When the second squad leader saw that Lin Yi was losing his energy and that the other soldiers in the squad were also very tired, he said hello, "Take a five-minute break and work on it."
Then he walked to Lin Yi, took off the kettle and handed it over, "Assistant Lin, it's hard to pack this sandbag."
Lin Yi waved his hand, indicating that he was not thirsty, and then said: "It's hard to pretend, the mouth of the sandbag is too small, the soil is too wet, and it's too troublesome to dry."
The second squad leader shrugged, but there were sandbags that were easy to hold. The standardized sandbags had a large mouth and were filled with sand. A shovel was enough to make a shovel.
It won't be like us, when we shovel, the soil will stick to the shovel and we can't pull it out.
But that kind of easy work is not for our second shift, it has already been done by others.
I really don’t know why our superiors asked us to build so many sandbags. It feels really unnecessary.
Besides, non-standardized sandbags like ours are filled with soil obtained from local sources, so they can only be used in emergencies. If nothing else happens, all these sandbags will be scrapped after the rainy season.
.
After listening to the second squad leader's complaints, Lin Yi could understand his mood. This sandbag was really hard to pack.
But I still explained, "After all, our section of the embankment has leaked once, which means that there may be potential dangers. The superiors are also well prepared, so they let us get these non-standardized sandbags. Their requirements for these sandbags are not high, no
Thinking that they can be used as long-term reserves, as long as they can survive this rainy season, the mission of these sandbags will be completed."
"Besides, once the sun comes out, this kind of clay will solidify within a few days. By then, it will be harder than stone, and you won't be able to use it even if you want to."
The second squad leader picked up a piece of clay from the ground and rubbed it, "You are right. The bricks our family used to build houses when we were young are this kind of clay. It is not even as sticky as this. As long as it is dried in the sun, it will be really good."
Harder than stone."
Lin Yi has only heard of adobe houses, but has never seen them with his own eyes. This is not because the village where Lin Yi lived in his childhood was wealthy, but because most of the adobe houses are found in dry places in the north. They are almost not found in humid places in the south.
How can I see an adobe house?
So he asked curiously: "Then your adobe blocks should be more than just clay. After they are dried, they are hard but very brittle. They break when you use force, and you can't build a house."
The second squad leader laughed and said: "How can it be that when making adobe with just clay, you also need to add wheat straw to the clay? Then the dried adobe will be extremely strong. Don't tell me that wheat straw is really tough.
It’s so strong that I can’t stop pulling hard.”
Lin Yi also nodded, "The toughness of wheat straw is indeed strong."
Suddenly, Lin Yi realized that since the toughness of clay and wheat straw is so strong, why can't we start in advance and reinforce the entire section of the river embankment with a layer of clay and wheat straw where there may be problems? Wouldn't this greatly reduce the risk of problems?
Possibility of a minor breach?
Having an idea, Lin Yi immediately stood up. The second squad leader thought that Lin Yi had rested, and quickly called to the soldiers, "Don't sit still, get up and work quickly. We have only made twenty bags. Let's try to get two."
The battle ends in hours.”
Lin Yi looked at the second squad leader, "I'll help you later. I'll go to the battalion headquarters first."
Lin Yi was always there to help. Naturally, the second squad leader couldn't ask Lin Yi to do any work, so he had no choice but to say, "Okay, you go ahead and do your work first."
Lin Yi quickly ran to the battalion headquarters. Just as he was about to report to the battalion commander, he was stopped by the sentry, "Assistant Lin, what are you doing in such a hurry? The battalion commander and the others are having a meeting, and you can't go in."
Lin Yi didn't know whether his idea was good or bad, so he didn't dare to be too presumptuous and could only stand at the door and wait for the meeting to end.
At this time, Lieutenant Ding lifted the door curtain and walked out. He was probably bored and wanted to get some air. When he saw Lin Yi standing outside the tent, he was a little surprised, "Assistant Lin, what are you doing here? Your
To your credit, Deputy Brigadier Meng has promised to get it for you, so don’t push yourself too far. The trick of retreating in order to advance is enough once, any more will not work."
Lin Yi quickly explained, "It has nothing to do with credit. When I was loading sandbags, I was chatting with the second squad leader, and it suddenly occurred to me that clay and wheat straw could increase the strength of the embankment. Instead of passively defending, we should take the initiative and attack at suspicious points.
Covering it with soil and wheat straw will increase the strength of the embankment and greatly reduce the possibility of embankment breaching."
Lieutenant Ding did not graduate from a military academy, but when he was a soldier, he made meritorious deeds due to his extraordinary ability, and was then promoted to lieutenant.
Because of his low academic qualifications, he has quite a lot of life experience.
He knew very well the powerful effect of mixing clay and wheat straw, and he also knew that it was already the harvest time of early rice. As long as he was willing to look for it, he could find a lot of rice straw without even walking two miles.
The purpose of Deputy Brigadier Meng coming here is to ensure that if the embankment breaks, how to solve it quickly. Now that we have proactive measures, it is better than remaining passive.
So he immediately said: "You wait here, I will go in and report. If it is feasible, I will ask you to come in."
The battalion commander looked unhappy when he saw Lieutenant Ding entering and exiting the tent casually. Now is a critical moment for flood control. Everyone is nervous, so don't create anxiety.
Lieutenant Dante was deputy brigade commander Meng's employee and a cadre of the brigade's security platoon. It was hard for him to say anything even for a battalion commander.
But Deputy Brigadier Meng could see the battalion commander's face clearly, "Xiao Ding, don't break the rules, sit still."
Lieutenant Ding did not explain, and said directly: "I just met Assistant Lin outside. He suggested mixing clay and wheat straw and laying them in places where embankments are likely to burst, because the combination of the two has greater viscosity and toughness.
They are all very large, and if the paving is completed, the possibility of the embankment bursting will definitely be reduced."
When the battalion commander heard this, he burst out laughing, "Xiao Lin, you really dare to think about it. We came here for defense, not for active attack. We also mixed clay and wheat straw and spread it on the embankment. We were one camp guard.
If the embankment is paved for more than 20 miles, how long will it take to pave it? I guess it hasn't been finished yet, the rainy season has passed."
Besides, repairing embankments is a matter for the local government. If we touch other people's embankments at will, forget about the thankless task. If there is any trouble again, we won't be able to explain it.
Deputy Brigadier Meng felt that Lin Yi's idea was correct. It was better to take the initiative than to defend passively.
But he also agreed with the battalion commander that the embankment was too long and it was unrealistic to lay it all. If only a few points were found for laying, the problem would not be big, but the key question was how to find these points.
If you can't find the key points, then it will be useless, and it is easy to end up in a thankless situation.
However, Xiao Lin seemed to have a strong sense of responsibility, and he didn't know if he already had a solution, so he looked at Lieutenant Ding and said, "Xiao Ding, call Assistant Lin in first and ask questions before we talk."