Inside the Wuying Hall in the capital city.
"His Majesty,"
An aide spoke in a low voice: "News has come from Tanggu Port that the Dongyang Trading Company has already set sail."
"Okay, I understand."
Li Xin nodded slightly and responded.
Li Xin temporarily put the matter of the Dongyang Trading Company's departure on his mind.
There's unlikely to be any good news from the Eastern Trading Company anytime soon. After all, the New World is vast, spanning oceans. And even if they discover it, it will still take some time to obtain what Li Xin desires.
However, setting off is a good thing after all.
At the very least, this means that perhaps in two or three years, the Great Gan Kingdom will be able to obtain the corresponding benefits!
High-yield crops such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, peppers, and pumpkins, as well as plants such as rubber and coffee, were able to be introduced to Daqian.
At that time, the lives of the people of Da Gan Kingdom will get better and better!
Hope is always a good thing!
Li Xin also temporarily buried this hope in his heart.
At this moment, there are more important things that Li Xin needs to do.
Over the past year, people throughout the entire Daqian Kingdom have lived in peace and prosperity, and their lives have been very affluent.
In addition, the Da Gan National Academy of Sciences also manufactured many consumer goods, and obtained a large amount of funds by selling the technology and transferring it to merchants.
These funds also became the start-up capital for the Dagang National Academy of Sciences to carry out further research, invention and creation.
Especially after Li Xin handed over a collection of books he had found in the field of intelligent technology to the Academy of Sciences, the Academy's research progressed even faster.
Significant progress has been made in the chemical, machinery manufacturing, and power industries.
Looking at the information in his hand, Li Xin was even somewhat amazed.
"Excellent, excellent!"
Li Xin nodded repeatedly.
The document in front of him was the planning document for the second phase of the Yongding River hydropower project, jointly led by the Institute of Electric Power and the Institute of Hydraulic Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The first phase of the Yongding River hydropower project does not generate a large amount of electricity, but it can still power the lighting in a vast area, including Beijing West Railway Station.
However, with the widespread adoption of electric lights in Beijing, even some ordinary people wanted to install electric lights in their homes for illumination.
Therefore, the demand for electricity has increased significantly.
Therefore, Beijing Power Company also began planning to launch the second phase of the Yongding River hydropower project.
According to the plan, the second phase of the project will involve building a large reservoir on the Yongding River to divert the river water.
According to calculations by colleagues from the Institute of Physics and the Institute of Hydraulic Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the construction plan for the dam has been finalized.
A reinforced concrete gravity dam, approximately 300 meters long, completely blocks the Yongding River, creating a reservoir with an enormous capacity.
This reservoir can be used not only for power generation, but more importantly, for flood control, water diversion, water management, and irrigation.
The Yongding River has abundant water during the summer and autumn flood seasons, which can even flood farmland and damage property. However, the water volume is lower during the winter and spring seasons.
Therefore, after the construction of this reservoir, some water can be intercepted and stored during the winter and spring seasons for irrigation during spring farming. When the summer and autumn flood season arrives, the reservoir capacity can be released in advance to accommodate floods. Alternatively, when upstream floods arrive, the reservoir can be intercepted in advance, allowing the flood peak in the Yongding River to be staggered, thus avoiding the damage caused by floods.
Li Xin strongly supported this plan.
In fact, improving people's lives includes farmland irrigation construction as an important component.
Today, this reservoir not only generates electricity, but also serves multiple purposes such as flood control and irrigation, making it indispensable.
Li Xin also instructed the cabinet to provide support.
In addition, Li Xin also redesigned the irrigation canals for the second phase of the Yongding River hydropower project.
The irrigation canals drawn from the reservoir, after being used for irrigation around Beijing, also extend to Haidianzi in the northwestern suburbs of Beijing. From Haidianzi, they flow into Beijing and reach places like Nanhaizi, serving as drinking water channels for the Beijing area.
After finalizing the second phase of the Yongding River hydropower project and water conservancy facilities, Li Xin also instructed Grand Secretary Yu Maocai, Second Grand Secretary Liu Jingxuan, and others to come.
"Grand Secretary Yu, Grand Secretary Liu,"
Looking at the people in front of him, Li Xin handed them the Yongding River Phase II Hydropower Project and said, "This was just submitted by the Power Institute and the Water Conservancy Institute. Take a look at it first."
Immediately, Yu Maocai and Liu Jingxuan looked at the contents of the document.
After reading it, the two looked at each other and then looked up at Li Xin.
Yu Maocai spoke up, saying, "Your Majesty, this hydropower project is indeed a beneficial undertaking for all parties! It can not only provide irrigation, flood storage, and water diversion, but also generate electricity, offering numerous advantages!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Liu Jingxuan nodded and said, "Your Majesty, do you want the cabinet to provide support for the vigorous development of reservoir construction?"
"Yes!"
Li Xin nodded and said, "The second phase of the Yongding River project has been approved and is now under construction. It is expected to be completed and begin storing water by next spring. The subsequent irrigation canals and water diversion projects are also under construction. At the latest, by the end of next year, the second phase of the Yongding River project will be profitable. Such a project is of great benefit to the people! Therefore, I think our court should encourage and promote the continued construction of such projects. Many rivers in the country flood and cause disasters. The Yangtze River, the Huai River, and other major rivers are particularly prone to flooding. If these water conservancy projects could be used in the Yangtze River, the Huai River, and other areas, it would be a great contribution to the present and a benefit for future generations!"
"Of course,"
Li Xin continued, "You can't get fat in one bite. After all, the Yongding River can't compare to the major rivers. However, we can start by experimenting on some smaller rivers to accumulate experience. Once we have enough experience, we can build reservoirs on the major rivers. This is a long-term plan, so it must be planned in a unified manner by the imperial court."
"The reason I called you here today is for this matter."
As he spoke, Li Xin looked at the two people in front of him and continued, "My idea is to establish a separate department within the Imperial Cabinet to specifically oversee the construction of water conservancy projects, river management, and farmland irrigation throughout the country, so as to facilitate overall management. Let's name it the Ministry of Water. What do you think?"
"Your Majesty is wise!"
"His Majesty cares for the people; he is a benevolent ruler!"
Yu Maocai and Liu Jingxuan both offered their compliments.
As high-ranking officials in the imperial cabinet, Yu Maocai and Liu Jingxuan would certainly not object to such a meritorious deed that benefits both the present and future generations; on the contrary, they would greatly appreciate it.
They immediately decided to establish a Ministry of Water Resources to coordinate various matters such as water conservancy construction, farmland irrigation, and river flood control.
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