1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 859 Man must conquer the sky?

On February 1671, 2, Linhai, on the banks of the Iron Sand River (now the Turner River near Port Hedland, Australia).

After breakfast, Liu Jiaxi and a few companions on the boat strolled on the street while bathing in the warm summer sun.A group of people lingered in front of the shops on the street from time to time to buy some local specialties, or give them to relatives and friends, or directly resell them in the market where the port is located along the way.

Liu Jiaxi and several companions are sailors affiliated to the Northern Transport Company. Their ship set off from Jianye City more than 20 days ago, carrying more than 200 tons of grain, as well as a large amount of cotton cloth, sugar, oil, wine, Mining tools and other industrial products only arrived in Linhai yesterday.

After unloading the cargo, their [-]-ton three-masted bulk carrier will load a large amount of iron ore at Linhai Port, and then continue southward to Guangxin.

Two years ago, the Guangxin government discovered abundant coal reserves in Yiyangbao (now Curley, Australia) in the east, which surprised the Southwest Administration.Not long after that, the application for establishing a steel factory in Yiyangbao was submitted to the desk of the Ministry of Industry of the Cabinet.

Considering the overall domestic industrial layout and the upcoming large-scale infrastructure construction in the southwest region, the Ministry of Industry approved the project approval application of the Southwest Region Administrative Office, and transferred many craftsmen related to steel and coke smelting from all over the country, and began to prepare for the establishment of Guangxin Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. factory.Although the steel plant is still under construction and has not yet been put into production, it is still necessary to transport and store iron ore in advance.

In Liu Jiaxi's initial imagination, the dry and rainless Linhai area should be a hot and barren land.But unexpectedly, in Linhai, where Gobi, barren mountains, deserts and other geographical landscapes dominate, there are lush jujube forests, elm forests, camel thorns and the vibrant Lintuo Chrysanthemum Garden everywhere.

Moreover, on the outskirts of Linhai City, large tracts of vegetables and melons and fruits were planted, which not only fully satisfied the food of thousands of local people, but also provided sufficient supplies for passing ships.

In addition, tens of thousands of farmlands have been reclaimed in nearby towns and villages to plant drought-tolerant food crops such as corn, sorghum, peanuts, cassava, and sesame. The coolies at the Wan Mine Farm supplied part of the food they needed.

"Your belief is not devout from the heart at all, it is purely a selective and utilitarian belief." Belotti said: "Besides, the gods you believe in are different. I remember that you were When you want to get rich, you go to the God of Wealth. When you ask for marriage, you go to worship that... the old man Moon, and those who ask for children, will go to the God of Sending Children. Oh, the gods you believe in are like the gods in the factory. Process positions, each perform their duties and have their own strengths."

"Haha..., Old Bei, you don't understand now." Another sailor said with a smile: "We believe in many gods, and each of them performs their own duties. That proves that the gods of our Han people... that... ...Professional! Look, for example, the God of Wealth we worship is divided into the God of Martial Arts and the God of Wealth. There are also gods who are related to our happiness and well-being in our lives, and they are divided into three stars!"

In order to improve agricultural production conditions, in addition to continuous fertilization to nourish the soil, there is no other way than to build a large number of water conservancy projects to deal with the seasonal water shortage in the region.

The climate and environment in the western part of Hanzhou are similar to those of the Yariba Kingdom. They are dominated by desert and Gobi landforms, and they also face the dilemma of shortage of water resources.However, there are still more than a dozen seasonal rivers in the western area of ​​Hanzhou, which is better than the Yariba Kingdom, where most of the country is desert. Mountains and vertical and horizontal valleys have relatively good water diversion conditions.

"You believe in too many gods. I think it is an impious expression of faith."

"Old Bei, it's okay." A thirty-something sailor patted Belotti on the shoulder, "We Han people have a lot of gods! If this god doesn't work, we'll worship another one. If it doesn't work, then Just continue to change. You say, even a god with such great ability can't bless us, so naturally we have to say a few words and scold him twice, and the god will feel guilty and won't blame us."

However, with the slow increase in population (mine coolies increased from 2 to [-]) and the increasing frequency of supply ships, the cost of daily necessities such as food and non-staple food also increased sharply. They decided to change the local agricultural production conditions appropriately and develop the local livelihood economy.

This water conservancy craftsman who used to be in the Kingdom of Aliba (now Oman) was first captured by the Portuguese to the Diu colony in India and became a slave laborer.Later, it was bought by an Indian trading company in Qi State and sent to Lumen (now Karachi, Pakistan) to participate in local water conservancy planning and construction.Because of his outstanding contributions and rich experience in water conservancy construction, he was granted the status of a free man.

"Flowers are in full bloom under the shade of the date palm trees, and the temperature is pleasant. There are cheerful gurgling sounds in the surrounding canals. Beside the quaint Zhenshen Temple, the believers by the pool greet each other with smiles. Although it is located in an arid area, it is amazing. It feels like being in a tropical water town.”

The climate in the west of Hanzhou is arid and the land is barren. When some settlements were first set up, the cabinet government was quite opposed, thinking that the hard-earned immigrants should not be thrown on the desert land for nothing, wasting manpower.

But later, with the gradual development of the southwestern area of ​​Hanzhou, the role of these early established strongholds gradually became more important, providing necessary supplies for many ships.

More than [-] immigrants were successively resettled in Linhai, Jingjiang, Xining (now Caernarfon, Western Australia) and other places to establish more settlements.In addition, more than [-] native laborers were "recruited" from Xuanhua Island, Java Island, Sulawesi Island and other islands for local infrastructure construction and iron ore mining and transportation.

Reservoirs, weir ponds, water diversion ditches... One after another water conservancy project has been launched continuously. In more than 20 years, Linhai County has successively built four small reservoirs, more than 30 weir ponds, and more than 380 kilometers of diversion canals, which have greatly improved The production and living water of local people.

Later, in the inland areas of Linhai and Jingjiang (now the city of Karratha in Western Australia), countless iron ore deposits with rich reserves were discovered. .This made Qi's industrial sector extremely excited, and began to invest huge manpower and material resources in large-scale development and construction of the coastal area.

According to Yassin Sheadi, the Avraja Canal, which spreads all over the Yariba Kingdom, has a history of more than 2000 years.Canals were built to continuously transport mountain spring water and valley water to nearby or even further away farmland through the principle of gravity. During this period, it can be said that the Yariba people have reached a very high level in the field of water use.

"Oh, God." Belotti smiled wryly, "I have lived in Hanzhou for almost ten years, and I still haven't figured out which God is in the hearts of Han people."

Aiming at the characteristics of high temperature, little rain and large evaporation in the western part of Hanzhou, Yassin Xie Yadi fully learned from the model of many Afraja canals in the Kingdom of Yariba, changed the previously built diversion canals from open canals to underground canals, and used a large number of Cement and bricks strengthen the anti-seepage and leakage of the canal.

"Then why does it look like there is no water shortage here?" Liu Jiaxi asked curiously: "Could it be God's favor to turn this place into a treasure land with good weather?"

"Oh, God." Belotti made a cross on his chest, "It is impossible for man to conquer the heaven and the earth. In the eyes of God, we human beings are extremely small and humble."

"Most of the water sources in the Linhai area are seasonal rivers. When the rainfall is abundant, the water volume of several nearby rivers soars, and they look like they are rushing." Fan Guixiang, an old sailor in his 40s, said with a smile: "But it will be the dry season. Almost all the rivers have dried up. Although there are artesian wells in many places inland, the water is too salty to irrigate farmland. It can be used as drinking water for livestock. More than 20 years ago, the water situation of the people in Linhai City was better. However, some villages in the interior are often troubled by the lack of water, and many immigrants even abandoned those dry and barren fields and insisted on leaving this place.”

The climate in the Linhai area is dry, the land is barren, and the crops are not abundant. Over the years, food has been unable to achieve self-sufficiency, all relying on the supply of Jianye Mansion in the north and Guizhou Mansion in the south.

"You Europeans don't understand our Han civilization." Fan Guixiang said: "In the thousands of years of our Chinese history, our ancestors may have believed in a truth in their bones, that is, man will conquer the sky. That is to say, I have difficulties , I rely on my own efforts to solve, to overcome, to control water when meeting water, and to move mountains when meeting mountains. As for the worship of various gods in the sky, in many cases, it is just to seek spiritual comfort and make myself feel at ease. .”

Ten years ago, Yassin Xie Yadi was recommended by an Indian business company to the Water Conservancy Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. He became a master of water conservancy and at the same time obtained the status of a subject of Qi State.Not long after, he was sent to the Linhai area to cooperate with the local government in the construction of water conservancy projects.

"Old Bei, in your Xiyi... oh, in the eyes of you Europeans, people are God's servants, and you also think that people have sinned since they were born. That's why you treat God, God, he is very pious, and he needs to make atonement and repentance. But in our Han land, everyone is born kind. So, we don’t need to make atonement and repentance. These gods in the sky still rely on Those of us mortals who come to worship, we must offer incense to them. Once we encounter something, we will go to them to worship. ... No matter which gods, we can go to burn incense, bless us safe, bless our hearts Make it happen."

In the process of overhauling the water conservancy in the Linhai area, one of the slaves from the Arab region, Yassin Sheyadi, played a very important role.

They dug tunnels when they encountered mountains, and built bridges when they encountered ditches. The entire Avraja Canal is actually only about 20 centimeters wide and 30 centimeters deep at most.Although the canal is small, it has brought precious running water to the villages and towns in the history of more than 3000 years.Afterwards, the Yariba people also formulated a set of very meticulous and intelligent water use methods. They divided water sources into three priority levels according to drinking and cooking, bathing and purification, and watering and irrigation.

"Oh, dear Fan, you shouldn't blaspheme the gods in the sky like this." Belotti, a Genoese sailor who has been naturalized for several years, shook his head and said, "If the gods know about this, it will bring disaster to you."

The ancient Yariba people created miracles of oases one after another in an extremely dry and hot environment. Where there is the Afraja Canal, there will be oases, where there are oases, crops can be planted, and where there are crops, countless children of the True God religion can be raised. civil.

Through the principle of gravity, the canal continuously transports water from several seasonal rivers to reservoirs, weir ponds, and farmland several kilometers or even further away.In less than ten years, the intricate diversion ditches from high to low, straight or curved, covered dozens of towns and villages around the sea like spider webs, providing the necessary irrigation water for countless farmlands.

In view of the success of the Hanzhou version of the "Afraja Canal" built by Yassin Sheadi, the local government near the sea plans to cover all the village settlements under its jurisdiction with this kind of canal in the next ten years. The source of the water stays on the land and does not flow to the sea in vain.

"God bless you!" Fan Guixiang scolded with a smile, "That's not relying on the local people to fight the sky and fight the earth, trying their best to transform the harsh natural environment here bit by bit!"

"Xiao Bei, if you are free, you can go to the villages and villages near Linhai City one day, and you will know how we Han people conquered the world and how to transform this barren land!" Fan Guixiang patted Belotti shoulder, and said: "In the past 20 years, the people here have changed the appearance of a barren land and turned it into a rich homeland."

"Haha..." Everyone burst into laughter when they heard the words.

Yasin Sheadi, who was appointed as the chief inspector of water conservancy construction in the Linhai area, also said that he will do his best to build and plan more excellent water conservancy projects for the Linhai and western regions.Vegetables, melons, fruits, food, artificial forests, etc., wherever they go, no field will be abandoned due to lack of water.

"Our emperor once said a word, as long as we are determined and willing to put in arduous efforts, we can change the world and turn countless impossibles into reality." Fan Guixiang had a nostalgic look on his face, "I still remember more than 20 years ago. Before, when we first came to the mainland of Hanzhou, it was full of wilderness and sparsely populated. But now, our Daqi has a population of millions, and countless towns and villages have been established. The products are abundant, so that each of us can have enough food and clothing. So Ah, we can have gods in our hearts, but more importantly, we must believe that all creation and acquisition can be achieved by our own efforts."

"Fan, I think there is one more thing to add." Belotti said thoughtfully: "All creation and acquisition must be led by a great ruler—for example, the emperor of our Qi country must also Create a fair social environment and be willing to protect his people."

"Of course! For 30 years, our emperor has always loved the people like his son."

(End of this chapter)