Ang Lee attached great importance to the matter of doctors and assistants being infected by the miasma. These people had come all the way from the capital to save lives. They were the hope of the workers who had been infected by the miasma. If their safety could not be guaranteed, the workers' safety could not be guaranteed. From this, it could be seen how terrible the miasma was. If the protection was not in place, it would be easy to be infected.
At this moment, the most fortunate thing was that the stock of medicinal materials was sufficient. There were enough medicinal materials within a radius of a hundred miles. The local province and county had also mobilized a large number of doctors to the road building area to cooperate with the doctors and assistants of the Imperial Physician Bureau to prevent and treat the miasma together. It was also them who proposed to burn a large area of the forest.
When the responsibility of stopping the spread of the miasma fell on the shoulders of these doctors and assistants, their first suggestion was to cancel the road building from here so that the workers could avoid contact with the miasma in the forest. However, the road building was a century-old project of the imperial court, and it could not be stopped because of the miasma. This suggestion naturally could not be passed and was ruthlessly rejected. Then, after careful research, these doctors and assistants proposed to burn the forest that produced the miasma. This time, they won the support of the imperial court. After all, the high-ranking officials of the imperial court could not think of a more perfect way. The road building could not be stopped, and the miasma was difficult to defend against. Burning the forest that produced the plague was the best and most effective way to solve this big problem once and for all.
Now, the forest that produced the miasma had begun to be controlled and burned in sections. The impact of the miasma had begun to improve significantly. The number of workers who were infected by the miasma every day had begun to decrease, and the morale of the workers had risen a lot. As long as these obstructive forests were burned, they would no longer have to worry about the miasma harming them.
The prevention of the miasma continued, and so did the burning of the forest that produced the miasma. At the same time, the work of road building did not stop. A large number of workers were busy making various materials needed for road building, and a group of workers was busy transporting raw materials and semi-finished products. Naturally, the help of these workers could not be indispensable to burning the forest. Without a large amount of manpower, it was impossible to control the burning of the forest. Everyone was well aware of the consequences of losing control.
"Assistant Minister Li, the people inside are infected. It's better not to go in! It's better to be safe than sorry! "
One of the doctors tried to persuade him again.
These doctors were very clear about the contagion of the disease caused by the miasma. Many doctors and assistants who were well versed in this field were infected. This showed how terrible this disease was. Ang Lee was a high-ranking official sent by the imperial court. If he was infected by the miasma here, the doctors of the Imperial Medical Department would be in trouble. No matter whether it was their responsibility or not, they could not escape.
"Don't worry, you won't be infected just by looking at it. The miasma isn't as scary as you think. I know how to protect myself."
Ang Lee was very familiar with the miasma disease. In the face of such a frightening infectious disease, he naturally did not take it to heart. As long as he took precautions, what was there to worry about?
The relevant road construction officials were afraid of diseases caused by the miasma. The reason why they stopped Ang Lee from entering was not only because they were worried that Ang Lee would be infected, but also because they were worried that they would be infected. How could they not accompany Ang Lee when he entered? He couldn't just wait outside!
Ang Lee knew that these guys were afraid of death, so he did not want to make things difficult for them. He said directly, "You don't have to go in. Wait outside!"
After saying that, he walked in alone, but a few doctors still followed him.
These tents were relatively large. There were more than a dozen infected craftsmen lying in each tent. Only twenty to thirty tents were enough for hundreds of people. There were also extra tents for the doctors and assistants to live in. There were also several tents for food and medicine storage. In this way, there were more than fifty tents here, which looked quite large.
The tents Ang Lee entered were for mild patients. Because the disease was not very serious, these sick craftsmen looked good. Their complexions were normal, but they were slightly haggard.
The temperature in the tents was quite suitable, and the sanitary conditions were good. Letting the sick stay here could get good treatment. Seeing that the doctors could do so well, Ang Lee nodded with satisfaction.
"How do you feel? Where do you feel uncomfortable?"
Ang Lee asked.
"My body was very cold for a while, then very hot for a while. But now, it's much better. It's just that I don't have any strength."
The sick craftsman said.
Ang Lee patted the sick craftsman's shoulder and encouraged him, "Don't have any distracting thoughts. Just lie here and recuperate. The sooner you recover, the sooner you can continue to work on the road and get paid. Haha!"
After saying that, he greeted a few craftsmen and walked out of the tent.
Because he had close contact with the sick when he went in, the first thing Ang Lee did after leaving the tent was to wash his hands. Washing his hands clean could effectively prevent himself from being infected by the miasma. Ang Lee did not want to get infected on this trip.
"You guys have done well. These sick people have received good care. I believe they will recover in half a month. Very good, very good!"
Ang Lee said with satisfaction. Then, he mounted his horse and left, preparing to inspect the place where they were working.
Now, the forest with miasma was burning, and the main project of road construction had come to a halt. But that did not mean that the craftsmen were not working. Everyone took advantage of this time to prepare all kinds of materials for road construction and manufacture all kinds of needed materials.
For example, the road construction needed sleepers and gravel. These all needed to be prepared. First, they had to go to the mountains to mine large stones. After transporting them to the processing site, they only needed to break them to get gravel. Then, they had to transport them to the designated site. The same was true for the sleepers. First, they had to go to the mountains to chop down large trees. Then, they had to process the required square blocks of wood and transport them to the designated site. All of this work was quite time-consuming.
Ang Lee rode his horse. Along the way, he met many craftsmen who were transporting materials. The tools they used were still relatively primitive. They were just two-wheeled carts. Some of the carts were pulled by livestock, while others were directly pulled by manpower. After all, even livestock was not enough. In areas where there were insufficient livestock, they could only use manpower to pull the carts. This would consume more physical strength. Fortunately, there were many people to overcome this difficulty. One person would pull the cart in front, and several people would push from behind.
There were mainly a few types of materials to be transported. There were processed square sleepers, crushed pebbles, unprocessed boulders, and tree trunks. Of course, the most important thing was the rails. These rails were all transported from the capital, and each of them was limited. The team in charge of the transportation had people in charge of escorting them. Even if one rail was missing, it would be a big crime.
The unprocessed materials were all transported to the central processing area. There, a large number of craftsmen were busy breaking large stones with primitive tools. It was really hard work.
The processed materials were transported to different areas and arranged along the railway lines. In this way, they could be used in time when the road was being repaired. It was very convenient and fast, and they didn't have to spend a lot of effort to transport them from afar.
Anyway, at this moment, the main road construction project had not yet started. There was still a lot of labor left. If they were not allowed to work, it would be a waste of human resources.
"These green stones are good! Where did they come from? "
Ang Lee walked to a construction site where the gravel was processed and asked.
"Replying to Assistant Minister Li, these large green stones were transported from Peach Mountain upstream. They were transported by water and land. A total of three thousand people were responsible for transporting these large green stones. There were also more than two thousand people in the mining area and two thousand here. In total, there are more than seven thousand people."
An official said.
Gravel was a very important resource in the construction of the railway. In order to obtain more gravel, so many people were mobilized. The officials had done their best. With more than seven thousand people in charge of making and transporting gravel, Ang Lee could rest assured. There was no need to worry about the lack of these materials.
Those in charge of mining and gravel were all men. However, among the craftsmen in charge of transportation, there was no lack of women and children. If it were not for the lack of manpower, women would not be easily recruited. Moreover, transportation was not easy. Those who had livestock were better off. Those who did not have livestock would be exhausted to death.
From these transportation teams, Ang Lee could also see that these transportation teams were made up of families. Whether it was three or five people in a carriage, they all looked like a family. There were also a variety of livestock. Some were horses, some were donkeys, some were cattle, some were water buffaloes, and many were mules. These were all animals that could pull carriages. Some families had livestock, but some did not. Therefore, there was no way to use livestock to pull carriages. They could only rely on their own strength.
A carriage was coming over. It was pulled by a donkey, followed by four people pushing the carriage. After arriving at the destination, the carriage stopped steadily. The four people began to unload the goods.
These four people were a man in his thirties, a woman of the same age, an old man in his fifties or sixties, and a boy of thirteen or fourteen. At first glance, they were a standard family. The donkey was the livestock raised by this family.
Ang Lee stood by and watched carefully. The middle-aged man did the most work. He had unloaded almost half of the big bluestone. The other three family members did almost the same. Each of them unloaded one-sixth of the big bluestone. The donkey, on the other hand, had a rare chance to rest. It was breathing heavily.
At first glance, this donkey was a young donkey that was only three years old. Its physical strength and figure were very good. With the help of this donkey, the work of this family was relatively easy. However, those families who did not have livestock were under a lot of pressure.
"You are a family, right?"
Ang Lee walked over and asked kindly.
"Yes."
The boy nodded first.
"We transport the big bluestone one by one. Every family has to provide a carriage."
The old man said.
"Not bad! Every family has a carriage. It seems that the people here are quite rich. They are much better off than Ying Zhou. "
Ang Lee said with a smile.
"There is no other way. Without a carriage, we can't do farm work. This carriage is not very valuable. It has been repaired for decades. It is even older than me."
The middle-aged man said with a smile. He looked very simple and honest.
This two-wheeled transport vehicle was indeed very old. It was densely covered with patches.
"It can still be used after decades. It means that the quality is good enough. Hahaha!"
An official joked with a smile.
The old man replied, "When I was young, I chopped trees in the mountains alone. After carrying them back, I made it with my friends from the same village. At that time, I was chopping hundred-year-old mahogany. Naturally, the carriage made from it will last for a few more years."
The people who relied on the mountains and lived near the forests could easily obtain the wood they needed. In this era, the forests did not belong to the imperial court. They did not need the permission of the imperial court to mine the forests. As long as they needed wood, they could directly go to the mountains to chop it. Whoever chopped it would own it. Anyway, the forests in this era were relatively rich. There was an inexhaustible amount of wood. It would be a waste not to chop it.
Ang Lee looked carefully. This carriage was really made of mahogany. It was the best wood! Because it had been used for too long, there were a lot of stains on it. It completely covered the color of the mahogany. In addition, there were a lot of patches. Therefore, when Ang Lee looked at it at first, he did not realize that this two-wheeled carriage was made of precious mahogany. This made Ang Lee sigh at his poor eyesight.
It was too wasteful to use such precious wood to make a carriage for transporting goods. This kind of wood was ridiculously expensive in the future. In this era, it was actually used by the people to make carriages.
"How many people are in your family?"
Ang Lee asked.
The boy said, "Six people. There are my sister and grandmother, a dog, five chickens, and two piglets."
"Haha! Look at how interesting this child is. I asked how many people are in their family. Why did you include chickens, dogs, and pigs? Haha! "
Ang Lee said with a smile.
"Hahaha!"
The people behind him were all amused. This child was also honest. He just wanted to clarify the situation of his family, but he did not expect to suffer a loss.
"Assistant Minister Li, although the mountain people here are not rich, their lives are not bad. Since the imperial court ordered to reduce rent and interest, the lives of the people here have been getting better and better."
An official said.
Ang Lee nodded in agreement. This family was indeed well-off. There were six people in the family, a boy and a girl, a donkey, two piglets, a dog, and five chickens. From what they said just now about doing farm work, it could be inferred that they should have a few acres of land. They should be a well-off family in the Tang dynasty. As long as they did not encounter particularly big obstacles, such as diseases and natural disasters, this family would have no problems.
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