266: Chapter 266 The First Emperor, Drawn to See the Bridge

When the Great Qin bridge-building masters arrived in Shangjun and learned that Zhao Fusu intended to build a bridge across the Yellow River, their faces paled without exception.

Good heavens, they were all terrified.

Was this some kind of joke? To actually build a bridge over the Yellow River.

That was the Yellow River; the water surface was so wide and the depths so profound—how could a bridge possibly be built?

The greater the span of a stone arch bridge, the greater the pressure and bending moment the arch ring must endure.

This is because as the span increases, the weight of the bridge deck that the arch ring needs to support and the lever arm of the load on the bridge increase, leading to a more complex stress distribution within the arch ring and higher requirements for the structural stability of the arch ring.

For example, when the span increases from 20 meters to 40 meters, the pressure at the bottom of the arch ring will significantly increase; if the structural design of the arch ring is unreasonable, cracks or even collapse can easily occur.

To withstand greater loads, large-span stone arch bridges require the use of higher-strength stone, and the requirements for stone processing and masonry are also more stringent.

At the same time, a larger span causes the arch ring to undergo greater deformation under load, which necessitates controlling deformation through reasonable arch ring shape design and structural configuration to ensure structural safety.

For instance, the ancient Zhaozhou Bridge, by adopting a unique arch ring shape and building materials, still maintains good load-bearing capacity and stability at a span of 37.02 meters.

In known records, the maximum span a stone arch bridge can have is 146 meters.

The width of the place where Zhao Fusu wanted to build the bridge was visually estimated to be 10 li.

With such a terrifying span, a stone arch bridge simply could not be erected.

These Great Qin bridge-building masters kept shaking their heads; none of them believed a stone bridge capable of supporting vehicle traffic could be laid across a stretch of the Yellow River spanning ten li.

If it were a pontoon bridge, they might believe there was a way to achieve it, but a stone bridge was simply impossible.

No arch ring shape could support such a terrifying span.

In the concepts of these Great Qin bridge-building masters, bridges were primarily formed into arches by cutting stone and then stacking stone blocks.

Using this bridge-building method limited the span of the arch bridge.

Therefore, in their understanding, it was impossible to build a stone bridge with a span reaching 10 meters.

When Zhao Fusu saw these Great Qin bridge-building masters constantly shaking their heads, he suddenly felt he had miscalculated.

Bringing these people here was a waste of time; it seemed they wouldn't be able to help at all.

So he decided to dismiss these Great Qin bridge-building masters, but they did not leave immediately, wanting instead to see how Zhao Fusu and his people would build a stone bridge on the Yellow River.

They had come all this way; staying a bit longer wouldn't hurt.

Zhao Fusu did not drive them away either.

In any case, they could help out with odd jobs at the construction site.

Building the bridge was a major undertaking, so Zhao Fusu personally served as the commander-in-chief of the bridge construction.

He directed the workers to first build the foundations for the bridgeheads.

Then, a pier would be set every thirty-five meters.

The water near the shore was not that deep, so Zhao Fusu had the workers use cofferdams to isolate the water flow.

Once the water was gone, construction became much more convenient.

A large number of steam-powered concrete mixers were concentrated at the bridge construction site by Zhao Fusu.

Some of these steam-powered concrete mixers were obtained through his check-ins, while others were produced by Elder Mo's Team following the original designs.

Vast quantities of stone, sand, rebar, and cement were transported to the bridge site under Zhao Fusu's orders.

Through system check-ins, Zhao Fusu obtained steam-powered cranes, Steam Pile Drivers, steam-powered concrete mixing equipment, and Steam Tower Cranes.

All of these construction machines were transported to the bridge construction site.

The Great Qin bridge-building masters watched as the workers did not use stone blocks for the foundation, but instead inserted rebar first and used wooden boards as formwork. Then, they used steam mixers to mix the stone and sand, and after it was mixed into concrete, it was poured into the formwork.

This method of bridge building was something these Great Qin bridge-building masters had never seen before.

They couldn't help but find it novel, but their hearts were also filled with doubt—was it really feasible to build a bridge this way?

After the concrete was poured into the formwork, it required curing.

Zhao Fusu did not use prefabricated parts; instead, he built the formwork first and then poured the concrete into it.

Once the concrete had solidified, the formwork would be removed.

Although using prefabricated parts could speed up the project, the weight the Steam Cranes could lift was limited, and the weight of the prefabricated parts exceeded the maximum capacity of the Steam Cranes.

Zhao Fusu could only use this slower construction method.

However, Zhao Fusu did not remain idle; he also built the foundation for the bridgehead on the opposite bank and set up cofferdams.

By the time the foundation on the opposite bank was poured with concrete, the concrete for the foundation on this side had also gained some strength.

Zhao Fusu had people spray water and patiently carry out the curing process.

The Great Qin bridge-building masters watched as the originally flowing concrete actually solidified, leaving them dumbfounded, their eyes full of disbelief.

With such a bridge-building divine tool, it was no wonder His Majesty the Head of State dared to erect a stone bridge over a ten-li-wide stretch of the Yellow River!

Their eyes were filled with anticipation; if His Majesty the Head of State could truly lay a stone bridge across the ten-li-wide Yellow River, it would surely shock the world and even be recorded in history, and being able to participate in this project was the fortune of three lifetimes for them.

These Great Qin bridge-building masters were each as excited as if they had been injected with chicken blood; they hadn't wanted to leave the bridge site in the first place. Now, even if they were driven away, they would find any way possible to stay.

After the foundations for the two piers were completed, Zhao Fusu had the workers use wooden boards to set up the formwork for the bridge abutments, then laid rebar inside and tied the rebar into cages with iron wire to enhance the toughness of the abutments.

Concrete is characterized by its hardness, but it is relatively brittle.

Adding rebar inside the concrete can greatly increase its toughness.

After the abutments for the two piers were built, wooden boards were propped up with supports between the two abutments to set up the bridge bed.

Rebar cages still had to be laid on the bridge bed, and once the concrete was poured over the cages, it would enhance the toughness of the concrete.

Watching this ingenious bridge-building method, the Great Qin bridge-building masters all felt their horizons were being broadened.

The First Emperor and Li Si, who had originally returned to Xianyang, were both incredibly curious after hearing that Zhao Fusu was going to build a stone bridge over the Yellow River.

Thus, they came from Xianyang to Shangjun again to watch the bridge being built.

Poor Feng Quji also really wanted to go and take a look.

However, his work in the National Assembly kept him from leaving; someone always had to handle the affairs of state.

Feng Quji was unwilling; he so badly wanted to go and see how His Majesty the Head of State was going to build a stone bridge on the Yellow River.