It is said that the sand table first appeared in the late Warring States Period. After that, it was only circulated among the Jiangmen family and was not known to outsiders. After all, this was an era with a horribly low literacy rate, and most people struggled to have enough food and clothing.
Online, I would be happy to have a meal of meat for a long time, but I really don’t have the time or energy to play with such high-end things as sandbox.
Therefore, the process of Chen Cheng leading people to make a sand table was not smooth. Except for him who had an idea of what he was going to make, others didn't quite understand what they were going to make. However, humans are more advanced than animals.
, lies in being able to think, even if it is something you have never seen before, you will have a vague concept after hearing other people's descriptions.
It took four days. After the first version of the sandbox failed, the second version of the sandbox was started again. In order to understand the topography of Hanyang County and the distances between various towns, Chen Cheng specifically named the generals who were learning four mixed
Yan Xing, the operator, asked for it.
Even so, making a sand table is still very difficult, mainly because people in this era have no concept of contours, longitudes and latitudes. Most maps are very abstract and can only roughly describe the location. When actually marching, you still have to rely on
Guides lead the way, or rely on villages and other things on the road as signs.
Therefore, the sand table that took several days to make can only be said to be barely usable. On this simple sand table, Long County, Jieting, Shanggui, Ji County, Hanyang, Wang were marked.
Yuan, Xixian, Lixian and other places, as well as the roads and main peaks in Weishui River and Hanyang County.
Then, the people in the staff office deduced the battle between the officers and soldiers and Han Sui according to the rule book they had just produced.
The charm of games is very amazing. In this era when both material and spiritual resources are very scarce, Chen Cheng created this strategy game, which is a combination of sand table and dice. As soon as it was released, everyone involved in the production was addicted.
Go in. So much so that Chen Cheng had to order that everyone must leave the staff office after leaving office every day. Otherwise, these people might stay up all night having fun.
Unfortunately, this set of war games used for deductions still has many loopholes, and it is not very accurate in predicting the direction of the battlefield situation. The results of the deductions are often inconsistent with the military information transmitted back from Hanyang, making everyone laugh at each other while
I also thought of ways to make the war game more precise and closer to reality.
In Chen Cheng's view, this set of wargames is still very primitive. It is more appropriate to call it a set of tabletop games than to deduce battle situations. The only thing that makes him think it is of some use is that this set of wargames promotes simplified Chinese characters and "Primary School Mathematics".
In a positive sense. If you don't know some mathematical knowledge, you won't be able to play such a large tabletop game.
The battle in Hanyang County continued. The officers and soldiers were divided into two groups. One group was led by Huangfu Song with a small number of soldiers and horses, and went straight to Long County as a partial division. The other group marched westward along the Weishui River, successively defeating Shanggui, Wangyuan, and Bingfeng.
Pointing directly at Ji County. Ji County is the county seat of Hanyang County and the highlight of Hanyang County. Han Sui's base camp was previously located in Ji County.
The rapid advance of the officers and soldiers not only shocked Han Sui, Ma Teng and others, but also the civil servants and generals in Lian County. Chen Cheng, on the other hand, although he did not pay much attention to the war in Hanyang County, after hearing that the commander-in-chief of the officers and soldiers along the way
It was Lu Bu who, along with Zhang Liao, Gao Shun and other generals, predicted very early that Han Sui might suffer a big loss.
Now that the prophecy has come true, Chen Cheng is not very happy. In addition to the war games of the General Staff Department, he also has to participate in the mechanical design, address exploration and weapons design of the Ministry of Industry, as well as prepare teaching materials for night schools. Other things,
As long as it was possible to recommend, Chen Cheng had already recommended it to Yan Zhong, Xu Chao, Yang Qiu, Zhao Yun and others.
Others can also do things like weapon design, but the efficiency in his opinion is appalling, and he might as well do it himself. The two levels of "Engineering" are just for doing things. If you don't use them, wouldn't it be a waste?
?
The design of the long gun is very simple. Just lengthen the gun shaft and adjust the weight on the tail appropriately. However, the horizontal knife needs to be redesigned. After the blade and handle are lengthened, the weight ring on the tail is cancelled.
Then the dagger was added. The horizontal dagger was used to replace the ring-headed dagger. In addition to retaining its original self-defense function, it was also suitable for immediate chopping.
Chen Cheng studied with the craftsmen from the Ministry of Industry for a long time, and finally came to the conclusion that with the current technology, the horizontal knife produced can only increase the attack distance to one meter. If he wants to increase it further, he must smelt it.
Technology has improved. Only by smelting better steel can we make better and more sophisticated horizontal knives.
In addition, a silver mine was discovered in the Helan Mountains to the west, but there are not enough manpower to mine it now. Moreover, the silver mine is located deep in the mountains. If you want to mine and smelt, you need to build a road connecting the silver mine and the river.
These also require Chen Cheng to conduct on-site inspections and then see when he can have the manpower to develop them.
All kinds of things kept him so busy that he could barely touch the ground. Just when Chen Cheng was so busy, Xu Chao came to the Prefectural Mufu Mansion with a bag of bamboo slips. Chen Cheng knew that this man was a man of action, and he usually
He doesn't talk much, and he doesn't show much kindness to others. To come to my door so late today must be something important.
"Xu Shangshu, please sit down," Chen Cheng asked, "What can I do?"
Xu Chao smiled happily and said: "There is a big happy event, and I need to report it to the lord."
"Oh?" Chen Cheng became interested. In the past few days, all he had heard was that there was not enough manpower here and more food and grass needed to be allocated there. But he hadn't heard of a happy event for a long time. "There is a happy event. Please tell me quickly."
Come!"
Xu Chao took out the six volumes of bamboo slips, placed them on the table, and then said: "I have been busy cleaning the river outside the south gate these days. In my spare time, I inspected up and down the Yellow River."
Chen Cheng smiled and said: "Thank you, Master Xu."
He was very satisfied with Xu Chao in his heart, and he was also very satisfied with himself for promoting Xu Chao to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Industry. A person's time and energy are limited. If you want to do big things, you need to gather the strength of everyone. All problems
, in the end it’s all about people. Only by putting the right people in the right positions can we get twice the result with half the effort.
Xu Chao also gave a rare smile, patted the bamboo slips on the table, and said: "I have inspected the topography of the upper and lower reaches of the Yellow River and recorded it here. With these field inspection materials, we can control the Yellow River."
Got it."
Chen Cheng smiled and said: "Yes, everything requires on-the-spot investigation, and the management of the Yellow River is no exception...wait..."
The smile on his face gradually solidified, and his brows gradually wrinkled, "What Xu Shangshu just said was not about regulating the Yellow River, right?"
Xu Chao nodded and said: "My lord, you heard it right. What I just said was to control the Yellow River."
This... was the uprising of the Red Scarf Army caused by the regulation of the Yellow River? The Yuan Dynasty had all the wealth and manpower in the world, and when it regulated the Yellow River, it also launched an uprising that swept the world. Only then did it occupy
If the territory of two or three counties is occupied, where will the manpower and material resources come from to do such a big thing as regulating the Yellow River?
Of course, the Red Scarf Army uprising had deeper and more complicated reasons, but the direct trigger was the management of the Yellow River.
Chen Cheng took a long breath, forced out a grimace, and said: "Xu Shangshu, you are in charge of the household department. You know best how much food there is in the treasury. You can tell us that we have money and food to control the Yellow River."
?"
Xu Chao said: "Of course I know that there is no money or food in the treasury, but regulating the Yellow River is a good thing that benefits the three counties. Even if there are difficulties, can the lord not do it?"
Chen Cheng cried bitterly: "I really don't have any money, so even if it's a good thing, I have to do it according to my ability!"
Xu Chao said: "I know that there is no money in the treasury, but I also know that the lord's in-laws still have a large amount of money. Instead of putting the money in the warehouse, it is better to spend it where it is needed. We don't need to go to the upstream river for the time being.
No matter, we don’t need to pay attention to the downstream rivers. Let’s just talk about Beidi County and Shuofang County. If the rivers can be dredged and the dams can be strengthened, more than one million fields can be added on both sides. This is a contribution that will benefit the present and the future.
ah!"
Hearing that Xu Chao wanted to pay attention to his private money, Chen Cheng was a little angry at first, but when he saw the sincerity of the other party's words and the reason that "the success lies in the present, the benefit lies in the future", he couldn't help but feel a little moved. Xu Chao's words
Although people are somewhat utilitarian and sometimes not very humane, they do pursue a lot of good things for the people.
Chen Cheng sighed again and asked, "Is this the happy event you told me about?"
Xu Chao said: "Exactly!"
"How can this be a happy event?" Chen Cheng said with a bitter face: "This is obviously trying to cut my flesh with a knife!"
Xu Chao said: "If it were Yang Qiuchengyi and others, I would not mention this matter at all. But I know that my lord has a benevolent heart and a broad mind. I naturally know the necessity of regulating the Yellow River. I also know that after the governance is successful, there will be
What a benefit. That’s why I took the trouble to record the situation on both sides of the Yellow River."
Chen Cheng looked at Xu Chao's tired face and knew that the other party had really worked hard during this period. He sighed in his heart, then squeezed a smile on his face and said: "I know Xu Shangshu wants to do something practical, but this matter
, It’s really beyond our ability. Yes, I do still have a lot of money in reserve, but it is reserved for the preparation of mining the silver mines in the Helan Mountains.”
Xu Chao was stunned and asked: "Is there a silver mine in Helan Mountain?"
Chen Cheng knew what Xu Chao was thinking at a glance, and said in a confused voice: "Please don't give up the idea of a silver mine. It's still a matter of no concern. I plan to wait until next year to mine again. The silver mined will also be arranged."
Now that we have a good place to go, we need to redress and pay the army, and Yang Qiu has long been complaining that the military funds are not enough."
Xu Chao thought for a while and said, "My lord, have you ever heard of Dujiangyan and Zhengguo Canal?"
The Dujiangyan Irrigation System and other water conservancy systems built under the leadership of Li Bing and his son have irrigated the Chengdu Plain for thousands of years. They are still playing a huge role until the Republic of China. It is because of this contribution that has benefited the people for thousands of years.
After the death of Li Bing and his son, the people of Shu built temples for them and worshiped them as gods. To be honest, their kindness has lasted for thousands of years, and which god can compare to them?
It was after the construction of the Dujiangyan Irrigation System that central Sichuan no longer suffered from floods or droughts, but became a land of abundance and a warehouse of rice and grain. Similarly, after the Zhengguo Canal was built, it irrigated the Guanzhong Plain and enhanced the national power of the Qin State. Xu Chao
Speaking of Dujiangyan and Zhengguo Canal, how could Chen Cheng not know about them?
He said slowly: "I know what you mean, but this matter is too big, really, too big. It is much bigger than sending troops to fight. Even I cannot make such a decision. Governance
Not only does the Yellow River require too much manpower and material resources, but the difficulties involved are much more difficult than you might imagine."
"Even if we have reclaimed so much fertile land, we still don't have enough manpower to cultivate it."
Chen Cheng stopped Xu Chao who wanted to continue talking and said: "Unless you can convince several important officials in the government to agree, I will let you go ahead and do it. Otherwise, don't mention this matter again."
