Chapter 61
Chapter 61
At the sound, the scholars immediately perked up and turned to Ouyang Jiu. “Brother Ouyang, what have you figured out? Tell us!”
“That’s right! Of all of us, you know the most about mountains and rivers!”
Ouyang Jiu’s ancestors had come from Jinzhou in Jingxinan Circuit, a place of tall mountains and clear waters that produced many skilled folk singers and fishermen. Ouyang Jiu had grown up there and knew a great deal about the terrain, so everyone was willing to trust his judgment.
Ouyang Jiu did not keep his insight to himself. He stepped forward and said excitedly, “Everyone, look. Isn’t the opening on the left side of the bucket broad and high, just like the Min River’s original channel? And isn’t the opening on the right narrow and low, just like the channel now being excavated?”
At that, the scholars looked toward the Min River nearby.
Sure enough, the laborers had gathered on the river’s eastern side. Judging by their positions and distribution, the channel they meant to dig would clearly be much narrower than the unexcavated western channel. And because they had removed river sand, the eastern channel was also much lower than the original western one.
Its features corresponded perfectly to the openings in the bucket.
Ouyang Jiu continued his analysis. “The water poured from the runners’ buckets represents the water of the Min River. When the water comes slowly and in small amounts, it flows first toward the lower opening. But when it comes fast and in great volume, most of it flows through the opening that is only slightly higher but much wider! Because the lower opening is narrower, several tenths less water flows through it instead!”
He pointed at the wooden basins on the ground. “Look. Doesn’t one basin contain more water than the other?”
Everyone looked and found that he was right. The high, wide opening had discharged nearly twenty percent more water than the low, narrow one.
“Oh! I understand!” Bian Yangchun exclaimed. “In spring and summer, when the Min River runs swift and high, the eastern channel will be dug narrower. Then, when the flash floods come, sixty to seventy percent of the water will follow the original channel, while the remaining thirty to forty percent will flow through the low, narrow channel toward the opening in Mount Yuji, supplying irrigation water to the fields in the eastern counties!”
“By autumn and winter, the Min River’s volume will begin to drop. Because the eastern channel is deeper and lower than the original channel, most of the water will flow into the lower channel first instead. Even in the dry season, it will provide ample irrigation water to every county!”
“In this way, the river will divide sixty-forty between west and east during the high-water season, then forty-sixty during the dry season. No matter the time of year, the people downstream will always have an appropriate and ample supply of water to irrigate their farmland!”
After hearing the two men’s explanations, the scholars felt as though a veil had been lifted from their minds. “So that’s it! That’s what it means!”
“They even accounted for the Min River’s different conditions in summer and winter, then planned the diversion around the changing volume of water instead of simply splitting it in two… What extraordinary ingenuity and thought!”
“We are truly ashamed. We were so shortsighted that we thought solving the summer floods would be enough…”
“Why be discouraged? Water flows downhill, while people strive upward. We have now witnessed the laws governing mountains and flowing water, which means we have taken another step forward in the study of geography and phenology. This is something to celebrate!”
“Well said, Brother Li! This truly is worthy of celebration!”
The scholars broke into delighted smiles. Small as they were, standing amid the grandeur of towering mountains and mighty rivers, they had seen through one of nature’s mysteries. It made them feel as though they stood among the clouds and gazed down upon the earth. Their hearts and horizons opened all at once, as if they had stepped into another world.
Was this what it felt like to conquer nature?
While everyone else reveled in the moment, Ouyang Jiu had been frowning in thought ever since he finished his explanation. Only after the others gradually calmed down did he speak. “Brother Zhu, I have a question.”
Zhu Xiaobiao turned toward him, something flickering faintly in his eyes. “Go ahead.”
“Perhaps I’m overthinking it, but when you demonstrated the river channels, the bucket seemed to contain far too much sand.” Ouyang Jiu pointed to the sediment in the wooden basins. “Was that meant as a hint, or was it mere coincidence?”
“That’s true.” Everyone nodded. If the purpose was merely to demonstrate the water’s volume, clear water would have sufficed. Why add so much river sand?
Zhu Xiaobiao gave Ouyang Jiu a long look, then admitted, “That’s right. I did it deliberately.”
It really had been deliberate?
Why?
“The Min River is swift and carries a great volume of water, so it inevitably sweeps large quantities of sand downstream. But the channel we excavated through Mount Yuji is very narrow and could easily become clogged with sand and silt.” Zhu Xiaobiao pointed to the bucket, from which the water had now stopped flowing. “Look. Isn’t there a good deal of sticky river mud left around the narrow opening?”
Bian Yangchun was the first to lean closer. Sure enough, there was. “There really is silt.”
“Then what can be done?” Everyone grew worried again. “Was the channel through Mount Yuji dug for nothing?”
Zhu Xiaobiao smiled and shook his head. “Not at all. Do you remember the true lesson behind the story of Yu Gong moving the mountains?”
The scholars answered, “Use Heaven? Resist Heaven?”
“Exactly.” Zhu Xiaobiao nodded. “Use Heaven to resist Heaven. If the principle that water flows downhill allowed us to devise a way to divide the Min River’s waters in summer and winter, then other natural laws can surely show us how to solve the problem of silt accumulating in the channel.”
Zhu Xiaobiao took out a wooden plank, then flung the sandy river water from the bucket against it.
Water splashed everywhere, carrying a great deal of sand with it. “The Min River’s current is fierce and swift. If we build a tall stone dam beside the channel opening, the water will strike the dam first. This spot happens to lie on a bend, so the obstructed water will circle back, flinging sand into the distance. We can then build a weir where the sand lands, causing all of it to accumulate there.”
“That will solve the problem of sediment buildup. We plan to call the tall stone dam Lidui, and the weir where the flying sand lands the Flying Sand Weir,” Zhu Xiaobiao explained.
The scholars’ eyes shone brighter and brighter.
“Flying Sand Weir – what a fine name!”
“Lidui means a stone mound that separates flying sand from river water, doesn’t it? So plain and easy to understand!”
“Now that those two places have names, what about the channel opening through Mount Yuji?” Ouyang Jiu asked curiously. “Has it been named?”
Zhu Xiaobiao shook his head. “His High – Ahem. Our lord did give it a name: the Bottleneck Channel. But after some thought, he decided it would be more meaningful for the people here to name it themselves.”
The scholars nodded. “Indeed. After all, the people dug the channel themselves.”
“Brother Zhu, is there anything else?” Ouyang Jiu asked bluntly. “Surely there’s more to splitting the river than this. Don’t hold out on us – tell us everything.”
“Yes, tell us!” the other scholars chorused, looking at Zhu Xiaobiao expectantly.
Zhu Xiaobiao nodded. He removed the scroll case hanging from his body and pulled out a sheet of paper.
When he unfurled it, they saw the construction plan for splitting the river.
“Here, we will fill burlap sacks with river pebbles and stack them into a dividing weir that separates the Min River’s eastern and western flows. Its shape will resemble a fish’s mouth. The pointed, rounded tip will help divide the Min River, cushioning the current without making it splash.”
Zhu Xiaobiao pointed to a spot on the plan. “When a flash flood strikes, even forty percent of the water entering the eastern channel could be extremely dangerous. We therefore need to divert it a second time, right here between the Fish Mouth and the Flying Sand Weir. The terrain will guide part of the water back into the original channel.”
“At the same time, we will widen the original channel farther to the west, ensuring it can hold more water in summer and ease the pressure on the eastern channel.”
“The Fish Mouth divides the flow, the Bottleneck Channel restricts it, and Lidui blocks it. With all three working together, Yizhou’s floods will resolve themselves.”
After speaking, Zhu Xiaobiao suddenly smiled. “Interestingly, there is already a naturally formed island in the middle of the river, right where the Fish Mouth should be. We need only reshape it to divide the current more effectively.”
“This is the wonder of nature.”
The scholars sighed in admiration. “Nature… It unfolds of itself, like the changing seasons, birth, aging, illness, and death. What a marvelous word for the vast mountains and rivers of this world!”
“Is this not the unity of Heaven and humanity – the interconnection of all things and the way of following nature?”
“If this method succeeds, Yizhou will become a boundless expanse of fertile land. Its people will prove to the entire Jian’an Dynasty what it means to fear no force of nature and for human determination to triumph over Heaven!”
“Well said! Fear no force of nature – human determination will triumph over Heaven!”
The scholars cheered loudly. Tears welled in their eyes and their noses stung. It felt as though they were witnessing a glorious moment in the history of thought and civilization, and their hearts surged with a tumult of emotion.
“Then, Brother Zhu, who devised this method?” a scholar seized the chance to ask. “It is so meticulous and yet so bold. Did a mountain immortal truly enter Prefect Liang’s dream and tell him?”
“Hahaha!” Zhu Xiaobiao burst out laughing. “There’s no such thing as a mountain immortal! If there were, would he tolerate us digging up the mountain?”
“Then…” Excitement swept through the scholars. “What sort of extraordinary figure thought of it?”
“Well, the truth is that an able man named Li Bing derived it from the laws of terrain and natural cycles governing mountains and rivers.”
Zhu Xiaobiao smiled. “Bringing prosperity to the people requires far more than reading the books of sages. Those books teach you shame and honor, rites and propriety. But if you wish to benefit the people, you must understand with your heart and observe with your own eyes. You must comprehend their hardships and discover what they need. That is the true path.”
He bowed slightly to the scholars, his eyes bright. “The Jian’an Dynasty is still young, and many regions remain mired in suffering like Yizhou’s. When your names appear on the examination rolls, I hope you will remember all you have felt and thought today. Use nature, reshape nature, and turn the Jian’an Dynasty into a blessed land that endures through the ages, its civilization everlasting!”
“May the Jian’an Dynasty endure through the ages, its civilization everlasting!”
The scholars raised their hands and returned his bow, shouting with fervor and conviction.
“Today’s story of splitting the river ends here, yet it will never truly end here.” Tears also glimmered in Zhu Xiaobiao’s eyes as he addressed the scholars. “My friends, the road ahead is long. Until fate brings us together again.”
After the bow, he raised his head to leave, but his gaze happened to meet Ji Songhua’s.
Zhu Xiaobiao gave him a small nod and an easy smile, then turned and walked away.
Behind him, Ji Songhua was left with emotions he could not name.
He no longer cared either.