The thick man took off his clothes, exposing his strong muscles. The long hammer in his hand was raised high and fell suddenly. The heavy force penetrated the iron drill, and nearly half of the iron drill went deep into the stone hole.
Wu Dasheng jumped down and inspected the stone foundations. Seeing that they were solid and reliable, he raised his head and shouted to Gu Zhengchen: "Master, the waterwheel can be installed."
Gu Zhengchen walked to the shore, took a look, turned around and said to Ma Li, Xu Erjiu and others: "Carry the water tanker."
"Pump truck!"
Ma Li raised his voice.
More than thirty big men moved in response, and a waterwheel nearly three feet high stood up with the cooperation of people and ropes.
The huge waterwheel, the axle alone is one and a half feet long, supports twenty-four wooden spokes, spreading out in a radial pattern. The top of each spoke is equipped with a scraper and water bucket. The base of the waterwheel is shaped like a splayed figure, and there are wooden strips connecting the bottom to increase stability.
A group of people greeted and carefully moved the waterwheel to the temporarily excavated hole. Ma Li, Wu Dasheng and others observed the angle, calibrated, and installed the base to connect the waterwheel base to the stone base.
It sounds easy, but the installation process took more than an hour.
After completing the installation of one waterwheel, Wu Da said that he turned it with his hands and saw that it did not require much effort. It proved feasible, so he arranged for people to continue lifting the waterwheel and install the next one.
Gu Zhengchen actually couldn't do much to help him. He needed strength but no strength, no skills, and he couldn't give random directions to this thing, so he just sat by the river and watched the white clouds and dogs.
It wasn't until the installation of the six-seater waterwheel was completed and it was checked again that there were no problems, that Gu Zhengchen stood up and patted the soil on his body: "Open the river!"
The river channel opened.
The water flows into the dug tunnel. As the river water impacts, the spokes begin to rotate. After the water bucket above the spoke is filled with water, it will gradually lift up. When the water bucket approaches the top, it will naturally tilt. The water will pour down, and the water will flow into the aqueduct. The aqueduct is very long, more than five hundred steps, and is connected to another river heading northeast.
The craftsmen inspected the aqueduct to see if there was any water seepage or leakage in the aqueduct.
The mile-long aqueduct is connected to nearly thirty high-speed waterwheels, and this is the result of half a month of craftsmanship!
It's spectacular.
Jurong built a large number of waterwheels. In order to alleviate the drought and solve the water problem in the rice fields, Gu Zhengchen used five lakes and eight rivers with large water volumes that deviated from the Jurong farming area.
Those who can use the rotation of water flow to divert water build waterwheels. Like lakes, the water flow could not drive the waterwheel at all, so oxen and donkeys were chosen to drive the waterwheel to lift water.
Jurong has taken unprecedented measures to deal with the drought, mobilizing more than 5,000 people, mainly responsible for digging channels, dredging rivers, and digging tunnels.
With the start of the water diversion project, the water level of the rivers in Jurong's farming area has gradually risen, and the people have invested in large-scale production.
However, there are upstream and downstream rivers, and some people want to cut off the water flow and use it exclusively for their own farmland, leaving people downstream without water. The fight for water became a conflict, and several villages even broke into trouble under the leadership of the village chief.
Gu Zhengchen was sitting in the lobby, looking at the two farmers with bruises and swollen faces. He took a picture of the gavel and shouted: "Wang Jiu, you cut off the water first and beat the people behind. This can be regarded as the behavior of a bully. You can think about it yourself or make compensation." Wang Feng asks him to forgive you and drop the charges, or I will sentence you in accordance with the law and put you in prison temporarily."
Wang Jiu was wronged: "Master, we also need water. Our seven acres of land depend on this water. Without this water, the whole family will go hungry."
Snapped!
Gu Zhengchen said sternly: "Your fields need water, but other families don't need it?"
Wang Jiu insisted: "Other people's homes are other people's homes, but our home is upstream and we can use water however we want. If their fields die from drought, it's their fault."
Wang Feng was unhappy: "This is water brought by the county magistrate for all the people. Why do you want to block it and let it flow directly into your fields?"
Wang Jiu shouted angrily: "What's wrong with just flowing into my land? If you have the ability, your land is upstream. The river is at the end of my land, and what I eat is my land. Is it wrong to cut it off?"
Wang Feng looked at Wang Jiu who was so selfish and shouted to Gu Zhengchen: "Master, please don't forgive him. He will be sentenced according to law!"
Gu Zhengchen frowned.
These are two neighboring households. They are ordinary people, not big families. There is no problem of bullying others. The two men are the backbone of the family and the only labor force, especially Wang Jiu. His wife is a lame and there are three children in the family. The eldest son is not yet alive. By the age of ten, you can’t help much.
If Wang Jiu is imprisoned and severely punished, his family may have little chance of survival.
I originally thought of persuading Wang Jiu to restrain himself, and mediating between himself, so that the matter could be settled, but he failed to realize that Wang Jiu would not give in at all and did not realize his own fault.
"Wang Jiu, you injured Wang Feng and almost caused him to lose an eye. Fortunately, the injury was minor. However, according to the law, blood came out of the mouth and eyes, but it is a severe punishment of eighty sticks. Do you know that the eighty sticks If you continue to fight, you will lose half your life!"
Gu Zhengchen scolded.
Wang Jiu did not expect that the punishment would be so severe. He would be beaten eighty times. Even if he was not beaten to death, he would probably have to lie in bed for two or three months. Who would take care of the seven acres of land in the family? How would the whole family survive? ?
"me……"
Wang Jiu finally knew what he was afraid of.
Gu Zhengchen looked at Wang Jiu: "The water in the river is the livelihood water of the people of Jurong. I am not bringing the water here to make you wait for disputes, be selfish and disregard the life and death of others! Since you don't repent, why? As a warning to others, I have no choice but to sentence Wang Jiou to eighty-year-old cane for hurting others!"
Wang Jiu quickly begged for mercy: "Master County, the common people are wrong, please spare your life. My family relies on me to farm. If we miss the farming season, the whole family will starve to death."
Wang Feng saw that Wang Jiu was pitiful, and that his family's situation was indeed not good, and the two families had no holidays in the past, so he took the initiative to take a step back and interceded for him: "Master, my injury is not that serious..."
"I gave him a chance, but if he didn't cherish it, then he should follow the law!"
Gu Zhengchen looked at the pleading Wang Jiu with a cold expression, and then said: "Because you are the only child in the family, and it coincides with the farming season, and Wang Feng intercedes for you, I will keep these eighty sticks for you." Come back after the autumn harvest. During this period, your feet will be shackled as punishment! Retreat!"
The officer shackled Wang Jiu and drove him away.
When the people watching heard the verdict, they cheered and left.
Taking into account both law and emotion, this is the only thing Gu Zhengchen can do.
Soon after, the county government posted a notice prohibiting villagers from cutting off the river privately for their own use without affecting others.
Shangyuan County.
Sun Keyi, the county magistrate, looked through the court documents and said to the county magistrate Zhou Zheng: "The court has issued a decree that the exam will be completed in thirty months. You have been in the Yuan Dynasty for five years and have not been promoted. You are really succumbing. This time , I will recommend you to the court again."
Zhou Zheng saluted solemnly: "Thank you to the county for the promotion."
Sun Keyi put down the paperwork and said with a smile: "I heard that Jurong is very lively and has built many waterwheels?"
Zhou Zheng replied seriously: "That's true. When Gu Zhengchen saw that there were signs of drought in Jurong, he hurriedly recruited people and craftsmen to either build waterwheels or dredge rivers. He seemed to be in a panic..."
"Oh, how can he know the weather in the south from a Shandong province? In less than half a month, there will be heavy rain in Jurong. By then, all his busy work will be in vain. It will consume countless grains and money, and it will also waste money and people. , this kind of county magistrate in Jurong is also a suffering for the people."
Sun Keyi sighed.
Zhou Zheng frowned, hesitated, and said: "Your Majesty, Jurong is not the only place suffering from drought. We also have drought in Shangyuan County. Since the beginning of spring, there have only been three light rains, but they have not quenched the thirst of the earth. A few days ago When a government official went to the countryside, he saw some cracks in the farmland. The water in the river was indeed much less than in previous years. The people were miserable and had no water to grow rice..."
Sun Keyi waved his hand and said solemnly: "Has there ever been a lack of rain in the south of the Yangtze River? Looking at Shangyuan County Chronicles, drought years are rare in fifty years. Twenty years ago, in Shangyuan, there was no rain for two months in spring, but then there was a heavy rain. It pours down. Besides, we also asked Qin Tianjian that it will rain within half a month."
Zhou Zheng was bitter: "Your Majesty, what if Qin Tianjian's judgment is wrong and a once-in-a-hundred-year drought occurs? Farming time waits for no one. If we miss it, this summer's harvest will be affected. I think I should follow the example of Jurong Magistrate the county, develop water conservancy, dig ditches, dig deep wells, do not wait for the rain to come, take the initiative to do it."
Sun Keyi looked at Zhou Zheng and said with a straight face: "It's your fault to say so. The people are working hard and it is the farming season. Wouldn't rashly recruiting people's strength be disturbing and harming the people? Besides, it is necessary to build water conservancy, dig ditches and dig deep wells. There is a large amount of money and grain. How much grain does our county government still have in its warehouse that can be used? At present, the inventory has been used at the beginning of the seventh year of Hongwu. What will happen in the future? "
Zhou Zheng was a little anxious and stomped back: "I don't know the past in my humble job. I only know that if there is no water, we can't plant rice. If we can't plant rice, there will be no summer harvest this year!"
Sun Keyi looked at Zhou Zheng. It was not without reason that this person had not been promoted. He was too straightforward and did not understand the difficulties of his superiors.
If there is a bit of drought, then we will develop water conservancy projects and waste money and food?
When you are an official, you can't just think about the people, you also have to think about your own future. It is really a drought and the people have lost their harvest, so it doesn't matter. If you send a message to the court, the big deal is to provide tax exemptions and open warehouses for disaster relief.
But if there was no drought and he spent money to recruit corvees, if something went wrong in the process and he was caught and impeached, his official career would be over.
As the saying goes, it is better not to do anything, but to make less mistakes.
I said, rule by doing nothing, don't torment the people blindly, just let nature take its course. Besides, Sun Keyi didn't believe it didn't rain in Jiangnan in April.
Zhou Zheng walked out of the second hall, stood in the wide area of the county government office, looked up at the blue sky and white clouds, looked at the sun, which was a bit dazzling, and felt lost. He sighed: "The ground temperature is starting to rise, and some people have to take off their clothes."
