Be an emperor from drawing cards

Chapter 181 Lingxi is busy digging wells

Zhenjiang Prefecture, Lingxi County.

Here, Mohist disciple Li Ziqiu, who was sent here to guide drought relief, encountered almost the same problem as his colleague Xu Fang.

However, fortunately, at this moment, Li Ziqiu is located in the county town and receives much more support and help than Xu Fang in the villages and towns.

When he left Shenjing City, Senior Brother Du had already explained all aspects of his disaster response, and specifically reminded himself in some places that this was what His Majesty had emphatically explained, and that he must give priority to it when he arrived.

This private business is one of them.

As soon as he arrived in Lingxi County, he immediately went to the county magistrate and explained the necessity of building a refugee camp outside the city, and even mentioned the Holy Spirit in a subtle way.

This Fang County Lord was obviously not a mediocre official. When he heard what Li Ziqiu said, he simply patted his chest and promised that he would actively cooperate with the court's arrangements and give people and things.

So, within three or two days, with the joint efforts of everyone, a simple camp was set up to accommodate the refugees.

As a disciple of Momen, Li Ziqiu's design skills are still very good.

This refugee camp, in his planned design, could accommodate at least [-] households, but now it is just a prototype.

As for the refugees who fled to the county town and moved in, there were only three to four hundred households.

But even if there are only these people and some preparations that need to be made, Li Ziqiu will not be careless at all.

Not to mention that the disaster relief matter was in line with the Mohist core idea of ​​"love for all but not attack". Just to increase the weight of the Mohist family in the heart of the Holy Spirit, he had to handle this matter extremely appropriately and perfectly.

Li Ziqiu took all matters in the refugee camp, from food to drinking water, from housing to movement, as long as it was related to the refugees' eating, drinking and diarrhea, and was as busy as a spinning top every day. They all sleep in this homeless camp.

In a year of severe drought, the most important issue for both humans and animals is drinking water.

Nowadays, the Lingxi River next to the county is almost dry, and the remaining river water still needs to irrigate farmland.

To solve people's drinking water problem, he needs to find another water source.

The easiest way to find water sources is to dig a well.

Before leaving, Senior Brother Du told himself that a major disaster would be followed by a major epidemic, and that he must be cautious when dealing with disasters and refugees.

A medical disciple who is close to me once told me that if I want to control the disease within a certain range and contain its outbreak, I must ensure a sufficiently clean water source.

For Li Ziqiu, the cleanest water source he knew was well water.

Although there are several wells in Lingxi County, these wells alone cannot meet the daily needs of residents in the county and refugees outside the city.

Therefore, after the refugee camp was built, Li Ziqiu discussed with Fang County Zun, hoping that the county government would issue a notice and use the money and grain from the county government treasury to hire young martial arts practitioners among the refugees to dig wells.

Although ordinary young people can also be qualified for this job, what the government is short of now is time.

Although asking warriors to dig wells is a bit overkill, with the blessing of internal strength, their efficiency is far better than ordinary people.

Under the reward, there must be a brave man.

Soon, more than a dozen young men who had reached the third or fourth level of cultivation unveiled the notice and signed up at the county government office.

Therefore, Li Ziqiu took these young and strong men, as well as a well master from the county, to search for water veins near the refugee camp and determine the location of the well.

Although the land was severely dehydrated and hard enough to make people frown, it could not resist these young warriors pouring their inner strength into the iron pickaxe. With one pickaxe, no matter how hard the earth and rock were, a big hole was carved out.

After digging more than two meters deep, the soil gradually became moist and soft, and the progress became faster and faster.

When you dig to a depth of four or five meters, you can even feel the water seeping out of the mud.

At this time, the young and strong people who signed up all looked happy, and they didn't care much. They stripped themselves naked except for a pair of shorts, and then jumped into the pit with wooden buckets, filling the wooden buckets with mixed food. The soil under the ground water does not use ropes to lift the barrels, but directly relies on internal force to throw the heavy barrels up.

The cycle continued like this, and soon, a gurgling spring appeared in front of everyone.

"The water is out, the water is out!"

People who saw this scene couldn't help but cheered. Some even ignored that the water was still a little turbid, so they went to the spring with trembling hands, carefully touched a handful of the slightly yellow well water, and couldn't wait to send it in. In the mouth.

The next moment, a happy smile bloomed on his face.

Seeing these people's heartfelt smiles, Li Ziqiu couldn't help but laugh.

He suddenly realized that his knowledge of Mohist classics had improved a lot without realizing it, and what surprised him even more was that his cultivation level had also quietly increased a lot.

Is this the result of following people's will?
Li Ziqiu murmured in his heart.

Although the warriors dig wells with overqualified talents, their efficiency in digging wells is jaw-dropping.

In just three or two days, thirty wells were opened, and more than half of them produced water.

Back in the refugee camp, Li Ziqiu looked a little sad when he saw the refugees cheering for joy after hearing the news.

"This is Mr. Li?"

Magistrate Fang, who came to inspect the private camp, saw Li Ziqiu's expression and couldn't help but asked doubtfully.

Isn't it a good thing to open a well and bring out water?

But why does Mr. Li look unhappy?
Li Ziqiu sighed, pointed to the porcelain bowl in front of him, and said, "Your Excellency, you will know after you look at this."

Magistrate Fang followed what Li Ziqiu pointed and looked at the porcelain bowls placed on the table.

In the porcelain bowl is water from a newly opened well. The color of the water is not completely clear, but slightly turbid.

"Although people can drink this water, if you drink too much, you will inevitably have diarrhea. It is already very hot in the emperor. If there is another disease caused by human and animal feces in the refugee camp, it will be a big trouble."

Magistrate Fang blinked.

Human and animal feces can cause diseases, how could he not know?
In fact, Li Ziqiu also heard this point of view from his close medical disciple, who in turn knew it from his teacher Sun Simiao, the "King of Medicine".

Li Ziqiu may not believe that medical disciple, but he must take the words of Mr. Sun, a master medical practitioner, into heart.

Mr. Sun said this, so it must be right.

Li Ziqiu looked at Magistrate Fang, cupped his hands and said:

"Your Excellency, County Fang, can you order some of the alum from the treasury to be transferred out? I need it to clarify the water in these wells."

Like salt and iron, the alum industry in Chu State was also monopolized by the government, and private individuals were not allowed to get involved.

Like table salt, the use of alum by Dachu people is also very common in daily life.

Those wealthy families will buy alum to clarify daily water, whether it is well water or river water.

Ordinary people, as long as they have a little bit of conditions, will also buy some alum for use.For people at this time, this alum is the best water purifier.

When Magistrate Fang heard this, he hesitated for a while.

This thing belongs to the government. Is it too extravagant to give it to the refugees?If someone with good intentions takes advantage of him, not only will it be hard for him to explain to his superiors, but he will also have trouble protecting his official title...

Seeing the hesitation on Magistrate Fang's face, Li Ziqiu vaguely understood the magistrate's worries and said with a smile:

"Don't worry, Lord County Lord. I will inform Li Yushi who is in charge of Fucheng of the reason. I will not make things difficult for you."

After hearing what Li Ziqiu said, Magistrate Fang felt relieved.

If there is a responsibility, and this person is in front of me, then what do I have to fear?
So he smiled and said: "Mr. Fang has said so. If I don't agree, wouldn't it be too disrespectful to Mr. Fang? In this way, how much alum is needed every day, please give me an approximate figure, and then Sign your name, sir, so that I can do business more easily."

If you get the other party's evidence, something will really happen. If you have the evidence in hand, you will be in an invincible position.

Li Ziqiu didn't have any selfish motives at all. When he heard Magistrate Fang say this, he nodded without thinking too much and said:

"Okay, just follow what the Lord County Master said. In addition, I also ask the Lord County Master to help me summon the skilled craftsmen in the county. I have something that needs them to handle."

As he spoke, he took out a roll of drawings from his sleeve and put it on the table.

Magistrate Fang glanced at Li Ziqiu and opened the drawing with suspicion.

Looking at the graphics filled with various annotations, Magistrate Fang was suddenly confused.

He raised his head and asked doubtfully: "Mr. Li, what is this?"

Li Ziqiu nodded slightly and said:
"Your Excellency, according to the pace of the past few days, dozens of usable water wells can be opened within a month. However, it is still not enough to provide more than [-] homeless households. Of course, This statement is also somewhat inaccurate. These water wells are quite far away from the refugee camps. I have calculated that relying solely on manpower to collect water in buckets is slow, and it is not enough to supply daily water for more than [-] refugee households."

There was a hint of weariness in his voice.

"So, after much thought and combined with my Mohist classics, I drew a drawing of an instrument for fetching water. Like a waterwheel, this object can be driven by animal power or manpower. It can not only supply people with drinking water, but also Irrigating fields is also possible.”

At the beginning of digging the well, Li Ziqiu considered the problem that the well bore was too far from the refugee camp, so he stayed up for several nights before drawing the blueprint.

Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Fang showed a hint of admiration in his eyes, cupped his fists and said:

"Sir, you are very righteous. I would like to express my gratitude to you on behalf of the people of the county and the many refugees."

Li Ziqiu waved his hand and said, "This is a matter of personal responsibility. Sir, there is no need to thank me."

Magistrate Fang said: "Don't worry, sir. Tomorrow, I will call all the famous craftsmen in the county."

"Then thank you so much, Mr. County Lord."

Silent all night.

Around noon the next day, more than a dozen craftsmen, led by several servants, arrived in front of the small courtyard where Li Ziqiu lived.

Li Ziqiu asked his servants to welcome everyone into the house, then spread the drawings on the table and said to everyone:
"Everyone, let's take a look first. If you don't understand anything, just ask me. I only have one sentence here, can you make it?"

A group of craftsmen looked closer and discussed a few words. Finally, an old craftsman spoke on behalf of everyone:

"My Lord, the drawings have said everything that needs to be said, and I have no doubts about it. Don't worry, Lord, I will be able to see the finished product in less than three days."

Li Ziqiu finally felt relieved after hearing this.

As long as this is done and all the refugees are resettled, he will not only be able to explain to his masters and the court, but also to his own conscience.

However, the next words of a craftsman piqued his interest.

"Sir, in fact, as long as the well is dug deep, there is no need for manpower or animal power to lift the water. As long as the well is deep enough to pass through the stone layer, the water will come up by itself."

The speaker's surname is Lu Mingwei. He is often called "Lv Laoliu" because he is the sixth in the family. He is a stonemason and is good at carving lions.

Hearing what Lu Laoliu said, Li Ziqiu felt a faint movement in his heart and had a hint of inspiration. He seemed to have vaguely seen it in the classics, but when he thought about it carefully, he couldn't remember the content.

"Brother Lu, is this really true?" Li Ziqiu asked.

Hearing Li Ziqiu's name for him, Lu Wei's dark face turned red, and he quickly raised his hands and said: "Mr. Li, don't say such things. The villain is just a commoner, how can he be called like this by Mr. Li? However, the villain We did fight in the past, but not in Lingxi County."

Li Ziqiu pondered for a moment and suddenly asked: "Lv Laoliu, are you talking about the salt well?"

Hearing what Li Ziqiu said, Lu Laoliu's expression changed drastically, he knelt down with a plop, kowtowed repeatedly, and said:

"Please sir, please spare the villain's life. The villain was also framed at that time and had no choice but to flee southern Xinjiang."

He was originally a salt farmer in a salt mine and the person responsible for digging salt wells.

The rules in the salt mines are strict. In order to prevent the salt mining methods from being exposed and known to other countries, anyone who escapes will be severely punished.

Li Ziqiu helped Lu Laoliu up with a smile and said:
"I heard that you have a slight Jiaxing accent, so I asked you this question. As for the method you didn't mention, it is my Mohist method. Thanks to you for mentioning it, otherwise I wouldn't remember it at all. In this way, if Mr. Lu [-]. If you can help me dig this kind of well and help the people of Lingxi County survive the drought, then I can speak kindly for you in front of the Holy One and ask the Holy One to forgive you for escaping."

There were so many things that he needed to deal with in the refugee camp, and it was impossible for him to focus on opening the well every day.

With the help of a knowledgeable person like Lu Laoliu, I can feel much more relaxed.

Now, it depends on what he means.

"The villain is willing, the villain is willing."

Hearing that there was a glimmer of hope, Lu Laoliu quickly agreed, fearing that Li Ziqiu would regret it.

"Okay," Li Ziqiu nodded slightly, "I will arrange the manpower to dig the well. As long as this can be done, I will never break my promise!"

Signaling all the craftsmen to leave and prepare the necessary utensils and materials, Li Ziqiu walked to the study.

The issue of well salt in southern Xinjiang was originally handled by senior brother Wu Hui, who was extremely proficient in this matter.

Li Ziqiu wanted to ask Senior Brother Wu about the method of digging a well, or compare it with Lu Laoliu's method, just in case.

However, as soon as he wrote a few words, a servant came into the study with a letter.

"Your letter, sir."

Li Ziqiu couldn't help but laugh after taking the letter and looking at the familiar words "Senior Brother Li personally expresses it" on the cover.

I went to ask Senior Brother Wu Hui for something, but I didn't expect that Junior Brother Xu Fang would also ask for help on me.

After opening the letter and reading the contents, Li Ziqiu's lips curled up slightly.

For me, this matter is nothing more than a trivial matter!
(End of this chapter)