Top Scholar

Chapter 626 Everything is Ready
So on the tenth day of the first lunar month, as the crackling sound of firecrackers rang out at the foot of Shijingshan Mountain, the Yongding Water Tank Project officially started!
From that day on, Daningwa became an incredibly busy construction site. At the crack of dawn, the vast depression was already a hive of activity!
The laborers, shovels at their feet, vigorously shoveled soil, piling it into wheelbarrows. Once a wheelbarrow was full, two men would push and pull it to the nearest wooden crane at the edge of the depression. The crane resembled a well pulley, firmly supported by three thick wooden stakes at the edge of the depression. The laborers would hook a rope onto the wheelbarrow, and two men would work together to turn the pulley, slowly hoisting the wheelbarrow, laden with earth and stones, onto the bank.

Thousands of wheelbarrows shuttled back and forth on the deeply rutted roads, steadily transporting loads of earth and stones to the edge of the depression, where they were then lifted ashore one by one by three hundred cranes. The whole scene resembled ants moving house—busy but orderly and efficient.

This high efficiency and orderliness was not only due to the effective organization of the engineering department, but also to the strong sense of organization among the laborers. The families of the military households in the three battalions, needless to say, had lived and worked in a semi-military manner for generations, and were long accustomed to obeying orders and cooperating with each other.

As for the disaster victims, it is true that they were originally a disorganized bunch, but after the intensive training at the Imperial Grace Academy, they have become accustomed to following instructions and working in groups, and no longer run around aimlessly like headless flies.

This scene once again filled Liu Daxia with admiration. The laborers he had conscripted when he was managing the Yellow River back then were nowhere near as well-behaved. Just keeping them informed of their duties every day consumed most of his energy…

Although the amount of earthwork required to excavate the water tank is enormous, as long as the route is well-planned, the tasks are clearly assigned, and excavation continues day after day, it will eventually be completed. Just keep an eye on the progress and don't miss the deadline.

The most difficult parts of the project were building the dam and the sluice gate. The straw-soil mixed dam may seem simple, but there was absolutely no room for shortcuts—the loess and thatch had to be mixed evenly in a three-to-one ratio, soaked with water, and then compacted in layers, each layer needing to be firmly packed and airtight. If there was even the slightest gap, a flood would cause the dam to collapse, not only wasting all the hard work but also leading to a breach in the dike, harming the people living in the suburbs of Beijing—a truly terrible mistake!

Therefore, Liu Daxia devoted most of his energy to this dam. Every day, he kept a close eye on the craftsmen as they precisely marked the dam site and dug the foundation trenches.

Liu Daxia was extremely responsible. He not only strictly measured the length and width of the foundation trench on the ground, but also took a tape measure and climbed down a ladder to the bottom of the trench to measure it. Not an inch less was acceptable.

After the foundation passed inspection, the most labor-intensive step was ramming the earth to build the dam. The simplest method was ramming: a piece of hardwood or millstone weighing about 100-200 kilograms was taken and tied with ropes according to the number of people.

Everyone formed a circle, and in unison with the leader's shouts, they pulled the rammed stone to their chests, then used the momentum to bring it down steadily. With a muffled 'thud,' the loess was compacted and sank!

At the dike construction site, all sorts of work chants resounded, and thousands of rammed stones flew up and down, hitting the dike with a loud bang, and dust filled the sky, creating a spectacular scene!

After each section was compacted, Liu Daxia would use a wooden ruler to measure the thickness of the soil layer, ensuring that each layer, once compacted, did not exceed five inches. Then, a new layer of grass-soil mixture would be laid on top, and this process would be repeated layer by layer. This was to ensure that the dam was solid and could withstand the erosion of floods.

Liu Daxia had a keen eye; he could spot any gaps or inconsistencies in the tamping. He didn't reprimand the laborers, but silently picked up a tamping hammer and personally tamped everything down firmly.

The laborers were all extremely ashamed when they saw this. How could they let the venerable and respected Liu Gong, who was seventy years old, do the work for them? They hurriedly followed the leader's chant and tamped the stone with each stroke, making sure it was solid and firm... Even the dull thud of the stone tamping was deeper than before.

Building intake gates and spillways is more difficult than building dams. Building dams requires meticulous work and attention to detail, while building intake gates is a highly technical task.

The mortise and tenon structure of the wooden and stone stacked beam gate has stumped many young craftsmen... This type of gate has stone gate piers on both sides, with gate slots inside the piers. Several hardwood gate beams are then inserted into the gate slots one by one and stacked.

The difficulty lies in the mortise and tenon joints at both ends of each gate beam, which need to be joined together perfectly. Under the guidance of the craftsmen, the laborers carried the heavy timbers and tried to assemble them repeatedly, but they could not put them together. They were anxious, tired, and covered in sweat, and their complaints were endless.

Seeing this, Liu Daxia gathered the young craftsmen and taught them how to adjust the angle of the timber and fix the gate beam with wooden wedges. He was as skilled as an old craftsman, making people forget that he had once held the highest rank in the government...

Throughout the construction period, Liu Datian spent every day at the construction site, eating and sleeping with the laborers. During the day, he supervised the work process, and at night he discussed the progress and revised the drawings with Lin Wenpei, Lu Ying and others, often working until late at night.

Moreover, he doesn't ask for wages, he only needs to be provided with meals.

~~
Although Liu Daxia's presence made things much easier, Su Lu, the director of the water conservancy project, was not idle either. He would come to the construction site almost every day to inspect the project, listen to project reports, and help them coordinate and solve various problems. For example, he would borrow skilled craftsmen from the Ministry of Works, allocate large machinery, and even apply for gunpowder to excavate hard foundation trenches. Only he could get these things done by leveraging his connections; no one else could do it.

Of course, it's not entirely the Ministry of Works' fault for being so stingy. Since the establishment of the Royal Mint last year, Su Lu has almost completely drained the Ministry's coffers. Fortunately, the Minister of Works, Han Fu, is a member of the eunuch faction and has no bottom line. In order to curry favor with the emperor, he can cooperate without any hesitation.

If it were someone from the Qingliu faction, they definitely wouldn't be so quick to agree... To put it bluntly, the Qingliu faction's characteristics are that they cherish their reputation, don't want to take responsibility, and will push things away or delay as much as possible!
In addition, Su Lu also had to handle various affairs of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, the Imperial Capital Commission, and the General's Mansion, pay attention to the progress of the mint, and keep an eye on the start of the Imperial Store... He wished he could split his days into eight parts, and was often busy until midnight, with dark circles under his eyes almost matching those of the pandas his uncle raised.

Even a workaholic like Liu Daxia couldn't stand it anymore and advised him to take a break, saying, "You don't need to keep coming here. With me keeping an eye on you, what's there to worry about?"

Su Lu shook his head with a wry smile: "I can't rest..."

This year looks like another year of severe drought. The Yongding Water Reservoir is the hope for irrigating the fields around the capital and is crucial to the livelihoods of the people in Beijing. With the Grand Canal transport being extremely unreliable and sea transport being too far to quench the immediate thirst, we must prepare for the possibility that the grain transported north will be impossible. At this point, the simplest, and safest, solution is to grow this damned grain ourselves!

This was his promise to the emperor, and also his responsibility to the people... Although no one asked him to do so, "alleviating the suffering of the people" is the awareness a top scholar should have, and "benefiting the people and helping the masses" is the pursuit a top scholar should have!

Moreover, the implementation of the silver dollar pilot program also depends on the support of grain... If too many silver dollars are issued while grain is in severe shortage, it will inevitably exacerbate the soaring grain prices, seriously affect the valuation of silver dollars, and shake the foundation of its financial reform.

So no matter how you look at it, Su Lu has to grow this damned grain!
That means it can't do without the irrigation from this water tank, so it has to be completed before the peach blossom season. Liu Daxia is certainly the best supervisor, but his coordination and overall planning are equally irreplaceable, so he also has to stick to it.

Fortunately, Su Zhuangyuan was young and could still hold on, only forced to revert to his former glory as the top scholar...

~~
As the days went by and the spring chill gradually faded, the main construction of the Yongding Water Tank was finally completed before the end of February!
A tall dam has been erected on the west side of the Wuding River. The dam body is solid and stable, and the outer layer of stone revetment is neatly arranged with tight gaps!
The intake gate and spillway gate have been fully commissioned. The wooden and stone gate panels fit together perfectly, are flexible in raising and lowering, and can be opened and closed at any time according to the water level.

Looking around, the huge main water storage area and flood retention ponds have all been completed, and water level monitoring markers have been erected steadily!
Currently, only the irrigation canal is not yet fully connected, but this does not affect the overall situation—once the water tank is repaired, it will be able to receive the floodwaters brought by the peach blossom season and store the precious water resources.

Moreover, the completion of the water tanks freed up over 60,000 laborers, who could be deployed to reinforce the irrigation canal project. With the support of this main force, the irrigation canals encircling the outskirts of Beijing would be fully operational in a short time. At that point, the main canal, along with multiple branch canals, would connect the water tanks to vast tracts of long-parched farmland, alleviating the drought in the Beijing area…

That evening, Su Lu stood on the dam, looking at the reservoir waiting for water to arrive, and listening to the occasional cracking sounds of ice breaking on the Wuding River not far away. He was overwhelmed with mixed feelings.

On the surrounding construction sites, laborers were methodically clearing the grounds and tidying up their tools, with all the finishing touches being carried out in an orderly manner. The increasingly gaunt Liu Daxia and the charcoal-black Lu Ying approached him, the latter reporting in a deep voice, "Sir, the inspection of each section has been completed, and there are absolutely no problems with the quality of the project!"

Liu Daxia chuckled and said, "For an old man like me to supervise a project and then need to inspect it, that's just pointless."

"My lord, the rules cannot be broken." Su Lu smiled and cupped his hands in thanks to Liu Daxia, then said solemnly, "Thank you!"

"No need to thank me." Liu Daxia's old face showed an embarrassed expression. "I should be the one thanking you."

"Thank me for what?" Su Lu asked, puzzled.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it if you don't understand." Liu Daxia waved his hand shyly and changed the subject, saying, "Now we're just waiting for the peach blossom season to arrive."

"Yes." Su Lu nodded slowly, not pressing further. Before his eyes appeared a beautiful scene: floodwaters flowing into the reservoir, irrigation canals watering the fields, and the people enjoying a bountiful harvest. Even the fatigue of the past few days seemed to be washed away by this anticipation…

"Please, please don't let the peach blossom season fail to arrive!" Lu Ying was as taciturn as ever.

"What nonsense are you spouting?!" Liu Daxia immediately rebuked, "Don't talk such jinxed things!"

“Yes, Binyang, let’s say something auspicious.” Su Lu also laughed: “Listen, the ice on the river has thawed, the peach blossom season will definitely come.”

Before he could finish speaking, they heard the rapid sound of horses' hooves coming from upstream. Liu Daxia laughed and said, "They must be here to bring good news!"

With water conservancy construction underway and the flood season approaching, the project management office naturally had to send imperial guards upstream to observe the water situation and report back in a timely manner.

"My lord, something terrible has happened! The river is blocked by ice!" A panicked voice rang out in the night sky, and a guard with a red flag on his back rushed through the darkness and arrived at the foot of the embankment in the blink of an eye.

"What?" Liu Daxia panicked upon hearing this. Although Su Lu remained calm, his anticipation and ease vanished instantly.

(End of this chapter)