Chapter 172: Love in the Ancient Planes, Brain Opens 32

Jiang Lan rushed to the scene and found that the concrete sand wall that had been built on the river bank had collapsed for the most part, with only a small part still intact.

[It's unreasonable, there's nothing wrong with the proportion of concrete. ]

[Is it because it wasn't dried that it was washed down by the rain? ]

Jiang Lan walked over with a serious expression, squatted down, broke off a piece of it, and put it in the palm of her hand.

She pinched it casually, and it immediately turned into powder.

Something was wrong, concrete should be very strong according to common sense, not so brittle.

"What's the matter?"

The Minister of Works also imitated Jiang Lan and broke off a piece and put it in his hand.

"Sir, look..." Jiang Lan showed him the powder in his hand.

"The proportions of this concrete pouring are wrong. There is too much sand and too little cement."

The Minister of Works understood it instantly, but he did not make a direct judgment.

"There is a complete section over there. Let's go and take a look."

The concrete sand wall in front of him was very solid.

There was no trace of being washed by rain, and there was no damage at all.

The Minister of Works tried hard to break a piece off from the top, but it didn't move at all.

"This thing is really as hard as you said, but it's hard to compare after it hardens."

Jiang Lan stepped forward, "Sir, look at me."

She walked forward, broke off a piece with force, and handed it to him after crushing it into powder.

"This?" The Minister of Works was stunned for a moment, and he stepped forward to break it himself, but it still didn't move at all.

"What method did you use?"

"No method, I am very strong, I can knock down an adult at a young age." Is he

really that strong?

Yao Yushi was lucky not to be beaten to death.

The Minister of Works stopped thinking about it, took the powder from Jiang Lan's hand, and compared the powder in the other hand.

"If so, the intact concrete powder is whiter."

"Sir, I suspect someone is playing tricks on this matter." Jiang Lan lowered his voice.

"The mixing ratio of concrete materials is strictly regulated by the Ministry of Works, and there are also special personnel to guard it. Under normal circumstances, there will be no imbalance in the ratio. These craftsmen are not so bold." The

Minister of Works was silent for a moment. This matter was not big, but it was not small either.

It seems that the impact is not big now, but if all the unqualified concrete is used to build the embankment, it will cause the embankment to burst during the flood season, which is a big deal.

"My lord, who am I, Jiang Lan? Why do they need to spend so much effort? What if this matter is directed at you, or at our Ministry of Works?"

The Minister of Works looked sullen. Yes... this is the biggest problem.

The Ministry of Works has been highly valued by the emperor these days. Don't the people in other ministries have any ideas?

And there is no one who is coveting the position of the Minister of Works?

"My lord, the papermaking of the Ministry of Works is too wide-ranging and offends too many people."

The contradiction between the royal family of Xi Kingdom and the aristocratic families has a long history. Although the royal family is the master of the world, they are often constrained by the aristocratic families.

The aristocratic families controlled the circulation of books and papers, which led to the fact that the Xi Kingdom held imperial examinations again and again, and 90% of the talents finally selected were still from aristocratic families.

Jiang Lan has always known that there is no favor in the world without fate or reason.

The favor that Emperor Xizheng gave her was like a castle in the air. It was not real appreciation, but more like setting an example.

Emperor Xizheng conveyed some information to the world: as long as they have talent, women can also serve as officials in the court without discrimination.

As long as they are loyal, the Ministry of Works can also be reused, and no longer be a cushion.

All the honors and favors of the ministers come from the emperor, and the ministers should be loyal to the emperor.

The Minister of Works smiled and said, "This is not something you should consider. Our Ministry of Works has always focused on livelihood projects and does not easily take sides. We are only loyal to the emperor."

"As the saying goes, I will not offend others if they do not offend me. This person has come to our door. If we do not fight back, wouldn't it show that we are incompetent?"

"I know this matter well."

Jiang Lan heard this and shut up tactfully.

The next day, after the small court meeting, the Minister of Works had a secret talk with Emperor Xizheng.

I don't know what he said. Anyway, a few days later, the court purged another group of officials, including Yao Yushi, who was not on good terms with Jiang Lan.

Emperor Xizheng also vindicated the Ministry of Works and Jiang Lan in front of all the court officials.

Now that it has been verified in Kyoto that cement and concrete are usable and are of great use for water conservancy, the next step is to promote them nationwide.

Jiang Lan let other colleagues in the Ministry of Industry take charge of the mature business line, and now she has started new research.

Gunpowder is needed to dredge the river, but gunpowder is too harmful.

Jiang Lan didn't want Emperor Xizheng to use gunpowder to satisfy his ambition for hegemony, so she wanted to modify the formula in a roundabout way to make the cost of this gunpowder a little higher.

After many adjustments of the proportions, Jiang Lan finally improved a new formula based on sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter, which used the relatively rare mercury in Xiguo and some diatomaceous earth that was relatively old.

In addition, she also added a lot of dispensable things to ensure that this formula cannot be easily cracked.

If wooden oxen and flowing horses are auxiliary tools, and cement concrete is a tool for people's livelihood, then gunpowder is a heavy lethal weapon, a veritable national weapon.

After Jiang Lan developed gunpowder, he did not inform the Minister of Industry immediately.

Instead, he took two cans of black gunpowder directly to the river, and easily blew up a boulder more than ten meters high on the riverside.

Was it the boulder that was blown up? What

was blown up was the hearts of all the officials of the Ministry of Industry!

The Minister of Works didn't know that Jiang Lan went out to do something when he wasn't watching her, so he was so scared that he quickly called her back.

Then he quickly submitted a memorial to the emperor and informed the emperor of the matter.

Not long after the memorial was submitted, the emperor hurried to the Ministry of Works.

"Jiang Lan, let me see what has such great power?"

Jiang Lan took out two black earthenware jars from under his desk, and the guards of the emperor almost rushed up to protect him.

"It's not convenient to go outside here."

Several people came to an empty place. There happened to be a rockery not far away, which looked quite expensive.

Jiang Lan hesitated for a moment. Did he really want to blow it up?

"Don't worry, it's just a rockery. If it blows up, it blows up. Will I let you pay for it?"

"Jiang Lan, hurry up, His Majesty is waiting."

The Minister of Works urged Jiang Lan to be serious and stop playing tricks.

"Your Majesty, please step back. I'm afraid of hurting you."

Emperor Xizheng laughed, "What are you afraid of? I'm not..."

With a "bang" and a loud "bang", everyone present was shocked.

The guards rushed to the front of Emperor Xizheng and looked around vigilantly.

"Go away, it's just a small scene, what do I have to fear."

The thick smoke dissipated, and the place where the rockery was originally had been razed to the ground, leaving only a few broken stones, lying quietly on the ground.

"Good, good! With this thing to help us, our Xi Kingdom will have no worries about not prospering! Reward, reward, I want to reward you, my dear Lord Jiang, I must reward you!"

"Your Majesty, I thought..."

Jiang Lan wanted to explain the cost of gunpowder, but was interrupted by the Shangshu.

"What are you doing standing there like an idiot? Hurry up and thank you!"

Jiang Lan, who was forced to go online, did not insist any more and immediately knelt down and kowtowed to thank you.