From the beginning of preparations at the end of June to the end of July, a month has passed, and this steel and concrete bridge has begun to take shape.

With the construction of thousands of prisoners and labor slaves day and night, the approach bridges at both ends have been completed, and the two piers in the middle of the river have been successfully poured. At present, waiting for the piers to solidify, countless labor slaves and labor slaves and prisoners on the scaffolding have safety ropes hanging on them, and under the command of supervisors and craftsmen, the concrete formwork for casting the bridge arch is tied and the concrete formwork for pouring the bridge arch is lifted.

After a group of people arrived at the bridge, the bridge was seen more clearly. Fan Yong and others couldn't wait to jump off the train and stand near the approach bridge to look. They were all shocked by this new way of building bridges.

"Marty, this is really spectacular. I can't believe that it can be poured into a stone bridge with sand, gravel and mud!"

"Yes, this way of building bridges has never been seen before. The Marquis's immortal art of turning mud into stone will inevitably completely change the construction methods and architectural patterns..."

The merchants from the counties of Nanyang were amazed and discussed in a lively manner, while the group of merchants in Xianyang were extremely proud. This cement bridge is not only the hottest topic in Xianyang now, but also the pride of the entire Xianyang people. From the emperor to the peddlers and pawns, the bridge is full of expectations and pride.

With Chen Xu's arrival, Zhang Cang, the commander-in-chief of the Weihe Bridge Project, also brought a group of officials to visit, and then personally led a group of people to the construction site to watch the construction process in detail, and also introduced the construction methods in detail. Fan Yong and others also watched on-site how to mix concrete and pour the process.

An hour later, a group of people set off again reluctantly and walked down the river to see the big water truck standing above the Wei River seven or eight miles away like a crane standing taller than a flock of chickens.

When he saw the large water truck slowly rotating under the impact of the water flow through the gears, driving the large iron mill weighing 8,000 kilograms to rotate continuously, grinding a large amount of bluestone coal iron into fine sand, Fan Li and others could not help but get completely crazy about chicken feet, and they all looked so excited that they wanted to lie on the gears and take a closer look.

Of course, as the builder of the big water wheel and mill, Fang Kuan also carefully explained the construction process of the water wheel and the working principle of the gears, but it doesn't matter whether all the merchants understand it or not. They all know that this big iron mill that can be driven by no human and animal power is a miracle, and it is a magical object that can change many current processing patterns.

As long as there is water, a water truck can be built, which can drive the water mill to run day and night. It can not only grind stone and iron, but also used to grind grain flour. The prospects for use are simply immeasurable.

The group of people stayed at the mill for an entire hour, until the sun sets in the west, and Chen Xu took everyone back to the city reluctantly.

The factory and cement factory can only wait until tomorrow to visit.

In the evening, Chen Xu invited Fan Yong and Shui Hong and other merchants from Nanyang and Zhongyuan at the Qinghe Hotel, and also invited some famous scholars and business representatives in Xianyang to accompany him. A banquet was filled with wine and drinks until the end of the Xu hour.

The next day, Chen Xu arranged for Yang Kun and Sun Shujiu to accompany him. In the morning, he led a large group of businessmen who had never seen the world to watch the factory and the cement factory, and in the afternoon he arranged to experience the bus in the city. Then Chen Xu personally accompanied him to watch the new version of the Legend of the White Snake and the Journey to the Country and other songs and dances, and then he had a banquet at the Qinghe Hotel in the evening.

After two days, Chen Xu also transferred the topics he had known to these merchants and began to shift from what he had seen in the past two days to the bet between Chen Xu and Li Si.

"Mr. Marquis, don't blame me for being too talkative. If Marquis wants to win, it will take meticulous and detailed planning. A year is too short..."

As Chen Xu's old partner and the leader of the entire Central Plains merchants, Fan Yong naturally knew how difficult this path was. Especially after watching and understanding the cement production process today, he felt even more worried about Chen Xu.

"Mr. Fan said it well, Marquis. If the bet is lasted for two years, we promise to help Marquis win this game, one year... Alas!" The head of the Ximen family in Xinzheng shook his head gently with a wine glass.

"Yes, yes, it's not that it's difficult to build roads, but that the cement is too slow to burn, especially abrasives are the biggest trouble!"

"From Xianyang to Linzi, the road is more than 2,000 miles long, and there are more than ten large and large rivers blocking it. Although the terrain along the way is still flat, the road is rugged and muddy, and sand, gravel, bamboo and wood are still second. It is very difficult to transport this cement from thousands of miles away. Moreover, the cement production is so slow, it is probably impossible to provide it with..."

"If we can find a way to solve the problem of cement supply first, we will all share a section of road construction. It is not impossible to repair it within one year..."

"It's not easy to talk about. The total price is tens of millions of stones. Even if we are selling hard, we will never be able to make up so much money and food. If we know that we will lose, why should we take a risk? This is not the right thing to do, and we need to find another way!"

The hustle and bustle of drinking on the dining table slowly stopped, replaced by a kind of pessimism and sigh.

In Shangyan Business, the purpose of their group of people to come to Xianyang this time was to give gifts to thank Chen Xu, and also wanted to see the legendary cement and water wheels that turned into stone.

But now I have seen it and touched it. All the feelings are more magical than what I heard. But at the same time, the bet made by Chen Xu and Li Si made everyone feel nervous and depressed.

It is impossible not to help Chen Xu. They are already firmly tied to Chen Xu. Now the manufacturing of steel and saddles has brought them countless benefits. Once Chen Xu is abandoned, Chen Xu can throw them from this dream of wealth and glory to the ground and trample them to death in minutes.

Because this is not a level at all, Chen Xu only needs to report to nationalize the steel. These merchants will become paupers in a flash, because their wealth is almost all on projects such as steel and saddles, and the scale of factories and workshops is also constantly expanding. Including Fan's family, although their property is tens of millions, the two steel mills have almost exhausted all their funds, and the income brought about by trafficking of Xiongnu horses, cattle and sheep and other materials is also continuously invested in it. At present, the number of iron smelting furnaces for the two steel mills alone is more than 300,000 mine slaves and work slaves, and they can smelters 200,000 kilograms of pig iron, 100,000 kilograms of ripe iron and 30,000 kilograms of qualified steel every day. Once these steel mills are gone, Fan's family property and status will instantly plummet.

Therefore, holding Chen Xu's thighs tightly is the unified understanding of all the merchants who come to Xianyang. Giving gifts and money to women is fine. As long as Chen Xu reaches out, there is no problem. What he is afraid of is that Chen Xu doesn't want it. The Fan family has a big family and has given the Xianyang branch of the money house to Fan Caiying to control. In fact, it is to give this branch entirely to Chen Xu as his own private vault.

Now that they are tied to a boat, everyone is naturally considering how to complete the bet Chen Xu.

Moreover, this bet is almost the only chance for them to turn over and liberate. The details of the bet in the court have been spreading in Xianyang for a long time, and some people even talked out various gossip versions with added fuel to the fire, but Chen Xu had to win this bet.

"Mr. Fan, everyone!" Seeing the cold situation at the table, Chen Xu, who was planning and promoting this matter, was still calm and gentle. He knocked on the table.

Everyone looked up at Chen Xu.

"In fact, this matter is not unsolvable. Cement cannot be provided by Xianyang alone. The destination of this cement factory is built to cultivate a large number of qualified cement-fired craftsmen. To repair this road, I plan to share the cement formula and firing method!"

After Chen Xu said this, there was a slight commotion at the table and soon calmed down. As a group of people struggling in the business world, he naturally guessed that Chen Xu would have this plan, but no one said it. If Chen Xu didn't do this, this road would definitely not be well repaired in a year.

"Mr. Marquis, even if you share the cement formula and firing method, the investment in this road is too huge, and a large amount of money is required to build a cement factory. We still can't raise the huge amount!" A merchant shook his head and said.

"That's true. I and everyone who are sitting alone will definitely not be able to repair it. We can also use cement factories and this road to attract more merchants to participate!" Chen Xu nodded and said.

"Cement is like steel. Once it is fired, it can be sold and made money. The Marquis can use the three rules of the original rules. He can ask the participating merchants to provide cement for free first and compensate them through other channels in the future. I think many merchants are willing to participate, but after the road is repaired, there is no source of income at all. If you want to join in the construction, you must really take out millions of stones of money and grain!" Fan Yan still looked worried while holding his beard.

"Yes, Marquis, this road construction must be built with visible benefits!" Many people agreed.

Chen Xu smiled and shook his head, stood up and raised his glass and said, "Okay, today's banquet, I won't talk about this matter. You can eat and drink first. I will take out a detailed plan for you to watch tomorrow. Building a road is not just not making money, but just a different idea. Come, raise your glasses and drink the same cup!"

"Mr. Please drink with me~" Everyone stood up and raised their glasses at the table.
Chapter completed!