Aztec Eternals

The wind in February came from the plateau, and it was cool and dry. Now is the dry season, and the newly built white walls of the camp are wet, like it has rained.

At this moment, a tanned young craftsman in his twenties was standing beside the white stone wall, studying it carefully. He pressed his calloused big hand against the surface of the white wall, feeling the hardness and dampness of the wall. Then, he scratched the wall with his fingernails, leaving a light mark.

Looking carefully, there are already a row of scratches of different shades on the long white wall. These traces seem to express some kind of natural mystery, and they are also elusive and elusive.

"It's weird...it's changing every day!..."

The young craftsman frowned, looking at the scratches on the wall, as if to see flowers. Beside him, there was also a huge pottery jar, which was filled with water from the nearby river, and a wooden scoop was floating on the water. The young craftsman thought for a while, then scooped up some water and poured it on one side of the stone wall. His hands were steady, and he tried to pour it evenly, so he poured it very slowly.

In this moment of time, Koscachi had already walked over with a copper stick on his shoulders. He came to the white wall, looked at it for a moment, thoughtful. Then he pulled out the stick, took a deep breath, and swung it out.

"boom!"

The copper rod slammed **** the white wall, and a small hole was even smashed. At this time, if you look carefully at the concave surface of the small pit, you can find that this neat white wall is not made of stones! But I don't know what method the craftsmen in the camp used to build such a fake white wall.

"Um...the depth of a knuckle is shallower than it was a few days ago..."

Koscachi stretched out his finger, gestured for a moment, and then nodded. There was a little smile on his face, and he had the same doubts as the young craftsman.

"It's weird..."

"Blessed by the Lord! Boss, you are here!"

Seeing the person coming, the young craftsman bowed his head, respectfully and politely. The corners of Koscachi's mouth twitched, and he gave a generous salute before saying with a smile.

"Blessed by the Lord! Charcoal Bird, these days, you have been here, watching over this stone wall, what have you found?"

The young craftsman in front of him, named Charcoal Bird, is one of Coscachi's apprentices. It's just that he never liked the apprentices to call him master, but called him "head". This title, like the leader of the wolves and the leader of the birds, can make him feel the obedience of the other party. As a craftsman leader from a civilian background, what he likes most is the obedience of his subordinates.

"Boss, look at this side, look at this side again!"

Charcoal Bird nodded, first pointing to the front of the white wall that was watered, and then to the side of the white wall that was not watered, and preached earnestly.

"The watered side is harder than the unwatered side!"

"Um?"

Koscachi held the copper rod, stabilized his strength, and tapped the front and the back. Then, he took out his finger and gestured, and sure enough, the print on the front was lighter.

"It's weird!... It's getting hard every day, and the watered ones are harder than the ones that haven't been watered... This thing is different from what His Highness described? Could it be that this is some kind of divine revelation? cement?"

Koscachi thought about His Highness's divine revelation, touched his chin, and looked at Charcoal Bird.

"Charcoal bird, how long have we been building this wall?"

"Boss, I'll do the math... I rushed back from the mountains in Colima last year before the New Year's Day. I came back in a hurry. Numbers 5 and 60, brought back big bags, small bags, a few Thousands of kilograms of volcanic ash. Then, everyone, together, the freshly burned quicklime. Finally, these kinds of volcanic ash are mixed with quicklime respectively, and stones are added to build six or seven walls..."

Tan Bird stretched out his fingers, and while recalling, he broke it for a long time, and finally came up with an approximate number.

"It's now February, even if it's not two months... what's the matter, it will take a month and a half!"

"It's been a month and a half..."

Koscachi frowned, stretched out his stick, and knocked on the white wall again. He carefully listened to the voice again, and whispered to himself.

"Tsk tsk. This hardness is probably like an adobe with insufficient heat. Compared with stone, it is still more brittle. Well, it is not firm enough, but it is better than a few days ago. It's strange, His Highness said that it will be fine after five or six days. , as hard as a stone, all in one. We have been two months, and it is still not clear!"

"Boss, don't be in a hurry. This wall has been brittle and muddy for a few days, just like the other walls. At the time, I thought that this time it failed again. Who knows in a few days and see, it is actually It's been hardening like it's alive, and now it even looks like some bricks... The other walls have been knocked down, right now, I can count on this side!"

Charcoal Bird said, with a smile on his face, looking at the master eagerly. Koscachi raised his brows, thought about it for a while, and nodded.

"Okay! Colima's ministries, the volcanic ash sent last year was useless at all, and I don't know where it was dug up indiscriminately. His Highness didn't explain exactly what kind of ash they wanted! ... In the end, still Thank you for making a trip in person, digging up a few kinds of ashes, and being so busy that you haven't even celebrated the New Year. If this happens, no matter what others say, I will put your name on the front. !"

"Ah! Praise the Lord God, praise the master... No, praise the boss, praise the father!"

Hearing this promise, Tan Bird hurriedly knelt to the ground and kowtowed a few times with a "bang, bang". Then, he raised his head, his forehead was red, and his face was wide-eyed.

"Boss, I haven't had a father since I was a child, and I have always regarded you as a father! ... If I can become a master craftsman, I will definitely give you old age!"

"Ha, it's not like I don't have a son! Charcoal bird, in the future, as long as you are worthy of me!..."

Seeing this, Koscachi grinned, and his heart was quite useful. He stretched out his hand, patted Tan Bird's shoulder heavily, and said with a smile.

"Work hard, you're still young! A master craftsman in his twenties, thanks to you for following me! ... If you can get into the eyes of His Highness, you might still have a chance to go to Shenwei University. Once!"

"Ah, Shenwei University? What is that place?"

Hearing this, Tan Bird was a little stunned, with confusion on his dark face. He had no father since he was a child, his family was very poor, and his mother remarried. After becoming a craftsman apprentice, he will return to the master in the kiln and has nothing to do with his family. As for this university, I have never heard of it.

"Ha! That's where the weeds jump and grow into corn! If you're lucky, maybe you'll get some cocoa..."

Koscachi smiled and shook his head. He stretched out his hand and touched Charcoal Bird's head with a solemn expression.

"That's a long way to go. The most important thing right now is to really get the cement that His Highness explained! I ask you, if you see the ash mixed with this wall again, can you recognize it? "

"Boss, for sure!"

Charcoal nodded heavily and replied with a smile.

"It's gray and choking. It's finely divided like sand, so hard that it won't dissolve in the water. To remember the ashes, I licked it several times, and the surface was like obsidian slag, and I cut my tongue... .that taste, I will remember it for the rest of my life!"

Hearing this, Koscachi raised his brows and smiled with satisfaction. He was very satisfied with his apprentice's ruthlessness.

"When the poor come out, they don't have this ruthlessness, so what can they use to compete with others?"

Thinking of this, Koscachi was a little worried. His two sons were not lacking in others. When he looked at his apprentice Tan Bird again, his eyes softened and he reminded sincerely.

"Charcoal bird, remember! Even if it takes a long time, as long as this wall can finally be as hard as a brick, you can give His Highness a satisfactory explanation! And if His Highness is satisfied, you will be prosperous!"

"Yes, boss, I will listen to you! I will water this wall sooner or later!"

Charcoal nodded again and again, while talking, he picked up the water ladle and poured it on the other side of the wall.

"Huh? Your way of watering..."

Seeing this, Koscachi frowned again. His Highness said clearly, cement is good for a few days, and water is only added in the first few days. If there is too much water, add ash, if there is too much ash, add water, and stop when it is hard. But this charcoal made...

"Boss, don't worry! I've been trying for more than a month, and I'm going to keep adding water! This wall is like living, it's absorbing water all the time, and it hardens after absorbing it. Here, maybe it's closed in water. Strange, otherwise the ooze will turn into a hard rock!"

Charcoal grinned, smiling brightly and confidently. He has touched this wall thousands of times, and it really seems to be alive, changing every day. If there's a ghost in there, it'd better be a woman...

Koscachi reached out and touched both sides of the wall again. He was puzzled, it was true that the side of adding water was hard. After a while, he waved his hand.

"Okay! You make up your own mind, it's your credit for making it happen. If you can't make it, don't blame me for not giving you a chance!"

"Thank you boss!"

A loud voice resounded in the camp, surrounded by the white wall, with a bit of joy. The master and the apprentice touched the stones and crossed the river with their eyes closed, but they really walked out and could change the kingdom and even the world!

If Shulot is here, sees this white wall, and studies it carefully for a while, there will probably be a kind of enlightenment. This is exactly the cement he wants, not the Portland cement that first appeared in later generations, but the Roman cement that has appeared for more than a thousand years!

Portland cement, also known as ordinary Portland cement, is the most common cement in rural areas in later generations, and the difficulty of firing is also the lowest. The general manufacturing process is that limestone and clay are ground together to form a raw meal, and then the raw meal is calcined to partially or fully melted, called clinker. Finally, the clinker is added with iron powder or iron slag, and when it is ground, it is cement.

To make cement, other steps can be solved manually. Only the firing process requires a high temperature of more than 1500 degrees and consumes a lot of fuel! The high temperature of 1500 degrees is easy to achieve in later generations, but it is difficult in this era. If you count the cost of charcoal and labor and multiply it by the huge demand, that is the kingdom at the moment, which is completely unbearable!

The main component of Portland cement is calcium silicate. When it reacts with water, it produces calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) and calcium hydroxide. What really determines the hardness of cement is calcium silicate hydrate. Well, to put it simply and irresponsibly, the more calcium silicate hydrate is produced, the harder and stronger the set cement will be.

The hardening process of Roman cement is also to form raw hydrated calcium silicate. The process of making it, without burning it, is made by mixing quicklime + volcanic ash + water at room temperature. The main component of volcanic ash here is silicon oxide emitted by volcanic activity. That is to say, silicon oxide + calcium hydroxide + water, and finally calcium silicate hydrate is formed.

It's just that this reaction process is much more gentle and slow, and it also consumes water continuously. But the final strength, the resulting hydrated calcium silicate gel, tends to be higher than Portland cement. That is to say, the further back it goes, the stronger it will be, and it is not afraid of blisters and humid environments, and it is naturally suitable for the climate of Central America!

Of course, there is actually a corrosion-resistant tobermorite (aluminosilicate) in real Roman cement. It was able to respond for a long time, continuously providing strength and keeping Roman buildings strong for thousands of years. The appearance of this component is related to special volcanic ash.

I am afraid there is no such ingredient in the volcanic ash in the Colima Volcanic Region. Strictly speaking, the cement made from it cannot be said to be "Roman cement", but only "pozzolanic cement".

"Cement... It's really a divine creation! If two kinds of ashes are added together, add water and mix with sand and gravel, and it will slowly turn into a hard boulder..."

Koscachi narrowed his eyes and surveyed the low wall in front of him. Suddenly, he seemed to see a majestic temple, standing in front of him, made by himself!

"...If so, then from now on, building huge temples, building aristocratic manors, building brick and tile barns, and even building the roads under your feet...will no longer require expensive corn mortar, nor Lots of massive boulders!  …”

"...If this is the case, how much easier it will be to build a building! And what kind of changes will this bring to the Kingdom of the Lake?"

Koscachi looked ahead and thought for a long time. He didn't have an answer, because he never had it, so he couldn't imagine it. He just grinned and turned to his cabin. He was going to take out his treasured tequila, and drink it with the salt by the sea, without getting drunk!

"Haha, the Lord God bless! God bless His Highness... also bless us!"

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