After many days, Pingxiang Bo Chen Huai finally appeared.
The Ming Dynasty has always been very cautious about knighthoods. In this list of awards, there are only three people who have been promoted to knighthoods. They are the British Duke Zhang Fu, who was promoted to the county prince, Li Zhen, the Bo of Xiangcheng, who was promoted to the Marquis of Xiangcheng, and the commander of the Imperial Guard.
Fan Zhong was promoted to Uncle Zhongwu.
Zhang Fu was the deputy commander of this army expedition, and became the commander-in-chief after the emperor went deep into Mobei. He and Wala also fought to the death head-on, and everyone was convinced by this prince.
It is worth mentioning that those who dissatisfied are being held in prison at the Ministry of Punishments!
Li Zhen and Fan Zhong followed the emperor all the way from Mobei, so it was natural for them to be promoted to noble titles.
As for other honorable men, such as Chen Ying, the commander of the Shenji Battalion, they did not receive this honor.
Chen Huai's name did not appear on the promotion list, and he only had the false title of Prince Shaobao.
However, his current focus is not on this, but on devoting himself wholeheartedly to the infrastructure construction of Ming Dynasty.
In his opinion, as long as he can complete the tasks assigned by the emperor on time, he will be more satisfied than being granted the title of Marquis.
At the beginning, the emperor personally ordered that this thing was not only necessary for the construction of the Martyrs' Shrine, but also that the entire Ming Dynasty's infrastructure construction would be inseparable from it.
Finally, it was successful!
At the moment when the development was successful, he finally understood the emperor's meaning.
Mix lime and clay at a ratio of three to one and then calcine it at high temperature in a kiln. The seemingly ordinary gray powder turns out to be harder than stone when it comes into contact with water!
Chen Huai immediately thought that it would not be too convenient to use this thing to build houses and build roads and bridges in the future!
Not only were the stones and wood needed in the past expensive, transportation was a big problem. There were no mountains in the plains, so the stones had to be transported from the mountainous areas. Most of the tall trees were concentrated in the Yunnan-Guizhou area, and the cost of transporting them from deep mountains and old forests was extremely high.
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Well now, you only need limestone and clay to calcine cement. The cost is low and the transportation is convenient, which can greatly improve the construction efficiency and quality.
When Zhu Qizhen saw Chen Huai appearing in front of him holding a big stone pillar, his first reaction was that he was a little confused.
"Uncle Pingxiang, what are you doing?"
"Your Majesty, look!"
Chen Huai threw the big stone pillar to the ground, making a muffled sound.
The big Han general not far away glanced this way keenly, and when he saw that nothing was going on, he continued to stand guard.
Only then did Zhu Qizhen realize that something was wrong. He squatted down and studied it carefully, and suddenly realized it.
"Successful?"
Chen Huai laughed loudly and said: "Actually, it's not difficult. There is no problem with the ratio of raw materials. The key is that the temperature is difficult to control. Later, I discovered that Xishan produced coal, so I tried to use coal as fuel. The temperature was much higher than that of charcoal, and it suddenly became a problem."
It’s done!”
Zhu Qizhen turned around and asked: "Huai'en, go to the Ministry of Works and ask Lu Xiang, the left minister of the Ministry of Works, to come see me immediately!"
The construction of the Martyrs' Shrine was personally presided over by Lu Xiang, the left minister of the Ministry of Industry. This man had a great background. He once presided over the construction of the Forbidden City and was very good at stone carving. The two giant pillars in front of Chengtian Gate we see today are his masterpieces. Lu Xiang, who is seventy years old this year, was urged by Wynn and almost ran all the way to the Royal Garden.
"Why do you want to go to the Imperial Garden when summoned by the emperor?"
"We don't know, but it seems to be related to the construction of the Martyrs' Shrine."
"What is the relationship between the construction of Martyrs' Shrine and the Royal Garden?"
"The emperor is discussing peace with Countryman Heping!"
Lu Xiang's face was filled with questions: "And mud?"
Wynn said sarcastically: "This... our family doesn't understand."
By the time Lu Xiang arrived in front of Zhu Qizhen, he was already out of breath.
"Old minister...see..."
"There is no need to be polite to the Qing family, Huaien, watch your seat!"
Huaien moved two Jindun over, and Chen Huai and Lu Xiang thanked him in unison.
"Lu Qing, have you got my revised drawings?"
Lu Xiang looked a little strange and said: "Please forgive me for speaking frankly, the emperor's revised drawing...I really can't understand it."
Zhu Qizhen asked: "What don't you understand?"
"Your Majesty, if you remove the masonry and wood, don't you remove the bones from a person? How can a person stand without bones to support him?"
"Didn't I already indicate that the main structure should be poured?"
Lu Xiang frowned and said: "It doesn't make sense here. The poured... mud is just adobe after drying. If a farmer builds a few tile houses, it will collapse. However, to build such a large ancestral hall,
How is this...possible?"
Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and said: "Uncle Pingxiang, come and demonstrate it to Lu Qing's family!"
Chen Huai nodded, immediately took out half a bag of cement and poured it on the ground.
"Wait a moment!"
Chen Huai looked around, then found a few bricks and built them into a rectangular space.
Then, find a bucket of water and pour it directly on the cement, stir it with a shovel, and then fill it into the brick wall.
Lu Xiang was confused and asked: "Is this the end?"
"It's over!"
Chen Huai nodded and said: "The next step is to wait."
"What are you waiting for?"
"Waiting to solidify!"
Lu Xiang was still puzzled. He poked it with his finger and asked, "How long?"
"It takes at least half a day to completely solidify, but the effect can be seen within an hour."
"That's just right!" Zhu Qizhen looked at the sky and said, "Lunch is almost ready. The two Qings will have dinner with me."
Chen Huai was a martial artist, and he had a friendship with the emperor in killing enemies side by side, so naturally he would not be polite if he had a meal.
Lu Xiang wanted to refuse, but he was full of doubts about the cement, so he agreed.
The monarch and his ministers had lunch and returned to the Imperial Garden. It only took about half an hour.
Lu Xiang walked over and looked at it. It seemed that it was no different from before. He poked it with his finger and was suddenly stunned.
He was a little surprised and thought it was an illusion. He poked again and found that yes, it was hard!
Chen Huai said: "Shilang Lu, wait a little longer, it will be fine soon!"
However, Lu Xiang couldn't wait any longer, so he opened the bricks without saying anything and took out the cement pier inside.
At this time, the cement has initially solidified. Although it has not yet dried, it has already demonstrated its powerful functions.
"This...what...is this?"
Chen Huai said in confusion: "Didn't I tell you, this is cement!"
"Is this cement?"
Lu Xiang looked excited and tremblingly put down the cement block, then picked up a brick and threw it hard.
The brick was immediately broken into two pieces, and a gap was opened in the cement pillar. It was obvious that it was still wet inside.
"I told you and I haven't done it yet!" Chen Huai pointed at the stone pillar beside him and said, "If you hit that one, it will be completely dry!"
Lu Xiang came to Shi Dunzi who was brought by Chen Huai. After looking at it carefully, he raised a brick and threw it at him.
Snap!
This time, the bricks were smashed into pieces, but the cement pier was still intact, and even the surface was not scratched.
"This is simply...an artifact!"
Lu Xiang bowed his head and said excitedly: "There is nothing wrong with the emperor's drawings. It's just that the old minister is superficial. The construction of the Martyrs' Shrine will be carried out according to the emperor's drawings!"
Zhu Qizhen nodded and said: "That's it. But there is one thing. It must be completed before the new year. Otherwise, the weather will be too cold and the cement will not solidify, which will affect the quality of the project."
Lu Xiang thought for a moment and then said: "There is less rain during this period and the weather is dry. I promise to complete the work within three months!"
"Uncle Pingxiang!" Zhu Qizhen turned around and said seriously, "The method of making cement is temporarily classified as highly confidential. Anyone who dares to leak it will be punished as treason!"
Chen Huai's heart trembled, and he quickly replied: "I obey your order!"