Datang Nongwang

Chapter 580 Half a Year
Xiang Si saw that these shipbuilders were discussing around a few small paddle steamers, but he didn't bother them, and even walked aside directly with Wang Guanshi, as if to make room for these people.

"Steward Wang, can they do it?" Not far away, Xiang Siwang asked Wang Sheng.

Wang Sheng looked back at the shipbuilders and said with certainty: "Master Xiang, don't worry, my husband paid a lot of money to invite these people. These people are even better than those great craftsmen in the court. They are all powerful. So, don’t worry about the manager, as soon as they start working, you will know their abilities.”

Xiang Si was still a little worried.

Once the shipyard started working, the money spent was not just a little bit, but piles of money.

If something goes wrong, when the ship comes out at the end, if the ship sinks or something goes wrong, he will be really sad as a manager.

Even if his surname was Xiang, if something happened to him, even if he was Xiang Si, he would not be able to escape.

Moreover, Li Chongyuan confessed.

The matter of shipbuilding is not easy, and it must be cautious and cautious.

This is not.

After listening to Wang Sheng's words, Xiang Si pointed to the shipbuilders and said, "Boss Wang, my little lord once told me that once the ship is built, they have to provide the blueprints first, and then we will leave it to us." Send it to Chang'an and show it to my little lord before starting work."

"Is this too troublesome? Sending a letter from here to Chang'an will take a month at least. One month's time has been delayed, so it's not for nothing to support them." After Wang Sheng heard the words, he felt a little inappropriate.

Xiang Si shook his head, "Don't worry, it doesn't take a month, half a month at most. Besides, the cost of these boat craftsmen is also my Li family's money, and my Li family can set up the shipyard, and I don't have to worry about it." It takes half a month to raise them."

After Wang Sheng heard it, he didn't have any opinions.

Xiang Si has talked about this for the sake of it. Isn't he worrying about the other party for nothing?

It took half a month to make mistakes, and it really cost money.

People's wages, as well as food, these are a lot of money.

There are quite a few shipwrights, hundreds of them.

So many people have to eat, drink, and get paid, which is not a small expense.

but.

Li Chongyuan really didn't care.

This little money, he can afford it and spend it.

If it wasn't because he was in Chang'an, maybe he would have lived in this Xixiang forever.

finally.

After all the shipwrights had to ask Xiang Si's words, they discussed it first, but they didn't have any opinions.

Moreover.

Several small paddle steamers are placed here, which already shows that the Li family definitely has one or even several experts who specialize in designing boats.

There is a saying.

As soon as the experts make a move, they will know if there is any.

A few paddle steamers said it all.

In the eyes of these shipwrights, to be able to design such a ship must not be an ordinary person, he must have dealt with ships all the year round, or his grandparents have been in this line of work for generations.

Within two days.

The shipwrights handed over the blueprints to Xiang Si after making some minor corrections based on the small paddle steamer designed by Li Chongyuan.

After Xiang Siyi received the blueprint, he sent it to Chang'an in an expedited way of [-] li.

And this time.

Li Chongyuan was checking the situation of the reservoir in Lizhuang. He didn't know the specific situation in Xixiang at all.

Basically, I heard people from Wang Ting come over and talk about it.

With Xiangsi in Xixiang, Li Chongyuan is still very relieved.

but.

Li Chongyuan is also planning to go to Xixiang again recently.

When Li Chongyuan was checking the condition of the reservoir, Qiao Su came over and said, "Young Master, according to your plan, we may not be able to complete the reservoir within five months. Once this year is over, we will soon have to replant the land again." The crops are in. How about we stop and come back later this fall?"

"No, the reservoir is a big problem. You see, in the past two years, there has been very little rain on our side. I suspect that there will be a severe drought on our side this year. So, no matter what, even if there are many difficulties, we have to clear the reservoir before midsummer arrives. Repair it. As for the situation you mentioned, I also understand that crops are indeed more important than the reservoir, but no matter how important it is, our reservoir cannot be stopped." Li Chongyuan looked up at the sky, feeling worried.

Two or three years.

After two or three years, there hasn't been a heavy rain in the sky.

If it continues like this, if there is no heavy rain this year, this severe drought will surely come.

Li Chongyuan was a southerner in his previous life, so he knew a little about rainfall.

There is a lot of rain in the south.

As far as the annual rainfall in Jiangxi Province is concerned, it is roughly [-] millimeters a year.

The northern provinces are also different, but compared with Jiangxi Province, the difference is not a star and a half, but a direct cut in half.

Li Chongyuan remembered a news report saying that the rainfall in Chang'an area would only reach about 630mm.

If it is low, it may be four or five hundred, and the height will not exceed eight hundred millimeters.

With such rainfall, if there is no rain for two or three years, it will inevitably cause drought.

otherwise.

Li Chongyuan is not in a hurry to repair the reservoir before the arrival of summer.

If there is a drought, at least in the area near the waterlogged water, there will be no shortage of this water.

If Li Chongyuan's guess is false, that would of course be the best, so that the reservoir can be filled up, so that Li Chongyuan can use it to raise fish.

in this era.

The water-deficient places in the north basically depend on the sky for food.

In modern agriculture in the north, groundwater is commonly used for irrigation. Coupled with the development of electricity, there are wells everywhere in the fields. As long as they are pumped, the land can be irrigated.

And before there were no such things, those who were more diligent could carry water, but people were as tired as dogs.

and so.

Relying on the sky for food has become a common phenomenon in the north.

Otherwise, from ancient times to the present, all kinds of water conservancy projects have always been built in order to keep these lands from being dry and have water to make crops grow.

The north is not like the south.

Not to mention a lot of rain in the south, there are also a lot of rivers and canals.

Naturally, the south has become a land of fish and rice.

Just like the area along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, from Hubei to the seven provinces and cities of Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, it has always been known as the "Water Town Zeguo", and it is also a land of fish and rice.

In addition, there are rivers, canals and other waters.

In short, there is no shortage of water in the south, and it is even very easy to cause floods.

When Li Chongyuan said that there might be a drought this year, Qiao Su also looked up at the sky, "My lord, what should we do now? The helpers will have to go home to plow the land and prepare to plant crops in another month." , once they leave, the reservoir will definitely not be built.”

"Look for someone, keep looking for someone, go to the east of the county to find someone." Li Chongyuan's only thought at the moment is not to stop the construction of the reservoir.

My original plan was good, but if I encountered a situation like this, I really need to re-examine this plan.

Qiao Su looked towards the east of the county seat, "That's okay, I'll send someone to find him in a while."

People must be looking for it.

Regardless of whether it is a month or half a month, the more people there are, the better.

a few days later.

Qiao Su recruited thousands of people, and directly joined in the construction of the reservoir without saying a word.

And this time.

However, Li Chongyuan received letters and drawings from Xixiang.

After Li Chongyuan read the letter and drawings handed over from Xixiang, and then compared the drawings of the paddle steamer he designed, he even called these shipbuilders professional.

The structural drawings of the ships are more delicate and clear than those drawn by Li Chongyuan.

and.

After a little observation, Li Chongyuan saw that the changes made by these blueprints had subtle functions, which made Li Chongyuan call these shipbuilders even more amazing.

For ships, Li Chongyuan can only rely on some pictures he saw in his previous life.

It is not at all clear which parts have what function, or what function they have on the entire ship.

But people are very good.

The blueprint sent to Li Chongyuan, even the function is marked on the side, which is clear and simple at a glance.

After the drawings were delivered, Li Chongyuan must reply quickly.

The day.

The letter was sent away from Lizhuang, and delivered to Xixiang in an expedited mode of eight hundred miles.

As the Qingming Festival passed, the helpers of the reservoir left [-]% to [-]%.

Going back to dig the ground, this also forced the reservoir construction personnel, and there are only less than 2000 people left.

And these people were the people Qiao Su found from the east of the county some time ago, which made the construction of the reservoir not stop due to lack of people.

At this time, Xixiang.

When Xiang Siyi received Li Chongyuan's reply letter, he directly called the steward Wang to preside over the groundbreaking ceremony of the shipyard together.

As soon as the groundbreaking ceremony came to an end, under the hard work of hundreds of shipbuilders in the shipyard, various ship materials appeared in different ways with each passing day.

And after the Shi family members and those water workers finished repairing the ocean water, they were also joined in the shipbuilding by Xiang Siqian.

Once the two parties cooperate, the efficiency becomes more and more obvious.

And Xixiang's wharf also began to officially operate at this time.

Shiploads of timber were transported from the upper reaches of the Han River and other places, making the entire wharf bustling, which also allowed the surrounding people to see business opportunities.

This is not.

With more people at the dock, there are also more people at the shipyard.

All kinds of small merchants, pushing small carts or carrying burdens, began to sell their things in the four areas specially planned for them.

With the emergence of this situation, the Xixiang fief became more and more mixed.

to this end.

Ask for help from Li Chongyuan from Chang'an, hoping to solve the situation of the crowd, so as to prevent the looting and selling incidents similar to last year.

For the matter of Xixiang.

Li Chongyuan specifically asked the old lady for instructions, and sent dozens of guards over there, so that the matter could be considered settled.

The crops are in the ground.

The helpers came back to work again.

And now it's May.

The day of the Dragon Boat Festival.

Li Chongyuan did not return to Chang'an for this festival.

Because today is the day when the reservoir closes, Li Chongyuan wants to use this festival to pray for a good omen.

to this end.

Li Chongyuan even invited the old lady to Li Zhuang.

of course.

Li Yuan returned to Lizhuang after Qingming.

This is not.

When the reservoir was closed, under Li Yuan's presiding ceremony, the candle was lighted, and the voice rang like a bell, "Lizhuang reservoir closed."

When all the helpers heard Li Yuan's yell, they carried loads of stones and poured them into the opening with lightning speed.

"Okay, that's great. From now on, there will be no fear of floods near Lizhuang anymore." The old lady was standing aside with the little slave's light support, watching the mouth of the reservoir slowly being filled, she was in a good mood.

The old lady is in a good mood.

Of course, it is not only because the reservoir can prevent flooding and drought after it is repaired.

Similarly, I am also happy that Li Chongyuan has made such a great event.

The reasons for being happy are self-evident, that is merit and virtue, as well as political achievements.

Li Chongyuan is the magistrate of Hu County at this time, and he has gone to the generation last year.

Even though he seldom goes to the county government now, it is still the order of this county.

With this political achievement, the future official career will definitely be smooth and smooth.

From ancient times to the present.

There is no official who will use his own money to build a flood-proof and drought-proof reservoir for the local area, even if there is no mountain pond.

There are bridges and roads.

But a reservoir can bless tens of thousands of people, or even hundreds of thousands of people.

Moreover, this is not a year and a half, but a blessing that has lasted for hundreds of years.

Some people might say that Li Chongyuan is a fool, if he used his own money to invest in something that would not directly elevate Li Chongyuan to a title, what is this fool?

But for Li Chongyuan.

No matter what official position he crowned on his head, or whether his title was downgraded or promoted, this reservoir was compulsory for him.

In a broad sense, it is for the people, and in a narrow sense, it is for Li Zhuang and Yuan Zhuang.

In any case, he, Li Chongyuan, would like to see the people around Lizhuang get rich, at least they don't have to run out to work naked in summer, and they don't have to wear two thin clothes to hide at home to keep warm in winter.

What's more, there is no need to hear about a family who was forced to leave their hometown after flooding.

In short.

Li Chongyuan is so stupid that he is willing to do these thankless things.

The reservoir was built.

The happiest thing is him.

With the completion of the reservoir.

Li Chongyuan walks on the embankment twice a day, watching the reservoir being rammed up bit by bit in his hands, feeling full of accomplishment.

And Li Yuan, the little old man, also followed Li Chongyuan, walking around the embankment of the reservoir from time to time to express his feelings, even chanting a few lines of poems from time to time.

The reservoir was completed.

On the other hand, Li Chongyuan had nothing to do. When he was free, he began to plan to go to Xixiang again.

In the blink of an eye.

Spring has gone and summer has come, and half a year has passed.

If it wasn't for the matter of the reservoir, Li Chongyuan might have gone to Xixiang a long time ago.

Li Chongyuan, who returned to his home in Chang'an, spoke to the old lady again, "Aniang, I want to go to Xixiang, please agree."

"Going to Xixiang again? Isn't Xiangsi in Xixiang? If you have anything to do, you can write to Xiangsi to help you. Yuaner, it's not that Auntie didn't let you go to Xixiang. Last year you went to Xixiang Such a big incident has happened, if we go again this time, A Niang really can't stand it." When the old lady heard that Li Chongyuan wanted to go to Xixiang again, her heart immediately hung up.

(End of this chapter)