Zhang Shouzhi had spent half his life in the field of civil engineering, and he was the most senior official in the Bureau of Works. He knew everything related to civil engineering like the back of his hand.
However, Zhang Shouzhi had never heard of such a thing before.
"Hehe, isn't the strongest brick wall adhesive what you've always wanted to research? This is the formula for it. Perhaps, it might be of some help to you. "
As Wang Chong spoke, he passed over a piece of paper that he had prepared beforehand.
This was the first 'cement' formula in this world.
This wasn't the first time Wang Chong had done something like this. But every single time, there was an indescribable feeling in his heart.
In the world of martial arts, everything was fine, but the logistics and transportation were extremely inconvenient. Pigeons could reach the capital in a few days.
But if they were to travel by horse carriage, it would take at least a month or even longer.
Even someone of Zhangchou Jianqiong's caliber took more than twenty days to reach the capital from Jianghu.
Sometimes, the competition between countries was not only about the military strength of both sides, but also a considerable part of the competition was about the logistics of both sides.
Wang Chong had been the Grand Marshal of the Central Plains himself, so he couldn't be any clearer on this point.
In a war, the side that could transport troops the fastest and send reinforcements earlier would have a higher chance of achieving victory.
In a local war, this only concerned the victory or defeat of a single battle.
But in a war between empires, this would determine the rise and fall of a nation, as well as the change in authority.
But in this era, other than Wang Chong, no one had paid attention to this aspect.
In Wang Chong's plan, 'cement' was an extremely important component.
Even though it seemed to have come from another world, just like hybrid rice, it wasn't a particularly profound technique. It was just that no one had been able to reach such a level yet.
What Wang Chong had given Zhang Shouzhi was a basic cement formula. As for how to do it and how to produce it, Zhang Shouzhi would have to do it himself.
The room was quiet.
Zhang Shouzhi was indifferent at first, but under the dim light in the room, Zhang Shouzhi held up the list in his hand and glanced at it. Zhang Shouzhi's expression immediately changed.
He had spent his entire life studying adhesives for bricks and stones. The thing that Wang Chong had given him was obviously a very powerful thing. This thing was even more powerful than the last thing he had researched.
The balance in Zhang Shouzhi's heart was overturned.
Under the dim light, Zhang Shouzhi looked at the list in his hand for a long time. Wang Chong didn't disturb him and just watched silently from the side.
"How is it?"
Wang Chong said.
Zhang Shouzhi didn't say anything. He held the prescription in his hand and frowned. He seemed to be hesitating and couldn't make up his mind.
Wang Chong was taken aback. Then, he seemed to have thought of something. He slowly walked forward and whispered in Zhang Shouzhi's ear.
"If Old Zhang agrees to it, I can also agree to help you deal with General Xu!"
This sentence was the straw that broke the camel's back.
"I agree! As long as you can help me get that bastard Xu Xizi down! "
Zhang Shouzhi nodded his head fiercely. Deep hatred shot out from his eyes.
Back then, if that bastard Xu Xizi hadn't framed him and tampered with the adhesive he developed, causing cracks to appear in the palace and the walls to collapse, he wouldn't have been expelled from the Ministry of Works and ended up in such a state.
Zhang Shouzhi didn't want him to die, but he didn't want him to. As long as he left the Ministry of Works, everything would be fine.
"Gongzi, you aren't lying to me, right? I know that you have a powerful background, but Xu Xizi is now a general in the palace. It won't be easy to get him down. Does the Wang Clan have the ability to do so? "
Zhang Shouzhi suddenly recalled something and asked gravely.
"Hehe, you don't have to worry about that. It won't be easy, but it's not impossible. You just have to wait for my news. "
Wang Chong waved his hand, a relaxed expression on his face.
It wasn't easy to get rid of a general in the palace, and even the Wang Clan didn't have the ability to do so. Even the most powerful of clans couldn't extend their hands into the royal palace.
However, there was no need for Wang Chong to go through so much trouble.
As long as he spoke to the Consort Tai Zhen of the palace, it would be a walk in the park for him to replace the general in the palace.
After successfully convincing Zhang Shouzhi to help him manage the city base in Jiannan, Wang Chong quickly left the remote and dilapidated residence.
The sky outside had already darkened.
A light breeze blew past, and Wang Chong's mind was in turmoil.
The construction of a city was no small matter, and what Wang Chong wanted was a city that could house 180,000 soldiers, provide them with sufficient rations, and defend against the enemy's attacks in times of crisis.
This city had to be huge and sturdy, and it had to be equipped with all kinds of fortifications, water, food, and horse rations …
None of these were small matters. Even a million gold taels would be far from enough.
But even so, Wang Chong didn't mind it at all.
Wang Chong felt that the help he could provide was simply too little. The current him was still far from the level where his words carried enormous weight, and he could easily decide the policies of the empire with a few casual words.
Given Wang Chong's current capability, the city on the Lion Rock Ridge in the southwest of the empire was already his greatest effort.
"… Once I start building the city, the money I have on me will be far from enough. I have to earn more money first. It seems like I have to think of a way to push that matter forward. "
Wang Chong slowly raised his head, and his mind was in turmoil. His eyes slowly gazed into the depths of the pitch-black night sky.
Flap flap flap!
A moment later, a pigeon flapped its wings and flew across the void toward the Zhang Family's residence in the capital. While the pigeon flew toward the Zhang Family, more than 30 ingots of Hyderabad ore were also sent to the Zhang Family.
With the appearance of the Hyderabad ore, the number of WuZi Steel weapons in the capital increased by more than 30, and all of these weapons were sent to the palace.
Desperate times call for desperate measures!
Wang Chong wasn't a stickler for formalities.
…
As the morning sun rose, thousands of golden rays fell from the clouds and sprinkled on the majestic palace of the Tang dynasty. The walls of the palace glowed in the morning light, as though it was a holy land on earth.
At this moment, a figure dressed in court attire was walking alone through the golden palace walls. His head was lowered, and it seemed as though he was deep in thought.
Even though there was no one accompanying him, the person's every movement exuded a powerful aura. Moreover, there was a purple token hanging from his waist that was two fingers wide, which further revealed this person's extraordinary identity.
Within the palace, anyone who had such a purple token hanging from their waist was someone of extraordinary status and had a special status within the palace.
This was because these purple tokens were not issued by the court, but by the current Holy Emperor.
"It won't be long before the annual Holy Emperor's Review begins. I hope that His Majesty will be satisfied this year!"
Li Qingyou frowned, and his mind was preoccupied.
He was a third-rank military official, but unlike the officials in the court, Li Qingyou didn't need to go to work in the morning, and he didn't participate in military affairs.
He only needed to be in charge of the Imperial Army in the palace, and he reported directly to the Holy Emperor.
The beautiful and luxurious token hanging from his waist was proof of Li Qingyou's identity. As the military official of the palace, or rather, the military official of His Majesty, Li Qingyou wielded great authority, even greater than some of the officials in the court who were in charge of military supplies.
At the very least, the wealth that Li Qingyou could mobilize was far beyond imagination.
However, this didn't make Li Qingyou happy at all. Instead, he felt immense pressure.
As the military official of the Imperial Army, Li Qingyou had to satisfy the needs of a hundred thousand Imperial Army soldiers at the same time. More importantly, Li Qingyou had to satisfy His Majesty's requirements and satisfy the Holy Emperor.
However, the quality of the weapons forged by the weaponry workshop and the swordsmithing clans wasn't satisfactory at all.
The weapons forged by the weaponry workshop were of varying quality, and the production rate of the swordsmithing clans was too low. The number of weapons they used every year was almost the same as the number they purchased.
With such a performance, it was hard to satisfy His Majesty.
As the military official who reported directly to His Majesty, there was nothing remarkable about his performance that could leave a deep impression on His Majesty.
"Sigh, if this goes on … Even if His Majesty doesn't say anything, it'll be hard for me to continue on as a military official. "
Li Qingyou thought to himself.
"Hahaha …"
Just as Zhang Xuan was feeling vexed, a burst of laughter suddenly sounded from the wall beside him, accompanied by the sounds of intense fighting.
Due to the flourishing of martial arts in the royal palace, it was common for Imperial Army soldiers to spar with one another. Li Qingyou passed by this area every day, so he couldn't be any more familiar with such sounds.
However, there was something different about today.
Usually, the intense fighting would last for a long time, but today, it ended very quickly. Not only so, the sounds of the battle seemed to be different as well.
It didn't seem to be the sound of ordinary weapons.
Almost subconsciously, Li Qingyou stopped in his tracks.
"Again!"
Just as Zhang Xuan was perplexed, the voice from the other side of the palace suddenly sounded indignant.
"Hahaha, bring it on! Even if you go at it a hundred more times, you'll still lose! "
Another hearty voice sounded.
Following which, the sound of weapons clashing sounded. Surprisingly, Li Qingyou didn't leave the palace. Instead, he remained outside the palace walls, listening to the Harken.
In the royal palace, there were rules. Something like this was too unusual. It was very rare to encounter something like this. Li Qingyou's interest was piqued.
Klang!
This time around, the battle ended even faster than the previous one. Klang! The sound of a weapon snapping echoed. Due to the excessive force exerted, the tip of a sword flew high into the air, flew past the walls, and landed not too far away from Li Qingyou, stabbing into the sturdy red tiles of the royal palace.
"This is!"
In the instant that the tip of the sword landed, Li Qingyou's sharp eyes immediately recognized it, and his heart skipped a beat.
"Isn't this the famous saber forged by the Lu Clan?"
Li Qingyou rolled up his sleeves and squatted down. He stretched out two fingers that were like iron pincers and carefully picked up the sword tip from the ground.
That's right, it was the famous saber of the Lu Clan!
There was the insignia of the Lu Clan on it, so there was no mistaking it. As a military official in the royal palace, he had to deal with such things on a daily basis, so he couldn't be any more familiar with them.
The Lu Clan was a rising clan in the capital, and they were the youngest among the renowned swordsmithing clans. But perhaps it was precisely for this reason that their swordsmithing clans were the best in terms of appearance, size, and quality.
On top of that, as the Lu Clan's swordsmithing output was higher, there were many of them in the Imperial Army.
It was truly surprising that the Lu Clan's famed sword was broken. But what left Li Qingyou even more astonished was that the cut was as smooth as a mirror.
"What kind of weapon is that? How could it be so sharp!"
Li Qingyou couldn't conceal the shock in his eyes. Even though the Lu Clan's famed sword wasn't the most formidable, it was definitely top-notch. It wasn't an easy feat to break it.
In order to make such a cut, the sword had to be extremely sharp.
But despite being in charge of the Imperial Army's armaments for so long, Li Qingyou had never seen any weapon that could be so sharp.
"So, the battle ended because their sword was broken."
A thought flashed across Li Qingyou's mind, and he suddenly understood something. However, Li Qingyou was even more curious about the weapon that broke the Lu Clan's famed sword.
"Hahaha, good sword! It's indeed a good sword! Zhou Lie, do you want to do it again? "
A hearty voice could be heard from within the palace walls, unwilling to let go.
"Not again, not again. Huang Chang, aren't you just relying on the WuZi Steel sword you bought? What's there to be proud of? If you are capable, don't use the WuZi Steel sword and fight me one-on-one! "
The Imperial Guard who lost said. His last sentence caused Li Qingyou, who was standing outside the palace walls, to tremble.
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