Faced with numerous inquiries, Li Shan reprimanded impatiently: "You guys are a bunch of fools, won't you know if you try it when you open the kiln later?!"
Following the cheers of the young men in front, the closed kiln door was slowly pushed open. Tan Wu, Tan Liu and others went in first to investigate and brought out more than a dozen red bricks.
Li Shan took a closer look and saw that the appearance was very similar. The formula, embryo making, and molds were all arranged by himself, but he didn't know how to burn the kiln... The key to firing the kiln is whether it can reach a sufficient temperature smoothly.
Two kilns had been abandoned before. Li Shan thought that it was all because of insufficient temperature. Although coal was used instead, whether it could be fully used would need to test Li Shan's logical thinking.
After pondering for a while, Li Shan finally decided to use his brain on the placement of bricks and coal, and also used a large amount of pulverized coal. This was the third kiln.
Compared with green bricks, red bricks are not strong enough. The key lies in the preparation of the bricks. The raw materials are different... The green bricks are made of clay. Not to mention the bricks, just placing them to dry will
It takes several months, and the red bricks are made of clay. According to Li Shangui's formula, they can be directly made into bricks and dried in the shade before being put into the kiln.
Li Shan held the brick in one hand, made a knife-like shape with the other hand, and chopped it down with all his strength... The brick was fine, but his hand hurt!
"What are you laughing at?!" Li Shanmiao saw Ma Zhou sneer, "Come here!"
"Okay." Ma Zhou agreed and picked up a stone from the ground.
Li Shan's face was a bit dark, indeed, what did he think... He had to chop it with his hands!
Ma Zhou smashed it twice first, only a few pieces were broken, and then he smashed it harder seven or eight times. Although the bricks were slightly damaged, they still remained intact and had no cracks.
Li Shan turned around and looked around, beckoning: "Brother Su, come on."
Su Dingfang picked up the waist knife with his backhand, turned the back of the knife down, and knocked down the sheath...Three times in a row, the red brick cracked into two pieces.
Li Shan nodded with satisfaction. This intensity was not bad... at least enough to build a house.
Back then, when a family was building a house in the village, a batch of red bricks was transported, and a dozen high school students watched a Hong Kong movie... The intensity of brick-breaking there may not be as strong as this batch.
"Zhu Shitou, you two arranged for people to start laying the foundation. It's still spring plowing. If you don't have enough people, you can hire some from neighboring villages..."
"No!" Uncle Zhu Wu, who was coming down the mountain today, immediately shook his head, "It's okay to go slower, but the secret technique of burning bricks must not be leaked to others!"
Uncle Zhu Wu touched his bare head, turned around slowly, and said in a more serious tone, "Listen carefully, anyone who dares to betray you will be expelled from the village!"
Except for Li Shan, Ma Zhou, and Su Dingfang, all those present were members of the Zhu clan in the village, and they all responded in unison.
Li Shan himself didn't care much, and even thought about how many ancient technologies were lost in the long river of history... But now his butt is sitting here.
Although not as good as green bricks, these red bricks are enough to build houses. Not to mention the nearby villages and towns, there is also a considerable demand in Chang'an City... One hundred and eight squares, which sounds famous, is actually more than two
All ten squares are empty.
Zhu Wu geared up and said, "Don't worry, Da Lang, whoever dares to leak the news will be killed by the Da Lang of the Su family with a knife!"
Since the Yuhuchun Winery was closed, Zhu Wu had nothing to do all day and night, eagerly waiting for the kiln to be fired.
After everything was settled, Li Shan went around the kiln and found that the bricks were visited in a circular manner. Basically, there was no difference in quality, so he felt relieved.
After returning home, Li Shan took Ma Zhou, Su Dingfang, Zhu Wu and others to calculate the cost. The clay was dug from the side of the village, which only cost labor, and the mold was made by Qi Laoliu, which basically cost no money.
It costs some money to build a kiln, but it can be used for a long time, and the depreciation costs are almost negligible.
"Calculated in this way, it is mainly coal...er, the purchase of coal and transportation costs." Li Shan clicked his tongue: "Brother Su, how much did this batch of coal cost in total?"
"One hundred dollars."
Li Shan's eyes widened, "Only one hundred dollars?"
"The coal is there and no one wants it. If it weren't for the nearby villages, we wouldn't have to pay a cent." Su Dingfang said with a smile: "Some of the carriages transporting the coal are rented, and some are from the village, and they don't cost much.
"
Ma Zhou added: "When I returned to Chang'an from Hebei, I brought back hundreds of healthy horses, which is enough."
It’s a business without capital. Li Shan clicked his tongue and said: “One kiln produces bricks for about 5,000 yuan…”
"Ten bricks and one coin?" Zhu Wu asked tentatively.
"The same price for two kilns..." Li Shan thought for a while, "Will anyone buy it?"
"It's not expensive." Zhu Wu explained: "Since the Turks moved south last year, the price of grain in Guanzhong has skyrocketed. Now a bucket of rice costs nearly 400 yuan."
In other words, the current copper coins have begun to depreciate significantly.
Su Dingfang suddenly said, "Exchange bricks for grain."
"That's right!" Ma Zhou immediately agreed, "Shandong is pacified, but the Turks will inevitably move south every year... If Huairen hadn't talked nonsense that day, the price of food would have only become more expensive day by day."
Li Shan thought for a moment and nodded. It was indeed true. During the Wude years, the Turks invaded Hedong and Guanzhong almost every year, and even invaded Jingzhao Mansion several times. Food prices would only rise... At least until Li Jing wiped out the Eastern Turks, food prices
It won't fall.
Sell the bricks for money... and keep the money to buy grain, which is unnecessary and will cost a lot more money due to time and changing hands.
Although the grain harvesting in Dongshan Temple's secret warehouse has not stopped, the amount purchased is already very small... The price of grain is too expensive. If a large amount of grain is harvested in a certain state, the price of grain will skyrocket before the next day.
Thinking of this, Li Shan has a headache for Li Yuan... It seems that he dominates the world, but the mess that will follow is really difficult to clean up.
Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin still want to seize the heir, and seize a piece of wool. No matter who takes the throne, they will have to face the coming famine, and the East Turkic cavalry that has not yet declined.
However, this is also the fundamental reason why Li Shan chose Li Shimin.
Li Jiancheng captured Liu Heita and pacified Shandong in history, but no one knows whether he will be able to do what Li Shimin did after taking power.
Not to mention, in this life, Li Shan was quite disdainful of Li Jiancheng's many actions in the Shandong War. He delayed sending troops for so long... It was just because he was afraid that the Turks had not left yet. He wanted to gain military glory but was also afraid of losing the battle.
How to establish prestige?
You deserve such humiliation!
It was decided to exchange bricks for grain, but there was little food left in the countryside. What farmers feared most was the lack of supply. However, the early red bricks were used to build houses in Zhujiagou, and many villagers' old houses also needed to be replaced, and there were still supplies.
The mountain temple...should also be repaired.
Everything was arranged, and it was decided that Zhu Wu would be responsible for coal transportation in the future. Zhu Wu went out with his front foot, and Ling Jing walked in with his back foot.
"You came back so early today?" Ma Zhou was surprised.
Ling Jing was not busy with official duties in Tiance Mansion, but he was not without things to do. In the past, when he returned to the village, the sun was setting.
"Fang Xuanling has inquired about the information. There are eight people in the imperial examination records, but your name is not among them."
In this era, even the names of the imperial examinations were unclear, so it was naturally not difficult to find out such information.
Su Dingfang and Ma Zhou frowned at the same time. They didn't believe it... Li Shan was always well prepared for his work. Even the clay for burning bricks was decided to be taken from the south end of the village, just in time to dig the river. Since he was taking the exam, how could he fail?
The two of them thought of Li Dewu at the same time... But can Li Dewu get involved in such matters?
Unless it's Pei Shiju.
Li Shan pursed his lips and said, "The results will be released the day after tomorrow, so just wait."
The earliest decision to take the imperial examination to become an official was actually because no one recommended him, and he wanted to make his chess piece more important. The imperial examination was Li Shan's only way at that time.
But after the Shandong War, Li Shan had many paths to take. In the end, he took the imperial examination and became an official. He had many small ideas that were unknown to outsiders.
The people who presided over the scientific examination were Feng Lun, the official minister, and Chen Shuda, the provincial minister. The former was also the Sima of Tiance Mansion, and the latter had some personal relations with the King of Qin... Li Shan rubbed the hair on his chin and wondered what went wrong?
Is it possible that the poem is not meaningful enough?