"Forget it, let's leave it like this for now." In the end, it was Lao Zhu who put an end to the matter. He knew that there would be no results from discussing this kind of thing, so it was better to leave it alone for now.
Whether it is a good thing or a bad thing, you can always know later.
"However, with this memorial, we can save him from death for once."
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't know whether he did it on purpose or just said it casually.
But the listener was interested, and Zhu Biao was really surprised now.
My father had said the word "avoid death" more than once. But when was that? It was when the heroes were divided and the father was starting a business to conquer the world.
Ever since the Ding Dynasty was established, Zhu Biao had never heard his father talk about anyone he wanted to avoid.
What's more, when the queen came, she simply took back all the death-free iron certificates that were given out when starting the business. It doesn’t matter whether you avoid death three times or five times, they will all be discarded and recycled.
Nowadays, the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, even Duke Xu Da of Wei and Duke Li Shanchang of South Korea, are not immune to death.
In other words, if the father really fulfills his golden words, will Han Du become the only person in the Ming Dynasty who can avoid death?
Zhu Biao lowered his head and turned a deaf ear, as if he had not heard what he just said.
"The people in the General Affairs Department are really becoming more and more lax. Such a memorandum can be criticized as useless by them. The Ministry of Civil Affairs should really be rectified."
Since Han Du's memorial won the emperor's heart, then naturally the "nonsense" approval note by the General Secretary became a huge mistake.
However, Zhu Biao did not want his father to punish the Secretary of General Affairs for this, so he said: "Father, knowledge can be as high as the sky if it is improved by one point. This cannot be blamed on the officials of the Secretary of General Affairs for being slack. If I have not experienced If Han Du talks about treasures and money, I may not be able to understand this memorial."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded after hearing this. It was indeed the case. Those who had not heard Han Du's subtle remarks in advance would naturally not understand what this memorial was about. I just feel that this memorial is very difficult to read, and it is so confusing that it is difficult to understand.
Since it was excusable, Lao Zhu didn't intend to go into details.
"Take this memorial back with you and think about it yourself. If you don't understand something, call Han Du to explain it to you. Money and treasures are related to the fate of the Ming Dynasty. As the prince, you must know clearly. Do you know? Well, of course, if you understand something, come and talk to us. We are busy with government affairs, so we won’t waste this energy."
"My son knows."
Zhu Biao answered with a normal expression. In fact, he was laughing in his heart. Dad said that he was busy with government affairs, but in fact he just couldn't bear to come to Han Du for advice. After all, he is the emperor, and Han Du is too young.
Lao Zhu knew what Zhu Biao was thinking, and he didn't expect his trick to be hidden from his son, as long as the goal was achieved.
With a wave of his hand, Zhu Biao was sent away.
Han Du walked on the outer city street and hurried home.
It is strange to say that when Han Du was in modern times, he was also an animal that foraged at midnight. How could he go home before twelve o'clock?
But after coming here, away from the hustle and bustle of feasting and feasting, he became even more obsessed with home. I want to go home as soon as I get off work. Even if I don't think about it in my mind, I will subconsciously walk towards home with both feet.
It's really strange.
Are people really stupid animals? They all like it, but they won’t let you go, and they will go backwards?
Early in the morning, Han Du came to the banknote bureau and started looking for Mr. Huang everywhere.
"Sir, are you looking for me?" Huang Lao ran to Han Du with a red face. These days, he eats well, sleeps well, and he has even seen the true face of the emperor. This alone is enough for him to brag about for a lifetime. His whole person is full of energy, as if he is twenty years younger.
"Aren't you saying that the transportation of the coal mine is inconvenient, causing mining to be too slow? I am planning to build a cement road between the coal mine and the capital. The court has agreed, and the money and materials have been approved."
"Sir, is this true?" Mr. Huang asked in surprise.
Although Mr. Huang has never seen cement roads, he has heard Han Du introduce them to him. It was wide, flat, and not afraid of being washed away by rain. He could not imagine what such a road would look like once it was built. Moreover, he personally participated in the construction of such a road specifically for transporting coal mines. When he thought about it, Huang Lao trembled with excitement and wanted to start construction immediately.
"Of course it's true. Now you have two things to do."
Mr. Huang straightened his whole body, raised his chest, and said with great energy: "Please give me your instructions."
"The first is to recruit craftsmen and dig twenty kilns. Half of them will be used to burn lime and half will be used to burn cement. You have to ensure that once you start building roads, there will be enough cement supply. By the way, where are the craftsmen deployed by the imperial court? ? Are you here yet?"
"Come back, sir, we've arrived. Sir, put it down. Even if I try my best, I will ensure that the road construction will not be delayed."
It's good to get there. In this way, the supply of cement should be guaranteed.
Hey, I had been studying for so many years in my previous life, and I had never even been a group leader. I didn't expect that now I have to take care of the food, drink, sleep, and sleep of about two hundred people. It's really unpredictable in the world.
"The other thing is, you have to make sure all the craftsmen are able to mix concrete with cement in the shortest possible time. No matter what method you use, I will be of great use to you."
"This..." Mr. Huang's face turned ugly for a while.
"What? Is there a problem?" Han Du frowned.
Huang Lao explained awkwardly, "Your Majesty, there is no cement in the banknote bureau now."
"Why are there no more? Where are the ones that were made before?"
"Sir, the old ones have become as hard as rocks for some reason. I tried them, but they are no longer suitable. Your Majesty did not order to continue making them, so I stopped them first."
Damn it!
Han Du was annoyed and wanted to slap himself on the forehead, but as soon as things got too busy, he forgot that cement will expire when exposed to the air. Coupled with the misty rain in the south of the Yangtze River, and he did not order them to do waterproofing, the cement will definitely fail quickly.
"I was negligent," Han Du stretched out his hand to rub his temples, "Let's do this. You will immediately start making cement, including the new cement kilns. Production will start as soon as they are built."
"In addition, cement is impervious to water. Once it encounters water, it will begin to solidify. Even if it is stacked in a house, it will absorb moisture in the air and gradually fail. It's just that the process is a bit slow."
"In the air?...Moisture?" Huang Lao listened to Han Du's words as if he was listening to a book from heaven.
"Oh, you don't have to worry about it. Anyway, as long as you know that cement must be sealed, it can be stored for a long time." Han Du said that something was wrong. Why did he forget the storage container? Although it is simple to produce cement, it is not easy to store cement. The most important thing is to prevent moisture, which is a big problem at this time. If it is not possible, it can only be used immediately.
Even though the bags containing cement in later generations are simple, they look like they are made of a piece of paper. But even with the current level of Ming technology, no one can make such a piece of paper.
"Use a wooden barrel?" Han Du looked at Mr. Huang and tentatively made an uncertain suggestion.
The wooden barrel can be covered with a lid and sealed with oil paper, and there should be no problem.
"Sir, I'm afraid we can't use wooden barrels." Mr. Huang shook his head and objected, "The price of a wooden barrel is not low. It's better to have less. But if you use too much, it will be a big expense. Do you have that much money, sir?"
Another expense!
Han Du's head hurts when he hears the word "expense" now. It's all the fault of Lao Zhu, who is always asking for money. If he gets ten thousand yuan for himself, he would dare to use wooden barrels to load cement.
"Then what can you do?" Han Du obviously didn't have that much money to waste on him. Every penny he had now had to be spent on the handle of the knife, no, the blade.
"Sir, do you think this is okay? I once saw someone using bamboo to make a basket. They cut a bamboo in two, then flattened it with a rolling stone, and then roasted it with fire. In a circle, three or two times You can make a basket in a short time, the speed is amazing, the key is how cheap is the bamboo?" Huang Lao's hands like old tree branches kept gesticulating with Han Du, trying to make Han Du understand as much as possible.
Easy and quick to make, quick and cheap. For Handu, which has a high demand, it is naturally good and cannot be better.
However, it is not without any problems.
"If it's a bamboo basket, won't the cement leak?" Han Du glanced at Mr. Huang in confusion.
Cement is as fine as dust. If nothing else, just the gaps between the bamboo baskets, I am afraid that the basket of cement will leak out before it reaches its destination.
"This little old man has also thought about it, sir, isn't there still a large amount of banknotes in the banknote bureau that are not used? Let's paste a layer of banknotes on the bamboo basket, so that it can barely be used? "
Is that so?
Han Du thought for a moment, and this was fine.
"It's just that, in this case, the cement may only be made and used now."
Sure enough, craftsmen like Mr. Huang are the kind of people who lack theoretical knowledge but have rich practical experience. In the blink of an eye, Han Du came up with a barely feasible solution.
The key is that it’s cheaper, and cheaper trumps everything else.
Han Du has no extra money to waste now.
"That's it. You arrange for the craftsmen to do it. If you need money, go directly to Xiong Shi to get it."
Just as Xiong Shi arrived, Han Du quickly called him over.
"Xiong Shi, this way, come here quickly."
Xiong Shi came to Han Du and raised his hands, "What's the matter, sir?"
Han Du told Xiong Shi about Huang Lao's method and asked him to cooperate with Huang Lao.
Xiong Shi nodded and agreed.
"By the way, Xiong Shi. Has the money from the East Palace been delivered?"
"Uh, not yet."
