056 Water conservancy is the lifeblood of agriculture
"The work of digging wells is almost over. This year's drought is not expected to have a serious impact on the agriculture of our county. However, students believe that this year's drought should serve as a profound lesson. The sage said: Water conservancy is important for agriculture.
Lifeline. If we don’t pay attention to the construction of water conservancy infrastructure, it will be too late to deal with floods and droughts." Su Hao talked eloquently.
"Water conservancy is the lifeblood of agriculture..." Fang Mengjin repeated softly, twirling his beard, "This is a good saying. But... let me change it to say, which saint said this, why have I never heard of it?
Have you passed?"
It's strange that you have heard of it, unless you have traveled through time, Su Hao teased in his heart. He also spoke smoothly and took the supreme directive as a saint's words to the Ming Dynasty. Regarding Fang Mengjin's doubts, he
Without explaining, he just smiled and said: "This is what the student read in the leisure book. The student feels that although it is not what Confucius said, the truth in it is still worth pondering."
Han Wendao: "This water conservancy issue has never been ignored since the county took office. Corvees have been recruited to repair the river every year. In the past two years alone, the county has successively repaired Nansha Bank, Xiongfang Dike, Doumen Dike, Xiaogang Dike,
There are also countless small repairs, covering a total of more than 30 miles, which is obvious to all. It seems unfair to say that the county does not pay attention to water conservancy construction."
Su Hao nodded and said: "Mr. Han, these projects you mentioned have been seen by students when they checked the files in the workshop, and they are indeed indispensable. However, students think that the main purpose of building these dams is to prevent rivers from bursting.
The embankment caused disasters, so this kind of water conservancy project is a little passive."
"The change means..." Fang Mengjin drawled and asked Su Hao to continue.
Su Hao said: "This time the students went to the countryside, and by the way, they also learned about the hydrological conditions of Fengcheng Zhinan. South of the county, Chang'an and Changle townships have continuous mountains and abundant water. I heard from the old man that it is located in
The main peak of Luoshan Mountain in Changle Township, Laoxian Peak, is hundreds of feet high. Surrounded by mountains, there are three waterfalls of 100 feet. Among them, Jiuqu Jian and Xianglu Water have been missing for many years. They are the source of abundant water and rich water. They have been there for many years.
Come and irrigate our thousands of acres of fertile farmland in Fengcheng County."
Han Wen said: "That's right. The Santie Waterfall at Laoxian Peak has been visited by this county. It is really spectacular. It's a pity that there has been no rain for a long time in the past few months, and the abundant and abundant water is also on the verge of extinction.
If it dries up, just relying on some waterfalls and springs cannot support the entire county's water supply."
Su Hao clapped his hands and said: "This is what I want to say. Mr. Han, the two rivers Fengshui and Fushui both originate from Luoshan. During the rainy season, flash floods break out and flow down the river, affecting the downstream rivers.
Many fields are damaged. And during the dry season, the water in these two rivers is too little to irrigate the downstream. If we can build several reservoirs upstream..."
"What is a reservoir?" Fang Mengjin asked with a frown. There were so many new words in Su Hao's mouth that Han Wen and Fang Mengjin couldn't adapt.
Su Hao scratched his scalp and thought for a while, finally found a suitable word, and said: "Uh... it should be similar to Pitang."
The so-called pitang is a water storage facility in ancient my country, which is equivalent to a reservoir in later generations. The history of pitang construction by ancient Chinese can be traced back to the pre-Qin period. By the Ming Dynasty, the construction of pitangs in southern China was very prosperous, with Jianning Prefecture in Fujian Province For example, there are more than 500 pitangs in Pucheng County, 252 in Jian'an County, 140 in Songxi County, and dozens of other counties each.
However, due to technical limitations, the water storage capacity and irrigation capacity of ancient Pitang were very limited. Generally, a Pitang that could irrigate more than 20 hectares of cultivated land was considered a relatively large scale. Water storage facilities of this size were continuously used in later generations.
Small reservoirs are not even high enough, which is equivalent to the level of small mountain ponds.
Listening to Su Hao talking about pitangs, Fang Mengjin said: "I also know about pitangs. There are more than a dozen pitangs built in Changle and Chang'an Townships. However, these pitangs can only store some water in the rainy season and use it in the dry season.
Irrigation. A pit pond can irrigate a few hectares at least, or 20 or 30 hectares at most. For the farmland of the whole county, it is really a drop in the bucket."
Su Hao said: "The reservoir I'm talking about is actually similar to Pitang. The biggest difference between it and Pitang is the difference in water storage capacity. A large reservoir has a water storage capacity of more than one million cubic feet. During the rainy season, it can be locked
It can store floods so that they cannot be released and cause harm. In the dry season, it can release water to irrigate the farmland downstream. With such a reservoir, the people in our county will be able to maintain harvests during droughts and floods, and no longer have to rely on the weather for food."
"Storing millions of cubic feet of water! Is it really possible to build such a huge pond?" Han Wen couldn't help but stand up from the stool. He put his hands on the koan, leaned forward, and stared at Su.
Hao, seemed to want to see if he was joking.
One cubic meter of volume in the Ming Dynasty was equivalent to 30 cubic meters in later generations. Su Hao said that a reservoir held one million cubic meters of water, which was equivalent to tens of millions of cubic meters. This was considered a medium-sized reservoir in later generations. Korean
As a county magistrate, he has some knowledge of hydrology. He can imagine that if the main rivers in the county—Fengshui River, Fushui River, Xiushui River, Cha River, Baitu River, and Zhushui River—are
If a reservoir with a capacity of one million cubic meters of water can be built upstream, it will bring great benefits to the flood control of the entire county.
There are many rivers and lakes in Fengcheng County. There are as many as 23 large and small rivers in the county, forming a dense water network. In normal years, such a water network is of great benefit to the development of agricultural production, but in times of
During floods, floods and floods are also extremely serious. As described in Wanli's "New Records of Nanchang Prefecture":
"Fengcheng, which belongs to the prefecture, was called Zeguo in ancient times. It is located in Jiji and is located in the lower reaches of Jiangxi Province. It is the water of the five counties. Its momentum is very strong. Whenever there is a flood, the damage will be taken first. It will form a huge flood, and the county will suddenly be in the middle."
Han Wen has been committed to repairing the embankments for several years in office, with the purpose of avoiding floods as much as possible. But as Su Hao said, this method is too passive. It just waits until the flood comes to save the embankments. If he can be like Su Hao,
As Hao envisioned, building a reservoir directly upstream to stop floods would ensure the safety of the downstream.
"In other words, can you really build a reservoir with a million cubic meters of water?" Han Wen asked seriously.
If someone else said this, Han Wen's first reaction would be to call the government officials to drive this person out, because he firmly believed that this kind of thing was just a fantasy and impossible to achieve. But when the words came out of Su Hao's mouth, it was
It's a completely different story. After successfully digging the well, Han Wen's trust in Su Hao was at its peak. Who knew how many novel gadgets this young workshop master had in his belly?
Su Hao said: "In fact, it is not difficult to build a reservoir. You can choose a valley in the mountains and build a high dam downstream to block the water. Then the reservoir will be self-contained. Suppose the dam is 10 feet high and the valley is 100 feet wide. Then a 5-mile-long valley can store water.
One million cubic feet."
"How can a 10-foot-high dam ensure that it will not collapse over time?" Fang Mengjin asked at the side.
Su Hao said: "As long as the design is done correctly and the appropriate materials are selected, how difficult is it for a 10-foot-high dam to survive for a hundred years? Students once learned how to make cement from the Yi people. It looks like mud and is as solid as a rock after drying. It is suitable for use in
Build reservoir dams.”
The process of making cement is actually very simple. It is nothing more than roasting limestone and clay together, then adding some gypsum and grinding them finely. In his previous life, Su Hao helped some local cement plants survey lime deposits, so he is very familiar with it.
We all know the formula and process of cement. Although equipment such as kilns, fans, and ball mills do not yet exist, the principles are not complicated and can be solved with the technical level of the Ming Dynasty.
As long as there is cement, Su Hao can build a reinforced concrete gravity dam. Reservoirs back then did not need to design facilities such as ship locks and generator sets. Once the dam was built and several sluices were installed, a medium-sized reservoir would not be horizontal.
Has Sora been born?
Su Hao didn't tell Han Wen that there is another very important link in building a reservoir, which is geological survey. Especially the site selection of the gravity dam must have a solid rock layer underneath. If the foundation is unstable, under the huge water pressure, the gravity will
The dam will shift until it collapses. However, this matter is not a problem for Su Hao. He was doing this in his previous life.
Han Wen said: "This matter is very important. Instead, you should seriously plan it. If it can be done, it will be a great achievement that will benefit all generations. Even this county will follow you and take credit."
Su Hao quickly said: "Master Han said the opposite. This matter must be accomplished under the wise leadership of Master Han. The credit belongs to Master Han. It is a great honor for students to be able to get some light in it.
"
"Haha, the change is indeed able to talk." Han Wen smiled and said, "You go ahead and plan it. The key is how much food is needed, and the cement you mentioned needs to be made first to test the effect.
"
Su Hao said: "After the students report to Mr. Han, they plan to go to the workshop to make arrangements. To build the reservoir, a lot of preparations need to be made. In addition to cement, steel bars, construction machinery, etc. also need to be designed and manufactured. There are also
The location of the reservoir is also very important. I estimate that it will take half a year just to select the location."
"Half a year is not a long time. A large-scale project like this could take ten or eight years," Fang Mengjin said.
Su Hao said: "I think if we want to do something, we have to do it as soon as possible. If we finish it one day earlier, we can benefit the people one day earlier. Mr. Han, Mr. Fang, I would like to ask you for a convenience. During this period, I may arrange for the workshop to do some work."
Things. If it is a small matter, students will not be willing to ask for instructions on everything."
"You don't have to ask for instructions on everything. Just do whatever you want," Han Wen said. "This county will fully support you."