in2ebook Chapter 125 Mu Yunxi also understood more from Yongle's chapter
Chapter 125 Mu Yunxi also understood more from Yongle's chapter
Yongle's words also made Mu Yunxi more aware of the backwardness of this era. She thought about the bridges she had seen in Zhao State, most of which were made of wood, some with clay and gravel. However, these bridges were obviously not as strong as stone bridges. It was no wonder that those who knew how to build bridges in Zhao State were busy all year round. Mu Yunxi thought of modern cement. She had forgotten the production process of cement, but she remembered that the raw materials were called limestone and clay. In college, her teacher specifically mentioned that it seemed to need to be fired. She wanted to give it a try, so she simply went to Emperor Qing Zhao, informed him of the situation, and asked him to send someone to find it.
"I knew that as long as you took the initiative to come to me, good things would happen!" Emperor Qing Zhao's happiness could be heard in his words.
"Your Majesty, don't be too happy too soon. I don't know if it will work, but I just want to give it a try!" Mu Yunxi said with a bow.
"Whether it works or not, it's always good to give it a try. And I believe you can do it!" Emperor Qing Zhao was certain. Thinking of something, he asked again, "You said that clay is easy to find, but how do you find limestone? You have to tell me what it looks like, otherwise the people we send out won't know how to find it!"
Mu Yunxi recalled the appearance of limestone and said, "Limestone is usually white or gray, with a hard and dense texture. Its surface is smooth, and some may have textures. Also, limestone dissolves easily in acid, producing bubbles."
Emperor Qing Zhao took note and asked Mu Yunxi if she had any other requests. Mu Yunxi was not shy and said, "Dig a kiln for me where there's clay! If you can find limestone, just ship it there!"
Emperor Qing Zhao readily agreed. If it was really as Mu Yunxi said, then the city walls of his Zhao Kingdom would not be built with clay and mortar, but with the so-called cement, which would be so strong.
Now that she had the cement, she asked Emperor Qing Zhao to prepare the sand. Because Zhao State didn't have machinery to produce fine sand, Mu Yunxi had Emperor Qing Zhao send people to search for sand along the river, sift out impurities, and then expose it to the sun for later use.
On the 11th of the month, limestone prospectors returned with reports of gray stone, with a small amount of white, found on Guqi Mountain in southern Zizhou. Emperor Qing Zhao ordered all of it to be brought back. Upon hearing the news, Mu Yunxi handed the students over to Sun Chao and returned directly to the Princess's residence to accompany Yongle. She would be working day and night to burn lime, and she was uneasy about having others watching her without understanding the process.
She stayed with Yongle for a few days until a batch of stones were shipped back and she was asked to confirm whether they were limestones before she temporarily separated from Yongle.
Yongle expressed her frustration at Mu Yunxi's clinginess. These past few days, she'd follow her to the bathroom, as if they'd never see each other again. Ruo Ling even teased her, "Your Highness, just be content! After Little Master Mu leaves, you'll miss him all over again! But I heard that this cement factory is being built in Xiya Village outside the city! There's a riverbank not far from that village, and they say it's a good place to get sand and other things!"
After listening to him, Yongle asked in confusion, "How do you know so much?"
Ruo Ling said a little embarrassedly, "One of the people His Majesty sent to look for a suitable place was my cousin. I met him yesterday when His Majesty asked me to go to the pastry shop to buy the mung bean cakes that Master Xiao Mu loves. We chatted for a while, and he told me."
After hearing this, Yongle said "Oh" meaningfully.
After Mu Yunxi confirmed that it was limestone, she returned and heard Yongle say, "Alas! Girls can't be kept at home when they grow up!"
Mu Yunxi was puzzled and asked, "Who is it?"
Yongle didn't say anything, but signaled Mu Yunxi to look at Ruoling. Mu Yunxi immediately understood: "She has someone she likes?"
Yongle nodded, and then told Mu Yunxi about Ruo Ling's encounter with her cousin. He said, "I can hear her joy from her words. I guess she has been fond of him for a long time!"
After listening, Mu Yunxi said: "Ruo Ling is the same age as you, also twenty years old. If she likes him, she can consider his character and other factors."
Yongle also said: "I thought so too, so I asked Ruoxia to check it out."
Their voices were low, and Ruo Ling had no idea what they were talking about. Furthermore, the two of them often talked together like this, and as a servant, she never became curious about what her masters were saying.
The two chatted for a while about Mu Yunxi's trip to the cement factory, where she planned to leave the next day. Yongle wanted to go with her, but she refused. She was afraid she'd forget about it in her busy schedule. Furthermore, the conditions and environment in the village weren't very good, and she couldn't bear to see Yongle suffer. The person dear to her heart wouldn't let her suffer even a little.
She was away for a month, and after four failures, she and the craftsmen sent by Emperor Qing Zhao to learn from her finally succeeded in making cement.
After informing the craftsman about the storage conditions for cement, she returned to Beijing with her limited supply. Mu Yunxi was delighted to see that after a month's hard work, she had only managed to produce two small bags. Although the process was relatively tedious and inefficient, she considered it a remarkable achievement given current technological conditions.
After presenting the cement to Emperor Qing Zhao and instructing him on how to use it, he immediately returned to the Mu Mansion, greeting all the elders before going to find Yongle.
Mu Yunxi rested for a few days before attending classes at the academy. The students complained that Mu Yunxi hadn't taken them with him while he was developing new things. It wasn't that Mu Yunxi didn't want to take them with him, but that Emperor Qing Zhao had forbidden him to. Mu Yunxi understood that Emperor Qing Zhao wanted to keep the cement-making technology in his own hands. After all, he planned to use this cement to build the city wall.
He intended to use the funds to build a wall around the eastern coast, but because the area offered only endless expanse of sea, and the troops sent there hadn't found any signs of danger, the previous emperors, believing it to be harmless, didn't use the funds to build the wall. Upon learning of this, Mu Yunxi advised Emperor Qing Zhao to be prepared for any eventuality and not wait until danger struck before taking precautions. Fortunately, Emperor Qing Zhao heeded his advice, and the funds were soon put to good use.
Back to the point, after the craftsmen built a wall according to Mu Yunxi's instructions, and after enduring water, scorching sun, and even fire, the short wall remained standing. Mu Yunxi was promoted again, to the second rank. This made even more people envious and jealous, and they all protested Emperor Qing Zhao's decision, but Emperor Qing Zhao dismissed them with two sentences: "What Mu Yunxi created benefits the country and the people, and will benefit our Zhao Kingdom for thousands of years. If you can be like her, I will also promote you to higher positions."
As soon as Emperor Qing Zhao finished speaking, the hall suddenly fell silent!
Some people still refused to accept the news, saying, "Getting promoted is as easy as eating and drinking water!"
Before Emperor Qing Zhao could even open his mouth, Prime Minister Lin retorted, "Didn't Your Majesty just say that? If you can do it, you can do it too!"