Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 691: Waterwheel Again

After discussing with Rong Jin, she wrote down the detailed method of making a vertical well water truck in a production manual, and asked Uncle Zhao to make a more miniature vertical well water truck.

Along with the instructions for making it, he sent guards to deliver it to Shangjing City at full speed. Of course, along with it, there was also a heartfelt "request" from Hualei, asking the Ministry of Industry to help make the vertical well waterwheel.

Twenty days later, Lord Pei, who had already returned to Beijing, received a miniature vertical well water wheel sent by his guards. He carefully read the water wheel manufacturing book written by Hua Lei and tested it himself, but found no problems.

He looked at the request written by Hualei again, shook his head, and sneered. The next day, Lord Pei took the vertical waterwheel and the production book to the imperial study.

As for the sincere and heartfelt request written by Hua Lei, it was thrown aside by Lord Pei. To be a minister, one must be loyal. To please the boss, one must be sincere. However, this degree must be grasped well. If it is not grasped well, it is flattery.

Hualei's seemingly sincere letter of request might be useful to Mrs. Pei, but it would not be enough to show it to the king of a country.

If the king of a country would waste money and manpower to send you a water truck thousands of miles away just because of your sweet talk, it would be absolutely impossible. This letter of request is nothing but superfluous.

In the imperial study, Emperor Shengwu, who had just finished his lunch break, was sitting at his desk, flipping through the memorials submitted by his ministers. Things in Mobei were going very smoothly.

Although the newly-appointed officials are not as outstanding as the first group, they are performing their duties in an orderly manner.

Several villages under Mobei County now have other sources of income besides the income from the fields, and rabbit breeding has become the pillar industry of the entire Mobei County.

A series of things derived from raising rabbits not only ensured that hundreds of people in Mobei County had enough food and clothing, but also provided them with cash.

The previously ordinary villages such as Luwei Village and Maozhu Village have also found a new path that suits their own villages. The new residents also have their own ways of making a living, and the textile village and weaving village are still expanding in size.

Now, the living standards of the people in Mobei have caught up with those in the neighboring Modong County, and their houses have been built.

The breeding of rabbits has greatly enriched people's dining tables and formed a good complementary relationship with the breeding of cattle and sheep in Modong County.

The industrial tax revenue generated by this should not be underestimated either. The tax revenue in Mobei rose sharply last year. Looking at the total tax revenue on the memorial, Emperor Shengwu was filled with joy.

Even the medicinal herbs planted on the barren hills in the prisoner village of Zhao'an have begun to yield a harvest. The Huimin Pharmacy in the north no longer needs to ask the capital for supplies. Instead, it has sent a lot of medicinal herbs from the north to fill the Imperial Medical Bureau in the capital.

What made Emperor Shengwu even happier was that the population in Mobei had greatly increased in the past two years, and the number of newborns was growing rapidly in batches.

Emperor Shengwu was very pleased with the good response to his policy on widow remarriage. He decided that the official school in Xinshengzhou should immediately start sending books for the imperial examination.

The state school needs to continue to work hard, so that these newborns can learn the characters and culture of the Great Sheng Dynasty from an early age and become true people of the Great Sheng Dynasty.

When Eunuch Fu came in and carefully reported that when Lord Pei asked for an audience, Emperor Shengwu was very pleased. So Lord Pei came in carrying a vertical waterwheel.

"The old marquis came back on time? I heard that he sent his great-grandson to Western Xinjiang in a rage, but later he became so happy there that he didn't want to leave?" Emperor Shengwu joked before the old marquis Pei could salute.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me for laughing. I am terrified." Old Marquis Pei also laughed.

"What good stuff has the Marquis brought again? What is this?" Emperor Shengwu saw the mini water wheel in the hand of Marquis Pei.

It was only about the height of an adult's knee, but it was very delicate. The original wood was polished very smoothly and swayed slightly in the hands of Old Marquis Pei.

"Your Majesty, this is the vertical well water truck brought back by Xichang prefect Hua. I heard from Hua that Xichang prefecture has high temperatures all year round and little rainfall, and the several prefectures below often experience droughts.

Therefore, after Lord Hua arrived in Xichang Prefecture, he decided to dig wells in several state capitals to combat drought based on the terrain. This waterwheel was specially designed to be used in conjunction with the wells to irrigate farmland.

Mr. Hua tried it in Xichang Prefecture and the result was quite good. When my great-grandson Jinnian saw it, he loved it.

Therefore, Master Hua thought of His Majesty's grandson and thought that the child might like it, so he made one and sent it to His Majesty. "Your Majesty, please take a look. Do you think it will please you?"

Lord Pei put the vertical waterwheel on the ground, and the body of the waterwheel shook naturally.

"Made by Prefect Hua?" Emperor Shengwu had already stood up and approached the waterwheel. Eunuch Fu beside him had already brought in half a bucket of water and put it on the waterwheel to serve as a well. In addition, he took another empty bucket and put it aside.

Old Lord Pei stepped forward, slightly adjusted the position of the waterwheel and the two buckets, then pressed the pedal on one side with his hand, and the mini waterwheel began to turn with a humming sound.

Buckets that were only bigger than an adult's fist were lowered into the well one by one, drawing water, raising it, and pouring it out in an orderly and continuous manner, and the water in the empty buckets next to them was increasing.

"What a clever idea! Magistrate Hua is smart and loves the people. This waterwheel is much more convenient than that windlass." Emperor Shengwu put his hand on the pedal of the waterwheel, pressed it a few times himself, and was full of praise.

“Lord Hua does have some clever ideas, but it is not certain whether this vertical well waterwheel can really be used for farmland irrigation and benefit the people.

Pei Tongzhi said that this waterwheel looked easy to make, but it was very difficult to make. The craftsmanship of the craftsmen in the workshop of Xichang Prefecture was still a little poor.

This time when the two of them went there, they discovered that the ordinary waterwheel they made a few years ago was inefficient due to deviations in the manufacturing process.

Many water wheels are left idle in the fields, not playing their due irrigation role, what a pity. "Old Marquis Pei sighed deeply.

"Really?" Emperor Shengwu straightened up and frowned.

"I dare not speak rashly. This is what Pei Tongzhi saw in the fields himself. Alas! The craftsmanship of a prefecture-level city is so poor, not to mention the state and county towns below.

The waterwheel is neither difficult nor easy. So, if Mr. Hua wants to truly apply this ingenious idea to agricultural irrigation, there is still a long way to go!

At the beginning, the first waterwheel made by the Ministry of Industry in Shangjing City also had a lot of reduced efficiency due to the deviation of the manufacturing process. "The voice of Lord Pei was a little regretful.