Chapter 139 Live Demonstration
Zhao Hengyi had originally intended to spread the use of cement far and wide.
Having lived through two lifetimes, Zhao Hengyi knew very well that the advent of cement would inevitably transform the appearance of this world. He had no intention of relying on cement for profit, nor did he deign to chase after such meager silver.
The cement that those wealthy gentry had seen was merely picked up at random by Zhao Hengyi from a construction site before his departure. The advantages cement offered when building river embankments went far beyond mere sturdiness.
County Magistrate Liu Rui had demonstrated the utmost sincerity. As the parent official of Dangyang County, he made a promise before all the gentry to substitute corvee labor with public works, and he would certainly not break his word. Meanwhile, the gentry's promised all-out cooperation meant that any slackness on their part would cause Liu Rui to abandon the usual pleasantries and social niceties, employing retaliatory disciplinary measures that would shatter old boundaries.
In the Great Yan Empire, governing a locality inevitably required relying on those deeply entrenched gentry networks. Liu Rui understood this perfectly, and it was precisely for this reason that he had shown such immense sincerity regarding the repair of the river embankments.
The cement brought out by Zhao Hengyi gave the gentry class hope of building a truly sturdy dam.
The gentry were a relatively pragmatic group in this world: greedy and astute. Substituting labor for taxes alone was not enough to fully move them; without Zhao Hengyi and his cement, these fellows would likely have gone through the motions without exerting any real effort.
With their interests temporarily bound together, the wealthy gentry became even more deferential toward Liu Rui. Seizing the opportunity while the iron was hot, County Magistrate Liu established a flood prevention headquarters, temporarily locating it in a dilapidated temple near the sharp bend where the risk of a breach was highest.
Every single wealthy family had to dispatch one or two capable men to follow Liu Rui throughout the flood season, ensuring constant communication with their respective households.
At the same time, the sixty-odd miles of river embankment within Dangyang County were divided into distinct sections. Each wealthy family was assigned a section and required to monitor the water level of the Liu River constantly. The moment any hazard arose, they were to sound the alarm immediately!
The entire Dangyang County was mobilized, with every household dispatching laborers and able-bodied men to guard the embankments. For a time, the subordinate officials of the county yamen were driven to distraction!
Not only did these fellows have to brave the dangers and stay with County Magistrate Liu in the most perilous area, but they also had to lead men in continuous patrols along the embankments.
If the embankment truly breached, even if these men managed to save their own skins, the county magistrate—stationed right there in the flood headquarters converted from a run-down temple—certainly wouldn't be able to run!
Just imagine: even if they survived, their direct superior, the magistrate of the entire county, would have been washed away by the floodwaters. What kind of fate awaited them?
It was likely that all these subordinate officials would face a retrospective reckoning from their superiors!
Regardless of how Liu Rui had been sidelined in the capital due to his mentor falling out of favor, if he were to die in the floods because of flood control negligence, the entire civil official bureaucracy would thoroughly investigate Dangyang County!
It wouldn't necessarily be to avenge Liu Rui, but merely to signal the collective stance of the civil official bureaucracy.
Similar events had played out countless times in the Great Yan Empire; without such uncompromising attitudes, it would have been impossible to bring military generals and titled nobility to heel.
If flood control efforts were inadequate, leading to a breached embankment, and Liu Rui miraculously survived—if Heaven proved merciless and natural disasters defied human resistance—there would be no major issue beyond the suffering of the common people and the losses sustained by the gentry.
However, if the breach was caused by a lack of diligence on the part of the subordinate officials, County Magistrate Liu would inevitably hold everyone accountable afterward. Once the magistrate lodged a complaint with the imperial court against these low-ranking officials, they would be pushed beyond redemption.
These subordinate officials were accustomed to being absolute authorities within the county town. Now, dragged out onto the river embankments to wallow in the muddy water alongside County Magistrate Liu, it was impossible for them to harbor no resentment in their hearts.
These fellows were different from the wealthy gentry; they had no agricultural estates outside the county town. Even if a flood truly struck, hiding inside the city walls would keep them completely safe from harm.
Yet current circumstances dictated submission. The enthusiasm of the gentry class had been successfully kindled, aligning them completely with the county magistrate. Caught in the middle, the subordinate officials had no choice but to discharge their duties with utmost dedication.
After all, Dangyang County was still ultimately ruled by County Magistrate Liu. Moreover, rumors whispered in secret suggested that the incoming Prefect of Jiangling was none other than County Magistrate Liu's senior fellow apprentice!
When it came to contributing the cement, Zhao Hengyi was by no means making empty gestures.
Not only did he make the cement formula public, but he also sent men back to Yushu Bay to haul over several carts of the finished product.
As if Heaven intended to grant the people of Dangyang County a brief respite, the light drizzle that had fallen continuously for days suddenly stopped. Although the sky remained gloomy, the men patrolling the embankments could finally dispense with their bamboo hats and straw rain capes.
The carts transporting the cement were fitted with thick rain-proof awnings, and the sacks in which it was packed had undergone moisture-proofing treatments.
The cement was delivered straight to the dilapidated temple serving as the flood prevention headquarters. Zhao Hengyi intended to demonstrate on the spot how the cement was to be used; only thus could the wealthy gentry be truly motivated to put their hearts into repairing the embankments.
Fine as roasted flour, the moment it touched a drop of water, it turned into a sticky paste. The officials and wealthy gentry gathered around the cement stared at it in bewilderment, having no clue how such a substance was meant to be applied.
Zhao Hengyi had his men bring over gravel and crushed stones, mixing them with the cement in a ratio of one to one to three, adding water equal to one-third of the cement's volume, and then began stirring!
Construction work at Yushu Bay had never halted, accumulating a wealth of experienced workers and know-how. The man in charge of mixing was clearly an old hand, eager to show off in front of the master and putting on quite a theatrical performance...
The officials and gentry murmured among themselves. Those who knew something about construction were most astonished by the fact that crushed stones could be used!
They well knew that when repairing river embankments, crushed stones were the absolute bane of the work.
Once these pebbles accumulated in sufficient quantities, they would cause the embankment to leak, generating hidden undercurrents that, in severe cases, could hollow out the dam from deep beneath the water level and trigger massive collapses!
Even if such hidden undercurrents were discovered, sealing them off required feeding the breach with human lives!
Everyone was seeing cement for the first time, and no one knew what kind of effect it would produce. Despite their misgivings about the crushed stones, since the master builder Zhao claimed it was fine and done intentionally, the crowd had no choice but to wait and see the outcome.
If crushed stones genuinely worked well within the cement... then the savings in materials alone would cut down countless amounts of human labor and resources!
Coordination among skilled workers required no commands from the master; in truth, Zhao Hengyi was something of an outsider compared to the construction workers he had trained.
Nearby, workers proactively began digging a trench. By the time the concrete was fully mixed, the trenching was complete—perfect.
After laying a half-foot-thick layer of concrete, the workers placed irregular stones of various shapes atop it, poured another layer of concrete over them, alternating stones and concrete layer by layer... Moments later, a solid stone wall stood right before everyone's eyes!