Chapter 151 Invention and Creation

Author: Gongsun Wujiu

Chapter 151 Invention and Creation

Mani, whom Zhang Yue was thinking about, was still thousands of miles away in Gandhara.

Gandhara has the largest slave market in the Shendu region.

Mani came here naturally to complete the task given by Zhang Yue.

Buying female slaves, looking for crop seeds that were not available in the Han Dynasty, and drawing maps along the way.

Zhang Yue will not forget Fu Fu's body poison, and the Kangju and Sai people who dare to challenge the Han.

Mani had been appointed as his Hou Guocheng by Zhang Yue years ago. It can be said that he and Zhang Yue both prospered and suffered losses.

Therefore, I was naturally more attentive to the tasks assigned by Zhang Yue than before.

This time, after selling the goods he brought from the Han Dynasty, he did not buy other goods, but all the female slaves.

Because the caravan has many guards and a group of cavalry composed of naturalized Han people, there is no problem at all in terms of safety.

So this time he purchased 900 female slaves in one go.

According to Mani's plan, he could return to Luntai around March of the second year of Taishi.

…

In Luntai City, Zhang Yue met King Qiemo and others for the first time after the New Year.

"Your Majesty, your servants have been wronged..."

When King Qiemo and others saw Zhang Yue, they knelt down and cried bitterly.

Zhang Yue asked people to pull them up and said, "Whether you are wronged or not, what I say does not count, and what you say does not count. If you have any grievances, you should go to Chang'an to report to His Majesty..."

Zhang Yue did not have much communication with King Qiemo and others, so he sent a few people to Chang'an.

Accompanying this was his petition to Chang'an to establish counties in the Western Regions.

…

After handling these chores, Zhang Yue once again turned his attention to spring plowing.

At this time, the vernal equinox was not far away. In order to better understand the current farming situation in Luntai, he summoned Hua Zhu and Zhao Ting.

There are two most critical points in spring plowing, one is irrigation and the other is seeds.

Regarding seeds, Zhang Yue naturally understood everything from seven to six.

So he is more concerned about water conservancy issues.

"Hua Gong, how is the construction of the Luntai well and canal going now?"

Hua Zhu has now been officially appointed as Tian Cheng by Da Sinong.

Upon hearing this, Hua Zhu stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, one-third of the construction of the well and canal has been completed..."

"The junior officials discussed with Pang Lingcheng and planned to divert water from Kuqa into the Luntai, but..."

Zhang Yue heard this and turned to Pang Yidao, "What difficulties did Mr. Pang encounter?"

Pang Yi bowed, "I haven't thanked you for your help, but the water diversion has not been successful this time. It's really my fault..."

Zhang Yue knew that the favor he was talking about for promotion was actually the fact that he provided Qu Yuuli's drawings last time.

It was because of this incident that Pang Yi was appointed as a minister by the general master.

But what he said next is not clear.

"What's the difficulty in diverting water, but there's not enough manpower?"

Pang Yi shook his head and said, "With the support of the monarch, the camp will have sufficient manpower. However, the terrain on both sides of the Kuqa River is complicated, making it difficult to smoothly introduce the water into the channel..."

Zhang Yue pondered for a moment and said, "That's it, let's go explore it first..."

The three of them were all action minded, and soon they set off for Kuqa Shui with their people.

Looking at the clear river water, Zhang Yue suddenly thought of the waterwheel.

"Why don't Pang Gong build a waterwheel by the water?"

Pang Yi was stunned, "May I ask you what a waterwheel is?"

Only then did Zhang Yue realize that the waterwheel only appeared in the Tang Dynasty, and now there is a waterwheel.

Fortunately, the technical content of the waterwheel is not high, and it can be easily manufactured as long as the principles are known.

At the moment, Zhang Yue took Zhao Ting and Pang Yi to inspect the river and explained the principle of the waterwheel in detail.

"The king is a talented person!"

The two of them flattered Zhang Yue while carefully recording his words.

In a blink of an eye, it was time to feed. Zhang Yue did not hesitate and asked someone to find a flat place on the river beach to eat with everyone.

After the meal, Zhang Yue continued to discuss the waterwheel with the two men.

At this time, Zhang Yue suddenly remembered the Lanzhou waterwheel he had seen in later generations.

He asked for pen and ink, took off his robe and drew a sketch on it.

"Could Pang Lingchen build such a waterwheel?"

Pang Yi stroked his beard and thought for a long time before showing a smile and said, "Young master, you have such a wonderful idea... Treating the camp as a problem is not a problem... It's just..."

Zhang Yue smiled and said, "Does Pang Lingchen still have difficulties?"

Pang Yi said, "This waterwheel is huge and uses a lot of materials. It must cost a lot of money and food..."

Zhang Yue laughed when he heard this, "Pang Lingchen, just don't worry, as long as this waterwheel can be made, it will be worth it no matter how much food is spent..."

The three of them decided the matter on the river beach.

Immediately, Zhao Ting and Pang Yi began to gather people and take action separately.

Pang Yi was responsible for designing the drawings and preparing materials to make the waterwheel.

Zhao Ting was responsible for gathering people to build canals and deliver water from water trucks to the fields.

Zhang Yue naturally provided the necessary materials.

Sure enough, everything is easier said than done. The waterwheel looks easy, but the material requirements are quite high.

Although there are many trees around Luntai, there are not many hardwoods suitable for making waterwheels.

In order to obtain enough hardwood, Zhang Yue had to send people into the Tianshan Mountains to search.

Fortunately, Tianshan was a treasure house at this time, and it only took more than ten days to prepare all the required hardwood.

After everyone's joint efforts, the waterwheel was finally built before spring plowing.

When the water tanker was being installed and put on trial that day, people who came to watch it crowded the banks of the Kuqa River.

In addition to the people from Luntai, businessmen from the Kucha Kingdom and those passing by also came over after hearing the news.

When the tall waterwheel successfully lifted water from the river into the canal.

Excited cheers erupted from both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Everyone knows that with the help of this waterwheel, Luntai will no longer have to worry about drought in the fields.

Everyone seems to have seen the scene of the harvest.

Since then, these waterwheels have become the iconic buildings of Luntai, and countries in the Western Regions have also regarded them as symbols of civilization.

…

After the waterwheel was installed, the Luntai officially entered spring plowing.

After years of reclamation, the cultivated land area in Luntai has basically returned to the size before Luntai was destroyed.

More than 900,000 acres of land need to be sown, which is no easy task.

In order to complete the task of spring plowing as soon as possible, Zhang Yue took the lead in going to the fields.

In addition to the necessary security forces, the garrisons in various places also participated in the intense spring plowing.

Due to the increase in land, Zhang Yue has greatly expanded the planting area of ​​vegetables and fruits during this year's spring plowing.

Although the area of ​​cultivated land is much larger than last year, the emergence of new plows has accelerated the pace of spring plowing.

When Mani and his men returned to Luntai, the spring plowing had already ended.

Mani and others walked on the newly built official road, looking at the lush farmland on both sides, he couldn't help but feel happy for his original choice.

In his view, with the grain and grass supplies provided by Luntai, it was only a matter of time before the Han army controlled the entire Western Region.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel excited, and couldn't help but speed up his progress.

At this time, Zhang Yue was also waiting for his arrival in Luntai...
Chapter completed!