When Sun Cheng came out of the cement factory, his body was covered with cement dust. Except for his eyes and mouth, no part of him was clean.
The officer sent by the Henan Prefecture, who was also guarding the cement factory, had already skillfully picked up a bucket of water covered with a rag from the side.
"Sir, please wipe your face with this oil cloth first, and then rinse it with water."
As he spoke, the official opened a leather bag on his waist, took out a rag soaked in rapeseed oil and handed it to Sun Cheng.
After walking around the cement factory in person, Sun Cheng took the oilcloth directly and carefully wiped every inch of his face, then rinsed it again with water.
The remaining people also followed suit.
When everyone showed clean faces, Sun Cheng then looked at the official who was standing aside and never left, with a flattering look on his face.
He waved his hand: "Go down, we have not been here today."
The officer couldn't help but nodded: "I know, I know, I don't know anything today."
Sun Cheng hummed before leading his men out of the cement factory.
When they got outside, the people who stayed outside the factory gate had already brought Zhenfu's horse over.
Sun Cheng held the reins in his hand, but he was not in a hurry to mount the horse. Instead, he turned to look at his subordinates who entered the cement factory with him.
"What do you think?"
Until now, the case has been investigated, and there is still no clue. Everyone in Jinyiwei has been feeling angry for a long time.
One person shook his head and whispered: "There is nothing inappropriate or suspicious."
Another person also said: "My subordinates compared the production process of the cement plant built by Zhang Shilang at the Taipingfu Mine and found no discrepancies with the process."
"It's too normal, and it seems a little abnormal..."
Someone whispered again.
Everyone looked over one after another.
Sun Cheng also looked over indifferently, and then nodded under the man's nervous gaze: "It is indeed too normal, it seems abnormal."
In front of the cement factory, Jin Yiwei and his party, disguised as merchants, had begun to slowly go deeper into the valley.
Sun Cheng had already ridden his horse and headed towards Anle Village.
He said in a deep voice: "The Fudi Town Cement Factory was built under the supervision of the Chief Envoy of Henan Province and the Yamen of the Henan Prefecture. The Ministry of Industry sent people to supervise the production. The people in the factory naturally understand that idlers cannot enter easily.
.How will the people react when we enter the factory today?"
After finishing speaking, Sun Cheng's face became a little solemn.
At this time, the more normal things are, the more abnormal they are.
It was absolutely impossible for those ordinary people who worked in the cement factory not to be curious about the sudden appearance of themselves and others.
After Sun Cheng's reminder, the eyes of several Jin Yiwei who were also riding horses immediately moved.
"I'm afraid what the governor said is the most likely! When the common people who were working entered the factory, no one looked around."
"This is the most wrong thing! If you are an ordinary working person, even if the construction schedule is tight, you should be suspicious and curious about the sudden appearance of strangers."
"So there's something wrong with these people working in the cement factory!"
Several subordinates had already reviewed the situation encountered by everyone after entering the factory one by one, and they immediately had the idea of calling in the Henan Prefecture officials to send troops to blockade the entire cement factory.
Sun Cheng shook his head: "It's not urgent at this time. These people may be abnormal, but they should not have participated in anything. Otherwise, when they see us, they will think of how to escape."
"Maybe they don't know who we really are?"
"Or are they waiting for me to leave before they avoid attention and escape quietly?"
As the team continued towards Anle Village, everyone on the horse felt increasingly strange.
Sun Cheng's eyes were dark and gloomy, staring at the sky that had turned gray due to the appearance of the cement factory, and at the trees in the mountains that had become covered with cement dust.
"Don't alert others yet, it will get dark in a few hours. When it gets dark, quietly go out with a few people.
Take the tooth tag of our Jin Yiwei and go directly to Luoyang City to mobilize troops. If there is any serious problem here, listen to the signal outside the mountain pass and act!"
Several people frowned, but that was all they could do now.
If there is really a problem here, they only have these ten people now. Once the other party knows about it, they may not even be able to send the news out.
Sun Cheng was riding on horseback, looking in the direction of Anle Village, and then at the quarrying area on the hillside opposite the village.
Although I noticed something was wrong in the cement factory, I couldn't figure out what was wrong at the moment.
Looking at the quarrying areas, Sun Cheng frowned for no reason.
What exactly is the problem?
…
The same doubts always linger in Zhu Yunxi's mind.
I have deduced all the possibilities in my mind, but I just can't figure out what went wrong.
Retention dams and water reduction dams were built by officials from the river governor's office and those recruited river workers.
During this process, all construction processes were placed under the eyes of the imperial court.
In addition to the internal inspection and supervision setting of the river governor's office, the three division offices of Henan Province also dispatched officials to supervise the work. The local government offices at the prefecture and county levels where each section of the river is located also dispatched officials to supervise the work.
In addition to the intervention of all the above government forces, the imperial court also gathered officials from the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Metropolitan Inspectorate to inspect the river when the river governor's office was first established.
It can be said that the imperial court paid unparalleled attention to the matter of river control.
The court must record every discrepancy as small as a penny.
Where each truckload of materials comes from, who buys them, and where they are used, every transaction is recorded.
The Hedao Governor's Office in Kaifeng City, which stores records, has already reached the point where it needs to be expanded in just over half a year.
Such detailed records are not impossible to achieve.
As far back as the Pre-Qin Dynasty, each brick on the Great Wall recorded who made it. Each of the Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses buried under the soil in Guanzhong today corresponds to a craftsman.
However, looking at the two sections of dams and water reduction dams under the river embankment that were being built at the same time as a model, which was also reserved for the imperial court to initiate random inspections at any time, Zhu Yunxi simply could not understand that there were thieves causing trouble.
But how did they make the dams and water reduction dams collapse completely after being unable to withstand the impact of a few water heads?
Zhu Yunxi once again looked at Zhou Guangli, who was in charge of river construction in Mengjin County, Henan Prefecture.
"At that time, the water head upstream came down and hit the dam, and it collapsed instantly?"
Zhou Guangli nodded heavily and affirmed: "I had just arrived at the wooden bridge laid on the water reduction dam. I saw all the water from upstream rushing in. The dam resisted for a few breaths at most, and then it was completely destroyed by the flood.
.My memory is absolutely correct! This was the situation at that time!"
Zhu Yunxi nodded, frowned, and stared solemnly at the dam in front of him, reducing the dam backup.
If everything is true as Zhou Guangli said, then we can rule out the possibility that someone on the other side of the dam used gunpowder to blow up the dam body under the water.
If the rebels really used gunpowder to blow up the dam, Zhou Guangli would definitely hear the difference.
After the flood came down from the upper reaches, the water reduction dam was destroyed by the flood in just a few breaths.
This undoubtedly shows that the problem still lies with the dam itself.
Just looking at the two sections of the dam, Zhu Yunxi hesitated again.
The dams at both ends in front of us were built exactly according to the description submitted to the imperial court by the governor's office of the river.
Let's say that it will eventually be stored in the river channel and serve as a water reduction dam that scours the downstream river bed.
The entire dam is made of steel bars and poured with cement concrete. According to regulations, below the river bed, the river bed silt must be dug out to a depth of at least ten feet, and then the concrete water reduction dam body is poured.
Zhu Yunxi approached the water reduction dam.
There are small spots on the surface of the cement pillar.
Those were the marks left by the river workers who used sledgehammers to hammer the water after the pouring was completed.
The presence of these whitish spots indicates that these water reduction dams fully meet the requirements.
Zhou Guangli followed Zhu Yunxi, looking at the spots left on the surface of the cement pillars, and said with memories on his face: "Your Highness, the most difficult thing to build on the entire river is these water reduction dams. The water reduction dams are connected one after another. On the river surface
The river water below shrinks and accelerates the erosion of the downstream river bed.
Therefore, the water reduction dams on the rivers in Mengjin County were all built according to the requirements determined by the imperial court.
In order to gather the required cement and steel bars, the Governor's Yamen and the Third Division Yamen of Henan Province mobilized almost everything in Henan Province.
When I saw those steel bars being buried in the cement, I felt extremely distressed. I can guarantee that no one on the river channel will take advantage of them, let alone shoddy goods!"
Zhu Yunxi pressed his palms on the concrete pillars, looked at Zhou Guangli with excited eyes, and nodded gently.
He walked to the dam again.
The construction method of the entire dam is exactly the same as that of the original dam built in the river.
In reality, the masonry soil bags were sunk under the river bed, and then bluestone strips were sunk as the core foundation, and fine masonry gravel was sunk to fill the gaps in the stone strips.
After the foundation is stabilized, layer by layer is added upwards.
After the entire dam is above the water surface, layers of soil bags must be filled on the upstream side to completely seal off the river water penetration.
Everything was built in accordance with the requirements of the River Governor's Yamen and the imperial court.
"It seems that there is no problem with the dams and water reduction dams themselves..."
Zhu Yunxi's eyes flickered, and a hint of helplessness arose in his heart, as well as a feeling of powerlessness as his fist hit the cotton.
Zhou Guangli didn't know how to explain it for a while.
I can't say that maybe all this is really the work of the Dragon King of the Yellow River?
Wang Xinling, the general affairs envoy and governor of Siyamen, walked to the dam with a frown.
"On the way here, I took a look at the construction methods of the dam and the dam. Everything was built in accordance with regulations. How could it be destroyed by a few waves of water?"
Wang Xinling did not believe that there was a Dragon King of the Yellow River in this world. If there really was one, and the imperial court had not made up its mind to control the river, there would not have been so many disasters, causing the people on both sides of the strait to continue to suffer disasters.
That rumor is untrue.
The imperial court regulated the river and built dams and water reduction dams, blocking the way of the Dragon Prince of the Yellow River, which led to river accidents.
But why didn’t the imperial court start to regulate Heqian?
You must know that the people who rely on the Yellow River to live their lives along the thousands of miles upstream and downstream of the Yellow River have countless customs.
Many of them come around the Yellow River, offering sacrifices on the river embankment every year to pray for the peace of the Yellow River.
The piety of the Central Plains people is rigorous.
If there really is a Dragon King of the Yellow River, seeing that the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are so pious, he shouldn't cause disasters from time to time.
The more Wang Xinling thought about it, the more upset he became.
Snapped.
His palm slapped heavily on the dam.
In the blink of an eye, Wang Xinling let out a light sigh, frowned, and looked hesitantly at the dam under his palm.
Wang Xinling's palm rested on a bluestone strip on the section of the dam.
He frowned and rubbed his palms gently against the bluestone strips.
Very moist!
As a result, Wang Xinling became more and more nervous.
Tian Mai walked over from the side and whispered: "What did Governor Wang find?"
Although his voice was not loud, he still made Zhu Yunxi, Zhou Guangli and others look over.
Zhu Yunxi coughed lightly: "What did you find?"
Wang Xinling looked at Zhou Guangli with doubtful eyes: "Master Zhou, these bluestones are so moist and delicate, but they are actually oily?"
Zhou Guangli shook his shoulders and hurried forward.
He said at the same time: "No, the bluestone is taken from the local stone mines in Henan Prefecture. It is dry and strong and has always been the preferred material on the river."
While talking, Zhou Guangli had already walked to Wang Xinling's side.
Wang Xinling curled his lips and glanced at Zhou Guangli with some deep meaning: "Master Zhou, you can take a look for yourself."
Zhou Guangli turned back and glanced at the emperor's grandson who was standing nearby, his eyes darkened.
Behind him, Tian Mai was already looking at several of his subordinates.
As long as it is confirmed that there is really a problem with the dam, Zhou Guangli will naturally take it down as soon as possible.
Then everything he said before is a lie!
Zhou Guangli also seemed to notice that the atmosphere was somewhat different.
He swallowed nervously and raised his arms hesitantly and slowly.
When he put his palm facing the bluestone.
Wang Xinling on the side made a sound from his nose, stretched out his hand and pressed Zhou Guangli's palm on the bluestone.
Zhou Guangli trembled all over, and the moment his palm touched the bluestone, his whole face changed drastically and turned pale.
"impossible!"
"This is absolutely impossible!"
Zhou Guangli exclaimed, his face full of shock.
In just an instant, he turned around and knelt directly in front of Zhu Yunxi under the gaze of the river workers who were attracted by his two shouts.
Zhou Guangli raised his head: "Your Highness, I am unjustly accused! There is definitely something wrong with this bluestone! But... Cocoa... I really didn't know that beforehand! When I received the materials, I was watching with my own eyes, and there was absolutely no problem at that time!