"Waterwheel?"
When Cheng Yaojin heard Li Zexuan say that he wanted to build a waterwheel, he couldn't help but look confused. After thinking for a moment, he couldn't help but say, "Xiao Xuan, you're right. A waterwheel should be a rollover, right?"
Hearing Cheng Yaojin's words, Li Zexuan realized that he had said something wrong. According to his memory, there was no such thing as a waterwheel. In most situations, people called it a rollover, so he quickly corrected himself. "Uh! Yes, Uncle Cheng, it's a rollover! "
According to folklore, the earliest water-drawing tool used by the ancient people was a 'tangerine'. Simply put, it was a strong wooden pole with a wooden bucket hanging on one end and a heavy object similar to weights hanging on the other end. It used the lever principle that Chinese people had discovered many years earlier than foreigners to achieve the goal of saving the energy needed to draw water.
The waterwheel in China's official written records was only created in the Eastern Han Dynasty. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Ling of Han ordered Bi Lan to build a 'rollover', which already had basic equipment such as wheels, axles, grooves, and plates. It was also said that during the Three Kingdoms period, the people of Wei and Ma also made rollover. The "Wei Lue" said, "Ma Jun lived in the capital. He had land for a garden, but there was no water to fill it. It was a rollover, so the children turned to fill it with water."
However, at that time, the waterwheel was only a basic concept and some basic structures derived from it, and its driving method was relatively backward. This was the first stage of the development of the waterwheel in China, and it was also the most primitive stage.
Cheng Yaojin couldn't help but shake his head and say, "Xiao Xuan, the rollover can be used to water a small number of fields, but for thousands of acres of land, it's not as convenient as using manpower to carry water!"
Qin Qiong nodded and said, "Zhijie is right. This waterwheel is indeed not suitable for large-scale irrigation. It's time-consuming and laborious. Instead of that, it's better to carry water!"
Li Zexuan thought for a moment and knew that Cheng Yaojin and Qin Qiong must have misunderstood, so he smiled and said, "Uncle Cheng, Uncle Qin, the rollover I'm talking about is different from the previous ones. It doesn't need to be driven by human power, but directly depends on the flow of water. Its speed is also much faster than the previous rollovers. It can run day and night, so instead of calling it a rollover, I'm more used to calling it a waterwheel!"
Hearing this, Cheng Yaojin's eyes widened to the size of a copper bell. He said in surprise, "There is such a waterwheel that relies on the flow of water to move? Little Xuan, are you trying to trick this old man? "
Qin Qiong and Niu Jinda were also in disbelief.
Li Zexuan smiled and said, "How would I dare to deceive you? After the morning assembly, I will return to Yunshan and draw the blueprint. In a few days, the workshop will be able to build the waterwheel I mentioned!"
The waterwheel that he was talking about that could use the flow of water to move on its own was known as the 'Roller Wheel' in history. It first originated at the end of the Tang Dynasty and flourished during the Song Dynasty.
The rollover wheel was invented during the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era. It had been stagnant at the stage of human power until the appearance of the Roller Wheel. This situation was then broken. It used water power and animal power to move the wheels, freeing human power from the pedals of the rollover wheel. The Roller Wheel not only had a better irrigation efficiency than the previous rollover wheel, but it also saved manpower and material resources. It was loved by the later generations of emperors and was popularized in daily life.
Li Zexuan didn't plan to copy the Roller Wheel from history. He would optimize and modify the original foundation, adding gears, bearings, and other transmission mechanisms to further optimize the operation efficiency and friction loss of the waterwheel. Now, his workshop definitely had the technology and ability to do so!
At this time, Li Zexuan couldn't help but admire his own foresight. When he first transmigrated to the Tang Dynasty, the first thing he did was to establish the Strange Taste Pavilion Workshop. Now, most of his glory and disgrace were related to this workshop!
"Haha! Good! When the time comes, Little Xuan, when you make this kind of waterwheel, you must tell me! This old man has lived for more than half of his life, but I have never seen a waterwheel that can move on its own, haha! "
Cheng Yaojin laughed excitedly.
Li Zexuan nodded and said, "Of course, of course!"
They chatted and laughed along the way and soon arrived at the palace. The 50,000 soldiers of the Left Guard naturally couldn't enter the palace. When they were at Vermillion Bird Avenue, they had already turned to the main camp. As for the important generals in the army, they followed Li Er into the palace to receive their rewards!
Li Zexuan didn't have anything to do with this. He just stood there and dozed off. He faintly heard that Yuchi Jingde, Chai Shao, and the others were being rewarded with money, silk, satin, and food. Then, he quickly fell asleep!
Yes, he fell asleep standing up!
After being in the imperial court for so long, Li Zexuan had long mastered the skill of sleeping while standing up. Speaking of this skill, he had learned it from Cheng Yaojin. Old Cheng had been in the imperial court for more than a decade, so he was much better at this than Li Zexuan!
"Reporting to Your Majesty, Left Minister Wei has returned to the capital. He is now outside Taiji Palace!"
In the midst of his drowsiness, a sharp voice came from inside the palace, waking Li Zexuan up from his sleep. When he came back to his senses, he couldn't help but say in his heart, "Wei Zheng is back? No, no! I can't sleep anymore! If Wei Yaojin sees this, he will definitely accuse this young master! "
Li Zexuan hurriedly wiped the corner of his mouth and pretended to be full of energy as he stood up straight.
It was said that dozing off in the imperial court was something that almost every official had done before. Thus, when everyone saw it, they would turn a blind eye to it. However, Wei Zheng, who couldn't tolerate sand in his eyes, was different. If it was light, he would wake you up. If it was heavy, he would scold you for being disrespectful in front of the emperor!
Li Zexuan's position in the imperial court was very close to Wei Zheng. There were only two people in between them. He didn't know if Li Er had purposely arranged this position for him or not, but he didn't allow him to change positions without permission!
Thus, when he heard that Wei Yaojin was back, Li Zexuan's sleepiness immediately disappeared!
"Oh? Beloved Minister Wei is back? Quickly, invite him in! "
Li Er, who was sitting high up, said with a face full of joy.
However, no one knew what Old Li was thinking. After all, Wei Yaojin was back and often pressured Li Er. Whenever Old Li did something wrong, Wei Yaojin would immediately scold him!
"Understood!"
The eunuch cupped his hands and left. After a while, Wei Zheng strode in with a travel-worn face. He bowed to Li Er and said, "Your Majesty, I, Wei Zheng, greet you!"
To be honest, ever since he left Chang 'an in the first month and went to Henan Province, Wei Zheng had missed Li Er a little. This was not a gay relationship, but a relationship between an emperor and an official! Old Wei respected and loved Old Li from the bottom of his heart. He hoped that Old Li could become a famous emperor!
Especially after the rebellion in Henan Province and the narrow escape, Wei Zheng was even more eager to return to the imperial court! Thus, once the matter in Henan Province was settled, he rushed back without stopping!
"Beloved Minister Wei, you may rise. Thank you for your hard work in Henan Province!"
Li Er hurriedly said "emotionally".
Although he was annoyed by Wei Zheng's scolding in the past, Li Er felt a little uncomfortable after Wei Zheng was away from the imperial court for so long! Now that Wei Zheng was back, Li Er didn't know why, but he actually heaved a sigh of relief!
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Wei Zheng stood up and said, "Your Majesty, during the first month, I was ordered to send Cui Junchuo back to Zhengzhou and to rectify the illegal activities of the Cui family over the years. During this time, Cui Junchuo didn't want her family members to be investigated by me, so she secretly rebelled with the Cui family of Boling and the Zheng family of Xingyang. I escaped death with the help of Liu Rengui, who was in charge of the army in Bianzhou!
"After that, Your Majesty sent the army to Guan City to quell the rebellion. After the rebels were executed, I stayed in Henan Province to pacify the people and investigate the officials who colluded with the Cui family. A total of 33 officials were found, and all the evidence was conclusive. These people have now been detained in the Supreme Court's prison and await Your Majesty's judgment! I was fortunate to have completed my mission in Henan Province, and I'm here today to present the imperial edict! "
At the end of his speech, Wei Zheng bowed and cupped his hands.
Li Er nodded and said in a deep voice, "Minister Wei's journey was extremely difficult and dangerous. In order to clean up the Henan Province, you risked your life many times. I'm very touched. Thanks to your efforts, Henan Province can be restored to its former glory. I've decided to confer you the title of Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince, Jinziguang Lu Daifu, and grant you three hundred households ~!"
Wei Zheng bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty ~! However, when I was on my way back, I saw that many farmlands had encountered a very serious drought. Many people were carrying water from the river to irrigate the land. I'm sure Your Majesty will order the Ministry of Revenue to transfer money and the Ministry of Works to send craftsmen to help the people dredge the ditches and alleviate the drought! "
When Li Er heard this, he frowned and said, "I have long known about this matter. In a few days, the imperial court will allocate manpower, material, and financial resources to order the local government to help the people dredge the ditches and ensure that the low-lying farmland can be irrigated by the river!"
Wei Zheng heaved a sigh of relief and cupped his hands, "Your Majesty is wise! In this way, the drought can be alleviated to the greatest extent and the losses of the people can be reduced! "
Obviously, Wei Zheng also understood that with the current level of drought, it was impossible to take care of all the farmlands. Some of the farmlands that could not be reached by the ditches could only rely on the people to carry water themselves ~!
"Hehe! Who said that the farmlands on higher ground can't be irrigated? From what I know, the Marquis of Yong 'an knows how to build a self-moving overturned cart to carry water from the lower ground to the higher ground ~! "
Cheng Yaojin couldn't help but show off at this time.
Today's morning court was all about other people being rewarded. Cheng Yaojin already felt that it was quite boring. Now that he finally found such an opportunity to show off, how could he miss it?
In the early days of the Tang Empire, the imperial court was still relatively free. Cheng Yaojin said something without any reason, and no one blamed him. Instead, everyone looked at him with shining eyes. Old Cheng had jumped from a role of "soy sauce" in today's morning court to the main character!
Li Zexuan couldn't help but cover his face. In his heart, he thought that Old Cheng was really impatient. The waterwheel hasn't even been built yet, and you're already bragging about it. Isn't it a little too early to brag?
"High Duke Lu, is what you said true? Is there really such a thing as a self-moving overturned cart that can carry water? "
Wei Zheng looked at Cheng Yaojin excitedly and asked.
Although Cheng Yaojin always bickered with him on normal days, Wei Zheng still knew to put aside those personal feelings when it came to matters of right and wrong.
"Pfft ~!"
Cheng Yaojin sneered and said proudly, "I, Old Cheng, speak with every word. Do you think I'll deceive you, Wei Xuancheng ~? If you don't believe me, you can ask the Marquis of Yong 'an! "
This attitude, it was as if he was the one who wanted to build the waterwheel!
Wei Zheng couldn't be bothered to bicker with this old fellow. He quickly turned his gaze to Li Zexuan. At this moment, Li Er finally couldn't help but ask, "Marquis Yong 'an, is what Cheng Zhijie said just now true?"
Li Zexuan knew that he couldn't continue to keep a low profile. He walked out of the group of civil officials and bowed. "Your Majesty, there is indeed such a thing. This subject calls this overturned cart a waterwheel. It doesn't need a person to step on the pedals. It relies completely on water power to move. However, these are just some ideas in this subject's mind. It hasn't been built yet. Your Majesty, please give this subject a few days. By then, we will know if this method is feasible ~! "
Hearing Li Zexuan say it with such certainty, all the officials couldn't help but be shocked. Wei Zheng was so excited that his entire body trembled. He muttered, "There's hope. There's hope for the commoners now!"
Li Er was also shocked. He looked at Li Zexuan with a burning gaze and said, "Waterwheel? Good! In the next few days, I order you to focus on developing this waterwheel. If you do well, I will reward you handsomely ~! "
"This subject obeys the decree!"
Li Zexuan bowed and said.
After saying this, he couldn't help but look at Cheng Yaojin with hidden bitterness. He had only casually mentioned the improved waterwheel in the morning. Whether it could be built successfully, even he didn't know. However, now that Cheng Yaojin had done this, the entire court knew about it. No matter what, he had to build the waterwheel and build it successfully!
… … …
After the morning court, he came out of the palace. He didn't have time to chat with Cheng Yaojin, Qin Qiong, and the other elders. Wei Zheng urged Li Zexuan to quickly go back and develop the waterwheel.
"Marquis Yong 'an, the drought is like fire. Please, for the sake of the commoners, quickly build the waterwheel you mentioned! Otherwise, who knows how many commoners will have no harvest this year! This old man's heart hurts to see it! "
Although Wei Zheng didn't explicitly urge Li Zexuan to scram back to Yun Mountain, his resentful gaze still made Li Zexuan feel uncomfortable. Therefore, Li Zexuan quickly cupped his hands in response and immediately rode back to Yun Mountain!
Although Wei Zheng sometimes liked to be stubborn, this old man was thinking of the commoners from the bottom of his heart. It was also because of this that Li Zexuan respected Wei Zheng.
"Husband, you're back ~?"
Han Yuxi saw that Li Zexuan had returned and hurriedly went up to him and said.
"En! Wife, your husband has some things to do. I won't be eating lunch! Don't let anyone disturb me in the study ~! "
Li Zexuan said to his wife and hurriedly went to the study.
He had to quickly draw up the blueprint of the improved waterwheel!
Not only did Wei Zheng know that the drought was like fire, he also knew.
… … …
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