Ang Lee had beauties to serve him, so he spent the night very pleasantly. The pirate leader, on the other hand, was in too much pain. He had poured the night incense for an entire day and was so tired that his bones were about to fall apart. Only after the sky had darkened did he have a chance to rest. And the place he rested at was actually a cowshed. There were two yellow oxen inside, and he had to sleep with them.
In order to prevent him from escaping, he was chained to his body. The chains were much stronger than the ropes used to tie up the oxen. No matter how capable the pirate leader was, he could forget about escaping.
When it was time to work, the chains on the pirate leader's body would be removed. But before that, he had to put on shackles on his legs. The shackles on his legs were also very strong, and the distance between them was very limited. This made it so that the pirate leader could only walk in small steps and not in large strides. If he took a slightly larger stride, he would fall. In this way, there was a high chance that the pirate leader could not escape.
The pirate leader was very pained to be under such strict surveillance. Even when he slept, he was chained up. As such, it would be very difficult for him to escape. But he believed that this was only temporary. As long as the most difficult days passed, the common people would slowly forget about him. Then, he would pretend to be a fool. Perhaps after a few months, the surveillance on him would be relaxed. At that time, he would have a chance to escape.
Of course, this was only the pirate leader's one-sided thinking. Things might not go according to his plan. Ang Lee had already made arrangements. After a month of work, the pirate leader would be sent to the quarry to collect stones with his brothers. There was a lot of work to be done every day, and the surveillance was also very strict. He could forget about escaping for the rest of his life.
Early the next morning, Ang Lee's fleet left Xipu County and continued along the Wenshui. As they were nearing Yizhou, there were even more ships on the river, especially merchant ships. Many of the ships were packed with goods.
The next stop in Xipu County was Chengdu. Chengdu was once the capital of the Shu Han regime. It was once so glorious. But now, Chengdu was just a small county. But because it was very close to Jiannan Circuit's governing center, Yizhou City, it was developing quite well.
"Assistant Minister Li, Dujiangyan is just ahead."
The boatman kindly reminded him.
In Central Sichuan, Dujiangyan was a very important place. It was also an important water conservancy project in Central Sichuan.
Ang Lee had already noticed that there were buildings along the river ahead. It turned out that he had arrived at Dujiangyan without setting up a layout. Since it was not easy to come here, he had to properly appreciate the scenery.
Dujiang Weir was designed and built by Li Bing, the governor of Shu County during the Qin Dynasty. In the early stages of construction, Dujiang Weir was called Bi 'an. This was because the Yulei Mountain beside Dujiang Weir was called Bi' an in the Qin and Han Dynasties. At that time, the main people living around Dujiang Weir were the Di Qiang people. They called the weir Bi 'an, so Dujiang Weir was called Bi' an.
During the Shu Han Dynasty of the Three Kingdoms, the Dujiangyan area was set up as Duan County. Because of the county name, Dujiangyan was called Duan Yan. At the same time, it was also called the Golden Dike. This was the function of the Fish Mouth Diversion Dike, using the dike instead of the dam as the name.
In the Tang Dynasty, Dujiang Weir was renamed Duwei Weir. This was because the main method and materials used to build the dike was to break bamboo into a cage with a diameter of three feet. Using stone as the center, it was tired and blocked the water. Using the bamboo cage to hold the stone was called Duwei.
It was not until the Song Dynasty that Dujiang Weir was mentioned for the first time in the history of the Song Dynasty. "The Yong Kang Army built Dujiang Weir and used the stone snake to block the water from the river to irrigate the fields of several counties."
As for the origin of the name Dujiang, "Shu River Exam" said, "The Fu River is called Chengdu River. It has two sources, namely Pi River and Liu River." Liu River was another name for Jianjiang. The Fu River on the Chengdu Plains was Pi River, and the Nan River was Jianjiang. Upstream of them was the Baitiao River and Zouma River.
The "Kuo Di Zhi" said, "Dujiang is Chengdu River." Starting from the Song Dynasty, the entire Dujiang Weir water conservancy system was summarized and called Dujiang Weir. This was a more accurate representation of the entire water conservancy system, and it was still used today.
As for why Li Bing wanted to build Dujiang Weir, Ang Lee was naturally very clear. It was because in the ancient Central Sichuan region, floods and droughts were very serious. Floods and droughts frequently occurred, causing the nearby people to suffer unspeakably.
In the famous poem "The Difficult Way of Shu", Poet Immortal Li Bai said, "Silkworms and fish fly, why is the founding of a country at a loss?", and "People become fish and turtles", sighs and laments and miserable situations. This was a true portrayal of that era. This situation was caused by the harsh natural conditions of the Min River and Chengdu Plains.
Wenshui was a large tributary of the upper reaches of the river. It flowed through the Central Sichuan Basin, and the western part was the Tang dynasty's rainy area. It originated from the southern foot of the Min Mountain at the border of Central Sichuan and Guanzhong. It was divided into the East Source and the West Source. The East Source came from the Gonggan Ridge, and the West Source came from the Langjia Ridge. The two sources converged at the Zhangla Dam in Songpan. It flowed south through Songpan County, Dujiang Weir, and Leshan in Sichuan before joining the river at Yibin. Its total length was nearly eight hundred kilometers, and its drainage area was extremely vast.
Wenshui was the largest tributary of the upper reaches of the river. Above Dujiang Weir was the upper reaches, and from Dujiang Weir to Leshan was the middle reaches. It flowed through the Chengdu Plains and, together with the Tuo River system and many man-made river networks, formed the Dujiang Weir Irrigation District. Below Leshan was the lower reaches, and it was mainly used for shipping. Wenshui had more than ninety large and small tributaries. The upper reaches had the Black Water and the Mixed Grain Brain Water. The middle reaches had the Dujiang Weir Irrigation District's water, the Golden Horse Water, the Zhouma Water, the Cypress Tiao Water, and the Puyang Water. The lower reaches had the Tsing Yi Water and the Dadu Water. The main source of water came from the steep mountains on the right bank. The large tributaries overflowed from the gaps between the mountains on the right bank. The rainfall was mainly concentrated in the rainy season, so the Wenshui rose and fell rapidly.
The Wenshui flowed south from the west side of the Chengdu Plains. To the entire Chengdu Plains, it was an underground suspended river, and it was extremely suspended. The entire terrain of the Chengdu Plains began at the Yulei Mountain at the mouth of the Wenshui and inclined to the southeast. The slope was very large. Dujiang Weir was a hundred li away from Chengdu, but the drop was nearly three hundred meters. In ancient times, whenever the Wenshui flooded, the Chengdu Plains would become a vast ocean. Whenever there was a drought, the land would become barren, and not a single grain could be harvested. The Wenshui flood had long affected the Western Plains, swallowing up fertile land and disturbing the people's livelihood. It became a large obstacle to the survival and development of Gu Shu.
The construction of the Dujiang Weir had its own specific historical roots. During the Warring States Period, soldiers rose and wars broke out. The people who had suffered greatly from the wars longed for China to be reunited as soon as possible. Coincidentally, after Shang Yang's reform, the Qin Dynasty produced many famous rulers and virtuous ministers, and the country's power grew by the day. They correctly recognized the special strategic position of Ba and Shu in the process of reuniting China. "If you obtain Shu, you obtain Chu. If Chu dies, the world will be united." Under this historical background, at the end of the Warring States Period, King Zhao of Qin appointed Li Bing, who knew astronomy, geography, and lived in seclusion, as the Governor of Shu County. After Li Bing took office, he first decided to cure the Wenshui flood and develop agriculture in Western Sichuan to benefit the Chengdu Plains, creating an economic foundation for the Qin Dynasty to unify China.
Thus, the reason why the Dujiang Weir was built was to control the floods and droughts in Central Sichuan. It would allow Central Sichuan to always have good weather and become a land of fish and rice, thus increasing the strength of an empire.
"The Dujiang Weir is a great project. It turned Central Sichuan, which was plagued by disasters, into a land of abundance. This is all thanks to Li Bing!"
Ang Lee looked at the Dujiang Weir and said.
The boatman nodded his head and said, "Assistant Minister Li is right. Our Central Sichuan people will never forget Li Bing. Not far from here is the Temple of the Two Kings. Inside are Li Bing and his son."
"Li Bing and his son are the two kings?"
Ang Lee asked.
The boatman smiled and shook his head. "No, no, Li Bing and his son are only one of them. This temple also enshrines True Lord Erlang. Their birthdays are close, but it's not their birthdays yet. There won't be many people in the temple. On the day of their birthdays, the Temple of the Two Kings will be very lively. Many people can only stand outside and can't squeeze in."
According to legend, the 24th day of the sixth lunar month was True Lord Erlang's birthday. Two days later was Li Bing's birthday. It was a time when birds were singing and flowers were fragrant. People who had been blessed by the Dujiang Weir came out of their homes and came to the Temple of the Two Kings to burn incense and offer sacrifices. They remembered the founders of the Dujiang Weir, Li Bing and his son. The Daoist temple hosted a grand ceremony for "Lord Qingyuan Miaodao" and set up the Daoist temple for three days. In later years, the temple fair of the Temple of the Two Kings not only added singing and dancing performances, Sichuan Opera performances and other unique skills such as face-changing in Sichuan Opera. Every year, the Temple of the Two Kings would be filled with smoke and clouds and tens of thousands of people would worship. It was an unprecedented grand occasion, not less than the past.
In addition, there was a Water Release Festival in Dujiang Weir, which was also a very important festival in Central Sichuan. Because Li Bing presided over the creation of the Dujiang Weir, the Western Sichuan Plain that had suffered from floods and droughts for a long time suddenly became rich and popular. The people's gratitude to him was unforgettable.
For more than two thousand years, Li Bing and his son had brought blessings to the Country of the Heavenly Province, which had been revered and appreciated by the people. The Temple of the Two Kings had not only been filled with incense, but also had memorial activities presided over by the officials and the people. The official memorial activities were more grand. The early ones were very grand and had a very grand tradition of blood sacrifice. Later generations replaced it with the Qingming Water Release Festival, which had become a unique custom of the Dujiang Weir.
"There are people on the island ahead?"
Li An asked when he saw the house on the island in front of him.
The boatman replied, "Assistant Minister Li, that's an inn. It provides convenience for passing merchant ships. Passing merchant ships can get water from the well, buy some food, fish, shrimp, and so on. You can also stay there to eat. It's just that the price here is slightly more expensive, at least 30% more expensive than other places. Ordinary people who don't need it especially won't eat and drink here."
It was understandable that the price was a little higher. After all, the inn opened here had a certain emergency nature, and it was very convenient. The cost was also slightly higher, so the price of the goods would naturally be a little higher. There was nothing to make a fuss about.
Moreover, Ang Lee felt that this island could be regarded as a scenic spot in Dujiang Weir. No matter what era, the price of a scenic spot would be relatively high. 30% more was normal. Otherwise, what was the point of it?
In fact, Wenshui itself was relatively clean. It could be used to wash vegetables and cook, but there was still a gap between it and well water. No matter how clean the river water was, it couldn't be cleaner than well water. For some people who were more particular, they preferred well water. Moreover, the well water on the island had a sweet taste.
When passing by the island, it wouldn't cost much to replenish some clean well water. After all, well water was inexhaustible. The island was surrounded by water, and the well water was obtained after being filtered by the river water. As long as the river water around the island didn't stop flowing, the well water on the island wouldn't dry up. This was simply a business without any cost. Therefore, the price of well water was naturally lower. If the customer was willing to draw water themselves, the price could be reduced by half. After all, drawing water was also a very tiring task. Rather than saying that it was selling well water, it was better to say that it was selling labor. Well water had no cost, but labor did.
"I heard that the well water on the island is very sweet. Is that true?"
Ang Lee asked.
The boatman smiled and said, "Sweet? The well water on this island is indeed sweet. Otherwise, it wouldn't be sold for money! Hehe! "
Obviously, the boatman felt that it wasn't right to sell well water for money. The well water was natural and produced continuously. It wasn't something that the store had worked hard to produce or buy. How could something without any cost be sold for money? Under the condition that the well water's quality was particularly good, it was understandable that it would be sold for money.
"Since the well water on this island is particularly sweet, let's go and have a sip!"
Ang Lee suddenly wanted to drink well water and said.
"Okay!"
The boatman rowed the boat to the island. There were many boats in the fleet, but the island's dock wasn't big. It could only stop half of the boats. Moreover, there were still some boats that hadn't left yet. Therefore, more boats could only stay outside.
Ang Lee let the remaining boats move forward, except for his own boat and two fast boats. Anyway, these boats were too slow. He could catch up with them later.
The area of the island wasn't very big, but it still had an area of a few hundred acres. It might even reach the level of a thousand acres. Ang Lee only looked at it with his eyes and didn't use any tools to measure it. Naturally, he couldn't get the results. However, the island was indeed not small and its area was considerable.
In addition to a simple port near the waterway, there were also inns and houses on the island. The inns were prepared for the passing merchant ships, and the houses were basically the houses of the nearby fishermen. These fishermen fished nearby every day. The small and worthless fish were kept for their own consumption, and the big and expensive ones were sold to the inns. If they were lucky, they could also be sold directly to the passing merchant ships for a higher income.
There were very few residents living here, only a dozen or so families. In addition to fishing, they also opened up some farmland, mainly planting vegetables and fruits. Except for a few for their own consumption, most of these were sold to the inns. If a guest came to buy, they would naturally sell it, but the price was slightly more expensive than selling it to the inns. Fishing and growing vegetables were all the income of these people. Although they were relatively poor, the scenery here was excellent. The people living here lived very happily.
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