"Are these things just fake? Even though they look very strong, they are actually not that good?" Some craftsmen questioned.
Zhu Han was well prepared for this and directly ordered his guards: "Give them the hammer and let them try it themselves."
The guards handed the hammer to the craftsman and turned back to Zhu Han's guards.
Wei Chi couldn't wait to grab a hammer and prepared to test the strength of the new wall himself.
He was so excited that he completely forgot his age. He had just raised the hammer, but before he could hit it down, his movements suddenly froze.
"Hey, my waist!"
As soon as the hand holding the hammer loosened, the hammer fell down, almost hitting someone.
The people next to him hurriedly helped Wei Chi, who was clutching his waist and screaming, and slowly sat down.
While Weichi was crying out in pain, he directed the craftsmen: "Don't worry about me yet, hurry up and try this wall."
When the other craftsmen who came over saw this, they didn't dare to mess around anymore.
At this time, those who can come to the front are basically the craftsmen with higher qualifications. The biggest characteristic of these people is that they are relatively old.
He quickly called a dozen young men and handed the hammer to them.
"Smash it with all your strength!"
The young craftsmen spit on their hands, grabbed the hammer one after another, and when it was round, they smashed it against the cement wall.
Not to mention, after all, they are all craftsmen who work all year round. Although their strength may not be much stronger than Zhu Han's guards, they are still better than the guards compared to swinging hammers.
After hitting it with hundreds of hammers, the cement wall was finally overwhelmed and cracks appeared.
"Look, look, there's a crack here!" Someone excitedly pointed at the crack in the wall and shouted.
The old craftsmen hurried over and studied it carefully.
"The same materials are used on the inside as on the outside."
"Look, there are iron bars embedded in this wall. No wonder it's so strong. It's already cracked and hasn't collapsed yet."
"This iron bar fits so tightly with the wall. How did it get in?"
Listen to the exclamations of the craftsmen.
Students of Huangzhuang, you look at me and I look at you, they all feel incredible.
Why are the walls of the Yanjing Ministry of Industry made of reinforced concrete?
Why don't these craftsmen know this at all?
It doesn't matter if the people on the other side don't know, even they don't know when the prince did these things.
"This...what the hell is going on?"
Cheng Jin, the left servant, opened his mouth in disbelief, completely unable to understand the current situation.
Zhao Helun, the Minister of Industry in Yanjing, found it even more incredible.
He was somewhat impressed by the matter of repairing the wall. But since it was not an important matter, he didn't pay much attention to it.
But he never thought that Zhu Han, His Royal Highness, would actually get involved.
After the initial surprise, Zhao Helun suddenly felt chills running down his spine.
If he remembered correctly... when the Yanjing Ministry of Industry was repairing the walls, Zhu Han hadn't even arrived in Yanjing yet.
Could it be said that he had already started planning from that time? Everything that happened today was within His Royal Highness’s calculations?
Zhu Han said with a faint smile: "I think you all know the construction time of this wall, right?"
"It took no more than two days to complete the construction. As for whether it is strong or not, you have personally tested it. Did you find any problems?"
The craftsmen couldn't help but swallow their saliva when they looked at the wall that was already full of cracks but still standing.
Next to it is the wall originally built by the Ministry of Industry, which has now completely collapsed. The difference is not too obvious.
"Your Majesty." Wei Chi hurried over and knelt down in front of Zhu Han.
"We have lost this battle, and we are convinced that we have lost. I just ask the prince to tell me what exactly you used to build this wall."
"We have carefully studied it and found that this wall is completely a whole. But if such a huge wall was sent to the Ministry of Industry manually, it is impossible for us not to know about it."
"Also, how are the iron bars in the wall embedded in the wall, and why can they fit so closely with the wall, almost blending into one..."
This guy asked a lot of questions like a barrage of questions.
Zhao Helun scolded sternly: "Shut up! Who do you think you are, and you dare to inquire about the prince's secrets? Is this something that someone like you can know?"
This guy is obviously diverting attention again.
Zhu Han naturally would not give Zhao Helun this opportunity: "Zhao Shangshu, please be patient. This is not a secret in the first place. In order to build the capital, I have asked Yingtian to supply a large amount of cement. Have you not used it?"
"What?" The craftsmen from the Yanjing Engineering Department all exclaimed.
The imperial court actually provided the materials for building this wall. How come they didn't know about this?
Zhu Han clapped his hands: "Bring it up, by the way, let's give a live demonstration."
Soon, two guards came in carrying a bag of cement.
Judging from their actions, it is obvious that the cement has been prepared long ago.
The craftsmen from the Ministry of Works exclaimed again when they saw the cement brought in by the guards.
"Oh my god, it's actually this thing?"
"These things are obviously similar to sand, how can they become such a solid wall?"
"By the way, the person who sent it told me how to use it before. It seems that you can mix it with water and sand evenly. Just leave it for two or three days and it will become as hard as a rock."
"Damn it, why didn't you say this earlier?"
"I didn't believe it at all at the time. Can you believe that if you add a little water to the sand and add a little bit of this stuff, it will become as hard as bluestone?"
Amid the discussion of the craftsmen, Zhu Han's guards opened the cement and mixed it with water and sand.
A stone block was quickly made. Their craftsmanship was not very good, but no one cared about it now.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! All the craftsmen in the Ministry of Industry looked at it eagerly, wanting to see how such a soft thing became harder than stone.
Seeing that they had not made any move for a long time, Zhu Han said in a dumbfounded voice: "It will take a day or two until the cement is completely formed."
"When it's completely dry, it'll be as hard as the wall over there."
The entire Ministry of Industry Yamen, no matter officials or craftsmen, all disappeared.
Although they did not participate in the construction and repair of this wall.
But in the huge Ministry of Works, there are so many people coming and going every day, many of whom have seen wall construction.
Although it was fenced off with wooden boards during construction, no one knew what was going on.
But this wall was indeed not like this a few days ago.
The generals of the Ministry of Industry are now extremely excited, especially the craftsmen responsible for the construction, whose eyes are red.
In the past, when they were building city walls or various masonry buildings, the most troublesome thing to deal with was the various stones.
Not only does this stuff have to be collected from the mountains, but it is also quite troublesome to polish and transport.
And what about this cement?
When transporting, just pack it in a sack.
The most important thing is that the plasticity of this thing is really strong. They all saw clearly just now that the two guards can easily shape the cement into any shape they want.
If it were them, it would be even easier.
"With this thing, whatever we build in the future will be more convenient for Dora."
"I heard that this thing was made by the prince?"
"His Royal Highness is mighty!"
I don’t know who shouted, but everyone cheered together.
"His Royal Highness is mighty!"
Many people were even moved to tears.
In addition to being surprised, the craftsmen were also filled with regret.
If they had not been so prejudiced against cement, they would have been able to use this convenient building material long ago.
It's not like now that the cement is still piled on the construction site and no one cares about it.
Nothing can satisfy everyone.
For example, right now, many officials from the Ministry of Industry have their faces turning red and white.
The game that I thought was a sure win turned out to be a loss. I finally found the flaw of the Huangzhuang students and thought I could win back the victory.
As a result, King Zhu Han of England shattered their hopes with just a flick of his finger.
The cheers gradually died down.
Zhu Han looked at Cheng Jin, the left minister of the Yanjing Ministry of Industry, with a half-smile but not a smile: "If you have any doubts, Mr. Cheng, you can raise them now."
Cheng Jin could no longer maintain the look of asking for life for the people. His legs gave way and he knelt on the ground, his face as pale as paper: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty is so ignorant that you don't even know that there is such a divine thing in the world. Why do you ask your Majesty to do so?"
Punishment.”
At the critical moment, Cheng Jin's brain was also quick and he directly described his behavior as ignorance.
If an official is incompetent, it's a good idea to dismiss him and return to his hometown. At least his life will be saved. But if he is thought to have ulterior motives, then things will be serious.
To everyone's surprise, Zhu Han handled it lightly: "It doesn't matter, I understand that Shi Lang Cheng is also devoted to the country, and I will not punish you. I hope Shi Lang Cheng can take this as a warning and don't
Make the same mistake."
"Okay, Mr. Cheng, please step aside. Let's conduct the next test as soon as possible. I think the craftsmen are impatient to wait and want to try the effect of cement as soon as possible."
Cheng Jin couldn't help but be stunned. He originally thought that he had failed the King of England and would be in bad luck this time.
But he didn't expect that Zhu Han would let him go so easily.
He quickly got up and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty for your grace!"
Zhao Helun's flattery followed closely: "Your Majesty's magnanimity is really admirable to my subordinates."
"Young people will inevitably make mistakes when they do something wrong. As long as he is dedicated to serving the public good, he will be a good minister of my Ming Dynasty. Naturally, I will not embarrass him."
Zhu Han's words were beautiful, but he was sneering in his heart: "Wouldn't it be an advantage for him to let him resign and return to his hometown now? Just wait, I will settle the accounts with you one by one when I have time."
Naturally, Zhu Han would not show any of these thoughts. He smiled and said: "Zhao Shangshu, why don't we draw lots again for the second round and choose the topic?"
Before Zhao Helun could speak, Wei Chi, who was kneeling below, hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, there is no need for this. It's the officials and others who judge a gentleman with a villain's heart, but they overestimate their own capabilities and doubt the prince's students."
"Now the official and others have understood that your students are extremely talented, and naturally they disdain cheating."
"For the following competition, just follow the previous questions."
Although we lost miserably in the last round.
But for the second round of competition, the Ministry of Industry has absolute confidence.
Due to time constraints, it was of course impossible to actually build a bridge. After discussion, the craftsmen from the Ministry of Industry proposed to the students of Huangzhuang.
"We will build a bridge together, three feet long and one foot wide. After the construction, we will judge each other and give scores. The one with the highest score will win. Are you willing?"
The students in Huangzhuang all had strange expressions on their faces.
Zhang Yunjie turned around and glanced at a Huangzhuang student who was only about sixteen or seventeen years old and looked extremely young.
He couldn't help but nodded and agreed: "No problem, seniors, please start first."
Although the craftsmen from the Ministry of Industry felt strange, they were still a little unconvinced after losing to the students just now.
Without saying much at the moment, he sent three craftsmen to start work.
Wei Chi smiled and said to the students of Huangzhuang: "Our Ministry of Industry does not bully you kids. The level of these three craftsmen is only average in our Ministry of Industry. You may not have no chance of winning."
While he was speaking, the three craftsmen were already busy. The sound of cutting wood was as clear and sweet as playing music.
Zhu Han didn't pay much attention at first. No matter how powerful these craftsmen were, they could never compare to his students.
However, when Zhu Han saw a craftsman at work holding a carving knife in his hand and swiping it a few times to carve out a lifelike flower relief amidst the flying wood chips, he was a little bit stunned.
"In your Ministry of Industry, this can only be regarded as a medium level?"
He seriously suspected that the people from the Ministry of Industry were bragging. The craftsmen they sent to compete were definitely the highest-level craftsmen.
Zhu Han's shocked and unfamiliar look made Zhao Helun feel extremely comfortable.
Now you know how powerful our Yanjing Ministry of Industry is, right?
He was very unscrupulous and pretended to be humble: "Xiaoguan and others will never dare to deceive the prince. The level of these three people is indeed not high in our Ministry of Works."
"Their craftsmanship seems to be good, but in fact it is just that practice makes perfect. It is rigid and rigid, and the craftsmanship is too strong."
…
Zhu Han's hands were a little itchy, and he had the urge to hit someone.
The Ministry of Industry of the imperial court is indeed the place where the best craftsmen in the world gather.
In just half an hour, a wooden bridge about one meter long and thirty centimeters wide appeared in front of everyone.
This is a covered bridge with a shed covering the top, eaves, brackets, withered beams and painted buildings.
On the fences on both sides of the bridge, flowers from the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter are carved.
The crested beasts on the eaves and corners everywhere are lifelike, as if they might come to life at any time.
The bridge that had just been carved still smelled of wood.
These things are simply works of art.
After Zhu Han finished reading it, he couldn't help but exclaim, which is the highest praise for such works from later generations.