After the Lantern Festival, Zhou Shixiong returned to Lang Son City. The first thing he did was to announce that Nong Hieu Kao had colluded with the Nguyen Phuc family to plot Lang Son House, ordered the exile of Nong Hieu Kao's family, and selected another clan leader from the Dai Yi clan. At the same time, Zhou Shixiong sent a letter to Nguyen Phuc's new patriarch, Nguyen Phuc Lok Min, in which he strongly condemned Nguyen Phuc's treacherous behavior and expressed that he reserved the right to pursue the incident.
Although Ruan Phuc Loc Min is an old fox, he has never seen this type of diplomatic move. He didn't know whether Ji Hongchang wanted to fight or make peace, and he was worried about this for half a month. Until news came from Xizuo that the new head of Lang Son Palace, Ji Hongchang, had locked himself in the palace and handed over all government affairs to others. It was said that he was studying something called cement.
Even if Zhou Shixiong wanted to, he was unable to fall out with Ruan Fu at this time. Xue Weiguang just put the matter down with a strong condemnation and concentrated on studying cement, a weapon that defies heaven. As a well-read bookworm on the Nine Astronomical Literature Network, Zhou Shixiong clearly remembers that almost every farming sect would toss out cement, because this thing is really simple, and the effect is very huge.
Crush the limestone, add a certain proportion of selected clay, and calcine it to get the most original cement. After several experiments, Zhou Shixiong determined the input ratio of three to one, and then ordered the kiln workers to fire in large quantities.
"Master, can this thing be harder than stone? It's impossible!" In order to prevent the cement formula from leaking, Zhou Shixiong mobilized more than 400 kiln workers from Lang Son Province to build a closed village in the mountains behind Lang Son City. Here they fired cement for themselves.
"Gao Fu, can't you trust me?" Zhou Shixiong took Gao Fu to supervise the work in the village. He planned to arrange Gao Fu to be the supervisor here and replace him when he found a suitable person to replace him. The first reason for letting the big housekeeper serve as the supervisor is to attach importance to the new product of cement, and arrange for a high-status person to supervise it. The other reason is that Zhou Shixiong plans to bring some people from Pingxiangzhou¡¯s team to gradually infiltrate the entire Lang Son Prefecture. Make sure you have people from top to bottom.
"I don't dare, I just can't imagine how this light lime can turn into stone!" Not to mention Gao Fu's suspicion, all the kiln workers who were transferred to burn the kiln did not believe the new master's statement. I have never seen lime turn into stone.
"Come here, get some gravel and sand, I will open your eyes." Although Zhou Shixiong has produced qualified cement, the optimal proportion of sand and gravel to concrete has not yet been studied, but he does not intend to do it himself and is ready to let The kiln workers went to study.
? One part gravel, one part sand, and one part cement powder were mixed and shoveled into a bamboo basket. Zhou Shixiong put down the shovel and said, "Sprinkle water every hour. I will see the results in a few days."
This kind of raw cement concrete takes at least four or five days to completely solidify. Zhou Shixiong took Gao Fu around the village and kiln factory, leaving Gao Fu to go home on his own.
Back to Lang Son City, Zhu Ying brought Qi Chuge to report on military affairs. What Zhou Shixiong was most concerned about was whether the soldiers were dissatisfied with the officers who came from Pingxiangzhou. "Commander Zhu, is everything okay in the camp?"
Zhu Ying smiled at Zhou Shixiong, stood up and performed a standard military salute, "Returning to the master, most of the soldiers were trained by the captains of Xiangzhou. They are very adapted to the new training method. I haven't found anything wrong yet. The right place." With outsiders present, Zhu Ying answered Zhou Shixiong's questions strictly and according to the rules, which Zhou Shixiong found very interesting.
"General Qi Qian, have you heard any of your soldiers expressing dissatisfaction with the new officer?" Zhou Shixiong motioned Zhu Ying to sit down and turned to ask Qi Chuge.
"Reporting to the Lord of the Palace, there are some gossips in the army. I hope to hold a big competition so that these soldiers can see the capabilities of the new officers. I believe that the bravery of the army comes first. Wait until they know who is coming from Pingxiangzhou. If you have any ability, naturally you have nothing to say." Qi Chuge is closer to the soldiers than Zhu Ying and can hear more real voices. He also wants to solve the problem of disharmony among the soldiers as soon as possible. He has thought hard and found this way. I hope the palace master support.
"Big competition? This is a good idea. You can write a detailed statement and show it to me. If possible, we will hold it immediately." Ruan Phuc took action against the old master so quickly, which exceeded the expectations of Zhou Shixiong, Guan Chongguang and others. , Zhou Shixiong originally planned to slowly integrate the Pingxiangzhou Guards into Lang Son Prefecture, but now it seems that it is not feasible. Qi Chu Pavilion's plan to pass the big competition and use personal bravery to frighten the soldiers is more appropriate.
Qi Chuge was praised so much by Zhou Shixiong that he left the government office feeling very comfortable and went back to do his homework. Zhou Shixiong took Zhu Ying's little hand back to the back house to study how many postures were needed to create a human being.
Five days later, Zhou Shixiong came to the village named Huoyao Village again to see if the first piece of cement concrete was up to standard. Before Zhou Shixiong entered the village, Gao Fu had already run out in a hurry, shouting as he ran, "Master is so hard, Master is so hard!"
Zhou Shixiong subconsciously touched his crotch, thinking it was not hard? Wait for Gao Fu to run closerOnly later did I realize that he was talking about the concrete block in his hand. "Why is it so small? Is it cracked?" Zhou Shixiong clearly remembered that the bamboo basket containing concrete was 40 to 50 centimeters long. The piece in Gao Fu's hand was only about the size of two palms, which was too far.
"It's not cracked. This piece was broken off with a hammer." Gao Fu didn't know that the test items needed to be recorded before they could conduct destructive experiments. He thought he was very smart and waited for praise. Zhou Shixiong shook his head and sighed. It seemed like he had to transfer someone from the craftsmanship camp. By the way, Wan Qi'an had nothing to do, so it was just right to transfer him here. Although Wan Qi'an didn't understand the craftsman's work, he had followed Zhou Shixiong in the craftsman camp for so long, and he understood the entire set of experimental rules. The most important thing is that Wan Qi'an is in charge of Huoyao Village and Zhou Shixiong doesn't have to worry about the kiln workers revolting. Four hundred unarmed kiln workers are not enough for Wan Qi'an to kill just one.
"Bring it to me and take a look." Zhou Shixiong took the concrete block and observed it carefully. The gravel, sand and cement were mixed very well. The sand and gravel had solidified tightly together under the adhesion of the cement. Zhou Shixiong broke it hard and could only break it. The small pieces of concrete at the corners were broken off, and it seemed that the cement formula was completely successful.
"Master, look at this, it took me several hard hits to break down such a piece. This thing is really harder than granite!" Looking at Gao Fu's fingers, he saw a concrete block as big as a small millstone at the edge. A piece was smashed off, but the overall structure of the concrete block was not affected. Zhou Shixiong carefully observed the gap and found four or five white marks. It would take four or five hammers to smash such a small piece of concrete, so the quality did not need to be verified.
"Very good, Gao Fu, cement is afraid of water. It must be shipped in sealed wooden boxes, and waterproof and moisture-proof protection measures must be taken. Do you understand!" Zhou Shixiong really didn't know how to make kraft paper. In an era when ordinary people wiped their buttocks with cotton cloth and scraped their chrysanthemums with bamboo slices and veneers, even if Zhou Shixiong invented kraft paper, it would be impossible to use it to package cement. Selling kraft paper alone would probably make more money than selling cement.
In the early stage, it was just a test firing. Zhou Shixiong had never worked as a cement worker and did not know how to moisture-proof and dry cement, so he could only try it bit by bit. Fortunately, Zhou Shixiong was very impressed by the tall towers of the cement factory. Now that he thought about the problem of moisture protection, he thought of the towers and thought it was a good idea to build a tower to hold cement. He poured the burned cement from the top of the tower and when it needed to be transported, he Loading and unloading from below is very convenient.
Zhou Shixiong asked Gao Fu to find paper and pen, and immediately drew a picture of a hanging tower. "Gao Fu, you can find craftsmen to build towers according to the picture I drew. Build three towers on the roadside. When will the towers be built?" When will we return to the city?" Gao Fu took it upon himself to smash the test object. Of course Zhou Shixiong wanted to find an opportunity to punish him and let him know the consequences of doing things without permission.
It has been very difficult for Gao Fu these days. Several lime kilns are very close to the village. Calcining limestone will release a large amount of carbon dioxide. Gao Fu, who has never been exposed to industrial waste gas, was almost smoked to death. The reason why he did not wait for the palace master The adults smashed the cement concrete, hoping to use the opportunity of announcing good news to escape from the sea of ??suffering. Unexpectedly, Zhou Shixiong not only refused to let him go, but also asked him to supervise the construction of the towers. The construction of the three brick structure towers would take at least five or six years. Gao Fu wanted to die.
Seeing Gao Fu¡¯s dejected look, Zhou Shixiong¡¯s bad taste was satisfied. He smiled and pointed, ¡°Gao Fu, in addition to making concrete as hard as stone, this cement can also be used to build houses. Follow me.¡±
Zhou Shixiong asked Gao Fu to find some bricks and use live cement to demonstrate how to build a wall. After finishing the work, he told Gao Fu to keep an eye on these bricks and don't let others mess around. The effect would be known in a few days. Cement actually has so many uses. Gao Fu began to think about the master's intentions. It seemed that he was not putting himself here to lose favor, but to prepare for great use. After correcting his mentality, Gao Fu was no longer so sensitive to the smell in the air. After sending Zhou Shixiong away, he looked at the bricks in person, fearing that something might happen and make the master angry.
Zhou Shixiong did not leave empty-handed. He ordered someone to transport a piece of cement back to Lang Son City. He wanted to popularize science for Guan Chongguang, Li Fusheng and others. Of course, he had to prepare enough experimental materials. In order to maximize the function of cement, Zhou Shixiong designed cement bathtubs, cement tables and chairs, reinforced concrete prefabricated panels and other common modern things. At the same time, a wall was built in advance to show the maximum use of cement.
On February 12, the fifth year of Chongzhen, several important subordinates and wives of Zhou Shixiong gathered in the main office of Lang Son City to visit the first cement exhibition hall that Zhou Shixiong built in six days.
"What kind of cement is this bathtub made of?" Looking at the weird-shaped and gray cement bathtub, everyone looked at each other. There is no shortage of wood in Pingxiangzhou and Langshan Prefecture, and the bathtubs used by ordinary people are all of good quality. Made of high-end wood, who could care about such an ugly bathtub!
Zhou Shixiong didn't care at all about the disapproval of the crowd. He pointed at a low wall that was three feet high and three feet long and said, "I spent most of the day building this wall by myself. Go and push it and see if it can be knocked down. "