After three days, Erlaizi and Jiangli lost a lot of weight.
"Sir Governor, why don't we take a break first? You have been running for a week without a rest," the servant said breathlessly to the man in black quilt in front of him while riding on his horse.
"Don't call me Governor outside, call me Master!"
After saying that, he kicked off his horse and galloped towards Daping Village.
Because Jiang Tuantuan felt sorry for Jiang Li, he decided to bring him lunch at noon. The refugees around had been cleared out by the government, and there would be no more robberies. Jiang Tuantuan also felt sorry for Jiang Li, so he decided to improve Erlaizi's meals as well.
Jiang Tuantuan rode in an oxcart with a basket of cakes and a small bucket of porridge on it. Fearing the bumps, he drove slowly along the way, but he finally arrived before lunch.
Er Laizi's eyes lit up as soon as he saw Jiang Tuantuan, "Boss Tuan, I miss you so much!"
Jiang Tuantuan served each of them a bowl of rice porridge.
Jiang Li was also asked to take two cakes to the two guarding officers and soldiers. When the officers and soldiers saw the cakes, they turned a blind eye to Jiang Tuantuan's behavior.
Seeing Zhang Dahu in the distance, Jiang Tuantuan held his waist and slowly walked over, "Brother Dahu, come and eat with us."
Zhang Dahu originally decided to refuse, but in the end he succumbed to his hungry stomach.
"Food is so scarce right now, and I'm so sorry for eating your food!"
Jiang Tuantuan: "Don't be so formal. Brother Dahu also helped my family a lot back then!"
After finishing his meal quickly, Zhang Dahu began to feel melancholy. "The dam was just repaired three years ago. It shouldn't have broken down so soon."
“Could it be corruption?”
Zhang Dahu pondered for a moment and said, "Probably not. I've seen the materials used at the time, they're pretty good."
Jiang Tuantuan was a little confused and looked carefully at the newly built dam.
Both sides were covered with mud, and there was a gap at the end. Jiang Tuantuan suddenly remembered that he studied architecture in college, and his teacher seemed to have talked about this problem.
Jiang Tuantuan said to the three people beside him, "See that gap in front? It needs to be blocked. Usually, we block it from both sides toward the center, and finally there is only one gap left, which is called a 'helongmen'."
"The success of the breach repair depends entirely on whether the dragon's mouth can be closed successfully."
"And this opening is almost fifty meters long. It's not easy to block."
Zhang Dahu nodded repeatedly after hearing this. "I was there when the dam was being built three years ago. The hole was held down with stone and wood. It was too big to lift, so they chose a smaller piece."
Jiang Tuantuan listened thoughtfully and said, "We found the reason. The stone and wood are too small, and it has been raining for the past few days, which has caused a lot of water to accumulate. When it flows down, it is turbulent and cannot be sealed."
"Alas, a small mistake has caused so many people to lose their lives and become homeless."
These words happened to be heard by the governor who came rushing over. He was shocked that a country woman actually knew so much.
"What you said is very good. Does the girl know any good solution?"
Jiang Tuantuan saw a man wearing a black mattress walking towards him, with a servant behind him, each leading a horse. It was obvious that he came from a wealthy family.
Jiang Li saw the stranger's wary look, but unfortunately he had to start work, so he had to go.
Jiang Tuantuan told him not to worry, everything would be fine.
"These are just my humble opinions. I have thought of a solution, but I don't know if it will work."
The governor laughed heartily and said, "Miss, please feel free to speak."
Jiang Tuantuan then explained the method his teacher had taught him. "Since stone and wood are too heavy, why not use dam piers instead, splitting them into thirds? Although this would increase the number of breaches, the amount of water would also decrease. We can then seal them one by one."
"It seems that although the workload will increase and some previously built areas will be overturned, overall this is the most effective method at present."
The governor of Jizhou was stunned for a moment after hearing this. He had just asked casually, but he didn't expect Jiang Tuantuan to actually tell him, and it seemed very feasible.
The Jizhou Governor bowed and thanked him, saying, "If this method is truly feasible, it will truly benefit both the country and the people."
The governor of Jizhou immediately mounted his horse and rushed to the government office. He wanted to write this method down in a memorial and submit it to the emperor.
Jizhou is very close to the capital, and if you ride fast, you can get there in just one day.
The emperor was sitting in his study at this time, looking at a stack of memorials in front of him and feeling upset. The war was tense at the front and the food supply could not be cut off, but his own house was washed away by the flood.
After receiving the memorial, the eunuch immediately brought it in, "Your Majesty, this is an urgent memorial from the Jizhou Governor, saying that you must read it."
The emperor opened it with annoyance, but the more he read, the more fascinated he became.
This memorial describes the entire incident in detail. It also mentions that this method was told to him by a country woman he met when he went to the countryside.
The emperor was in a good mood and immediately called the minister in charge of the project to ask him to test the feasibility of the method.
When the minister in charge of the project saw that this was what the country woman thought, he didn't care much and thought that the emperor was just tired and confused. However, due to the pressure, he had to work overnight and finally got the result after three days.
The slap in the face came so quickly. This method is indeed far superior to the old one.
The dam piers are superior to stone and wood in terms of transportation and price. The emperor was very pleased when he heard this. It had been a long time since he heard good news. He immediately ordered the whole country to implement this method.
The emperor wanted to meet the woman who proposed this method, so he wrote a secret letter to the governor of Jizhou, asking him to find this person as soon as possible.
However, six days had already passed since the round trip, and when the Jizhou governor returned to look for the person, the corvée labor had already ended.
Jiang Tuantuan didn't know at the time that his proposal had such a big impact, but many years later, when he met the Jizhou governor again, everything finally became clear.
In order to celebrate the end of Jiang Li and Er Laizi's labor service, a chicken was killed.
Let them replenish their bodies.
During the meal, Erlaizi kept laughing. Jiang Li kicked him and said, "Why are you laughing so foolishly?"
"I'm going to find a wife!" Erlaizi said proudly.
The four people at the dinner table opened their eyes wide in shock. This child has lived for eighteen years and finally got it.
Jiang Tuantuan asked, "Whose girl do you like?"
"I've decided to become Zhang Dahu's daughter, Dafang, my son-in-law."
Zhang Dahu's family has few children, and there is only one child, Dafang. She is already seventeen years old this year, which is considered an older single woman in the village. Some people have introduced potential partners to Dafang, but she didn't like any of them and has been single until now.
Jiang Tuantuan asked curiously, "Do you like him? Does he like you? Also, do you think Dahu would agree to let you into his house?"
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