The three of them played happily for a while before heading to the Qin family's old residence. They arrived at a side hall, where more than ten people were already gathered, talking about something.
Seeing Qin Mu arrive, they did not stop. Many people did not even notice that Qin Yao nodded slightly to him and then gestured for him to see for himself.
Taking a few steps forward, Qin Mu discovered that they were gathered around a huge, lifelike drawing, with some smaller drawings nearby, and they were discussing something while looking at the drawing.
"Huai Dao is here! Come and take a look, see if there's anything unreasonable." Qin Mu stood to the side, finally attracting everyone's attention, and Yan Liben called out.
"Master craftsman, please don't laugh at me. I know absolutely nothing about construction, and besides, everyone here is a master craftsman. I won't embarrass myself," Qin Mu quickly shook his head and said. He didn't think he was better than these master craftsmen; in terms of both professional skills and intelligence, none of them were inferior. Without a certain level of ability, one simply wasn't qualified to enter this room.
"It's alright, the main thing is to discuss it, and let's all work together to make it as perfect as possible," Yan Liben said.
"What are the main difficulties we are currently facing?" Qin Mu asked curiously.
"The main challenge lies in the protection. The original plan was to cover the entire dam with array patterns, but that would have created too high a demand and increased the material costs far beyond our expectations," Yan Liben explained.
Constructing array patterns means turning the dam into a massive array. This is no small project, as the materials needed to build an array are not ordinary, let alone connecting such a large reservoir and dam into a single unit. Upon hearing this question, Qin Mu couldn't help but twitch his lips. He was no longer so naive. If such a massive array were to be built, even the simplest reinforcement would bankrupt the Qin family.
"Is it not possible to not build an array? The reservoir dam is so thick, it's not something that can be easily destroyed, is it?" Qin Mu asked.
"It is indeed not easy to do, but it concerns the lives and safety of hundreds of thousands or even millions of people, so it must be treated with utmost care," Yan Liben said.
"How about we defend it with manpower?" Qin Mu asked.
"Soldiers will definitely be arranged to patrol and protect it, but the reservoir is built around the mountains, covering an area of dozens of miles. It would take a lot of manpower to protect it," Yan Liben said with a shake of his head.
"It doesn't matter. As long as the reservoir can be protected, I would spare no effort even if it meant stationing 20,000 soldiers year-round," Qin Yao said firmly.
The reservoir was built in the mountains, so it wasn't possible to construct winding mountain roads or roads encircling the reservoir like in another world. It was essentially a desolate wilderness. The difficulty of stationing troops there is unimaginable; resettling and supplying 20,000 people is no simple task. Moreover, this is a long-term undertaking.
Take the front gate of Juyong Pass as an example. On a daily basis, there are only 10,000 soldiers stationed there. 10,000 soldiers will take turns resting in the barracks, while the rest will be stationed in nearby military camps. They rely more on scouts to discover the enemy in advance, since large-scale surprise attacks cannot be completely hidden.
"Actually, stationing people at the reservoir isn't a huge drain on resources; it might even be able to support more people," Qin Mu said after listening for a while and clarifying his thoughts.
"Oh! Huai Dao, what suggestions do you have?" Qin Yao asked happily.
"As the saying goes, 'Those who live near mountains live off the mountains, and those who live near water live off the water.' Such a huge reservoir would be a waste if it were only used for storage and water release. Although the surrounding area is mostly mountainous with little arable land, the water resources are plentiful. Digging thousands of fishponds would be a piece of cake."
"Mountainous land is great! It's perfect for growing medicinal herbs. We can collect the seeds from the mountains and cultivate them artificially. I don't think anyone would complain about having too many medicinal herbs," Qin Mu suggested.
"Growing medicinal herbs? Is that feasible? Medicinal herbs have some special requirements for their growth, right?" Qin Yao asked, frowning.
“No problem. Good medicinal herbs need years and demanding growing conditions, but ordinary ones don’t have so many requirements. In the past, no one cultivated ordinary medicinal herbs because there was no demand. Even if they were of lower quality, we could still go into the mountains to dig them up,” Yuan Tiangang explained.
"That's wonderful! Medicinal herbs have always been the scarcest resources in the army. Having 20,000 people engaged in cultivation solves a major problem. This way, we won't be feeding them for nothing. It's a win-win situation," Qin Yao said happily.
As Yuan Tiangang said, good medicinal herbs cannot be cultivated on a large scale, and ordinary medicinal herbs are not needed, which is why no one cultivates them. However, the army is different; they need ordinary medicinal herbs, and the demand is large, so the Qin family is the most suitable to cultivate them.
Why didn't the imperial court consider this? It wasn't that they didn't want to. Generally, the troops stationed in the local areas would try to cultivate the land to ensure that the grain output was zero; otherwise, it would be barren land where it was impossible to grow crops. It was not like this reservoir, where the geographical environment was just right.
Qin Yao didn't pay much attention to the fishpond issue. Few people raise fish, after all, fish live in water, and raising them is not only troublesome, but also involves questions like what fish eat and how they grow, which are not as easily observable as terrestrial creatures.
Of course! Fish farming is mainly something wealthy families do, keeping fish in ponds as ornamental fish. In areas with abundant water resources, there are plenty of fish. Fishermen who can't sell all their catch will also raise them, but they're very laid-back about it, just leaving them in the pond to grow on their own, only cleaning them out every few years. How many they can harvest is really hard to say. Therefore, Qin Yao didn't pay much attention to it.
What he hadn't paid attention to later became the reservoir's biggest source of income, even providing San Guan with an endless supply of fish—something he never expected.
"It's not just about stationing troops. Your Highness can relocate the soldiers' families and settle them around the reservoir, especially the wounded and disabled soldiers. After all, this is a long-term project, lasting for decades, even centuries or thousands of years. In this way, any unfamiliar face entering the vicinity will be discovered," Qin Mu suggested.
"Haha, not bad! Not bad! Letting the soldiers settle here, and having the guards selected from their descendants for generations, is much safer and more stable than rotating them. Isn't that how our Qin family got its reputation?" Qin Yao laughed happily.
Qin Mu resolved several of his major problems as soon as he arrived, and in fact, he solved most of the biggest problem. The remaining issues were much easier to handle.
“I can set up some simple formations near the reservoir as an early warning system, which will make patrolling much easier,” Yuan Tiangang added.
“Build several watchtowers on the mountain, which can not only monitor most of the area, but also serve as beacon towers; build a few more checkpoints to guard the passage, and then we will be absolutely safe. As for top-level experts, there’s nothing we can do but deal with them with experts,” Yan Liben continued.
"Heh heh! If you're a master, it's fine if you don't come. But if you dare, it'll be a good opportunity to test the power of the Qin crossbow!" Qin Yao sneered. The Qin family's ultimate weapon, the Qin crossbow, was the orcs' nightmare; even top experts had to be careful in its defense. In the mountains, the narrow space and high vantage point made it even more advantageous to utilize it effectively.
“Then all the problems are solved. Let’s start construction as soon as we have enough manpower,” Yan Liben suggested.
"No problem, I'll get people to clear out the area first." Qin Yao nodded and said. By "clear out," he meant to eliminate all the wild animals in the mountains to prevent them from robbing the people who were building the reservoir.
"Why doesn't Your Highness have someone sculpt an exact replica of the Taihang Mountains and reservoir out of clay? That way, many problems can be discovered in advance." Looking at the lifelike landscape on the drawing, Qin Mu felt something was missing and asked after a moment's thought.
"Oh dear! How could I not have thought of that!" Yan Liben exclaimed, slapping his forehead.
"Master craftsmen, have you never made models before?" Qin Mu asked curiously.
"Of course we'll make a model. But in the past, it was mainly for palaces and city construction. Model making was done with wood. We'd make a physical model first. Once His Majesty was satisfied and gave his approval, then we'd proceed with the construction."
"Now this is a reservoir, mainly consisting of mountains and a dam. I thought it would be easier to draw it directly, since rocks made of wood don't really look like real mountains," Yan Liben said with an embarrassed smile.
"Drawing them out is also necessary, since molds aren't that convenient. A drawing can be viewed anywhere," Qin Mu said. He had noticed earlier that some of the drawings were more like construction plans, only lacking the scale and dimensions. This showed that Yan Liben and his team not only had extensive construction experience but also possessed a highly systematic and advanced approach.
"Thank you so much, Huai Dao. Making models with clay is not only convenient but also very intuitive. In the past, making models with wood would take a long time to complete, wasting time and easily ruining them," Yan Liben said gratefully.
"You're too kind. I was just talking nonsense. I'm glad I didn't cause you any trouble," Qin Mu said modestly with a smile.
“Let me tell you, Huai Dao, you’ve misunderstood. This method is extremely significant. You could say that not only I, but many others, owe you a thank you,” Yan Liben said solemnly.
"No, no!" Qin Mu quickly waved his hands. He genuinely didn't know that there was no longer a custom of making architectural models from clay. Yan Liben could see the beauty in it; that was his insight. Therefore, Qin Mu didn't want to take credit, but receiving his gratitude was still a good gain.
"Huai Dao, you are truly clever. Yesterday in your study, I saw the books you bound, and they were very easy to flip through. I wonder if you would be interested in learning from me?" Yan Liben asked, pulling Qin Mu along and carefully examining him.
"What should we learn?" Qin Mu asked curiously.
"The art of construction involves using large buildings to set up grand formations. Of course, I am more skilled in calligraphy and painting," Yan Liben explained.
"I am honored by your high regard, Master, but I still prefer Confucianism." Knowing that Yan Liben wanted to take him as a disciple, Qin Mu thought for a moment and then bowed and declined.
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