"Your Majesty, please come this way."
Han Du led everyone to the concrete slab.
"Your Majesty, please see, this is cement." Han Du reached out and grabbed a handful from the unused cement next to him and showed it to Lao Zhu.
Lao Zhu frowned when he saw it. This was very different from what he had imagined. No matter how you looked at it, these gray foam didn't look like they could turn sand into stone.
Han Du smiled slightly and pointed at the concrete slab on the ground, "This is what is solidified after mixing cement and sand. Well, this thing is indeed as solid as a rock. If cement can turn sand into stone, then... It’s not wrong, but I still prefer to call it concrete.”
Lao Zhu was a very motivated person, so he didn't care whether it was called concrete or some other kind of soil. He leaned down and stretched out his hand towards the concrete slab, rubbing it and pressing it hard several times.
It's cold, hard, and has a strange smell, but it's basically like stone.
Lao Zhu stood up, clapped his hands, and asked, "Is this really made of sand and your cement?"
"It's absolutely true, Your Majesty." Han Du put the cement in his hand back and patted his hands clean as well.
"How?"
"It's very simple. Mix the sand and cement evenly, add a certain amount of water, and then put it into the prepared wooden frame. It's like making tofu. After it completely solidifies, it will look like this." Han Du explained carefully.
Lao Zhu heard that it can be made like tofu, wouldn't it mean that the shape can be changed at will? Thinking of this, his eyes became brighter.
"Mao Xiang."
"I'm here." Mao Xiang, who had been standing behind Lao Zhu, responded immediately.
Mao Xiang? Han Du was shocked when he heard this. His eyes couldn't help but look towards Mao Xiang. Is this the legendary first commander of the Jin Yiwei, Mao Xiang? Although some people think that the first commander of the Jinyiwei was not Mao Xiang, but since it was Zhu Yuanzhang who established the Jinyiwei, then the Jinyiwei should have a commander. Apart from Mao Xiang, there is no other person in history.
Han Du looked at Mao Xiang and felt a surge in his heart. Jin Yiwei is such a thunderous name. However, there is no trace of evil in Mao Xiang's appearance. He has a pair of straight and hard eyebrows, big eyes, and a high nose. His extraordinary handsome appearance contains a hint of delicacy.
Is this really Mao Xiang? They can't be different people with the same name.
But Han Du really didn't expect that there could be another person named Mao Xiang who could guard Zhu Yuanzhang.
"Go and try." Lao Zhu didn't have as many inner dramas as Han Du, so he ordered directly.
"According to the order."
Mao Xiang rolled up his robe and reached out to take the hammer from the craftsman's hand.
Everyone moved away, leaving an open space for Mao Xiang to perform, even Lao Zhu was no exception.
"Boom."
"Boom."
"Boom."
...
Mao Xiang hit the concrete slab with hammer after hammer. Unfortunately, apart from the loud noise, he was only able to knock off a little bit of sand from the concrete slab.
Alas, who told Mao Xiang not to understand science?
Han Du couldn't help but complain in his mind that concrete is known for its ability to withstand pressure. What is stress resistance? That is to say, the front is rigid, which is the strength of concrete. You may be able to make a dent in an iron plate with a hammer, but you cannot make a crater in concrete.
Because when the hammer touches the concrete, the force emitted will be dispersed by the internal stress of the concrete, which greatly weakens the effect of the hammer.
To smash a piece of concrete is very simple, just stand up on both ends of the concrete slab, and the concrete slab will fall apart with one hammer blow.
This is because although concrete resists compression, it does not resist tension. This is why in modern high-rise buildings, steel bars are added to concrete. The principle is to increase its tensile properties.
You can try a concrete slab with a reinforced mesh. Even if you stand on tiptoe and hit it with a hammer, the concrete slab will still be intact even if it jumps when you knock it.
And for someone as reckless as Mao Xiang, who wants to break a concrete slab, he'd better rest early. The concrete slab is placed flat on the ground, and all the force of the blow is transmitted into the soil. It is a ghost if it can be broken.
Sure enough, as Mao Xiang hammered down, the concrete slab was sunk deep into the soil. As for the concrete slab itself, it was naturally intact.
"That's enough." Lao Zhu waved his hand to stop Mao Xiang. It's not that Lao Zhu knew that Mao Xiang was acting recklessly, but that he felt that he already had the answer if he could try it here.
"Dig it out." Lao Zhu ordered.
The craftsmen rushed forward and dug out the concrete slab in a hurry.
Lao Zhu carefully inspected the concrete slab and couldn't help laughing when he saw that it was really intact.
"Hahaha, okay, what a magical thing. Han Du, you have merit, I want to reward you."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, I'm just trying my best..." How can you not be happy with a reward? Han Du felt happy in his heart, but his face was still tense and he wanted to say something reserved.
However, Lao Zhu had heard too much of this kind of talk and was not interested in listening to Han Du's nonsense, so he waved his hand to stop him.
He turned to an old minister and asked, "What does Li Qing think should be rewarded?"
Han Du saw this man with gray hair and beard, wearing a first-grade crimson crane official robe. Apart from Hu Weiyong, who had been executed, the only people who could hold first-level official positions were Dr. Guanglu, Zuo Zhuguo, Taishi, Prime Minister Zuo, and South Korean Gong Li Shanchang.
"I have met Mr. Han Du," Han Du stepped forward to salute, but suddenly found that there was another person beside Li Shanchang, standing even further forward than Li Shanchang.
When the man saw Han Du looking at him, he smiled and introduced himself, "I am Xu Da."
Han Du glanced at Xu Da gratefully and bowed again, "I have met Duke Wei."
What day is today? Is it possible that just one piece of cement can attract so many great masters?
Han Du thought to himself.
Li Shanchang spoke up, "Back to the emperor, I think we can follow the Tang Dynasty system. Anyone who contributes his or her skills to the court will be rewarded up to fifteen guan. Since cement is so magical and useful, it should be rewarded 15 guan."
Lao Zhu nodded frequently.
Han Du felt cold when he heard this. How much?
Fifteen strings?
You are sending beggars away.
"Hahaha, that's very good, then I will reward you with fifteen sticks." Lao Zhu looked very happy.
The others also seemed to echo Lao Zhu's expression, except Han Du, whose face was gloomy and frozen.
He laughed angrily and said: "Haha, fifteen guan is really a lot of money. Your Majesty, is it possible that so many people in the Baochao Lifting Department worked day and night and spent so much manpower and material resources to make cement that is only worth 10 guan?" Five guans? I put it more harshly, 15 guans. Just the materials and money spent during the experiment are more than 15 guans. If the emperor insists on asking 15 guans to buy the cement production skills, then I can only Say sorry, I won’t sell it!”
As soon as Han Du's words came out, the joyful atmosphere in the room was instantly wiped away.
Li Shanchang and Xu Da both looked at Han Du in surprise. They had followed Lao Zhu Liguo all the way, but they had never seen anyone who dared to confront Lao Zhu so head-on.
Um? No, there seemed to be one a few days ago.
Li Shanchang suddenly thought, oh, it's Han De, the Minister of Household Affairs. I heard that Han Du is Han De's son?
As expected, like father, like son, these father and son are really from the same origin.
However, when Han De contradicted the emperor and was almost beheaded by his family, he didn't know what the outcome would be for Han Du.
Lao Zhu was not as angry as when Han De contradicted him, but curled his lips casually and said: "No wonder you insist on me agreeing to let you sell your skills. It turns out you are waiting for me here."
"Since I have promised you, it will naturally count," Lao Zhu continued in his spare time, "Okay, then how much do you want to sell your cement?"
According to Lao Zhu's idea, since Han Du was unwilling to sell fifteen guan, he would increase the price, and the cement would only sell for tens or hundreds of guan at most. Lao Zhu knew how serious Han Du was in this matter. In his opinion, Han Du was a practical person, and he would not argue with Han Du about this little copper coin.
After hearing Lao Zhu's words, Xu Da took a deep look at Han Du. This kid is so brave, he actually dares to dig a hole for him to jump in front of his superior. Well, who did this last time? It's been so long that Xu Da himself can't even remember it. I just don’t know how tall the grass on his grave has grown. Perhaps he was cut into pieces by the emperor and died long ago without a burial place, not even a tomb.
When Han Du saw Old Zhu relenting, he couldn't keep his cold face anymore. He calculated carefully and gave an extreme price.
"Then ten thousand dollars. The value of the cement formula is extremely high. I am just recovering a small amount of funds symbolically to make up for the shortfall in research and development."
This price is really equivalent to giving it away. Cement is of great use. In Handu's view, with the promotion of cement, the value of cement formula will exceed that of coke ore.
The price is really not high, but others don’t think so.
As Han Du opened his mouth, both Li Shanchang and Xu Da looked at Han Du with their eyes widened, and soon returned to normal.
However, although the two people looked like this, their eyes changed when they looked at Han Du, as if they were looking at a madman or a dead person.
When Lao Zhu heard Ten Thousand Guan, his heartbeat slowed down a beat. Looking at Han Du, his smile immediately turned into a sneer, with a cold light on his teeth, "Oh? Ten thousand guan, you really dare to speak."
"Ten thousand guan is really not that high. The value of cement is far more than 10,000 guan." Han Du shook his head. He had no conscience.
If someone had registered the cement patent in modern times and sold it to him at such a price, he would laugh out of his dreams, and he would be as rich as the country just from the patent fees.
"I firmly believe that cement is of great use, but its value is uncertain. You just want ten thousand guan, don't you think it's too much?"
