"Husband, tell me what cement is, can we produce it? If I can, I'll immediately go find someone to borrow money, and I must build a cement workshop! Cao Ying in the carriage pulled Zhao Yan's arm and said coquettishly like a little girl, only in front of Zhao Yan would she show such a little daughter's side.

As soon as Zhao Yan mentioned cement just now, Cao Ying immediately realized that this was another good thing that made the palace rich, so he kept asking, but Zhao Yan used the excuse that there were too many people outside, so he didn't explain, until he got into the carriage now, Cao Ying immediately asked again, and now he finally had no way to shirk.

Seeing Cao Ying's longing eyes, Zhao Yan couldn't help but sigh and said: "Lady, the matter of cement is not to sue you, but even if we sue you, we can't make money with this thing, because although cement is not as important as steel and grain, its role will also have a heavy impact on the country, so I don't plan to produce cement myself, but to hand it over to the Ordnance Supervision or the Ministry of Industry, of course, we can't hand it over in vain, at least we have to take some benefits from it!" ”

Cement seems ordinary, but you must know that after a country has cement, it can build a stronger city, and the reason why the Great Song Dynasty was able to survive under the attack of the two strong enemies of Northern Liao and Western Xia is that the most important thing is to rely on a solid city, which can be said to be the foundation of the survival of the Great Song Dynasty, but if the cement appears, it is good to be in the hands of the Great Song Dynasty, but in case it spreads to the hands of the Liao State or the Western Xia people, then the other party can build a stronger city than the Great Song Dynasty, plus their strong army, It is definitely possible to change the situation of the war between the three countries.

It is precisely in consideration of the above that Zhao Yan was a little hesitant at first, whether he wanted to invent cement, after all, now the Great Song Dynasty has an advantage in building cities. If cement is invented, although it can make the city of the Great Song Dynasty stronger, it also takes a huge risk, in case the manufacturing method of cement is obtained by the enemy country, with the army of the Great Song Dynasty that is not good at defending and not attacking, I am afraid that it will take several times the strength to attack the enemy country in the future.

However, Zhao Yan quickly thought about it again. The invention of cement is a great progress in human history, and it cannot be given up because of the fear of risk, just like he knows that the emergence of gunpowder weapons will also change the course of history, and countless people will die under gunpowder weapons, but he still chooses to invent gunpowder weapons, because from the current point of view, mastering the power of gunpowder weapons is beneficial to the Great Song Dynasty, and can give the Great Song a chance to change the current unfavorable situation. That reason alone is enough.

"Why can't you make it yourself, what is this cement for?" Cao Ying asked curiously again when she heard this.

There is nothing to hide about the role of cement, so Zhao Yan sorted out his thoughts when he heard this, and then introduced the cement to Cao Ying in detail, at first Cao Ying was a little unimpressed, thinking that cement was actually like lime, and there was nothing remarkable, but then she heard that cement was far stronger and more durable than lime after solidification. It was not inferior to real stone that she realized what cement meant.

"Now you understand, lady. It's better to keep the cement in the hands of the imperial court, and when the imperial court produces it, let them provide us with some. Zhao Yan finally concluded.

"The concubine is also from Jiangmen, so she naturally understands the role of cement, don't worry, the concubine will not have the idea of playing cement in the future." Cao Ying also smiled at the moment. Although she likes to collect money for the palace, she is also a sensible woman, and naturally knows what kind of wealth she can ask for and what kind of wealth she can't want.

"The lady is wise!" Zhao Yan couldn't help but smile when he saw this, but his indecent appearance was exchanged for a roll of Cao Ying's eyes. Wait until you get back to the palace. Cao Ying returned to the inner house to continue planning the canning workshop, while Zhao Yan took the carriage again to the ordnance superintendent, and he wanted to make the cement first.

Since Shen Kuo resigned from the post of ordnance supervisor, Zhao Shu selected an official from the court to take over, the new ordnance superintendent surnamed Su Mingsong, although this person's reputation in history is not as great as Shen Kuo, but he is also a great scientist in the Northern Song Dynasty, especially in astronomy and medicine, he is extremely specialized, and he is also extremely proficient in arithmetic.

After Zhao Yan came to the ordnance prison in a carriage, as soon as he entered the courtyard, he immediately heard a hearty laugh coming from the room where Shen Kuo was working, and there were also people's voices inside, one of which was very familiar, Zhao Yan recognized it as Su Shi's voice at once, as for the other more thick middle-aged man's voice, it was estimated to be Su Song.

"Interesting, when Su Shi and Shen Kuo worked together, the two quarreled almost every day, but now that this Su Song has been replaced, the two are talking and laughing, it seems that he and Shen Kuo really don't agree." Zhao Yan couldn't help but muttered to himself when he heard the sound of talking and laughter inside, and at the same time, he couldn't help but show a little smile on his face.

Next, Zhao Yan walked into the room, and just saw Su Shi sitting opposite a middle-aged man in his forties, with a few tea sets in front of the two, and it seemed that they were using the rest to drink tea and chat, this situation Zhao Yan had seen Su Shi many times, but Shen Kuo had never appeared among his tea friends.

"Hey, why are you here, is there something important?" Seeing Zhao Yan come in, Su Shi also stood up in surprise and said, although Zhao Yan is the adviser of the Ordnance Superintendent, he can't come a few times a year, and every time he comes, there must be something important to inform the Ordnance Superintendent.

"Hehe, this must be the newly appointed Judge Su, right?" Zhao Yan first smiled at Su Shi, and then smiled at the middle-aged man opposite Su Shi, I saw that this middle-aged man was tall and thin, with good facial features and dignified appearance.

"Su Song has lost his welcome, and he hopes that the king of the county will forgive his sins!" Su Song was stunned for a moment when he saw Zhao Yan, and then immediately saluted, he was also very familiar with Zhao Yan, because when Zhao Yan was lecturing in the past, he was one of the people who often went to attend lectures, and even if he didn't have an official position, I am afraid that he would go to Gewu College to apply for a lecturer or professor.

"Haha, Judge Su doesn't have to be polite, I came here today to find an important matter to be handled by the Weapons Supervisor, it just so happens that both of you are here, let's sit down and I'll talk about this matter in detail!" Zhao Yan didn't have a polite conversation with Su Song, and went straight to the topic.

"Oh, it seems that the county king has any new ideas?" Su Shi's eyes lit up when he heard this, he knew Zhao Yan's character very well, whenever he had a new idea, he would come in a hurry, and he was used to it.

"Haha, Brother Zizhan still understands me!" Zhao Yan also laughed when he heard this, and then he talked about the cement, at first Su Shi and Su Song also reacted the same as Cao Ying before, thinking that a mere material for building a house was not enough for them to pay attention to, but after they understood the characteristics of cement, both of them also understood, it turned out that this kind of cement was an important material that could change the shape of various countries.

"King Jun, then what are you waiting for, let's hurry up and test it, if we can really make cement out of it, our Great Song Dynasty city will be even stronger!" Su Shi immediately said excitedly after listening to it, he didn't think about it as much as Zhao Yan, and only thought about the positive side of cement to Da Song, which also showed that he was an optimistic person.

In contrast, Su Song was much more steady, I saw that he was not in a hurry to speak, but showed a contemplative look, and after a while, he nodded and said: "If the cement is really like what the king of the county said, it can indeed make our Great Song Dynasty city stronger, but the cement needed to build a city is probably not a small amount, so I don't know how much cement costs, if it is too expensive, I am afraid it will be difficult to promote!" ”

Su Song only considers the cost of cement, and it is also not as far-reaching as Zhao Yan thinks, this is not that he is short-sighted, but in his position, as an ordnance supervisor, he only considers the impact of cement on the Great Song Dynasty, and will never think of the consequences of the method of making cement in case it is obtained by the enemy country, this kind of thing should be considered by several ministers in the court, as well as Zhao Shu.

"Haha, the raw materials needed for cement are very simple, most of them are common things, and the firing method is also not complicated, I will write down the raw materials I need, and you will immediately order someone to do it, and then we will do a test, it should be easy to fire!" Zhao Yan also laughed when he heard this, and said, The raw materials needed for cement are nothing more than limestone, clay and gypsum, these things are very easy to obtain, although Zhao Yan does not know the price of the Great Song Dynasty, but it should be very cheap.

At the moment, Zhao Yan listed the three raw materials needed, Su Song saw the raw materials on the list, and he was also relieved, as a qualified weapons supervisor, he is very familiar with the prices of some common raw materials, Zhao Yan wrote about limestone and clay everywhere, only need to pay some manual mining, as for gypsum is more expensive, but Zhao Yan wrote very clearly that the amount of gypsum needed is small, so the cost of cement should not be high.

Su Shi immediately asked people to get the raw materials, and Zhao Yan asked Su Song again at this time: "Judge Su, do you know where there is a lime kiln?" ”

Hearing Zhao Yan's question, Su Song was stunned for a moment, and then immediately replied: "King Qiyu, when the ordnance supervisor makes zuò weapons, some places need a lot of lime, so the ordnance supervisor has set up a special lime kiln, which is next to the gunpowder department outside the city!" ”

"Great, let's go to the lime kiln and try to burn the cement as soon as possible, so that I can also show it to my father and the emperor!" Zhao Yan said excitedly again when he heard this. (To be continued......) R1292