Ji Tang

Chapter 378
Everything was ready, and Ji Song really didn't have the patience to stay in Chang'an any longer.

So he went to the palace and resigned from all his positions without any reservation. Although Li Shimin was unwilling, he also knew that he could not retain him.

Since Mobei returned to Chang'an, he has seen Ji Song's impatience, and it is rare to be able to persist until now.

However, in the end, he still retained his position as Shaoqing of Sinong Temple. After all, as an emperor, his appearance should not be too ugly.

Seeing that Ji Song still wanted to refuse, Li Shimin said: "I know that this is a bit too much for the officials of Sinong Temple, but you also know that neither I nor the court officials will let Sinong Temple develop like this."

"So, if you have any requests, just tell me and I will seriously consider them."

Ji Song was silent, of course he knew why, but it didn't make any sense to talk about it now.

Then he said: "Yao Chang and Liu Zhan have been following me. They have worked hard in the past few years and have made great achievements. Please be kind to your majesty."

Li Shimin nodded and said with a smile: "Don't worry about this. Let's go down and write a charter and submit a list of promising officials from Sinong Temple."

"If they have any demands, you can ask them and I will try my best to satisfy them."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

After Ji Song left, the eldest grandson came out of the back hall, looked at Ji Song's back thoughtfully and said, "You just let him go like this?"

She knew how much the emperor valued Ji Song, so it was impossible to let Ji Song leave the court so easily without some calculation.

Li Shimin was a little lost, and finally sighed!
"What if I don't let him go? His contribution to the Tang Dynasty over the years is obvious to all, but I don't have any rewards. Now there are people outside saying that I am mean and ungrateful!"

The eldest grandson disagreed and said: "Your Majesty is also protecting him. After all, he is still too young."

Li Shimin nodded and said: "Although it seems to outsiders that you recognize You Ning as your adopted daughter, it is a royal favor, but it is not a restraint for Ji Song? I don't know if he will resent me?"

This time the eldest grandson didn't speak. There were some things that you knew and I knew, but it was better not to say them out loud. This would be good for everyone.

After Ji Song returned home, he began to make arrangements.

Since that banquet, he has not released any rumors, nor has he explained how to participate in the construction of the academy. It was just like a casual talk without any follow-up.

Now many people are inquiring about Hao Jiehou's next arrangements, but no one knows.

Ji Song is not in a hurry, now is not the time.

If you want to maximize your benefits, you can't be in a hurry. It's not too late to wait until the right time to make it public!

The family's money can last for a while, and there will be no problem in completing the first phase of the project.

After a romantic night, Ji Song took people to the foot of Taibai Mountain without stopping.

This place is already a construction site, and thousands of people have gathered at the foot of the mountain. They are all civilian workers and craftsmen summoned these days.

At this time, they were planning the foundation according to the drawings, and there were businessmen nearby who built several brick kilns specifically to bake bricks for the construction site.

Lao Qian came to Ji Song, maybe he was walking a little hastily, and panted: "Master Hou, why are you here?"

"I'm still a little worried about things here, so I'd better come over and take a look in person so that I can have a clear idea. How are you doing with the things I told you last time?"

Ji Song gave Lao Qian the method of making cement last time and asked him to find a craftsman to try firing it first!
Lao Qian said with a face full of shame: "I am disappointed, Lord Marquis. We have fired no less than ten kilns according to the method you gave us, but none of them have been fired into the kind of cement you mentioned."

"Although there is a solidification phenomenon, it is very brittle and cannot be used for bonding at all. I don't know where the problem is."

He did not have any doubts about Ji Song's formula, nor would he. This was a habit he had developed over the years, and he would not think that there was something wrong with Mr. Hou's formula.The only possibility is that they didn't do it well.

Ji Song did not blame Lao Qian, but said: "Don't be too nervous, let's do this, you take me to have a look."

Lao Qian also wanted to get things done quickly. Mr. Hou said that if cement could be made, the construction cost would be greatly reduced. Why wouldn't this interest him?

Now the Marquis wants to give you some advice, and he wants it!

Soon, they came to a workshop not far away, where cement was fired.

Ji Song followed Lao Qian to check the workshop again, and finally gathered all the craftsmen together. He wanted to know what was the problem.

He asked someone to do it again on the spot. He had to understand all the processes before he could see the problem.

Soon everyone started to move. First, the clay, plaster of paris, and lime water specially used for firing porcelain were ready.

The ratio of clay to plaster of paris is about 7.5 to 2.5, and they are all ground into very fine powder. Ji Song sees no problem with these.

Then start loading the furnace, and when everything is sealed, firing begins.

Ji Song discovered that they were using charcoal, but he didn't say anything and just continued to watch.

The smell when baking cement is very unpleasant and very harmful.

"Wear a mask when firing from now on, otherwise you will not be allowed to work. Write this matter into the regulations. Anyone who refuses to change will be fired immediately!"

Lao Qian immediately wrote it down after hearing it. He knew that whenever the Marquis solemnly confessed, it was what they had to do, otherwise the consequences would be serious.

Time passed quickly, and there was a blazing fire under the furnace. Ji Song was thoughtful. When he saw the unevenly distributed yellow-brown powder, he already knew it.

But instead of stopping him, he waited for them to finish.

"Master Hou, it's healed!" Lao Qian said.

Ji Song was noncommittal and said: "Continue firing!"

Lao Qian was stunned for a moment, but without delay, he immediately organized people to continue firing cement.

After the kiln installation was completed this time, Ji Song said: "The fire should not be too big, but it must be stable and cannot be big or small."

The workers knew who he was and did not dare to neglect him. They quickly followed Ji Song's method to control the fire.

When the temperature came up, Ji Song said again: "You, take the wooden stick and stir it up. Remember, you must stir it evenly."

The worker who was pointed out by Ji Song was stunned. After he realized what he was doing, he immediately went up and started stirring!
Time passed little by little, and when Ji Song saw that all the powder in the furnace had turned into yellow-brown powder, he asked people to stop.

"Did you write it down just now?" Ji Song asked Lao Qian.

Lao Qian nodded quickly. When Ji Song spoke, he had already written down every step personally.

Afterwards, Ji Song still had no intention of stopping and continued to let people bake, but this time he made some changes.

The fire still needs to be uniform to control the stability of the temperature. Although the temperature cannot be accurately controlled, that's all it can do.

This time, in addition to stirring, he also asked people to use an iron to stir-fry, trying to make the temperature of the powder consistent.

(End of this chapter)