Li Er took Du Ruhui's letter and stared at the map of the northwest, lost in thought.
Du Ruhui's letter to Li Er stated that he speculated that a huge conspiracy was brewing in the northwest region, which might cause huge losses to the Tang Dynasty.
The reason why the thief made such a big noise to intercept and kill him was probably because he was worried that Northwest's conspiracy would be exposed.
Although there was no evidence, Li Er believed Du Ruhui's guess without hesitation.
After working together for so many years, Li Er knew very well what kind of person Du Ruhui was and how capable he was.
"I'm worried that it's not just the northwest!"
Li Er sighed softly.
Ever since Xiao Yu, the Duke of Song Dynasty, was demoted, Li Er felt that something was wrong.
It’s so quiet in the courtroom!
The original opposition to the Guanzhou Steel Plant and the railway suddenly disappeared.
When a giant like Duke Xiao Yu of the Song Dynasty was demoted, no civil and military officials in the court even asked for mercy, but no one objected.
Li Er didn't believe it was because of Xiao Yu's poor popularity.
As the leader of the Jiangnan gentry, Xiao Yu had extremely high prestige both in the court and among the people.
Li Er is now the most sincere in the court, saying what he says is what he says, and the ministers have no objection.
After all, he has been the emperor for so many years. Li Er knows very well what kind of virtues he has against his subordinates. This is definitely not normal!
But facing the obedient ministers, Li Er had no choice.
"There will always be times when I see you, so I'll just wait and see what bad tricks you can come up with."
Li Er murmured in a low voice, then raised his head and said loudly: "Appoint Du Ming as the ambassador to the northwest to patrol the sky on behalf of the sky. He has the right to act expediently when encountering problems!"
…
In the Guanzhou Governor's Mansion, Su Chen was having a meeting with a group of officials.
As the left minister of the Ministry of Works, Xu Jingzong was appointed by Su Chen as the commander-in-chief of railway construction. At this time, he was in a dilemma.
"Lord Protector, we can still supply these sleepers, but you need so much gravel, and this requires countless manpower. Do you think you can reduce the amount used?"
Su Chen shook his head: "This is already the minimum standard! The locomotive weighs more than 100 tons. Without ballast, the roadbed cannot bear it."
Xu Jingzong said helplessly: "Breaking stones is too labor-intensive, and the thing is very heavy and difficult to transport. Based on current estimates, it will be difficult to complete the progress required by the Lord Protector."
Thinking of Su Chen's request to lay one and a half feet of gravel on the roadbed, Xu Jingzong had a headache.
Su Chen thought for a while: "Look for some easy-to-excavate quarries near the railway line. Then I will get a stone crusher to go there without labor."
Xu Jingzong was stunned. The name of the lithotripter was quite easy to understand. Since Su Chen said it, just do what he said.
The official of the Road and Bridge Supervision continued: "Duke Guo Guo, we have already started preparations for several places where bridges need to be built."
"This is the first time I have built a bridge with such a high load-bearing capacity. I really don't know what to do."
Su Chen was stunned: "I saw you building the bridge with cement, why are you so unsure?"
The official of the Road and Bridge Supervision smiled bitterly and said: "In the past, cement was used as stone. In fact, the method of erecting stone arch bridges was used. The reinforced concrete bridge mentioned by the Protector was never used."
Su Chen's eyes widened: "You guys can really waste everything. How much manpower and material resources will be spent using your method?"
The officials in the Luqiao Supervisory Department lowered their heads and said nothing.
Xu Jingzong smiled bitterly and said: "This is a regulation of the Ministry of Industry. Although the Road and Bridge Supervisor manages the construction of roads and bridges in the empire, he still needs to obey the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry."
"Wen Daya hates cement very much, but His Majesty has a life and has to use it, so..."
Su Chen looked helpless: "I'll get you a design drawing and send you some craftsmen."
Fortunately, they were all small bridges. Su Chen estimated that there wouldn't be much of a problem since he had the drawings provided by the system.
After the meeting, everyone went back to rest.
The next day, Su Chen, holding a shovel, led Xu Jingzong and other officials to fill the first square of concrete for the roadbed not far from the south of the steel plant.
The first railway in Datang officially breaks ground!
Because it was the first railway, the workers didn't know how to build it, so Su Chen had to take the drawings and engineering explanations provided by the system and personally direct it at the construction site.
After three days of busy work, eight pairs of rails were finally fixed on the sleepers. Su Chen left the engineering team behind and went back by himself.
Everything is difficult at the beginning, but as the workers become more proficient, the speed will become faster and faster.
Come to the workshop, where two steam engines are being assembled.
Li Ke and several second-generation nobles were watching with serious expressions.
During the lunch break, Li Ke asked in a low voice: "Duke Protector, do you want to make two locomotives at a time?"
"You're talking about those two steam engines.
It's just for testing, not for making prototypes."
"test?
Doesn’t the Lord Protector have a small one in Chang’an?”
Su Chen smiled: "That one is just used to demonstrate the principle of the steam engine to His Majesty."
"These two are really used to test the performance and power of the steam engine, as well as the strength of the material, the wear rate, etc. They are all relied on for evaluation."
"Of course, after initial testing, if it passes the test, it will be used for other purposes,"
Li Ke was stunned for a moment, he didn't expect this.
"But the construction of the railway has already begun. When will the Lord Protector start building trains?"
"There is no rush. The early manpower and experience are insufficient, and the railway construction is slow."
"When these two steam engines are successfully tested, it will not be too late to start manufacturing locomotives."
Although Su Chen had detailed manufacturing drawings, he still took his time.
Who knows if the current materials are up to standard? What if the steel is not strong enough and the cylinder explodes?
A real steam engine is different from the thing Sujiazhuang used to demonstrate. For a practical steam engine, steam requires high temperature and high pressure.
The railway was slowly being built, and the test performance of the first batch of two steam engines was pretty good.
Just when Su Chen was about to officially start making the locomotive, he suddenly received news from Baiqisi.
"Someone is planning to attack the steam engine workshop?
Is this news accurate?"
Liu Qingshan nodded and said: "This is the information that Baiqisi spent a lot of effort to find out. It is absolutely accurate, but the specific content is not yet clear."
Su Chen nodded and glanced at Liu Qingshan again: "When did you come to Guanzhou?"
Liu Qingshan said: "Xiaguan has been coming to Guanzhou for a while, and he and the Protector have arrived."
"It's just because of my duty that I didn't show up to meet the Protector."
Su Chen nodded, a secret service department like Baiqisi would definitely not show off outside.
Liu Qingshan reminded again: "The Protector must be more careful, the thieves may have gunpowder in their hands."
"Thank you, I'll be careful!"
Speaking of which, I would like to ask casually: "How is the investigation of the leakage of gunpowder formula going?"
