After many days, Pingxiang Bo Chen Huai finally appeared.

Daming has always been very cautious about this kind of thing, this time in the reward list, there are only three people who have been promoted to the title, namely the British Duke Zhang Fu, promoted to the king of the county, Xiangcheng Bo Li Zhen, promoted to Xiangcheng Marquis, Fan Zhong, the commander of the Praetorian Guard, and promoted to Zhongwu Bo.

Zhang Fu was the deputy commander of the expedition of the army, and served as the commander-in-chief after the emperor went deep into Mobei.

It is worth mentioning that those who are not satisfied are locked up in the prison of the Criminal Department!

Li Zhen and Fan Zhong followed the emperor all the way from Mobei, and it was natural for them to be promoted to the title.

As for other nobles, such as Chen Ying, the commander of the Shenji Battalion, they did not receive this honor.

Chen Huai's name did not appear in the promotion list, and he only got the false title of prince Shaobao.

However, his mind is not here now, but to devote himself to the construction of the Ming Dynasty.

In his opinion, as long as he can complete the tasks assigned by the emperor on time, he is more satisfied than being a marquis.

At the beginning, the emperor personally ordered that this thing was not only necessary for the construction of the Martyrs' Shrine, but also inseparable from the infrastructure of the entire Ming Dynasty in the future.

Finally, it worked!

At the moment of successful development, he finally understood the emperor's deep meaning.

The seemingly ordinary gray powder produced by mixing lime and clay in a three-to-one ratio and calcining it at high temperature in a kiln is even harder than stone when exposed to water!

Chen Huai immediately thought that it would not be too convenient to use this thing to build houses, build roads and bridges in the future!

In the past, the price of stone and wood required was expensive, not to mention, transportation is a big problem, there are no mountains in the plains, and the stone needs to be transported from the mountains, and most of the tall trees are concentrated in the Yunnan-Guizhou area, and they are transported from the deep mountains and old forests, and the cost is extremely high.

Now, only limestone and clay are needed to calcine cement, which is low cost and convenient to transport, which can greatly improve the efficiency and quality of construction.

When Zhu Qizhen saw Chen appear in front of him with a big stone pier in his arms, his first reaction was a little confused.

"Uncle Pingxiang, what are you doing here?"

"Your Majesty, look!"

Chen Huai threw the big stone pier to the ground, making a muffled thud.

The Han general, who was not far away, glanced keenly over this side, and when he saw that there was no situation, he continued to stand guard.

Only then did Zhu Qizhen realize that something was wrong, squatted down to study it carefully, and suddenly realized.

"Success?"

Chen Huai laughed and said: "Actually, it's not difficult, there is no problem with the ratio of raw materials, the key is that the temperature is not easy to control, and later the minister found that Xishan produces coal, so he tried to use coal as fuel, the temperature is much higher than charcoal, and it became all of a sudden!" ”

Zhu Qizhen turned his head and asked, "Huaien, you go to the Ministry of Works, and let Lu Xiang, the left attendant of the Ministry of Works, come over to see me immediately!" ”

The construction of the Martyrs' Shrine was presided over by Lu Xiang, the left attendant of the Ministry of Works, this person has a great background, has presided over the construction of the Forbidden City, and is very good at stone carving, today we see the two giant pillars in front of the Chengtian Gate Huabiao is its representative work.

Lu Xiang is seventy years old this year, and he was urged by Huai'en to trot almost all the way to the Imperial Garden.

"The emperor summoned you, why did you go to the Imperial Garden?"

"Our family doesn't know, it seems to be related to the construction of the Martyrs' Shrine."

"What does the construction of the Martyrs' Shrine have to do with the Imperial Garden?"

"The emperor is discussing with the townsman about peace and mud!"

Lu Xiang's face was full of question marks: "And mud? ”

Wynne sneered, "This...... We don't understand. ”

By the time Lu Xiang came to Zhu Qizhen, he was already out of breath.

"Old minister...... See ......"

"The Qing family doesn't have to be polite, Wynne, look at the seat!"

Huai En moved two brocade piers over, and Chen Huai and Lu Xiang thanked him in unison.

"Lu Qing, did you get the revised drawings?"

Lu Xiang looked a little strange and said, "Please forgive the old minister, the emperor's revised drawings ...... The old minister really couldn't understand it. ”

Zhu Qizhen asked, "What don't you understand?" ”

"Your Majesty, if you remove the masonry and wood, don't you remove the bones of people? If a person does not have the support of bones, how can he stand? ”

"I haven't already indicated that the main structure is built by pouring method."

Lu Xiang frowned and said, "It's even more unreasonable here, pouring ...... What kind of mud, after drying, is just adobe, if the farmhouse builds a few tile houses, it will fall, but to build such a large ancestral hall, this ...... How can it be? ”

Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and said, "Uncle Pingxiang, you can show Lu Qing's family a demonstration!" ”

Chen Huai nodded, immediately took out half a bag of cement, and poured it on the ground.

"Wait a minute!"

I saw Chen Huai looking around, and then found a few bricks to build a rectangular space.

Then, I found a bucket of water and poured it directly on the cement, stirred it with a shovel, and then filled it into the brick wall.

Lu Xiang was confused and asked, "This is the end?" ”

"It's over!"

Chen Huai nodded, and said, "Next, we have to wait." ”

"What are you waiting for?"

"Waiting to solidify!"

Lu Xiang was still puzzled, stretched out his finger and poked it, and asked again, "How long to wait?" ”

"It takes at least half a day to fully solidify, but the effect can be seen in an hour."

"That's just right!" Zhu Qizhen looked at the sky and said, "Lunch is almost ready, and the two Qing family will eat with me." ”

Chen Huai is a martial artist, and he is a friend who kills the enemy side by side with the emperor, so he will naturally not be polite to have a meal.

Lu Xiang wanted to excuse himself, but he was full of doubts about this cement, so he also agreed.

After lunch, the monarchs and ministers returned to the imperial garden again, and it was only about half an hour later.

Lu Xiang walked over and looked at it, as if he was no different from Fang Cai, and poked it with his finger again, suddenly stunned.

He was a little incredible, and thought it was an illusion, so he poked it again, yes, it was hard!

Chen Huai said: "Lu Shilang, wait a little longer, it's almost ready!" ”

However, Lu Xiang couldn't wait, so he opened the bricks and took out the cement pier inside.

At this time, the cement has already set in the first place, and although it has not yet dried, it has already demonstrated its powerful function.

"This ...... This is...... What? ”

Chen Huai was puzzled: "Didn't I tell you, this is cement!" ”

"This is cement?"

Lu Xiang looked excited, trembling and put down the cement pier, then picked up a brick and smashed it hard.

The bricks were suddenly broken in two, and the cement pier was also smashed into a gap, and it was obvious that it was still wet inside.

"I told you that I haven't done it yet!" Chen Huai pointed to the stone pier on the side and said, "You smash that, that one is dry!" ”

Lu Xiang came to the stone pier that Chen Huai was holding again, and after taking a closer look, he lifted a brick and smashed it.

Syllable!

This time, the bricks were smashed, but the cement pier was still intact, not even the skin was cut.

"It's simply ...... Artifact! ”

Lu Xiang bowed his head and said excitedly: "There is no problem with the emperor's drawings, but the old minister is shallow, and the construction of the martyrs' shrine will be carried out according to the emperor's drawings!" ”

Zhu Qizhen nodded and said: "The matter is so decided, but there is one thing, it must be completed before the end of the year, otherwise the weather is too cold and the cement cannot be solidified, which will affect the quality of the project." ”

Lu Xiang thought for a while, and then said: "During this time, there is less rain and the weather is dry, and the old minister guarantees that it will be completed within three months!" ”

"Uncle Pingxiang!" Zhu Qizhen turned his head and said, "Regarding the production method of cement, it is temporarily classified as highly confidential, and anyone who dares to leak it will be punished as treason!" ”

Chen Huai's heart sank, and he hurriedly replied: "The minister obeys the order!" ”