PDLP Chapter 169 Let’s Replan
Chapter 169 Let’s Replan
The personnel for the transaction were also fully arranged. Fortunately, the county magistrate Gao and the prefect Li were honest and upright officials, so Luo Yu did not have to worry too much.
In her spare time, she decided to visit the county town near the Wanjiang tributary.
Mr. Murong was not surprised. Ye Yucheng had seen Miss Bai's struggles recently, so he asked, "Do you want to get involved in the business of those small counties as well?"
Luo Yu opened his eyes with innocence and said, "Isn't it possible?"
"Miss Bai, you need to know what our main business is."
"I know. I'm trying to make money along the way and help you find the White Tiger."
That seems right.
Ye Yucheng said patiently, "I only give you one month. If you don't help us find the White Tiger, I will take both you and Miss Qin away."
"No problem! It's not like I didn't agree. Now that I've agreed to it, would you, Lord Ye, be willing to accompany me?"
"..."
Murong smiled secretly. He had become somewhat familiar with Ye Yucheng in the past few days. Although this man enforced the law impartially, he was a good person. Seeing that the people of Wangzhou were so miserable, he helped a lot from beginning to end. However, all the money he earned went into the pockets of the two girls, which really made him unhappy.
Lord Ye not only failed to find the White Tiger, but was also used by two girls to make money. It would be embarrassing to tell others about it.
Using the few days they had left, the two expert guards escorted Luo Yu through the entire county along the tributary. Not to mention the disaster victims scattered all over the place, there were also countless elderly, weak, and sick people who had starved to death. The place was filthy and smelly, and it was feared that people would soon be infected with infectious diseases, which would be a serious problem.
After several days of investigation and exploration, Luo Yu roughly understood that the river channel passing through several county towns was not wide enough. It was probably because there was not enough flat land. People liked to build houses along the river, and the remaining flat land was almost all used to grow rice.
If the river channel is excavated and widened, and the embankment is appropriately raised to form a slope protection, and turf is planted on the slope to prevent soil erosion (readers can search for turf slope protection embankment forms), and large stones are used to protect the bottom of the slope, then the problem of flooding may be improved. However, a lot of arable land will be reduced, which is a difficult problem.
There are many continuous hills outside the county town, all of which are planted with bamboo and trees, and there are few rice fields.
A new city planning map had already appeared in Luo Yu's mind. When she returned to the inn in Wangzhou City, she buried herself in the room to make the planning drawings and never came out again.
It was not until the early morning of the next day that she took a nap for two hours. Early in the morning, she called Master Murong to look at the plan drawings and decided to go to see the prefect, Lord Li, after they had finished looking at them.
Murong looked over the drawing carefully, his eyes becoming increasingly gloomy.
"Miss Bai, is this really the plan you came up with after your investigation these past few days?"
He looked at the frail woman in front of him. Her cheeks seemed fuller now than before, and she looked like a little beauty.
If she can read, draw, and write storybooks, and has countless creativity and imagination in her mind, it is beyond the ability of an ordinary woman.
However, she was able to clearly understand the geographical location of a city in just a few days of investigation, and even find out the disadvantages and advantages of these geographical locations, so as to re-plan a new plan, and this plan was the most terrifying and amazing.
"Master Murong, why are you looking at me? Why don't you tell me what you think?"
"Do you want to ask Master Ye to come and take a look?"
"Do you think he's trustworthy?"
"In recent days, he's seen so many disaster victims lying dead on the ground, it's worse than a battlefield. He must have been deeply moved."
"Perhaps. If you're used to a life of luxury, you'll never understand the suffering of ordinary people unless you experience it yourself. Isn't the saying 'Why not eat meat porridge' referring to these people?"
Murong smiled faintly and said, "Miss Bai understands the suffering of the people very well, but she still wants to make this money."
"That's not like I owe them anything."
"Then why are you making this plan now?"
"Of course, the money earned should be used for good purposes! Do you think I can really take this ill-gotten gains with me?"
"So, Miss Bai's point is, the money should be taken from the people and used for the people? Why are you doing this?"
"You're wrong. I'm certainly not using this for the benefit of the people. I'm doing this so that I can be spared from death if I'm arrested."
"That white lady's plan is really far-reaching."
"Of course. Self-preservation always comes first. I don't want to die without a burial place."
"It seems that Miss Bai's identity is indeed suspicious. If she was just a maid who escaped from the palace, she wouldn't have caused such a big commotion."
"Master Murong, don't be too clever. If I say you're my accomplice, neither of us will be able to escape!"
"..."
Afterwards, Ye Chengshi was invited into the house and looked at Luo Yu's planning drawings together.
He was stunned, unable to believe that it was the work of Miss Bai alone.
Luo Yu was afraid that he would doubt his background, so he immediately explained: "This is a plan that Master Murong and I came up with together. I just drew the blueprint myself."
Murong raised the corner of his mouth and remained silent.
Ye Yucheng lowered his eyes, thinking for a moment before saying, "Although I don't understand this, widening the river and raising the embankment is indeed the best solution at the moment."
"It seems that Lord Ye agrees with us. Lord Li must have thought about this issue as well. Labor is definitely not a problem at the moment. There are many disaster victims, and we can also recruit labor. As long as we can ensure that we have enough food and clothing, there will be no shortage of people willing to work."
She paused and continued, "In this way, the river will be widened, and the people's arable land will be greatly reduced. These are not necessarily things that the common people will agree to.
That's why I thought of excavating the hill to make terraces, digging canals at the foot of the mountain to connect to existing mountain springs and streams, and using water wheels powered by the water flow to bring water up the mountain for irrigation. For areas that cannot be irrigated, bamboo can be used to draw water from high mountain springs for irrigation.
The canal is then connected to the river, which also serves as a drainage channel for future floods.
People should build their houses as high as possible, and fish ponds can be dug in lower areas to raise fish. The fish ponds should be connected to canals and then to rivers, ensuring that the low-lying land is not wasted. If the dry season really comes, the water from the fish ponds can also be used for irrigation, which is the last guarantee for food.
After hearing this, Murong and Ye Yucheng looked at each other silently. They didn't expect that she had thought of everything in detail.
Murong raised a few questions: "It sounds good, and the project isn't too big. But the people need to rebuild their houses, and what if there's not enough high ground? And the fish in the fish ponds won't disappear with the floods during the rainy season."
"As mentioned earlier, after the river channel and embankments are raised, large drainage channels should be built into the river every two hundred meters to ensure smooth drainage. As for the fish in the ponds, choose fast-growing fish. I heard there's a kind of grass carp that only eats grass and grows very quickly. If we raise them now and harvest them before the rainy season, they should grow to over ten pounds each. There's more water in the south, so they may not fetch a high price. But we can find a way to transport them to the north, where there's less water, and we'll definitely get a good price."
"As for the houses where the people live..."
Luo Yu was about to continue, but Lord Ye said directly: "Please pause, Miss Bai, how do you know so much knowledge?"
"Reading. If I say I haven't read much of the Four Books and Five Classics, but I've read almost everything else, would you believe me? I've dabbled in 'Qimin Yaoshu,' 'Yingzaofashi,' 'Jiuzhang Suanshu,' 'Huangdi Neijing,' and so on. I'm sure no one would forbid women from reading these, right?"
The books she mentioned all existed in this era. Some books from the Ming Dynasty, such as "Xu Xiake's Travel Notes" and "The Exploitation of the Works of Nature", cannot be found yet.
Murong immediately helped Luo Yu explain: "Miss Bai and His Royal Highness Prince Rui have partnered to open a free library in Liangzhou City, where people can borrow books for free. This may be because Miss Bai really likes reading."
Luo Yu chuckled and said, "I'm just applying what I've learned. Besides, this is a method my master used where he stayed, so I'm sure I can think of it."