear benefactor! I don't dare to do that. What if I destroy this newly built road?"
"I'll smash it if I ask you to. There's so much nonsense. If it's damaged, it's mine."
"Then I can smash it."
"Smash!"
Wang Xiaohu raised the hammer high above his head, his arms suddenly exerted force, and his muscles swelled.
The hammer drew a shadow in the air.
‘Bang’ the hammer hit the concrete road firmly.
However, it did not fall apart as people thought. Instead, the cement road remained motionless. Except for a white spot appearing where the hammer was struck, everything was the same as before.
Wang Xiaohu was not convinced, so he raised his hammer and hit the concrete road hard.
This time the force was even greater than before.
Immediately, Wang Xiaohu's center of gravity became unstable and he fell forward, being held up by Lu Yao's hand.
When people looked carefully, they found that the handle of the hammer had been completely broken by the hammer. This is how strong it was.
However, the cement road is still intact.
Yesterday, the workers who repaired the road looked like they had seen a ghost. They shouted to the people around them: "Yesterday, it was as soft as soil. This, this, this... it has only been more than a day, and how come it has become harder than stone."
The person next to him didn't understand what was going on, and he couldn't answer the workers' questions.
Lu Yao just wanted to say that this is cement, a building material with super strong adhesion.
"From now on, when we build houses, we will use cement. We don't have to worry about wind or rain in the future. Moreover, it is so strong that you can live there for decades without any problem. But I only provide the drawings and materials. You will need to build it yourself."
Go and do it, some of you are carpenters and you will learn this very quickly. And once you learn it, I will do it for you whenever there is work outside."
The carpenters almost jumped with joy.
Lu Yao looked at the cement road with a smile on his face. With such intensity, it would be more than enough for the business tomorrow.