Li Su spent three or four days of research, popular science and literacy, and layout arrangements at the front-line construction site in Bowang.

As people's hearts gradually stabilized, a considerable number of the first group of patients with diarrhea were indeed cured by Montmorillonite powder, without obvious sequelae. Tens of thousands of new recruits and civilians finally restored their unconditional trust in Sikong's orders.

At this time, it is a good opportunity to continue to look forward and deploy new key tasks.

The most important thing is that people’s hearts are available. Without confidence and fear of ghosts and gods, there is no other way.

On the fifth day of April, after several days of sorting out his ideas, Li Su finally got a comprehensive draft. Then he convened a project meeting and held it on the Bowang construction site.

Those attending the meeting included Guo Yuan, Minister of Works of the Ministry of Works, Zhuge Jin, Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and all senior relevant officials below Zhuge Liang.

"Everyone has seen the situation in the past few days. Although the response to technical difficulties has not been brought out immediately, people's hearts have recovered. Zini is also very capable and has reorganized the civilians and soldiers to devote themselves to digging the river.

I see all these things. The court will not treat everyone who does practical things unfairly. Don’t worry about your efforts. The court does not understand and cannot see them.

I saw with my own eyes that a large number of civilians dug kaolin every day and piled it safely as required to reach a place farther than the original operating rules. Although occasionally after testing the water, they would find that it had risen again, but everyone was not discouraged. Everyone firmly believed that this kind of soil could be dug.

Now, it is time to make specific technical decisions. First, we want to talk about the latest construction plan proposed by technicians.

First of all, I would like to thank the prefect Zhuge, Ma Jun, who works as a craftsman, and Mr. Titus from a foreign country from thousands of miles away. Ma Jun is inconvenient to speak and Titus is not good at Chinese. You can explain it."

In today's meeting agenda, Li Su first arranged the discussion session on "How to improve the construction plan", and then mentioned the surrounding areas to increase revenue and reduce expenditure.

After all, it is the most important thing to ensure that the canal is built and whether it can be built. Secondly, it is the turn of "to build according to this plan, how to arrange resources to save the most money and labor."

Zhuge Liang was not humble either. After he learned about the difficulties in the past few days, he discussed and discussed with Ma Jun and Titus, and revealed the results of his discussion:

"After several days of surveying and cross-examination, confirmation and summary of the current problems encountered by construction workers. At present, we have learned that the actual total mileage of 110 miles is on the entire Bowang-Ye County-Kunyang Canal.

The granite/marble-textured river channel is 12 miles, located at the highest point of the ridge of the pass. The montmorillonite/kaolin riverbed was originally 57 miles.

These rivers are special rivers that exceed the budget construction plan, and additional manpower and material resources are required. The court will add this scheduling in this regard, and the project volume will be reasonably audited, and the sufferings that everyone will suffer will not be underestimated.

The above 57-li kaolin river channel, the Bowang section covers 33 miles and the Yexian-Kunyang section 24 miles. After our emergency adjustments, and the pre-selected river channel approved by the original measurement did not excavate the entire process, so it can be adjusted slightly.

After adjustment, the total mileage of the river reached 117 miles, which was extended by 7 miles, and the excavation depth per unit mileage remained basically unchanged. However, after adjustment, the 16-mile kaolin river channel was avoided, shortening the total mileage of the kaolin to 41 miles.

Now let’s talk about the last 41-li kaolin that is absolutely unavoidable, how to attack the specific problem.”

Zhuge Liang said, unfolding two very detailed huge drawings, as well as some technical documents, and taking out a stick shaped like a teaching stick and explaining it to the map.

These maps are obviously the latest geological exploration results obtained after Li Su visited this time and discovered problems and solved them on the spot.

Not only did we investigate the lower soil of the pre-selected riverbed, but we also explored the local "non-metal mineral deposit distribution".

"We are planning to increase the depth of the kaolin that must be dug in these 41 miles from the original average depth of six zhang to eight zhang. After digging, we will first release water to raise water and test the expansion rate.

After it grows, dig it to eight feet and repeat it two or three times. We can choose to allow these river sections to store groundwater moderately in the final completion state, so that the expansive soil under the river bed will always be fully expanded with full water. Anyway, as long as the soil volume of the river bed remains stable.

However, these 41-mile river channels are not all "hard rock layers under the riverbed soil, which can store groundwater". Therefore, for river sections where water cannot be stored and will change with the seasonal dryness and wetness, we cannot expect such a treatment method.

Because in this way, even if we are fully immersed in the wet season, the riverbed will be leveled, and when the groundwater is gradually lost in the dry season, the kaolin will shrink again and the riverbed will collapse.

Therefore, for this part of the riverbed, the construction cost we have to pay will be higher than that of the previous riverbed that "can store groundwater" and even double.

At present, our exploration cannot determine how many distances there are in these 41-li river sections that can store groundwater. This can only be treated in the remaining eight months this year. All of these river sections are treated as "can store groundwater" and conduct water storage experiments.

Anyway, the canal has not been put into use yet. When the drought season comes again in winter, where the riverbed sinks, it means that the place is not suitable for water storage. Next year, we will use these river sections in a targeted manner.

I don't know how many miles each of these two river sections have. I don't know it now, but I only know it after the experiment. However, I asked Mr. Titus, based on his years of experience in the Romantheus diversion channel, our geology here, which can and cannot store water, is probably 55."

Zhuge Liang's plan has to be said to be very pragmatic. Because no one can tell whether the strata in this place can store groundwater by digging the shallow layer of the ground or digging a few feet a little deeper to make the soil sample.

This can only be done to conduct experiments and water raising experiments, just like building a house in later generations, decorating a bathroom or leak prevention, water raising experiments must be done. The experimental results are the only criterion for testing the truth.

The groundwater water feeding test specifically for canal channels is at least one year.

Because you have to look at the degree of settlement of the riverbed under different precipitation conditions in different seasons and whether the change in contraction and swelling is greater.

During this year, you can only do it when it can maintain groundwater throughout the whole process and go to construction first. After a year, you can continue to sweep the finishing area where there is no problem. If there is any abnormality, then use the subsequent backup plan instead.

Science cannot tolerate any slap in the blink of an eye.

In this technical detail, Ma Jun, who lacked practical engineering experience, did not help Zhuge Liang any more. Instead, the Roman engineer Titus made great contributions.

The main reason is that they have been building a water diversion channel for many years in their lifetime, and have a lot of experience in the leakage of riverbed and underground water on the canal surface.

And the big man did not do less work in this area before.

After hearing Zhuge Liang's speech in such an orderly manner, the conditions for selecting various situations were taken into account. Only when the project officials below Guoyuan were considered to be slightly determined and thought that this matter was at least reliable.

"So I wonder if Zhuge Prefecture, how should we build the strengthening plan for river sections that cannot be dug too much and then raise groundwater? Please make it clear."

After Guoyuan understood the branch sentence structure of "if/otherwise", he earnestly asked about the specific operation.

Zhuge Liang: "When it is confirmed that the river section that cannot store groundwater, after overdigging, it is found that it will dehydrate and retract. Then, the overdigging part is backfilled with some other surrounding soil that is not easy to expand.

Don't have to be too thick, just level the riverbed, use whatever material is convenient, and can also mix gravel and gravel generated by previous blasting.

After leveling the riverbed, it is the most expensive step - maybe you have to build thin bluestone slabs at the bottom of the riverbed and along the riverside, or any stone that is excavated and exploded nearby. In short, try to make it as wide and thin as possible.

After being covered, the gaps between the stone slabs can be filled with kaolin. Although the filled kaolin will be immersed in the riverbed in the future and will expand many times, because it is only used as a binder and the total amount is not large, it will not affect it. Instead, it can fill the gaps as much as possible to prevent the river from seeping under the seepage.

In addition, Titus worker Cao is more experienced in this regard. He said that he could add crushed and calcined limestone and other auxiliary materials to the kaolin caulk, and adapt to local conditions to create something similar to 'Roman cement'.

Roman cement can fill the gaps between stone slabs to avoid leakage as much as possible, and the expansion rate is much lower than that of pure kaolin. We will do more experiments in the future.

If this Roman cement improved with kaolin is cheap enough, all materials are used locally and the fuel consumed is not high, then the amount of Roman cement can be increased and the consumption and quality requirements for stone can be reduced.

When those hard strata at the ridge passes were blasted and excavated, the broken gravel slabs may be used with cement to bond gaps. Anyway, the stone masonry on the riverbed has no requirement for the degree of solidity and does not bear the burden, so as long as the seepage is reduced."

After hearing this, Guoyuan finally felt completely at ease about the question of "will this canal be finally built?"

If the subdivision response plan is done so solidly, there will definitely be no problem in completing it, and everyone must have confidence.

However, Titus said that the leakage and non-leakage riverbeds have a ratio of 550 yuan, which means that at least twenty miles long river sections must be built in the end, with stone slabs underneath!

This cost is really extravagant.

If you lay a layer of stone slab at the bottom of the river, the workload is comparable to the bricks and stones that are wrapped in rammed earth walls when repairing the city walls.

The construction volume of more than 20 miles is equivalent to a huge city of capital-level such as Chang'an City or Luoyang City, which is in one direction, and the rammed earth covers a layer of stone!

The city walls of Luoyang in Chang'an are all "seven feet high and thick", and the length of one side ranges from seven or eight miles to twelve miles.

The width of the canal surface is not that big, but it is still necessary to have four or five meters wide, otherwise it will be difficult for ships to meet in the two directions. In addition, the canal only needs to be laid on the bottom and not covered with the roof, which saves half of the savings than the city wall.

However, the length of the river section is more than twenty miles, which does not mean the amount of bricks covered by the city wall on the north side of Chang'an City.

That much money was something I could never have imagined.

This river has been added several times since it started construction for half a year!

When I first found out that the river channel had become longer, the canal budget had increased by 20% compared to the "five billions" I reported at the beginning. That was a trivial matter, it was nothing more than 6 billion yuan.

Later I found out that the part that was digging through the ridge was about to dig granite and marble. I was about to give up, and the cost was not much higher.

Li Surang went to the blasting process, learned the parallel eye drilling construction of Kanerjing, and buried medicine at multiple points, and finally rescued it, but the cost continued to jump from 6 billion to more than 8 billion.

Now I find that it is necessary to dig the expansive soil for more than 40 miles, and the cost will reach 10 billion. In the end, there may be more than 20 miles of riverbed backfilling without increasing the materials, and then laying the stone slabs!

That's another 200 billion yuan. The total amount of money to rebuild the city wall on one side is not more than 12 billion yuan!

At the beginning, we reported 5 billion yuan, and finally we built 12. This is a 240% budget/final calculation ratio. The additional project volume is more than the cost.

Who could tolerate this level of decisive deeds and then report?

If the Taiping Xingguo period of Song Taizong in later generations had been put on the stage of two prime ministers, they would have been removed from office. They would have been taken away by the prime minister of the Zhenzong dynasty in the future! It was also for the destruction of the same canal!

Of course, Liu Bei's trust in Li Su must be much higher.

The world has helped to plan, even if it is a net loss of 12 billion yuan or even a greedy of 12 billion yuan, Li Su's prime minister is still his prime minister, so this will not be affected.

What's more, the repair of the canal is practical and useful, and it is a plan for a thousand years.

In the future, economic exchanges between Jingchu, Bashu and Henan and Hebei can be transported, saving an average water mileage of one or two thousand miles. There is no need to go around Hefei or even Yangzhou.

Fortunately, Li Su and Zhuge Liang would not really make Guoyuan spend more than 12 billion to build the canal.

This is done in the first place, and the subtraction can be done in the first place.

One hundred and twenty billion is the worst plan, and it is the best. In the future, you need to consider how to break a money into two, spend two portions, or turn the waste generated from construction into treasure, and also reclaim some of the resources.

Zhuge Liang continued to preach inspiringly: "What I just said is just the situation where the most money is spent. In actual operation, we can also coordinate.

First of all, we can obtain the stone slabs and stones that lay the riverbed nearby, but in fact they use the gravel and waste materials that are blasted out. The transportation distance is no more than twenty miles, which is a point of saving money.

Secondly, kaolin and Roman cement are basically made of local materials, and limestone is also found in the stone dug out of the ridge section of the jambus. Master Li often taught me that if you move the waste into a place, you may become a resource. Everyone should think more about it.

Then, this kaolin may be able to be fired to produce something else. Although the formula must be kept confidential according to the laws of the court, we can promise that within two years, a large workshop will be set up in Bowang or Kunyang County to purchase the dug kaolin.

I don’t know what to produce and how to do it at the moment. If others are interested, they can try it by themselves. If they succeed, they can make money by themselves.

Although Bowang County and Kunyang County were originally places with inconvenient transportation and were not suitable for building workshops, in the future, as long as this canal is open, this will be the hub at the junction of Jing, Yu and Si, and the most convenient waterway passage between Jingchu, Bashu and Henan and Hebei.

I believe that there can be a wide range of industry and commerce here, and take advantage of the fact that Nanyang County was always too dense to allow the people to fully farm. Therefore, every time in troubled times, the people will first become popular. A large number of people who have no land to plant can work, and the cost of employed people will definitely be cheaper than those in those vast and sparsely populated towns.

As long as the trial production is successful, during the future construction period, the court promised to purchase the high-quality kaolin dug out of the canal site from the court at a price of ten yuan per stone. Of course, it is the price to be shipped to the factory, not the price to be by the river.

The specific amount of collection depends on the output and sales route. This can also recover some of the expenses of digging soil in the imperial court, which is considered to be a contribution to the imperial court. We have calculated that the price of a civilian labor service for a day is 30 cents, and at least five stones of kaolin can be dug out in a day.

The cost of leaving the ground is only six cents. The merchant promised to give a guarantee of ten cents, which included part of the shipping fee for transporting to the factory, plus a mining fee of one cent for the court."

When Zhuge Liang heard that the digging of waste soil and stones could still be considered "mines", all supervisors were lit up.
To be continued...