A few days later, it was almost the end of the month. Liu Yan did not go to the army camp that day. Instead, he stayed in the camp and guided Chen Jiang in the soap workshop to optimize the packaging of soap.
Now the soap workshop's output has increased significantly. Liu Yan inspected it and estimated that the output in April could reach more than 3,600 yuan. If Wang Wenzhen buys it, Liu Yan will be able to receive more than a thousand taels of silver by the end of April, and his expenses next month will be more relaxed.
Liu Yan also wanted to continue to expand production, but now the manpower in the pier was limited, and the soap workshop could only use some old women or old people to make soap here. The rest of the strong women were transferred to the military camp by Liu Yan There was only Chen Jiangshi and two or three strong women left in the entire soap workshop. There was nothing we could do about it.
“All kraft paper must be cut appropriately, consistent in size, and without any rough edges.”
"Don't worry, Commander A. I remember everything and will do it well."
Chen Jiangshi smiled and accompanied Liu Yan to inspect it, and then Liu Yan asked Chen Jiangshi and others to continue busy. He left the soap workshop and bumped into Chen Xun who was rushing over.
"Captain A!"
Liu Yan asked: "What's wrong? Something happened in the military camp?"
Chen Xun had obviously just come back from the military camp. He was sweating profusely and looked out of breath: "No, no."
Liu Yan asked with a smile: "Then what's wrong with you? What are you doing here at noon?"
Chen Xun took a breath and said: "I just came back from the military camp. Today, the ground has started to be watered everywhere. However, the five shafts we dug do not produce much water and are not enough. Many military households have not been able to water the ground until now. To the water.”
Liu Yan was slightly startled. This situation was something he had never expected. He originally thought that five shafts could meet the demand, but now it seems that his thinking was too simple.
"Let's go and have a look at the military camp."
Liu Yan and Chen Xun braved the noon sun and rushed to the military camp. They saw many people lined up beside several shafts not far away, taking turns to fetch water.
Liu Yan frowned and said, "What's going on over there in the ditch? Isn't it possible for the water to flow through?"
Chen Xun said: "My subordinates have seen in the past that the terrain of the canal is higher. Now the weather is hot and the water level of the Nanhe River has dropped a lot, so the river water cannot flow into the canal. Now the Xitong Canal has no water, and there is only You can get water from the shaft.”
"Now there are dozens of people working in Juntun, and there are more than 20 cattle, and all the water in the tunnel depends on these five shafts, so the water cannot be supplied."
Liu Yan nodded and said, "Then we need to find a way to divert the water from the canal. In addition, we have to dig a well in the pier."
Chen Xun said: "We usually use keel waterwheels to divert water here. How about I go to Wangjiazhuang and find some craftsmen to build some?"
At this time, Chen Xun was very anxious. It was already too late for spring plowing. If the water source for irrigating the fields was not supplied, then this year's harvest would really not be much. What would happen next year?
Liu Yan knew about this kind of keel waterwheel, and he had seen many pictures and objects in later generations. However, for Liu Yan, this keel waterwheel firstly requires the use of specialized manpower every day, and secondly, it draws too little water and its power is too shallow. What Liu Yan needs now is a high-efficiency, labor-saving water diversion tool.
Therefore, Liu Yan directly rejected the suggestion of building a keel waterwheel. After thinking for a while, Liu Yan thought of the large waterwheel of later generations, which is the kind of water diversion waterwheel that is common in Jiangnan water towns.
This kind of waterwheel does not require human or animal power, it can be driven by water flow, and its water diversion power is extremely high. It can divert more than 300 acres of water to irrigate fields every day. Of course, there are advantages and disadvantages. This kind of waterwheel is good, but the cost is probably too high, and there are definitely no craftsmen in Wangjiazhuang who know how to build this kind of waterwheel. They can only go to Qianhu Station in front of Xiahe Village or even Lingshan Guard to hire them. Only craftsmen can do that.
Liu Yan thought for a while, then expressed his thoughts, and then asked Chen Xun to immediately go to various places to find craftsmen, and he had to be quick.
Before the waterwheel was built, Liu Yan had to mobilize five young men, led by one of his men named Wang Bo, to fetch water from the Nanhe River every day to make up for the water shortage here.
At the same time, Chen Xun was away for the past few days, so Liu Yan asked one of his Dunjun soldiers named Zhang Yi to go up and supervise all the troops in the camp to report anything to him in a timely manner.
Wang Bo and Zhang Yi are both old men in the tunnel. They were originally the Dunjun under Chen Xun. They are reliable, down-to-earth, and smart enough. They are two malleable talents, so Liu Yancai put them to use in preparation for the opportunity in the future. Give it a promotion.
Three days later, Chen Xun returned to Dapandun with a dozen craftsmen hired from Qianqianhu in Xiahe Village. The leading craftsman was a man in his fifties. He was very thin, but he was in good spirits. , a pair of big hands full of calluses, you can tell at a glance that they are craftsmen with many years of experience.
"Sir, the big waterwheel in the south of the Yangtze River you are talking about is nothing more than a type of barrel wheel. This thing has appeared in the Tang Dynasty, and now there are many constructions in the south. I have seen the real thing in Xuzhou and participated in its construction. The things are neither rare nor difficult to make, they just cost more money and food.”
After listening to the words of the craftsman leader, Liu Yan was a little surprised at the level of development of folk science and technology in the Ming Dynasty at this time. He asked: "How much money and food will it cost?"
The head craftsman thought about it for a while and said: "If it is a waterwheel used for filling wells, it only costs more than ten taels of silver. However, this kind of waterwheel is huge and uses a lot of materials. It is estimated that the material and labor costs are included. It will cost nearly a hundred taels of silver to build a waterwheel."
Hearing that it cost nearly a hundred taels of silver, Liu Yan couldn't help but hesitate. However, after finding a way to accumulate wealth through soap, Liu Yan was no longer so stingy about spending money. He gritted his teeth and said: "Okay, it's up to you. You Just tell me what the cost is, but I've got your word first, if something goes wrong with the water tanker, I won't pay."
The head craftsman said proudly: "Don't worry, sir. If something goes wrong with the waterwheel, I won't take any money from you."
Liu Yan couldn't help but smile when he saw this, and said: "In that case, then you can start working. Money and food are not a problem. As long as the construction is good, there will be a lot of construction work in my big pier in the future, and then it will all be yours."
The group of craftsmen were overjoyed when they heard this, and the head craftsman even patted his chest and promised that the big waterwheel could be built in four days.
After Liu Yan's decision, the craftsmen began to work hard, designing drawings and preparing materials.
Liu Yan provided them with the materials and manpower they needed, especially the wood used to make the waterwheel shaft, which required a thick, long and wear-resistant hardwood. Liu Yan finally bought it from Wangjiazhuang through Wang Wenzhen. A few long and thick old logs cost him a lot of money.
With this kind of hardwood, he had to start making waterwheel blades again, which also required a large amount of manpower and materials. Liu Yan mobilized a large number of men and women to provide them to the chief craftsmen. All those craftsmen also went into battle and started working enthusiastically. .
While the head craftsman was making the waterwheel, he also sent several young craftsmen to the intersection of the Xitong Canal and the Nanhe River to select a location for installing the waterwheel. At the same time, along the waterwheel and the river, a deep water tank needs to be built with stones. These craftsmen alone cannot handle this, so Liu Yan provides manpower to help.
While he was busy building the large waterwheel in the south of the Yangtze River, Liu Yan also asked the head craftsman to spare his craftsmanship and start building the kind of waterwheel used for filling wells. He temporarily built about five of them. Of course, it is impossible to use manpower to lift water from this irrigation well. A water tanker must be built to divert water, and animal power will also be used. Liu Yan will have to buy a few mules at that time.
This kind of well-irrigating water truck is much less difficult than large water trucks. It only took two days to build the five well-irrigating water trucks.
Liu Yan has seen this type of well irrigation waterwheel. It is actually an improved keel waterwheel. It costs more than ten taels and can irrigate more than twenty acres of farmland at its maximum after water is diverted.
Liu Yan actually had in mind a more efficient waterwheel, which was the later-generation pipe chain waterwheel, also known as the "liberation waterwheel". It consisted of a frame, bevel gears, sprockets, chains, round leather coins, It consists of water pipes and drawbars, etc., which are also driven by animal power.
However, this kind of waterwheel has a high technical content, and the gears, sprockets, and chains are very difficult to make, and it requires a lot of iron materials and costs a lot. So it is better to use this kind of Daming well irrigation waterwheel to slowly drive it.
Then Liu Yan remembered the well in the pier, so he asked the head craftsman to send people to the pier to see if a well could be dug.
After investigation by two craftsmen, they finally settled on a depression a dozen steps east of the gate outside Dapan Dun, and then began to take out soil to dig a well.
In order to protect the well, Liu Yan not only required that the entire well be built with bricks, but also built a well pavilion on top to protect it from wind and rain, and set up a windlass next to the well to facilitate water lifting. Those craftsmen all agreed one by one.
In fact, when it comes to irrigation, the best way is to build canals and pools. During the Taiping Festival of the Ming Dynasty, in some villages in the North, in addition to canals, almost every village and every fort had one or two pools, which were used to provide daily water for people and animals, and even domestic water.
However, building canals and ponds is expensive and the project is huge. Even if you dig a pond for water use in a village, it sometimes even takes several years to build and costs thousands of taels of silver to complete. Moreover, the annual dredging and cleaning of ponds is not a small sum.
When he thought of this, Liu Yan lost all his thoughts. It would be better to dig wells and build water trucks slowly with a small investment and high profits.
After four days of hard work, this large Jiangnan waterwheel was finally built. It is huge and more than ten meters high. It looks very spectacular when erected beside the river.
When the waterwheel started moving that day, the riverside was packed with people. Not only the military households in Dapandun came out in full force, but also the soldiers and civilians from nearby Huoludun, Tunbao, and even Wangjiazhuang came to watch.
While everyone held their breath, several craftsmen opened the gate beside the river. Immediately, the water wheel's woven bamboo blades slowly started to rotate under the impact of the river water. The huge water wheel turned faster and faster, making a roaring sound. , the bamboo tubes on the wheel blades continuously pour water into the Xitong Canal on the shore, and the river water continues to flow forward.
Amidst the cheers, a group of craftsmen headed by the head craftsman were filled with emotion, and some of them even had tears in their eyes. Perhaps this Jiangnan waterwheel is the most outstanding work of their lives.
Since then, this large waterwheel has become a wonder in Dapandun. When people talk about Dapandun in the future, the first thing that comes to mind is this large waterwheel.
Two days later, the well outside Dapandun was also built. This speed was already very fast. Of course, it was also related to Liu Yan's money. All the bricks were purchased directly instead of being fired on site. , which saves a lot of time.
The well is about ten feet deep, and the water in the well is shallow and of good quality. The bottom of the well is paved with fine sand, the walls of the well are built with bluestone, and the outside is surrounded by gravel. When the first bucket of water was pulled up, the surrounding military households cheered for a while. They tasted it again and found that the well water was clear and sweet, far superior to other forts.
All the military households were bursting with smiles, especially the refugees from other places who joined the military households. Many of them had been trapped in drinking water all their lives. When they saw such good water, many of them shed tears.
Among the crowd, Liu Yan was naturally very happy. After returning to Dapandun, he generously paid the wages of the craftsmen.
At this moment, Liu Yan received an urgent notice from someone sent by Wang Wenzhen. The defense officer Zhang Hailin would come to Dapan Dun for inspection today.
