We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

Seven days passed in a flash.

Li Che was dressed in a white robe, standing under a tree in the backyard of the palace.

The snow-white robe made her look particularly elegant, with the hem swaying in the wind, as graceful as a cloud.

Li Che slowly got into position, his initial movements were as smooth as flowing clouds and water, and he drew a Tai Chi in the air.

Snapped--

Snapped--

Snapped--

After finishing a set of Tai Chi, Li Che put away his stance and exhaled.

He learned this Tai Chi from a boxing manual collected by an aristocratic family. He was not sure whether it was useful or not, but he did feel refreshed after practicing a set.

I don't expect to use this thing to kill enemies on the battlefield, but it's still good for strengthening the body.

Qiu Wen, who was far away, saw Li Che finishing his exercise and immediately ran over and handed Li Che a glass of water.

Li Che reached out to take it, picked up the cup and drank it all.

Qiu Wen widened her eyes, looked at the faint muscle lines under Li Che's robe, and swallowed lightly.

Thinking back to His Highness half a year ago, he looked so frail, not even as strong as me.

Now he can be described as strong and robust, and his handsome face has a bit more masculine toughness.

Qiu Wen blushed and asked curiously in a low voice, "Your Highness, I heard that Tai Chi is a martial art that uses the opponent's force to counter the opponent's force. Why do you practice to be so strong?"

Li Che's hand suddenly stopped, and he said calmly: "In case they don't lend it to me."

Qiu Wen: ???

After fooling the little girl, Li Che went back to his room, dried himself, and walked towards the main hall.

Passing a corner, he suddenly stopped.

A black shadow appeared on the floor, with two semicircular ears on its round head.

Li Che smiled slightly and tiptoed over.

Hearing Li Che's voice, the figure immediately lowered its head, and the cat poked its head out stealthily, revealing a furry golden fur.

"Ouch!!!"

Before the little guy could make a move, Li Che took the initiative and rushed forward with a shout.

The little tiger was caught off guard and was so frightened that his body stiffened and he sat down on the ground, his whiskers trembling.

"Hahahahaha!" Li Che looked at Xiao Song, who had collapsed into a heap, and laughed uncontrollably. "With such a small amount of courage, you still dare to come out and mess around?"

Qiu Bai, who had been following behind Li Che, saw this scene and couldn't help but curl his lips: "Your Highness is really childish... full of childishness."

Just as he finished speaking, he suddenly felt someone's gaze cast at him.

When I turned around, a familiar and hateful face appeared in front of me.

"It's you again, kid!"

The guard said expressionlessly, "What did the commander just say? I didn't hear clearly. Please say it again. Don't worry, I'm a tight-lipped person."

"Who would believe you?" Qiu Bai gritted his teeth. "If you dare to go to His Highness and tell such nonsense, I'll eat you alive!"

The guards looked fearless, their eyes filled with eagerness to try.

It feels so good to report to your direct supervisor and have him or her do nothing about it.

At this moment, a burst of excited shouting came from the gate of the palace: "Your Highness! Your Highness! Make way, I want to see Your Highness."

Qiu Bai glared at the guard, then turned and walked towards the door: "Who is making a commotion here?"

"I am a research officer at the Gongzheng Institute. I have made a major breakthrough in cement research. Please allow me to meet His Highness!"

The position of scientific research officer was specially created by Li Che. It was held by outstanding officials and creative craftsmen. They were only responsible for research and did not have to manage daily government affairs.

To put it bluntly, they are the reserve force of scientists, future scientific researchers, and the backbone of climbing the technology tree.

Li Che also heard the noise at this moment and walked over quickly.

"Is the cement ready?"

The researcher said excitedly, "Ten of our test subjects have successfully solidified, and three have passed the pressure test!"

Li Che's expression changed slightly: "Let's go and take a look!"

He mounted his horse and headed straight out of the city with his personal guards.

All the workshops and companies in Chaoyang City have moved outside the city, and the cement factory is located near the glass factory.

As soon as he walked out of the city gate, Li Che heard the roar of an explosion coming from the location of the Gunpowder Department in the distance.

Passersby just glanced over there and then continued on their way. They were already used to it.

Li Che shook his head helplessly. Everyone in the Gunpowder Department was a genius in explosives, and Chen Gui was even a nuclear explosion master. They couldn't afford to offend him.

Nowadays, the iteration speed of products produced by the Gunpowder Company is extremely fast, and a new version can be released almost every few days.

For example, the most common grenade has changed from a can to a long-handled type, which is the most common type seen in anti-Japanese TV dramas.

The problem of ignition is also solved, and there is no need to use a fire stick to ignite it.

Instead, a flint was installed at the bottom of the grenade handle. By pulling the rope, the small iron wheel inside was continuously rotated, and the friction caused sparks, which then ignited the fuse.

When Li Che saw this device, he was extremely shocked and couldn't help but admire the wisdom of the ancients.

Don't underestimate this small device. It greatly improves the efficiency of grenade use. It may take ten seconds to throw one before, but now it can be thrown in two or three seconds.

The long-handled grenade greatly improved the army's combat effectiveness, and the Gunpowder Department played a vital role in this.

So, even though they are making a lot of noise every day, no one dares to object, after all, they have real achievements to show for themselves.

Li Che led his men into the gate of the cement factory. He could see dust particles floating in the air with the naked eye, and he couldn't help but frowned.

However, the workers all wore masks as required, which reduced a lot of damage to the body.

Li Che took the mask from Wang Chongjian who was waiting at the door, put it on, and strode in.

"As Your Highness said, we heated the cement appropriately, and it really did accelerate its setting." Wang Chongjian explained as he walked. "Ten of the test pieces completed setting, but only three completed the compression test."

Wang Chongjian stopped and pointed at the three large cement blocks in front of him: "Number two, number three, number six."

"How is the stress test conducted?" Li Che asked.

"First, people will trample on it, then the cows will walk over it, and finally the huge rocks will be placed on it."

Li Che shook his head: "No, this is just a load-bearing test, the actual situation is much more complicated."

"Your Highness means..."

Li Che looked at the guard beside him: "Go get a hammer."

Then he looked around among the guards, and finally his eyes fell on a burly man. "You, Zhou Rui, right? It's you, come here."

Li Che was familiar with every guard and could remember their names.

Zhou Rui is also a warrior from the Criminal Camp. He has always been Li Che's personal guard and his combat power is second only to Hu Qiang.

During the Battle of Xiangping, Zhou Rui led a group of personal guards and executed the remaining Pi Shi troops with Guduo.

This guy is very strong. When he sees Pi Shijun, he hits him on the head with a hammer, which can make his head explode.

Zhou Rui walked forward silently, picked up the sledgehammer, and stood beside Li Che.

Li Che pointed at the second test object and said to Zhou Rui, "Hit it with all your strength. Don't hold back. If it breaks, you won't have to pay for it."

"Yes, Your Highness." Zhou Rui said in a muffled voice.

"Be careful and stay safe." Li Che patted Zhou Rui's heavy shoulders and led his men to step back a few steps to make room for him.

Zhou Rui stood in front of the cement block and spat twice into his palms.

A sharp look flashed in his eyes, and he gripped the sledgehammer, swung it in a circle and smashed it down.

bump--

Everyone only heard a loud bang, and the air seemed to be distorted.

The moment the cement block came into contact with the sledgehammer, it could not withstand such gravity and immediately broke into pieces.

Li Che took a look and shook his head: "No, it's not qualified."

The cement blocks I saw at the construction site in my previous life could never be broken by a hammer.

If this kind of cement is used, the roads built will be completely shoddy projects, and there might be an engineering accident someday.

Wang Chongjian and others sighed, their faces hidden behind their masks full of disappointment.

"Try the next one." Li Che said.

Zhou Rui nodded, gathered all his strength, and smashed down suddenly.

This time, there was only a muffled sound, and no cement fragments flew out in pieces.

When the dust settled, everyone looked on expectantly.

However, although the cement block was intact, it was covered with cracks like a spider web.

Li Che walked closer, stretched out his hand to break it, and suddenly some crumbs appeared in his hand.

With another gentle push, the entire cement block shattered into stone slag on the ground.

"The strength is acceptable, but not enough." Li Che said mercilessly, "No, it's still unqualified."

Cement No. 2 and No. 3 failed one after another. Everyone was disappointed and could only pin their hopes on cement No. 6.

Li Che glanced at Zhou Rui, who understood and walked forward with a sledgehammer.

bump--

The sledgehammer fell, but the cement block didn't move at all.

Everyone rushed over to take a look, only to find that the cement was intact as before, with no changes except for a few dents on the surface caused by the impact.

Li Che's eyes lit up: "There's hope, Zhou Rui, give it another hammer!"

Zhou Rui was not vague either and delivered another equally heavy blow.

After one hammer strike, nothing happened except that the dent became a little deeper.

The crowd cheered.

"Hahaha! Sure!" Li Che was also a little excited, "Zhou Rui, the last hammer!"

Zhou Rui nodded, swung the sledgehammer and smashed it down.

It was still the same as the previous two times, only a few pieces fell off and the dent was a little deeper.

"It's done!" Li Che smiled and looked at the craftsmen, "Follow this ratio, calculate the data, and continue to improve."

"I have noted down all your contributions. When the road is completed, you will all be the first to receive the credit!"