At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 233, Artificial Nile River and Hydraulic College

December 3rd, Hukou, Zhongshan.

Xu Fan took Chen Ping and other high-level officials of the Han Dynasty to the Zheng Guo Canal, the most important water conservancy project in Guanzhong, for inspection.

The mouth of the Zhengguo Canal that diverts water is at the foot of a mountain called Zhongshan on the Jinghe River. Why is this place called "Hukou"?
After the Jinghe River leaves the mouth of the canyon at the foot of Zhongshan Mountain, even if it reaches the Guanzhong Plain, the Jinghe River forms an S-shaped river channel here. After the Jinghe River water flows out of the river channel, the river surface suddenly becomes wider, and the shape of the river channel is gourd-shaped. "皠" means gourd, so the name of the mouth of the river is related to the shape of the river.

Xu Fan walked to the ditch and frowned in thought. It was found that a lot of sediment had accumulated in the canal, and there were also many damaged areas in the canal. There was no cement in this era, and the Zhengguo Canal only had stone dams in key places. However, this method was extremely costly, whether it was the stones used to make the canal or the dam. The price of glutinous rice for making the dipping agent is extremely high, so most of the canals only have an earthen ditch dug.

But in this way, the channel is easily eroded by running water. At this time, the straight channel has become somewhat curved, and the parts of the channel that have been eroded by running water can also be seen. It is obvious that the Qin State neglected to maintain the Zhengguo Canal.

"Zheng Qu, I heard in Chen County that the yield of the land near Zheng Guo Canal can reach six stones and four buckets per mu. One Zheng Guo Canal can bring twenty million stones of food to Guanzhong. Why is there a shortage of food in Guanzhong now?"

You must know that the original "Land of Abundance" describes Guanzhong. One Zheng Guo canal brought more than 2000 million shi of grain to Guanzhong. This is an exaggerated figure, which means that the entire Guanzhong can feed millions more people and can also maintain hundreds of thousands of troops thousands of miles away. campaign.

Before Zheng Guoqu, although the Qin State often dispatched hundreds of thousands of troops to fight, after the battle, regardless of victory or defeat, the Qin Dynasty had to rest for several years and re-accumulate food and grass. Zheng Guoqu completely solved the logistical constraints of the Qin army.

It can be said that Zheng Guo Canal was the largest logistics base for the Qin Dynasty to unify the six countries. Without the food brought by Zheng Guo Canal, Qin would not have been able to continuously dispatch hundreds of thousands of troops to attack for 10 years. No matter how talented and ambitious the First Emperor was, he had to be limited by logistics. It will take decades to unify the six countries.

"This is really a tool given by God to Tyrannical Qin to unify the world." After Chen Ping heard this, even though he was a person who was close to ghosts and gods, he still felt that God had a big hand guiding this. everything.

When Xu Fan occupied Guanzhong, he wanted to inspect Zheng Guoqu, so he naturally found him. Apart from the dead Zheng Guo, he should be the one who knew Zheng Guoqu best in the world.

"To build canals, it is not enough to have peasants, but also to have shovels and other iron tools. In this kind of freezing weather, without enough medicine and wine, if the peasants work, there will be heavy casualties."

When Bao Qin completed his mission of unifying the world, God took all this back. Thinking of the sudden appearance of the trail at Hangu Pass, one has to sigh that God took charge of all this.

The Zhanghe River used for irrigation was as turbid as the Jinghe River. My father wondered if the sediment in the water could increase grain production, so he built a small canal in the upper reaches of the Jinghe River for verification. Sure enough, he only needed to use mixed river water for irrigation. The crops in the fields we farmed can generally be improved. My father’s field in the upper reaches of the Jing River has a yield of six stones per mu. Unfortunately, due to siltation, this small canal will soon be out of use. "

Xu Fan said: "Although it is difficult for Zheng Guo Canal to have a high yield of six stones and four buckets per mu, we cannot let Zheng Guo Canal be abandoned like this. Zheng Guo Canal, I have appointed you as the Minister of Water Conservancy, with the rank of Qian Shi, and we will start repairing it from now on." Zheng Guo Canal dug out the sediment here and rebuilt the dike after it was broken.

In this era, the grain production capacity was extremely low. There was no shortage of fertile soil with water sources. The yield per mu was only three shi. However, the remote land only had one shi all year round, which is equivalent to about 60 kilograms in modern times. Even the modern failure to harvest yields did not have such miserable yields, but this was the biggest gain in this era. If the yield per mu of some fields could be pushed up to 6 shi per mu in the world, the 100 years before the Han Dynasty would have been an unprecedented prosperous age, and the industrialization Xu Fan wanted would not lack the support of food.

Xu Fan asked: "Has your father found out the reason why Zheng Guoqu's grain production capacity is so high? If it can be promoted to the whole world, this will be a thing of immeasurable merit."

Zheng Qu smiled bitterly and said: "Blessings and misfortunes depend on each other. A large amount of sediment can fertilize the fields, which is why Guanzhong is known as the land of abundance. However, the sediment can also easily block the canal and raise the land around the canal. Originally, the Zheng Guo Canal was an artesian canal for irrigation. For land, you only need to open the water gate, but now many places need to carry water for irrigation.

Xu Fan remembered that he had read an online article called "The Great Time Travel Era". Ancient Egypt was introduced there. Due to the regular flooding of the Nile River, ancient Egypt was the region with the highest yield per mu in the entire known civilization at that time. The wheat yield per mu reached several hundred kilograms, which was 10 times higher than the productivity of Rome and Greece at the same time. An Egyptian The food production capacity can feed the entire Mediterranean countries.

Zheng Qu smiled bitterly and said: "My father searched through ancient books and finally found the reason. When Ximen Bao came to Ye County, he mobilized the people to dig twelve canals from Zhangzhou to irrigate farmland. The canals were successful. At that time, Ye County's yield per mu reached one minute. , turning the large barren saline-alkali land in southern Ye into fertile soil.

Zheng Qu was shocked and said: "King Han, it's winter now, are you sure you really want to recruit corvees?"

Seeing the broken embankment of Zhengguo Canal, Xu Fan suddenly realized that he had one of the most important tools that he had not yet made, and that was cement. With cement, the maintenance of water conservancy projects, the construction of cities, and even houses would become extremely difficult. Simple, Xu Fan was so angry that he slapped his thigh. He didn't expect how much work he could save by finding cement for such an important thing.

After the completion of the Zhengguo Canal, even if it was just an ordinary fertile land, it would have taken Tyrannical Qin twenty more years to destroy the Six Kingdoms, but it happened to be twice as productive as the most fertile land in the world, allowing Tyrant Qin to produce more crops every year. The tens of millions that came out were grain for the war. With this batch of grain, the six countries were unable to resist the violent Qin Dynasty.

Zheng Qu smiled bitterly and said: "Even my father was extremely shocked that Zheng Guo Can can bring such a high grain production capacity. Before Zheng Guo Can, a yield of three stones per mu was already a top-grade field, but Zheng Guo Can has more than doubled the yield per mu. , my father said that this is God’s attempt to unify this chaotic world with the help of Qin.”

After understanding all this, Xu Fan was very disappointed, because this was simply not advisable, and even meant fishing from the entire lake. Our mother river, the Yellow River, showed us that the consequences of excess sediment far outweighed the benefits of increased production.

Even though my father made all kinds of preparations, it took a huge amount of manpower and material resources to lead the people to dig out the sand every year. In addition, at that time, Guanzhong had to build a straight road, the Mausoleum of the First Emperor and other palaces, and there were not enough people in Guanzhong. The imperial court finally gave up this thankless behavior, and Zheng Guoqu's grain production capacity slowly returned to normal levels, but even at normal levels, it was still a fertile land. "

The person Xu Fan called Zheng Qu was the eldest son of Zheng Guo, the chief architect who built the Zheng Guo Canal. Because his father was a Korean spy, even though he was later forgiven by the First Emperor, his family had always been cautious in the Qin State. What? He didn't dare to bring things up, which helped him avoid several political storms in Guanzhong.

Xu Fan knew that sediment could bring nutrients. The turbid Jinghe River water gave the fields near Zhengguo Canal the same irrigation conditions as those in ancient Egypt. It made sense to have such a high yield per mu.

Chen Ping suddenly felt a sense of awe, he should do less immoral things, God is watching all this.

Xu Fan suddenly realized after listening to Zheng Qu's words: "Isn't this the man-made Nile River? No wonder the output of Zheng Guo Canal is so high."

Guanzhong has just settled down, and Zheng Qu instinctively doesn't want to do any infrastructure projects at this time.

Xu Fan shook his head and said: "Don't worry, the king said that corvee is exempted, that is to say, there is no corvee. There is no corvee in our country of Han. Even if we build the Zheng Guo Canal, we will spend food to hire people, and the tools will naturally help them prepare. The price of hiring people is tentatively determined. Ten catties of grain per day for each strong young man, eight catties for women and children.

It just so happens that the people in Guanzhong are short of food now, so they can use work in exchange for relief. They can feed themselves, and if the Zhengguo Canal is repaired, their fields will have better food harvests next year, killing two birds with one stone. "

(No more talking about more than 10 kilograms, the Qin kilogram used here is only two and a half shi a month. According to the Han Dynasty food and goods records, a strong labor force must eat two shi of grain every month and earn two and a half shi a month. When Xu Fan was provided with food, the peasants could barely support their wives and children. An old man would starve to death, so ten kilograms of food was really not much.)
Xu Fan thought for a while and said: "The world is at peace. Guanzhong and even the world should build more water conservancy projects to increase food production capacity. Food cannot only depend on God's face."

Before the start of industrialization in later generations, nationwide water conservancy facilities were built, providing a solid material foundation for industrialization. However, in this era, grain production capacity was so low that Xu Fan felt that land was wasted, and the problems of improved seeds and fertilizers had not yet been solved. It is also good to solve the water conservancy facilities first, which requires a lot of water conservancy talents.

Xu Fan continued: "I plan to set up a water conservancy college in Guanzhong to train talents who understand water conservancy. In the future, the entire world will need to build and repair water conservancy facilities. If you have any children who understand water conservancy, you can recommend it to me."

Zheng Qu said happily: "No!"

A technical family like theirs only gains status when it is needed. After his father built the Zheng Guo Canal, it was extremely difficult to meet the First Emperor. If the King of Han really wanted to build water conservancy facilities in the world, his family could guarantee prosperity for hundreds of years. Xu Fan looked at Chen Ping and said: "After you go back, remember to invite Li Bing's descendants to come to Guanzhong, and hire all those who understand water conservancy as water conservancy masters."

Xu Fan suddenly thought that Dujiangyan was the pinnacle of ancient water conservancy projects. The Zhengguo Canal only benefited the people of Guanzhong for a hundred years, but Dujiangyan benefited the people of Chengdu for more than 2000 years. After the hat of the Land of Abundance was put on Chengdu's head, it never benefited Chengdu again. Take it off.

Chen Ping said: "No."

Xu Fan looked at the turbid water of the Jing River and said with a solemn expression: "The Jing River cannot be left alone like this. Otherwise, no matter how many canals are built, sand will have to be washed out every year. We still have to find ways to plant more lawns and trees in the middle and upper reaches to prevent Soil erosion.”

"Soil erosion?" This was the first time Chen Ping heard this term.

"Literally, the people in Guanzhong have cut down too many trees around the Jinghe River. Without the protection of the trees, the soil on the ground will flow into the river along with the rainwater, so the Jinghe River will be so turbid, with too much muddy water and sedimentation. In the river channel, it will raise the river bed, which will cause the Jinghe River to flood. Now the river has this trend, so there is a long way to go to prevent soil loss. "

I don’t remember who said this. Thousands of years of feudal history is a history of river construction. The mother river of the river will soon be renamed the Yellow River, and in the next 2000 years, it will become more and more violent. He still has a chance to make things right now, but of course he has to find a way to prevent this from happening again.

After listening to Xu Fan's explanation, Chen Ping suddenly realized that it turned out that the river had often flooded in recent years because of soil erosion and raised the river bed. This was a very simple and intuitive derivation process, but no one had ever thought of this. .

Xu Fan said: "How can you help people plant more trees and reduce indiscriminate logging? If the Jinghe River continues to lose soil and water like this, it will become more and more violent, and there will be more and more opportunities for flooding. In the end, Jinghe will also be harmed." People on both sides of the river.”

Chen Ping smiled bitterly after hearing Xu Fan's words and said: "King of Han, people have to cut firewood to make fire when eating. The bigger the city, the more population, the more firewood is needed, and the more trees need to be cut down. Look at how many mountains in Guanzhong are We can't stop it unless you set up the capital somewhere else."

Firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea, firewood ranks first, which shows its status. Guanzhong is not the only place that has been cut down. As early as hundreds of years ago, the mountains outside Linzi were cut bare by local people.

Xu Fan said: "I know that a black stone-like thing called coal can be burned. From now on, the people in Guanzhong should try to use coal as fuel."

Honeycomb briquettes can solve the fuel problem of the people in Guanzhong. The post-00s generation may not have seen it, but the post-80s generation like Xu Fan has seen it. It is not difficult, and Xu Fan also remembers that there are many coal mines in Guanzhong, Lantian It seems there is.

Xu Fan said: "We in the Han State have increased publicity on soil erosion to make the people aware of the dangers involved. Can this problem be solved?"

Xu Fan remembered that in his previous life, the state had been doing such propaganda. When he was a child, every TV channel had such public service announcements. In less than 10 years, various environmental protection concepts began to penetrate into the common people.

Chen Ping shook his head and said: "The people are ignorant. Forbidding cutting down trees will affect their interests. I'm afraid they won't listen to your propaganda. If the coal you said, King Han, can really solve the fuel problem, there may be improvements, but coal's The price must be lower than that of firewood, and it must be easy to promote to the people. If these two points can be achieved, the problem of indiscriminate deforestation by the people can be greatly reduced.”

Xu Fan said: "This is not a big problem. Coal burns much more than wood, and it is not that difficult to dig."

After hearing this, Chen Ping said: "King of Han, we can only learn from the Taigong in governing Qi, carry out the custom of changing the wind, and find a way to come up with a custom so that when people die, they plant a tree on their graves. After forming this habit, There will be more and more trees in Guanzhong, and soil erosion will be controlled.”

Xu Fan said happily: "Chen Ping, you are so resourceful. This is a good idea. After a hundred years, you don't want to build an imperial mausoleum. Just find a bare mountain to bury me, and then plant tens of thousands of trees on it." "

December 4th

Xianyang experienced the initial panic and depression. The people of Xianyang once again discovered that the Han army had strict military discipline. There would be a group of soldiers stationed in every village. Anyone who felt wronged, even soldiers of the coalition forces, would be arrested by them. The people of Xianyang The people began to trust the Han army.

When the Han army began to give them low-priced grain, the people of Xianyang gradually adapted to the change from the rule of the First Emperor to the rule of the King of Han.

After all, changes at the top have nothing to do with their lives. For the people at the bottom, survival is the most important thing.

Xu Fan distributed trophies to the coalition soldiers, which also triggered a consumer boom in Xianyang City. The market in Xianyang gradually recovered, and the original war seemed to be over like a dream.

Only in Xianyang City were there only nobles from the Qin State, and the clan members would hide in a bottomless place, weeping and missing the days when the Qin Dynasty was still alive.

For them, when the Qin State was destroyed, the sky fell. Their official positions were abolished by the Han State, their land was confiscated by the Han army, and they changed from powerful people to people who had subjugated their country. Adaptable.

These people wanted to escape from Guanzhong, but they soon discovered that the Han army did not restrict their escape at all. However, after they escaped from Guanzhong, they would confiscate the properties and shops of the nobles in Guanzhong. The nobles of the former Qin Dynasty were still a little tempted. , reluctant to part with his last bit of property, he could only stay in Xianyang.

For the people in Xianyang now, the most important thing every day is to hear news about the Han army.

"Dang, Dang, Dang, Dang! Listen up, fellow villagers. The Shaofu is recruiting workers. Food and accommodation are included. The daily salary is 10 kilograms of grain. If you want to work, please go to the Shaofu's office."

"The Water Conservancy Office recruits people to repair the Zhengguo Canal. The young men are given 10 kilograms of grain per day, and the women are 8 kilograms per day. Those who want to work should go to the Water Conservancy Office."

"Is this true? It's not a corvée service. Will you give us food?" Many people couldn't imagine that repairing Zhengguo Canal has always been done by Guanzhong corvées. Most of the people in Xianyang City have gone to Zhengguo Canal to do corvée work, and this time they actually gave us food.

The Han official who was beating the gong laughed and said, "Of course it's true. I said that from now on there will be no corvee in the world. If the imperial court wants you to do anything, you will have to pay in grain."

"Hail, King of Han!" Immediately some people shouted excitedly.

Immediately, the people around him began to run towards the Shaofu and Water Conservancy Houses. They were afraid that there were not enough places for the imperial court to recruit workers. At this time of year, it was not easy to find a job with 10 kilograms of food a day.

But soon these people discovered that the recruitment opportunities at Shaofu River Water Conservancy were almost endless. As long as someone signed up, they would be taken away without worrying about quotas.

(End of this chapter)