Baidu otaku as Chongzhen

Chapter 348 Sheepskin Raft
Zhou Yanru quickly washed his face. Although the drowsiness was gone, the indentation on his face was still there, which made people look a little funny.

"Master Xu, what kind of good thing is it? Did His Majesty send troops or send money?" The two things Zhou Yanru is most looking forward to now are more reinforcements and more money. , Only these two things made Zhou Yanru feel at ease.

"Hehe, jade rope, it's not these things, it's the great news. It was sent by Shi Kefa of Fugu County. He said in his letter that he made a sheepskin raft out of sheepskin. In this way, he drifted along the Yellow River and along the river. And down, even in Fugu County, it only takes a few days to get out of Shaanxi... After sending the people away, the sheepskin rafts will be gathered up, and the sheepskin rafts will be sent upstream by horse-drawn carts, or mules and horses, and they can continue to drift. In this way, the victims of the disaster will be transported , It is far more practical than shipbuilding, and it can quickly transport the victims out of Shaanxi...you can see for yourself with the jade rope." Xu Guangqi smiled, and according to Shi Kefa's letter, he, a disaster victim in Fugu County, has two With 20 sheep made of leather rafts, he could transfer all the victims out within [-] days. This made Xu Guangqi, who had been worrying about the transfer of victims, brighten his eyes, and his vision suddenly became clear.

"Really?" Zhou Yanru was surprised, then took the letter Xu Guangqi handed over, and read it carefully, and the more he read it, the more frightened he became!This method of transporting people on sheepskin rafts is indeed much more convenient and feasible than shipbuilding.After reading the letter, Zhou Yanru let out a long sigh of relief.

"Master Xu, if according to what is said in this letter, it is simply whimsical to make rafts from the skins of livestock and transport people in them! If this is done, Shi Kefa will be credited with it! It can be regarded as a solution." The big problem of immigration has been solved..." Zhou Yanru praised, with some admiration, some envy, a little bit of jealousy, a little bit of appreciation, Shi Kefa is also a member of the Donglin Party, Zuo Guangdou's apprentice, and he belongs to "a Party" is still the backup of their Donglin Party. Zhou Yanru did not stand on the opposing side in this matter, but agreed. [The history of leather rafts is quite long, thousands of years old. 】

"That's right, that's right, what Yusheng said is right. Once this method is released, it will be no more difficult to transport the victims. The only problem is to have enough livestock. Fugu County alone needs two to three thousand livestock. Shi Kefa said in his letter that he needed to buy more than 5000 new sheep, and hoped that we would allocate more than [-] taels to solve the problem of transport tools and part of the problem of food..." Although Xu Guangqi was talking about problems, but The smile on his face was still there, quite relaxed.

"Master Xu, this is a lot of money! A county is 5000 taels. In Shaanxi, there are more than 25 counties. Even if some counties are excluded, there may still be fifty counties. Counting counties and counties, this is 40 taels of silver! If you want to transship quickly, you will need 50 taels of silver, which is a huge sum of money..." Zhou Yanru did some calculations, I felt that I couldn't bear it. Buying livestock with [-] taels of silver was too much, and the court would definitely not agree.

However, Zhou Yanru also thought of a person, the person who spends money lavishly, that is the emperor, and then said: "Master Xu, why don't you tell your majesty, maybe your majesty will agree." , This is unanimously agreed by the government and the public. The emperor is never hungry when he does business, and he never has a lot of money for his errands.No, when Xu Guangqi came out to help the disaster, he actually had as much as 1000 million taels of silver available for transfer.This is simply to give credit to Xu Guangqi, and it makes many people jealous, but there is nothing they can do about it. With so much money, the emperor must use his own people. Who is the emperor's own people?That is the imperial party, and this Xu Guangqi is one of the best figures in the imperial party, who else should he use?
Xu Guangqi thought for a while, and said: "Well, this matter must be reported to His Majesty as soon as possible, so that His Majesty can transfer the money. Well, I will write a memorial to Your Majesty." Xu Guangqi thought for a while, and decided to implement it immediately.

"Master Xu, however, I still think that we should first ask some old craftsmen to see if the sheepskin raft transporting people is reliable or not. If there is a problem, wouldn't we be deceiving the emperor? "Although Zhou Yanru agrees with this matter, he is still more cautious. Although Shi Kefa is also a member of his Donglin Party and a reserve army, he has to be careful about such a matter. Once such a big matter goes wrong, Well, what was ruined was not as simple as his future.

Xu Guangqi heard it, thought for a while, and said: "There is no need to be afraid of the jade rope. I still trust Shi Kefa. Master Shi Ke followed Zuo Guangdou. He is a person of faith. His words should be reliable and he will not lie to me. ... In this way, I will write the letter first, Yusheng, you send people to post some notices everywhere, saying that Si Nongsi is urgently recruiting some craftsmen who can make rafts, and there will be great rewards, um, yes, it is best to Please help Master Bi’s governor’s yamen. Once the leather raft is reliable, Fan Jiu can immediately notify the local government to recruit craftsmen who can make leather rafts. Counties buy livestock and immediately start making leather rafts, and push this matter away as soon as possible, and it is best to transport all the victims away smoothly before October this year..." Xu Guangqi made arrangements in one breath.

"Okay, Master Xu, the jade rope will be processed now. By the way, Master Xu, do you want to give Shi Kefa the money? How to reply him? He also said in the letter that there is not enough food, and he hopes to get it downstream. To help the disaster victims he sent down..." Zhou Yanru reminded.

Xu Guangqi patted his forehead and laughed at himself: "I almost forgot about it, and immediately wrote back to Shi Kefa, saying that the old man fully agrees with his method, 5000 taels, no, 6000 taels of silver, send someone to send it immediately, and the old man will also Arrange for people to send the food as much as possible... just let him rest assured." Xu Guangqi also became generous, in a good mood, and gave not 5000 taels, but 6000 taels, and added 1000 taels of silver. In the past, Xu Guangqi was not so extravagant , but today is obviously different. With this good idea, it is natural to be generous, and it can be regarded as a reward for Shi Kefa's idea.

Xu Guangqi was very happy. According to Shi Kefa's method, it only takes more than ten days to transport a large number of victims in Fugu County. If you look at the whole of Shaanxi, all the victims will be transported out of Shaanxi and transported to Henan. Go, two months should be enough. When the victims arrive in Henan, he will not be afraid. There is no problem with sailing in Henan, and the consumption is not too big. A large amount of food can be transferred from the south more conveniently. Even if the victims eat for a year, He could also afford it, and the emperor prepared 1000 million taels of silver for him.It's only the end of July now, and it will take two months until the end of September. It's no problem at all. Even if it's October, there are still [-] days to transfer millions of victims. This seemingly vast, huge, and complicated project is actually, too. There are shortcuts.

……

The government of Xi'an was in a state of panic, and the servants searched everywhere for craftsmen who could make sheepskin rafts.Under the horrified eyes of the common people, many "fur raft craftsmen" were finally recruited, and then they were stuffed into carriages and headed for the Yamen of Si Nongsi. Find a group of skin raft craftsmen as soon as possible and send them to Sinong for use.Fortunately, Xi'an Mansion is also located by the river, and there are many craftsmen who make leather rafts. [There should be more leather rafts in the upper reaches of the Yellow River. When it comes to the Weishui River and the middle reaches of the Yellow River, it’s hard to say, I’m not sure, but here, there are still more leather rafts in the local area. 】

Zhou Yanru had just entered the Yamen of Sinongsi, and before he could rest for a while, the servants sent over the craftsman who could make rafts, and the speed was amazing.

Under Zhou Yanru's amazed eyes, the servants delivered the craftsmen and left.

This group of craftsmen sat in the living room of Si Nong Si in horror, panic and anxiety. They didn't know why the official was arresting them. Hearing that they were going to Si Nong Si, they felt relieved. At least they didn't go to jail. Yes, Shaanxi people basically know that it is the yamen of Master Xu Guangqi, a life-saving living Bodhisattva.

Xu Guangqi was very happy because he found a good way to quickly transport the victims. The smile on his face never broke. When he came to the living room, he saw a group of craftsmen in plain clothes who were uneasy. My official is Xu Guangqi, the immigration imperial envoy of Sinong, so you don’t need to be afraid, and I’m not here to harm you, but I, Sinong, ask for your help.” Xu Guangqi explained kindly, while Zhou Yanru looked Standing aside silently, disdain to deal with these inferior people, Zhou Yanru despises these people the most.Because of the hot weather, this group of people exuded a sour smell. Zhou Yanru couldn't stand it, so he found a gap and walked away quietly.

When these craftsmen heard that it was Mr. Xu from Sinongsi, they immediately knelt down and kowtowed. This is a living Bodhisattva in Shaanxi, a living Bodhisattva with countless living people!

"Caomin kowtowed to see the living Bodhisattva..." A craftsman heard that it was Xu Guangqi, and he was no longer afraid, and his hands and feet did not shake.

"Grassmen kowtow to live Bodhisattva..."

These craftsmen first kowtowed to Xu Guangqi for no other reason. Xu Guangqi's Sinongsi Yamen is a life-saving yamen. It is said that all the victims of the disaster will be transported to the south to reclaim the lake and farmland, and go to the land of fish and rice in the south of the Yangtze River. Opening fields has become a matter of word of mouth, a matter of common people's discussion, and it has also become the expectation of the people at the bottom. No one can tell when they will be hit by a disaster. People who care about themselves and give themselves a way to survive, then they should be grateful to him. The simple people gradually regard Xu Guangqi as a living Bodhisattva.

Xu Guangqi hurriedly helped these people up, and said: "Everyone, please, everyone, the emigration was sent by His Majesty, and I also immigrated for His Majesty. Thank you, and thank Your Majesty..." Xu Guangqi quickly declined .

"Caomin thank the Holy Son of Heaven for his kindness, thank the Holy Son of Heaven..." The person who took the lead in kowtowing was also unambiguous. He immediately turned his head and kowtowed towards the sky above the gate, calling the Holy Son of Heaven, extremely pious.

All the craftsmen also followed, turned around and kowtowed to the sky above the gate to thank the Holy Son of Heaven. The scene was also extremely solemn and pious, which made the book offices present and the immigration officials sigh.

Xu Guangqi looked at it and sighed, whoever is really good to the common people, the common people will treat them well, this is not wrong!
Those craftsmen were basically not nervous after kowtowing. Since they are doing things for the Holy Son of Heaven, it is a good thing, and they are willing.

"Everyone, I invite you here this time. I have something to ask you. Everyone just tell the truth." Xu Guangqi personally interviewed this group of people in order to find out and confirm the feasibility of using leather rafts as boats. Xu Guangqi was born in I have often seen boats on the seashore, but I don't know much about the use of leather rafts as boats in the upper reaches of the Yellow River. This matter is of great importance and I have to prove it myself.

"Just ask the living Bodhisattva, and the grassroots must have something to say. The Holy Son of Heaven treats us people well, and we ordinary people are willing to do our best to repay the kindness of the Holy Son of Heaven." A knowledgeable craftsman said.

"Hehe, don't call him a living Bodhisattva. It's better to simply call him Lord Xu, hehe... I want to ask, is it feasible to use leather rafts instead of boats on the Yellow River?" Xu Guangqi asked.

"Master Xu, is this the case? This is for sure. Since ancient times, people on both sides of the Yellow River have used leather rafts to cross the river. It is definitely possible to use leather rafts as boats. However, leather rafts are not It’s relatively easy for a boat to float along the river, but it’s very difficult if you want to go up the river. When you go down, you’re carrying people on a raft; arrive.

"Oh, is that so? That's good, I will ask again, how is the leather raft made?" Xu Guangqi asked the book office to quickly record it.It is enough to transport people down quickly. As for returning to the upstream, you can take the land and transport the leather raft upstream with a horse-drawn cart, mules and horses. Xu Guangqi is not very afraid of this.

"Back to Mr. Xu's words, this raft is easy to make, it can be made of cowhide or sheepskin, and we country people call it 'paizi'. When making it, you have to peel off the skin of the whole sheep or cow. , can’t be damaged a little, it takes a little work, then take off the fur, blow air to make the leather tire expand, then pour some clear oil, salt, and clean water into it, then trap the head, tail, and limbs of the leather tire to dry in the sun, and wait for the skin to dry When the color of the tire reaches transparent yellow, the leather bag is ready, and then a frame is tied with ash wood, and the finished leather tire is tied to the wooden frame, and the leather raft is ready..." The craftsman simply I introduced the process.

Xu Guangqi listened carefully and asked, "Several animal tires are bundled into a raft? How are they arranged?"

"Responding to Mr. Xu's words, in general, when we make rafts, we tie thirteen leather tires to one raft, four at the front and back, and five in the middle. The boat is more stable, even if it crosses some rough waters and dangerous shoals of the Yellow River, there is no problem... If it is a large leather raft for transporting goods, you can tie many leather rafts together, even if you are transporting tens of thousands of catties. Yes, from upstream to downstream, you can travel three to four hundred miles a day..." The craftsman was very familiar with leather rafts, and he spoke clearly.

"Oh, that's the case, that's good, how many people can be carried on a general raft?" Xu Guangqi, who has a scientific spirit, is very sensitive to these delicate things, and asked quite carefully.It takes only four or five days to travel three or four hundred miles a day from Fugu County to Shaanxi. Shi Kefa's statement is completely reliable.Xu Guangqi was relieved a lot.

"Returning to Mr. Xu, it is generally not a problem to carry five or six. The river in our Xi'an Prefecture is still relatively stable. Therefore, when there are many people, it is okay to carry two more. However, if it is too fast. , it’s better to have fewer people, so it’s safer..." This craftsman really knew everything and said everything.

Hearing this, Xu Guangqi frowned. This is a bit different from what Shi Kefa said. Shi Kefa meant that one leather tire carried one person, but in reality, two leather tires carried one person. Sometimes, it was one and a half The leather tire carries a person, which is a bit different from Shi Kefa's statement.

"Then what if we want to carry one person with one tire? Can it work?" Xu Guangqi asked with some concern. If one tire cannot carry one person, then the speed of transporting victims will be affected.

The craftsman thought for a while, and said: "Returning to Mr. Xu, usually in a place where the river is gentle, a few adults bring a few children. If you want to say, it is barely possible to carry a person on a leather tire. However, if it is too late Rapids and dangerous shoals are more dangerous, once the waves are too big, people on the raft will be overturned." The craftsman thought for a while and gave the answer.

When Xu Guangqi heard this, his brows were slightly loose. This problem is not a big one, but a small problem. One tire cannot carry a person, so the amount of tires needs to be increased, or at most it will cost more money.

"I see. Then, how long does it usually take for a leather raft to be made from slaughtering a sheep?" This key question is also what Xu Guangqi is most concerned about. He also probably knows that some leather manufacturing usually takes a long time.

"Returning to my lord, it doesn't take much effort to kill a sheep and skin it. The key is that it needs to be exposed to the sun for a long time. Generally, a good leather tire needs to be exposed to the sun for a month before it can be made into a good leather tire. Others are made of rafts. It doesn't take time..." The raft maker said knowingly.

"One month?" Xu Guangqi asked disappointedly, one month was too long and he couldn't afford to wait.How much food do the victims have to eat in one month?Then he asked again: "Can't we spend less time in the sun?" One month is really too much.Xu Guangqi couldn't afford to wait.

The craftsman lowered his head, thought for a while, and said, "Are you going to use this leather raft to transport the victims?"

"Exactly, this officer is going to use these leather rafts to transport the victims. It is not easy to sail on the Yellow River! I heard that leather rafts can transport people conveniently, so I specially invited you here." Xu Guangqi originally had a smiling face. Now, getting anxious again.

The raft craftsman heard that Master Xu, the Living Bodhisattva, was going to save people with a leather raft, and his eyebrows became joyful, and said: "Since your lord is using a raft to save lives, the grass-roots dare not tell lies to you. A new-year-old raft must be in the sun for a month. However, the sun in Shaanxi is getting bigger and bigger every day. Such a big sun does not need to be in the sun for a month. About 20 days is enough. If adults only It’s disaster relief, it’s easy to handle, and it’s okay to dry it for ten days, but this kind of leather raft will break down in a short time, it’s better to dry it for a long time...” The craftsman heard that the leather raft was made of Those who came to rescue the victims immediately offered advice to Xu Guangqi.

"Really?" Xu Guangqi was overjoyed again.If he had to spend a month drying the raft, he couldn't afford to wait, and it would be too much of a waste of time. If it was only ten days, he could accept it.

"Returning to adults, this is definitely possible. Although it is not as long as drying for 30 days, if you are transporting disaster victims, you don't need to use it for decades. It is no problem. If you don't believe me, you can ask Ask the others, they all make rafts..."

The other craftsmen immediately agreed after hearing this.

"Yes!... As long as the skin is dried in the sun, it would be best if it can be dried for a month, but now that the sun is strong, it is no problem to dry it for 20 days. If you are still in a hurry, you can dry it for ten days It's almost..."

"Yes! Today, I'm afraid it won't take 20 days, maybe half a month is enough... It's okay to spend a few days less in the sun, I don't think it's a problem for ten days..."

……

A group of craftsmen discussed the issue of how many days to dry the leather tires. Some said 30 days, some said 20 days, and some said [-] days. Anyway, the conclusion is that the sun in Shaanxi is now big, and it takes a few months. It’s not raining anymore, half a month in the sun, it can be as good as a month in previous years, if it’s really not good, it can be used in the sun for more than ten days...

Xu Guangqi was both happy and emotional. The drought in Shaanxi did not expect to have a useful side. It can shorten the skin tires that originally needed to be dried for a month to half a month... It seems that good things and bad things are not absolute.

[The book friend said that the promotion of this book was not done well, and admitted that it was not done well. The otaku has basically never promoted this book. If you are interested and capable book friends, you can help the otaku to promote it. I am very grateful.In addition, the QQ group number is attached: 127593523. 】

(End of this chapter)