Duke of Zhenguan

Time always seems to fly when you're focused on something.

Lin Chuan left early and returned late every day to study with the younger generation of the Yan family.

Naturally, one cannot visit the Yan family empty-handed. Although the Yan family is not wealthy, they are not poor either, so homemade wine is the best gift.

After the Awakening of Insects, Yan Xiangshi returned to the court as an official, serving as the Imperial Diarist in the Secretariat.

The temperature gradually rose, and the midday sun felt warm on my skin.

In the center of the small courtyard in the front yard of the Yan family mansion, which was specially used for reading, a group of Yan family members sat or leaned against stools and railings, listening with great interest to Lin Chuan talk about the mountains and rivers of China.

"The territory of the Great Tang Dynasty now extends from the Western Regions in the west to the East China Sea in the east, from north of Youzhou to Linyi and Jiaozhi in the south. Such a vast territory not only has huge differences in temperature and rainfall, but also has very different topography and landforms!"

Take Guanzhong Plain as an example. Although there are many rivers, most areas still experience little rainfall and are prone to drought. Moreover, there are few plains, and the arable land area is not as large as that of Hebei and Henan...

"Brother Lin, where did you learn all this from?" a seven or eight-year-old child asked curiously.

"Yanshoufang is next to the West Market, I heard it from the merchants who come and go!" Lin Chuan casually made up an excuse.

As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Xiangshi appeared at the door and said to Lin Chuan:

"Lin Chuan, you and this old man come here!"

"Does Lord Yan have something to discuss with me, young man?"

After arriving at the living room in the front yard, He Yanxiang asked curiously.

"At the court assembly today, the astronomical bureau's astronomical observations predicted that there might be a drought in Guanzhong and Henan this year. Didn't you say a few days ago that the rainfall actually follows a pattern? Do you have any solutions?" Yan Xiangshi asked softly.

In fact, even without the people of the Imperial Observatory observing the celestial phenomena, the people of Chang'an knew that a drought was likely to occur this year.

It is said that a timely snowfall promises a good harvest, but although the winter that just passed in Chang'an was bitterly cold, there was not much rain or snow.

Insufficient rain and snow will inevitably lead to drought the following year; anyone who has ever farmed understands this principle.

Lin Chuan had naturally heard about this as well, because grain prices in the West Market had been rising.

After hearing Yan Xiangshi's words, Lin Chuan said with a wry smile:

"Lord Yan, although there are patterns to this rainfall, we can only identify those patterns. Attempting to change the timing of the weather with human effort is simply impossible..."

"The timing of events is indeed beyond human control..." Yan Xiangshi sighed.

Lin Chuan nodded in agreement. Even in the 21st century, droughts will still occur, and artificial rainmaking and artificial rainmaking can only change a small area.

After thinking for a moment, he softly asked Prime Minister Yan:

"Lord Yan, since the Imperial Observatory has made a prediction, does the imperial court have any countermeasures? Although we cannot change the weather, if we can make preparations, even if a drought does occur, we can still reduce some of the losses!"

"The imperial court doesn't have any good solutions. It can only prepare food in advance. If a drought occurs, it will probably reduce or exempt taxes and send some more food to provide disaster relief!"

"Natural disasters are not so terrible. As long as the imperial court delivers relief grain in time, the people will have food and there will be no major unrest. What is terrible is man-made disasters. The world is not stable now. If someone takes advantage of the disaster to incite unrest, the consequences will be unimaginable!" Yan Xiangshi said softly.

"Lord Yan, doesn't the imperial court have any relevant emergency plans?" Lin Chuan asked, puzzled.

"What is an emergency plan?" Yan Xiangshi asked, puzzled.

"Um, an emergency plan, as the name suggests, is a plan developed in advance to deal with various possible emergencies."

Take drought as an example. Local authorities should deploy professionals to monitor rainfall. For areas prone to drought, they should prepare food supplies in advance, organize manpower to dredge irrigation ditches, dig deep wells, and build waterwheels on riverbanks where water levels are sufficient.

After a drought occurs, disaster relief grain should be distributed as soon as possible. The imperial court should send capable personnel to inspect the local areas to prevent officials from embezzling and to appease the people. The river channels can be repaired by means of work-for-relief.

... "

The emergency plan Lin Chuan mentioned was not new, and the ministers in the court were not incompetent; of course they had similar solutions.

Just like the work-for-relief program, there were many insightful people in the court who naturally knew the benefits of the work-for-relief program, but this required the court to have enough food and money.

Now, the Tang Dynasty has just been established and everything needs to be rebuilt. It has also just been extorted by the Turks. The court is short of both money and food.

But Yan Xiangshi listened attentively, and his gaze toward Lin Chuan grew increasingly appreciative.

These words came from Fang Xuanling, so Yan Xiangshi was not surprised at all, but how old was Lin Chuan?

However, Yan Xiangshi didn't understand some of what Lin Chuan said. After Lin Chuan finished speaking, he asked softly:

What is a waterwheel?

Did the Tang Dynasty not have waterwheels?

Lin Chuan paused for a moment, then explained simply:

"A waterwheel is a tool that uses water flow to move water from a lower-lying river to a higher place!"

"Such a powerful weapon?!" Yan Xiangshi asked excitedly in quick succession.

"How high can it be delivered? How much effort will it take? How difficult is it to build?"

"How high it can be sent depends on how high the waterwheel is built! Building it isn't difficult, the only difficult part is installing the waterwheel. Once it's installed, the waterwheel is driven entirely by the water flow and doesn't require human intervention!" Lin Chuan explained.

"Lin Chuan, this is no laughing matter," Yan Xiangshi said in a deep voice.

"Lord Yan, I know what's important!" Lin Chuan nodded.

"Come, I'll take you to the palace to see His Majesty!" Yan Xiangshi stood up and pulled Lin Chuan towards the door.

Could a mere sixth-rank court attendant really take me to see Li Shimin?

How embarrassing it would be if I didn't see Li Shimin...

Lin Chuan quickly grabbed Yan Xiangshi and said with a wry smile:

"Lord Yan, this isn't appropriate. How about I draw up a blueprint for a waterwheel, and you can take it to court tomorrow and give it to His Majesty?"

"What's wrong? Let's go!"

Yan Xiangshi shook his head and pulled Lin Chuan outside.

They entered the Vermilion Bird Gate in the Yan family's carriage and arrived at the Chengtian Gate.

After Yan Xiangshi explained his purpose, the guard of Chengtian Gate sent someone in to report. About fifteen minutes later, a young eunuch returned with the reporting soldier and led Yan Xiangshi and Lin Chuan into the palace.

After entering Chengtian Gate, Lin Chuan and Yan Xiangshi were thoroughly searched by several eunuchs. They then followed the eunuchs through a secluded passage for a long time before finally arriving at a magnificent palace.

An eunuch was already waiting at the door, leading Yan Xiangshi and Lin Chuan into the main hall.

As they walked up the steps, Yan Xiangshi noticed Lin Chuan looking around curiously and whispered a reminder:

"Don't look around!"

"oh!"

Lin Chuan awkwardly withdrew his gaze. To be honest, these palaces were built by the previous dynasty, and after all these years, many parts of them were dilapidated, completely different from the magnificent palaces Lin Chuan had imagined.

Upon entering the palace, Lin Chuan followed Yan Xiangshi and stood at the foot of the imperial steps, bowing respectfully to Li Shimin, who was kneeling behind the imperial desk.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Li Shimin, dressed in casual clothes, waved his hand:

"No need for formalities, Minister Yan. What brings you to see me in such a hurry?"

"Your Majesty, there is something in Linchuan that might alleviate the worries of drought and flood!" Yan Xiangshi said, bowing.

"Bang!"

Li Shimin jumped up, knocking over the imperial desk in front of him, scattering writing brushes, ink, and paper all over the floor.