Chapter 96: Difficulties in the River
Ge Tiangong finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He even felt that the water flow under the boat was obviously much faster.
I don’t know if it’s an illusion.
Ge Tiangong actually knows that if this happens, the effect will not be big. After all, the river in Tianjin is not a place where sediment has settled, but the river for dozens of miles is like this. You must know that this section of the river in Tianjin , the height difference is only a few tens of meters, and the height difference of tens of meters is averaged over a river course of dozens of miles. What is the concept? When a large amount of silt washes away, the water becomes silted up.
This little effect is almost useless.
However, before that, the methods used by the ancients were even less useful in this situation. Moreover, the most important thing about today's experiment is that this kind of machinery can be driven by a steam engine, which also gives Ge Tiangong more ideas, such as a dredger that can directly dredge mud.
In fact, Ge Tiangong feels that the efficiency of dredgers is not much different from that of this kind of ship.
Because as long as the sediment is raised again, the current will naturally push the sediment downstream until it enters the sea. As for dredging, there are other processes. In terms of efficiency, it is difficult to say who is higher and who is lower. But one thing is very important.
The results of the dredger are visible to the naked eye. After all, the mud was dug up. How much mud there is is how much work has been done.
But this kind of iron boat is not so intuitive.
I have to say that Ge Tiangong knows how to be an official.
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Since the experiment is successful, Ge Tiangong no longer needs to be on the boat all the time. Immediately come to see Shen Guogong for his restoration.
"Not bad." Shen Guogong said: "You did a good job. However, there are too few ships and they are not of much use. Whatever you need, I can do anything, but there is only one request, and that is It will be fast. How many can be built in Beijing?"
Ge Tiangong said: "Thank you so much for your support, Duke. Between the common people, the best way is not to transfer from Beijing?"
Duke Shen said, "Oh, where will it be transferred from?"
Ge Tiangong said: "Transfer from Liaodong. To be honest, the rivers in Beijing are limited and the ships are very small. The Duke has also seen today's situation. It is precisely because the ships are small that there is almost a problem. Only sea ships are the most convenient, and Tianjin is near the sea. Normally, this river can bring in sea-going ships. Now that the floods are flooding, ships with more draft can be put in. And the only ones in the world that can produce steam engines are Beijing and Liaodong. Liaodong’s production capacity is still in Beijing. Above, it can be built directly in Yingkou, and it only takes a few days to get here from Yingkou. This is the most convenient way."
Duke Shen said, "Okay, I'll listen to you." Then Duke Shen became a little worried and said, "In your opinion, when will the water be drained out using this method?"
After hearing this, Ge Tiangong didn't know what to say for a moment. He was silent for a while and said: "My lord, who can explain this clearly? We have never used this kind of tool before. And it's not I know it is easy to use but not good. What's more, the weather is unpredictable. Although it has cleared up now, the weather is hot and humid, and the dragonflies are flying low. I am afraid it will rain soon. More importantly, when will the Yellow River breach be blocked? This is also a big problem question."
After hearing this, Duke Shen could only shake his head and had nothing to say. The Yellow River, the Yellow River, is a speechless existence.
This time the floods in Hebei. Although it is caused by rainfall, the floods in Hebei will definitely not be so big just because of rainfall. The Yellow River breach brought a large amount of floods to Hebei, which is one of the most important reasons.
If the breach of the Yellow River is not blocked, it will be difficult to see much improvement in the situation downstream.
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At this moment, He Xi was already in the river.
During this period of time, He Xi was not idle either. He had already identified the place where the flood was most serious this time. It's Hejian Mansion.
Hejian Mansion is located in the south of Tianjin, and the terrain is already low. Floods from the Hai River Basin can easily accumulate here, not to mention that when the Yellow River floods go north, part of it reaches Shandong, and the other part also reaches Hejian.
He Xi took a boat all the way to Cangzhou.
He Xi felt like he didn't see much land along the way.
Yes, looking from a distance, there is a vast ocean with just some trees. Although there is no land at all. There are naturally some places above the water, but these are too few.
It seems to be just a small island in a vast ocean. It's just for decoration.
And the people gathered in these places, dozens or hundreds of people gathered together, dressed in ragged clothes, looking not like humans at all, but like ghosts.
These people are not the worst. The worst part is in the water.
Although He Xi moved quickly enough. However, the efficiency of operations in this era is so high. After the flood, most of them entered the disaster area within a month. It's already pretty fast. But for people, being immersed in water for a few hours is enough to kill them.
Even if he was lucky enough to be at a high place and not drowned, more than ten days would be enough to starve to death.
If you risk looking for food in the water, add raw water. The plague is deadly enough.
In short, when He Xi arrived, a lot of people had already died in Hejian.
Those who can persevere now are the lucky ones. Where are the less fortunate ones?
There are all kinds of things floating in the water. What does it look like after death? He Xi had not paid attention to it before, but just this journey was enough. When I first saw it, I felt nauseated and vomited. After all, many of the corpses were mutilated and bloated, making them beyond recognition. Extremely disgusting.
But as time went by, He Xi got used to it.
At the same time, I also realized the cruelty of this era and the fragility of life.
At this time, He Xi can truly understand the thoughts of some people in this era who are willing to be slaves and slaves.
Is this natural disaster considered a big one? It's probably calculated. But He Xi didn't remember any records of major natural disasters during the Hongwu years. Natural disasters were really frequent during the Chongzhen period. Just because it is not recorded does not mean that this kind of natural disaster does not exist. But, it's too ordinary. Not a record worthy of lavish ink.
Nowadays, this kind of natural disaster that does not deserve more words is already miserable like this. What is the kind of natural disaster that needs to be recorded with thick ink and color, what is it like now?
He Xi couldn't believe it.
When people's survival is not guaranteed, it is quite ridiculous to talk about any dignity and self-esteem. Live as a dog and die as a human. Everyone's choices are different, and until the real thing comes, every choice may not be true. But death is real.
He Xi had forgotten the apparent prosperity of the Ming Dynasty, including its billions of currencies. In fact, there is another side to Ming Dynasty.
The real and cruel side is that there are countless people who are struggling on the verge of death. Without natural disasters and man-made disasters, they can barely survive. Once there are natural disasters and man-made disasters, their bones will be exposed in the wild and there will be no roosters crowing for thousands of miles.
Many Confucian scholars and officials will fight against He Xi until death. The world in their eyes is like this. The living conditions of the people of the Ming Dynasty are so weak that they will not be able to survive even if they make a little effort. Natural disasters are inevitable, but man-made disasters can be avoided.
Reform, a major change in the imperial system, was a matter of philosophy to the people above, but to the people, it was a matter of life and death.
But He Xi also strengthened his thoughts today.
Such a day, such a life worse than death, would take another six hundred years for the people of the world, and He Xi felt heart-wrenching pain. Even if it was for the sake of the people of the world, He Xi didn't feel that what he did was wrong, he only felt that he did it too slowly.
The situation in Hejian Mansion far exceeded He Xi's expectations.
He Xi had no time to implement many of his plans, and there was no way to implement them.
There are only a few county towns in the entire Hejian Prefecture, and there are still a large number of people. This is thanks to the city walls of each county town. They protected the people from the flood, but it is not known how long it will take for the flood to recede. Facing the power of heaven and earth, human strength is very weak. Although He Xi knew that Ge Tiangong and Shen Guogong had used all their resources to dredge the river. This allows floodwaters to drain away faster.
But this is faster and is also measured in months.
He Xi now has only two options. The first option is to transport food to the counties, gather people in the counties, and let the people eat relief food in the city for several months. The second option is to plan for He Xi Work-for-relief.
