lcionline Chapter 264 World of Famous Works 53
Chapter 264 World of Famous Works 53
The news quickly reached the ground, and Lin Xiaoqian finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Although she knew that based on the survey data and hydraulic principles, water could definitely be found here, the local people didn't have that much patience. The prolonged lack of water had led to a decline in the people's morale, something Lin Xiaoqian had been observing.
Fortunately, they have finally broken through the aquifer. In just a short time, the water in the underground channel has filled up and is gradually flowing into the open channel and reservoir.
When the other residents saw that water was actually flowing out, they were overjoyed.
"My God, there really is water underground!"
"This water is sweet and ice-cold; it tastes much better than the well water we used to dig."
"Didn't you hear what Miss Lin said? This water comes from the melting snow on the high mountains, so it's naturally ice-cold."
When Lin Xiaoqian is mentioned, many people find her and kneel down to thank her. Lin Xiaoqian helps this person and that person up, repeatedly saying that it's not appropriate.
Before long, the water source for Mo Ying and Jiang Shuang was also discovered. With the karez well, this land seemed to be injected with new life and vitality.
The water issue has been resolved; now it's time to address the crop problem.
Sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn, and wheat are all staple foods, so they definitely need to be grown.
But besides these, the Western Regions have a diverse climate, large temperature differences between day and night, and abundant sunshine, making them suitable for growing a wide variety of crops.
First of all, the abundant sunshine here is ideal for the accumulation of sugar in fruits such as fragrant pears, cantaloupes, and rock sugar apples. It is especially suitable for the growth of grapes. Just thinking about the brightly colored, soft, sweet and sour grapes from the Western Regions makes Lin Xiaoqian's mouth water.
Furthermore, the dry climate and alkaline soil of the Western Regions are very conducive to the growth of cotton, especially long-staple cotton. Lin Xiaoqian could already imagine the impact cotton would have on the Tang Dynasty.
Not to mention the cash crops like red dates, goji berries, and walnuts, this land in the Western Regions is truly a treasure.
The newly dug wells of the Tang Dynasty have already kept the people busy again.
They weren't just busy doing nothing. The Tang government frequently organized meetings for each household to learn about scientific planting, from seedling cultivation to sowing, explaining everything in detail and even distributing booklets.
They initially said they didn't recognize the characters of the Tang Dynasty and didn't know what the booklet was for, but when they got it, they discovered that it actually had pictures, and the pictures were simple and clear, so that anyone who wasn't stupid could understand them.
The government would also frequently send people to inspect the fields. Those officials who were originally high and mighty in their eyes would randomly select people in the fields to check the contents of their booklets.
Good heavens, they've been working the land for almost half their lives, and this is the first time someone has ever tested them on how to farm.
At first, some people were perhaps scared, perhaps shy, or perhaps they didn't take it seriously at all. They stammered and couldn't say anything coherent. Although the official didn't blame them and even told them to continue studying hard, it made the onlookers burst into laughter.
Who doesn't have a sense of shame?
Those who couldn't answer secretly resolved to go back and cram the knowledge from the booklet, so that they would be able to answer when the official asked them again.
As for the onlookers, if they don't learn from others' mistakes and study hard, they'll be the ones laughing at next time.
In short, under this healthy competitive spirit, the people are motivated and the land is being rationally allocated for planting.
The once chaotic land was transformed into neatly arranged fields with crops according to scientific spacing, resulting in a significant improvement in both crop yield and quality.
When harvest season arrived, the sweet potatoes and potatoes were huge, and the corn kernels were plump. The yield per acre was even higher than that of the most fertile fields in the capital.
This surprised and delighted everyone, and the people couldn't stop smiling.
The government office gate was piled high with various grains and fruits brought by the people, all to express their gratitude to the officials sent by the imperial court.
There's a huge pile of food; we can't finish it all, we simply can't finish it all.
When the Tang Dynasty officials were first sent here, they were so worried about the empty government granaries that they couldn't sleep all day. Now, seeing the full granaries, they are so excited that they can't sleep all night.
With dark circles under his eyes, he got up in the middle of the night to write a memorial to the Tang Emperor.
Your Majesty, have you ever drunk snow water from the mountains? Have you ever seen long-staple cotton? Have you ever eaten grapes, pears, or cantaloupes that are as sweet as honey?
If you've never eaten or seen this before, that's alright. I'll send someone to deliver some to you.
Because of the long journey, the melons and pears delivered to Chang'an were a little wilted, but that did not affect their sweetness.
After reading the memorial, the Tang emperor became even more restless. "My railway is still not finished? Why hasn't it reached the Western Regions yet?"
All those good things from the west are eagerly waiting to be transported over.
When the roar of steam trains echoed across the Gobi Desert, the happy life of the people in the Western Regions was just beginning.
In fact, before the train service started, Zhuang Damao had already taken over most of the Western Regions.
After all, who doesn't envy the karez wells, and who doesn't covet high-yield crops?
They secretly went to see that karez well and even tried to dig it themselves, but ultimately found nothing.
First, they couldn't find a water source; second, they lacked the drilling technology to dig a well that deep. After haphazardly trying to find a solution, they quickly gave up.
However, things would be different if they submitted to the Tang Dynasty. The government would send people to dig wells for them and would also provide them with high-yield crop seeds.
Therefore, subjugating the small countries in the west was effortless, and in some cases, the royal families of these small countries even voluntarily submitted to the emperor.
They knew perfectly well that the Tang Dynasty was a powerful nation and might attack at any time. If they submitted willingly, they could preserve their wealth and status; if they resisted, they would lose everything.
Moreover, after these royals chose to do this, they were not condemned as cowards by their own people, but instead received praise from the populace, which left these royals with mixed feelings.
However, such pragmatic royal families are in the minority. Some royal families still have their own pride and would never willingly submit.
However, as a result, every time Zhuang Damao attacked a place, enthusiastic local people would secretly tell him where the royal family of his country was hiding.
Hurry up, hurry up and attack! After you're done, send Tang Dynasty officials to dig karez wells and distribute high-yield seeds.
If we wait any longer, we'll miss the best time to sow.
They also heard from the people next door that less than half a year after the neighboring area submitted to the Tang Dynasty, Tang officials came to survey the land and planned to build a railway. It was said that the location of the train station had already been decided.
People who have taken the train to the east say that the train was a very long iron box with smoke coming out of the top, and it ran faster than a horse.