Chapter 61 Visiting the Hutuo River Reservoir Emperor Chongzhen slowly woke up

The inauguration ceremony of Yaogang Stadium will be held, and it is also the opening ceremony of the first primary and secondary school sports meeting in Yaogang. The first Games were held in this stadium with a capacity of 30,000 people. Zhang Zhimu went to invite Emperor Chongzhen to participate in the ribbon-cutting two days in advance.

Although Emperor Chongzhen had also talked to Zhang Zhimu about inviting Emperor Chongzhen to participate in the ribbon-cutting, this time Zhang Zhimu officially invited Emperor Chongzhen to participate in the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and also invited Emperor Chongzhen to watch the sports meeting with his family and adults.

Of course, Emperor Chongzhen readily agreed. However, Emperor Chongzhen asked Zhang Zhimu: "Zhang Dongjia, I heard that the Hutuo River Reservoir is very majestic. I plan to go there tomorrow to have a look, I don't know if Zhang Dongjia has time. ”

"No problem, Your Majesty! I happened to accompany the emperor to relax. Even if you don't go there, I will advise the emperor to go and have a look. Not only is the dam construction majestic, but the scenery is also exceptionally beautiful. When you get there, people can be very relaxed, and the emperor should go and see it! There are no other changes, I will come over early tomorrow morning to accompany the emperor to have a look. ”

Because when the Hutuo River Reservoir was built, a railway was built to get there, and Zhang Zhimu and Emperor Chongzhen took the train to the Hutuo River Reservoir together. The train hung two carriages, giving the emperor a special carriage, and everyone else was in the dining car. But Emperor Chongzhen couldn't stay in his own carriage, and he also came to the dining car to chat with everyone. Due to the short distance, it didn't take much time for the train to reach the Hutuo River Reservoir.

The train stopped not far from the Hutuo River Reservoir Dam, Emperor Chongzhen got off the train and heard the "boom" impact sound of the water released from the outlet of the reservoir generator, Emperor Chongzhen didn't care about the royal prestige, ran to the side of the station to watch several big streams of water falling from the sky, looked at it for a while, and said loudly to Zhang Zhimu who came over: "It's so spectacular!" It's just spectacular! ”

The lords, Empress Zhou, and the princesses and princesses are also here to watch the jet of water. Everything in front of them was far beyond their imagination, and if it weren't for the fact that they were there, they couldn't imagine that man could create such a magnificent and majestic miracle by his own power. The car, which had been prepared for a long time, sent these people to the top of the dam and changed the angle for them to look at the dam more closely. Emperor Chongzhen was very interested, and saw that the princes and princesses did not live in taking pictures, and he also took a lot of photos.

Those civil and military ministers, when they saw Zhang Zhimu accompanying the emperor, they were also happy to take pictures with everyone, and they did not accompany the emperor. In the past, they were afraid of doing something wrong when they followed the emperor, but this time they followed the emperor out, and basically there was no such worry. After arriving at Yaogang, the emperor seems to have a much better temper, and he is not like training people at every turn when he is in the capital, and he can joke with everyone when he is fine. Such a thing would have been unimaginable in Beijing.

Although the two princes who accompanied him had been to the Hutuo River several times, they felt that there were changes here every time they came, and they were too happy to see enough. Princess Anping accompanied Queen Zhou and the two princesses, and kept taking pictures in such a majestic and magnificent beauty. During this time, Emperor Chongzhen and Empress Zhou were not so strict with the two princesses. Sometimes, the two princesses will change into civilian clothes and follow Princess Anping out to watch movies and theatrical performances. Even once Princess Changping stayed at Princess Anping's house and did not return to the hotel, Queen Zhou only criticized a few words and did not say much. The princes followed the sons of King Zhou, as well as the grandsons of the acting kings, often went out to watch movies and went to the restaurant to play everywhere. Emperor Chongzhen also opened his eyes when he knew about it.

Those ministers were also bold to contact those who had done things with them in the imperial court before and later came to the kiln, and went out to drink and drink tea with them when they were fine. Now it seems that people who don't know anyone in the kiln feel very shameless.

Emperor Chongzhen and his entourage melted into the relaxed atmosphere of the kiln.

At the top of the dam, Emperor Chongzhen insisted on going from here to there, crossing the Hutuo River on foot. The others didn't do it, and last time someone followed Emperor Chongzhen across the Tongguan Bridge and was tired and half dead. Zhang Zhimu saw that many people were embarrassed and said, "That's it! Your Majesty, if you are willing to go over, go over. If you don't want to, you can take a car. To each his own! I walked slowly with the emperor. ”

Emperor Chongzhen said, "Let's go!" Regardless of them! ”

Zhang Zhimu waved his hand at everyone, meaning that you can do whatever you want. Just follow Emperor Chongzhen along the dam. Those people were so grateful to Zhang Zhimu in their hearts, they took the car one after another, but they didn't dare to surpass the emperor. Zhang Zhimu waved at them and told them to go, and then they took the car and walked to the other side.

Emperor Chongzhen's interest was too high, "Zhang Dongjia's dam has been repaired for a few years, right?" ”

"yes!" Zhang Zhimu replied, "At that time, our conditions were not so good, and we decided to build this reservoir for a long time. At that time, all our money was not enough to build the dam. At the time of construction, we had not yet succeeded in transferring cement to the kiln. In the end, I decided to do it. Now it looks like it's the right thing to do! ”

"That's right!" Emperor Chongzhen said, "But this matter is really too big!" ”

"It's easy to look back! It wasn't easy! Zhang Zhimu said with emotion, "Without this reservoir to generate electricity, our power will not be so abundant, and many projects dare not go on." I don't know what the emperor can think of when he sees this rushing water? ”

"Hmmm! I thought that when there is a big flood, the dam can hold it out, and when there is a drought, it can release water! "It was not easy for Emperor Chongzhen to think of these two items.

"What the emperor said is right!" Zhang Zhimu said, "After our reservoir was built, the lower reaches of the Hutuo River did not suffer from flooding, and the flow did not stop during the dry season. The downstream people have benefited a lot! However, I see that it is still a money printing machine! ”

"Huh? Money printing machine! Emperor Chongzhen didn't understand for a moment, and then laughed, "Haha! Oh, yes! This electricity can be exchanged for silver. You're a businessman! ”

"Yes, Your Majesty, if you don't count such an account, you can't do such a project." Zhang Zhimu said seriously, "If you talk about business, building such a project is the best business." ”

"That's right! Now you can count the silver. Emperor Chongzhen said.

"There are also people who need to maintain the dam and the equipment." Zhang Zhimu said, "I think we have built this great project, and the harvest is far more than that." ”

"Tell me about it!" Emperor Chongzhen was very interested in Zhang Zhimu's words.

"I think the biggest thing we learned was the training of a group of people. Here they learned about large-scale blasting, large-scale pouring of concrete, the use of various construction machinery, and all the techniques for designing and constructing large-scale water conservancy projects. There are many successful experiences and lessons learned here. All of this has been documented in detail during the construction process. We set up a hydraulic engineering department in Yaogang. These experiences are all that we can use in our future teaching, and later builders can learn from our experience. Now we still have a few large water conservancy sites, all of which are in charge of technicians. ”

"Good! All right! Emperor Chongzhen couldn't stop applauding, and his steps were brisker.

The prince followed behind and shouted: "The emperor is slow! ”

Emperor Chongzhen said: "After I arrived at the kiln, I felt relaxed every day. I don't worry about the threat of the border anymore. Is this a place like ours that can be coveted by those who covet us? ”

"The emperor is right! Now there is no external enemy that can pose a threat to us. Now is the time for us to rechart our sensible borders. Zhang Zhimu said.

"Huh! Zhang Dongjia, this reasonable border of yours is very interesting. Let's talk about it when we have time! "Of course, Emperor Chongzhen is interested in the border.

"Good! If I have time, I will ask Mr. Ouyang He to give you a detailed introduction to our ideas. ”

It was already October, but Emperor Chongzhen and Zhang Zhimu were still hot when they walked along the dam to the other side, but Emperor Chongzhen was extremely happy. The air here is very good, and the leaves on the mountain next to the reservoir are also a little red and yellow, and the colors are extraordinarily rich.

The princesses who arrived first had already taken a lot of photos and were waiting for Emperor Chongzhen. Princess Changping came over and said, "Father! Let's get to the boat and rest again! If you don't get on the boat, others won't dare to get on it! ”

Emperor Chongzhen was particularly happy today, "You hurry up and get on the boat, I want to take a look here before getting on the boat." ”

Emperor Chongzhen is still a serious person, and he has to take a closer look here. Coming to the boat in the reservoir, Emperor Chongzhen asked Zhang Zhimu: "Is your generator in this dam?" ”

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Zhang Zhimu replied, "When we left, we stopped by to visit the inside of the power plant!" ”

"It's an important place, so it's important to be protected! And the technology can't be leaked! "Emperor Chongzhen really likes it here, especially after listening to Zhang Zhimu say that this is the money printing machine, he is even more interested in this place.

"Your Majesty, rest assured!" Zhang Zhimu said, "We have an armed police force here to guard it. The defenses here are so strong that ordinary people can't get close to them. Employees have signed confidentiality agreements. We pay them a monthly confidentiality fee. If there is a leak, a heavy penalty will be imposed! ”

Due to the large number of people who came together, everyone took three boats and slowly cruised on the reservoir. The scenery of the lake and mountains made everyone drunk in it. Lunch was served on board. They eat mainly seafood from the reservoir and game from the surrounding mountains.

Emperor Chongzhen, who was in a happy mood, also drank some wine, and Liu Jiantai asked Zhang Zhimu with the strength of the wine, "Zhang Dongjia, your reservoir project is comparable to the Great Wall!" How much time did it take? ”

Without waiting for Zhang Zhimu to answer, Emperor Chongzhen took over, "This is what the Great Wall can compare!" If we're not mistaken, you built it for three years, right? ”

"It's three years. The original plan was to take four or even five years. Later, we used blasting technology and a lot of construction machinery, and the progress was greatly accelerated! Zhang Zhimu replied.

"Such an earth-shattering project costs a lot of silver, right?" Zhang Jinyan, the secretary of the Ministry of War, asked.

In fact, Emperor Chongzhen wanted to ask about this for a long time, and he was embarrassed to always mention silver to Zhang Zhimu.

Zhang Zhimu smiled and said: "Not to mention, everyone knows that this dam is piled up with silver. I said that one number can make everyone jump! We originally expected that after the completion of this project, it would not exceed 25 million taels of silver, but when it came time to generate electricity, our chief housekeeper, Mr. Lu Chengxiang, calculated that a total of more than 30 million taels of silver was invested. If we had known that it would cost so much money, we might not have made up our minds to build this project. ”

"More than 30 million taels of silver!"

"Oh my God! With so much silver, the entire Taichang Treasury can't collect so much silver in a few years! ”

“”

For the first time, Emperor Chongzhen knew exactly how much silver had been spent on this project, and asked, "Can you take back so much silver?" ”

"Your Majesty! We should count two accounts. First, in the past, the Hutuo River was flooded almost every year. We built this reservoir and the people downstream benefited. Second, the water level in the upper reaches of our reservoir is too high, but a lot of water has been created for irrigation, and the people upstream have also benefited, and their extra food is a considerable number. Zhang Zhimu continued, "Let's calculate the benefits of the electricity generated by this reservoir. There are five generators in the dam, each of which was expected to produce 50 megawatts, but now it should be able to generate 100 megawatts, or 100,000 kilowatts. Five generators are 500,000 kilowatts, what is the concept? These generators generate 12 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per day. One kilowatt of electricity is 100 watts of electricity for 10 hours, or 10 100 watts of electricity for an hour. The electricity we give to the people is very preferential, and we charge two copper plates per kilowatt-hour. At this price, the daily revenue from electricity generation is 24 million copper plates. In exchange for silver, it was twenty-four thousand taels. Let's do a conservative calculation, based on an average of 300 days of electricity generation per year. So let's do the math of how much this should be? That's seven million two hundred and twenty thousand taels. Removing the cost, the investment can be recouped in five years. So isn't the investment worth it? ”

"Oh my God! It's a great deal! ”

"Invest big, risk big, and make a lot of money!"

"Five years later, the silver earned every year has caught up with the income of our Ming Dynasty for two years!"

Everyone was stunned when they heard Zhang Zhimu do this! That's a matter of how much silver.

Emperor Chongzhen couldn't stop saying: "It's worth it!" Worth! Zhang Dongjia's project needs to be built more! ”

"Huh! This kind of thing has to be developed on a rolling basis. Zhang Zhimu said, "Our industrial development must keep up." Without the demand for electricity from big industry, the electricity we generate cannot be bought by anyone. The electricity used by the people is really limited. ”

"Yes, yes!" Someone said, "A 40-watt electric light in a home is already bright." Plus the radio doesn't use much electricity. ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "Slowly, people's homes will use more electricity. Air conditioners such as hot and cold air, refrigerators, and rice cookers are slowly being configured in newlywed homes. However, this is a slow growth process. Large electricity consumers still use more in industrial production. In particular, the aluminum that everyone has used is exchanged for electricity. It can be said that there is as much electricity as there is aluminum. Now the easiest way to do it is to change it to aluminum and then silver when there is more electricity. Whether this aluminum product is used by our people or exported to overseas for food, it is a hot commodity. ”

"Can the Tongguan Bridge be opened to traffic before the end of the year?" Emperor Chongzhen asked suddenly.

"It should be!" Zhang Zhimu said.

"Good! Zhang Dongjia, we went together to cut the ribbon for the opening of the car, and then we went to take the car to Tianshui together. I'm going to see the reservoir they're building! "Emperor Chongzhen seems to be very interested in such a project.

"Okay!" Zhang Zhimu said, "If you go and cheer everyone up, the brothers there will be very happy!" ”

"Good! How long has it been built over there? Is it that big? Emperor Chongzhen asked.

"It's been built for over a year. The scale is not so large, but the construction over there is not small. The working area there is narrow, and there are too many people to use it. Locks will also be built. It's going to take a while. Zhang Zhimu said, "The project on the south side of the Qinling Mountains is almost synchronous with the project here in Tianshui. Our goal is to open up the water transportation routes on both sides of the Qinling Mountains through several cascade reservoirs. ”

"Great!" Emperor Chongzhen said, "When I have time, I will also go to the construction site on the south side of the Qinling Mountains to have a look." ”

The monarchs and ministers enjoyed the autumn colors on the boat, drank fine wine, swam on the Hutuo River Reservoir, and finally docked and entered the generator room in the dam together. Inside the booming machine room, Emperor Chongzhen was shocked by the huge generator. Even though they couldn't see the generator or water turbine sealed inside the casing, he could feel it from the sound vibrations. Looking at the dazzling control equipment with dense wires like spider webs, Emperor Chongzhen knew better that the ability of the kiln gang people had long exceeded their imagination, let alone compared.

Out of the generator room, they went to the control room outside. The staff in the computer room were all wearing white coats and waving to them through the glass. Zhang Zhimu told the emperor that the beating digital display screen showed the real-time power generation.

Emperor Chongzhen nodded again and again, and said approvingly: "Needless to say, others want to build such a project. If outsiders watch over it, no one will do it! ”

"Yes! Emperor, we Chinese are much ahead of the world in technology, and we must make good use of this opportunity to give our children and grandchildren a good foundation. Zhang Zhimu said.

"Humph! I told you last time that Ezo Island is going to be taken back. I don't think we might as well clean up all those pirates, otherwise they will always be hidden dangers. If we don't clean them up now, they will cause us trouble later. "Emperor Chongzhen is more generous than Zhang Zhimu.

"That's what the emperor said!" Zhang Zhimu said, "We have to take our time. I think we have to be able to manage the places where we have fallen. Otherwise, you will be burdened. How big was the territory of the Yuan Dynasty at the beginning! But what happened in the end? They can't manage it, and in the end they have to fight for their own foothold. Sooner or later, we'll have to clean up the affairs of the widows, but I want to get everything around us in order first. We are not in a hurry now, the initiative is in our hands, why don't we follow our plan steadily! ”

"Hmmm! That's what you said, too! Emperor Chongzhen said.

"Actually, we have to deal with more than just the Japanese bandits, and there are many more that we are targeting. Especially if we have to go across the Indian Ocean, we have to buy a lot of desert there. Zhang Zhimu said.

"What did you do with the desert? There are so many good places. "Of course Emperor Chongzhen doesn't know.

"Your Majesty, what do you think of taking a car?" Zhang Zhimu asked.

"Of course it's good!" Of course, Emperor Chongzhen didn't understand what it meant.

"In the future, there will be a lot of cars, and even the day when almost everyone on the street will have a car, gasoline will be very scarce at that time!" Zhang Zhimu said, "The desert underground I mentioned is oil that can be used to refine gasoline. Do you think it's a good deal for us to buy the desert? ”

"Oh!" Emperor Chongzhen understood, "I said that you won't do anything to accompany Yinzi!" ”

Zhang Zhimu smiled and said, "Your Majesty, after you slowly understand the things on the kiln side, we will slowly talk about the future." ”

Emperor Chongzhen is now clearer, there are still too many things in front of Zhang Zhimu that he can't understand. How big the gap is, Emperor Chongzhen can't understand it. However, Emperor Chongzhen has already begun to slowly ascend to the Tao.

In fact, what Emperor Chongzhen didn't understand was that the process of Zhang Zhimu letting him visit the kiln was the process of waking him up. I hope he will realize what to do soon, and it is better not to let others speak.

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New progress in "Memories of the Southern Song Dynasty": the Battle of Yashan, the defeat of the Yuan army, the counterattack of the Song army, and the landing in Fuzhou.