Chapter 188 Emperor Jingxuan Tests Cement
Emperor Jingxuan came back to his senses, temporarily put aside the chaotic thoughts in his mind, and came out of the sedan chair with a hint of anticipation on his face.
Cao Qing hurriedly helped him walk forward, and saw Yu Kangsheng, who was not far ahead, and several officials from the Ministry of Works coming forward together.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."
"No need to be so polite, just show me the cement."
At this time, everyone was at Taihe Lake in Shanglinyuan to witness the formation of cement.
With He Nanzhou's detailed explanation, the people in the Ministry of Industry had a preliminary idea about developing cement. After four or five days of testing, the cement was finally launched. It failed the first time, which was normal, but Yu Kangsheng himself did not expect that he would succeed the second time.
Yesterday afternoon, after consulting Emperor Jingxuan, Yu Kangsheng took craftsmen to build a pool next to Taihe Lake in Shanglinyuan, and then covered it with cement.
From the moment the cement slowly solidified, Yu Kangsheng was so excited that he was reluctant to leave. But he couldn't stay overnight at Taihe Lake, otherwise he would have to stay here like a mushroom.
Despite this, he came here early this morning.
In fact, Emperor Jingxuan had the same idea. There was no need to hold a morning court today. In addition, Chaochao had been ill in the past few days and had been living in his room most of the time. There was nothing unusual for them to see or discuss, so Emperor Jingxuan did not hold a morning court. He even did not bother to summon important ministers to discuss state affairs in the morning. He came here immediately after breakfast.
Cement, such a magical thing that benefits the country and the people, is finally in his hands.
"Your Majesty, this is the cement that was painted last night." In front of Yu Kangsheng was a small pool, which was similar to the pool that his seventh uncle painted that day.
Emperor Jingxuan wanted to see the water holding capacity of the pool. If it could, it would indeed be a big step forward in water conservancy, which he was very much looking forward to.
He squatted down and looked at the hardness of the cement. "Can I touch it?"
"It has been solidified for seven hours. I pressed it with my fingers and it is indeed fine. But I don't know if it will break if something heavier crushes it." For example, a carriage.
Emperor Jingxuan hesitated for a moment, then reached out and pressed it. The touch under his fingers was rough and hard, which gave him a sense of reality.
He thought for a moment, "The uncle from Jinwen Village blocked the area with a fence after applying cement. He didn't evacuate the area the next day. I guess we'll have to wait a while before we can get water."
"I think so too, but I still need to test how long it will take."
Emperor Jingxuan stood up and stepped down again, applying a little force.
Then, everyone saw a footprint on the concrete floor.
Everyone: "..."
Yu Kangsheng had a resentful expression. If the other person was not His Majesty, he would definitely curse him.
Why did you step on it? This is a pool. What does it look like to have multiple footprints in it?
Emperor Jingxuan silently retracted his foot and pretended to know nothing and said, "I remember that seventh uncle sprinkled water on the cement the next day?"
Yu Kangsheng laughed in his heart and nodded respectfully, "Yes, Your Majesty, why don't you try it yourself?"
"Um."
Emperor Jingxuan not only sprinkled water himself, but also asked Yu Kangsheng to level the ground and laid cement himself.
In this way, after the cement solidifies, we can test it on the ground. We can also pull the carriage over and see if it can withstand the pressure of the carriage in a few days.
When Emperor Jingxuan saw the cement he had laid, he felt a sense of accomplishment.
"Very good, Lord Yu, next we will focus on testing the cement. Once the results come out, we will select the merchants who make the cement and lay out the cement as soon as possible."
"I obey the order."
Emperor Jingxuan thought for a moment and said, "Let's make a batch of cement first and have someone send it to Shangliu Village. The Chaoyang Charity Home in Shangliu Village is almost built, so it's a good opportunity to paint the walls of this first charity home with cement to make it stronger."
"I will do it right away."
Emperor Jingxuan was in a good mood. Chaochao's illness seemed to be almost cured, cement had made progress, Chaoyang Charity Home was about to be put into use, and the earlier smallpox vaccination had been confirmed to be no problem and had been promoted. Although high-yield grain had not yet been found, the sea ban he had been thinking about had been lifted. Seeing that Daqi was getting better and better, as an emperor, how could he not be happy.
After looking at the cement, Emperor Jingxuan planned to go back.
He asked Cao Qing, "The villagers of Shangliu Village arrived in the capital three days ago, right?"
"yes."
"Okay, call them into the palace."
Cao Qing immediately went to convey the order.
Lin Lan and others, who were at the post station at the moment, were relieved that Chao Chao's health was gradually improving, but they were caught off guard and received an imperial decree to enter the palace to meet the emperor.
Everyone's smiles froze for a moment.
"What should we do? We are suddenly going to enter the palace. What should we do?"
They originally thought that they would be able to see the emperor soon after arriving in the capital, but who knew that they would have to stay in the post station for three days.
From the initial nervousness to the subsequent uneasiness, no one knew what to do.
I was originally thinking whether I would have the chance to go for a stroll on the street after meeting the emperor, but now I am not in the mood for that at all.
During this period, Mr. Guo asked the guards who led them, and they only said to wait for the emperor's order and told them not to worry too much.
That's what I said, but it's impossible to do.
Now that His Majesty is finally going to summon them, they are suddenly panicked.
"Fortunately, I take a bath every morning, so there is no need to worry about your Majesty being fumigated."
It is impossible to take a bath once a day in Shangliu Village. The village is very cold in winter, and it is easy to catch a cold if you are not careful. They have to wait until the weather is good to take a bath, sometimes only once every two weeks.
Several people began to tidy up their appearance, and only after making sure that everything was fine did they follow the guards to the palace with a worried look on their faces.
As soon as they went out, they saw Hu Fulai, Jiang Laosan and others.
The few people who had been sloppy along the way now changed their clothes and tidied their hair.
Hu Baodun didn't go with them. He didn't recognize anyone anymore and would even scream and yell from time to time. He was always irritable and now it was even worse. He would even smash things.
In his current state, the guards dared not bring him before His Majesty.
Compared to the nervousness of Lin Lan and others, Jiang Laosan and others were obviously afraid.
When Hu Fulai and Zheng were still in the Huaiping County prison, they naively thought that they would file a complaint with the emperor after seeing him and let the emperor make the decision for them.
But their experiences along the way, the attitude of the guards towards them, and the blow of Hu Baodun becoming a fool, made them realize that the emperor had been on Chao Chao Linlan's side from the very beginning.
If they go there, not only will they fail to file a complaint, they may even lose their lives.
After realizing the result, Hu Fulai and Zheng's expressions became somewhat grim.
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