Liu Zhe was speechless. He didn't know what to say to His Majesty the Grand Sun who insisted that the project should be completed within one year.

Even if you build a small yard, it will take two or three months. Lay the foundation, bake the bricks, build the walls, install the beams, and then lay the tiles. This does not include other detailed works. It is a set process.

, two or three months will be fast.

If it's slower, it might take months or even years.

Some large courtyards have been built only after the efforts of several generations.

What's more, it's a college with more than 6,000 acres of land, which is almost equivalent to a smaller city.

How is it possible in one year?

Zhu Zhanji ignored Liu Zhe's words. Since he had spoken, he naturally had a certain degree of confidence.

According to the construction speed of this era, it will indeed take a lot of time to build a college covering an area of ​​6,000 acres.

But just now he heard what Liu Zhe said and guessed where the time was spent.

Building a house project does not take much time, mainly the various materials in the early stage.

Just collecting materials is not a simple project, and things like stone pillars that are too huge and heavy not only require a lot of manpower, but also require special circumstances to move them.

After all, it is not the future. All kinds of large-scale construction machinery are completely beyond imagination, and they can play various tricks in construction.

It can be said that this era relies entirely on the crystallization of wisdom accumulated bit by bit by people of this era, but fundamentally it still does not get rid of human power.

For every building that shocks the world, the time spent behind it is definitely unimaginable by future generations.

But for Zhu Zhanji, he has more choices than people of this era. Since choosing materials is troublesome, why not change to a different material!

For example...cement?

As one of the most important and indispensable materials in the construction industry in later generations, the role of cement is unquestionable.

As a qualified time traveler, when encountering this kind of architectural problem, you will naturally think of this thing immediately.

After all, cement can be said to be a key material for a country’s infrastructure.

Cement is low in cost and uses very common materials, such as iron ore, limestone, clay, coal, etc.

With cement, whether it is building roads, building bridges, or whatever, it will not be too convenient.

Moreover, the technology of cement is not difficult, and the production process is not complicated. It can be said that it is something that can be made with hands.

So after hearing Liu Zhe's words, Zhu Zhanji immediately thought of cement.

Thinking of cement, Zhu Zhanji lost interest in looking here anymore, and said to Liu Zhe who was standing aside: "Let the Ministry of Works arrange for all the workers who are cutting stone pillars to stop. There will be no need for stone pillars."

"No need for stone pillars..."

Hearing Zhu Zhanji's words, Liu Zhe was a little confused. Did His Highness the Grand Sun not plan to build the college gate according to his original idea?

He was actually looking forward to the gate designed by Zhu Zhanji. If it could be built under his supervision in the future, it would undoubtedly be a piece of political capital for him.

If it is not built, it will naturally be a loss for him, so when he heard this, he would inevitably feel a little disappointed.

"You come with me!"

Zhu Zhanji didn't explain anything, and asked Liu Zhe to follow him to the other side, and then asked:

"Is there any brick-making place nearby?"

Liu Zhe heard Zhu Zhanji ask. Although he didn't understand what Zhu Zhanji wanted to do, he still said respectfully: "There is a brick kiln not far to the south that was just built a few days ago. Does Your Highness Taisun want to take a look?"

Zhu Zhanji nodded when he heard this. The calcining temperature of the brick kiln was not much different from the calcining temperature of cement, so it was just right for use.

After thinking for a while, he ordered Liu Zhe:

"Please inform me that we will first prepare some iron ore, limestone, gypsum, coal, and clay, and send them all to the brick kiln, and then have them grind them all."

After hearing what Zhu Zhanji said, Liu Zhe was a little confused.

He could also understand clay and lime. Clay is the main raw material used to make bricks and stones. Lime was also used in construction a long time ago.

But iron ore, coal, and especially gypsum, are you sure they are not used to make tofu?

But after all, it was Zhu Zhanji's order, so he nodded and immediately sent people to prepare these things.

For the Ministry of Industry, it is not troublesome to prepare some limestone, gypsum, iron ore, clay, and coal.

In addition, Huang Fu, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, did not take care of things very much, and the people below did not dare to despise Zhu Zhanji's orders.

Zhu Zhanji gave the order, and within an hour, all these things were ready.

When he followed Liu Zhe to the brick kiln here, the shed of the brick kiln was already filled with all kinds of materials Zhu Zhanji needed.

There are many things like limestone, coal, iron ore, gypsum, and clay.

Not only that, I don’t know how these people did it. Zhu Zhanji looked at it and saw that there were a lot of various materials, and they had all been ground into fine particles according to his requirements.

In the winter, the brick kiln is close to the kiln, so the temperature is not low.

In the hot workshop, some craftsmen are making clay embryos. Each person has divided an area. Some of the clay embryos produced will leave their own unique marks on the clay embryos.

For this era, this can be regarded as a way to hold people accountable.

According to what Zhu Zhanji knows, in the Shuntian Mansion built by his imperial grandfather, it is said that the craftsman who made each floor tile can be clearly traced.

Although this method is not a friendly thing to these low-status craftsmen, it has to be said that it can be regarded as another form of craftsmanship in this era.

The person in charge here saw Liu Zhe coming with Zhu Zhanji, followed by a large group of royal guards, and immediately ran out in fear.

Zhu Zhanji had no interest in the person in charge, so he dismissed him casually after he finished his salute.

Liu Zhe saw Zhu Zhanji's eyes lingering on the clay embryos, and smiled beside him and said: "Your Highness, the bricks fired in this brick kiln will be transported to the academy to be used as the foundation in the future.

The bricks and stones actually used to build houses will be fired in better brick kilns, and there will be dedicated personnel responsible for selecting them, and only qualified bricks and stones will be transported."

Hearing Liu Zhe's words, Zhu Zhanji nodded, but his interest in masonry came more from various institutional issues of this era.

After listening to Liu Zhe say a few words, he stopped paying any more attention.

Instead, he walked directly to several materials that had been ground for firing cement.

He casually picked up a wooden board that was supposed to be used to smooth the mud, then pounded out some of the various materials, and said to Liu Zhe:

"Arrange a few craftsmen to select some of each material roughly according to the amount I just made, and then have people mix these materials and send them all into the brick kiln for firing. After they are almost melted,

Turn off the heat immediately, wait until the temperature drops, then add some gypsum and grind it into powder again!"

"What does His Highness Taisun mean?"

Liu Zhe was a little confused and didn't understand what Zhu Zhanji was going to do?

He would understand if it was about making bricks and tiles, but from what Zhu Zhanji meant, it was obvious that he wanted to make some kind of powder.

Iron ore, limestone, coal, clay, and even gypsum were used.

Is it possible that His Highness the Great Grandson has recently encountered some kind of warlock who knows how to make alchemy?

Liu Zhe's face suddenly turned bitter when he thought of this. Although he didn't know much about warlocks, he also knew that most of these people were lying.

If His Majesty the Grand Sun likes this kind of thing at such a young age, it would not be a good thing for officials like them who came out of the Prince's Mansion.

Zhu Zhanji glanced at Liu Zhe, too lazy to explain so much. After all, there is no real thing like cement. Even if he was asked to explain for three days and three nights, he might not be able to explain why. It would be better to wait until he gets the real thing.

.

So after thinking about it, Zhu Zhanji said: "Just follow my instructions. The firing time should not be short. When the actual objects are ready, you can send these things directly to the Prince's Mansion. I have a big

use."

"yes!"

After hearing Zhu Zhanji's words, Liu Zhe did not dare to ask any more questions and nodded in response.

After Zhu Zhanji finished speaking, he paused and said: "By the way, you can find a few more craftsmen to study and see if there is any way to add a layer of smooth ceramics to the surface of the fired floor tiles. In addition, this kind of

The floor tiles can be made thinner, and when they are successfully made, they will be sent to the Prince's Mansion."

Liu Zhe was thinking about the warlock when he heard Zhu Zhanji say something new. After thinking about it, he nodded and said:

"It shouldn't be difficult to combine ceramics with masonry, so I'm going to let people try to make it!"

Zhu Zhanji nodded, and after arranging these things, he didn't stay here longer.

The cement matter is not complicated, and the process is simple. As long as you follow his instructions, you will definitely be able to make it in a short time.

He only had to wait until Liu Zhe fired the thing, then test the strength of the cement, and then he could decide whether to use it.

When the time comes, a factory specifically built for firing cement will be able to start mass production immediately.

As for the last tile, Zhu Zhanji also came up with it on the spur of the moment.

After all, cement is good, but it has to be said that it is quite inferior in terms of appearance.

Since we decided to build the world's first gate in the Ming Dynasty, at least the appearance should not be bad.

Naturally, Zhu Zhanji could not simply use cement.

Ceramic tiles are a very good choice.

Although this thing was first invented in Italy due to aesthetic reasons.

But for Daming, it is very simple to get this thing out in advance.

After all, the porcelain craftsmanship of the Ming Dynasty was several levels higher than those of Westerners.

Zhu Zhanji has even thought about it. When the Ministry of Industry develops ceramic tiles, he will have all the fifty-six stone pillars of the Royal Academy specially fired in a batch and then affixed to them.

All the humanities and history of the Ming Dynasty are printed on it. In this way, although there are no stone pillars, the ceramic specifications will definitely not lose the grade.

Even thousands of years later, as long as there is no man-made damage, these things can definitely be preserved with the strength of porcelain.
Chapter completed!