Prosperous Tang Dynasty

Chapter 57

"Is this the cement you mentioned?" Tang Xuanzong carefully looked at the gray mud powder that Gao Lishi brought up from Li Fei's hands. No matter how you look at it, it looks like ordinary mud powder. It is impossible to tell that this thing is really what Li Fei said. Said the kind of effect.

"Yes, Your Majesty, this material is mixed with sand, gravel, and water. After it condenses, it becomes as hard as a stone. It can be used to build walls, build dams, and bridges. Iron bars can also be inserted directly into it to increase its hardness. It is almost indestructible and has a wide range of uses!" Li said. Fei said again.

Indeed, it has a wide range of uses. The annual consumption of cement in later generations is equivalent to [-] million tons. It is undoubtedly the cornerstone of modern cities. If it is used well, the whole society will make a big step forward.

As the emperor, Tang Xuanzong didn't think anyone dared to deceive him in front of him, unless he didn't want his head anymore.

However, in order to witness what Li Fei said with his own eyes, an experiment is also necessary.

Under Li Fei's personal guidance, the guards found sand and gravel to mix with cement, mixed them with water, and poured the mixture into a square wooden trough. During the process, Li Fei also put two iron bars into it. Increased strength.

A few days later, the cement mixture dried up and congealed, and Tang Xuanzong ordered the guards to test it with a hammer.

The guards beat hard, although some small pieces were knocked out from time to time, but they could not be completely broken, so the degree of hardness was completely tested.

"Okay, hahahaha, this is the first time I have seen such a miraculous substance, Li Fei, I credit you!" Tang Xuanzong laughed with satisfaction.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" As long as Tang Xuanzong is satisfied, Li Fei is also happy.

"Come here, send the cement formula presented by Li Fei to the Ministry of Industry for the construction of bridges and dams." Tang Xuanzong ordered.

And Li Fei just took back another 3000 taels of gold.But Li Fei is not in a hurry, he knows that this is just an early reward, and when the construction is actually applied by the Ministry of Industry, the effect is indeed huge, and he will definitely get more rewards.

Li Fei leisurely returned home with 3000 taels of gold, this time it was still those palace guards who helped him carry it back.For Li Fei, they really admired him too much.It's only been a few days, three times, a total of 1000 taels of gold.

However, although they were jealous, they were also happy, because Li Fei gave each of them ten taels of silver for hard work, which was equal to their two months' salary.

"Husband, this--, you brought back so much gold?" Lin Shiyue opened her beautiful eyes and opened her mouth wide in surprise.

Her husband is really capable. In the past few days, he just brought back 1000 taels of gold from the palace, plus the profit from last month from Zhaojiayao, and many previous small rewards. The government now has less than 20 taels of cash alone.

"My son is going to be born in a few months. I need to save enough money for my wife's confinement and to find a nanny for the child." Li Fei touched Lin Shiyue's belly and smiled.

"Husband, you are so kind!" Lin Shiyue was very moved.

In fact, it would not cost so much money to supplement Lin Shiyue's health during confinement and find a nanny for her child. Li Fei also had bigger goals.

In order to cope with the Anshi Rebellion and the troubled times after the Anshi Rebellion, he wanted to buy a large enough family business in Jiangnan as a way out for himself and his descendants.

Needless to say, the Anshi Rebellion, both sides of the Yellow River and Chang'an City in the middle of Guanzhong were beaten into darkness, and the people were in dire straits.

Even after the Anshi Rebellion, the Guanzhong area faced the threat of Tubo for a long time because of the decline of the Tang Dynasty.Fans and towns sprung up everywhere, and in the following 100 years, the Central Plains and Guanzhong were not good places.

Only the Jiangnan area south of the Yangtze River has become more and more prosperous. Even in the period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, which was once again dark in China, Jiangnan is much more peaceful than other places.

Li Fei has no idea of ​​changing history. He never thinks that a small person like himself can affect the general trend of history. He just wants to ensure his own safety and ensure that future generations have a way of life.

If he wants to build a large enough family business in Jiangnan, gold and silver are indispensable, so his current thinking is not only to make money but also to make money. Even if he wants to improve his status, it is just to make better money. Be bullied by others and make money without being restrained by others.

In ancient times, the Ministry of Industry was very powerful, with [-] craftsmen under its jurisdiction, and could recruit other craftsmen and peasants from all over the world when necessary.In charge of farming, civil engineering, water conservancy, etc., the real power is very large.

The Ministry of Industry has its own workshop directly under the Ministry of Industry. After Li Fei's cement formula was sent to the Ministry of Industry, according to Tang Xuanzong's order, the Ministry of Industry immediately built several large cement kilns to burn cement.Many officials of the Ministry of Industry have heard of the name of cement. In fact, many of them also order tiles, pits and cement from Zhaojiayao.

As soon as the cement firing recipe was delivered, some people stared wide-eyed, cursing inwardly that Li Fei was so black-hearted.It is obviously not difficult to make cement, and the cost is not high, but Li Fei sold them ten cents a catty, which is too dark.

The Ministry of Industry has no shortage of resources, let alone personnel, and its efficiency is much higher than that of Zhaojia Kiln. It quickly fired the first batch of cement, and its daily output is also much higher than that of Zhaojia Kiln.

Now that winter is approaching and the river has entered the dry season, the Ministry of Industry has recently planned to build several bridges on the tributaries of the Wei River in Chang'an City.

After some inspection by himself, the officials of the Ministry of Industry were very satisfied with the effect of the cement, and the Minister of the Ministry of Industry smiled redly.With cement, the Ministry of Industry is bound to shine in water conservancy, bridges, etc. The achievements of the Ministry of Industry are the achievements of his Minister of the Ministry of Industry.Promotion—he dared not look at Li Linfu's position as prime minister, but it was not a problem to increase his title and salary.

With cement, and after evaluation, officials of the Ministry of Industry unanimously eliminated the original plan, re-enacted the style of the bridge and so on.

This is Datang's first cement bridge. The officials of the Ministry of Industry attach great importance to it, and Li Fei also attaches great importance to it. After all, the success of the bridge is directly related to the size of his contribution to the cement. Li Fei went to the Ministry of Industry twice to give Officials comment.

Regardless of the river surface where the bridge is to be built, it is only about 100 meters, and the water is not deep.

Li Fei's vision from later generations is not comparable to these officials of the Ministry of Industry. He directly suggested building foundation piles in the middle of the river, laying some iron bars, and pouring cement roads. This simplified the structure of the bridge to the extreme and scared the officials of the Ministry of Industry. It's not easy.

Although they personally tested the strength of the cement and decided to redesign the bridge style, they were far from being as bold as Li Fei.

Before there was no cement, the construction of bridges was always complicated. One mistake could cause the entire bridge to collapse. If someone happens to be on the bridge and the bridge is destroyed, the court will ask for responsibility. At the least, someone will be dismissed from office. .

Officials from the Ministry of Industry did not dare to take risks, but Li Fei was very confident that he would take care of everything, and all the responsibility for what happened was on his head.

After all, cement is a new thing, and no one knows what it is. If someone is willing to take responsibility in advance, the officials of the Ministry of Industry are naturally happy and willing. After some discussions, the Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry decided to report to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang to decide whether to follow Li Fei's suggestion.

Tang Xuanzong was very surprised, and agreed without saying anything. As an emperor, what he wanted was the final result. Since Li Fei was so confident, he went to the Ministry of Industry to give his opinion and was willing to take all the responsibilities. Why didn't he give it to him? Li Fei has a chance, anyway, the result will only be known after testing.
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(End of this chapter)