Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 7 Conversation
"Why do you say that?"

Ximen Bao relaxed his expression and asked again.

Building canals and diverting water was an important part of Ximen Bao’s plan.

If the water from the Zhang River is not brought in to facilitate irrigation, the land in Ye County will continue to be barren.

Obviously, they had all the advantages of time and place, but because of the lack of human harmony and unwillingness to build the canal, this great opportunity was wasted. Ximen Bao felt heartbroken just thinking about it.

Once the fields in Ye County were reclaimed, the foundation would be laid, and the people would have food, goods would be plentiful, and merchants would profit...

Why couldn't Ximen Bao be promoted?
If He Bo can indeed help with the canal construction, Ximen Bao would not mind recommending him to the king if he gets the chance.

"How much canal does Ye Ling want to build?" He Bo asked.

"Build twelve canals to irrigate the surrounding fields."

"How much water is diverted?"

"Of course the more the merrier."

Hearing this, He Bo smiled and said, "However, the terrain of Ye County is higher than that of Zhang River. If we want to divert water, the ditch must be dug deeper."

Ximen Bao stroked his knees and sighed, "This is exactly what I was worried about."

The canal construction had just begun when the villagers started complaining. If the canal was to be dug deeper, more manpower would be required, which would only lead to greater resentment.

“You can make it clear.”

"The people of Ye believe in ghosts and gods, so they are not willing to listen to the teachings of the saints."

"Then we can build tools to draw water from low places to high places."

"Where in the world can such a tool be found...Are you a disciple of the Mohist school?"

Ximen Bao said in surprise.

"Of course I'm not!" He Bo waved his hand.

"That's not the Mohist school, so how could they come up with something so ingenious?"

Seeing that he didn't believe that he could make something like a waterwheel, He Bo was not in a hurry.

Anyway, he is not the one who is short of water.

"If Ye Ling discusses the wonders of heaven and earth with me, I can indeed help you solve the problem of getting water, and even reduce the time spent on canal repairs and save manpower, which is also feasible."

Ximen Bao heard what he said and said, "You don't want me to recommend you to the king?"

"Fame and fortune are like floating clouds to me, why add to them?"

"So you are such a wise man. That's good, that's good."

If Ximen Bao doesn't need to recommend someone, he can save a lot of effort.

I just don’t know why He Bo came here with such intention, but he made a promise. So what if Ximen Bao meets his strange request?

can only say,
They have never even seen the "deposit", but trust someone just by hearing a few words... This is also a characteristic of people in this era.

They are all very simple!
……

"Is that all?"

After listening to Ximen Bao's brief introduction of some strange stories, He Bo just pondered.

Although what Ximen Bao said is wider in scope and richer in types than what the villagers of Ye County said, when it comes to the content of gods and ghosts and their credibility, He Bo can only give an evaluation of "all the same dish".

He can't even come up with a joke about the "Three Mountains on the Sea", which shows that He Bo may be the only special person in this world.

Although it cannot be directly confirmed,
But He Bo couldn't help but feel a little "arrogant" and felt even happier.

So he fulfilled his promise.

"I have a set of tools that can divert water."

"Is it convenient?"

"We still need human support, and it is necessary to repair the canal."

The noble villagers who were the first to till the land in Ye, in accordance with their original habit of living near the river, deliberately built a city and reclaimed wasteland at a distance from the Zhang River to prevent the city from being submerged by floods someday.

After all, people who have experienced floods know that

A stream that looks shallow at ordinary times will become very turbulent after a heavy rain.

It is better to be busy during normal times than to lose your life and property later.

As a result, the Zhang River continued to flow steadily, and the frequency of flooding was so high that the old people who built the city regretted it so much that they beat their chests and stamped their feet.

At this point, the canal that Ximen Bao planned to build has become longer.

Even if there is a waterwheel, there must be a channel connecting it to the fields.

However, the existence of water wheels still has a significant impact on canal construction.

In the past, deep digging was required to make the water flow to lower places, but now it is enough to just dig some shallow channels.

"anything else?"

Ximen Bao couldn't help but look forward to it.

He Bo patted himself on the shoulder and said, "No need for anybody. All I need is for Ye Ling to draw a channel on the ground and then draw a circle near the field. Wait a minute or two and the Zhang River will naturally flow in!"

"How can this be!"

Ximen Bao, who had just felt that "this person is more talented than Mo Men", could not help but straighten his face when he heard this, "Where in the world is there such a thing!"

He Bo laughed and said, "This has never happened before, but it will happen after me!" He picked up the wine Ximen Bao had used to entertain the guests and said regretfully, "This wine is too coarse, people can't get drunk by drinking it, let alone pouring it into the Zhang River?"

"Let's leave it for Ye Ling to enjoy!"

After all,

In front of Ximen Bao,
He Bo, whose illusion could no longer hold out, turned into a streak of light and disappeared back into the Zhang River!

"this!"

"this!"

Ximen Bao pounced on the seat where He Bo had sat before in disbelief. He felt a chill when he touched it, and it didn't look like anyone had been sitting there for a long time.

"Zhanghe?"

"Zhanghe!"

Could that person be He Bo?
Ximen Bao pushed the door open eagerly and ran towards the Zhang River.

But after running for a while, he realized that this was really inappropriate. After he went there, he didn't know whether he could see He Bo again and ask him the reason for his divine appearance, but it was inevitable that it would cause a new discussion in the city.

"That's it!"

Ximen Bao simply turned around and walked towards the temple built by the gentry to worship He Bo.

Previously, there was a temple for worshiping He Bo, and it was even built quite luxuriously because of a witch.

However, after receiving the "special invitation" from He Bo, the gentry all wanted to distance themselves from the past, so they moved the temple and rebuilt it.

Now that it has been under construction for some time, it has already taken shape.

However, due to the urgent request of the gentry, the statue of the god was built before the temple was completed.

There is no time to carve, of course.
However, it is still possible to ask a few craftsmen to make a clay statue.

Ximen Bao pushed away the person who came forward to greet the county magistrate and went straight to the statue to look at its face.

"It's not like, it's not like..."

He asked the local gentry who were supervising the construction and bowing to Habaek to pray for forgiveness, "Is this the appearance of Habaek that you saw in your dream?"

"Yes."

"Why is it so hideous?"

"This……"

The squire was speechless for a moment, then he explained that since they were afraid of what happened in the dream, they naturally didn't want to recall it.

Moreover, except for the first time, He Bo had never appeared in their dreams in person again. The only one who "entered" them was the ghost of the woman who sank to the bottom of the water because of their actions in the past.

Being haunted by evil spirits, and because He Bo's magic was not advanced enough when he first entered the dream, he naturally could not make the gentry deeply understand how elegant and easy-going the Zhangshui River God was.

The reality is narrated to the craftsman, and the image includes the part where the gentry describes it because of his excessive fear.

"Change it."

Ximen Bao pointed at the hideous-looking statue and said to the squire, "He Bo does not look like this."

"what?"

The squire was stunned, not knowing why the county magistrate suddenly made such a request.

Statues of ghosts and gods,
Or a ghost who appears before people.
Can it be changed at will?

"You don't even know what Habaek looks like, and you still want to apologize to him?"

Seeing the squire's puzzled expression, Ximen Bao laughed out loud, "I'd better save you. Don't let He Bo know that you described Him like this, otherwise this sin will never be washed away even if you go to the Zhang River!"

The squire wanted to ask the reason, but Ximen Bao had already left in anger.

Fortunately, the servant was a step slower and was stopped by the squire, "Why did the magistrate of Ye say that?"

"Did anything happen today?"

Although his "artistic achievements" were denied

He was a little unhappy, but when he thought of the fact that Ximen Bao had also appeared in He Bo's dream and had been praised, the country gentleman couldn't help but think more about it.

The servant only replied, "Nothing bad, just a young man came to visit."

"Is there something strange about that young man?"

"No, he looks gentle and refined, a gentleman."

The servant paused for a moment or two, and finally told the squire, "It's just that the nobleman was meeting with that gentleman, and I was accompanying him outside, but I didn't see anyone coming out."

"After that, the nobleman hurried out, calling out the name of the River God... He originally wanted to go to the Zhang River, but for some reason he ended up here."

The squire heard this.

A thoughtful look on his face.
Then I broke out in a cold sweat.

"Okay, okay, thank you for letting me know!"

He took out some money from his pocket and stuffed it into the servant's pocket, then turned to the craftsman and said, "Quick, quick, change this statue!"

"This is wrong, so wrong!"

He Bo is above,

Don't think about the guilt of describing a beautiful gentleman as a green-faced evil ghost...

(End of this chapter)