My brother Ying Zheng, who dares to kill me?.

Chapter 845 No one knows how to build roads better than me! There are no animals or people, so how can this mill turn?

Ying Chengjiao felt that he was extremely wronged!
If he really had no money, would he not go to Ying Zheng to ask for money, food, and fiefdom?

Isn't this questioning the relationship between Ying Chengjiao and Ying Zheng!

The research and development of steelmaking technology did cost Ying Chengjiao a large amount of money and grain and mobilized a large number of people, but it did not cause any serious damage to the Chang'an Junfu.

And this road did not require any effort on Ying Chengjiao's part.

However, after hearing what Ying Chengjiao said, Ying Zheng shouted even louder: "Two months!"

“Hundreds of people!”

Ying Chengjiao's voice unconsciously weakened a little: "Ah!"

"Brother, you believe me!"

"I built the road just to save money and food. How could I lose everything just because of that road?"

Han Cang, Li Si: (°°)
Before Ying Zheng could speak, Han Cang's eyes widened, and he pointed in the direction of the workshop in disbelief and asked, "Chang'an Jun built the road like that to save money and food?"

"Although that road is not in compliance with regulations, if it is to be built properly, it will definitely be more laborious than the highway!"

"How can it possibly help Chang An-jun save money and food?!"

Ying Chengjiao waved his hand and said casually: "Hi!"

"That road only looks impressive, but it is actually far inferior to the highway."

"I am not a wasteful person. How could I spend more than the cost of building a highway just to build a road?"

Ying Chengjiao's reputation is trustworthy.

But what Ying Chengjiao said was really hard to believe!
Zhao Cheng looked at Ying Chengjiao with a strange expression and said, "I have been in charge of construction for more than ten years. I have built roads of various regulations and have also seen roads in various countries."

“I am not a talented official, but I can judge the quality of a road with just one look, one touch, and one step.”

"The fact that Lord Chang'an was able to build the road so solid is beyond my imagination."

"And now Chang'an Jun is saying that building roads like that would save money and food?"

It took Zhao Chengxiu more than ten years to rise from the position of Commander of Five Schools to the position of Minister of the Imperial Household.

Zhao Cheng can proudly say that in Daqin, no one knows more about road construction than him!

Zhao Cheng really didn't want to refute Ying Chengjiao.

But Zhao Cheng could not allow Ying Chengjiao to treat him like a fool, and he dared not neglect his duties in front of Ying Zheng!
Zhao Cheng cupped his hands and said solemnly: "Please forgive me, I really can't believe it!"

Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng's originally hesitant heart became firm again, and he said in a deep voice: "I was discussing government affairs with the Prime Minister on the way, and I didn't pay attention to the road below."

"Where is the road that Han Shangqing mentioned?"

"Let me have a look!"

Han Cang immediately pointed with his right hand: "It's just outside the workshop!"

Ying Zheng nodded slightly, then looked at Ying Chengjiao and asked unkindly, "My brother, will you go with me?"

Ying Zheng could understand Ying Chengjiao's good intentions of not complaining about his hardships, but he absolutely could not accept that Ying Chengjiao had spent all the money and grain in the mansion for the sake of the Qin state!
Even if we don't consider the relationship between Ying Zheng and Ying Chengjiao, Ying Chengjiao is still the person with the greatest military achievements in the Qin Dynasty today.

If a person who has made great contributions like Ying Chengjiao lives a hard life, who would be willing to work for the Qin Dynasty? !

Now, Ying Zheng gave Ying Chengjiao one last chance to confess and be lenient.

Ying Chengjiao stiffened his neck and said, "Let's go together."

"go!"

Ying Chengjiao was not panicked at all, and even took the initiative to lead the way out of the workshop.

Ying Zheng was slightly surprised, but said nothing more. He just walked out side by side with Ying Chengjiao.

When Ying Zheng stepped out of the workshop gate, a flat road leading to the north caught his eye!
The entire road is gray in color and is obviously not made of rammed earth. Instead, it looks more like a slab of stone.

However, ordinary stone roads will have obvious joints, and after being used for a period of time, there will be bumps and depressions visible to the naked eye.

However, the road before him was not only bumpy, even with Ying Zheng's eyesight he couldn't see a single gap, not even a rut for carriages and horses to run on!
The whole road is like a gray mirror, reflecting the bright light under the afterglow of the setting sun!

Is this the road?
Yes.

But this is not just a road, it is more like a work of art! A show of skill by craftsmen!

Just when Ying Zheng was in a trance, Ying Chengjiao's voice rang in his ears: "Look, brother, this is the path I want to cultivate."

"Let alone other things, just look at the width of this road, it's only 30% of the highway."

"Look again..."

Without waiting for Ying Chengjiao to finish speaking, Ying Zheng's right hand slowly reached for his waist.

Ying Chengjiao seemed to be grabbed by the neck. He quickly took a step back and cried out in shock: "Brother, what are you doing!!!"

Ying Zheng ignored Ying Chengjiao and still held the hilt of the sword firmly in his right hand.

"Canglanglang~"

Hearing the sound of Ying Zheng drawing his sword, Ying Chengjiao breathed a sigh of relief.

Draw the sword? That's fine. As long as you don't draw the golden hook and jade belt!
Holding the sword with both hands, Ying Zheng's arm muscles bulged, and he gathered all his strength and stabbed down with the sword!

"Dang~~~"

The sound of metal clashing pierced Ying Zheng's ears, and the powerful reaction force made his arms sore and his knuckles painful.

However, Ying Zheng did not care about his physical discomfort. His eyes were fixed on the little finger-sized fragment that broke off the road. Then he slowly turned to his sword and saw that the tip of the Qin King's Sword had been bent and could no longer withstand a second stab!
Behind Ying Zheng, all the ministers were speechless!
They knew very well that Ying Zheng's sword was absolutely the pinnacle of Qin's craftsmanship.

However, such a sword suffered a crushing defeat in the contest with the road!
This is just the road surface, how can it be harder than a shield!
Ying Zheng pointed the sword in his hand at Ying Chengjiao, showing the curled tip of the sword in front of Ying Chengjiao, and asked loudly with a slightly trembling voice: "Two months?!"

"Hundreds of people?!"

You told me that such a road surface was completed by hundreds of people in two months?

You are my brother, aren't you wise?
Ying Chengjiao could see that Ying Zheng was really angry, and immediately said, "The workshop has been producing materials for building this road, and now there is a lot of material piled up."

"It's getting late now. It will be dark soon."

"Brother, if you have time tomorrow, please come to Lantian County again. I will ask the craftsmen to build another section of road for you to see!"

Since it doesn’t make sense, just watch it!

Ying Chengjiao just didn't believe it. When the facts were laid out before Ying Zheng, how could Ying Zheng still wrongly accuse him?
Ying Zheng said without hesitation: "No need for tomorrow, today!"

Since Ying Zheng was determined, Ying Chengjiao did not try to persuade him, and turned around and ordered: "Call the craftsmen, and start building the Changlan Road today!"

Zhang Han and Liu Ji both bowed and said, "Yes!"

Ying Zheng said in a deep voice: "When I heard Lord Chang'an talking about the manpower used to build this road, he mentioned a lot about the craftsmen who fired the materials. It can be seen that the materials used in this road are also unusual."

"In addition to the workers who built the road, all the craftsmen who made the materials should also be called back!"

Roads are of vital importance to the Qin Dynasty today!
Ying Zheng was even more eager to confirm whether Ying Chengjiao had lied to him about this matter!
Therefore, Ying Zheng had to start from the first step of building this road and look at it carefully.

Ying Chengjiao looked back and said, "The Changlan Road requires a lot of materials, and I am always stockpiling them. The relevant craftsmen take turns to rest, but the machines never stop."

"If you want to see it, you can see it now."

Ying Zheng said without hesitation: "Then let's go and see it together!"

Ying Chengjiao nodded slightly and took the lead to return to the workshop group.

Ying Zheng and Ying Chengjiao walked side by side, but the doubts in their eyes grew stronger and stronger.

When Ying Zheng stood in the familiar position again, he finally asked: "Why is this blast furnace here again?"

Ying Chengjiao explained: "The important raw material for building this road is the slag discarded after the blast furnace smelts iron!"

Han Cang looked surprised: "Slag?"

"Slag can be used to build that hard road?!"

Ying Chengxiao smiled and nodded: "Of course!"

Upon hearing this, Han Cang and Zhao Cheng slapped their thighs at the same time and said, "Hey!"

A lot of slag is produced every year after the Qin Dynasty's iron smelting.

But people think that slag is a useless waste, and most of it is used to fill pits or even backfill mines.

Now, hearing that the slag can be used to build roads, Han Cang, Zhao Cheng and other ministers could not help but feel regretful!
Ying Chengjiao did not stay here for too long. After a brief explanation, he led the Qin emperor and his ministers further west.

Soon, the sound of violent water flow and creaking friction reached everyone's ears.

After pushing open another gate, what came into view was a wooden bridge spanning the two sides of the river.

But unlike ordinary bridges, this bridge has several thick wooden sticks extending from the bottom to the rapids below. A wooden disc is connected to the end of the sticks, which is rotating rapidly with the rushing rapids.

Another floor of houses was built on the upper part of the bridge.

Inside the house, several millstones that were several times larger than ordinary stone mills were turning rapidly without any livestock or manpower to pull them!
Ying Chengjiao stepped forward first, pointing to the baskets of materials piled under the bridge and said, "These are the slag taken from the blast furnace."

"These are clay and limestone."

"The ones piled up next to it are broken pottery collected from the public, as well as pottery that failed to be fired in the Chang'an Township workshop."

Climbing up the stairs, Ying Chengjiao stood beside a giant stone mill. He picked up a handful of fine powder from the mill and introduced: "All these materials will be ground into powder here."

“Then they are packed into boxes and loaded onto ships, and all the materials are transported downstream here to the next location for further processing.”

Shaking off the slag powder on his hands, Ying Chengjiao stretched out his right hand and said, "Brother, the next place is the key."

"Aboard the ship?"

Ying Chengjiao waited for a few seconds but received no reply from Ying Zheng. He could not help but raise his voice slightly and called out, "Brother?!"

Ying Zheng finally turned around, pointed his finger at the stone mill that was turning on its own, and asked in a trembling voice: "Why is the stone mill unable to turn on its own?!"

Ying Chengjiao followed Ying Zheng's gesture and casually introduced, "That one?"

"It's a flat-wheel water mill."

“It does not require animals or human power to pull it. All it needs is water hitting the wheel below to make the millstone turn.”

"Water keeps flowing, and the mill keeps turning!"

(End of this chapter)