Unlimited estates for rural beauty-Chapter 663: More Guilty Than Death (2)
Dugu Chen had completed the model and had conceived the idea, yet he had not anticipated the reservoir would have such a significant impact. Observing his wife’s gaze, his own grew more profound, "My lady, look at this."
Dugu Chen took out a drawing. It was simply an enlarged version of his previous one, but with much larger scale. The annotations on it were extremely clear, surpassing his own efforts, and he had used ink pens of different colors to delineate the varying widths of rivers. Among these was the ultimate direction of each river. His finger pointed to a broad blue waterway on the map, "My lady, look, this is Wangjiang. There are several larger rivers around Wangjiang, piercing through nearby prefectures. I plan to link these rivers, connecting them and building reservoirs at the junctions, then redirect all their waters into Wangjiang. At the estuary of Wangjiang, we shall install a watergate. If heavy rainfall persists for several days and the rivers rise, we can open the gates of both Wangjiang and the reservoirs to alleviate the water flow within the river channels. Once the water levels in the rivers subside, we can then close both sets of gates. For the smaller rivers, they will connect to these larger ones, following the same principle. My lady, what do you think?"
Feng Xuxu smiled at him and gave him a thumbs-up, clearly impressed, "My husband, you should proceed exactly as you’ve outlined. However, the structures along Wangjiang must be built solidly, as should the channels of the two rivers. Not just these major rivers, but even a minor river should not be neglected."
"Rest assured, my lady, I will take care of this matter diligently. It concerns our livelihood for generations."
"Right, we should dispatch a portion of people to prevent anyone from cutting corners."
"Good. Since there are no issues, then I will send someone to start the construction." He tidied the drawings on the table and returned them to their original place.
Feng Xuxu nodded her head, wholeheartedly agreeing with what her husband had said. Being early spring, it was the perfect time to commence the building of reservoirs.
Having put away the items, he led his wife through another door in the study, navigating several twists and turns before finally emerging from the hidden stone chamber. Upon looking around, they had exited from a different end, not at all where they had entered from initially. With a surprised glance back at him, she shook her head - such a complex mechanism within a single room. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚
The following day in court, Dugu Chen announced a series of measures, ranging from the relocation of civilians from the banks of the earliest rivers to the current construction of reservoirs and the integration of all waterways. This caused an uproar among the officials. Some opposed the plan, while others supported it. The two forces were at a stalemate until Dugu Chen spoke a few indifferent words that immediately silenced the opposing faction. Subsequently, the initiative began in every Prefecture Government. Each was responsible for managing its own affairs, and when it was time to connect the rivers, the Magistrates of the two prefectures involved had to be present to ensure completion. Any issues had to be discussed, and if, for any reason, there was discord or delay in construction, heads would roll. The Ministers at the lower seats all nodded in agreement, promising to complete the reservoirs and the river interconnection within a set time frame.
Strolling leisurely through the Imperial Garden, Feng Xuxu curiously asked the man beside her, "What exactly did you say?"
Dugu Chen simply shrugged his shoulders with a smile, "I challenged them to present solutions for flood and drought prevention. Failing to do so would constitute the crime of deceiving the emperor."
Feng Xuxu pursed her lips, it wasn’t really being too hard on those Ministers. If they openly opposed the plan, they certainly must have good ideas, but if not, voicing opposition for the sake of it was nothing more than making trouble out of nothing.
Just as Feng Xuxu was about to say something else, she saw Huang Yi hurrying over, "My lady, peace be upon you. My lord, the man has been brought back."
