When Liu Yin first joined Chen Dao's army, although he had Huang Quan's recommendation letter as a guarantee, Chen Dao did not know Liu Yin's specific abilities, and Liu Yin only said that he was good at handling clerical and government affairs and had no battle experience. Therefore, the position Chen Dao gave Liu Yin was just an assistant responsible for handling logistics.
It was at this time that Liu Yin came into contact with the cement produced in Zangda County.
This thing, Liu Yin was amazed when he saw it. It is usually like powder, but after adding water and sand, it can act as a binder to quickly condense stones. It is extremely strong and cannot be destroyed easily.
At first, Liu Yin just thought that cement was quite magical. After asking people from the Ministry of Industry and learning about the specific uses of cement, Liu Yin didn't think much about it. He just followed the instructions of the craftsmen from the Ministry of Industry and treated cement as a kind of food. Just an effective adhesive.
According to the plan of the Ministry of War at that time, cement and stones were used to strengthen the defense of the camp at Baoxie Pass. Liu Yin happened to be the assistant in charge of logistics, so this matter was left to Liu Yin.
Liu Yin's work style is of a more careful type. Since he is responsible for strengthening the defense of the camp, Liu Yin not only arranges the soldiers to do things, but also often goes to the site to supervise and check the construction status of the craftsmen and soldiers. Then Liu Yin discovered that this cement seemed to be more than just an adhesive.
This is mainly due to the fact that a craftsman's crime of "cutting corners" was exposed.
Although there are mountains and forests near Baoxie Pass, these mountains are not all stone mountains. The geological conditions are insufficient, so soldiers and craftsmen must go to stone mountains twenty miles away to quarry stones.
This back and forth not only wastes time, but also is limited by the quarrying methods these days, and the number of stones that can be obtained is limited after all.
The quarrying in these days basically used the principle of thermal expansion and contraction. The rock was first baked with fire, and then watered to quickly cool it. In this way, if the stone cracked, the crack could be pried out and the stone was mined out. .
With this kind of quarrying method, experienced craftsmen can quarry suitable stones, but those with less experience may only get a pile of gravel blocks, and it is difficult to obtain large stones that are truly usable.
This efficiency is too low. In addition, the Baoxie crossing is the front line, and Cao Jun scouts appear every now and then. The craftsmen and soldiers who go out to quarry are also risking their lives.
At this time, a craftsman got smart. Isn't that cement a binding agent? If we put the broken stones together, wouldn't we get a whole large block of stone that can be used? !
The craftsman's inspiration came to him, and he got everyone's positive response. Quarrying is a very tiring job in itself, and now he has to risk his life. It is better to use cement to bind the gravel. At least it is not dangerous.
As for whether Shangguan would discover it, the craftsmen said there was no need to worry about this issue.
As long as a layer of cement coating is applied to the outside of the gravel, who can tell that it is not a stone in the first place? !
Then the group of craftsmen began to get busy.
At the beginning, the larger stones were spliced together to make the cracks as inconspicuous as possible. But later, the larger stones became less and less, and the gravels became more and more. The craftsmen wanted to save trouble. , directly mix the gravel with sand, mix it into the cement, and finally get an equally hard "stone".
Now the craftsmen seemed to have discovered a new routine, and they were about to do something special when they were discovered by Liu Yin.
In fact, Liu Yin had already discovered it.
Those spliced stones don't look fishy from a distance, but Liu Yin is a careful person. He checks the camp every day and looks very carefully. How could he not find those spliced stones.
It's just that Liu Yin also knows the hardships of the craftsmen now. It is indeed not easy to quarry stone. Liu Yin also turns a blind eye to the stones that are spliced together by two or three large stones.
After all, this cement is an adhesive. In fact, the difference between bonding the entire stone and bonding smaller stones is not that big.
But this group of craftsmen, who don't know how to be considerate of Shangguan's friendship, have recently dared to mix small pebbles into cement and use them openly to pretend to be big rocks. This is a bit too much.
It's understandable that there are difficulties, but you can't do this to military facilities, otherwise everyone will be the last to die.
Liu Yin wanted to deal with these excessive craftsmen and soldiers who "cut corners" on the spot.
However, in order to convince everyone, Liu Yin gathered all the craftsmen who had committed crimes together, and wanted to personally smash the "stones" they had made by "cutting corners" in front of them, so that these people would be punished. There is nothing to say.
Then Liu Yin couldn't smash these "stones".
Really, Liu Yin was also puzzled, why were the "stones" made from these pebbles just like real stones and couldn't be smashed at all? !
Liu Yin thought it might be because as a scholar, he didn't have enough strength in his hands. He called the blacksmiths in the army and asked them to smash it.
These blacksmiths swing hammers every day. They are very strong and should be able to smash them.
Don't tell me, this change is indeed quite effective.
Several blacksmiths hammered down several times and indeed broke several "stones". But this was really not smashing.
Liu Yin was suddenly surprised.
Breaking and smashing are completely different concepts.
You must know that these "stones" also need to be bonded with other real stones. If they break when smashed, the surrounding stones will have no support points, eventually causing the city wall to collapse and the enemy to take advantage of the opportunity.
But if it is just broken, it is equivalent to a crack in the city wall. Although it is also very dangerous, it will not immediately cause the city wall to collapse.
Although it is not impossible to deal with these craftsmen and soldiers by breaking them as a standard, it seems a bit unconvincing.
What finally made Liu Yin completely change his stance was that there was such a "stone". No matter how hard the blacksmiths smashed it, whether with rocks or hammers, sparks flew everywhere, but it would not break. Continuously.
This strength has exceeded that of any normal stone, and normal stones cannot withstand the continuous beating of the craftsman's hammer.
Liu Yin was shocked. He immediately asked the craftsman who made this "stone" to be found and asked how it was done. !
The craftsman looked confused and hesitated for a long time before Liu Yin barely understood.
This guy isn't some magical craftsman and inventor, he's just plain lazy.
Although others also messed around, they at least tried to use more gravel and less cement and sand. But this craftsman, because he was too lazy to pick up stones, used more cement and yellow sand and less stones, sometimes to save trouble. Son, I also added a few bamboo poles to the "stones" to make up the number.
Originally, the person who was most afraid of being beheaded was this craftsman. But now, the "stones" he made out of his shortcomings turned out to be the hardest.
Liu Yin didn't know what to say.
You say punishment, the craftsmen actually made "rocks" that are stronger than stones, but you say no punishment. A group of people dared to cut corners even in military industrial facilities. If they don't punish them, they are not risking the lives of soldiers. Just kidding.
In the end, Liu Yin decided that all the craftsmen who participated in the "counterfeiting" would each be punished with twenty levies, but at the same time, he specifically reported it to Chen Dao, requesting that these craftsmen and soldiers be given an extra month's salary and military pay as encouragement.
Work is work, mistakes are mistakes.
Those who have merit must be rewarded, and those who have made mistakes must be punished.
But at this time, Chen Dao was not in the mood to care about these "little things", because according to a detailed report, Cao Ren had sent Guo Huai to lead an army to attack Baoxie Road, trying to recapture Baoxie Road, and re-block the Shu army from Baoxie Road. The passage into Guanzhong.
What's even worse is that Guo Huai brought more than thirty catapults.
Chen Dao was busy responding to Guo Huai's attack. He waved his hand and handed Liu Yin the responsibility for what Liu Yin said.
As for Liu Yin, he did not retreat because of this. He saw Chen Dao frowning and thought that this might be an opportunity for him to show off his abilities, so he boldly asked Chen Dao.
That is to say, Chen Dao is easy to talk to. If it were old man Wei, an assistant in charge of logistics, who came to inquire about military affairs with a general like himself, it would be easy to kick you out.
Chen Dao was similar to Zhao Yun, with a calm and low-key personality and no airs. When he heard Liu Yin's question and thought that this person was also recommended by Huang Quan, he thought to save his face and briefly described the current predicament.
Guo Huai led the invasion and brought not many soldiers, but more than 10,000 soldiers. Compared with the troops in Chen Dao's hands, he was still at a disadvantage.
The real trouble is that Guo Huai brought the siege weapon Thunderbolt Chariot or the improved Thunderbolt Chariot.
Guo Huai is a smart man. He was able to hit Zhang Xi with a thunderbolt chariot in Ji County. He was also hit by Zhang Fei's heavy-duty catapult in Shanggui. Naturally, he knew the difference between the two types of catapults.
In addition, Cao Wei's side is full of talents and there are many people who are good at fortifications. Although Zhang Xi's counterweight trebuchet may not be completely replicated, according to Guo Huai's description, it is easy to improve the thunderbolt cart. things.
Now, Guo Huai brought an improved Pili car and came to smash Chen Dao.
Within three to five days, Chen Dao received the news that the two camps had been lost. Now Chen Dao was worried about how to defend himself. He even considered whether he should retreat into the Baoxie Road again and rely on Bao Xiang if he could not crack the opponent's Thunderbolt Chariot. Continue to hold on to the narrow terrain of the ramp.
When Liu Yin heard this, he quickly dissuaded Chen Dao.
The most critical factor for the Han to control the Baoxie Road was that the Han controlled the Baoxie Road. Once the entrance to the Baoxie Road retreated into the Baoxie Road, it would be equivalent to losing the initiative to use the Baoxie Road to enter Guanzhong.
So you absolutely can’t withdraw.
As for whether Guo Huai's Thunderbolt Car could be cracked, Liu Yin's mind instantly thought of the "slate" made by the lazy craftsman.
If we can produce this kind of "slates" and use these "slates" to reinforce all the camps in the rear, it will be easy to defend the several forts and camps in the back, among other things.
After all, it is a "slate" that cannot be broken even by continuous hammer blows.
The only problem now is that he doesn't know how much time Chen Dao can give himself, and whether the casting of the "slate" is just time-consuming and laborious.
Regarding the latter, Liu Yin expressed that he was very confident.
Regarding the former, Chen Dao said that he was also confident.
Since you are confident, let’s get started.
(End of chapter)
