Below the dam is a reservoir, and the west side of the reservoir is connected to a wide canal. If you pick up a telescope and look over it, you can vaguely see several gates in other directions of the reservoir, which should also be connected to other canals.
The water canal on the west side has obvious artificial traces, and it looks like it was built by humans at first glance.
The same is true for the reservoir. There are obvious traces of artificial construction on the edge. The embankment is also new and should be formed by the accumulation of soil dug out from below.
"This reservoir should have existed before, right?" Jin Feng speculated.
If the reservoir had been dug out, the amount of work would have been too great. Wei Datong would not have been able to complete it so quickly, and the amount of earth dug out would not have been just this little.
"Sir, you really have a keen eye, you can see it right away!" Wei Datong flattered him, then took out a hand-drawn map and explained to Jin Feng:
"This reservoir used to be a lake, and that canal used to be a river, but it was narrower and shallower in some places. I diverted the water upstream, then repaired the river, and built a section of canal, which is connected to the Dujiangyan side.
When connected, it becomes a main canal.
On the reservoir side, I also drained the water, mobilized the people to repair it, raised the previously weak embankment, and dug several branch canals, so that the water in the reservoir can flow along the branch canals to the two counties below.
and seven counties, and the last few branch canals then converge to the Tongjiang Reservoir in the south.
There are also several canals below the Tongjiang Reservoir, which can radiate to the three counties and eleven counties further below, and finally merge into the Yangtze River from different places."
"With these canals, hundreds of miles of farmland in eastern Sichuan and Sichuan will benefit greatly!" Jin Feng said with emotion as he looked at the map.
"Not only farmland, but also transportation!" Wei Datong said: "If there were these canals in the past, I wouldn't have to go to Yuzhou to transport grain in eastern Sichuan!"
After the establishment of the steel plant, Mancang has been trying to build the first small steam engine production line. Although it has not been successful yet, it will succeed sooner or later.
When small steam engines can be mass-produced, speedboats can be mass-produced.
For speedboats, the canal is the highway.
Nowadays, speedboats have become the main means of transportation for distributing Jinchuan Daily. They are first loaded at Jinchuan Wharf, and then go down the Jialing River and follow the original rivers deep into various parts of Sichuan and Sichuan.
Where it once took several days to reach by horseback, newspapers can be delivered in just half a day using a speedboat.
This is because most of the artificial canals have not yet been completed. When these canals are opened to water in the later stage, speedboats can quickly reach various hinterlands in Sichuan and Sichuan, and the orders of the Ninth Princess can be quickly conveyed.
By then, Xihewan's control over Sichuan and Shu will reach a new height.
This is another reason why Jin Feng attaches so much importance to water conservancy projects.
Jin Feng looked at the vast reservoir in front of him and patted Wei Datong on the shoulder with emotion: "Thank you for your hard work!"
It has been less than a year since the construction of Dujiangyan started. In such a short period of time, Wei Datong was able to build so many reservoirs and canals. Although most of them were transformations of previously existing lakes, rivers and canals, it was still not easy.
"I don't have to go down to carry the basket myself. What's the hard work? The real hard work is the people."
Wei Datong said with emotion: "Sir, I have been fighting in the north recently. You may not know something. Many people learned that the imperial court was going to war and had no money to repair reservoirs and canals. They didn't ask for wages. As long as they took care of the food, they came to work for free!"
"Is there still such a thing?" Jin Feng frowned slightly.
He really didn't know about this.
"Sir, haven't you noticed that since a few months ago, your Majesty's allocation for relief-for-work has been reduced by 20%?" Wei Datong asked.
"I know this," Jin Feng said, "Isn't this why Wuyang has stopped some work-for-relief projects?"
"Some official projects have been stopped, but the water conservancy project I am responsible for has not been stopped. Many people come to work for free during the slack season."
Wei Datong said with emotion: "My husband once said that the power of the masses is endless, and now I finally realize it! If it weren't for them, how could I, Wei Datong, have accomplished such a feat in less than a year?"
What a lot of water canals!” M..
After sighing with emotion, he did not forget to flatter him: "Of course, such a situation is possible only because Mr. and Your Majesty are considerate of the people's sentiments. Now the people praise Mr. and Your Majesty as the most sage emperors and..."
Having said this, Wei Datong suddenly paused.
Because the people are talking about the emperor and the queen.
The Ninth Princess is the emperor, so it is self-evident who the queen is.
Nowadays, the story of Jin Feng and the Ninth Princess is almost well-known to every household. Many people talk about it after dinner and even joke that Jin Feng is the first male queen in history and the most powerful man in history.
Because Jin Feng was the first man to make the emperor a concubine!
Although Wei Datong knew that this was a joke among the common people, given Jin Feng's character, he might not be angry even if he knew about it, but no matter how stupid he was, he would not say it in front of Jin Feng.
So he quickly changed his words and said: "The people all praise Sir and His Majesty as the most sage emperors and state advisors throughout the ages!"
"They are also the best people in the world!" Jin Feng also sighed.
He initially implemented work-for-relief, just to pity the people of Sichuan and Sichuan and did not want them to starve to death in the cold disaster.
After the Ninth Princess implemented the New Deal last year, the taxes of the people of Sichuan and Sichuan were reduced by more than half, and there was no extortion by wealthy bandits, so their incomes were greatly increased.
Although we still can't say that we have enough food and clothing, people starve to death rarely happen anymore.
To put it bluntly, the food-for-work program is to give the people a bite to eat. It stands to reason that now that the people have stored food, the number of people participating in the work-for-relief program will decrease a lot. But in fact, more and more people are participating in the work-for-relief program.
many.
Especially during the two months of slack farming after the autumn harvest last year, almost more than half of the people in Sichuan and Sichuan took the initiative to participate in various work-for-relief projects.
Many of them were just like Wei Datong said, they didn't ask for wages at all, they just came to take care of the food.
Some families with good conditions don't even eat, but bring their own dry food.
After Jin Feng finished sighing, he suddenly asked: "Chen Wenyuan's contribution is indispensable here, right?"
Although the people of Sichuan and Sichuan are simple and simple, who doesn't know how to enjoy happiness?
Even if you are really idle, you can just reclaim some wasteland yourself. It's better than working for the government for free, right?
So Jin Feng guessed that there must be other reasons for this.
To mobilize so many people, ordinary methods will definitely not work. The only one that can be done is Jinchuan Daily.
Sure enough, Wei Datong nodded and said: "Editor Chen really contributed a lot to the current situation!"
"What did he say in the newspaper?" Jin Feng asked curiously.