Chapter 118 Striving for Perfection
"Sir, what are you doing..." Old Liu was a little unsure of Zhu Chong's intention.
The requirement Zhu Chong had given him before was that the things he made should be well-shaped and solid. In his opinion, the big lump of mud in front of him was definitely much better than the lime used to build houses.
But after Zhu Chong carefully broke up the cement blocks, he broke up some larger ones, shook his head and sighed, "There's something wrong with the mix, Old Liu, we have to redo it."
"Ah?" Old Liu looked incredulous, but since Zhu Chong had already given the order, he didn't say much and agreed to start looking for someone to redo it.
This happened almost every day in the following days.
Old Liu kept modifying the proportions of raw materials given to him by Zhu Chong, making cement blocks, and showing them to Zhu Chong after they solidified.
But almost without exception, the experiments that lasted for several days ended in failure, which made Old Liu so worried that his hair turned white. Even the wages Zhu Chong gave him were meaningless.
It was also because of this that Old Liu became obsessed with the raw materials of cement. He devoted himself to research and experiments all day long, while Zhu Chong was busy slacking off until the morning of that day.
"Sir, I did it, I really did it, just as you said, come and see!" When it was time to roll call, Old Liu rushed in from outside and dragged Zhu Chong out.
Zhu Chong was a little dazed, but he quickly reacted. Seeing Old Liu looking crazy, he couldn't help but smack his lips. He wondered if he had pushed the old man too hard. It seemed like he was going crazy.
When we arrived at the lime kiln, there were already many craftsmen gathered in front of it watching the fun.
The recent news that Zhu Chong asked Old Liu to make cement has spread throughout the Baochao Tizhusi.
Knowing that what Old Liu had made for many days in a row had not met Zhu Chong's requirements, everyone couldn't help but be curious about what kind of treasure Old Liu would make in the end.
"Sir, look, this is it!" Old Liu pulled Zhu Chong to the lime kiln, pointed at a formed cement board on the ground, and shouted excitedly to Zhu Chong.
Zhu Chong carefully examined the matte cement slab on the ground, noticing how the cement and sand had perfectly blended together and solidified into one. He nodded slightly and asked, "Have you ever hit it with a hammer?"
"I've already smashed it. Why don't you try again, sir? I guarantee that you won't be able to knock off a piece even if you hit it with a hammer!" Old Liu answered Zhu Chong confidently, his eyes full of excitement.
After all these years as a craftsman, it was the first time that Old Liu knew that something made by mixing a pile of powder with water could be so hard. No wonder Zhu Chong specifically looked for coal for this purpose. It turned out that this was the main reason!
"Let's try again." Zhu Chong noticed that the area was surrounded by curious craftsmen, and even the Jinyiwei were craning their necks to look over here. He had an idea and signaled Old Liu to call for help.
Soon, two strong men came over with big hammers and started swinging the hammers at the concrete slab.
At the same time, in the imperial palace of Yingtianfu, Zhu Yuanzhang, who had just come out of court, received Mao Xiang's report and his brows suddenly frowned.
"Has this matter really just been reported? Is it confirmed to be true?"
"I dare not deceive Your Majesty. This is the news just sent from the Baochao Tizhusi." Mao Xiang answered respectfully.
"His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin has been ordering the craftsmen of the Treasury and Banknote Administration to work day and night to create these strange artifacts. The raw materials they use are either coal slag, lime, or clay and sand. Once they are mixed with water and solidified into mud, they become as solid as a rock, indestructible!"
"The Embroidered Uniform Guard witnessed with their own eyes that several craftsmen from the Imperial Treasure Bureau took turns hitting it with 30-jin iron hammers, but they were unable to move it. This old servant felt that this was a serious matter, so I quickly reported it to Your Majesty and asked for your instructions." Mao Xiang reported the truth.
Zhu Yuanzhang was most concerned about the recent affairs concerning His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin, especially those related to the Baochao Tizhusi. Mao Xiang naturally did not dare to suppress it and let Zhu Yuanzhang know as soon as possible.
Old Zhu was indeed shocked. After the sand and mud solidified, even a hammer weighing dozens of kilograms could not move them. How was this possible?
If the Baochao Tizhusi really made such a wonderful thing, it would be a great achievement.
It has to be said that Zhu Yuanzhang had a sharp eye. Although he didn't see it with his own eyes, he immediately thought that if the mud made by the Baochao Tizhusi as Mao Xiang mentioned was taken to the northern border to repair the city walls, it would no longer be so easy for the Hu people to invade the border!
The border spends a lot of money on repairing the city walls every year, but because the raw materials are lime, bluestone bricks and glutinous rice paste, they become fragile once exposed to wind, sun, ice and snow.
Every time the Mongolian soldiers of the Northern Yuan Dynasty attacked the city, they could easily find the weak points in the city walls and quickly break into the city to plunder and kill people. This gave Zhu Yuanzhang a headache, so he always kept it in mind.
Now, he suddenly heard that Zhu Chong had made a strange object that could not be broken even by an iron hammer. Old Zhu keenly felt that it might be used to repair the city wall, and he immediately became excited.
"Come here, get up and go to the Treasury and Banknotes Administration Office."
As soon as Zhu Yuanzhang gave the order, the eunuchs immediately became busy. The palace guards, the palace gate guards, and even the Secretariat and all the civil and military officials soon got the news.
But as everyone watched, Zhu and his group went straight to the Baochao Tizhusi, but they were all confused.
I haven't heard anything about what happened at the Baochao Tizhusi recently. Then why did the emperor leave the palace?
Whenever the emperor traveled, even if it was just to leave the palace and take a walk around the inner city, it was a top-notch event in the Ming Dynasty.
There is no trivial matter in the royal family. No one believed that Zhu Yuanzhang would just leave the palace for a casual stroll, especially Prime Minister Hu Weiyong. When he learned that Zhu Yuanzhang left the palace after the morning court session, he felt a little confused.
"The Baochao Tizhusi? Zhu Chong? Did something happen in the Baochao Tizhusi?" Hu Weiyong was puzzled.
After a long while, he made up his mind and waved his hand: "Come on, prepare the car, and go to the Baochao Tizhusi."
At this moment, in the Baochao Tizhusi, when Old Liu saw Zhu Chong nod with satisfaction, he suddenly became like an old child, jumping and dancing on the spot, and he was so happy that he couldn't express it clearly.
It's true that Old Liu has been under too much pressure these days, and the craftsmen who work with him also feel a lot of pressure.
Although Zhu Chong did not say a word of blame and often encouraged them not to be anxious, to do as many mixing experiments as possible, and not to expect to achieve success overnight, no one took Zhu Chong's words seriously. Everyone worked overtime to figure out what went wrong.
Of course, it was the things that Zhu Chong instructed them to do that made them so concerned. This shows how correct Zhu Chong's decision on the attitude towards craftsmen was.
To put it bluntly, as long as people respect each other and pay enough, the other party will naturally have no reason to complain and will not meet the employer's requirements. They may even strive for excellence and perfection.
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