Starting in Saarhu, it is a bit difficult to make a comeback.

Chapter 48 The birth of primitive cement (please read the new chapter)

The production process of "granulated gunpowder" is still relatively complicated. Among the three raw materials, only charcoal can be made by oneself. Saltpeter and sulfur both need to be purchased through the Li family, which undoubtedly adds another expense.

However, Li Xianzhong still had a lot of seized black powder in his hand. Butler Li said that he had a way to use these gunpowder to replace some raw materials.

In line with the principle of saving what he can, Li Xianzhong still sent him two thousand kilograms of black powder in exchange for the corresponding saltpeter and sulfur.

The daily target training and loading training of the Pinglu Guards use ordinary black powder, and "granulated gunpowder" is only used during shooting assessments.

The construction of Pinglu Fort is relatively smooth. The camp has basically outlined its framework and various workshops have begun production.

It is a pity that the prospectors sent out only found some small coal and iron mines nearby, but no large copper mines.

Li Xianzhong remembered that the Hongtoushan Copper Mine in Fushun was a large copper mine. In addition to copper, there were also derived gold mines.

At this time, he had to accept this reality. It seemed that large-scale iron ore and copper mines were indeed located in Jianzhou.

Originally, he wanted to use copper mines as his main means of generating income, but it seems that this road is temporarily unavailable.

The main problem in Pinlubao now is the lack of cattle. Although the black soil in the northeast is fertile, plowing has become very difficult due to the low outdoor temperature.

War horses could not be used to plow the land, and there were not many horses in the camp. In order not to delay the planting of spring wheat, a large amount of manpower had to be used for sowing. Although everyone was very motivated, the efficiency was not high.

According to Fan Wencheng's calculations, without cattle, they can only re-cultivate 5 acres of surrounding land.

Based on an estimate of wheat production of about one stone per mu in northern Ming Dynasty, even if the weather is good, it can only produce 5 stones of wheat, which is only enough for the people of Pinglubao for five months, making it difficult to achieve self-sufficiency.

You must know that this is still based on the premise that Zhou Yongchun, the governor of Liaodong, does not collect taxes from these lands.

Another problem is that as the temperature gradually rises, the snow begins to melt, making the roads muddy, making it very difficult to transport coal, iron ore from the mine.

But there is also good news. Blacksmith shops and pottery kilns have begun to produce various daily necessities. At least daily pots and pans can be solved.

In addition, the brick kiln can also produce bricks, and the damaged walls of Pinglu Fort can also be gradually repaired.

Fan Wencheng said: "My subordinates plan to produce more briquettes and pottery, and sell iron tools at the market in Tieling. Although these things cannot be sold at a high price, they are still an income to some extent and can alleviate the current dilemma of having nothing to do in Xiapinglu Fort."

Selling briquettes is indeed a way, and currently there are no briquettes for sale on the market in Liaodong.

Although Tieling is an acropolis, due to the existence of the Li family, Tieling's market is still relatively prosperous, with a population of 8 or [-].

Although now with the decline of the Li family, Tieling City has lost its former glory, but it is still much stronger than ordinary acropolis.

Li Xianzhong said: "Mr. Fan is very interested. I have another suggestion for selling briquettes, which is to sell them together with coal stoves. For example, if you buy a coal stove, you can get 5 kilograms of briquettes as a gift; or if you buy 100 kilograms of briquettes at a time, you can get a coal stove directly. However, Now that the temperature is slowly starting to rise, the time for selling briquettes is running out.”

Li Xianzhong's words made Fan Wencheng's eyes light up. He was keenly aware that this bundled sales method could better open up sales.

So he said: "I will let someone make a coal stove!"

Li Xianzhong said: "You can send some samples of coal stoves and briquettes to Butler Li and let him sell them. As long as it is profitable, the Li family will definitely purchase from Pinglubao. At present, our energy and manpower are limited, so we only need to be responsible for production. , let’s leave the sales to those merchants.”

Soon some yellow mineral soil near the brick kiln attracted Li Xianzhong's attention.

He leaned down and grabbed a piece of mineral soil. He had seen a post on the forum that introduced the production of home-made cement. He felt that this thing looked like "marl".

A kiln worker on the side said: "Major General, are you interested in these mineral soils?"

"These are mineral soils that we often dig when mining clay. These mineral soils are not suitable for calcining and turning blocks. Some novices have no experience, so they transported them back together." The words of the kiln worker further confirmed Conjectures in one’s own mind.

In 1756, British engineer J. Smeaton found that when studying the characteristics of some limes hardening in water: to obtain hydraulic lime, limestone containing clay must be used for firing;
The masonry mortar used for underwater construction is ideally composed of hydraulic lime and volcanic ash.This important discovery laid a theoretical foundation for the research and development of modern cement.

In 1796, British J. Parker fired a kind of cement with marl, which was brown in appearance, much like the mixture of lime and volcanic ash in ancient Rome, and named it Roman cement.

Because it uses natural marl as raw material and is directly fired without ingredients, it is also called natural cement.It has good hydraulic hardness and fast setting properties, especially suitable for projects in contact with water.

Marl is often accompanied by clay layers. If the mineral soil is really marl, then the original cement can be calcined.

After all, Li Xianzhong in his previous life was just a "keyboard warrior" and not a top student in science and engineering. He could not produce modern cement.

However, it is still possible to use natural marl to bake original cement similar to "Roman cement".

Sure enough after a few tries, he finally got some brown mixture.

The mixture is mixed with water and becomes a puree that is easy to shape.

Li Xianzhong ordered people to pave these things into a ten-meter-long road, and asked not to step on it until the road was dry.

Sure enough, a miracle happened the next day. The road became so solid that it would not be damaged even if a heavy-duty truck ran over it.

What's even more amazing is that even if it encounters water again, the road is still extremely hard.

Fan Wencheng soon realized the wonderful use of this kind of thing. He could use it to build city walls, which would greatly increase the construction speed and sturdiness.

So he said: "The young general is really amazing. He actually created such a magical thing. I wonder what I should call it?"

Li Xianzhong said: "This kind of object is like mud and becomes hard when exposed to water. Let's call it cement."

Soon there was a workshop specializing in making cement in Pinglubao. The appearance of cement greatly changed the situation of Pinglubao.He can quickly build walls and pave roads, making Pinglu Fort extremely solid.

With the opening of workshops one after another and the increasing demand for minerals, Fan Wencheng soon discovered that the manpower here was beginning to be stretched thin.

So he had to re-plan everyone's responsibilities with his subordinates.

In addition, under Li Xianzhong’s suggestion, Fan Wencheng divided the projects into groups.

Make the composition of each production team equal.On this basis, goals are assigned to them, and the group with the highest achievement can be rewarded with extra meals or daily necessities.

Teams that did not complete the set goals had to work overtime at night to complete the production.

Those "bastards" will also show up because they slow down the progress of the entire group, and he will arrange for people to take special care of them so that these people can no longer mess around.

The same is true for craftsmen. If the master does not take care of his apprentices, the output of their group will not increase.

Li Xianzhong also allocated a special amount of money to reward new discoveries in the production process. Whether you improved the process, increased output, optimized attributes, or directly invented something new, you will be rewarded according to your contribution.

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(End of this chapter)