Suppliers from both worlds have dominated the world since Datang!

Chapter 354: Firing refractory bricks! ! !

Among the celebrities in the early Tang Dynasty, Cheng Yaojin was absolutely top-notch.

Unlike the novel, Cheng Yaojin was not a private salt dealer.

But he was born into a family of officials in Dong'a.

Therefore, his background is not from a poor family.

In the unification war of the Tang Dynasty, Cheng Yaojin made great achievements.

Hardly an important battle was left behind.

It can be said that he is a hero of Longxing and a hero of Linge.

Later, Li Shimin betrothed his daughter Princess Qinghe to Cheng Yaojin's second son Cheng Chuliang.

At this point, Cheng Yaojin became a relative of the emperor again.

Of course, these are all things to follow.

It can only be seen that Li Shimin and Cheng Yaojin have an excellent relationship.

Walking around on weekdays is also extremely common.

When Zhuang Zhou arrived at Lu Guogong's residence on his motorcycle, Li Junxian had already greeted him and went directly to the lobby.

At this time, Cheng Yaojin and Li Er had already sat down in the hall to drink tea.

"Brother Zhuang!"

When Cheng Yaojin saw Zhuang Zhou coming in, he immediately greeted him:

"You are finally here, we are waiting for you!"

"I've met His Majesty, I've met Duke Lu!"

Zhuang Zhou simply waved hello.

The two of them didn't seem to care at all.

Li Er greeted Zhuang Zhou warmly and motioned for him to sit next to him.

Zhuang Zhou smiled and nodded, walked to Li Er and sat down.

Good guy!

Not everyone can have this honor.

Zhuang Zhou didn't care, since he wasn't an official in the court anyway.

and.

The more he showed that he didn't care, the more Li Er would let his guard down.

After sitting down cross-legged, Zhuang Zhou asked directly:

"Your Majesty, I wonder why you summoned me here today?"

Li Er smiled and said:

"It's true. Do you remember the cement kiln built years ago?"

"Ah! What's wrong? Is there something wrong with the cement?!"

Zhuang Zhou is still waiting to produce cement in large quantities and repair the official roads between Chang'an and Lishan!

Li Er nodded and said directly:

"There's nothing wrong with the cement, there's just something wrong with the cement kiln!"

Li Er then explained the problem.

It turned out that there was something wrong with the kiln where the cement was fired.

There are already bricks in this era.

But most of these bricks are not fire-resistant.

It is not the so-called refractory brick.

It is used to build cement kilns. If the firing time is long, the kiln will have problems.

So, in the final analysis, we have to get the refractory bricks out.

"This problem can be solved, but only if there are refractory bricks."

When Zhuang Zhou also explained, Li Er became interested.

He immediately asked:

"Zhuang Zhou, can you make refractory bricks?"

"Well...how do you say..."

"But it doesn't matter!"

"All right!"

Zhuang Zhou no longer hesitated and said directly:

"I can provide firing ideas, but the specific experiments may have to be done by the craftsmen."

Li Er said without comment:

"Of course, I will let the chief inspector start the firing..."

Speaking of this, Li Er couldn't wait for a long time:

"Shall we go now?"

"Okay! I'm fine."

Zhuang Zhou thought that he would go back to modern times to pick up Morgana later.

It should be enough time now.

But Cheng Yaojin was a little anxious.

Today, His Majesty finally came to the palace and asked Zhuang Zhou to buy two bottles of Tang Chunlai.

I’m still thinking about having a nice drink!

"Your Majesty, you have just arrived, would you like to sit down for a while?"

This clearly shows that you want to drink!

Li Er glared at him and said angrily:

"Old man Cheng, you only know how to drink. Don't you care about national affairs?"

Cheng Yaojin scratched his head and smiled awkwardly:

"Your Majesty, aren't you talking to Brother Zhuang?

I'm just a rough guy, how can I understand this?

Since Brother Zhuang said it can be done, then it must be done! "

Li Er shook his head helplessly:

"Okay! Then leave the burning of refractory bricks to a rough guy like you."

Cheng Yaojin's face immediately darkened. He was fine with leading troops in battle.

Isn't it ridiculous to ask him to manage the craftsmen firing bricks?

"Your Majesty, how about you change someone else?"

"Don't change!"

Li Er did not allow him to say more, and stood up and instructed:

"Come with me now.

In addition, when cement is mass-produced, I will also leave it to you to take charge of the official road from Chang'an to Lishan.

I will give you six months to pull out all the capable soldiers and generals under your command to build roads. If you don't do it for me, I only ask you. "

"what?"

Cheng Yaojin was really speechless!

When did he, the great founding general of the country, lead his troops to build roads?

Zhuang Zhou was secretly happy. Of course he understood what Li Er was thinking.

Cheng Yaojin has great influence in the court. With his participation, the road construction will naturally be much smoother.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

Zhuang Zhou took the opportunity to compliment him.

Li Er laughed and took the lead to walk out of the house without paying attention to Zhuang Zhou's compliment.

Cheng Yaojin had no choice but to bite the bullet and keep up.

The group of three people soon arrived at the Jiangsu Prison Yamen.

At this time, Liu Rengui, the general supervisor, had received the notification early and was waiting!

As soon as he saw Li Er, Liu Rengui immediately came up to him:

"I have met His Majesty!

I’ve met Lu Guogong!

I’ve met Uncle Zhuang County! "

"Master Liu, there is no need to be polite!"

Li Er signaled him to excuse himself and asked directly:

"Have you started preparing for the firing of refractory bricks that I asked you to prepare?"

Liu Rengui looked embarrassed and said hesitantly:

"Your Majesty, after receiving the order, I immediately started preparations, but... just..."

"Just what?"

Li Er urged with some dissatisfaction:

"If you hesitate, just say it if you have something to say!"

Liu Rengui did not dare to hesitate any longer and immediately reported:

"Your Majesty, it's just that I haven't mastered the method of firing these 'refractory bricks' yet..."

"Oh? You don't have to worry about this. I will let Mr. Zhuang County provide guidance."

Li Er raised his eyebrows, and then looked at Zhuang Zhou:

"Zhuang Zhou, I leave the firing of the refractory bricks to you!"

Zhuang Zhou nodded and said firmly:

"Your Majesty, don't worry. As long as there are enough materials, I will be able to make qualified refractory bricks!"

"it is good!"

Li Er was overjoyed when he heard this and immediately made a decision:

"Gong Lu, don't leave for the next few days. Just stay here as a prisoner."

"Oh!"

Cheng Yaojin didn't dare to refute, so he just said oh.

"Zhuang Zhou, then it's up to you to guide the craftsmen and make sure to bake qualified refractory bricks as soon as possible!"

Zhuang Zhou took the order and turned to look at Liu Rengui:

"Master Liu, let's start now!"

Liu Rengui and Zhuang Zhou had met each other before because they had made clay and cement before.

Therefore, he did not doubt Zhuang Zhou's ability.

Especially now that His Majesty personally gave the order, he naturally did not dare to neglect it at all.

He immediately nodded in agreement:

"Yes! Uncle Zhuang County, I have arranged for the craftsmen to prepare the materials!"

Soon, Zhuang Zhou and others followed Liu Rengui to a kiln under the jurisdiction of the general supervisor.

Usually, ordinary bricks and pottery are fired here. Although the scale is not large, it has complete facilities.

Accompanied by Liu Rengui, Zhuang Zhou inspected the facilities and materials of the kiln in detail.

Then he began to instruct the craftsmen how to fire refractory bricks.

He first asked the craftsmen to mix clay, sand, stone powder and other raw materials according to a certain proportion, and then added water to stir it into a mud.

Then, he asked the craftsmen to build layers of bricks in the kiln, leaving appropriate gaps between the bricks to allow hot air to circulate.

Finally, Zhuang Zhou personally checked the ventilation system in the kiln to ensure that there was sufficient oxygen supply during the firing process.

After everything was ready, Zhuang Zhou asked the craftsmen to light the kiln fire and start the firing process of refractory bricks.

This process takes several days, during which the temperature and atmosphere in the kiln need to be constantly monitored to ensure that the bricks are evenly heated and fully sintered.

Waiting until nightfall, Zhuang Zhou glanced at his watch and saw that it was already seven o'clock in the evening.

It’s time to go back to modern times!

Zhuang Zhou gave Cheng Yaojin some instructions before leaving the kiln.