Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

The cudgel of the Beijing police finally fell on the heads of the Beijing officials two days later. A total of forty-eight people were dismissed, demoted, and ordered to serve, which directly woke up all the sleeping hearts.

The unusual events that followed, as well as the intriguing trends in Ming Pao, made people realize that with the initial results of economic reforms, the political reforms were becoming more and more unstoppable.

Wash away the old dust and make everything new.

"With the new year and new weather, you should freshen up, shouldn't your face be covered with dust and your temples be as frosty as frost!"

Looking at the miscellaneous servants moving furniture and documents back and forth in the yamen, Jiang Xinghuo said with a rare smile while wiping the table himself.

In order to distinguish them from the various departments, the chiefs of the internal departments in the President's Reform Affairs Office still use the prefix "promotion" with the nature of temporary assignments, and this kind of thing is a relatively vague concept, which can make you grow If you stay there for a long time, it will eventually become a regular official position. For example, the commander-in-chief, governor, and governor-general of the Ming Dynasty can also be temporary assignments. Although they have great power, they will be withdrawn when they are withdrawn. Officially, No one can say anything.

But no matter what, things are still developing in a good direction.

The two vice-presidents of the presidential reform affairs yamen, Dingguo Gong Xu Jingchang and Rongguo Gong Yao Guangxiao, were promoted to the Industrial Department and the Commercial Department respectively. As for the Municipal Shipping Department, the original Zhejiang political participant Zhao Wei was transferred to the Banking Department. Zhu Heng from the bank is responsible for the promotion.

In addition, Guo Jing was promoted to the ambassador of the Ming Pao Office (eighth grade) and was responsible for matters related to the Ming Pao. Chai Che continued to stay with Jiang Xinghuo and was responsible for the confidentiality of documents.

Among the four divisions, except for the Banking Division, which is relatively small overall and its business is still in its infancy, the other divisions are relatively large.

For example, the Department of Industry merged the Ordnance Bureau and Cannon Foundry (under the jurisdiction of the iron smelting yard) that originally belonged to the Ministry of Industry, as well as the War Bureau of the Inner Court. In addition, there are a number of mines, workshops, manufacturing plants, etc.

Needless to say, the Municipal Shipping Department, the restarted Guangzhou "Huaiyuan City Shipping Company", Quanzhou "Laiyuan City Shipping Company", and Ningbo "Anyuan City Shipping Company" are all directly affiliated here. Zhao Fan has a lot of experience in sea trade. It is easy to use. In addition, the supervision of ocean commodity insurance, futures and other businesses is also under the responsibility of the Shipping Department.

As for Zhao Wan's own promotion, it was a matter of benevolence and wisdom. Whether he gave the emperor an excuse to be attacked or simply pointed out his unquestioning attitude towards employing people when he was in charge, in short, people were used, and Jiang Xinghuo During this period of time in charge, many people will continue to be used.

The Commercial Department is large in scale, but compared to other agencies in other yamen, it can be said that everything is in ruins waiting to be revitalized. The Hongwu Dynasty was a serious "emphasis on agriculture and suppression of business." Now with the completion of the 2.1 million tael bet, the trend has quietly begun to turn to " "All the people are based" and "open up the sea and prosper the country", but due to the poor foundation of domestic business, coupled with the damage to the domestic economy during the four years of Jingnan, it basically started from scratch, which was a huge challenge for Yao Guangxiao test.

Well, at best, this is called "enough room for improvement."

"three things."

The old monk looked at Jiang Xinghuo who was cleaning the table and said slowly.

"Just tell me."

Jiang Xinghuo wiped it more diligently, wishing he could make this broken table sparkle.

"This year's military expenditures are very large. The construction of Beijing City, the reduction of vassals, and the northern expedition to Mongolia are all major expenditures. Therefore, domestic commerce, especially the commerce in the core area of ​​​​South Zhili, must be invigorated, otherwise maritime trade alone will not be enough. , the salt tax will also have to be implemented."

"I know, let's pave the road first. News came from the workshop that the cement road will be finished in the next two days. When the snow melts and the weather gets warmer in spring, we can start paving it quickly."

Generally speaking, cement roads are usually paved in the summer. Some people choose not to choose spring, because the ground will still be affected by low temperatures in spring, which will lead to cracking, sanding, etc., and the cement floor will freeze after it is frozen. , also affects the service life, but there is no such problem in summer.

But considering that it is impossible to pave roads during the rainy season in the summer in Jiangnan, and paving roads is a big project, so it must be done after the beginning of spring and before the rainy season comes.

If you want to build roads before getting rich, and if you want domestic business exchanges to flow smoothly, then in the most prosperous and prosperous Jiangnan, you must build a start-to-point trade road network. The main roads connect between major prefectures and counties, so that business can be restored.

"How about this plan?"

Yao Guangxiao handed a Kan map to Jiang Xinghuo, with a line drawn on it with charcoal.

Nanjing-Longtan-Dantu (Zhenjiang Fucheng)-Danyang-Wujin (Changzhou Fucheng)-Wuxi-Wangting-Hushuguan-Changzhou (Suzhou Fucheng)-Kunshan-Jiading-Shanghai-Huating (Songjiang Fucheng)

The dotted lines at the back draw Jiaxing, Huzhou, Qiantang, Shaoxing, Ningbo and other places.

"It will definitely not be completed within the first half of this year."

Jiang Xinghuo only glanced at it and said firmly.

There was no other reason. He had measured this road with his own legs and feet. It looked like a plain on the map, but there were many hills and lakes. Although it was the best trade route in the Ming Dynasty's southern core economic region, he wanted to take it. It is impossible to pave such a long road in half a year.

"I don't expect it to be completed in one go this year. It is good to plan to complete it in one and a half years. It will be paved in sections. This year, the Nanjing-Longtan-Dantu (Zhenjiang Prefecture)-Danyang-Wujin (Changzhou Prefecture) section will be paved first. Wujin It is the north-south intersection of the Grand Canal, which is equivalent to integrating all the commerce and trade in Nanjing and the west of Nanjing into the 'major artery' of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal."

"Actually I think"

Jiang Xinghuo finally put down the rag and looked at the map carefully. After pondering for a long time, he said: "Just from the perspective of economic exchanges, the western section is of little significance."

"The reason is also simple. The western section from Nanjing to Dantu actually has the Yangtze River waterway as a route. Although the transportation network starting from Nanjing is paved and merged into the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, the political achievements look good, but in fact, if you look closely, it is really not as good as Starting from the eastern section, even from Ningbo, Shaoxing, Qiantang, Jiaxing and Huzhou in Zhejiang Province, all the way to Huating and Shanghai in Songjiang Prefecture, the economic significance of this is much greater than that of the western section."

Jiang Xinghuo is telling the truth. The Yangtze River shipping can be used as a substitute in the western section, and the role of land transportation is not obvious. However, in the Taihu Lake area and along Hangzhou Bay, if there are point-to-point high-speed trade routes on land, the speed of material flow will be Significant increase.

There is another significance here, that is, Ningbo's "Anyuan Shipping Department" is responsible for the main trade volume with Japan, North Korea, Ryukyu and other places. Whether it is import or export, if the land trade route in the eastern section can be built first Okay, then it will greatly increase efficiency and revenue.

In contrast, the trade route starting from Nanjing in the western section has more political significance than economic significance. If you insist on starting from Nanjing, you are putting the cart before the horse.

"Then let's start from Zhejiang and ask Zhao Fang to say hello to Anyuan Shipping Department." Yao Guangxiao nodded slightly.

"Actually, there are also selfish motives at work."

Jiang Xinghuo said frankly: "It's easy to do things in Zhejiang and Jiangnan now."

This is true. Whether it is Zhao He, who was just mentioned, or the former Zhejiang Chief Secretary Zuo Shenzheng, and the current Zhejiang Inspector Xin Yanbo, they are all officials who have a relatively high degree of cooperation in the chaos of Jiangnan's governance, and they also support the reform. , because they naturally benefited from the reform, and except for officials in the Zhejiang prefectures, such as Wang Shijie, the prefect of Yangzhou Prefecture, Zhang Yulin, the prefect of Changzhou Prefecture, and Zhang Shouyue, the prefect of Songjiang Prefecture, these people had a lot of dealings with Jiang Xinghuo and were promoted When faced with reform measures, the local officials in Jiangnan who have risen up will basically not act in disobedience, but will try their best to cooperate. In this way, the reform policies will be easier to implement in Zhejiang and Jiangnan.

"The salt tax reform can only be changed after Shenfa Temple promulgates a new salt law. Regarding the cement concrete matter, we will go to the workshop together in two days to see it. In addition, if you want to generate income quickly, I am afraid you have to wait for the perfume industry. The workshop has been put into large-scale production. It’s just a matter of these few days. Let’s go and see it together then.”

The old monk continued: "The matter of official administration has also been drawn up."

"oh?"

Jiang Xinghuo looked at him in surprise, so well-informed? Anyway, Jiang Xinghuo hasn't received the news yet.

"The Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Jin Yiwei jointly launched a joint operation."

This is not surprising. It seems that this time the hawks and dogs are out in force, so it should be nothing to him.

"But we have to cooperate."

"Okay, let's wait for Chen Ying and the others to move. If they don't move, we won't move either."

"One last thing."

Yao Guangxiao's white eyebrows trembled, rarely hesitating.

"The minister of Taichang Temple is currently vacant. According to the old rules of the country, Yuan Gong is the most suitable candidate. But the thought of Qiu Xuanqing is somewhat disgusting."

"Why does it involve Yuan Gong?"

Jiang Xinghuo was startled. Although the Ming Dynasty was only about thirty years old, there were already many ancient events in the temples that were worth pondering. These were things Jiang Xinghuo barely understood. After Yao Guangxiao explained, he understood.

The minister of Taichang Temple is the third rank, in charge of national sacrificial rituals and music.

In terms of rank, in the Hongwu Dynasty Yuan Gong was the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and he was also a third-rank official. If he returns to the official position, his rank will be no problem, and Yuan Gong's prestige is not low in the hearts of Zhu Di and even the Jingnan nobles. He has a lot of help and little resistance. It will be huge.

The problem is that there is another allusion here.

In the Hongwu Dynasty, there was a Taichang Temple minister who had gone through more than ten years of bloody storms and witnessed the dramatic changes in the temple in the last years of Hongwu.

This minister of Taichang Temple was very trusted by Zhu Yuanzhang, and coincidentally, he was also a Taoist priest.

He is Qiu Xuanqing.

He became a monk from Quanzhen Taoist Huang Dezhen at a young age and studied Taoism. In the early years of Hongwu, he visited Wudang Mountain and met the legendary figure Zhang Sanfeng. He inherited Zhang Sanfeng's Taoism and was appointed by Zhang Sanfeng to preside over Wulong Palace.

The first time Qiu Xuanqing appeared in historical records was "The Holy Emperor Ji Tang Yu Yongxi reigned. At night, he meditated and ordered all the people in the world to visit and ask for them. Woye. In the spring of the 14th year of Hongwu, there was a man from Wudang in Xiangyang Jun, named Qiu Jun Xuanqing." The translation means that Lao Zhu wanted to find a master, and this master was Qiu Xuanqing.

As Zhang Sanfeng's disciple, Qiu Xuanqing's level is certainly needless to say, and he is not only profound in Taoism, he has also presided over Wulong Palace for many years, and his administrative ability is also good. Lao Zhu directly assigned him to the post of Minister of Taichang Temple.

Is it appropriate for a Taoist priest to be the Minister of Taichang Temple?

It's so appropriate. Taichang Temple is responsible for ceremonial sacrifices. As Taoist priests, the most suitable job for them is to preside over sacrificial activities. Historical records record that "when asked about sunny and rainy days, Xuanqing's antithesis has come true." That is to say, for sunny and rainy days, yin and yang, Qiu Xuanqing could always predict whether it would be a good year or a disaster year. When Zhu Yuanzhang was offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, he would often ask Qiu Xuanqing, and Qiu Xuanqing could always give an answer that satisfied Zhu Yuanzhang.

Qiu Xuanqing worked in the post of Minister of Taichang Temple for more than ten years, until the 26th year of Hongwu. When he realized that his end was approaching, Qiu Xuanqing said to his disciples Pu Shanyuan, Ma Shanning and others, "I must thank God for his kindness and give up my life." Then he took a bath and changed clothes. He died sitting upright at the age of sixty-seven. Lao Zhu specially issued an imperial edict and sent Zhang Zhi, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, to "sacrifice the spirit of Qiu Xuanqing, Taichang Qing", which is the highest standard of treatment for a Taoist priest.

But what is shocking is that Changchun real man Qiu Chuji once committed suicide in order to practice Taoism. Qiu Xuanqing followed in Qiu Chuji's footsteps and resolutely committed suicide. There are rumors among the government and the public that it is related to Lao Zhu forcibly giving Qiu Xuanqing a palace maid. As for whether it is true or not, There is no way to verify it.

Therefore, old man Yuan Gong is already at this age and has been serving as an official for many years. It is difficult to say whether he should be allowed to serve as an official again, especially whether he should take over the position of Minister of Taichang Temple, which is very metaphysical for Taoist priests.

Jiang Xinghuo responded: "I'll go ask him. If you don't want to, there's nothing I can do."

The three temples under the guidance of the Ministry of Rites are Honglu Temple, Guanglu Temple, and Taichang Temple. The minister of Honglu Temple is Xie Jin, and the minister of Guanglu Temple is Huang Ziwei, the former Songjiang magistrate. If Yuan Gong can be brought to Taichang Temple In terms of location, at the level of six temples, it can occupy half of the country.

While the two were talking, there was a sudden knock on the door.

Chai Che said numbly outside: "National Master, Duke Ding said there is news from the cement workshop."

When Jiang Xinghuo heard this, he immediately became happy, threw the rag on the stone on the window sill, and immediately pulled the old monk out.

"Ask Wang Bin to prepare horses and chariots."

At this time, Jiang Xinghuo seemed to remember something again and said again.

"By the way, tell Guo Jing again and ask Ming Pao to arrange an exclusive interview with the Prime Minister of Guanglu Temple, Gaozhi, and ask him to talk about Xunzi's thoughts."

River for transporting grain.

Along the bluestone road along the river bank, Jiang Xinghuo slowly rode forward.

The New Year has just passed, and the ice on the river has not yet melted. The shops on the shore opened their doors, and half of the red silk was still hanging on the corners of the eaves. Even if you look closely, you can still see the remains of firecrackers in the cracks of the stone slabs.

There are not many residents on this street next to the Yunliang River, but it is the most prosperous place in the eight villages nearby, because after the fertilizer workshop and the glass workshop, the cement workshop and the perfume workshop were also built adjacent to this place. .

The reason is also very simple, to highlight a location advantage.

The Yunliang River has water transportation and can go directly to Nanjing City and then merge into the Yangtze River. There are Tangshan Coal Mines around this place. In addition, there are also a large number of working people with professional skills around, including those who dig, make pottery, and make baskets. Everything is there.

Not everyone can be as high-spirited as they were when they were young, imagining that they are the protagonists of this world. At least when Jiang Xinghuo rode a little gray horse by the roadside, he looked at the ragged man sitting on the street steps waiting to recruit workers. When we were young people, we didn’t see much light in their eyes. They probably no longer believed that there was still light in this world.

Jiang Xinghuo suddenly thought of something.

——"Education is long-term and lagging. I wrote on the geography test paper many years ago that the location advantage of this place is that it has abundant cheap labor resources. It was not until many years later that I discovered that the cheap labor force was myself. At this point, education was completed. closed loop."

Jiang Xinghuo reined in his horse, jumped down and asked.

"Little brother, where are you from?"

Several young people carried poles on their shoulders, their eyes lowered, and they looked at Jiang Xinghuo's mud-stained cowhide boots without saying a word. They just shrank and cuddled, and then consciously arched their bodies inside. Jiang Xinghuo He repeated it again before someone answered in words he didn't quite understand.

"We are from Wuhu."

It is normal for people to have different pronunciations and customs for ten miles south of the Yangtze River. Although Wuhu is not far from Nanjing and can be reached by boat down the river in less than half a day, the customs and accents are quite different from those in Nanjing. They are quite young, especially these young people, who probably come from the relatively remote countryside of Wuhu.

After some conversation, Jiang Xinghuo learned that these people heard from distant relatives in the same village that Nanjing was recruiting workers. They thought that they would not be able to do well in their hometown, so they boldly left their hometowns and came to Nanjing to beg for food.

The distant relatives in the same village probably didn't lie to them, but there was a problem with the timeliness of the news. By the time they arrived here, the workshop was already full.

I ran out of money and ended up living on the street. I couldn't go back. I could only think of finding something to do in a small town near the Yunliang River. Unfortunately, I didn't have any professional skills. Laborers and trackers had their own systems. Even if I wanted to No one wants to sell their strength.

And the most troublesome thing is that under the Ming Dynasty's "double book" and "road guide" system, the movement of these people is actually very laborious.

The reason why we want to establish a handicraft workshop area in Jiangnan is because there is a large local labor force in Jiangnan and there are many female workers who are skilled in cotton weaving. And whether these female workers gather or work in Songjiang Prefecture, they will not cause serious damage to the existing social structure. destroy.

The same principle applies to the workshop area on the Yunliang River side. People come from all over the country to do the work. First, they know the basics, and second, the overall situation is controllable.

But it is foreseeable that with the development of industry and commerce, there will be more and more migrant laborers like these young people from Wuhu, and the highly commercialized and industrialized core cities will show an obvious siphon. effect.

At that time, it may be impossible to cover up the truth and try not to destroy the old core system as we do now.

"Follow me. I'll talk to the steward next to the bridge."

Jiang Xinghuo sighed secretly. Now he no longer wanted to help everyone in the world. He could only adhere to the principle of taking care of one thing at a time and do his best.

When they arrived at the bridge in front of the workshop, Jiang Xinghuo asked the guards around him to speak to the steward in charge, giving these young men a chance to work hard, and immediately entered the gate of the workshop area.

Xu Jingchang, Dingguogong of the Tiju Industrial Department, and Zhang Yuchu, who was in charge of this workshop area, were standing in front of one of the large workshops, where the cement workshop was located.

At this moment, there are three or four bullock carts parked outside the courtyard wall of this large workshop.

Under the welcome of everyone, Jiang Xinghuo, Yao Guangxiao and others walked into the workshop. In addition to the guards, there were also many officials from the yamen.

This time it was an internal acceptance inspection. The main acceptance inspections were cement roads and concrete walls. Moreover, cement roads are mainly for commercial use and are not urgently needed for military use. Only concrete walls will be used in bastions, so the Fifth Army Governor's Office was not called. people come together.

"I have heard about what you are doing for a long time. I didn't expect to be able to come and see it in person so soon. I am very happy!"

Yao Guangxiao smiled and asked: "I wonder how confident you are about this experiment?"

The test he was referring to was naturally a face-to-face test of cement qualification rate and reliability.

After all, things like cement are not just made and finished. So much effort and time were wasted before, just to test out the best ratio.

In addition, the concrete made of cement also plays a more important role as a bastion material. This is an important military matter and must not be sloppy in the slightest.

Hearing Yao Guangxiao's words, Xu Jingchang certainly understood the meaning, and quickly and respectfully replied: "Don't worry, our workshop has been following instructions these days, working day and night, and with the joint efforts of the craftsmen, this will be The progress of the project is advancing rapidly. The time is ahead of schedule, and the quality is definitely no problem."

Obviously, there is also a gap in status between the princes.

After listening to Xu Jingchang's words, Yao Guangxiao nodded slightly to express satisfaction: "Yes, it seems that he has really worked hard, so we'll see!"

Jiang Xinghuo said: "Let's look at the cement road first, and then the concrete wall."

Xu Jingchang motioned to Zhang Yuchu to lead the way and led everyone to the side path, with Jiang Xinghuo and others following behind him.

On the main access road of the workshop, a cement road has been repaired, leading directly to the Yunliang River Terminal, allowing transport ships to unload cargo smoothly. However, this cement road is not being inspected today. It needs to be inspected at the front.

"This cement road is pretty good. It's much stronger than the previous roads."

Yao Guangxiao walked on the road and exclaimed.

Jiang Xinghuo stamped his foot hard, but there was no reaction when the hard sole of his boots stepped on it.

After passing this area, there is a small square, which is the real venue.

There were several roads paved with cement on the square, and they looked like they had just been paved. Xu Jingchang motioned for them to look to the side.

As a comparison group, next to several cement roads, there are also several common road surfaces in the Ming Dynasty, such as bluestone roads, brick roads, gravel roads, and loess roads.

There is a room in the front where specialized craftsmen evaluate the quality of cement and the effectiveness of adhesives and give corresponding data.

Seeing everyone coming, a craftsman immediately came up to him and said, "Ding Guogong, this is the cement test report! Please take a look."

As he spoke, several craftsmen brought out several piles of documents, with many numbers and words densely written on them.

These are detailed records of the progress of the project, including cement materials, adhesive effects and setting time, etc.

Xu Jingchang nodded and distributed the documents to everyone. Jiang Xinghuo also picked up a piece of paper and read it carefully.

"Yes, you did a good job!"

After reading it, Yao Guangxiao nodded and praised: "It seems that he took it seriously, and this road is much better than expected!"

The craftsman immediately beamed with joy when he heard this, and Xu Jingchang was even more excited. This matter was his main responsibility, and he naturally wanted to make everyone satisfied with the performance of the project.

However, these things are useless just looking at the data, they must be seen to be believed.

"Bring the hammer." Jiang Xinghuo suddenly said.

Not long after, someone next to him handed him a hammer.

Jiang Xinghuo weighed the small hammer in his hand, and then he started swinging it. Hearing a clang sound, the hammer hit the cement floor hard. In just a split second, a very shallow crack appeared on the originally flat cement floor. groove.

Jiang Xinghuo followed suit and hammered several cement pavements one by one, then tested the hardness of the bluestone pavement, then withdrew his arm and threw the hammer to the ground.

The craftsmen beside him looked at Jiang Xinghuo in surprise. They did not expect that the national master had such strong arm strength, and he did not look like a thin scholar at all.

Jiang Xinghuo said calmly: "It seems that the quality of the cement is indeed good."

It was indeed okay, it made his arm hurt from the shock.

Next, various fully loaded or even overloaded horse-drawn carriages and ox-carts passed through the road, and they even tested the effect of the road after it was burned by fire and rain.

"It's a pity that there is no steamroller." Jiang Xinghuo muttered in his heart.

Seeing that no one had any objections, Zhang Yuchu said happily: "Then let's go to the concrete venue."

At the other end of the workshop area, many concrete walls have been completed.

But after Yao Guangxiao carefully inspected the exterior wall, his face suddenly became serious: "From this observation, the thickness of the concrete walls you constructed seems to be generally thicker than ordinary walls. Why is this?"

The group of people also frowned and looked at these concrete walls with some confusion.

Xu Jingchang quickly explained: "This is cast according to the standards of a bastion. Please come inside to see it."

Sure enough, behind the concrete wall, a thick concrete column would be erected at regular intervals, with the overall shape being oval.

"There are steel load-bearing columns inside for support."

On another section of the concrete wall, there is a thick roof piled up, which seems to be prepared to resist the attack of enemy artillery or counterweight trebuchets.

But even so, these blue-gray concrete walls obviously do not bring any sense of security to visitors.

For people who don't understand all this, it always makes people feel that if this concrete wall is attacked, it may collapse directly, which is far less reassuring than the traditional masonry structure.

"Try it."

There is no point in talking more, now is the time to see the real chapter.

Immediately afterwards, the same test was started for the concrete wall and the comparison group next to it, that is, the rammed earth wall and the bluestone glutinous rice slurry wall.

First, hit with a sledgehammer, then hit the iron cone with a sledgehammer. These traditional testing methods handed down from the Qin Dynasty obviously did not get any results. Whether it is a concrete wall, a rammed earth wall, or a bluestone glutinous rice slurry wall, it is not an iron cone. The rammed earth wall inside can be broken through with two knocks. Even though it is made of earth, it is so compacted that even iron tools cannot do anything about it.

Subsequent tests began to gradually increase in intensity.

From siege engines to rams, and even field artillery bombardments, all methods of destroying walls that could be used in war were used.

The final conclusion is very exciting.

"With this kind of material, even if all the current offensive methods are used, it may not be able to penetrate it!"

Yao Guangxiao naturally understands war. He is a strategist who has fought in big battles. He has a ruthless military vision. Before, he was not sure that what he heard was false, but now that seeing is believing, he immediately judged that this kind of concrete wall is in war. role in.

"Is it so powerful!"

Hearing Yao Guangxiao's words, the other officials around him were a little shocked. Not to mention gasping, they were also a little confused anyway.

They had heard of concrete before, but no one expected that a puddle of mud-like bluish-gray substance on the ground would actually become indestructible after solidification.

The most important thing is that this blue-gray wall, no matter how you look at it, is just an ordinary earth wall!

The final result was beyond everyone's expectations.

Even if these walls are faced with solid artillery shells, the main structure can be kept intact. These heavy instruments cannot cause too much damage to them and can only leave a shallow crater.

Therefore, conventional means are almost impossible to completely penetrate it.

what to do? This wall is too hard, there is nothing we can do!

"Evacuate, we're going to get the big guy."

A big guy indeed.

Only when the magnitude of the test continues to increase, and the heaviest counterweight trebuchet is used, which is the same type used by the Mongols to attack Xiangyang, and the stones thrown are almost as big as a washbasin, will the concrete wall be tested? Caused obvious damage.

The counterweight trebuchet can also cause damage to reinforced concrete load-bearing columns, but the effect is not obvious, and the load-bearing columns can still have a structural effect.

In the end, gunpowder was added directly.

Faced with a large amount of gunpowder blasting, no wall can be spared.

Looking at the collapsed wall in front of him, Xu Jingchang smiled bitterly and said: "The only thing we hope for now is that the enemy does not have as much gunpowder as we do."

"Tamerlane certainly didn't have much gunpowder, but he didn't necessarily have a heavy trebuchet."

"So although concrete is strong, it is by no means indestructible. It is still necessary to build bastions according to local conditions and time conditions. Of course, if the concrete is built thick enough, there is nothing a heavy trebuchet can do."

At this time, an official from the Yamenli Industrial Department asked curiously: "There are dust storms in the northwest, and the weather is hot and cold. Under such weather conditions, can such a concrete unit withstand the invasion?"

Everyone also fell into deep thought. Many things in this world seemed indestructible, but in the end they could not withstand the erosion of time.

Whether concrete is one of them is unknown.

In fact, even the Great Wall built by Qin Shihuang is now nothing more than a pile of loess. At that time, these walls could not be pierced by the serving civilians with iron awls.

"Of course, otherwise how can this thing be used to build a fort?"

Jiang Xinghuo affirmed: "This concrete can be said to be the best building material in the world that can be obtained artificially. It can withstand fire for a long time. As for the climate in the northwest, the hot and cold weather will definitely have an impact on the concrete wall itself. It will cause cracks, but the impact on the overall structure will not be particularly large.”

Overall, Jiang Xinghuo was satisfied with the cement workshop's acceptance results for cement roads and concrete walls.

You really can't expect concrete walls and houses to be indestructible, but this is already a leap forward. The bastion can completely make up for its lack of defense by relying on its thickness.