Chapter 1117 Building materials and craftsmen are needed.
On the platform in front of the Hanyuan Hall in the Imperial Palace, You Zhi was relieved when he heard Luo Chong say that the stones would be delivered to him in the early spring of next year. If there were no sufficient building materials, he really didn't know when the capital would be built.
However, stones alone were not enough, so he continued.
"Chief, stones alone are not enough. We are still short of craftsmen. So much wood and stone need exquisite carvings, and there are also jobs such as bricklaying and wall building. How can we rely on slaves alone?
"When the chief sent me to supervise the construction of the capital, he collected 3,000 slaves from all over the Han tribe for me to bring. These slaves came from various construction sites and mines. After years of domestication, they have become very obedient and can understand our Chinese.
"At the beginning, these slaves were only responsible for digging artificial lakes, laying foundations, moving bricks and firing kilns. Later, the leader sent another 5,000 newly captured slaves, and these new slaves were no longer useful.
"The new slaves not only didn't understand what we said, but also refused to be disciplined. It took a lot of time just to tame them to work honestly. Moreover, they didn't have any skills and could only be used for mindless heavy physical work such as moving bricks and digging soil.
"And as for the original 3,000 slaves, due to the lack of enough craftsmen, I asked our craftsmen to teach them some skills. Slaves who learned the skills could be given more food and better treatment, and they learned very seriously.
"The foundation walls of the Hanyuan Hall in front of us were built by the original group of old slaves. Without them, I couldn't even build the foundation of this hall.
"But chief, these three thousand slaves and the hundreds of craftsmen are still not enough. These slaves can only do some work like building walls and plastering walls. They still can't do more delicate work. Only our tribe's own craftsmen can do it. So, chief, please assign me some more craftsmen."
Luo Chong could only say helplessly after hearing this.
"Okay, okay, give it to me. I'll give you whatever you want. But I can't give you that many craftsmen for the time being. Now the construction tasks in various places are very heavy, and there is a shortage of craftsmen everywhere.
"But you don't have to worry. If there are not enough people, we can use machines. When the time comes, I will allocate a batch of automatic tools to you, such as engraving machines. With this automatic engraving machine, the work that used to require ten people can now be completed by one person. In this way, even if there is not enough manpower, we can make up for it with machines. "
Only after hearing this did You Zhi feel relieved. He took Luo Chong and Da Shu to continue inspecting the large construction site of the entire palace.
On both sides of the Hanyuan Hall, there are three-story que towers on the left and right.
Que is actually a gate, which is the thing protruding on both sides of the gate. It is said that the origin of the que building is derived from the watchtowers on both sides of the gate of the primitive tribal camp. In short, it is a very high thing, one on the left and one on the right, with one on each side.
However, the que towers on both sides of the Hanyuan Hall are more complicated. Not only are they divided into three floors, but they are also classical and majestic in shape.
After entering the Hanyuan Hall, come out from the back door , another straight avenue, and a large open space, which will be a small square in the future. The central axis will be connected by white marble danbi stones, from one end to the other, connecting the three main halls.
The smaller palace in the middle is called Xuanzheng Hall, where daily court meetings are held. The current construction situation is similar to that of the previous Hanyuan Hall.
The foundation has been laid, the walls have been built, the main structure has been completed, and the roof has been covered with tiles. However, there are a lot of places that need to be decorated, but they cannot be completed due to lack of building materials and craftsmen.
After passing through the Xuanzheng Hall, the last of the three halls, the Zichen Hall, was behind.
This was where the emperor would summon his trusted ministers to discuss confidential matters. It was not as large as the two halls in front, but it was more private. Only the main building had been completed.
The central axis of the three halls was connected by a white marble danbi stone, and the surrounding area was paved with stone bricks to form a square. However, people were not allowed to walk in the middle at ordinary times, because there were long corridors on both sides of the three halls.
The corridor connected the steps of the three main halls. There was a ridged glazed tile roof on the corridor. The pillars were made of reinforced concrete, and the outside was painted with red lacquer to look like wooden pillars.
This was not because they could not find suitable pillars, but because they were afraid of erosion by wind and rain, and they were afraid that the fire would burn down the entire palace directly along the corridor.
However, the roof and brackets of the corridor were made of wood, because it was more complicated to cast with cement.
This super long corridor style was actually the characteristic architectural style of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and was also copied by Luo Chong.
On both sides of the three halls are the East Palace and the West Palace. The East Palace is the residence of the crown prince, and the West Palace is where the emperor retires. From the three halls to the back is the legendary harem.
However, the harem is still a large construction site, and the degree of completion is not even as good as the three halls in front, and there is nothing to see now.
In order to get soil here in the harem to lay the foundation for each palace and attic, a large pit with a huge area has been dug. This is the artificial lake that has existed in the palaces of all dynasties, called Taiye Lake.
However, it has not yet been dug through the natural river outside the city, and water has not been brought in yet. Now it is just a huge pit that is unsightly.
However, according to the design on the blueprint, this place will be the most beautiful place in the future. There is an artificial lake and an island in the middle of the lake. You can go boating and fishing in the lake in your backyard.
There are also some other places, such as the Royal Library, a combination of Chinese and Western styles, with Chinese pavilions and Western sculptures similar to Roman columns. There is also a high-tech fountain in front of the door. There are twelve animal heads,
but if you refer to the calculation of fourteen months a year in this world, I am afraid that you will have to make fourteen animal heads.
In addition, there are super luxurious sleeping palaces, multi-story pavilion-style palaces, super large garden terraces, and large floor-to-ceiling windows.
There are glass greenhouses covering dozens of acres, where you can grow flowers and vegetables in winter. There are
large swimming pools and baths, artificial hot spring pools.
There are also palaces dedicated to holding banquets and performing songs and dances.
Indoor gymnasiums can be used for running, fitness, and playing ball.
There are also many other functional courtyards and buildings, such as the imperial kitchen, laundry bureau, servants' quarters, etc.
However, these buildings currently only exist on the blueprints and in Luo Chong's imagination. If you want to turn all of these into physical buildings, you have to spend a lot of manpower, material resources and time to build them.
As for the imperial city and the capital outside the palace, that would take more time, and Luo Chong alone couldn't build them, he had to get people to build them together.
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I'm back to update quietly, has anyone noticed?
(End of this chapter)
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