Sang Qian looked at Li Buyan in disbelief and asked, "Have you... found it?"
Li Buyan smiled innocently, "Yes, yes, actually I found it two days ago. I wasn't sure if it was the kaolin clay Your Highness was looking for, so I delayed it for two days. After comparing it, I was sure it was similar to what Your Highness required."
Sang Qian almost vomited blood.
If it had been discovered earlier, he might have had to "step down" later. At least he would have had an achievement to show for it, and then he would have had an explanation even if he asked his father to lobby for his transfer back to Chang'an.
What happened now? Just as he handed in the seal, good results were reported here.
If Sang Qian had not told anyone before that he was quitting, he would almost suspect that Li Buyan and the others did it on purpose.
Now I can only lament that I have a bad fate.
Liu Tan comforted Sang Qian and said, "Captain Sang is still on duty. Don't worry. Go back and rest first."
What's the point of being in this position? He didn't believe Liu Tan would speak for him.
Sang Qian left with a broken heart.
After he left, Liu Tan looked at Li Buyan with a smile: "When did you find out?"
Li Buyan chuckled and said, "Three days ago."
Liu Tan raised his eyebrows: "Then why are you saying it now?"
Li Buyan rubbed his hands and said, "Tingwei Jiang asked us to wait for two days."
Liu Tan couldn't help but slam his head and laugh. Sang Qian really didn't leak the information.
But if he had this tendency, he must have informed Huo Guang first. Huo Guang's appearance and his reputation were too deceptive. Sang Qian probably didn't expect that if Huo Guang knew it, it would be equivalent to everyone else knowing it.
So Jiang Chong went over to inform Li Buyan, and although Sang Qian had also been searching outside, it was actually his subordinates who were doing the real work.
Li Buyan was even more tired than him and had traveled more places, but precisely because of this, Li Buyan was the first to get the news.
Li Buyan directly suppressed the news, waiting for Sang Qian to be unable to bear it.
Seeing that Liu Tan was not unhappy, Li Buyan asked cautiously, "Didn't this delay His Highness's business?"
Liu Tan waved his hand: "It's nothing."
Compared to being an eyesore to Sang Qian, being late for a day or two really wasn't a big deal.
Li Buyan was immediately relieved and asked, "Then Your Highness...where are we going to dig this soil?"
Liu Tan asked, "Where did you find it?"
Li Buyan said, "It was found near Wolf Mountain, but not on the mountain itself. That's why we weren't sure if it was kaolin."
Since it is called kaolin, it should be found in a relatively high place.
Because of the name, they had been searching high up, but they never expected to find this kind of soil at the foot of the mountain.
Liu Tan hesitated for a moment and said, "Bring some back first. I want to make something and see if it can be used."
One good thing about Li Buyan is that he is obedient and doesn't ask too many questions. He will make arrangements immediately after listening.
Liu Tan put aside the exam framework he was writing and took out another piece of paper, which described the brick-making process.
In fact, firing bricks is not difficult. Before Liu Tan came here, he had seen a video in which a foreigner was building a house in the wild. He directly used soil and mud to fire bricks and tiles.
Although the final house is very simple, the principle is basically the same.
What Liu Tan is hesitating about now is whether to use hollow bricks or solid bricks?
Logically speaking, solid bricks are actually a waste of resources. Although they only use clay, clay is limited. A house built with solid bricks could probably be built twice if hollow bricks were used.
However, the problem is that Liu Tan is not sure whether the hollow bricks currently being fired are up to standard. If they are not strong enough, it will be very troublesome.
Liu Tan was thinking while scribbling on the paper with a pen. When he came to his senses, he saw that the paper was full of bricks, and several of them were hollow bricks arranged together, which made him feel very familiar.
After looking at it for a while, he couldn't help but slam the table - isn't this a porous brick?
Porous bricks and hollow bricks are actually the same type, but porous bricks are obviously better than hollow bricks. First of all, their thermal insulation effect and strength are higher than hollow bricks, and secondly, their load-bearing capacity is stronger than hollow bricks.
However, the drilling of porous bricks is very particular and cannot be done casually, otherwise they will not be able to bear the weight.
As for how to drill the holes in the porous bricks, Liu Tan actually had no idea.
It's good enough that he can still remember a porous brick, but how could he possibly still remember how to fire a porous brick?
He may know more about rammed earth walls than porous bricks. After all, rammed earth walls are within the scope of historical research and can barely be considered relevant to his major.
But to make bricks...Liu Tan decided to find professionals.
But there were no professionals at the moment, so he had to cast a wide net and invite all the craftsmen who had anything to do with this.
As a result, when he opened his mouth, the craftsmen were all confused.
The craftsmen didn't even know what bricks were, so it was simply impossible for them to study porous bricks.
The craftsmen didn't understand what Liu Tan said, and Liu Tan didn't understand the questions the craftsmen asked. In the end, all the craftsmen knelt down one by one.
They were afraid that they would not be able to do what Liu Tan asked them to do and would be beheaded.
Liu Tan looked at these people who looked like trembling quails, and finally had no choice but to let them set an example.
What's the point of having so many people under you? In the end, you still have to do it yourself, right?
Unfortunately, the county government had no place to build a brick kiln for Liu Tan, so Liu Tan had no choice but to choose to build one outside the city. Fortunately, the city was not big, so it was not inconvenient for him to go back and forth.
The only thing is that coal has not been found yet, and firewood is needed to make bricks, which makes Liu Tan feel a little guilty.
There had never been a brick kiln before. Liu Tan finally thought about it and decided to have someone build one based on a blacksmith's kiln. After all, burning bricks was much easier than burning iron or copper.
Because the kiln was temporary, it took only three days to build it using rammed earth, and the clay arrived just in time for the construction.
When Li Buyan brought a bag of clay to show Liu Tan, Liu Tan was completely confused - he didn't know what it was either.
But he couldn't show his fear, so he just said calmly, "They look very similar. Let's leave it alone for now. We have to try it first to know. This kind of soil is really hard to distinguish."
Li Buyan did not suspect anything and had a cartload of clay brought directly to the kiln.
Liu Tan turned around and asked Miao Rui to find the clothes that had been prepared for him before, which were specially used for work. He originally thought that they should be rather worn out, but in fact, what Miao Rui found was a set of black clothes with slightly fewer patterns than his usual clothes.
Liu Tan: ...
Miao Rui looked at Liu Tan's expression and said cautiously, "Your Highness, you said before that you wanted old clothes...but...we don't have any old clothes."
Liu Tan thought about it and agreed. Who would dare to let him wear clothes that were obviously old?
He basically changes his clothes every season. Even if he only wears the clothes of that season for a few days or even only once, he will throw them away when the season is over.
It was impossible to even give it to the poor. Except for people of the same status as him, no one else was qualified to wear his old clothes, and if they were found out, they would be beheaded.
Liu Tan had no choice but to put on the clothes.
When they arrived at the kiln, everyone was driven away except Li Buyan and a few disabled soldiers who were guarding there.
These soldiers were the ones who had followed Liu Tan back from the Western Regions.
Liu Tan fulfilled his promise and did not drive away any of these people. They all stayed, but he did not support them in vain. He gave them something to do so that they could support their families.
This time, when looking for clay, since there were no special requirements, we just let these people go.
Not to mention, they worked harder than ordinary soldiers, and even the soil was found by them.
The soldiers were very excited to see Liu Tan, but they did not dare to step forward and even had to hide.
After asking, Liu Tan realized that they were afraid that his ugly appearance would scare him. He thought for a moment and turned to Li Buyan and said, "Whoever finds kaolin this time will be considered meritorious and will receive a reward."
Li Buyan's eyes suddenly lit up and he nodded vigorously.
He came from a family of generals, and his feelings for the soldiers were deeper than for others, especially for those who had been eating and living with him. He also felt sorry for these people who had disabilities.
He knew Liu Tan's style of doing things. He would never be stingy when it came to rewards. With these rewards, these people should be able to have a good New Year.
The soldiers were also very happy. They were the first to come to the Northern Border, and their families stayed in their hometown. They had been thinking about how to bring their families over, and now they had the opportunity.
Liu Tan happened to overhear their conversation. He turned to look at Li Buyan and said, "Let's count how many people's families haven't come yet and want to be taken in. Then, we'll bring them all in based on the principle of proximity."
Li Buyan hesitated a little: "That's fine, but Your Highness... there are many people here."
The more people there are, the more money will be spent. Since Liu Tan has already asked for it, he will definitely not let everyone pay for it themselves. Maybe each family will just contribute a little bit of food money to cover the cost of eating on the road.
Liu Tan said nonchalantly, "What's that little bit of money? Just do it."
After saying that, he went into the kiln.
At this time, there was already a small pile of soil and a tank of water in the kiln, and the square-shaped molds he had ordered people to make were also placed here.
Liu Tan suddenly felt as if he was back in the days when he was playing with figures and doing handicrafts. He directly found a copper basin and got some water and soil, adding them little by little, while feeling the ratio of water and soil directly.
In the absence of an accurate electronic scale and unfamiliarity with current scales, Liu Tan could only rely on his own experience.
When he felt the feel was about right, he simply pulled the model over and started filling it in.
I have to say, if it’s not too dirty, it’s actually quite pleasant to play with mud.
So as he rubbed his fingers, Liu Tan couldn't help but start humming a song.
Huo Guang, who had hurried over to look for Liu Tan, heard Liu Tan singing outside the kiln: "It's so cold, I'm playing in the mud in the northwest~"
Huo Guang: ?????? Is his Highness crazy?
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