Of course, Han Qian didn’t leave everything here to Zhao Ting’er. After Fan Xicheng led people into the mountains to quarry stones, he took off his fur robe, found a straight board, carved out a groove, and filled it with water to use as a simple spirit level.
This way he could ensure the iron grating placed over the furnace chamber opening wouldn’t be tilted. Otherwise, uneven force distribution would most easily lead to collapse.
Without ready-made iron grating, they forged crude iron bars on site, crisscrossing them and embedding them into the furnace chamber opening of the lime kiln as supports. They just needed to ensure the openings were small enough so that charcoal and limestone blocks wouldn’t fall through.
Besides ventilation and controlling the fire, this would also allow people to observe the smoldering conditions of the lime.
When the lime was finished and the kiln was opened, they only needed to let the lime fall through the iron grating into the furnace chamber below to be carried out, and the large kiln could be used repeatedly. Unlike the earthen method of lime burning kilns, which needed to be completely torn apart to remove the lime.
Of course, earthen lime burning kilns were also convenient to stack up.
By late afternoon, the new large kiln had been completed.
Feng Yi and Kong Xirong disdained these lowly trades and wouldn’t get their hands dirty, but they still found it interesting to stand by and watch. From time to time they teased Zhao Ting’er. Spending the day this way, they didn’t find it boring.
Just after nightfall, Fan Xicheng also led people back carrying over twenty baskets of limestone on their backs in bamboo baskets.
Seeing the kiln walls at chest height were exceptionally straight to the eye, he had nothing to say. Before they returned, Han Qian had also had people use firewood to dry the kiln walls for use.
The firewood mainly used wheat straw, which was readily available, but the bottom layer of the lime burning kiln needed to be laid with a layer of charcoal as support. Fortunately, there were also charcoal kilns nearby that specifically burned charcoal to transport and sell in the city. They could just send people over to purchase it directly. A cart of charcoal weighing over a thousand pounds cost six to seven hundred coins, five to six times more expensive than ordinary firewood.
That night they followed the new method, layering firewood and limestone into the large kiln layer by layer, then sealing the kiln to smolder.
After dinner at night, Han Qian was still uneasy and brought Feng Yi, Kong Xirong, and the others down to watch the lime kiln production. The five kiln workers also didn’t dare to slack off and were all still keeping watch by the kiln.
As long as the large kiln was built stably, whether lime could be burned out actually just required attention to the fire temperature.
Moreover, at this time they could see from the kiln opening that the limestone on the bottom layer, after calcination, had already produced some iron-gray powder falling from above the iron grating. Taking some out and mixing it with water, it hissed, confirming it was indeed lime without doubt.
“The large kiln might need to burn for two more days, but there’s no doubt this method can work. Tomorrow you’ll build three more large kilns the same way, and make sure the blue-white stones can also be supplied.” Han Qian instructed Fan Xicheng.
Family soldier apprentices like Guo Nu’er helped build the kiln walls, and they learned quickly too. After Fan Xicheng returned, he had also asked Guo Nu’er and the others in detail about the methods of using plumb lines and water-filled wooden troughs to measure levelness. After explaining it thoroughly, it really wasn’t complicated at all. But hearing Han Qian wanted to simultaneously build four large kilns to burn lime, he said with difficulty: “To carry enough blue-white stones out of the mountains, I’m afraid the manor doesn’t have enough manpower!”
“How is it not enough?” Han Qian asked strangely.
Four preliminarily modified large kilns could burn out an average of twenty loads of lime per day at most.
This was the agricultural off-season. The tenant farmers were resting their strength and were willing to help the manor do work in exchange for three full meals a day for their families.
Besides the manpower helping to build the large kilns and lime storage warehouses at the workshop, and besides the manpower following family soldiers like Fan Dahei and Lin Haizheng to obey Shen Yang’s commands and help settle the plague-stricken refugees, Fan Xicheng currently still had twelve to thirteen able-bodied laborers to take into the mountains to carry stones.
In Han Qian’s view, the manpower was definitely sufficient for now.
Fan Xicheng, however, was bitter and explained the reason to Han Qian.
When they went into the mountains to quarry stones, their methods were also quite crude. They mainly looked for weathered and brittle limestone that was very easy to knock down with an iron hammer, then had people carry it down the mountain in bamboo baskets.
No matter how hardworking people of this era were, going deep into the mountains, being able to carry two to three hundred pounds of limestone down the mountain in a day was already the limit.
With a dozen or so people going into the mountains, being able to carry three to four thousand pounds of limestone per day was already the limit. But Han Qian wanted to build four large kilns at Xiwan, which would require carrying at least seven to eight thousand pounds of limestone per day, which was more than double the current capacity.
Not to mention that producing twenty to thirty loads of lime per day was still far from enough for the military headquarters’ use.
“Go up to the farmland, aren’t there blue-white stones there? Why run that far?” Han Qian asked strangely.
“The stone layer at the stream head is too hard. Even using all our strength and hammering with iron hammers for a long time, only a few pieces of crushed stone fall off. Using iron rods, after only a few strikes, the iron rod becomes ruined. It’s more convenient to go into the mountains to find cracked blue-white stones.” Fan Xicheng had considered quarrying stones nearby, but he had discussed it with the quarrying craftsmen and lime burning craftsmen. If the blue-white stones here weren’t too hard, how could they possibly choose the distant over the near?
“Sigh!”
Han Qian had previously focused his thoughts on making up for the time wasted before and on gaining his father’s trust. Only now, when he actually started doing things, did he realize how crude the craftsmanship techniques of this era were.
Han Qian didn’t know what the level of the master craftsmen under the Palace Supply Bureau who specialized in construction for the imperial family was like, but the level of these skilled folk craftsmen was really inadequate.
Seeing that the night was already deep, Han Qian instructed Fan Xicheng: “Tomorrow morning, have everyone prepare a bundle of firewood and wooden buckets for fetching water, and wait for me at the upper stream head—you all really need to be taught everything step by step.”
Fan Xicheng’s face was full of shame.
“You also know how to quarry stones?” Feng Yi asked curiously.
“Wager another Hepu pearl?” Han Qian asked.
“…” Feng Yi shook his head.
Since betting on black and white dice throws at the Marquis of Linjiang’s mansion, whenever he bet with Han Qian on anything, it seemed he had never won.
Losing one gold coin, he could still bear it, but a longan-sized Hepu pearl was worth hundreds of thousands of coins. He usually carried only one or two to play with, but he didn’t dare bet like this with Han Qian.
……
The next morning, Han Qian slept until the sky was bright before lazily getting up. After practicing the Shigong Fist routine, he went with Feng Yi, Kong Xirong, and the others, escorted by family soldiers like Zhao Wuji and Zhao Kuo, to the back mountain.
Fan Xicheng had already been waiting there with more than a dozen able-bodied laborers.
The snow had melted and the mountain path was muddy. Halfway up, Han Qian slipped and got covered in mud, which Feng Yi mocked for a long time. Now arriving at the upper stream head, he didn’t say much. He had people clear away the surrounding weeds and dead trees to prevent mountain fires from spreading, clearing out a quarrying area. They covered the limestone with firewood and set it ablaze. When the firewood was spent, they immediately poured cold water over it.
Hearing the cracking sounds, cracks appeared across the surface of a large area of blue-white stone…
“What kind of method is this?” Feng Yi watched dumbfounded.
“You bunch of ignorant fools, not one of you could think of such a simple method?”
Without a ready-made mountain path, stepping deep and shallow, Han Qian had fallen flat on his face as soon as he went up the mountain and was mocked by Feng Yi for a long time. He was now holding back a bellyful of anger, so naturally his temper rose. He was also impolite to Fan Xicheng, Zhao Kuo, and the others, scolding them with a question.
“How many more troublesome matters will there be in the future that I have to teach you step by step before you know how to save effort and labor? When doing anything, you need to use your brain!”
Fan Xicheng and Zhao Kuo were scolded until their faces were full of shame. They thought that in the future, being able to quarry stones nearby, even if still using bamboo baskets to carry them, opening up a small path along the stream, with each person making over a dozen trips a day, a dozen or so able-bodied laborers could carry thirty to forty thousand pounds of blue-white stones per day without problem.
At this time, the clamor of people and horses trampling came from below. Han Qian didn’t know what was happening. After a moment, he saw his father Han Daoxun and Shen Yang, accompanied by Zhang Qian, Guo Liang, Han Laoshan, Lin Haizheng, Fan Dahei, and others, walking through the woods toward them.
“Father, bright and early, how did you come to the manor?” Han Qian asked.
“Today is a rest day. I had nothing to do at home, so I brought Han Laoshan out of the city to get some fresh air.”
Even though the Plague Water Relief Memorial was written by Han Daoxun, and he was extremely eager in his heart to see the plague-stricken refugees receive relief, he was unwilling to intervene in the succession struggle, and naturally also unwilling to admit that he had come to see the preparation situation here. He said,
“I just met Minister Shen, Minister Yang, and General Guo in front of the manor. Hearing that you were leading people to quarry stones here, we came over together to take a look.”
Hearing his father say this, Han Qian only then realized that behind Shen Yang and Guo Liang was a middle-aged man about forty years old with a lean appearance wearing blue casual clothes. He didn’t know which great deity this was, mixing with Shen Yang and Guo Liang so early in the morning. He just stepped forward to pay his respects: “Han Qian greets Minister Yang.”
“Everyone says the seventh young master of the Han family is ignorant and incompetent, but I didn’t expect the seventh young master of the Han family also knows this fire-burning and water-shocking method!” The blue-robed middle-aged man saw that a large area of blue-white stone surface ahead had already cracked open and become easy to quarry, and said with considerable appreciation.
Damn it, does everyone who meets him have to specifically mention that he’s ignorant and incompetent?
Han Qian cursed inwardly, but on the surface still had to put on an obedient appearance and say: “Emperor Liu Bang of Han implemented the strategy of openly repairing the plank roads while secretly crossing at Chencang. Although his troops coming out of the Shu Road didn’t take the Baoye Valley route, he still sent people to repair the thousand-mile plank road in Baoye Valley. The method of excavating stone caves was fire-burning and water-shocking. Han Qian happened to have heard his father’s teachings about this.”
“Mm! The Han family’s scholarly tradition is truly remarkable!” The middle-aged man nodded approvingly toward Han Daoxun. “From one sentence I can tell your young master knows history, knows military strategy, and knows practical learning. I’m rather curious who originally spread the word that your young master was ignorant and incompetent.”
Han Qian looked curiously at Feng Yi and Kong Xirong, wanting to ask them who this fellow was, who also spoke to his father with a lofty attitude. But seeing him wearing blue casual clothes, his official rank shouldn’t be high.
“That girl down there directing the various craftsmen to build the large kiln, did you also teach her the method of measuring levelness?” The middle-aged man continued to ask Han Qian with considerable interest. “Your father and Minister Shen are both widely read in books, but neither knew that large lime burning kilns could be built this way. Which book did you read this in?”
“Knowing ancient methods but not knowing how to advance—this is the great defect of contemporary craftsmen.” Han Qian said somewhat impatiently.
“You insolent fellow, do you know who is before you, speaking such big words?” Han Daoxun scolded Han Qian.
The middle-aged man, however, didn’t mind. He very politely clasped his hands toward Han Qian and introduced himself: “Yang En, Materials Official of the Right Workshop Bureau of the Palace Supply Bureau, greets Young Master Han.”
“Ah, Minister Yang, Han Qian misspoke.” Han Qian was startled and hurriedly bowed deeply in return.
The Right Workshop Bureau of the Palace Supply Bureau specialized in construction work like building with rammed earth. The Materials Official of the Right Workshop Bureau was, to put it plainly, the head official of the imperial craftsmen.
Although the Materials Official of the Right Workshop Bureau could be said to be the master synthesizer of contemporary craftsmanship, in an era when craft manufacturing was considered a lowly trade, his status would definitely not be too distinguished.
Whether he had real power or not was another matter, but at least he was far less prestigious than the position of Junior Supervisor of the Palace Secretariat that Han Daoxun currently held.
However, the current Materials Official of the Right Workshop Bureau was held by an extremely special person. This person was Yang En, the clan brother of Emperor Tianyou.