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

Chapter 262: Horse Bones and Hard-to-Change Concepts
Chang'an City, Agricultural Bank Head Office.

"It's a great thing for the shopkeeper, it's a great thing for the shopkeeper!" Hu Hai shouted as soon as he came in.

Song Xiang frowned when he heard the voice and said, "What good thing?"

Hu Hai said: "A certain person received a big order. A certain person's brother is a wife in Zhao Li and has a high prestige in the village. He has persuaded the people in Zhao Li to take loans to buy more than a dozen cattle and iron farm tools. The loan amount reaches hundreds of thousands of dollars." , and the pavilion chief in Zhao Li also wants to borrow money from our agricultural bank to build the canal. "

"Build canals? Ahem, are the folk customs here so simple?

Do they know how much it costs to build a canal? At that time, Da Qin gathered all the efforts of the country and could only build a Zheng Guo Canal. "

Hu Hai immediately said: "It's not that big. Just build a small canal more than ten miles long. It can cover tens of thousands of acres of land in Zhaoli."

"More than ten miles?" Song Xiang thought this business could be done.

Then Hu Hai whispered: "Shopkeeper, I think this is a good opportunity to buy horse bones worth a thousand gold. Think about it, if an ordinary farmer buys a sickle worth tens of dollars and farm tools worth hundreds of dollars, how much loan do we need to make? To buy these two things, All the billions of dollars were loaned out.

But if it were to build such a small canal, why would a village have to spend millions of dollars? As long as there are hundreds of villages like this, our loans will be fine. Our Agricultural Bank should use Zhao Li as a horse bone to build this small canal and make a sensation throughout Guanzhong. Then we will no longer have to worry about farmers' loans, and our Agricultural Bank can also conquer the city of Chang'an. "

Song Xiang's eyes lit up and he said: "Hu Hai, you are a talent. You even know the allusion of Qianjin City's horse bones. You will be fully responsible for this matter. If you have any difficulties, you can report them. Our Agricultural Bank will fully support you."

Hu Hai said: "Our agricultural bank provides money, and Zhao Li can provide hundreds of young people. What we need most now is someone who knows how to repair water conservancy."

Song Xiang said: "This is easy to solve. It's just a small canal. I'll contact the Water Conservancy College to find a teacher to help."

November 6, the third year of the Han Dynasty.

With the help of Song Xiang, Li Yu, a master of the Water Conservancy College, followed Hu Hai to Zhao Li.

As soon as Hu Hai and others came over, all the villagers gathered around excitedly. The news that the village was going to build a canal had spread, and all the villagers were extremely excited.

This is Guanzhong, and the Zheng Guo Canal is not even more than 50 miles away from their village. Many old people in the village have built the Zheng Guo Canal before, and they also know the super harvest it will bring after the completion of the Zheng Guo Canal.

The yield of six stones and four bushels per mu shocked the entire Guanzhong. Many people have deep memories of the harvest. The water canal is a symbol of harvest for the people in Guanzhong. Now that their village is actually going to build a canal, the excitement of the villagers can be imagined.

Hu Hai looked at the villagers who had gathered around him and said impatiently: "You don't know how to repair canals, so why are you surrounding us? This is not the work of water conservancy workers that affects others. Come on, come on, come on, do what you have to do, don't surround us here."

The villagers were not angry after being bombarded like this, but left one by one, leaving only three people: Master Fusu, Li Changjiang Tao, and Pavilion Chief Wang Wen.

Li Yu smiled when he saw the three of them: "I didn't expect that the people in your village are so far-sighted that they would even think of building canals."

Fusu bowed his hands and said, "Zhao Fusu has met Xiongtai, but don't you know Xiongtai's name?"

"My Excellency Li Yu, I have met you all. My ancestor is Li Bing from Shuzhong. Because my family is good at water conservancy, he was invited to Guanzhong by the Emperor. Now I am the master of the Water Conservancy College."

Fusu said: "It turns out that he is a descendant of Grand Administrator Li. No wonder he is favored by the emperor."

"I don't know how much it costs for us in Zhaoli to repair the canals that irrigate the whole village?"

Li Yu looked at the surrounding terrain and said: "The terrain here is flat and close to the Wei River. There is no shortage of water sources. It will not cost much to build only a small canal. Recently, the Mo family has built a new windmill that can pump water mechanically. Pumping the water from the river dike into the farmland and using bricks and cement to build the canal will cost about one million yuan, which can save one canal for irrigating the whole village. "

In order to solve the problem of agricultural irrigation, Xu Fan thought of the windmill and pressure-bearing well technology of later generations.

Pressurized wells use the principle of atmospheric pressure to pump water up, but it is very inconvenient to use manpower to continuously press the water. Xu Fan also thought of windmills as a power source. Once the two are combined, river water can be continuously pumped into the fields.
Even in places where there are no rivers, as long as a well is dug and a windmill is built, groundwater can be pumped up. For this era, it can be said to be an artifact to increase production. As long as the water veins are found correctly, even mountainous areas can have a good harvest.

The three of them looked at each other and were overjoyed, and then Fusu said: "I, Zhao Li, will entrust Master Li with the water canal. After the project is completed, I, Zhao Li, are willing to pay 1 yuan to Master Li."

Li Yu smiled and said: "No need, the Agricultural Bank has already paid you, and you will get nothing for anything. You can do your own thing. I am in Zhaoli to observe the terrain here so that I can design the appropriate location of the water canal."

Fusu understood that this was a professional matter and they wouldn't understand it if they stayed here. Instead, it would disturb Li Yu.

So the four people left here.

Li Changjiang Tao looked at Li Yu and was still a little worried and said: "We have borrowed millions of dollars? What should we do if we can't pay it back? I won't sell my son or daughter."

Li Changjiang Tao is older and is always a little worried about such risky things.

Hu Hai said with a smile: "This is the emperor's property. What are you worried about, chief, that the emperor will ask you to sell your sons and daughters? It's impossible. We have thousands of acres of land in Zhaoli, and the grain we harvest every year is worth millions. There’s no need to worry about it.”

Li Changjiang Tao: "Who can say accurately about natural and man-made disasters? Guanzhong has had a great harvest this year. Who knows if God will lose his temper next year and a drought will cut off the production. By then, we will not even be able to eat enough for ourselves. , Where is the money to repay these loans?”

Hu Hai said with a smile: "Chief, it is precisely because God will lose his temper that we have to build canals. As long as we build the canals, even if God loses his temper, we will not be short of water to irrigate the farmers, and the grain output will not be reduced." .

Just like Zheng Guoqu, God used to lose his temper at every turn, and the local people couldn't support themselves. But after the completion of the Zhengguo Canal, you can see whether there are floods or droughts, the fields will have good harvests, and there will be no bad years in Guanzhong. Building canals is the best way to deal with God. "

This time even Fusu helped Hu Hai and said: "Chief, although my brother is unreliable, what he said today makes sense. Building canals is the best way to solve natural disasters."

Wang Wen, the director of the pavilion, said: "Although the money is large, the best we can do is bite the bullet and sell more food next year. If we work harder and have a little more energy in the next few years, we can always pay it back.

But after the canal is built, we will leave a valuable asset to future generations. With this canal, our Zhaoli will become more and more prosperous. "

Hu Hai smiled and said, "That's right."

Then he pointed his finger at the people chatting in groups near the entrance of the village: "I don't know how to say hello to you. Now there is a shortage of manpower everywhere in Guanzhong. The agricultural tool factory in Shaofu is recruiting people, the steel plant is recruiting people, the coal field, and the ore field. , there are even many furniture workshops, carriage workshops are recruiting people, the monthly salary of workers is getting higher and higher, you would rather sit in the village chatting nonsense than go to Chang'an City to work among the hundreds of young people in the village. If you work in these workshops, you can earn more than 100,000 yuan a month, and you will be able to pay back the million yuan in a few months.”

Li Changjiang Tao said in shock: "Are the workshops in Chang'an City really so profitable? But the court won't let us wander around, and outside the village, who knows how people outside will bully us farmers."

In the past, Da Qin had extremely strict control over household registration, and did not even allow villagers to leave at will.

Hu Hai mocked: "What you are talking about is the old man's calendar. Who still restricts everyone's entry and exit? You see, I go to Chang'an City from time to time. Has anyone taken care of it?"

"This is a new court and a new world. Your old ideas must change. Otherwise, even if there are good things, you won't be able to grasp them."

Hu Hai said angrily: "If you are willing to endure hardship, go mining. Not only food and accommodation are included, you can still earn a salary of 1200 yuan a month."

"So profitable?" Chang Jiangtao's outlook was shattered. Based on grain prices, he could earn 13 shi of wheat a month and 160 shi of grain in a year, which is equivalent to more than 150 acres of grain production capacity in Guanzhong. This salary is enough to support a family of five and still live well.

"Don't listen to Hu Hai's words. Although mining is profitable, it is extremely dangerous. If you are not careful, your family will be destroyed. Farming is the safest for us farmers." Fusu said immediately. Hu Hai immediately said: "A craftsman in a carriage workshop has a salary of 600 yuan, and a skilled master has a salary of more than 1,000 yuan. There are also furniture manufacturing workshops with a salary of 500 yuan. There are many jobs in Chang'an City with a salary of more than 1,000 yuan. Now we know The reason why I always go to Chang'an City is because there are so many opportunities in Chang'an City. I can only waste time talking nonsense like these people here. "

Wang Wen, the director of the pavilion, said: "It's too late to know this now. The water conservancy masters have helped us survey the terrain. Otherwise, it won't be long before all the men, women, and children in the village are ready to start digging the canals. After we have dug the canals for three or four months, spring plowing will begin." It’s about to start.”

Hu Hai said: "As long as you want to make money, there are always opportunities. Although you are busy with spring plowing, after the spring plowing is completed, the fields at home can be handed over to your family, and the young people can also go to work in Chang'an City. Although apprentices do not have a high salary, But you can still earn a few hundred dollars a month, which can help support your family, which is better than wasting your time in the countryside. "

Wang Wen, the director of the pavilion, said in astonishment: "It seems possible."

November 7, the third year of the Han Dynasty.

Li Yu stayed in Zhaoli for a day, and then based on the topography of Zhaoli, he calculated the highest point of the water level in Zhaoli. This was used to place windmills, and then the pressure-contained wells could be pumped in the Weishui River through the bamboo pipe. Build a main canal from the highest point, and then dig multiple auxiliary canals three feet deep and three feet wide after flowing through Zhaoli, so that the entire Zhaoli fields can be irrigated by the canal.

Li Yudao: "There are two ways to build this canal: money and no money. The no-cost method is that you only buy windmills and pressure-bearing wells, and then you dig the canal manually. This way you don't need too much material cost, as long as you It takes a lot of effort to create a channel.”

"Is there such a good thing?" Wang Wen said in disbelief.

Hu Hai said anxiously: "Master Li, you have received money from our agricultural bank, so you cannot disrupt the business of our bank."

Li Yu smiled and said: "I only charge money for planning the canals. As for how you want to build the canals, it's not up to me. I'm just telling you everything I know."

Fusu asked: "There must be defects in this kind of water channel, right?"

Li Yu nodded and said: "Because there is no filling of masonry materials, this canal will definitely be eroded by running water after it is established, so you have to repair this canal every year, and one windmill may not be enough. You, Zhao Li, need to prepare more windmills." ”

Wang Wen asked: "How to build water canals that cost money?"

Li Yu said with a smile: "The only thing that costs money is to buy bricks and cement to fill it. The advantage of building a canal in this way is that it is strong and durable. It does not require much repair at ordinary times. Even if it is broken, it can be repaired quickly. And because there is masonry filling , the canal leaks very little, and more land can be irrigated. The soil canal can transport more than 5 times more water than the masonry canal to achieve the same irrigation effect. "

"However, such a pool is very expensive. The bricks alone may cost hundreds of thousands. It requires a large amount of cement as a filler and the design of some auxiliary water gates. Not counting labor costs and tool costs, the cost is roughly one million dollars. up and down."

Fusu thought for a while and said: "This canal is Zhao Li's century-old plan. We save money now, but future generations will have to suffer from this."

Hu Hai also said: "Chief, you have also heard that cheap canals need to be repaired all the time, and this also requires effort. With this time and effort, you can make money by just finding a job in Chang'an City, repairing canals , this doesn’t save money.”

Wang Wen also said: "Since there are good ones, I won't choose the bad ones."

When Li Changjiang Tao saw that both Fusu and Wang Wen had agreed, he could only agree to build a water canal that cost money. He still listened to Fusu's words. Rather than letting future generations suffer, Li Changjiang Tao still believed that he should take advantage of this hardship instead of letting future generations suffer. Eat well.

November 8, the third year of the Han Dynasty.

Hu Hai represented the Agricultural Bank of China in Zhaoli and signed contracts with all the villagers. The villagers of Zhaoli gave millions of dollars to the Agricultural Bank of China in the name of the group for the construction of water canals. The interest was two cents per year, and the mortgage was Zhaoli's farmland.

After the contract was signed, Hu Hai took Fusu and the other three to the Chang'an Brick and Stone Workshop and ordered 50 bricks. Then he went to the farm tool factory and ordered 500 shovels and other farm tools, and then went to the cement factory to order cement. All business needs to be handled by Hu Hai.

Hu Hai apologized: "According to the regulations of our bank, you are not allowed to touch the money, that's why it's so troublesome."

Fusu asked strangely: "Why is there such a strange rule? We can also buy these things with money?"

Hu Hai said: "Our bank is afraid that you will take the money and not buy these things. This is a loan to assist farmers. If any prodigal takes this money to eat and drink, it will go against His Majesty's original intention, and such a person I can’t pay back the money.”

Fusu said with a smile: "You still know yourself."

However, he also admired the Han Emperor for his deep thoughts. Emperors who cared about the people like the Han Emperor were too rare. There were no such emperors in the three generations, that is, the ancient emperors had such virtues.

Li Yu drew the construction drawings, and various raw materials and tools were rushed to Zhao Li. The bricks were also carried by ox carts and placed in Zhao Li's pile.

Men, women, old and young in Zhaoli began to dig canals and build their own homes.

In order to boost morale, Hu Hai even traced the drawings drawn by Li Yu on a piece of cloth and hung them on a wooden board at the entrance of the village so that every villager working on the project could see the schematic diagram of the canal.

"What are you doing in Zhao Li? Are you building a compound?" Villagers from all over the country and eight villages saw a large amount of materials entering Zhao Li and asked curiously.

The villagers said proudly: "We are building a canal that belongs to our village. Once this canal is built, all the land in our village will be irrigated, and we can produce more than 3 kilograms of food."

"Where did you get so much money to buy these bricks and materials?" The other villagers who were repairing the canal were not surprised. What was strange was that the villagers here could actually get so many bricks and tools.

The villager said: "We went to the Agricultural Bank to get a loan to buy it."

"You are crazy. You are borrowing loan sharks to build canals. Zhao Li is going to be doomed."

The news that Zhao Li borrowed loan sharks to build canals quickly spread throughout the countryside, and the surrounding villagers were in an uproar.

They have heard of a person borrowing usury, and a village borrowing usury. They have never heard of such a thing in Guanzhong for hundreds of years. This suddenly became a hot topic, and Zhao Li became the center of this hot topic.

As a result, villagers from all over the country came to Zhaoli to watch this canal that was destined for future generations.

"Don't listen to rumors. We are not loan sharks. We only need two cents of interest a year, and there is no need for compound interest. We are a regular bank. It is a welfare provided by the emperor to me and other common people. If you need to know more, our bank can I’ll help you get loans to buy cattle, sheep, and various farm tools and water trucks.” Hu Hai saw so many villagers and wanted to develop them into his customers.

It's a pity that these villagers didn't listen to what Hu Hai said. As soon as he surrounded him, they would immediately walk away. Even if he said something out of the blue, the villagers didn't believe it was true. They just wanted to see Zhao Li's excitement.

This made the villagers in Zhaoli very angry. They worked hard to dig ditches every day, but these people stayed by and laughed at them with playful faces.

Fusu persuaded the villagers in Zhaoli: "Don't worry about their people, they also laugh at us, just do your own thing."

Two months later, with the efforts of hundreds of men, women, and children throughout Zhaoli, dozens of miles of water canals in Zhaoli were completed.

"Open the channel!"

Driven by the windmill, the water flowed from the main canal to the auxiliary canal, and then flowed to their fields. Soon, most of the land in Zhaoli was full of water.

When the villagers from all over the country saw this scene, they were in an uproar. They originally wanted to laugh at others, but they didn't expect that the fool was themselves.

(End of this chapter)