The cost of firing cement is, to put it bluntly, the cost of manpower!

Just like paving a road with green bricks and stones, as long as there are enough people, then everything will not be a problem - someone can mine coal, can smelt coal, can burn cement, can pave roads!

But what Datang lacks the most is people!

Don't look at the statistics, there are millions of households in Datang, more than 10 million people...... In fact, because of Datang's policy, the number of hidden households should be quite a lot, and the total number should be more, but if you really count the strong labor, two or three million will die?

The pressure on these people is huge!

Because in addition to feeding themselves and their families, they also have to feed the magnates of the Tang Dynasty and feed thousands of troops, and in terms of the productivity of this era, there is no doubt that this is an absolute burden. Therefore, in ancient China, the so-called labor was so miserable.

And these people, every year of labor, they have to build official roads, build water conservancy facilities, and even build pavilions, palaces, etc., for the emperor and princes, where is there time to burn cement?

That's a lot of time-consuming.

So count on a lot of people to do it, unless it's profitable.

However, with the current level of craftsmanship of the Han Palace...... No, even if the level of craftsmanship of hand-fired cement reaches the extreme, it is impossible to feed an industry. Because that cost will make the cost of cement extremely expensive, at most it will be bought by rich people to build some special buildings, and they want to use it to build roads......

That's not how is.

But......

What if there were a large number of people who didn't need to farm, didn't need wages, and only needed a little food to live on every day to burn cement?

Although he told himself more than once that this idea was too evil, when Li Ke asked today, Li Yuanjia couldn't help but say this idea.

Then, he immediately shut his mouth.

There was no way, the guilt was so strong that as soon as these words were spoken, Li Yuanjia immediately regretted them and wanted to take back what he had just said.

It's just that he opened his mouth, but he didn't say anything in the end.

And Li Ke was stunned for a moment, and his brows quickly wrinkled: "A large number of people...... Do you have to work all year round? W-how is this possible?! ”

In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, recuperation was the core focus.

Even Emperor Li Shimin wanted to renovate his palace, but Wei Zheng had to jump out to oppose it, on the grounds that the world was still in turmoil and needed to recuperate, not to mention just to burn cement?

So after thinking about it, Li Ke quickly shook his head regretfully and said, "Uncle Huang, this method you said is too difficult...... By the way, can you give a copy of the firing method of cement? ”

"Haha, of course you can."

After smiling, Li Yuanjia nodded without hesitation.

As the old saying has been said many times, anything other than glass and mirrors can be handed over, let alone cement. Didn't you see Li Yuanjia nodding, and Han Lucheng, who was waiting next to him, didn't even move his eyelids?

What if you want to change to papermaking or something? It's no wonder that he, the palace steward, is not distressed!

In Han Lucheng's eyes, this cement is just a hole for eating money, and it can't be rewarded at all. And he also knew that in fact, except for the king, everyone else in the mansion hated this thing...... At least no one particularly likes it.

Green bricks or stone bricks to pave the road, isn't it beautiful?

It's not an ordinary person, and they can't afford that kind of thing, so especially the princess Fang Fengzhu, basically every time she walks on the cement road, she can't help frowning.

Moreover, Zhang Wan and the others also used this thing to build a house, but it turned out that unless it was a particularly thick kind, it was not strong at all. However, the king once said that it was necessary to add steel bars or something to the cement, but it was just a casual remark and there was no follow-up......

So when Li Yuanjia instructed Han Lucheng to prepare the formula for cement and hand it over to King Wu's entourage for a while, he naturally agreed without hesitation.

Seeing Li Yuanjia so happy, Li Ke raised his eyebrows, and immediately continued: "Uncle Huang, in fact, the little nephew came this time mainly because of another thing, that is, he met Fang Jun on the way back to Chang'an, and also saw the carriage he was riding......

"Oh? Fang Erlang? ”

The corners of his mouth twitched, and Li Yuanjia immediately understood the meaning of this nephew.

It turned out that I had taken a fancy to the four-wheeled carriage!

"Hehe, come on, [ ] serve tea to King Wu!"

After smiling, Li Yuanjia did not directly answer his nephew's question, but said with a smile: "Let's not talk about this first, Xiao Ke hasn't come to my house yet, right?" It just so happens that you are an official in the south, so you should have drunk tea, right? I have some good tea from Jiangnan here...... Come on, serve tea to King Wu......"

……

Just when King Wu and King Han were drinking tea and talking about carriages and glasses with laughter, more than 400 miles away from Chang'an City, Huang Ren, Ma Yuan and Wang Han were also busy with their tea.

Dozens of teenagers, a battalion of their own.

Today, the team they belong to is not open, so everyone did not pack up their things and go on the road in the morning after waking up in the morning, but rather leisurely.

It's just that I'm in the barracks, so I don't dare to go too far.

As the small leaders of this supernumerary military medical battalion, whether it is Huang Ren and Ma Yuan, who are veterans, or Wang Han, who is a newcomer, of course, they all have the privilege of not having to work hands-on, so when everyone else was busy burying pots and cooking, the three of them gathered in a camp tent that was first set up, and roasted around a small coal stove.

The red fire, the faces of the three people who illuminated it also flushed.

It's just that they roasted around the fire for a long time, and no one spoke, and the three of them quietly looked at a small iron kettle on the coal stove in a quiet daze.

These days of running around, it is indeed exhausting a few people.

Needless to say, Huang Ren, a soft egg, even Ma Yuan and Wang Han, who had some expectations for going out with the army and making contributions, couldn't help but regret it at this time - marching and walking in the winter can really make people miserable!

It's just that I can't go back!

"Brother Huang, how long will it take us to get there!"

Seeing that the spout had begun to gradually emit white smoke, and when the water was about to boil, Wang Han, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke: "It's been gone for ten days, right?" But it seems that there is still a long way to go from Gaochang...... Are we going to go for more than a month? ”

"This ...... Almost, right? ”

After hesitating for a moment, Huang Ren said with some uncertainty: "This day's march is at most forty miles, and after a long time, you have to rest for a day, won't it take a month or two to get to Gaochang?" ”

"Alas......"

"Stepping on ......"

As soon as Wang Han sighed and wanted to say something, he heard a sound of footsteps outside the tent, and soon a sergeant walked in from outside: "Which one is Huang Ren, Mr. Huang?" ”

"Huh? Mr. Don't dare to be, I am Huang Ren. ”

After a pause, Huang Ren quickly stood up. Although he is from the Han Palace, the king has explained before he came, and he must pay attention to his attitude.

After seeing Huang Ren's appearance, the sergeant hurriedly said, "Mr. Huang, my captain has a ...... please."