Chapter 74 "Isaiah" 4118 (please order first!)
Because it rains lightly these days, there are often dark clouds in the night sky blocking the moonlight.
Zaid couldn't quite see Garris's face clearly, but those eyes left a deep impression on him.
Hearing the news that Jerusalem would be conquered next year, Zeid, as a Muslim, should have been very happy, but instead he felt a strong chill.
In addition to Gairis claiming to be the brother of Jesus and the Imam of thousands of peoples, Zaid also remembered another identity of Gairis.
In Zaid's understanding, the identity of the Jerusalem royal agent in this territory is similar to that of an emir, which basically means a general or a lord.
A lord of the Kingdom of Jerusalem easily predicted that Jerusalem would be destroyed next year...
Is this a bit out of line?
Or could it be that the young man in front of him actually didn’t care at all about the fate of Jerusalem?
In any case, Zaid just chose to play haha in the end.
"How could it be possible... Your Excellency, doesn't Sultan Saladin have a contract with Jerusalem? What's more, there is no sign of war on the Egyptian side."
As merchants who resell supplies, they must have a certain level of acumen. According to Zaid, perhaps Saladin will completely cleanse Jerusalem in the future, but not so quickly.
"Peace agreement? Haha~"
Garris chuckled lightly and did not continue on this topic.
"Tomorrow, the gates here will be opened and the water will be released. By then, many nearby villagers will come here. Your caravan's business will be open, and you will definitely be able to make a lot of money."
Zaid also smiled. He did not refute Gehlis's words, because according to past experience, in the land of Transjordan, farmers are only a thin line away from abject poverty. How can they have money to spend?
The reason why I followed him here was actually more out of curiosity about Gallis himself, rather than really expecting to make any money from the farmers.
The dark clouds dispersed, the moonlight spread over the earth, and Zaid could see the construction site clearly.
In the upstream position, the mouth of the river has been dug, but the water has not yet been released.
In Zaid's eyes, if water is released, the water flow will be led to a depression and then out. Following the height difference, the water channel continues downward, and there are many hydraulic equipment arranged beside the water channel. Can be leveraged to operate.
When the water potential calms down, it will be directed to one side of the farmland to facilitate water intake for the farmland. After being directed from the farmland, it will eventually merge with the original river.
The entire project is actually not complicated. The earthwork volume is reasonable because it takes advantage of the existing terrain, and is not particularly outrageous.
But such a simple water conservancy project, which would not be considered a "project" in later generations, was not common in the Mediterranean in this era in the 12th century.
Compared with the obsession with various engineering projects in the Roman era, the big guys in the Middle Ages showed more of a kind of drifting with the tide.
Most lords were simply too lazy to improve or dig new water conservancy projects, and the coordination of manpower rarely went beyond the scope of the manor.
The relevant engineering knowledge is even out of date for the Catholic world.
In this situation where the aristocratic lords are unwilling to make progress, have extremely low human coordination capabilities, and lack relevant technologies, it is conceivable that the agricultural production situation in Europe will be much worse.
In mainland Europe, it can be said that only those areas that are deeply influenced by Islamic culture, such as Spain, southern Italy and other places, or the Byzantine Empire, which inherited the technology of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, still retain a considerable amount of engineering knowledge.
These areas will use more advanced irrigation technology, such as waterwheels and reservoirs, to aid agricultural production than those in Western Europe at the same time.
However, the situation in the Kingdom of Jerusalem is somewhat special. To be precise, the village of Skal, where Garis exists, is obviously even more special.
Different from the European Catholic world with backward agricultural technology, the Kingdom of Jerusalem is said to be a Catholic Crusader country, but its scientific and technological background is relatively advanced in the Middle East.
In addition, the Kingdom of Jerusalem has a long-standing habit of marrying with the Eastern Roman Empire, and those Greeks brought relatively advanced Greek technology groups to the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Isabel's mother was a member of the Komnenos family of Eastern Rome. While Isabel was half Greek, she was also influenced by Greek knowledge and culture in the Jerusalem court.
Not to mention Garris, his knowledge is already too high to be measured in this era.
"It's really good." Zaid admired sincerely.
For Arabs, having this technology does not actually mean that they can actually implement it. The long-standing melee between Muslim warlords in various places has severely damaged the engineering and organizational capabilities of the Muslim community.
There were bursts of howls of wild animals in the distance, as if to declare sovereignty to Garris and the two of them, and to tell Garris that you are still unable to challenge nature.
……
"Open the sluices on the upper river to release water! Open all five sluices!" John shouted loudly.
"Open the river gates to release water! Open all five gates!" someone responded a hundred meters away.
Accompanied by the majestic voices of many people, a total of five sluice gates in the river on the reservoir were opened, and the water from the river rushed into the reservoir along the river channel reinforced with stones.
Different from ordinary designs, Gallis and his colleagues designed very complex multiple sluices on the upper river channel of the reservoir. They wanted to ensure that the amount of water entering the reservoir per unit time would not deviate too much between the dry season and the wet season.
Through research on changes in the sand and soil quality of the river, Gallis and Isabel determined that the height difference of the river here was not very optimistic, and the simple model of dams was not easy to work.
This is the result of the Mediterranean climate in Palestine.
A typical characteristic of the Mediterranean climate is that there are different periods of rain and heat.
In seasons with lower rainfall, the temperature is higher, the sun is exposed to longer hours, and the evaporation of water is greater. As a result, river water levels naturally drop sharply, and many rivers may be cut off.
If Gehris wants to take advantage of the abundant effective accumulated temperature in summer to change local agricultural production habits, then irrigation with sufficient water is indispensable.
Effective accumulated temperature is the sum of effective temperatures of crops during the growth period, which basically reflects the linear relationship between crop growth rate and temperature.
To put it bluntly, crops grow faster when the temperature is high.
However, the Palestinian area is limited by summer precipitation and is basically unable to take advantage of the abundant high temperatures in summer. This has to be said to be a pity.
Compared with the time required for breeding, it consumes a lot of manpower and excavates small water conservancy, but it has become a short and quick choice.
Although, even with a certain amount of water for irrigation, it is difficult to cultivate wheat in Transjordan in summer.
But instead of growing wheat, you can grow something else, such as sorghum, which is native to Africa.
Sorghum is native to Africa and was domesticated south of the Sahara.
After the Arab Conquest, Islam spread to all parts of the world. A large number of Arab merchants and Muslim pilgrims condensed the Islamic world from an illusory concept into a common understanding.
Knowledge is colliding, technology is spreading, and excellent crop varieties from various places are constantly being exchanged.
Sorghum from Africa, citrus from China, sugar cane and cotton from India appeared in every corner of the Islamic world. For Gairis, it is not difficult to obtain sorghum seeds. Egypt next door has a long history of sorghum cultivation.
Better water conservancy and irrigation will bring longer crop cultivation time; the convenience of communication with the outside world will bring more optional drought-tolerant crops; coupled with Gallis's scientific analysis of the nutrients required by crops, the follow-up will Breeding of improved varieties...
After this combination of punches, it would be unreasonable if the farmland in the valley of Skar Village did not increase the income.
Without an increase in the number of farmers, increasing grain production actually means an increase in per capita grain rations and an expansion in the proportion of commercial grain.
This means that more non-agricultural people can be supported.
It can be said that the agricultural revolution is the most basic cornerstone of the subsequent series of productivity innovations.
Not to mention, while Garris and the others were digging for irrigation water, they were also using water power to drive machinery.
Because of the light rain in the past few days, the water level of the river passing in front of Skar Village has risen, and the water reservoir is filling up relatively quickly.
When the water level reached a mark, John shouted again, "Close half of the No. 1 sluice gate on the upper river channel, close one-third of the No. 2 sluice gate, and leave the other sluice gates unchanged!"
"Close half of the No. 1 sluice on the Upper River Road, close one-third of the No. 2 sluice, and leave the other sluices unchanged!" Someone repeated John's instructions dozens of meters away.
As the order was issued, the upper river sluice was adjusted, and the overall water level rise rate in the reservoir was slowed down visibly to the naked eye.
When the water level reached the second marker, Garris, witnessed by hundreds of people, slowly walked to a high ground where a mechanism was set up.
When Garris pushed the mechanism hard, the water gate at the water outlet of the reservoir was pushed open.
The slightly turbid water slowly flows out from the outlet gate and rushes into the descending channel.
As the slope of the canal increases, the water flow accelerates faster and faster, and then drives the first hydraulic grinding wheel.
Amidst the crunching sound, the hydraulic grinding wheel drove the upper grinding plate to start rotating.
Simon had been waiting for a long time. He helped Cardoso beside him to pour a little wheat into the pouring bucket.
The wheat jumped into the grinding chamber along the grinding eye, and with the sound of "chichi lala", the rich wheat-flavored flour mixed with wheat bran flowed out of the millstone.
When Simon and Cardoso worked together to collect the flour, they took out the fine sieve prepared in advance and sifted out the wheat bran, leaving only fine flour.
Cardoso picked up a little bit with his fingertips, feeling the delicateness of the white noodles, and then stuffed a little bit into his mouth.
The mixture of starch and digestive enzymes in the mouth brings a hint of sweetness.
Everything is getting better.
But this is just the beginning.
Given the rainfall environment of the Mediterranean climate, it was natural that Garris and the others had gone to great lengths to dig out thousands of square meters of soil just to build a water mill.
In fact, due to the height difference, the hydraulic machinery here has great potential.
The long descending water channel is far from just driving a water-powered mill. It also drives water saws, water pumps, water-powered forging hammers, and water-wheel-driven forging furnaces...
These hydraulic equipment can free many people from repetitive manual work. This is an extremely effective and simple solution for a cult with an extremely scarce population.
Although some of those hydraulic machines have been built, some are under construction, some are still in planning, and many are only prototypes.
But it is conceivable that in terms of future planning, this river valley in the village of Skar is heading straight into the High Middle Ages and is bound to open the door to the productivity of the Renaissance era.
When the water flow gradually slows down, it passes through a sluice, part of which is diverted into the natural river, and part of which continues to pass through the farmland along the canal.
The turbid water was not clear, but it nourished the dry hearts of the farmers and made many numb people throb.
For the farmers who came here to watch, it was quite difficult for them to understand the significance of those hydraulic equipment.
But what does this mean for the endless flowing canals running through the farmland?
This will mean that even if the arrival of the expensive winter rains after sowing is delayed, they will have enough water to help the crops sprout and grow; it means that even if the spring rains are somewhat sparse, they will still have water to fill the wheat.
And when summer comes, the dry and cracked land seems to be able to cultivate more crops.
Whether it is the villagers of Skar Village or those from other villages who came to watch the excitement, based on their past experiences, they were all moved by this not grand, seemingly simple, but extremely practical "water conservancy".
What flows in the canal is not only water, but also the hope of a good harvest in the coming year, which is another proof of God’s love for the world.
Heavenly Father, it was You who sent your beloved Son into the mortal world again. The man who died with a knife wound did not have the power to separate the Red Sea or cause the sweet rain to fall.
In His hands, five fish and two loaves cannot feed a thousand people, and the deaf and blind cannot receive light.
He cannot turn water into wine, nor can He walk on water.
But as the scriptures say:
【I will make rivers in the high places of pure light, and springs in the valleys】
【I will turn the desert into pools and the dry land into springs】
——"Isaiah" 41:18
He did it...
The joyful atmosphere spread throughout the valley, and countless people were infected by the atmosphere, which was like a festival and made people happy.
The Arab merchants who came from afar also joined in this pagan carnival and danced with it.
But this happy festival will not last long, because the purpose of the villagers from nearby villages is not just to watch the excitement and witness the opening of the sluice and the release of water.
The real heavyweight activities were held in the afternoon.
The time of reckoning has come, and with the cool autumn wind, it’s time to call some guys and pay with blood.
But before that, Zaid's caravan business was open.
First update, let’s see how much I can write today...I will post as much as I write
(End of chapter)