"Your Majesty, please see, this is cement." Han Du reached out and grabbed a handful from the unused cement next to him and showed it to Lao Zhu.
Lao Zhu frowned when he saw it. This was very different from what he imagined. No matter how you looked at it, these gray foam didn't look like they could turn sand into stone.
Han Du smiled slightly and pointed at the concrete slab on the ground, "This is what is solidified after mixing cement and sand. Well, this thing is indeed as solid as a rock. If cement can turn sand into stone, then...
It’s not wrong, but I still prefer to call it concrete.”
Lao Zhu was a very motivated person, so he didn't care whether it was called concrete or some other kind of soil. He leaned down and stretched out his hand towards the concrete slab and rubbed it, and pressed it hard several times.
It's cold, hard, and has a strange smell, but it's basically the same as stone.
Lao Zhu stood up, clapped his hands, and asked, "Is this really made of sand and your cement?"
"It's absolutely true, Your Majesty." Han Du put the cement in his hand back and patted his hands clean as well.
"How?"
"It's very simple. Mix the sand and cement evenly, add a certain amount of water, stir it, and then put it into the prepared wooden frame, just like making tofu. When it is completely solidified, it will look like this." Han Du explained carefully.
Lao Zhu heard that it could be made like tofu, wouldn't it mean that the shape could be changed at will? Thinking of this, his eyes became even brighter.
"Mao Xiang."
"I'm here." Mao Xiang, who had been standing behind Lao Zhu, responded immediately.
Mao Xiang? When Han Du heard this, he was shocked. His eyes could not help but look towards Mao Xiang. This was the legendary first commander of Jin Yiwei, Mao Xiang? Although some people think that the first commander of Jin Yiwei was not Mao Xiang.
Xiang, but since it was the Jinyiwei established by Zhu Yuanzhang, then the Jinyiwei should have a commander. Apart from Mao Xiang, there is no other person in history.
Han Du looked at Mao Xiang, and his heart was filled with turmoil. Jin Yiwei, what a thunderous name. However, this Mao Xiang did not look evil at all on the surface. He had a pair of thick eyebrows, straight and hard, big eyes, a high nose, and a handsome face.
There is a touch of elegance in his extraordinary handsomeness.
Is this really Mao Xiang? They can’t be different people with the same name.
But Han Du really didn't expect that there could be another person named Mao Xiang who could be guarding Zhu Yuanzhang.
"Go and try." Lao Zhu didn't have as many inner dramas as Han Du, so he ordered directly.
"According to the decree."
Mao Xiang rolled up his robe and reached out to take the hammer from the craftsman's hand.
Everyone moved away, leaving an open space for Mao Xiang to perform, even Lao Zhu was no exception.
"Boom."
"Boom."
"Boom."
...
Mao Xiang hit the concrete slab with hammer after hammer. Unfortunately, apart from the loud noise, he could only knock off a little bit of sand from the concrete slab.
Alas, who told Mao Xiang not to understand science?
Han Du couldn't help complaining in his heart. Concrete is known for its resistance to compression. What is compression resistance? It means frontal rigidity, which is the strength of concrete. You might be able to make a dent in an iron plate with a hammer.
But you can't make a hole in the concrete.
Because when the hammer comes into contact with the concrete, the force emitted will be dispersed by the internal stress of the concrete, which greatly weakens the impact of the hammer.
It's very easy to smash a piece of concrete. Just stand up on both ends of the concrete slab. The concrete slab will break into pieces with one hammer blow.
This is because although concrete resists compression, it does not resist tension. This is why in modern high-rise buildings, steel bars are added to concrete. The principle is to increase its tensile properties.
You can try a concrete slab with a reinforced mesh. Even if you stand on tiptoe and hit it with a hammer, even if the concrete slab jumps when you knock it, it will still be intact.
If someone as reckless as Mao Xiang wants to break a concrete slab, he'd better rest early. The concrete slab is laid flat on the ground, and all the force of the blow is transmitted into the soil. Only if it can be broken can it be broken.
Sure enough, as Mao Xiang hammered down, he saw that the concrete slab was sunk deep into the soil, but the concrete slab itself was naturally intact.
"That's enough." Lao Zhu waved his hand to stop Mao Xiang. It's not that Lao Zhu knew that Mao Xiang was acting recklessly, but that he felt that he already had the answer if he could try it here.
"Dig it out." Lao Zhu ordered.
The craftsmen rushed forward and dug out the concrete slab in a hurry.
Lao Zhu carefully inspected the concrete slab and couldn't help but laugh when he saw that it was really intact.
"Hahaha, okay, what a magical thing. Han Du, you have merit, I want to reward you."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, I'm just trying my best..." How can you not be happy with a reward? Han Du's heart was filled with joy, but his face was still tense and he wanted to say something reserved.
However, Lao Zhu had heard too much of this kind of talk and was not interested in listening to Han Du's nonsense, so he waved his hand to stop him.
He turned around and asked an old minister, "What does Li Qing think should be rewarded?"
Han Du saw this man with gray hair and a gray beard, wearing a first-grade crimson crane official robe. Apart from Hu Weiyong, who had been executed, the only people who could hold first-grade official positions were Dr. Guanglu, Zuo Zhuguo, Taishi, Zuo Prime Minister, and Han Du.
Mr. Li Shan has grown up.
"I have met Mr. Han Du," Han Du stepped forward to salute, but suddenly found that there was another person beside Li Shanchang, standing even further forward than Li Shanchang.
When the man saw Han Du looking at him, he smiled and introduced himself, "I am Xu Da."
Han Du glanced at Xu Da gratefully and bowed again, "I have met Duke Wei."
What day is today? Can a piece of cement attract so many great people?
Han Du said to himself.
But Li Shanchang spoke up, "Back to the emperor, I think that we can follow the Tang Dynasty system. Anyone who contributes his or her skills to the court will be rewarded up to fifteen guan. Since cement is so magical and useful, it should be rewarded up to fifteen guan."
Lao Zhu nodded frequently as he listened.
Han Du felt a chill when he heard this. How much?
Fifteen strings?
You are sending beggars away.
"Hahaha, that's very good, then I will reward you with fifteen sticks." Lao Zhu looked very happy.
The others also seemed to echo Lao Zhu's expression, except Han Du, whose face was gloomy and frozen.
He laughed angrily and said: "Haha, fifteen guan is really a lot of money. Your Majesty, is it possible that the cement that so many people in the Baochao Lifting Department worked around the clock and spent so much manpower and material resources to produce is only worth ten guan?"
Five guans? I put it more harshly, 15 guans. Just the materials and money spent during the experiment are more than 15 guans. If the emperor insists on asking 15 guans to buy the cement production skills, then I can only
Say sorry, I won’t sell it!”
As soon as Han Du's words came out, the joyful atmosphere in the room was instantly wiped away.
Li Shanchang and Xu Da both looked at Han Du in surprise. They had followed Lao Zhu Liguo all the way, but they had never seen anyone who dared to confront Lao Zhu like this.
Huh? No, there seemed to be one a few days ago.
Li Shanchang suddenly thought, oh, it's Han De, the Minister of Household Affairs. I heard that Han Du is Han De's son?
As expected, like father, like son, these father and son are truly of the same origin.
However, when Han De contradicted the emperor and was almost beheaded by his whole family, he didn't know what the outcome would be for Han Du.
Lao Zhu was not as angry as when Han De contradicted him, but curled his lips casually and said: "No wonder you insist on me agreeing to let you sell your skills. It turns out you are waiting for me here."
"Since I promised you my true words, it will naturally count," Lao Zhu continued in his spare time, "Okay, then how much do you want to sell your cement?"
According to Lao Zhu's idea, since Han Du is unwilling to sell fifteen guan, he will increase the price, and the cement will only be sold for tens or hundreds of guan at most. The degree of Han Du's care in this matter is Lao Zhu's
You know, in his opinion, Han Du is a practical person, and he will not argue with Han Du about this little copper coin.
After hearing Lao Zhu's words, Xu Da took a deep look at Han Du. This kid is so brave. He actually dared to dig a hole for him to jump in front of his superior. Well, who did this last time? It's too long.
It's been so long that Xu Da himself can't even remember. I just don't know how tall the grass on his grave has grown. Maybe he was cut into pieces by the emperor, and he died long ago without a burial place, not even a grave.
When Han Du saw Lao Zhu let go, he couldn't keep his cold face anymore. He calculated it carefully and gave an extreme price.
"Then ten thousand dollars. The value of the cement formula is extremely high. I am just recovering a small amount of funds symbolically to make up for the shortfall in research and development."
This price is really equivalent to giving it away. Cement is of great use. In Handu's opinion, with the promotion of cement, the value of cement formula will exceed that of coke ore.
The price is really not high, but others don’t think so.
As Han Du opened his mouth, both Li Shanchang and Xu Da looked at Han Du with their eyes widened, and soon returned to normal.
However, although the two people looked like this, their eyes changed when they looked at Han Du, as if they were looking at a madman or a dead person.
When Lao Zhu heard Ten Thousand Guan, his heartbeat slowed down a beat. Looking at Han Du, his smile immediately turned into a sneer, with a cold light on his teeth, "Oh? Ten thousand Guan, you really dare to speak."
"Ten thousand guan is really not that high. The value of cement is far more than 10,000 guan." Han Du shook his head. He had no conscience.
If someone had registered the cement patent in modern times and sold it to him at such a price, he would laugh out loud in his dreams, and he would be as rich as the country just from the patent fees.
"I firmly believe that cement has great uses, but its value is not necessarily high. If you just ask for ten thousand guan, don't you think it's too much?"