Borrow the day to change the day

On February [-]th of the third year of Chongzhen, construction of the world's first bank began in the capital of the Ming Dynasty.At the same time, the Mongolian Tartars set off back to the grassland with the things they had robbed in the pass.

However, the army of the Ming Dynasty was still shrunk in the camp of King Qin's army outside the capital city. Sun Chengzong never dared to send the army out, even if he didn't accept it overnight.I'm afraid that someone with ulterior motives will contact Jianlu.

It wasn't until Emperor Chongzhen pardoned the world, pardoned all the generals, and all the generals who had been implicated in the corruption case paid the atonement money, that he was a little relieved.Because he was worried about the movement of the Jianlu, Sun Chengzong began to send out Yebubu one after another, but the army still did not dare to send out.

Therefore, the Ming army did not know much about the actions of the Tartars.But as far as the current situation is concerned, even understanding is useless.

The reason why the generals in the army were able to pay the atonement silver in just a few days was that the number of them was much smaller than that of civil servants, and the second was that their atonement silver was all symbolic, so they didn't pay much.It doesn't take much time to report to Emperor Chongzhen after the inventory is completed.However, the collection of redemption silver in the capital city is continuing, and there is no final result yet. [

This afternoon, on a street in the direction of the west city of the capital, three people were hurriedly walking towards the Forbidden City.

"Brother, what's the reason for dragging us there in such a hurry?" One of the strong men asked a merchant-like person who was leading the way.

"That's right, the third brother's meat was sold out early on, and now I'm talking about it. My grocery store is closed at this time, and the business in the afternoon is gone. Although it's so-called, but the elder brother always wants to tell us what's going on?" The short man also chimed in.

The merchant who was called the big brother had to stop when he heard the two people asking, he turned around and said to the two people behind him: "Since we have become friends with each other and married Jinlan, have I, the big brother, done anything to tease you?" about?"

"No, no, big brother wants us to earn more income so that we can expand our presence and do big business, and we both understand it in our hearts." The strong man reacted quickly and quickly expressed his opinion.

The short man also nodded and looked at the merchant.

Although the two of them knew that their eldest brother was actually just a peripheral shopkeeper of a fourth-rank Beijing official, and they accidentally heard some news to show off, but they were sincere friends to them. one floor.Among them, merchants are most concerned.

"Okay, since you believe in big brother, go with big brother. Big brother will take you to see the world." Satisfied, Shang Jia turned around again and said to them as he walked.

The two quickly followed, and then the strong man asked the merchant, "Brother, what is the big world?"

"Have you heard about cement? The house built with cement will be completed soon. I'll take you to see it." The merchant finally said that he would take the two sworn brothers to see something.

"I seem to have heard of it, but I don't know what it is. Brother, tell me?" The short man replied to the merchant.

"Did you see Marquis Zhongxing at the restaurant?" the merchant asked.

"Yeah, didn't we meet together! I went back and scolded those women severely, which made me ashamed. But they said that it was Uncle Zhongxing who received the spell, so he was like ordinary people." The strong man remembered Then r himself blushed a little when he boasted about Zhongxing Hou's height of eight feet in the restaurant, and was a little puzzled when he thought of the explanations of those women.

"Brother, does this cement have anything to do with Zhongxinghou?" The short man obviously knew about the strong man, and he didn't comment on what he said, but only raised his own question to the merchant.

"Do you know why Uncle Zhongxing was granted the title of Marquis of Zhongxing? I mentioned the reason for killing the Tartars before, but there is actually another reason." The merchant said while turning to another avenue, and picked the side with fewer people. keep going.

"What's the reason?" the short man and the strong man asked at the same time.

"Marquis Zhongxing dedicated the formula of cement to the emperor."

"Brother, after talking for a long time, I still haven't said what cement is." The short man remembered his question.

"Don't worry, what cement is, you will see it soon. Look at those people, are they going in the same direction as us? They must also go to see the excitement. You will know when you go." The merchant replied Pointing to others on the road, he said. [

Both the strong man and the short man are very curious. It should be a good thing for so many people to see it.So, he quickened his pace and rushed forward.

After walking for about half an hour, I finally arrived at the square outside the Meridian Gate.

There were quite a lot of people like them rushing over, and they were all standing there looking at a huge building on the side of the square, talking about it.

The soldiers of Wucheng Bingma Division maintained order nearby, preventing idlers from affecting the construction of the bank, and giving up all the roads that should be given up.

Since the beginning of the construction of the bank, the convoys continuously transporting materials have recruited idlers from the capital. As time passed day after day, more and more idlers have affected the construction.

The hundreds of households at Wucheng Bingmasi wanted to drive away these onlookers, but they were stopped by Hou Zhongxing, who was patrolling the construction site, and those who had no brains thought about driving away those free advertising personnel.

Hou Zhongxing just asked the soldiers to maintain order, and it was enough not to affect the construction on the construction site.

Sensitive construction sites, new construction methods, new architectural styles, new building materials, and fast construction speed, let these idle people spread word of mouth, and the more people spread, the more people they have, the current scale of crowds.Surrounding and watching is a tradition handed down from the ancestors, and it has been well inherited to future generations.

At this time, the rough work of the bank had been completed, and most of the small workers had withdrawn, leaving only Wu Shengda and his apprentices painting the walls.

It was the second time for Shangjia to come, and he took the two sworn brothers to find a suitable place, and then began to introduce what he had heard to them.

"See, there is not a single piece of wood or stone. Such a big house was erected in just seven days." There was a hint of admiration in the merchant's words.

The strong man and the short man are already a little dumbfounded. If you want to talk about houses that don't use wood, there are now houses, that is, those mud houses.But inside the house, there are big wood beams.

The house in front of me is so big, the beam must be very thick and large.But I have never heard of the capital carrying big logs. The ancient means of transportation are poor. If the big logs are moved, the people in the city will definitely be alarmed, because a lot of manpower and natural conditions are required.If it is to transport more cumbersome large stones, it is even necessary to use cattle and people to drag them on the ice after water is turned into ice.

After a long while, the short man turned his head to look at the merchant, and asked, "Brother, you can't see the wood outside, but inside, aren't the beams made of wood?"

"I heard people say that there is not a single piece of wood, whether inside or outside." The merchant replied.

"Then how do you support such a big house?" The strong man had already come to his senses at this time, and asked the merchant.

"I heard people say that it is made of cement mixed with sand and pebbles, and then supported by iron rods."

"Can sand and pebbles be piled up to build a house like this? How thick does the iron rod need to be?" the short man shook his head and said incredulously.

"I heard people say that the iron rod is not as thick as a finger. And the key is not the iron rod, but the cement. Do you understand, cement." Seeing that the two sworn brothers couldn't get to the point, the merchant had to ask again. bright.In fact, when he himself came for the first time, his reaction was not much different from that of his two brothers.

"That's right, brother, I was just about to ask you what this cement is?" The short man answered quickly, showing that he was not that stupid.

"This cement is like glutinous rice juice, but it is even more effective than glutinous rice juice. It can firmly bind sand and pebbles together. This is how such a big house is built." The two brothers recounted it.

"Then is this cement very expensive?" The strong man asked. In his opinion, something better than glutinous rice juice should be more expensive than glutinous rice juice. [

"I heard people say that the price of this cement will be cheaper than glutinous rice." The merchant replied.

"Brother, why do you always listen to people, who do you listen to, is it reliable?" When the short man said this, he glanced at his third brother.

When the merchant heard this, he blushed a little, but he didn't hide it from the two who were already his brothers. He replied, "Someone is talking about it. It is said that they worked there."

The big man and the short man looked around to see if anyone was saying more about the house.

Seeing their actions, the merchant pulled them away, and then said in a low voice: "You two heard from the elder brother that the elder brother asked you to come and take a look to let you know how powerful this cement is. Besides, there is a rich man here. Chance, you know?"