February of every year is the time for the northern states of the Han Empire to build farmland and water conservancy projects. This year is no exception. It is said that this custom has been continued in the Han Empire for more than a hundred years. In the "Ten Things for the Empire's Agriculture and Sericulture" written by Guo Chun, a famous prime minister of the empire, it is said that "the governors' offices of various states and the commanders of the transport offices should all state the benefits and harms of agriculture and sericulture, and they should open canals or build dams and ponds." "In the capital and the northern states, workers are sent in early spring every year to work on the people's fields, reclaim abandoned fields, build water conservancy projects, and build dams. This should be a regular measure for the government and a regular consideration for officials..." and so on...
During the decades that Guo Chun served as prime minister, the government offices in the northern part of the Han Empire established a policy of building water conservancy projects and dredging canals every February.
When Yan Liqiang came to the Imperial Capital, vigorous water conservancy projects had already begun in the counties surrounding the Imperial Capital. Normally, these water conservancy projects would last at least a month to prepare for spring ploughing in various places. However, there were some exceptions this year. When the water conservancy projects were being built around the Imperial Capital this year, because the embankment of the Ling'an River to the east of the Imperial Capital River had been in disrepair for many years, during the heavy rains last year, "the river had been plagued by long-term problems, overflowed and the water was blocked, flooding several villages, and the people were miserable..." Therefore, when the water conservancy projects were being built this year, the relevant government officials in the Imperial Capital made the Ling'an River the key target for repair, allocated money and grain, and recruited 20,000 civilians and craftsmen from the villages and towns surrounding the Imperial Capital to begin a vigorous renovation of the waterway of the Ling'an River.
On March 6th of the sixteenth year of Yuanping in the Han Empire, the weather was sunny and the spring breeze was warm. The project of repairing the Ling'an River east of the imperial capital was still in full swing. At dawn today, a large number of laborers and craftsmen, who had hastily eaten some steamed buns, porridge and pickles, had gathered at the riverside on time. Under the urging of the foremen, some carried soil, some dug mud, some pumped water, and some built embankments, and began to work.
From afar, the laborers and craftsmen on both sides of the Ling'an River were as densely packed as ants, creating a very impressive scene.
In addition to these recruited craftsmen, men, women, young and old from many surrounding villages and towns also gathered on both sides of the river bank at this time, each of them busy with things such as winnowing baskets, backpacks, and basins.
The river embankment is being repaired section by section. When repairing, the water in the river has to be drained section by section before work can start. When the water is drained, the fish, shrimp, loach and other things in the water come out. It usually takes a lot of effort to catch these fish and shrimp, but it is much easier to catch them at this time. Therefore, the surrounding villagers enjoy it. If they are lucky, they can catch a big fish that is two or three feet long. The loach and river seafood are also fresh. A small amount can be eaten by the family for a good meal, and a large amount can even be sold to restaurants in the imperial capital to earn some money.
Just before noon, a cry of surprise suddenly came from the laborers who were digging mud in a section of the river.
"Ah, there is a stone turtle in this river!"
"Stone turtle, I dug up a stone turtle in the river!"
"There's something in the river..."
Everyone has curiosity. In just a short while, the news that a stone turtle had been dug up here spread. Many laborers and craftsmen, and even villagers from the surrounding areas, ran here to see the novelty. Both sides of the river were suddenly crowded with people.
The stone turtle was nearly one meter long and half a meter tall, with a huge body. It was lying in the mud under the river, covered in mud. No one knew how many years it had been lying in the river, but it still looked lifelike, which amazed the onlookers.
The laborers and craftsmen who were working were not idle either. They quickly found ropes and iron hoists, and with the combined efforts of more than a hundred people, they pulled the muddy stone turtle from the river to the shore in the blink of an eye.
People around gathered around at once, looking at the stone turtle being pulled out of the river in amazement.
An old craftsman with silver hair walked over, reached out his hand to touch the head of the stone turtle, and scraped it with his fingernails, revealing the texture of the stone turtle under the mud. He sighed, "The material of this stone turtle is not ordinary. It is golden leaf stone, which will not decay for thousands of years. It's strange, how can there be a stone turtle in the Ling'an River..." The old craftsman's hand touched the body of the stone turtle. Suddenly, the old craftsman's face was stunned, "Ah, there seems to be words on the back of this stone turtle. Find some water to wash it and see what the words are..."
After hearing what the old craftsman said, some of the curious people nearby could not help but fetch water from the nearby river and ditch in the wooden basins used to hold fish and shrimps and rushed the water towards the stone turtle.
“Splash… splash… splash…”
After being washed in basins of water, the muddy stone turtle gradually revealed its true appearance, especially on its back, where lines of clear and profound words appeared.
"The words on the back of the stone turtle came out. The words came out. There were many lines of words..."
All of a sudden, countless heads came over with wide eyes.
“What word, what word, read it quickly and let me hear it…” Those people outside who couldn’t squeeze in started shouting loudly.
The literate person coughed twice and then read out loud the words on the back of the stone turtle.
"In May of the sixteenth year of the Yuanping reign of the Han Empire, a solar eclipse occurred in Liuzhou..."
"In August of the sixteenth year of Yuanping in the Han Empire, there was a severe drought in Zhuzhou..."
"In January of the seventeenth year of Yuanping in the Han Empire, a great earthquake occurred in Ganzhou..."
"In April of the seventeenth year of Yuanping in the Han Empire, a landslide occurred in Luchuan..."
"On September of the seventeenth year of the Yuanping reign of the Han Empire, a catastrophe descended upon the world, and thousands of stars fell. The capital and the imperial city became a dead land, thousands of miles became a desert, and the bones of the people were crushed and turned into ashes..."
"Don't say the stone turtle won't speak. Seeing this thing will give you a chance to survive. If you can survive, you can save the people and escape a thousand miles to survive!"
"The great man Yuan Tianfeng..."
When that person was reading the words, the voices of the people around him suddenly became quieter. After he read two words, the surroundings were completely silent. When he finished reading, it was so quiet on both sides of the river bank that even the sound of wind blowing through the leaves could be heard.
Yuan Tianfeng, according to legend, was a great man of the Han Empire two hundred years ago. He knew everything about astronomy and geography, and knew the past five hundred years and the future five hundred years. This man was a frequent guest in the legendary stories told by storytellers in teahouses and taverns. He was very famous and almost everyone knew him.
“I didn’t hear you clearly just now, can you… can you read it again…” In the silence, an elderly civilian on the outskirts of the crowd spoke again tremblingly.
The person who read the word just now swallowed twice and read it again. However, compared to the first time, the person's voice was trembling when he read it the second time.
This time, everyone heard it clearly.
"What are you doing? What are you doing? Why are you all gathered here? Aren't you working?" A minor official in charge of this section of the river pushed through the crowd and walked to the front. When he saw the stone turtle, he said, "Hey, what is this!"
“Sir… this… this is what we just fished out of the river…” a craftsman shrank his head and said in a low voice, and many of the people around who had just heard those words had quietly retreated to the back.
"Oh, there are words on the back of this stone turtle. Let me take a look..."
The clerk walked around to the side of the stone turtle and read the words on its back. After just a moment, the clerk's face turned pale...
…
In less than two hours, the stone turtle and the words on its back had spread throughout the Imperial Capital...
(End of this chapter)