Chapter 192 Land Reclamation
What is a hidden flow piping?
First of all, flood control dikes are made of earth and stone and are not as sturdy as people imagine.
Let alone the sturdiness of earthen and stone buildings in this era, even the sturdiness of the concrete dams in Ouyang Rong's previous life could not achieve a completely tight seal.
Once the water level rises sharply or a flood peak arrives, the enormous water pressure will seep into the dam through tiny cracks that are not normally visible.
This leads to the formation of hidden currents, which is called "piping".
If the seepage from the underground channels continues and accumulates, it could cause the dam to collapse.
Therefore, there is an idiom: "A thousand-mile dike can be breached by an ant hole."
This was something that Ouyang Rong had been trying to guard against in every possible way.
After Ouyang Rong led his men down Longbei Mountain, they arrived at Di Gongzha.
The officials and craftsmen who remained on the dam near the sluice gate were already in a state of chaos.
"How is the situation?!"
Ouyang Rong quickly crossed the path that the crowd had spontaneously parted and rushed to the front.
"Your Excellency!" a senior official exclaimed anxiously.
"There must have been a mudslide in the nearby mountains, and some villages may have been destroyed. Just now, a strong wind blew in a huge wave, and a large number of trees and bricks were swept in and crashed into the dam!"
"The worst part is that some of them, unfortunately, ran into the sluice gate."
Another official, with a calmer expression, spoke up, addressing Ouyang Rong, who had a furrowed brow:
"An old craftsman surnamed Chen said that he found two places on the entire dam that seemed to be piping, with undercurrents and whirlpools in the water, indicating that cracks must have appeared."
"One is near the main gate of the sluice gate, and the other is on the left half, close to Longbei Mountain..."
Ouyang Rong murmured, "Piping... in two places..." He suddenly looked up, "Changli Chen, go and call the craftsmen."
Soon, several senior craftsmen were brought over.
"Take me to see the location of the piping."
Ouyang Rong's expression remained unchanged, and he gave the order without hesitation.
Led by the craftsman surnamed Chen and others, Ouyang Rong quickly located two places where undercurrents might be occurring.
Ouyang Rong made a quick decision and addressed the crowd:
"First, plug the piping at the main gate of the sluice gate! Concentrate all efforts to save the sluice gate!"
"My lord, look at the ripples on the water's surface; the crack in another spot seems to be more severe..."
"The sluice gate is the core of the Di Gong Sluice Gate, located in the middle section. It has a predominantly wooden structure and is the most vulnerable part of the entire sluice gate. Once the gate collapses, it could cause the entire dam to breach, with unimaginable consequences."
Ouyang Rong calmly analyzed the situation, then turned and gave the following instructions:
"But we have a lot of people. Let's go gather some manpower and start a two-pronged approach. Drop sandbags and fill the two areas with gravel at the same time to suppress the water flow and stop the piping!"
Ouyang Rong turned his head, wiped the rain from his face, and said decisively:
"Ah Shan, bring the main force of the militia with me. Let's go to the main gate to block the breach!"
"Officer He, craftsman Chen...you stay here and throw sand and stones into the water to stop the piping!"
"Women, children, villagers, and unrelated persons who are delivering food and clothing should evacuate the dam first. They are not allowed to crowd around the sluice gate, causing congestion and hindering the transport of sandbags..."
The current situation is extremely urgent.
With the continuous rise in water level and the surging current in Yunmengze, the piping could expand at any time, causing a larger-scale breach with unimaginable consequences.
However, as the young magistrate issued a series of precise orders, everyone seemed to have found their leader, their spirits lifted, and they accepted their orders.
They split up and acted quickly, racing against time.
Ouyang Rong and his group arrived first near the main gate of the central sluice gate of the dam, assessed the situation, and located the piping location.
“Look, this is it!” a civilian shouted.
Below the dam, the wind was strong and the waves were high, crashing against the dam wall.
On one spot, the water surface was churning up waves and sand, clearly indicating that the gaps in the dam below were being eroded by the turbulent water flow.
Those who remained at the sluice gate, including Ouyang Rong, picked up bamboo poles and worked together to clear away debris and wood from the water for the brave men who were about to go into the water.
A short while later, Liu Ashan and ten other young and strong men from the militia, who were the best swimmers, took off their clothes and shirts, disregarding the rapid waves below, and each carrying bamboo poles and fishing nets, jumped into the water one after another.
The current was swift, and Liu Ashan and other skilled swimmers managed to keep their balance and swim one after another to the spot designated by Ouyang Rong on the shore.
Someone went down to insert the pole.
Some people spread out nets.
At the sluice gate, people began to drop sandbags and gravel that they had prepared beforehand to suppress the water flow.
Fortunately, Ouyang Rong had made advance preparations a few days earlier, and the militia members had also conducted corresponding simulations and arrangements.
Faced with the current crisis, they acted swiftly and managed to carry out the task in a reasonably orderly manner, without panicking...
Thanks to the efforts of Liu Ashan and nine other men who jumped into the water, and the combined efforts of the people on the shore.
About half an hour later.
Bamboo and wooden poles are inserted into the riverbed in a very orderly manner with short intervals.
Large fishing nets were spread out between the wooden poles.
Together, the two temporarily formed a semi-circular underwater space.
This "semicircle" covers the sluice gate dam, enclosing the area near the main gate where piping and undercurrents occur.
Simply using poles to create a fence is not stable.
However, on the dam, Ouyang Rong led the able-bodied men who stayed behind, continuously throwing sandbags and gravel that had been stockpiled into the semi-circular space below.
As the saying goes, everything is difficult at the beginning.
However, due to the presence of the "semi-circular" enclosure formed by the wooden stakes and fishing nets, the surging waves and undercurrents did not wash away the sandbags and gravel that had initially sunk to the bottom.
They were all trapped in this designated underwater space, which gradually filled up.
Soon, the originally high waves gradually subsided as heavy objects such as sandbags were buried.
After the arrangements were completed, Liu Ashan and ten other militiamen, with the help of bamboo poles extended from the embankment, nimbly swam ashore like eels.
Without a moment's rest, they turned around and joined Ouyang Rong and the others to continue throwing sandbags and gravel into the water that formed a semicircle below.
After half an incense stick's time, the churning and churning of sand on the water's surface finally disappeared, and the water returned to its original calm.
On the dam, Ouyang Rong and the others temporarily put down the sandbags they were holding, wiped the sweat from their hands, and looked at each other.
Without saying a word, Liu Ashan threw off his mandarin jacket and leaped into the water like a flying fish. He dived to the bottom of the river and emerged from the water with a splash a moment later, waving one hand at the crowd on the sluice gate with a joyful expression.
The sandbags filled most of the way underwater firmly suppressed the piping caused by the cracks.
The piping hazard at the main gate of the sluice gate has been contained!
Ouyang Rong and the militiamen breathed a sigh of relief, their shoulders shrug.
However, after connecting Liu Ashan to the sluice gate, Ouyang Rong's expression turned serious, and he turned to say:
"There's one more place. Let's go, let's press on!"
Ouyang Rong led Liu Ashan and the militia to pack their things and rush to the other side of the dam where the crowd had gathered to provide immediate support.
"How are things on your end?"
The official in charge of this area was a senior official surnamed He. Because he had repeatedly shown relative composure among his colleagues, Ouyang Rong assigned him and the old craftsman Chen to be responsible for suppressing the water flow and temporarily stopping the piping.
Once they've dealt with the higher-priority main sluice gate, then we'll deploy our main force to provide support.
"My lord, something's not right."
When Magistrate He turned around, his first words made the hearts of everyone who had rushed over sink.
"What's wrong?"
Together with his colleagues, Magistrate He threw a bag of sand and gravel into the water. He pointed to the rapid waves crashing against the dam below and said:
“Minister, we’ve already thrown over a hundred sandbags, but the water flow below doesn’t seem to be suppressed at all.”
Ouyang Rong frowned and turned to look at Liu Ashan.
The latter, in perfect unison, stepped forward and, together with two militiamen, jumped into the water, braving the wind and waves, and dived to the bottom.
Soon, the three of them came ashore, bringing bad news to the already worried crowd.
“Master, this is bad. There is a deep ditch directly below this piping. The sandbags and stones that were thrown in have all filled the ditch.”
Everyone's hearts sank.
Ouyang Rong frowned and asked about the depth of the ditch. Liu Ashan pondered for a moment, and then spoke a few words in a voice that only Ouyang Rong could hear, seemingly making a rough comparison.
All the onlookers noticed was that the young magistrate's brows furrowed even more.
This doesn't seem like good news.
The atmosphere among the crowd grew increasingly tense.
Ouyang Rong turned to He Changli and the others and asked, "How many sandbags of gravel do we have left?"
Chief Clerk He and the others gathered together, roughly tallied the results, and reported: "Your Excellency, one hundred and one bags have been thrown down, one hundred and twenty-seven bags of sand remain, and as for the gravel, sixty percent has been used..."
After listening, Ouyang Rong took a deep breath, looked up, and made a decisive decision:
“Keep filling! This piping must be stopped. We have no way out, let alone give up halfway. But the ditch is a bottomless pit. We can’t fill the whole ditch. We have to find another way to save materials.”
After speaking, he turned to the few best swimmers in the militia and gave them instructions, his face grave:
"Ah Shan, we need you guys this time. Find the water seepage holes in the underwater dam, and build a net around them with stakes. Make the enclosure small, and fill it with sandbags to save sand and gravel as much as possible..."
The piping here is so strong that even on the surface of the water, the wind is strong and the waves are high, not to mention the risks of the undercurrents and whirlpools below the surface.
However, Liu Ashan remained silent, selected two of the best swimmers from among the militia, and, carrying bamboo poles and fishing nets, entered the water without looking back.
On the embankment, Ouyang Rong and the others held their breath and focused on what they saw, with only the sound of rain around them.
I don't know how much time passed.
Just as Ouyang Rong sensed something was wrong and his expression changed slightly.
Finally, Liu Ashan and the others emerged from the water and waved to Ouyang Rong and the others!
They succeeded; they found the crack in the underwater dam.
Perhaps it was luck.
Or perhaps the cracks in the underwater dam have spread very deep and obvious.
Regardless, everyone quickly sprang into action.
More militiamen went into the water, narrowing down the search area. At the crack in the dam, just like they had done at the first main gate, they methodically used wooden stakes and fishing nets to enclose a semi-circular area of water.
On the dam, Ouyang Rong, He Changli, and everyone else immediately picked up the sandbags piled up at their feet and threw them down one by one as if they were free. The stored gravel was also thrown down.
Until...all gone.
"What do we do, Mingfu? We've run out of sandbags! We've used up all the stones too, but we still can't fill it!"
Even Chief He's lips trembled as he looked at the still churning water below and asked in a trembling voice.
what to do?
Facing the panicked crowd at the sluice gate, Ouyang Rong looked down at the water, his bloodless lips pressed tightly together, uttering only one word:
"fill!"
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Ouyang Rong stepped forward first, loosened his clothes, and casually tossed his relatively heavy items, such as his jade belt and crown, into the water below.
He then found a wet, light green official robe, shoveled some sand and mud, wrapped it in the silk robe, tied it in knots, and made a "small sandbag".
Without even lifting his eyelids, he tossed it behind his head and landed in the water below the dam, serving as filler.
On the embankment, in the wind and rain, Liu Ashan, Chief He, Craftsman Chen... all the civilians, chiefs, and craftsmen present looked stunned.
Immediately, as if triggered by Ouyang Rong's silent actions, they reacted and began to move around, imitating him one after another.
Some people threw clay pots, shovels, benches, bamboo poles and other miscellaneous items into the water.
Some people tirelessly ran between Caifeng Mountain and Digong Sluice Gate, braving the rain to carry stones to fill the river.
Some people collected the clothes that everyone had taken off, wrapped them in mud and sand, made simple sandbags and dirt mounds, and threw them into the river.
The villagers who had settled on Longbei Mountain and Caifeng Mountain, somehow learned of the commotion at the dam. At the call of the old man with the white beard, they all came down the mountain and rushed to the Di Gong Dam, disregarding the danger, and threw the clattering pots and pans, jewelry, hairpins, children's toys and other heavy objects they had brought into the water...
All sorts of strange yet familiar things were thrown into the churning, bubbling water below and sank to the bottom.
The villagers' overwhelming enthusiasm stunned Ouyang Rong, who was shirtless and only had a personal sword he couldn't afford to lose, along with the militia, officials, and craftsmen.
In fact, many things that the villagers didn't need to throw down were just floating on the surface and wouldn't sink to the bottom, so they weren't very useful.
However, Ouyang Rong never said these words. He just stood there silently, opened his mouth, and then closed it again.
The sounds around him were chaotic. The old man with the white beard and the villagers seemed to have a thousand words to say to Ouyang Rong, but he didn't know how to respond, so he could only nod in response.
The young county magistrate also had a lot to say.
Ye Weilai appeared out of nowhere, standing on the edge of the dam. She casually pulled off a hairpin that she liked to use to tie her silver hair and threw it into the river below. She did the same with other ornaments.
Having discarded all her worldly possessions, Ye Weilai, dressed in simple clothes and without makeup, felt completely relaxed. Her waist-length silver hair danced in the air as she walked to Ouyang Rong's side without turning her head and quietly tugged at his fingers, which were gripping the hilt of his sword.
At this moment, the only heavy thing this white-haired maid carried was probably the black lacquered porcelain bowl she had brought down from the mountain.
Ye Weilai held the bowl in both hands, the soup inside swaying slightly, her large blue eyes filled with a cautious expression:
"My dear, have a sip of ginger soup. Your wife says you have a chronic illness and are prone to catching colds..."
Ouyang Rong snapped out of his daze, turned to look at her, and this time did not refuse. He took the soup bowl and drank it all in one gulp.
Immediately, an empty bowl flew out and sank into the water with a "plop".
He didn't know what ginger soup tasted like; his mouth was a little numb; he had eaten a lot of muddy water and had lost some of his taste buds.
Ouyang Rong didn't want to know that at this moment, he, like his colleagues and the surrounding villagers, had all his attention focused on the bottomless water below the dam.
With nothing left to throw away, the crowd quieted down, and all eyes turned downwards.
The churning waves at the piping point had diminished considerably, as if the numerous fillers had sunk and stabilized the piping at the crack.
The atmosphere in the crowd at the gate fell silent for a moment, then a burst of cheers erupted: "It's blocked!"
Ouyang Rong, who looked tired, also breathed a sigh of relief.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
