After returning to Xiaoqiangbao, Yang Shanlu had already figured out all the circumstances and knew everything in his mind, and then he officially started to act.
The first step, of course, is how to sweep the world without sweeping a house.
Yang Shanlu ordered people to go to Xuzhuang and other private villages. He hired a dozen masons to renovate those houses. This also included the houses where the four old soldiers lived. After all, there were only barely decent houses. To live in peace of mind.
The second step is to solve the drinking water problem in the fort.
It turned out that there were three wells in Xiaoqiangbao, one of which was very famous. According to legend, Xiaohou of the Liao Dynasty once stationed troops here. The well was overflowing with water, so it was also called Xiaohoujing. But now it's in disrepair for a long time, and it's the Little Ice Age, and the well water has dried up. Usually the water needs to go to the Nanyang River one mile away, which is very inconvenient.
Therefore, after Yang Shanlu asked these masons to repair the house, he dug these three wells deep again. Fortunately, these masons themselves would do this, which happened to be done in one exercise.
Five days later, the houses were all repaired, including three wells, which were dug to a depth of four feet again. Clear water emerged from the well. After tasting, the well water was sweet and the water output was not small. In this way, Xiaoqiangbao will develop in the future. When I get up, there is no problem with drinking water.
After these infrastructures are repaired, the conditions for long-term stay will be established, including the four veterans, and they also feel the difference between the new team officer. Although he is very young, he does not seem to be a casual person, but Ready to live steadily.
Then, they verified their opinions. Yang Shanlu then took his mother and Xiaoyu from Xu Zhuang, showing his determination to take root here.
After all these were done, Yang Shanlu called all his subordinates, including the veterans, to publicly announce his decision, which is the next step... to develop saline-alkali land.
After the old soldiers heard of this decision, they had the same expressions as Cheng Wu and the others at the beginning... They have lived so many years, they still don't know what saline soil can be managed! This is something that a saint can't do...
However, since it was Yang Shanlu's decision, they could only do so. The only thing that made them reassured was that Yang Shanlu had publicly promised that their veterans would only need to do some auxiliary work and would not be used as a beast and horse.
As for Cheng Wu and others, after accompanied Yang Shanlu to inspect the entire saline-alkali land, and even after not letting go of the horns, they deeply realized his determination. In this case, let's see if it can produce a miracle!
After this decision was made, the treatment of saline-alkali land officially began. The so-called treatment of saline-alkali land is also very simple to put it bluntly.
Although Yang Shanlu knows that there are many ways to treat saline-alkali land in later generations, such as chemical treatment, biological treatment... But in light of the current situation, the fastest and the lowest cost is to remove alkali with water—specifically, after soaking in water, Take away the saline-alkali substances in the soil.
To do this, a reliable source of water is necessary, that is, deep wells are excavated.
After determining the method of governance, Yang Shanlu led the crowd and began to dig a well outside the Xiaoqiangbao.
Because this is the key to the management of saline-alkali land, and considering that there are still decades in the Little Ice Age, and the groundwater level may still fall, it is necessary to drill deep water wells, that is, generally local wells with a depth of seven or eight feet are drilled. As for Yang Shanlu, they are all deep wells over ten feet.
When it comes to digging wells, the masons who have been invited are also very good at them. In addition, Yang Shanlu is very profitable in paying his wages. It is settled in three days and is never in arrears, so the progress is also fast.
As for Cheng Wu and others, let them do some supporting facilities, such as digging a plot next to a well, piling a field dam, digging drainage ditches...
And Yang Shanlu didn't just say nothing. After the arrangement, even he went to the fields with a shovel and other farm tools to take the lead.
When the other people met, they had nothing to say. Even the court steward did the work himself, so what else is there to say...
"Yang Ya Ya--" When it was dry until the afternoon, a 20-acre test field began to show its rudiment. Of course, everyone was tired, but despite this, they all pricked their ears because they heard it coming from the fort. The sound of killing pigs.
"Hehe is great, it seems that I have to eat pig-killing vegetables at night! I also saw that I bought a lot of vermicelli and cabbage!" Qian Lanzi was excited after hearing it.
"Just your ears!" Hai Rigu stared at him, but he laughed as he said this, and Cheng Wu and others were even more happy when they heard it.
And this is the place where Yang Shanlu is thoughtful. Working like this will consume a lot of people, so nutrition must be guaranteed, otherwise blood in the urine will not be fun!
So when he started work, he had ordered people to buy a bite of fat pigs, so that at night, everyone can eat more than half a catty of pork, and then they can also eat pork every day to ensure nutrient supply.
Five days later, the deep water well has been drilled, and the quality of the water is not bad. Yang Shanlu also tasted it himself. There is no taste of saline and alkali. Yangshanlu is very satisfied... Once the well is laid, the saline-alkali land will be treated. It's half done.
And the next step is to make a well-filling water truck, so that it can be driven by a donkey and other large livestock to lift water, otherwise such a deep well can be exhausted if it is lifted manually.
Special carpenters are needed to make irrigation waterwheels. However, there are carpenters in Xuzhuang and nearby farms, and there is a tradition of making irrigation waterwheels in Xuzhuang and nearby farms, so don’t worry.
So after I got five or six carpenters, they negotiated the price, and soon a well irrigation wagon was built.
This kind of irrigation waterwheel is actually an improved keel waterwheel, and the cost is not cheap. One needs nine taels of silver, but the water diversion function is good. One can irrigate 20 acres of land, which is more in line with current needs.
In fact, Yang Shanlu also knows a better waterwheel, that is, the later generations of pipe chain waterwheels, which are even more efficient for pumping water, but this type of waterwheel has some technical content, and the required gears and chains are not It can be made in a short time, so let's use the irrigation water truck on the roof first.
After the irrigation truck is completed, it is only waiting to carry water to fill the field, and the donkey used to carry the water can be replaced by the captured war horse, and it will not be too late to buy it after the test is successful in the future.
"The water is coming out! The water is coming out!"
In the morning of this day, the alkali removal with water officially started. As the horses started to walk in circles, the clear water from the well was rushed up. Cheng Wu and others were all around, staring at it with wide-eyed eyes.
Although they have vaguely guessed that this is the way to manage saline-alkali soils, they still don't understand. Since this is the case, God has rained so much, why these saline-alkali soils have not turned into fertile fields
But since Yang Shanlu confessed this, they didn't question it, but waited for the final result.
But Yang Shanlu, knows the next thing very well...
Although the whole process is not complicated, there are still some steps. For example, the paddy field must be soaked with water first, and then the saline alkali must be leached, and then drained through the dug drainage ditch. It must be a drainage ditch with sufficient depth. Repeat 2 It was only after 3 times that the salt content in the ground dropped.
"Drain the water -" After two hours of soaking, the water was bitter and astringent. Yang Shanlu ordered someone to dig a dam and drain all the water through a drainage ditch.
"Uh... The water that I worked so hard to lift up, just let it go? Isn't it nothing to do?" After looking at the needle for a long time, I couldn't understand it at all, just whispered.
And among these people, they are relatively clever money baskets. They feel as if they understand, but still don't understand. Is this trying to soak up the hard field
Seeing their puzzled appearance, Yang Shanlu did not explain. After all, it is still difficult to understand the principles for these standard illiterate people. Let's prove it with practice...
So after the water dries out, Yang Shanlu ordered the second time to lift the water and soak the field. After repeating this three times, the experimental field was finally settled.
"Haha, it's pretty good—" Yang Shanlu smiled as he watched the test field no longer show the white flowers.
And then you can sow the seeds. Of course, this seed is also particular about the salt tolerance of different crops. For example, the salt tolerance of wheat is higher than that of millet. And now winter wheat can be planted, so under the command of Yang Shanlu, 20 acres of land are planted with wheat...
This is proved by practice. It turns out that even weeds are difficult to grow in these saline-alkali soils, but now, if the wheat can germinate normally, it means that the management has been successful.
And in the next few days, Yang Shanlu gave everyone a holiday. After all, hard work is unnecessary. When you see the wheat seedlings that you planted by yourself can germinate, the work energy will be different, right
As time passed by bit by bit, everyone in the fort was also looking forward to see if the wheat seedlings could sprout!
One day passed...
Two days passed...
Three days passed...
Four days have passed...
Until the fifth day, the wheat seedlings hadn't sprouted yet (in three to four days under normal circumstances) everyone felt heavy. Did it fail
Only Yang Shanlu is still very calm. He knows that it is the Little Ice Age and the overall climate is abnormal, so it is normal that a difference of one or two days compared with a normal year is normal.
It’s just that some people don’t think so... (End of this chapter)