Chapter 521: The cannon opened and blasted his mother

Chapter 521: The cannon opened and blasted his mother

Chapter 521: The cannon opened and blasted his mother
The night is deep, and the ink color spreads like lacquer.
The Five Military Commandery was brightly lit, as if it were daytime.

Lan Yu strode out of the conference room with two documents in his hands and a serious look on his face.

Preparations for the Northern Expedition are progressing steadily, with daily meetings following one after another and mountains of documents waiting to be reviewed.

He walked hurriedly, exuding an indescribable fatigue.

Just at this moment, an official from the Governor's Office quickly stepped forward, leaned close to his ear, and whispered a few words.

When Lan Yu heard this, his eyes instantly turned to Feng Yunfang who was waiting in the distance, and then he raised his hand and waved.

When Feng Yunfang saw this, a hint of joy flashed across his face and he hurriedly followed.

The two of them entered the government office of the Central Military Governor's Office together.
Lan Yu walked to the eight-immortal table in the middle, reached out to pick up the teapot on the table, raised his head,

He gulped down the tea in big gulps.

After finishing the tea in the pot, he heaved a sigh of relief and asked:
"What happened?"

"General, this is a letter from the Lord to you!" Feng Yunfang handed the letter with both hands.

Lan Yu looked calm as he took the letter and quickly unfolded it to read.

His expression gradually changed from surprise to solemnity, and finally he nodded slightly and said in a deep voice:
"Wait here."

After saying this, he turned around and left in a hurry, regardless of Feng Yunfang's puzzled look.

In less than a cup of tea, Lan Yu arrived at the Wuying Palace.

At this time, Crown Prince Zhu Biao was sitting alone at the top, reviewing memorials under the soft candlelight.

In the huge hall, the only sound that could be heard was the rustling sound of pen tips touching paper.

Crown Prince Zhu Biao noticed Lan Yu's arrival, frowned slightly, stopped what he was doing, raised his eyes and asked:
"Uncle, what's the hurry?"

Lan Yu took a step forward, stood tall, bowed and said:

"Your Highness, Lu Yunyi sent a message that a new type of ash soil has been successfully developed in a workshop outside the city.
It is cheaper and stronger than before and can be used in the military.

Therefore, he requested to dispatch a thousand soldiers to closely guard the workshop outside the city to prevent the news from being leaked. "

"Dust?" Zhu Biao was slightly startled and asked:
"But the ash and soil used to build the temple?"

"Your Highness, this is it," Lan Yu answered respectfully.

"Gray soil. Do we need to send out soldiers to guard it?" Zhu Biao frowned, his expression becoming more solemn.

“Your Highness, Lu Yunyi has been fully committed to this matter recently.

He had previously mentioned to his ministers that the management of the Yellow River cost a huge amount of money and the court was financially tight, so he planned to find another way out.

Now it seems that he has achieved certain results.”

Lan Yu's words made the corners of Crown Prince Zhu Biao's mouth slightly raise, revealing a hint of amusement:
"This Lu Yunyi is really unexpected and always brings surprises."

After saying this, he waved his hand and looked at the eunuch beside him:
"Send a message to the Ministry of War to dispatch a thousand soldiers to the workshop to blockade it. All operations will be coordinated and arranged by Lu Yunyi, the Minister of Works."

"Yes, sir." The eunuch took the order and hurriedly retreated.

Lan Yu bowed again and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."

Not long after, the eunuch who had left came back trotting with a document from the Ministry of Works in his hand.

Crown Prince Zhu Biao nodded slightly, and the document was handed to Lan Yu.

"Okay, uncle, go quickly." Crown Prince Zhu Biao said with a smile.

"Yes, I'll take my leave." Lan Yu turned around and left quickly.

Soon, he returned to the Governor's Office and met Feng Yunfang who was waiting anxiously.

"Take the document and mobilize the troops. Be careful and don't make your actions public." Lan Yu warned.

Feng Yunfang widened his eyes and instantly understood the contents of the letter.

He took the document solemnly, bowed and thanked him:

"Thank you, General."

Half an hour later, outside the originally quiet workshop, there was a sudden sound of hurried horse hooves.

The sound of "da da da" cut through the night sky, and the workshop guards looked at each other in confusion.

They all tightly grasped the long swords at their waists, looking nervously and vigilantly around.

However, when they saw clearly that the person coming was Lu Butang's personal guard, their hearts slowly settled down.

Hearing the noise, the director of the Ministry of Industry and Wang Chen also rushed out.

The scene before them shocked them greatly.

At this time, the night was deep, except for the little lights coming from the workshop.
All around were dark wheat fields and silence.

And around the workshop, countless soldiers in black armor stood there.
It spread out quickly in the night like a black tide, and the sound of horse hooves rose and fell continuously.

In the blink of an eye, they surrounded the workshop with three layers inside and three layers outside, making it airtight.

The head of the Ministry of Industry and Wang Chen didn't dare to make a sound. They just stood quietly by and watched everything.

They approached cautiously only after the leading general dismounted from his horse.

"Excuse me, General, what is this?"

The general in front of him was burly and strong, tall and straight, with a complexion as dark as ink.

In the darkness, one could only see his white teeth shaking, while his face was hidden in the darkness and difficult to see clearly.

When that person came closer, they were slightly stunned and secretly exclaimed in their hearts: So young!
The person who came was Liu Heying, who was younger than Lu Yunyi.

He looked at the two of them with a stern gaze and said in a deep voice:

"I am Liu Heiying, the deputy general of the front army scout department, and I am here to garrison here under the order of the Duke of Liang.

From now on, anyone who wants to leave the workshop,

You must obtain the consent of this general and General Lu in advance!"

"The front army scout unit?" The two were stunned when they heard this.

Wang Chen reacted quickly, his eyes suddenly widened, and asked:
"You are Lord Lu's deputy general?"

"That's right." Liu Heiying said in a simple and blunt tone, and then asked:
"Where is General Lu?"

Wang Chen heaved a sigh of relief, it turned out to be one of his own, so he smiled and said:

"General Liu, please come in quickly. General Lu is in the courtyard."

Liu Heiying followed the two to the backyard of the workshop, and the scene before him completely stunned him.

I saw Brother Yuner standing in front of a pile of large vats, holding a small shovel.
He concentrated on pouring the grey mud into various moulds and then carefully smoothing the surface.

Although he was wearing gloves, his arms and combat boots were already covered with gray mud, and he looked dusty.

"Sir, what are you doing!" Liu Heiying strode forward and asked loudly.

Lu Yunyi turned around and saw Liu Heiying, his eyes suddenly lit up:

"Black Hawk? Why did you come in person? Have you finished your military affairs?"

In an instant, everyone could see.
The slightly burly, black-faced general in front of him suddenly looked listless.

"Brother Yun'er, why do you ask about military affairs as soon as we meet?"

Lu Yunyi was stunned for a moment, then he laughed:

"Alright, alright, just take a break for two days. This will give you a good opportunity to see what the Great Ming miracle is!"

"Miracle?"

Liu Heiying's expression suddenly became strange.
He looked at the mud in the yard, his eyes full of confusion.

"Don't underestimate these things. With them,

In the future, there will be no need to dig the earth to build fortifications."

Liu Heiying hadn't seen Brother Yun'er so excited for a long time, and he couldn't help but pay more attention to the gray mud.

He looked at it carefully and asked, "Brother Yun'er, is this thing called concrete?"

“Yes, it is made of a mixture of various materials, and after adding water, it becomes what it is now.

When it solidifies, I will show you what the strongest city wall in Ming Dynasty is!"

"Ah? Use this thing to repair the city wall?"

Liu Heiying looked at the mud in front of him in disbelief:

"Brother Yun'er, can this thing be harder than stone?"

Today, the interior of the Daming city wall is made of stone and fired bricks.
Some mortar is mixed in the middle to make it extremely strong.

During the Yunnan War, he witnessed the repair process of the Dingbian city wall.

Those boulders are huge and heavy, and they are terrifying to look at.

"Stone is nothing. A cannon can shatter it, but this concrete cannot be shattered."

Lu Yunyi talked freely, and many people around him looked at him with confusion in their eyes.

Lu Yunyi didn't care about it and smiled:
"How about this, bring over ten cannons, and prepare some muskets, heavy crossbows, etc.

When this solidifies tomorrow, we'll try them one by one."

At this time, Wang Chen on the side hurriedly stepped forward and said:

"My Lord, although I have never seen this thing, I think it is not much different from ash and dirt.

Although it can solidify in one day, it is still far from reaching its hardest level. "

"Do you know how long it takes for the ash to reach its hardest level?" Lu Yunyi asked.

"Sir, an ordinary dam will take at least one month, and a large dam will take at least two months." Wang Chen answered respectfully.

"Okay, then let's calculate it for a month. Bomb it a few times every day and record the intensity!" Lu Yunyi's tone was firm and left no room for doubt.

The craftsmen present looked at each other in surprise.

Even Wang Chen couldn't help but secretly sigh that it seemed that having a military officer as the chief officer was indeed much more convenient.

They can avert danger when attacked, and can dispatch troops and artillery at will. The military workshops can also be used at any time, greatly improving efficiency.

If the work completed in these three days was done by other departments, it would take at least half a month to complete.

Just to transfer personnel and artillery from the army, it is necessary to report to the higher authorities.

At noon the next day, after a busy night, Lu Yunyi heard someone calling him in his sleep.
He opened his eyes blearily, and the face he saw startled him, and he subconsciously shrank back.

Only when he saw the person's appearance clearly did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"Duke Cao, what are you doing?"

The person who came was Li Jinglong. He was sitting beside the bed. Seeing Lu Yunyi wake up, he laughed:

"Yun Yi, it's already noon. If you don't get up, the sun will burn your butt." Li Jinglong joked with a smile.

"It's already so late?"

Lu Yunyi sat up straight abruptly, and the haziness in his eyes instantly disappeared.

This sudden action frightened Li Jinglong so much that he quickly leaned back and made room.

"It's already one quarter past noon." Li Jinglong couldn't help but remind.

"Why didn't you call me earlier?"

While complaining, Lu Yunyi quickly stood up, pulled clothes from the hanger, hurried to the basin of water beside him, and started washing his face with a "puff puff" sound.

As he buttoned his shirt, he asked:
"Duke Cao, why are you here?"

"His Majesty ordered me to come and see what you are doing." Li Jinglong looked serious.

"Your Majesty?" Lu Yunyi blinked and asked in surprise:

"Has this alarmed Your Majesty?"

Li Jinglong's eyes flashed with helplessness, and he said:

"The entire Yingtian City knew about the troop movement yesterday, and people were in a panic. Everyone thought there was another rebellion.

This morning some ministers submitted a petition asking about the situation, and His Majesty then ordered me to come and check it out.

But you don't have to worry, the Ministry of Industry can just find an excuse to deal with it."

"Do you know everything?"

Lu Yunyi was stunned, feeling that he had overdosed his job.

"Nine times out of ten, many people asked me what happened this morning, and I was confused."

Lu Yunyi nodded:
"It's hard to conceal the news, but we'll keep it a secret for as long as possible."

"Yun Yi, what happened? Why are you so nervous?

I asked Wang Chen just now, but he refused to tell me. I was so angry!" Li Jinglong gritted his teeth.

He felt that being a duke was really aggrieved.
Although he had some prestige in the army,

But he seemed to have no prestige in front of the civil servants in the court.

Lu Yunyi smiled and said, "Come on, I'll take you to see something good."

Li Jinglong hurriedly followed.

A quarter of an hour later, they arrived at an open space not far from the workshop.

There are large vats here, surrounded by isolated vegetable fields and several dirt roads winding through them.

The breeze blew gently, bringing a hint of earthy scent.

Li Jinglong was wearing casual clothes and looked around blankly:
"Yun Yi, where are the good things?"

Lu Yunyi was wearing armor, with his hands on his hips, looking heroic, and pointed to the large vat in front of him:
"That."

Li Jinglong looked in the direction he pointed:
“Isn’t this just a big vat?”

Wang Chen on the side came closer:

"Duke Cao, please do not underestimate this big vat.
This is a good thing that can benefit the entire Ming Dynasty!!
With it, it will be much easier for the court to build dams and reservoirs in the future. We can build them however we want! ! "

After a night of settling, as the chief officer of the Dushui Division,

Wang Chen had already seen some clues about the concrete and was extremely shocked.

Even though the concrete had only solidified overnight, it was already as hard as fully solidified dirt.

Wang Chen couldn't imagine how hard the concrete would be if it was allowed to solidify for another ten days or half a month!

"Repair it however you want." Li Jinglong said, with his hands on his hips:
"Why do you all like to brag so much? Have you found a way to get the 10 million taels you mentioned a few days ago?"

Wang Chen's face suddenly turned red:

"Duke Cao! Now that we have this thing, we don't need ten million taels anymore!!"

Li Jinglong was stunned when he heard this, and asked in surprise:
"No more?"

At this time, Wang Chen's cheeks were pale and his eye sockets were sunken.
He had dark circles under his eyes and his hair was messy, obviously he hadn't slept all night.

He bowed and said:

"Duke Cao, Lord Lu, I have already made a preliminary calculation.

Sand and gravel are readily available, and you only need to pay for the labor of some craftsmen and the transportation costs.

The original cost of raw materials was several million taels, but now it only needs 30%!

And if this thing is really as magical as Lord Lu said,

No maintenance is required during the construction process and the construction time is short, which can save at least two million taels!
The original estimate was 13.9 million taels.
After the final calculation, there may be only half left or even less.

Because the original construction period of nearly eight years has now been shortened to three years.
Just the wages and food for the laborers can save one million taels!"

As soon as these words came out, Li Jinglong's eyes suddenly widened and he looked up and down at Wang Chen.

Nowadays, some main roads in Yingtian are built with gray soil. Although they are not paved with bluestone slabs, they are strong enough.

Although the carriage was a bit bumpy when driving on it, it was much better than a dirt road.

If this concrete is really good quality and cheap, then what are you waiting for? Build the road quickly!
Who knows, not only will his carriage and horse business not decline, but it might even take advantage of this opportunity to soar to great heights.

After all, the experience of driving a tricycle on a dirt road and on a bluestone road is very different.

For a moment, Li Jinglong's heart was pounding and he was extremely excited!
"Do you really mean what you say?"

Wang Chen was a little nervous, but he nodded firmly and turned to look at Lu Yunyi:
"Sir Lu, not only that, we can build a workshop directly next to the coal mine in the future.

If it is fired on a large scale, the cost can be even lower.”

Lu Yunyi was well aware of this. Once the production scale was expanded, costs would inevitably drop significantly.

In the Ming Dynasty, manpower and material resources were abundant and cheap.
Mining and burning lime can almost be described as a business with no capital cost. The biggest cost may be the transportation fee after the successful burning.

Lu Yunyi took a deep breath and was extremely excited.

He looked at the large vat in front of him, then at the artillery being pulled in from a distance, and said with a smile:

"Okay! Let's try it today and see how hard this concrete is."

He looked at Wang Chen and ordered:
"By the way, where are the ashes and dirt items I asked you to prepare yesterday? Bring them here as well.

Only through comparison can we see the gap.

Bring over the concrete interspersed with fine iron,
Put the three together and conduct a bombardment test together!"

"Yes!" Wang Chen took the order and quickly turned around to get busy.

There was another round of intense busyness, and soon, two large vats and a stone lion were placed in the distance.

Three Hongwu iron cannons were set up firmly at a distance of fifty steps.

The round cannonballs were neatly arranged at the feet of the soldiers.

The torches nearby were burning brightly, illuminating the tense and expectant faces of the crowd.

Lu Yunyi and his group stood far away, their eyes fixed on the target ahead.

"Okay, we can start now. Aim more accurately!" Lu Yunyi shouted loudly.

Liu Heiying, who was not far away, heard the order and quickly raised the flag in his hand high.
He made a "yes" gesture, and then shouted the order:
"Fifty steps! Flat attack!"

"Salvo ready—"

The three soldiers quickly stuffed the shells into the barrel with skillful movements, and then quickly retreated to a safe distance.

The other three soldiers, wearing armor and holding torches, carefully brought the flames close to the fuse.

"volley--"

Following an order,
"Boom boom boom——"

Three loud noises rang out at the same time like thunder, making people's eardrums hurt. The air was instantly filled with thick smoke and the pungent smell of gunpowder spread.

Although everyone was dizzy and dazed by the loud noise,
But he still stretched his neck and looked forward eagerly.

Soon, everyone's eyes widened in shock.

Wang Chen couldn't help but exclaimed, "It's done, it's done!!"

The stone lion made of ash and mud in front of us has lost half of its body.
The large concrete vat that had just solidified for a day was destroyed in half!
On the other side, the concrete mixed with refined iron was in much better condition.

The outer concrete was knocked away, revealing the twisted fine iron inside!
But looking at it, it is definitely much better than the other two!
The reason why Wang Chen was so excited was that
In just one day, the vat of concrete was already as solid as completely solidified soil!
It is summer now and the weather is hot. According to the usual practice, the hardness that can be achieved on the first day is no more than 30%!!
Wang Chen couldn't imagine how strong the dam built with this stuff would be!

(End of this chapter)