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Chapter 628 Fighting Against Heaven

The glorious civilization of China, spanning five thousand years, has never been a gift bestowed upon us by favorable winds and smooth sailing. Rather, it was forged and built through a life-or-death struggle against heaven, earth, and all kinds of hardships and obstacles!
This virtue exists not only in Su Lu, but also in Liu Daxia, Lu Ying, Zhu Zihe, and countless ordinary laborers.

So when danger arises, their reaction is not to resign themselves to fate, but to see if there is a way to resolve it!
Su Lu and Liu Daxia and the others rode at full speed and arrived at Chenjiayu at the foot of Yanshan Mountain in an hour.

Amidst a series of loud cracking and booming sounds, the group climbed to a high point on the right bank and their hearts tightened—

Under the moonlight, an ice wall, about ten feet high and two feet wide, stretched across the bend in the river, extending for seven or eight feet. Large and small white ice shards continued to accumulate upstream, gradually increasing in height and thickness. It was more like an ice mound than a wall…

It's such a big lump, there's no way it can melt naturally.

Lin Wenpei then realized how terribly wrong he had been. How could such a large ice mound possibly be hardened? It was simply a waste of lives…

Even more frighteningly, the ice mounds completely blocked the river channel, preventing the water from flowing downstream. Instead, the water remained trapped in the valley, constantly pounding against the solid ice reefs and creating turbid waves, causing the water level to rise higher and higher.

Everyone knew that this ice mound had to be broken through as soon as possible. The longer it dragged on, the more serious the accumulated damage would become…

Without delay, Su Lu immediately convened a meeting of strategists to pool their wisdom and efforts to break the crisis!

The most pressing issue right now is that the massive ice mound is mixed with a large amount of icy water, making it impossible to directly pile firewood on it for heating. Although oil can float on the water and burn, it will seep away through the cracks in the ice mound, resulting in the waste of most of it.

Therefore, we must put some thought into the design to make efficient use of the heat energy from combustion.

Liu Daxia then suggested using a three-sided fire-burning method—lighting fires at the left and right ends of the ice mound and on the water-facing side at the bottom, forming a semi-encircled fire array. At the same time, the firewood was piled up in a tower shape, wider at the bottom and narrower at the top, so that the flames would lick upwards and gather heat by taking advantage of the bend in the river, melting the ice like an oven.

Lin Wenpei proposed a fire diversion strategy: light several large fires on both banks, and then build low fire walls on the shore with stones and wooden planks to guide the hot air directly onto the ice surface, locking in the heat so that it would not be dissipated by the night wind. This was most suitable for the windy conditions tonight.

Upon hearing this, Lu Ying also offered the suggestion of using hot water to melt the ice – water conducts heat far better than air, so a pot can be set up on a fire to boil water, and then the ice mound can be repeatedly rinsed with it, which will cause the ice layer to crack from the inside, making it twice as efficient as direct heating.

Another suggestion was to use water pressure to break the ice – first, blast a gap to draw water accumulated upstream to impact a single point, using the force of the water to break the ice mound and thus break the ice with water.

Others suggested setting up a chain of floating fire barrels on the river—linking ten light boats together with iron chains, lining them up downstream of the ice mound, placing large iron barrels on the boats, filling them with firewood and lamp oil, and lighting them to bake the ice wall from bottom to top.

This method solved the problem of how to bake the center and base of the ice mound, but for the time being, light boats, iron barrels, and sufficiently long iron chains could not be found. After discussion, it was replaced by a simplified version of the 'chain of giant iron pots'... which involved placing dozens of large iron pots in large wooden boxes, which were then secured to the shore with two ropes.

Two more ropes were strung up, and people stood on them to continuously add oil and firewood to the pot...

In short, Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong each came up with ingenious schemes, a whole host of ideas, both reliable and impractical, which truly tested Su Lu's ability to distinguish between good and bad decisions. To be honest, he wasn't a water management expert, nor had he ever dealt with ice. This Sichuan native, before going to the capital for the imperial examinations, had never even seen a river freeze over…

I was really unsure of myself. But when racing against time, hesitation is a major mistake.

Making decisive decisions and taking responsibility are the duties of a leader!
Ultimately, relying on his basic scientific literacy, Su Lu filtered out those suggestions that were obviously impractical, and then integrated the reliable methods to quickly develop a comprehensive ice-breaking plan.

Once the plan was finalized, Su Lu immediately assigned tasks according to the old rule of "whoever comes up with the idea is responsible for executing it." This not only mobilized everyone's enthusiasm but also allowed each person to perform their duties and make the most of their strengths.

As for allocating manpower and dividing responsibilities as needed, this is something that Su Zhuangyuan is already very familiar with and needs no further explanation.

At this time, before a large number of laborers and materials had arrived at the site, the officials went to various parts of the river according to the tasks assigned by Su Lu, to conduct on-site surveys of the terrain, refine the work plan, and make full preparations. They were ready to start work as soon as the manpower and materials arrived!
On the other side, Lu Ying also led a group of officials from the Water Conservancy Project Department to quickly get to work and begin various preparations for entering the site... Around the ice mound, soldiers, with ropes around their waists and wooden sticks in hand, carefully probed the ice layer and planted conspicuous red flags to mark the warnings; on both banks, officials were busy dividing up the material storage areas and arranging for dedicated personnel to guard them; at the same time, they were preparing to connect with the subsequent groups of people... Everything was proceeding in full swing.

Su Lu stood on high ground, watching the busy crowd below. The night wind flushed his face, but he felt a sense of calm. The worst thing about facing a problem is having no solution; now that he had one, all he had to do was follow the steps...

~~
In the dead of night, the sound of footsteps and wheels came from outside the valley... The large group of laborers finally arrived one after another, and the torches stretched for miles, like a fiery dragon winding into Chenjiayu.

The laborers carried firewood on their backs and oil jugs on their shoulders. Although they were exhausted from their journey, they still maintained a complete formation.

Officials from the water conservancy project loudly asked them which commune they belonged to, and then led them to the corresponding material area.

The laborers were already used to obeying orders, and they orderly piled up firewood and oil cans as instructed, and then rested on the spot for a while.

The heads of each commune strode towards the temporary command post, adorned with a string of conspicuous red lanterns, to receive their next assignment. According to regulations, the full name of the commune was the 'Royal Works Commune,' with each commune comprising ten work teams, each team further divided into ten work groups, and each group consisting of ten laborers. Therefore, each commune head was in charge of one thousand workers, forming the basic unit for the engineering department's task allocation.

All the staff received subsidies and were subject to performance evaluations. During the more than forty days of construction, many were eliminated. While these current staff members may not be exceptionally capable, they are adept at relaying orders and ensuring compliance. This is sufficient to guarantee the project department's smooth and efficient operation.

Long before the laborers arrived, all tasks had already been assigned. The commanders in charge of each stage had completed their reconnaissance and were waiting for their men to arrive at the command post.

Once the personnel arrived, the commanders quickly took them to the site, clearly defining their roles, giving detailed instructions, and explaining everything in detail.

The commune leaders listened attentively and memorized the instructions. After receiving them, they rushed back to their commune, summoned the work team leaders, relayed the tasks to them, and assigned work. The work team leaders then stopped assigning tasks and directly called upon their respective work teams to get to work.

The foremen were essentially the ones leading their workers, so they immediately called out to the dozing migrant workers to wake them up.

"Stop sleeping! Sleep your ass off! How can you sleep next to such a dangerous ice wall?"

"Time to get to work!"

Urged on by their team leader, the laborers stood up, brimming with energy and eager to get to work. The team leader followed the captain, and the laborers followed the team leader, to complete their respective tasks.

The valley was soon bustling with activity.

Tens of thousands of torches were lit simultaneously, illuminating the dark night as bright as day. Tens of thousands of laborers were divided into dozens of teams, working in an orderly manner, each performing their assigned tasks: some workshops built long, low fire walls along both ends of the ice mound, piecing together arc-shaped smoke tunnels; some piled firewood into tower shapes; some stretched ropes across the river; and some constructed artillery positions on higher ground, leveling the paths for the cannons to be carried up the mountain…

The entire valley was teeming with busy figures, with more than a dozen tasks being carried out simultaneously, yet all proceeding in an orderly manner without interfering with each other! Many tasks required cooperation between each other, and the workshops were able to coordinate well and cooperate smoothly.

Standing on the high command platform, Liu Daxia looked at the busy yet orderly scene before him and was deeply impressed for the umpteenth time.

Although he particularly disliked flattery, he couldn't help but praise Su Lu, who was standing to the side, saying, "You've trained these laborers better and better. They're becoming increasingly orderly and cooperative. With such discipline, they would definitely be excellent soldiers capable of winning battles!"

Upon hearing this, Su Lu chuckled and said, "You jest, sir. They're just honest, hardworking laborers. They'd be terrified to death if they went to the battlefield. And they won the battle?"

Liu Daxia could tell he was unwilling to talk more, so he snorted, "I was once in charge of the Ministry of War..."

However, he wisely stopped asking questions and continued to work silently as his supervisor.

Ultimately, this is the power of organization! Without organization, no matter how many people there are, they are just a disorganized mess.

But once organized, they become the most powerful force in the world! They can divide tasks and cooperate, and they can also fight as a team! With a little training, they become the best soldiers. Of course, Su Lu is reluctant to send them to the battlefield unless absolutely necessary...

However, simply establishing an organization is far from enough; members must also be willing to obey orders and follow discipline. This is not something that can be accomplished overnight.

Su Lu had already laid a solid foundation last year—he established the Imperial Grace Academy to gather and relieve disaster victims on the verge of despair, and reorganized and trained them, making them grateful, obedient and compliant; he also provided full pay and rations to the soldiers of the three major camps and allocated imperial estates and farmland, making their entire families the most loyal supporters of His Majesty.

After another month and a half of continuous adjustment, we have now formed the commune team that obeys orders and follows commands...

~~
Tens of thousands of laborers from the commune worked from midnight until dawn, and most of the preparations were completed. Only the artillery, which was late in arriving, was still being pulled and pushed and had not yet been put into place.

Seeing the water level rising higher and higher, Su Lu ordered in a deep voice, "We can't wait any longer, let's light it!"

"Light the fire!" the messenger commanded in a resounding voice that echoed through the valley.

With this command, the multi-pronged ice-breaking battle commenced instantly, creating a truly spectacular scene.

On both sides of the river, laborers simultaneously lit piles of firewood, the tower-shaped bonfires blazing fiercely. Low fire walls blocked the wind, and curved flues concentrated the heat, working together to firmly trap the heat waves within the fire channels. Hot air rushed along the pre-designed channels to both ends of the ice mound, flames billowing and thick smoke billowing, continuously scorching the ice surface!

(End of this chapter)