The emperor is biased and wants to kill me, but you chickened out when the army is at the city gates

"Bring me a knife!"

Qin Xuan was somewhat expectant and ordered the guard beside him to draw his sword and take it into his hand.

"Your Highness, are you planning to smash this so-called cement with a knife?"

Zhuge Xuan asked curiously.

Qin Xuan smiled but did not answer.

Such a large piece of poured cement cannot be split with a knife; Qin Xuan was just testing the cement's hardness.

"Shh..."

Qin Xuan calmed himself down, gripped the hilt of the knife with both hands, and suddenly slashed out with the blade.

In an instant, a spark flashed, and Qin Xuan felt his hand go numb, almost losing his grip on the knife.

He had used all his strength in that cut, but when he looked down, he saw that the square meter block of cement only had a shallow cut mark on its front.

Although Qin Xuan had somewhat anticipated this scene, he was still somewhat surprised to see it with his own eyes.

As for Zhuge Xuan and Gao Xiong, they were already astonished by his extraordinary abilities.

They had never seen such a hard rock before; after all, everyone could feel how much force Qin Xuan had used in that strike.

"Not bad, it seems the proportions are correct." Qin Xuan nodded with a smile, then raised his knife and chopped at the second piece of cement.

This time, I used all my strength again, but the result was that it was even harder to split than the first piece.

Cement with added gravel and river sand is essentially self-mixed concrete, and its strength is self-evident.

"very good."

Qin Xuan nodded in satisfaction: "From now on, use the formula of the first cement when building any walls. As for the second one, I will tell you the specific usage method."

The first type of cement is the commonly used cement mortar, which can be used for things like bricklaying.

The second type is used for paving the ground or pouring beams, columns, and foundations, which involves formwork fabrication.

Fortunately, Beining City has no shortage of carpenters. Qin Xuan only needs to explain the production method once, and the carpenter can make it.

With cement, the construction of houses could be sped up, and it could also be used to reinforce city walls.

As for the concrete, Qin Xuan planned to use it for road construction and building real military fortresses.

However, these things cannot be accomplished overnight and will take some time. After all, even the raw materials require a certain amount of time to mine and procure.

Two days later, construction officially began on the first house built with cement next to the temporary wooden huts for the refugees.

A large number of blue bricks were delivered to the site, and then the bricklayers, following the methods Qin Xuan had taught them, applied cement and used an I-shaped paving method to build the new walls at an astonishing speed.

"Your Highness, I would like to go to the Northern Wilderness to see the construction of the new house."

These past two days, Zhao Luoying managed to steal a moment of leisure from her busy schedule and dragged Qin Xuan to the Northern Wilderness.

She had heard Zhuge Xuan talk about the amazing properties of cement yesterday, and she was curious, not believing that such a magical thing existed in the world.

In reality, Zhuge Xuan only saw the solidity of cement; its true strength lay in its ability to improve construction efficiency.

Generally, walls made of rammed earth or clay must be left to stand for a day after being built, and their stability is not good.

But cement can achieve the same effect as clay in a day in just one hour.

Qin Xuan felt sorry for Zhao Luoying and was naturally willing to accompany her for a stroll. However, as soon as they arrived in the Northern Wilderness, they saw Zhuge Xuan, Ning Yuanfeng, and even Qiu Xingzhi with their students.

Such a large scene actually made the bricklayers nervous.

"Why are you all here?"

Qin Xuan asked with a smile, and everyone quickly bowed. Qiu Xingzhi smiled and said, "Yesterday, Mr. Zhuge mentioned Your Highness's new invention, so we all came to take a look."

"It just so happens that the dikes are being reinforced recently. If this cement is really that magical, then Shanyang County in the south of the city will be free from floods in the future."

Spring is approaching, and when the snow melts, the river will inevitably rise. Qiu Xingzhi, who is now in charge of government affairs, is naturally concerned about this.

"Alright, since everyone's curious, let's all give it a try together."

Qin Xuan suddenly became interested and summoned Gao Xiong, asking him to arrange some bricklayers to personally instruct his civil and military officials.

At first, everyone thought Qin Xuan was joking, but when they saw him roll up his sleeves and get to work, they couldn't laugh anymore.

"Teacher, isn't this King of Qin being a bit too outrageous?"

Wu Gui, a disciple who had always been by Qiu Xingzhi's side, couldn't help but mutter something to himself.

Qiu Xingzhi smiled faintly and shook his head: "The fact that the King of Chu was able to set aside his status and go among the people shows the vision that a wise ruler should have."

"Moreover, this cement is a confidential item. The fact that the King of Chu allowed us to test it ourselves is already a sign of his trust."

Wu Gui nodded repeatedly after hearing this, and the others also felt deeply moved. So they simply followed the bricklayer's instructions and began to learn in a very professional manner.

When had those bricklayers ever seen such a scene?

That was the King of Chu! Who could believe that a prince would work alongside the lowest craftsmen and be so engrossed and content?

"Wow, I really stuck this brick on!"

At this moment, Zhao Luoying was no longer the majestic General Zhao, but an ordinary little girl.

Qin Xuan glanced at it and found that the wall Zhao Luoying had built was crooked, but fortunately the cement was sticky enough, so the wall was temporarily built despite its crookedness.

The group experimented for half an hour before finally giving up.

"Alright, everyone has had their turn. Now let's go see the skills of the bricklayers!"

Qin Xuan smiled.

It turned out that while everyone was experimenting, other bricklayers were also building walls at the same time.

In comparison, the skills of scholars like Qiu Xingzhi were simply appalling.

"Is this wall really sturdy, given how thin it is?"

Zhao Luoying noticed that the bricks the bricklayers had laid vertically to build the single wall, and couldn't help but worry.

Qin Xuan smiled and said to Du Manjiang, "Manjiang, go and try to see if you can push him down."

Upon hearing this, everyone was immediately surprised, and Zhuge Xuan even tried to stop him, saying, "Your Highness, this wall was only built half an hour ago. How could it possibly withstand General Du's push?"

"How will you know if you don't try?"

Qin Xuan glanced at Kaohsiung and, seeing the latter nod slightly, continued, "Besides, today is also a test of the cement, so it's fine to postpone it."

"Your Highness, you can't punish me if I knock it over later."

Du Manjiang was somewhat eager to try, after all, everyone has curiosity.

Qin Xuan smiled and said, "Don't worry, we can just tear it down and rebuild it."

"Okay, then I won't be polite."

Du Manjiang roared, then braced his palms against the wall, unleashing a burst of strength as he shouted, "Fall!"

"Old Du, give it your all!"

Ning Yuanfeng urged from the side.

"I've done everything I can!" Du Manjiang's voice came through gritted teeth. Only then did everyone realize that Du Manjiang's cheeks were already red from straining, but he still couldn't budge the single wall an inch.

"General Du, you're not trying to fool us, are you?"

Zhuge Xuan could not see that the wall, which had only been built in half an hour and was so thin, could have solidified and was so sturdy.

"Strategist, why don't you try it yourself?"

Du Manjiang took a deep breath and helplessly withdrew his hand, saying, "This cement is really strange; it can solidify so quickly and become so firm."

Zhuge Xuan quickly waved his hand. How could a scholar like him compare to the strength of a soldier who leads troops into battle?