The Hanzhong Weiyou Qianhu Office is located in the southern suburbs of the city.
The Han River is flowing through here. The river in Shiquan is curved, with a steep left bank and a gentle right bank. The river surface is about 200 meters wide, and the valley is more than 500 meters wide.
As the largest tributary of the Yangtze River, the Han River occupies an important position in history. It is often juxtaposed with the Yangtze River, Huaihe River, and Yellow River, and is collectively known as the "Jiang-Huaihe-Han River".
The city of Hanzhong Wei Youqianhu was built on the northwest side of the Han River, that is, on the right bank. Because the right bank is gentle, nearly 80% of the farming residents are also distributed on this side.
The drought in northern Shaanxi does not seem to have much impact on Hanzhong Prefecture. In the past, when the drought was at its worst, the water level of the Han River did not drop much.
The land and people along the Han River have basically not suffered much famine, and the drought only affects areas beyond the reach of the main stream of the Han River.
Shiquan is located in the main basin of the Han River, so it has not been affected much by the drought.
The drought has not affected the Han River, but now there are many new artifacts along the Han River in Shiquan County.
On the southern outskirts of Hanzhong Wei Youqianhu Station, there are many more deep and wide canals on the banks of the Han River than in the past, flowing all the way to the east.
There are several quite spectacular dams behind the canal, where a large amount of river water is accumulated, and then flows to the distance along the water holes.
The water flow through the drainage hole is stable without the slightest fluctuation on both sides.
Various hydraulic machines are being driven by the water flow, and the clanging sound of water hammers can be heard endlessly. A large number of houses are distributed on both sides.
There are many carriages and horses transporting goods on the road, as well as many craftsmen and civilians running back and forth in a hurry.
Chen Wang was standing on a high slope next to a dam, looking at the machinery and water channels down the slope.
Standing beside him, not only Tang Shiping and Wang Yuankang were the only ones standing next to him, but Qi Zhengsong and Jiang Wanshan, the chief craftsmen of the weapons workshop and armor workshop, were also standing beside Chen Wang.
The guards at the foot of the slope, wearing hoods and hats, were performing their duty of guard faithfully.
The meeting with Bo Jue happened three days ago.
During these three days, Chen Wang spent most of his time in the city of You Qianhusuo.
Chen Wang had already replaced the armor he originally wore and put on a dark blue Taoist robe, and the iron helmet he originally wore had become an ordinary cloud scarf.
Wearing loose clothes, Chen Wang felt much more relaxed.
In the nearly three years since he arrived in this world, there has been almost no moment of relaxation.
Bandits and riots are going on all over the place, the imperial court is constantly recruiting people, and countless incidents are happening one after another, making people almost breathless.
"The Ordnance Bureau had all moved here before January. These hydraulic equipment have indeed made many things that originally required man-hours a lot easier. For example, water hammers have been used in the making of wrought iron plates. It saves a lot of manpower.”
Qi Zhengsong lowered his head and bowed his body, looking extremely respectful, and reported the situation here to Chen Wang.
"But because these are new-style utensils, most craftsmen are not very skilled yet."
"Therefore, the output of manufactured equipment has not increased much, but starting from this month, the output of many things will increase."
Chen Wang nodded slightly and said to Qi Zhengsong.
"Hydraulic power has many uses. You can study it more. For example, it takes a long time for someone to drill the blunderbuss tube. The hydraulic power is now stable. You can try drilling with water power, which can save a lot of labor."
"The villain has the same idea, but he doesn't know if it's feasible and doesn't dare to act rashly. Since the adults gave the order, the villain will try to do it."
Qi Zhengsong lowered his head and answered respectfully.
In front of Chen Wang, Qi Zhengsong did not dare to talk nonsense. Chen Wang was not an ordinary official who did not know his skills. He could not be fooled at all. He could even be his teacher in many places.
Sometimes Qi Zhengsong wonders whether their Mr. Chen was originally from a craftsman's family, so he knew so many skills.
But because of their different identities, he didn't care about the nonsense, he just thought about it in his heart.
Chen Wang naturally didn't know what Qi Zhengsong was thinking, but if he knew, he would be speechless at most.
His understanding of equipment naturally comes from the miscellaneous books and online articles he read in later generations. There are real knowledge in them, but there are also many mistakes, so he does not dare to talk nonsense.
The idea of casting an iron cannon like the one before made a fuss with Bo Jue.
"We can use water to do things here in the weapon shop, and you can do it in the armor shop too."
"I remember there is a machine that uses water power, called a roller machine. It can press several wrought iron plates at the same time. These iron plates can be made into armor. The book I bought from Haojing should have it..."
Chen Wang turned to look at Jiang Wanshan, talking to himself, but stopped mid-sentence. Jiang Wanshan was a craftsman and didn't know a few words at all.
"Motoyasu."
Chen Wang was a little helpless.
"Find some wives and open some literacy classes in the Ordnance Bureau."
If you buy a book but can’t read the words, then the book you bought is useless.
"That's it for now. After the literacy class in the workshop is established, we can talk about other things... By the way... How are these dams and channels built?"
Jiang Wanshan looked slightly embarrassed, and finally breathed a sigh of relief when Chen Wang changed the subject.
Then I heard the only question he knew how to answer, so I stepped forward a little and answered.
"The water-driven hammer that your Excellency is talking about, the "Illustrated Notes on Newly Made Various Weapons" written by Lord Wang, and the mechanical devices in the "Illustrated Notes on Strange Weapons of the Far West", among which the mechanical devices that borrow water power need to be stable during operation. of water.”
"The water flow in Shiquan County is affected by the four seasons and is troubled by weather and other issues, so the water flow is unstable, so the water power has never been able to be utilized."
"Later, Mr. Wang led us to build canals to divert water and build dams to stabilize the water flow, and we were able to use these mechanisms and equipment."
Chen Wang glanced at Wang Yuankang standing beside him with some surprise. The Lord Wang that Qi Zhengsong said was naturally Wang Yuankang.
"As the commander of the Hanzhong Guard, the villain is also in charge of all farm affairs. Naturally, he must know how to build dams and diversion canals."
"And the original Ordnance Bureau was often run by villains, so they naturally had some knowledge of mechanical equipment."
Wang Yuankang bowed slightly and explained.
"People cannot be judged by their appearance, and sea water cannot be measured. You should be credited with this matter."
Looking at the bustling arms bureau in front of him, Chen Wang was in a good mood and said to Wang Yuankang with a smile.
"These are the responsibilities of a villain, and they are what they should do. I really don't dare to take credit for it."
Wang Yuankang also showed a smile. When he saw Chen Wang on weekdays, Chen Wang was always quite serious and rarely praised others.
When he was in the Hanzhong Guard City, Chen Wang's momentum was so overwhelming that everyone in the city was trembling with fear, like a tiger or a wolf.
Even though some time had passed, Wang Yuankang still felt a little frightened when he thought of the original scene.
Now that Chen Wang is so kind and cheerful, Wang Yuankang feels a little flattered to be honest.
"I don't spend much time in Suocheng. I spend most of my time outside. I don't know how long you have been with me."
"Those who have merit will be rewarded, and those who have made mistakes will be punished. If you have made great achievements, you will naturally be rewarded."
Chen Wang waved his hand. Only clear rewards and punishments can give people enough motivation.
"Originally, the Ordnance Bureau had few people and was not large in scale, so I didn't take too much care. However, the Ordnance Bureau will soon expand and start to get on the right track. Naturally, all the rules and regulations must be finalized first."
Rules must be established first, otherwise it will undoubtedly be much more difficult to change them when the scale becomes large.
"Originally, craftsmen were only divided into three levels, and they were only divided into weapon craftsmen and armor craftsmen. These were too general. I have made a new plan to classify the craftsmen in more detail."
The current classification system was a stopgap measure that was not available at the time and must definitely need to be changed.
Moreover, the current work efficiency of the Arms Bureau is not high, and everyone basically does their own thing.
Chen Wang is ready to start deciding on the division of labor and change the production model of the Hanzhong Guard Ordnance Bureau to the assembly line division of labor model.
Those who are skilled in drilling blunderbuss tubes will specialize in drilling blunderbuss tubes, and those who are skilled in making blunderbuss tubes will specialize in making them.
The division of labor in the assembly line can improve work efficiency and thereby reduce labor costs.
There is also the fact that although the muskets currently produced by the Ordnance Bureau are qualified and there are basically no incidents of explosive chambers, the specifications of the finished products are different due to the production craftsmen, which naturally has an impact.
Therefore, Chen Wang prepared to formulate a general standard for various utensils, and then made them according to this standard.
"There is also an announcement that anyone who proposes a method that can increase production and reduce production costs will be given bonuses based on the improved efficiency and reduced costs, and based on the merits."
"If a new mechanism or device is invented, or a certain manufacturing process is improved, not only will a large amount of silver reward be given out at once, but additional rewards will also be given."
"According to the level of contribution, the craftsman level will be directly increased. At the same time, a bonus will be issued on a monthly basis for a long time. The greater the benefits created, the greater the bonus will be."
Chen Wang took a towel from Tang Shiping's hand, wiped his hands, and said.
"I've written all of this in the plan. There are two copies of the plan. Each of you will take one copy."
"One is about the Ordnance Bureau, and the other is about the development of the Guard Village. After you two read it, tell me where the plan is feasible, where it is not feasible, and where the unfeasible points are. I will deal with it later. These."
Wang Yuankang and Tang Shiping looked at each other, but bowed their heads respectfully and accepted Chen Wang's order.
Many of the decisions Chen Wang made seemed fanciful or even unfeasible at first, but in the end they all proved feasible.
Therefore, the two naturally did not have any objections.
"By the way, is this the Lanzhou waterwheel you mentioned in your report letter before?"
Chen Wang put down the face towel in his hand and asked, pointing to an extremely tall waterwheel on the waterside in the distance.
The waterwheel was not far away, almost a hundred meters away.
The waterwheel is huge, more than ten meters high. It stands on the waterside. Its tall body stands on the wilderness, looking extremely spectacular.
"Exactly."
Wang Yuankang had a smile on his face, which was also a major political achievement of his.
"This thing is called the Lanzhou Waterwheel. It was built in Ningxia and other places to transport water for irrigation."
"In the peak water season, natural water flow is used to promote the rotation, while in the dry season, cofferdams are used to divert and collect water. The water flows through small channels between the weirs, and the river flows by itself, without the need for manpower."
The distance of more than a hundred meters was not long, so we got on the horse and arrived at the water wheel.
When we got closer, it was another scene.
"The spokes of this type of waterwheel are more than five feet long in total. Including the base, it is more than six feet long, and can even reach seven feet long. With only one waterwheel, if used properly, it can irrigate three hundred acres of farmland."
Wang Yuankang stood aside at the right time and introduced the situation of the waterwheel to Chen Wang. These things were built under his supervision.
One foot is about three meters and three meters, and six feet is almost twenty meters high.
In later generations, a floor was only nearly three meters tall, which was equivalent to a large Lanzhou waterwheel. It was said to be nearly seven stories high.
When he first looked at those skyscrapers made of reinforced concrete, Chen Wang was not too shocked.
But now when he looked at the wooden Lanzhou waterwheel in front of him, Chen Wang had a different emotion.
Chen Wang stood silently on the shore, looking at the waterwheel that was being driven by the water flow.
He watched the water wheel's bamboo weaving blades being constantly rotated by the turbulent water, and the sound of rushing came from his ears.
The water flow naturally drives the wheel blades to push the wheel spokes to rotate. The water bucket is filled with river water and the water is lifted twenty meters into the air.
After turning to the headspace, it is poured into the wooden trough again. The bamboo tubes on the wheels continue to pour the water into the canal on the bank. The river water continues to flow forward, and continuously flows into the surrounding fields, providing the surrounding farmland with water. Irrigation is provided.
Chen Wang actually had an impression of the Lanzhou Waterwheel.
The Lanzhou waterwheel can be regarded as a type of barrel wheel, but its technology is more advanced.
In the 1950s, there were 252 waterwheels in Lanzhou, and there were many waterwheels on both sides of the Yellow River. The total drip irrigation area reached more than 100,000 acres.
"I remember that one round of such a waterwheel costs about eighty-nine taels of silver, including materials and labor costs?"
Chen Wang walked along the riverbank, looked up and down at the waterwheel in front of him, and asked.
"Your Excellency, you remember well that such a round of Lanzhou water wheel does cost a lot of money."
"A waterwheel generally used to irrigate wells costs only more than ten taels of silver. After diverting water, it can irrigate more than 20 acres of farmland."
Wang Yuankang has a very good memory, and she also knows that Chen Wang will definitely want to see these things, so she naturally keeps the labor costs and other costs in mind.
"This type of Lanzhou water tanker is more expensive because it uses a lot of materials, but when calculated carefully, it is actually more economical than ordinary well irrigation water tankers."
"It's just that some places cannot use such huge water trucks. Due to local conditions, ordinary well irrigation water trucks can only be used..."
Wang Yuankang stopped before he finished speaking. He saw Chen Wang's expression change.
Chen Wang's eyes were deep and gloomy, and his eyes did not fall on the Lanzhou waterwheel in front of him.
Instead, he looked into the distance, not knowing what he was thinking in his heart. He was completely different from when he was so complacent before.
"You don't need to worry about money issues. Build more water trucks and dig more wells to ensure that the fields have enough water for irrigation. As long as every penny is spent in a practical way."
Chen Wang withdrew his gaze again, looked at the Lanzhou waterwheel in front of him, and spoke again.
The reason why he fell silent was because he remembered something, something that was about to happen.
The storm is about to come...
(End of chapter)
