Although wood was relatively flammable, different wood had completely different flammability. For example, tree trunks thicker than a person's waist were not so easily ignited by small sparks, while those very thin twigs and split firewood were relatively more flammable. As long as they encountered a small spark, they could be ignited.
Because of the different dangers, the requirements for piling up were also different. Thick tree trunks could be piled up slightly more, while twigs and firewood could be piled up much less. They had to be scattered as much as possible.
In addition, in the gaps between the piles of firewood, there had to be more water tanks filled with water. In this way, once a fire broke out, it could be extinguished immediately to avoid a fire.
At this moment, there was not a single water tank next to the pile of firewood. This was obviously very inappropriate. A few more water tanks had to be added. Otherwise, once a fire broke out, the losses would be too great. Some firewood was not worth much, but it was very time-consuming to obtain a large amount of firewood again. The cost of time would be relatively high, so it was better to avoid an accident.
"It's not enough to separate the pile of firewood. Prepare more water tanks. If there aren't enough terracotta tanks, use wooden tanks. With so much wood here, it shouldn't be difficult to make more wooden tanks."
Ang Lee pointed to the place where the pile of firewood was piled up and said.
Most of the tens of thousands of road building troops were farmers, hunters, and woodcutters. Naturally, there were also craftsmen like carpenters and bricklayers. Without carpenters, it was impossible to process the sleepers. Carpenters could also use wood to make water tanks. There was no need for very thick wood. Generally, the finer wood could also be processed into water tanks. There was a lot of wood here, so there was no shortage of carpenters. Temporarily making hundreds or thousands of wooden barrels was not a problem at all. This task could be completed easily.
"Yes, Assistant Minister Li. This official will arrange it right away."
One of the subordinates said.
Although the place where the firewood was piled was only one li away from the river, and it was not difficult to get water, placing a water source next to the pile of firewood made it more convenient to get water. It was more effective in preventing a fire.
For the construction of the railway, Ang Lee was most worried about fire. There was too much wood, and the slightest carelessness would lead to heavy losses. Just in case, the most reliable method was to store more water nearby.
Due to the need to burn a large area of forest, the surrounding air quality was extremely bad. Many people suffered from coughing, especially the older people. The frequency of coughing was much higher than the younger people. However, these were definitely temporary. As long as the nearby forest was completely burned, the air quality would quickly return to normal. At that time, this situation would occur.
There were a lot of machines in the Tang dynasty, but the total number of machines was still too small compared to the demand. For example, the construction of the railway here was almost entirely dependent on manpower and energy storage. There were no machines at all. All the materials needed were transported by flatbed carts and ships. Even the cutting of trees and making of sleepers were manually sawed out with saws and then polished with planes.
Using manpower to do these things was far less efficient than using machines. Therefore, in order to not affect the progress, the only measure was to increase the labor force. Only with more labor force could the problems caused by the low efficiency of manpower be made up.
Because the sleepers were relatively large, the craftsmen needed two people to work together to saw the wood. Even with two people working together, they were still sweating profusely and had to drink water every hour or so. Otherwise, they would not be able to stand the thirst.
Because it was too time-consuming to get water from the well, the workmen drank the water from the river nearby. Someone specially went to pick the water and stored it in the water tank next to the workmen. When the workmen were thirsty, they would drink it directly.
These workmen were probably used to this behavior, but Ang Lee felt that it was very inappropriate. These people drank the water directly, which was too unhygienic. It would be bad if they were infected with diseases.
"I just saw someone pour the water from the river into this bucket, and the workmen drank it directly. How can they drink the water from the river? It's not clean! "
Ang Lee said.
Although the Wenshui at this time was relatively clean and looked very clear, it was not polluted at all. But even if it looked clean, there were many eggs of animals in it. Eating the eggs of animals could easily cause diseases. It was obvious that the river water could not be drunk casually.
"Assistant Minister Li, the workmen here are used to it. When they do farm work, they also drink the water from the river directly. Nothing has happened. There should be no problem."
An official said.
Obviously, in the Tang dynasty, many people liked to drink the water from the river. It seemed that in the hearts of these people, there was no difference between the water from the river and the water from the well. They were both needed to quench their thirst.
After all, the river water in ancient times was relatively clean. There was no heavy industrial pollution, and the ancient people's body resistance was very strong. Therefore, under normal circumstances, drinking the water from the river would not cause diseases. There was only a small probability that they would have diarrhea. Therefore, the people naturally drank the water from the river without any scruples, especially when they were working by the river. As long as they were thirsty, they could directly drink the water from the river. It was very convenient.
Ang Lee also understood that the official was telling the truth. These people had long been used to drinking the water from the river, so there was nothing wrong with it. But Ang Lee still felt that they should not drink the water from the river casually. This place was close to the forest, and the miasma virus might not only exist in the forest. The water in the river might also have the virus, but the content was not high. People with low resistance could still be infected. Therefore, it was not appropriate to drink the water from the river casually.
"It's still too dangerous. Can the water in the river be clean? Is there no well water? If there's no other way, we can boil the water! There's a lot of firewood. The water has to be boiled before drinking. We can't let the workmen drink the water. "
Ang Lee said.
Others might not know the risks of drinking unboiled water, but how could Li An not know? The risk of drinking unboiled water was too great. The slightest carelessness could cause one to get sick. Even if it was just a minor illness like diarrhea, it would delay one's work. It was naturally better not to get sick.
"Yes, this official will arrange it."
An official said.
The fire water tank could be made of wood. If they wanted to boil water, they had to use pottery tanks. Of course, iron pots and iron kettles were better, but there were too many workmen here. There was a lack of tools for boiling water, and there were not enough kettles for the boiled water. He was afraid that the workmen could only drink cold water.
But even cold water was far better than drinking the water from the river directly. As long as it was boiled, the parasites in the river would be completely killed. In this way, people would not get sick.
Naturally, the small number of laborers who were recruited nearby could return home every day. As for those who were more than twenty miles away, they could only eat and live in the work area. There were a large number of tents here, and each tent had at least a dozen laborers living in it.
The weather was still relatively cold, and the tent was only a thin layer of rainproof cloth. It was still relatively cold inside, but the craftsmen had already brought enough bedding to resist the cold when they set off from home. It was enough to resist the cold.
There were no decent beds in the tent, at least most of them were like this. The reason was very simple. There were too many people. If everyone had to prepare a wooden bed, it would consume a lot of resources. However, the ground was too cold and dirty after all. Therefore, some wooden planks were also prepared. When these wooden planks were piled together, a simple bed was made. For the commoners who were used to suffering, this was not a big deal. After suffering for a few months, it would be over.
The diameter of the tent was large, but the height was only the height of a person. At this height, it was impossible to set up two beds. Moreover, there were no such beds in this era of the Tang dynasty. They were all one-story tents with a path in the middle and five or six beds on both sides. In this way, more than a dozen people were settled.
Because it was filled with quilts brought by the commoners and some other things, it looked a little messy and did not look presentable. The smell was also quite strong. Many commoners would throw their unwashed socks directly in the tent, so one could imagine the smell.
Ang Lee stepped into a tent and immediately smelled a very unpleasant smell. This was a kind of unpleasant smell mixed with the smell of stench, mildew, spicy, and salted vegetables. The stench was naturally the smell of smelly socks and smelly clothes. The smell of mildew was the smell of the quilt. This place was close to the river, so it was normal for the quilt to be a little moldy.
The smell of spicy and salty was even simpler. When these common people set out from home, they brought some dry food, steamed buns, chili sauce, and salted vegetables. The smell of spicy and salty was the smell of the chili sauce.
With so many smells mixed together, that kind of unpleasant smell could be imagined. It was really unpleasant, and the smell was also very strong. Even if Ang Lee was wearing a mask, he was still very uncomfortable after entering the tent.
"The smell in this tent is really not small!"
After Ang Lee entered the tent, he couldn't help but cover his nose. The smell was too unpleasant.
Several officials behind him also covered their noses. They also couldn't stand the smell.
The tents where the common people lived only had a small entrance. There were no windows in the tents, so the ventilation and ventilation were very poor. In addition, there were so many sundries in the tents, so it was normal for the smell to be stronger. If there was enough space for ventilation, it would be cold at night.
Ang Lee couldn't help but sigh at the living conditions of these common people. The conditions in these tents were not like a place for people to live, but a place for animals to live.
Could the temporary living conditions of the common people be improved? Of course, it could be improved, but it would require a large amount of resources. In this way, not only would it cost a lot of money, but it would also delay a lot of time. It would more or less delay the progress of the road construction. However, if the living conditions were not improved, the chances of the road construction workers falling sick would be even higher. This was very contradictory. It seemed that it was not good to think of a way to improve it or not to care at all.
"Assistant Minister Li, the road construction period is too tight. If we mobilize a large amount of labor to build wooden houses, it will delay a lot of time, and it will be difficult to complete the road construction on time. The imperial court also allocated a limited amount of money, so we can only spend it sparingly."
An official complained bitterly.
Ang Lee nodded in understanding and said, "This official naturally understands. However, there are so many of them. If they don't eat well and sleep well, they won't have the strength to work, and it will also delay the construction period. Let them live more comfortably, eat better, and work efficiency will increase a lot."
"This …"
The many officials behind him had awkward expressions. Perhaps there really was a difficulty! Or perhaps they did not quite agree with Ang Lee's words. They felt that the common people's lives were very tough. Even if they slept in such a bad environment, they could still have a good rest and would not delay anything. Ang Lee was used to being superior. He could not stand such a bad environment, but the common people would not feel uncomfortable.
"This official knows that you have difficulties, so I won't force you to do anything. If you have the strength to do so, try to improve it as much as you can! Even if you can't complete it on time, as long as you have done your best, this official will plead for you. The imperial court will not punish you. Rest assured. "
Ang Lee said. It was a reassurance to these officials, so they did not have to worry too much. The imperial court's laws were very strict. If they could not complete the task on time, many officials in charge would be punished. At the very least, it would be impossible to use this to gain merit.
"Yes, Assistant Minister Li. We will definitely find a way to solve their living conditions. We will solve as much as we can. The smell here is too strong. Let's go out!"
One of the minor officials leading the group said.
Ang Lee could not stay any longer. He nodded and walked out.
After walking out of the tent, he could finally take a breath of fresh air. The feeling of walking out of the smelly place to a place with fresh air was really very good.
The smell in the tent was not much better than the toilet. This was the residence of the most common commoners. The environment here was far worse than the houses in the quarantine area. The people who lived in the quarantine area were all patients who were infected with the miasma. These patients needed better care. Therefore, these officials wanted to make flat beds for them and build bigger and better houses. As for the commoners who were not sick, they could only find a random wooden plank to cushion their bodies.
Li An continued to check several ordinary tents. The conditions were almost the same. Inside, they were all smelly. The situation on the ground was even worse. Some people didn't even have a flat wooden board under their bedding. There were only some thin branches of different thicknesses. On top of the thin branches, there was only a thin layer of blanket. When people slept at night, lying on the thin blanket would definitely cause their backs to hurt.
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