Wei and Jin did not submit to Zhou

Chapter 44 The Three-Day Term Has Arrived
At night, Shi Shouxin was alone in his military tent, staring blankly at the engineering drawing.

"Actually, you can be lazy and not do it. Even if you can't handle it, you won't be the one to take the blame."

But if I do it, many people will definitely be willing to stand by my side. This will certainly be very beneficial for my self-preservation later.

Shi Shouxin crossed his arms, racking his brains for a solution, muttering to himself like a madman.

In fact, Li Bao's thinking was too simplistic. There are three problems that have not yet been solved in the construction of this plank road.

The first step is to make qualified and compliant pillars. These pillars must correspond one-to-one with the holes, and wedges must be driven into the inserted end for fixation.

The tolerances cannot be too large, otherwise the lifespan will be shortened significantly.

Furthermore, the outer surface of the pillar must be coated with a layer of paint for corrosion and moisture protection. It cannot be allowed to rot or swell due to moisture after only one month of use.

One of the main problems is that it needs to stand the test of time.

The second challenge was transporting such thick pillars from afar. While marching along the plank roads was feasible, and even horseback riding was possible in most sections, long-distance timber transport would be extremely labor-intensive. Especially given the considerable size and weight of the timber, long-distance transport would be a nightmare.

The third question is how to insert such a thick and large piece of wood into the hole in the suspended mountain wall!

Shi Shouxin had to come up with many methods just to measure the distance between the holes, but he barely managed to complete it.

However, climbing up the mountainside was far too easy compared to inserting the timber into the holes.

There are three technical challenges; if any one of them gets stuck, construction cannot proceed.

what can we do about it?

He racked his brains but couldn't come up with any good ideas for a while.

Just then, the guards on duty outside brought in a middle-aged man dressed in ordinary Wei army uniform.

Shi Shouxin looked the man up and down, and felt that he didn't recognize him no matter how he looked at him.

Yes, we've never met before! We've never met in person before!
"May I ask if you are Shi Shouxin, the military supervisor?"

The man asked with a smile; his round face looked very friendly.

"My name is Shi Shouxin. May I ask what brings you here to seek my advice?"

Shi Shouxin asked in confusion.

The man handed him the bamboo tube hanging from his belt, then bowed and said, "I am a servant of Lord Yang. I am here to deliver a letter to Yang Xiu and also to Supervisor Shi."

So they're from Yang Hu's family!

Shi Shouxin suddenly realized that Yang Xiu, Yang Hu's cousin, was also in the army that was attacking Shu. It was perfectly normal for their family to send someone to deliver a letter that would not be seen by outsiders.

If you don't even have this much skill, then you really shouldn't be hanging around in the Celestial Dragons' circle.

He waved to the guards at the door, and the two men stepped back a dozen paces. Only then did Shi Shouxin turn to the messenger and ask, "I'm replying now, and you're taking it back, is that alright?"

"That's right. Please read the letter now, Supervisor Shi. Burn it immediately after reading it, so as not to give anyone a handle against you."

The messenger from the Yang family nodded and offered his reminder.

Shi Shouxin opened the letter, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes. The messenger, however, kept his head down, seemingly oblivious to Shi Shouxin's expression.

This letter was actually written by Yang Huiyu!
However, probably out of concern for leaks, the letter didn't contain any strange words, and the sweet nothings the two exchanged in bed were even less likely.

Yang Huiyu was merely admonishing Shi Shouxin about what to do from the perspective of a "great general," as if Sima Zhao had instructed her to say so.

Yang Huiyu reminded Shi Shouxin that Sima Zhao already intended to kill Zhong Hui and would definitely do so, though it was unclear when. She advised him to be vigilant and not be harmed by Zhong Hui. If he encountered danger, he should seek help from Yang Xiu.

He also said that although Yang Xiu was arrogant and had a bad temper, she would never collude with Zhong Hui, and that he could ask her for help in critical moments.

Shi Shouxin sighed softly, somewhat melancholy.

Yang Huiyu is deeply entangled in this illicit affair, like an old wooden house on fire. Unless everything is burned down, the fire cannot be extinguished.

Well, he couldn't refuse this love, otherwise, he would suffer the consequences of turning love into hatred. Shi Shouxin understood the torment and anticipation Yang Huiyu felt when she wrote this letter.

He spread a sheet of white paper he had brought from home on the table, ground the ink, thought for a moment, and then casually copied down a poem:

The return date is not yet due, but the night rain in Bashan rises in the autumn pond.

He Dang altogether cuts the candles at the west window, but talks about the rain in Bashan.

In Shi Shouxin's mind, Yang Huiyu was not his concubine, much less his mistress, but his wife, someone he could play with casually and then kick aside.

He couldn't do that, much less dare to. He had to carefully coax this woman; he couldn't neglect her.

At that moment, Shi Shouxin felt as if he had transformed into Duan Zhengchun.

After sealing the letter in a bamboo tube and applying sealing wax, Shi Shouxin handed it to the messenger from the Yang family.

"I take my leave. I will be on horseback to Luoyang in a few days. Perhaps I will come again. Take care, Supervisor Shi."

The man bowed to Shi Shouxin, then turned and left, disappearing into the night.

After the man left, Shi Shouxin shook his head helplessly.

He thought to himself: Life is short, only a few decades; a simple cold could take me away. A true man does what he can with a clear conscience.

On the first day of thinking about how to build a plank road, Du Yu came to find Shi Shouxin again, saying that the plank road could be built using the same methods as building a bridge, by first making the machinery and then building the bridge.

He described the specific method, which greatly surprised Shi Shouxin. Wasn't this the segmental bridge erecting machine he knew from his previous life?

First, build a wooden structure resembling a caterpillar on the walkway to hoist the crossbeams. It can be pushed by wheels, just like a "bridge erecting machine".

First, measure the spacing, then assemble one section of the walkway on the open ground, secure it with ropes, and finally extend the whole half out into the air and place it on the crossbeam.

After securing it, continue moving forward, pushing the modules that are not suspended in the air to the front to make them suspended, and the machine continues to move. Then, add a new boardwalk module at the back.

This method is entirely feasible. This is the easiest of the three problems to solve: how to efficiently lay the plank road timber!
"Has Supervisor Shi figured out how to build the crossbeam?"

Du Yu asked with some concern.

Shi Shouxin shook his head. Where could they find that kind of wood for such a thick beam? This problem seemed simple, but it was actually quite difficult.

The type of tree that grows on a mountain determines the type of timber available; if it's there, it's there, and if it's not, it's not. There's no way to make anything fancy out of it.

"No, the method of transportation can be to use the water to carry the timber from below, stop it at the square hole, and then lift it up."

Shi Shouxin said in a deep voice that he had not come away empty-handed that day. The Bao River at his feet was deep enough to be used to transport timber.

"That's right, but the beam is hard to find, and it's even more difficult to carve a new pit in the mountainside."

I've heard that this plank road was built by Zhuge Liang, so I suppose he envisioned the Wei army using the Baoxie Road today when he first built it.

The square hole was made so large, which was to make things difficult for us and prevent us from using materials that were available locally.

Zhuge Liang's talent is truly not to be underestimated.

Du Yu sighed, somewhat amazed by Prime Minister Zhuge's wisdom. Of course, if you're standing opposite Zhuge Liang, his wisdom will inevitably be used against you; there's nothing you can do about it.

Who knows if the Prime Minister deliberately left this behind when he built the plank road?

"Brother Yuankai, I need your help with something."

Shi Shouxin suddenly grabbed Du Yu.

"Please speak freely, and I, Du, will certainly help you."

Du Yu nodded and said, "Not to mention that Shi Shouxin saved my life, everyone is trying to build a plank road now, so Du Yu can't refuse Shi Shouxin's request."

"Sima Liang's military camp is in Chang'an, and his family is there too. You can send someone to find him now, or you can go there yourself and talk to that person about something."

"You're the son-in-law of the Sima family, it would be better if you spoke first."

Shi Shouxin and Du Yu exchanged secrets and whispered among themselves for a long time.

"Yeah, I got it."

Du Yu had a bellyful of questions, but he didn't say much. Sima Liang was a notoriously mediocre member of the Sima family. Perhaps due to an inexplicable curse associated with his name "Liang," Sima Liang had always seemed rather dim-witted since childhood.

Du Yu was somewhat confused about what he could possibly get out of Sima Liang.

The outer edges of those square timbers need to be filled with something to compensate for tolerances and prevent rot. Otherwise, if they are made too big, the crossbeams won't fit; if they are made too small, the crossbeams will wobble, and people walking on the boardwalk might slip into the water.

This is a requirement beyond simply using wedges for fixation.

As the day passed, in the evening, Shi Shouxin took out several small square pieces of wood, each only slightly larger than a thumb, whose edges were already worn and frayed.

He rubbed the small pieces of wood in his hands. He had this peculiar habit whenever he was thinking about important issues, as a way to relieve stress.

Would it be possible to re-excavate the rock face?
It's not that it's impossible, but it's unnecessary, because the terrain—with a mountain wall on one side and the Bao River below—is already fixed. Without a support, the beam will inevitably be suspended in limbo.

If the hole is too small, it's easy to find wood, but thin wood can't support heavy horse-drawn or ox-drawn carts, so the supplies can't be transported.

If it can't be used to transport grain, what's the point of having this plank road?

On the contrary, the original square hole had already been proven to be feasible for transporting grain during Prime Minister Zhuge's several Northern Expeditions, saving a lot of trouble.

"What should I do?"

Should we reuse the old one, or drill a new hole?

Shi Shouxin muttered to himself, secretly wondering how Zhuge Liang had done it back then. Could it be... that he transported large trees from Shu?

That would be such a hassle!

He felt that with Zhuge Liang's wisdom, he wouldn't do something so foolish as to waste manpower and resources.

Unfortunately, the old plank road has been burned down, and it's impossible to recreate how it was built. Legend has it that Zhuge Liang was a master of machinery and possessed unfathomable talent; he must have devised many solutions.

Given the strength of the Shu Kingdom and its numerous northern expeditions, it certainly wouldn't have spent a lot of manpower and resources to build any plank roads.

The purpose of the square hole in the cliff face was deduced by Shi Shouxin after discussing it with the others. In fact, the current situation is that the plank road further south abruptly ends, leaving only the square hole in the cliff face visible. Below one side of the cliff face is the Bao River, making the terrain utterly hopeless.

The current plan is the result of much brainstorming and may not necessarily be Zhuge Liang's original design.

Shi Shouxin sighed. He closed his eyes and recalled the letter Yang Huiyu had written, feeling a strong sense of concern that he was trying to hide.

There was no romance, no sweet nothings, only admonitions and warnings, cold yet filled with meticulous concern. There was also the hesitation and turmoil of a young woman afraid something might happen to her lover, wanting to speak but unsure what to say.

Shi Shouxin plopped down on the cushion. He wanted to write a farewell letter to Yang Huiyu when he suddenly caught a glimpse of the small square piece of wood he had just been playing with.

Four of them stood upright, their cross-sections forming a "田" (field) character that was not yet perfectly aligned.

Shi Shouxin was so excited that he almost smashed his wooden head!
Square timber! Zhuge Liang was such a man, why would he use square timber? Not only is it troublesome, but it also reduces the cross-section of the wood!
Although lathes didn't exist in ancient times, turning logs into round pieces was already a skilled woodworking task! Why didn't Zhuge Liang make a round hole?
Convenient and sturdy!

The answer is: logs are difficult to assemble!
Four small square timbers are pieced together to form one large square timber. This is the secret of the plank road's crossbeams. To be honest, it's really worthless!
However, the four square timbers cannot simply be placed there. They need to be glued together using woodworking glue, and various small hardware components are also required for connection. In addition, the mortise and tenon joints commonly used in woodworking are also essential.

The goal is to use various methods to increase the overall strength of the timber. In other words, these beams are not made by simply cutting down trees, peeling off the bark, and removing the edges; rather, they are made of composite boards pieced together!

In ancient Chinese carpentry, this was called "embracing the pillar." After the Tang Dynasty, deforestation intensified, making it difficult to find large timbers suitable for building houses, so spliced ​​composite panels became very popular. But that's all in the future; they're rarely used in this era.

There are trees of this size that can be felled in the valleys of Baoxie Road. We'll see if there are any that require half the width!

If so, then this matter is resolved!

Shi Shouxin stood up excitedly and swung his fist hard!
"Zhong Hui, so what if you're good at scheming! You dug this pit, I'll fill it in neatly for you!"

(End of this chapter)