Ming Dynasty: Tanks blocked the door and you said to me, "Long live Ming Dynasty"

"It's limestone!"

Wu Chunfu continued, "I have already told Taoist Master Daoji last night, and I believe there will be a result today."

"I'll take my leave now. I'll go to the construction site now."

Seeing that he looked a little dizzy when standing, Zhu Youxiao dared not let him go to the construction site.

The disaster relief work has just begun. What if this old man falls ill?

"I will go to the construction site to check it out myself. My dear, go back and have a good rest!"

"Your Majesty, I want to..."

"What? Are you going to disobey the Holy Will?"

Zhu Youxiao glared and pretended to be angry.

"The old minister dare not."

Although Wu Chunfu was very confident about limestone, he still hoped to see the results with his own eyes as soon as possible.

"Don't worry, I will send someone to inform you once the results come out."

He then ordered, "Yutong, send Lord Wu back to have a good rest. I want you to watch him fall asleep."

"The slaves obey the orders!"

Yutong respectfully asked Wu Chunfu, "Master Wu, please!"

Wu Chunfu sighed and had to take his leave.

Not long after, under the protection of Jinyiwei including Sun Kangwang, Zhu Youxiao arrived at the Taoist construction site.

"I'm sorry to see you, Your Majesty!"

Dao Ji led the other Taoist leaders to greet them.

"Get up. How is the experiment going with the oyster shell substitute formula proposed by Minister Wu last night?"

Hearing this, Dao Ji suddenly came to his senses.

"Your Majesty, Lord Wu is truly extremely intelligent! I have been refining cement all this time, but I have never thought of this alternative solution. I am truly ashamed."

Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but smile proudly when he heard this.

I’m not called the Minister of Industry for nothing!

"Master, just tell me the result."

"Your Majesty, please follow me!"

Dao Ji led Zhu Youxiao to a cooled kiln, bent down and dug out a handful of cement.

"Your Majesty, please look! This is the cement made with the new formula!"

"The limestone and oyster shells turned out to be the same thing, so the new cement formula is almost the same as the old one."

Zhu Youxiao pinched a little and rubbed it in his hands.

"Well, it's exactly the same cement as the one I saw last time. Very good! You did a great job!"

Dao Ji took him to the cement pipe pouring area, and Miao Xuan immediately came forward to greet him.

"Your Majesty, please look. The one on the left is a cement pipe made with the old formula, and the one on the right is cast with the new formula."

Zhu Youxiao touched them one by one.

I feel that the surface of the cement pipes on both sides is rough, and there is almost no difference except that one is dry and hard, and the other is wet and soft.

He was very satisfied: "After the cement pipe made of this new formula is poured, how long will it take for it to completely dry and harden?"

"Your Majesty, it's autumn now and the weather is cool. I'm afraid we'll have to wait another five days."

"Very good, then I will wait for another five days!"

After Zhu Youxiao finished speaking, he looked at the civilians.

"I heard that you all worked all night long last night. You all must have worked hard! I will give you some extra food today!"

The common people were very excited as it was a rare opportunity to see the emperor.

When they heard that there would be extra dishes tonight, they immediately cheered and the construction site was bustling with excitement.

Five days later, the first batch of new formula cement pipes had hardened and were ready for official use.

Wu Chunfu used the oxcart that was originally used to transport grain to pull the cement pipes directly from the construction site to the nearest wellhead.

At this time, Zhu Youxiao and Guo Yunhou had been waiting at the wellhead for a long time.

After all, it was he who signed the IOU and paid the price, so Guo Laokou still wanted to attend the results acceptance ceremony.

Rumble, the fire oxen pulled the cart over. Many laborers who had come to watch the fire oxen digging wells before were already used to it.

As soon as the fire bull cart stopped, Wu Chunfu immediately ordered the laborers to move dozens of cement pipes to the vicinity of the wellhead.

The pulley rack at the wellhead is also ready.

"The pipeline is entering the well, officially started!"

Following the order from Miao Xuan, the Deputy Director of the Du Shui Si.

The laborers shouted in unison, lifted the first cement pipe, and pulled the rope hard.

"One, two, hey!"

"One, two, hey!"

The cement pipe weighing hundreds of pounds slowly rose until it was slightly higher than the wellhead. Then someone stepped forward and pushed it to align it with the wellhead.

"fall!"

"Take your time, don't rush, hold the rope tightly, and don't slip!"

The blue-gray cement pipe was slowly lowered into the wellhead, and it went straight in until it was completely swallowed up by the wellhead.

There are two ropes left outside the well, one is used to hang the cement pipe, and the other is used to release it.

After hearing the sound of water coming from the well, Miao Xuan stepped forward and pulled the rope.

“Rustle….”

After a friction sound, the rope was successfully retracted.

Afterwards, the remaining dozens of cement pipes were stuffed into the well one by one in the same way.

After the last one was inserted and compacted, the cement pipe was still exactly two feet above the ground.

Zhu Youxiao secretly calculated that it would take less than half an hour from the time the first pipe entered the well to the final sealing.

Just for this efficiency, two million taels is worth it!

Chapter 390 Going South

After the windlass on the well was installed, Zhu Youxiao personally pumped the first bucket of water out of the well.

Amidst thunderous cheers, the first well in the Ming Dynasty that used cement pipes as the well wall was officially born.

The people watching were so excited that they couldn't stop talking about it.

The eldest brother said proudly: "I dare to say that our Ming Dynasty's current well-drilling skills are absolutely unmatched in the world!"

An old man answered, "Who says it's not true? If we follow the old method of digging wells, from digging, extracting water, consolidating the wall to building the wellhead, it would take at least a month and a half to dig a well this deep, if not two months!"

One of the brothers was very excited: "That's right! Now we use fire bulls to dig wells and cement pipes to fix the walls. It's a two-pronged approach. A well can be dug in less than two days! I am really willing to kneel down to you!"

The older sister was more excited than the younger brother.

"Sister, I love watching the fire bull digging a well. Every impact is so powerful and precise, just like a fierce dragon rushing into the water! That force and that sound are so enjoyable to listen to!"

"Especially when I saw the well was opened and water was gushing out, there was so much water! It gushed so high! It made me hot just by looking at it!"

The eldest sister's words were shocking, and the men around her were all surprised when they heard them.

These are all words of tiger and wolf!

Everyone turned their heads to look in the direction of the voice and saw that this elder sister was not only pretty, but also quite charming.

Some of them who knew her couldn't help but speak out.

"Hey! Isn't this Feng Jie from Yihonglou? She actually came all the way here just to watch the fire bull dig a well! Is it because no one can satisfy her?"

"Brothers, we can't let Sister Feng be satisfied. Everyone present has a responsibility!"

The men started laughing as they talked.

Digging wells with fire bulls and lowering pipes into wells are all extremely new things.

Those who came to watch included not only the laborers who were helping to dig the well, but also many residents of the city.

At this moment, everyone was bustling with joy and smiles on their faces.

Zhu Youxiao felt very gratified when he saw the happiness and pride that the people felt due to the improvement of production technology.

If the new method of well digging can be fully promoted in Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces, it will definitely solve the drinking water problem of the victims quickly.

However, there is a huge limitation on this matter at present, that is, there are too few Fire Bulls.

He immediately gave orders to Wu Chunfu.

"Lord Wu, your Ministry of Industry must hurry up and produce a batch of fire bulls, and send them to Shanxi and Shaanxi as soon as possible to dig wells, so as to solve the problem of drinking water difficulties for the disaster victims in the two places as soon as possible."

"Old minister, I obey the order!"

In fact, Wu Chunfu knew how useful the fire bull was without being told. Ever since the fire bull was improved, the Ministry of Industry had been working on its production day and night.

Now that the new method of well drilling had been successfully implemented, he turned around and ordered the Ministry of Works to send the produced fire bulls to Shanxi as soon as possible.

After Zhu Youxiao gave his instructions, he left.

Along the way, his mind was constantly working.

Now that the research on cement has been completed, the method of building wells using fire bulls and cement pipes has been smoothly implemented, and other work-for-relief projects are also progressing in an orderly manner.

Things in Datong had basically come to an end, and he thought it was time to leave.

There was a severe drought in Shanxi and Shaanxi. The drinking water problem was only secondary. The most important thing was that the crops failed and the people had no food to fill their stomachs. Famine was the main problem.

We still have to find a way to get more food!

While Zhu Youxiao was thinking, he suddenly heard a rumbling sound and stopped.

Following the sound, I saw the sky in the south was covered with dark clouds with flashes of lightning. I couldn't help but squint my eyes.

The princes have food!

If Prince Fu falls, the people of the entire Henan Province will be able to have enough food.

Aren’t there many other vassal kings like Prince of Jin, Prince of Shen, Prince of Lu, etc.

Our Ming Dynasty may lack everything except vassal kings!

As long as I swing my sickle quickly, all the vassal kings will become the leeks of the Ming Dynasty.

"Wei Daban, pass the order down. Rest for a day and choose an auspicious time tomorrow to set off for Taiyuan."

"I obey your order!" Wei Zhongxian immediately turned around and told someone to convey the order.

The next day was July 22, the eighth year of the Tianqi reign.

At three quarters past three in the morning, the emperor set out from the south gate of Datong and headed towards Taiyuan.

The Shanxi Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, the Provincial Governor, the Datong Co-Governor and other officials respectfully escorted the emperor ten miles away before returning.

Wu Chunfu felt that the Ministry of Industry was about to make great strides and its highlight moment would come, so he continued to stay in Datong and happily presided over the work.

Mr. Guo from the Ministry of Revenue, holding a dozen IOUs in his hand, felt that his financial future was bleak, and with a drooping face, he followed the emperor south.

The size of the team at this time is not much different from when we first entered the university.

But the innocent little doctor has turned into the shy and beautiful Concubine Yue.

At this moment, there was a cute little girl behind her, who was Zhou Luer.

As soon as Liu Yue received the news yesterday that the emperor was preparing to go south, she immediately sent someone to pick her up and settled her family in Datong City.

Because when she was the medical commander, Liu Yue rode a horse and followed the team.