People in the Tang Dynasty, Jian'an style

The next morning, just after Li Wenbin had finished breakfast, Bai Qing ran to Prince Qi's mansion to ask for a meeting, and Li Wenbin hurriedly called him in.

After a while, Bai Qing, covered in dust, trotted in from outside the hall, bowed with two red eyes, and said, "Your humble servant Bai Qing, I pay my respects to His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi."

"Well, get up!" Li Wenbin sipped his tea and said with a smile, "You came in such a hurry, I guess the cement from yesterday has been calcined, right?"

"Your Highness is wise. Yesterday, I and the craftsmen worked all night and finally finished calcining the cement. Just as Your Highness said, the result is a gray powder. I was just thinking of inviting Your Highness to come and take a look!" Bai Qing answered excitedly.

"Okay!" Li Wenbin slapped the table, stood up and went to the Construction Bureau with Bai Qing. On the way, he even asked Bai Qing to ride with him. As a result, Bai Qing, who was nearly fifty years old, was moved to tears. He kept expressing his gratitude and admiration along the way, and promised to follow Li Wenbin's lead in the future.

It was the same lime burning yard as yesterday, but on a mat in the middle of the yard, there was a pile of very inconspicuous gray powder. Li Wenbin walked up quickly, reached out and grabbed some and rubbed it: Well, it feels good, and it is basically the same as cement in later generations.

"Your Highness, is this calcined cement usable?" Bai Qing asked nervously. Although the calcined cement was basically the same as Li Wenbin's description, he was still unsure, fearing that some negligence might cause the cement to be unusable.

"Well, well done, the cement is calcined very well!" Li Wenbin couldn't help laughing when he saw that Bai Qing and the craftsmen around him all looked nervous. It seemed that they thought cement was too complicated. In fact, this thing was very cheap. Anyone could find someone to tell him how to make it and he would be able to make usable cement, let alone these experienced craftsmen?

After hearing Li Wenbin's praise, Bai Qing and others finally breathed a sigh of relief.

This was something that was personally ordered by a prince. Even if Li Wenbin could not accomplish it, the craftsmen who were in charge of the work would inevitably be implicated and would be fined at least half a month's salary.

In fact, this is not real cement yet, because there is still one last step. Li Wenbin asked someone to get the gypsum powder that was ground yesterday, and then add about 3% of gypsum powder to mix it evenly. The main purpose of adding gypsum is to slow down the hardening speed of cement, so as to facilitate the subsequent construction.

It was not until then that the first batch of cement produced by the Tang Dynasty was truly successfully produced.

"Bai Qing, have someone prepare water, sand and gravel, and dig a five-foot square pool on the ground. The depth should not exceed half a foot." Although the cement was ready, it was not the time to present it to his father. At least he had to test it to see how effective it was, so that he could at least have a rough idea of ​​it.

When Bai Qing heard Li Wenbin's order, he immediately led his men to take action. Some dug pits, some carried water, and soon everything was ready. Bai Qing and the craftsmen had only received orders from their superiors to assist Li Wenbin in making cement, but they had no idea what cement was used for. Li Wenbin didn't tell them when he came yesterday, so they certainly didn't dare to ask. Now looking at Li Wenbin's posture, he must want to test the effect of cement, so the craftsmen stretched their heads and waited to see, after all, everyone has curiosity.

Li Wenbin directed the craftsmen to mix sand and cement with water to make a slurry, and then pour it into a square pit on the ground. In order to increase the strength of the concrete, Li Wenbin also deliberately reduced the proportion of sand and stone. If there was not too little cement, Li Wenbin would even want to not add sand and stone and directly make it into a pure cement board.

Chapter 119: The Rich and the Filthy

After pouring the cement slurry into the pit, Li Wenbin asked people to flatten it with wooden boards, and then laid a layer of straw on it. He also told Bai Qing to sprinkle water from time to time so that the concrete would not crack. Bai Qing still took notes very carefully.

It will probably take at least a week for the concrete to be truly dry and usable, so the craftsmen cannot just sit there waiting for seven days.

So Li Wenbin instructed Bai Qing to let the craftsmen work hard on burning lime in the next few days, and also gave him a task that challenged his patience, which was to ask him to mix cement and sand in different proportions, and then make concrete slabs like he did just now, make a comparison, and find the best ratio.

Bai Qing naturally accepted the order with pleasure - the fact that Li Wenbin entrusted such an important matter to him showed his trust in him.

Moreover, this is not a difficult task. Anyone can do it as long as they spend some time and effort. It is obviously a credit given to him by Li Wenbin for free.

After realizing this, Bai Qing felt even more grateful to Li Wenbin.

After explaining the matter, Li Wenbin had nothing to do anymore.

Li Wenbin first went to find Li Shimin to report on the progress of cement production.

Upon hearing that the cement had been made and was now being tested for its effects, Li Shimin was overjoyed. He patted Li Wenbin on the shoulder and cheered. If Li Wenbin hadn't stopped him, he would probably have run over to admire the pool of muddy cement slurry.

After dealing with his father, Li Wenbin sneaked over to see Concubine Yang.

……

Yang Fei was overjoyed at Li Wenbin's arrival, and she took his hand and began to complain.

"What's the matter? Is it Concubine Yin who has been picking on you recently?" Li Wenbin frowned after hearing Concubine Yang's complaints.

"That's right, that bitch, she always speaks in a sarcastic way in front of me for no reason, saying that I have fallen out of favor!" Concubine Yang's heart is now devoted to Li Wenbin. Although she no longer cares about whether he has fallen out of favor, she still feels very angry when Concubine Yin says this.

Li Wenbin pinched his chin and thought for a while: "This is easy, leave it to me."

Yang Fei looked at him: "You don't want to take her away again..."

After patting Yang Fei's full moon, Li Wenbin said with a smile: "What are you thinking about? I'm talking about other methods. But speaking of which, you haven't recited a poem for me for a long time."

Concubine Yang glanced at him shyly and smiled charmingly, "Which song would you like to hear, Your Majesty?"

"Of course, a merchant woman does not know the sorrow of losing her country..."

……

On this day, after Li Shimin finished his busy state affairs, he prepared to go to Yin Fei's courtyard to rest.

But when he walked into the courtyard, he suddenly found Yin Fei's personal maid playing with a bird. He was in a good mood and asked, "Are you shooting sparrows, Xing'er?"

"Ah," the maid ran over and bowed, "I'm sorry, I was having too much fun and didn't greet the prince."

"It doesn't matter. We are all family. Why should we be so formal?"

Then Li Shimin helped Xing'er up.

Then, he was stunned for a moment.

"Show me your hand."

Xing Er reached out her hand.

"What are you using to shoot birds?"

"Hot... hot cake."

"Hot cake?" Li Shimin took the hot cake from Xing'er's hand and asked, "This is the meal made by the kitchen, right?" He took off a small piece of the hot cake in his hand and said, "Except that it's a little cold, there's nothing wrong with it."

"Reply... Reply to Your Majesty, it was the Queen who said that she had been eating a lot of greasy food recently and didn't want to eat these greasy things anymore, so she... just... gave it to me as a reward."

"Are you tired of eating too?"

Xing'er nodded.

Li Shimin turned around again and said to his attendant: "Ask the cook how this hot cake is made."

After a while, the attendant came back and said, "Your Highness, the cook said that it is made by cooking fresh sea bass, removing the bones and taking out the meat, adding salted egg yolk to the pot and stir-frying it, then adding broth and stewing it for a while, making the filling, coating it with flour, and frying it in the pot with the best oil."

Li Shimin nodded when he heard this and asked Xing'er, "Are you tired of eating this?"

Xing'er was crying so hard at this time that she dared not make a sound. She knelt on the ground and cried. Li Shimin turned around and glanced at Concubine Yin, and saw that she had also knelt down. However, he rarely helped her up.

He ate the hot cake in his hand in two or three mouthfuls, and sighed, "The rich are feasting and drinking, but the poor are freezing to death on the streets. Since Concubine Yin doesn't like meat, let the chef only make vegetarian food for her from now on."

After saying that, he left without even looking back.

……

The yard of the Construction Bureau that burned cement was officially designated by Yuwen Hu as a cement workshop, and Bai Qing was in charge of it. Bai Qing would go to Li Wenbin's house every morning to report on all matters related to the cement workshop. Of course, the setting condition of the cement was the focus of the report.

Before dawn today, Bai Qing came to report that the cement had finally solidified into solid and durable concrete.

When Li Wenbin heard the news, he immediately put on his clothes as quickly as possible, went to the front hall to find Bai Qing, and the two of them went to the Construction Supervisor together.

In the yard of the cement workshop, in addition to the cement slab that Li Wenbin personally supervised, there were also cement slabs made later under Bai Qing's command, and several of them were almost done. The first cement slab was already surrounded by a crowd of craftsmen, who were touching the cement slab with their hands from time to time and discussing something in a low voice.

"Get out of the way quickly, the prince is coming!" The craftsmen's attention was attracted by the cement slabs under them, and they didn't even notice the arrival of Li Wenbin and Bai Qing. It was Bai Qing's direct reminder that made them quickly make way.

Li Wenbin smiled and nodded to the craftsmen, then quickly walked to the cement slab. The straw on it had been cleared away, revealing a very smooth cement slab. Li Wenbin stepped on it and found that it had indeed solidified.

"Come on, dig out the cement slab!" Li Wenbin ordered excitedly. Immediately, the craftsmen who had been prepared came forward to dig. After a while, a half-foot thick cement slab was dug out and supported by sticks.

"Your Highness, this cement is truly a miraculous thing. Who would have thought that after just calcining a few common materials, it could actually bond gravel and sand together, and it is extremely hard. Even if it is not as hard as marble, it is probably not much different." Bai Qing tapped the cement board with his fingers and said with admiration.

"Well, we have to try it to know whether it is strong or not. Go get a big hammer!" Li Wenbin will not be fooled by the appearance of the cement board. He believes that only practice is the only criterion for testing the truth. Do you want to know whether the cement board is strong? It's very simple. Just hit it a few times with a hammer and you will know.

After a while, a craftsman came with a sledgehammer with a hammer head as big as half a watermelon. Li Wenbin took it and tried it. It felt okay, so he swung it up and smashed it hard on the cement board.

Chapter 120 Success

"Bang——" With a dull sound, Li Wenbin only felt his hands numb and his arms aching slightly. Looking at the smashed cement slab, only a few pieces of debris flew out and a shallow dent was made.

"Hiss, it's so solid!" The craftsmen around took a deep breath and exclaimed in unison.

Li Wenbin continued to hit it a few more times, and finally stopped because his arms were numb from the shock. Although there were traces of being hit on the cement slab, it was nothing for a cement slab that was half a foot thick.

"Haha, the quality is good!" Li Wenbin nodded with satisfaction. The quality of this cement board is almost the same as the boards made of common cement in later generations. Of course, this is mainly because the craftsmen polished the material very finely, and were very careful from calcination to subsequent hardening. If it is to be mass-produced in the future, without the help of later machines, the quality is estimated to decline, but it is enough to meet the needs of the Tang Dynasty at this stage.

"It is all thanks to your wise command that we can produce such a wonderful thing as cement!" Bai Qing would not miss any opportunity to flatter Li Wenbin. Seeing Li Wenbin so happy, he immediately came up to flatter him.

"Hahaha, I was just talking. Without the help of you, Bai Qing, and all the craftsmen, how could cement be made? You all wait here. I will go and invite my father to come and see it, and also take credit for everyone!" Li Wenbin smiled and patted Bai Qing's shoulder and praised.

After hearing what Li Wenbin said, Bai Qing and the craftsmen behind him were so happy that they almost smiled.

Bai Qing wanted to say something more modest, but Li Wenbin had already turned around and was about to leave. However, just as he reached the door, he suddenly turned around and said to Bai Qing: "Don't forget to invite Master Yuwen. He also has a share of the credit here."

Bai Qing was shocked and immediately agreed.

After watching Li Wenbin leave, he immediately trotted to invite Yuwen Hu. At the same time, he was feeling fortunate in his heart. If Li Wenbin had not reminded him, he would have really forgotten to invite Yuwen Hu.

Yuwen Hu is Bai Qing's immediate superior, and these people were all selected by him, so of course he should also share the credit.

……

Li Wenbin rushed to the Prince Qin's Mansion as quickly as possible.

But when he arrived at the Prince of Qin's Mansion, he found out that Li Shimin was discussing matters with someone in the study.

Li Wenbin wanted to break in directly, but was stopped by the guarding the gate.

No matter what Li Wenbin said, he refused to let him in.

He had no choice but to let someone go in to report first while he waited outside for Li Shimin to summon him.

I guess they are discussing some important matter inside, and the person who was supposed to report it has not come out yet.

"Your Highness, the King of Qin summons you, please come in!"

At this moment, the person who had just gone in to report came out of the room, bowed to Li Wenbin and said.

When he entered the study, he found that almost all of Li Shimin's right-hand men were there.

The civil officials were headed by Zhangsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling, and the military generals were headed by Li Jing.

"Haha, seeing how you look so radiant, I guess the cement is done, right?"

Li Shimin had also been paying attention to the cement issue. When he heard Li Wenbin asking for a meeting, he calculated the date and found that it was exactly the same time as Li Wenbin had estimated. He immediately guessed his purpose.

"My Lord, you are wise. The cement slabs have been made. I just smashed a few of them with a sledgehammer. My arms were numb from the shock, but only a few shallow marks were left." Li Wenbin immediately told him about his previous experiment.

"Great! Since you all are here, let's go and take a look together!" Li Shimin had been waiting for several days. When he heard that the cement test had been successful, he could not sit still any longer. He stood up and wanted to go and see it immediately.

……

The group of people rushed to the cement workshop in a mess, which scared Bai Qing, a ninth-rank minor official, so much that his eyes widened. Most of the people there were wearing scarlet robes, and there were even quite a few wearing purple robes. Standing in the crowd, he, wearing a green robe, stood out no matter how he looked at him.

"Your humble servant Yuwen Hu respectfully welcomes His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin!"

Fortunately, Yuwen Hu had already arrived at this time, so there was no need for Bai Qing, a minor official of the ninth rank, to step forward.

Although Yuwen Hu was only a third-rank official, he was also considered an important official in the imperial court. His position as the Chief Architect of the Imperial Works was special, and he did not have to attend court every day like ordinary court officials. Li Shimin would only summon him when the Chief Architect of the Imperial Works was occasionally needed.

"Get up!" As soon as Li Shimin entered the yard, he saw the standing concrete slab.

After letting Yuwen Hu get up, he walked straight to the cement slab, turned around a few times, and even reached out to touch it. The cement slab looked similar to stone, but it felt much rougher than ordinary stone.

Li Wenbin waved to Bai Qing, who immediately understood and took out a bucket of cement powder from the cement warehouse and handed it to Li Wenbin.

Li Wenbin came forward with cement and said, "Father, please look, this is calcined cement. Apart from the color, it looks the same as flour. When using it, just mix it with water and pour it into the mold. After drying in the shade, it will become an extremely solid cement board. Of course, in order to save costs, some gravel and sand are usually added. As long as the proportion is appropriate and mixed evenly, the strength after solidification will not decrease."

Li Wenbin pointed at cement and talked about it. Although Fang Xuanling and others had known about cement for a long time, they were still very surprised after seeing the real thing with their own eyes today.

Based on the properties of cement introduced by Li Wenbin, they could also guess that it must be closely related to road construction.

Li Wenbin led Li Shimin and others to a freshly mixed cement pool and said, "Father, please look, this is the cement mixed with crushed stone and sand. After drying in the shade, it becomes these extremely hard cement slabs."

As he spoke, he directed the craftsmen to dig out a few almost dry cement slabs on the ground.

"This cement is truly amazing. Who would have thought that this flour-like substance would become like stone after adding water and sand." Li Shimin said in admiration, holding a handful of cement powder in his hand.

Seeing that Li Shimin was in high spirits, Li Wenbin picked up the big hammer on the ground and said with a smile, "Father, are you interested in hitting it twice to test the hardness of this cement board?"

"Haha, good, let me stretch my muscles today. I was the bravest man in the past. I must have at least several hundred pounds of strength when I stretch my arms."

Seeing his son being so amused, Li Shimin also became interested. He took the hammer and tried it, then swung it up and smashed it hard on the stone slab.

"Bang--" Although Li Shimin's strength was much greater than that of the underage Li Wenbin, it was useless against the half-foot thick cement slab. Apart from more flying fragments and deeper marks, the cement slab was not seriously damaged at all.

"Hey, this thing not only looks like stone, but its hardness is not less than real stone." Li Shimin was also very surprised. He really couldn't understand why something like flour would become as hard as stone after adding water and sand?

Chapter 121 Cost Issues

"Your Highness, Old Cheng is also itching to try it out. Let me have a try too!" Cheng Yaojin, who loved to join in the fun, couldn't help but want to try it himself after seeing that the cement slab was so magical. He was a famous brave general in the Tang Dynasty, and all his achievements were earned through fighting with swords and spears. If we only talk about strength, he is much stronger than Li Shimin.

"Okay, Zhijie, you come and try it too." Li Shimin also wanted to see how hard the cement board was, so he immediately agreed.

Cheng Yaojin did not use the iron hammer in Li Shimin's hand, but asked the craftsman to find him a largest hammer. The hammer head alone was as big as a watermelon, and the handle was as thick as an adult's arm. Most people could not lift it. I really don't know what such a big hammer was used for in the past?