The Great Industrial Ming Dynasty Started from Beiping

Chapter 194 The Surprise at the Pumping Station

"Whether the truth becomes more clear depends on the standard of the truth. Different standards have different interests. The truth changes with the identity of the person. The more one believes, the more different the truth is. It is like treating barbarians. The barbarians believe in fighting, and fighting is their reason."

"The sage said: Since you live in my land, you are all my sons. If you have talents, you can use them as a whole. Fighting is not king."

……

In Beiping, there was a middle-aged man riding a mule, followed by an attendant, the two of them were inconspicuous.

In the Huangpozi area of ​​Gu'an County, a ditch connecting more than [-] villages was built, and the ditch was half a person deep.

"It's strange, where does the water in this canal come from?" The old attendant was surprised, he and his master had been walking for half a day.

It is not surprising that there is water in the ditch, but the strange thing is that there is no water source or waterwheel nearby for this new ditch.

Even if there is a waterwheel, what is the use?

Pedal waterwheels can transport water from low places to high places by manpower, and how much water can be stepped on by people's feet.

The slope next to the channel is full of green grass. There is a cow grazing on the slope with its head bowed, followed by an old man.

The old man sat on the slope and looked at his cattle.

"Old man, where does the water for this ditch come from?" The middle-aged man got off the mule and asked politely with a smile on his face.

The old man raised his head, looked at it twice, lowered his head again, and said in a low voice, "Ten miles to the east is the pumping station."

"Pumping station?"

The old man's voice was heavy, and the middle-aged man repeated confirmation several times before he gradually understood the meaning. What is a pumping station?
"When it's time for water, the pumping station will start working." The old man couldn't tell the details, just these few words over and over again.

Seeing that there was nothing left to ask, the middle-aged man cupped his hands and continued eastward with his old servant.

The fields and ditches are not surprising.

But in this place, something feels wrong.

Fields need water.

Where there is water, there are fields.

In fact, the same is true on grasslands, where there are water sources, there will be prosperous pastures.

Hulunbeier Grassland has Hulun Lake, Beier Lake and other lakes. In winter, it depends on the snow to melt into water, and in the rest of the month, it depends on the lake water.

Where there is no water source, most of them are endless deserts.

There is no water source in this area, so even if you carry a hand on your shoulders or step on a waterwheel, you can't irrigate the fields, so it should belong to the most barren place.

And relying on this endless ditch, dense ditches were built on both sides, forming a large area of ​​fertile land.

So unreasonable.

This is a highland, so the Lugou River in the north and the Liuli River in the south do not pass through, both of which are fifty miles away.

Even if the land here is reclaimed, it is the most inferior field, and not much can be grown.

"Master, look quickly." The old servant pointed to a big iron pipe in shock.

At the end of the ditch, there were two protruding large iron pipes. Two water dragons rushed out from the big iron pipes, and the splashing water was terrifying.

Below the big iron pipe, a square depression was built, where the water flow gathered and gushed westward in the ditch.

The mule was too frightened to leave, the middle-aged man strode over alone, the old servant pulled the mule, and saw the master stunned in the distance.

The large iron pipe is laid on a very high slope, with a length of 20 meters, which makes people dizzy.

Below is a lake, and there is a two-story building beside the lake, which makes a huge strange sound.

"Who are you?"

In the building, a few people suddenly ran out, found the middle-aged man, and shouted loudly, the middle-aged man didn't change his expression.

He waited for people to come forward to surround him before he opened his mouth. It turned out that he was the new deputy envoy.

Several guards looked at each other.

They were originally farmers, and the local people organized civil service. During the water release season, the local people took turns to inspect the ditches.

How do they know what a deputy envoy is or not, and they don't know how high an official is.

However, soon another official came, and when he learned of the identity of the middle-aged man, he was shocked and immediately respectful.

When the rest of the people saw this, they knew that they were very important officials, and they were too frightened to speak again, for fear that their tone of voice would offend the official and would lead to heavy punishment.

The middle-aged man didn't take it seriously, and went to see the building with great interest, but the little official didn't dare to stop him, so he took the initiative to introduce it by the roadside.

After entering, a heat wave frightened the middle-aged man back a step.

"This is a steam engine, and it uses coal to burn, so it's very hot." Xiaoli explained.

The middle-aged man knew that it was not weird, and he was not afraid of sweating. He walked in despite the heat wave, and looked at the steam engine curiously.

"呵...咱...咱...呵...呵...咱...咟..."

The huge iron wall is swaying, and there are unknown iron objects, which together form a group of weird objects that can move by themselves.

The rear of the building is semi-closed, with two iron pipes extending deep into the lake.

"This... this..." The middle-aged man was speechless in surprise.

It is not uncommon for middle-aged people to see objects that can move on their own, such as waterwheels, windmills, and hourglass clocks.

But the principles of these things are no strangers to middle-aged people, as long as they are not stupid, they can understand them even when they see them for the first time, so they can't arouse people's novelty.

There is also a gap among them, the strength is not the same.

"This is a steam engine? How can you move it by yourself?" The middle-aged man had a strange expression on his face. He didn't believe in ghosts and gods, and he didn't offend him on weekdays, but he stayed away from such remarks.

The little official couldn't help laughing, "Actually, the principle of this thing is the same as what we see every day, but it's more obscure."

"What's the matter?"

"The kettle boils water. When the water boils, the lid will keep moving. This is the reason for the steam, so it is called a steam engine."

"This pumping steam engine can pump more water in one hour than five hundred strong laborers. There are two pumping steam engines in the pumping station, which is equivalent to thousands of tireless strong laborers carrying water day and night."

"No wonder." The middle-aged man was sweating profusely, his face full of disbelief.

Hearing is believing, seeing is believing. When I saw it today, the middle-aged man was so shocked that he couldn't describe the shock in his heart.

"Who will bear the cost of pumping water?" The middle-aged man put away the shock in his heart and asked carefully.

The little official complained secretly.

The workshop was very hot, he usually stayed on the second floor, but the official didn't move, so he was too embarrassed to leave.

So he said patiently: "The cost of pumping water will be shared equally by the local people."

"Isn't it disturbing the people?"

The little official shook his head, "Acres of land in this area can actually be counted as land, but the government only collects taxes according to the middle or lower fields. After this calculation, the local people still earn money."

The middle-aged man nodded, this method is not bad.

After inquiring a few more things, I learned that the lake is a tributary of the Lugou River, with abundant water sources. Relying on pumping stations and canals, [-] to [-] mu of land have been reclaimed and irrigated on both sides.

The middle-aged man suddenly realized, and thought to himself, "No wonder Yan Fantai dared to propose that one million mu of fertile land should be cultivated in Beiping Province."

Everyone knows that reclaiming acres of land is the greatest political achievement, but why don't many local officials do it.

Because there is no land to cultivate and no water source, even if countless acres of wasteland are cultivated, it is of no use.

"The steam engine is indeed a powerful weapon that benefits the country and the people." Having figured this out, the middle-aged man couldn't help admiring.

"That's not it." The little official boasted proudly: "Nowadays, in the mining area of ​​Beiping, which one can do without a steam engine? I heard that the iron factory is also using this thing to forge iron, and there are rails for railways. How easy it is without this thing. built."

"However, this thing consumes a lot of coal. The government and the owner of the coal yard will negotiate with the little prince. The coal yard will provide the government with cheap coal, and supply it to all parts of the country to replace the taxes that the coal yard has to pay."

"Coal?" The middle-aged man was keenly aware of a key point.

……

After leaving the water pumping station, the middle-aged man and his servant turned to Zhuozhou. The two parted in Zhuozhou. The servant rode a mule back to Beiping, and he tried to ride the railway in Zhuozhou.

He reported his destination at the station, and the people at the station asked him if he had food stamps, which can also be used to buy train tickets.

The middle-aged man shook his head. He didn't have a food stamp, so he bought a ticket to Peiping with copper coins, a thin piece of tooth-yellow paper with patterns on it.

"Jingle Bell."

The railway carriage entered the station, and the middle-aged man stood in the station, asking the people around him about everything, and easily figured out the process, and boarded the railway carriage to Beiping.

In the carriage, looking at the scenery all the way back, I couldn't help but feel emotional.

The quiet changes in Peking are unimaginable.

……

On the straight road of the palace, Zhu Di, who came back from the guard, sat in a sedan chair, and the eunuchs and Xiao Huangmen were sent to the attic of the carrier gate.

In the attic of Chengyun Gate, Ge Cheng and the others were already waiting, seeing the solemn expression of the prince, they stopped talking.

With a cold face, Zhu Di ordered: "Tell the boss to come over."

Seeing this, Ge Cheng stepped forward to comfort him and said, "This matter hasn't been spread yet, so it won't have much impact. Your lord, calm down."

Someone took the lead, and the rest spoke one after another.

"Shut up." Zhu Di yelled, everyone fell silent, and the attic immediately fell silent.

"You have to assist the boss, instead of seeing bad signs and not admonishing him. I have heard this matter in the guards. Do you want to spread it to Yingtian Mansion?"

Soon, Zhu Gaochi was led by several little yellow men to the hall. Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, they were very respectful.

Zhu Gaochi had read the content of the seventh technical report in advance, thought about it, and let people throw it out.

Zhu Di asked angrily: "What do you want to do?" Ge Cheng and others beside him also felt a little shocked.

The technical report only talks about technology, and it talks about politics carefully, which makes the whole of Beiping pay attention. Many new officials have come to the third division, and everyone is alarmed.

"I don't want to do anything, I just want to see how people think today." Zhu Gaochi said calmly.

The seventh technical report was stopped by Zhu Di.

The debate on whether the truth became clearer and clearer was suddenly ended, which aroused many people's complicated thoughts. A group of new officials from the Third Division were also quietly understanding the situation in Peking.

(End of this chapter)