Chapter 1718: Famous forever?
Chapter 1719
Fang Xuanling frowned slightly, looked at the many injured civilians who were still being treated, and asked: "What happened?"
Pei Xingjian sighed and said with shame: "Because the supervisor was in a hurry to catch up with the construction deadline, he failed to check and reinforce the ropes on the boom in time. As a result, the ropes became loose and the boom collapsed, and rocks weighing a thousand kilograms fell from the air... It was all a moment of humble duty. It was an oversight that led to such a disaster. I am really ashamed of myself and ask the Prime Minister to punish me.”
Fang Xuanling looked at the bloodstains on the ground and the injured and dead civilians beside her. She looked solemn and shook her head slowly: "The top priority is not to hold people accountable, but to remember the lessons and make sure that similar accidents don't happen again. In addition, generous compensation will be provided regardless of death or injury.”
"Here!"
Pei Xingjian responded.
Wang Xuance confessed to Fang Xuanling and Li Jing, and went aside to direct the treatment of the casualties, while Pei Xingjian stayed with them.
Li Jing put his hands behind his back, raised his head, looked at the square tower base in front of him, which was ten feet wide and about seven or eight feet high, and asked: "How high is this lighthouse expected to be?"
Pei Xingjian said: "The total height is forty-nine feet."
Li Jing asked curiously: "The number of Dayan?"
"Book of Changes" says: The number of Dayan is fifty, and its use is ninety-nine.
This sentence is the essence of the "Book of Changes" and hides all the secrets behind the "Book of Changes". Why is Xuyi not used? This is an eternal mystery that the Yi Xue masters have pondered and diligently pursued for thousands of years. However, although no one has been able to give an incisive answer, it is generally recognized that this sentence is the basis for the operation of the structure of the "Book of Changes" and is the way of heaven and earth.
This unprecedentedly majestic building has such a number as its size, which has a very good meaning.
Pei Xingjian nodded and said: "This is just one of the reasons. There is another reason. According to the merchants from the big food country, there is a port in the far west called Alexandria. There is the tallest lighthouse in the world, forty feet high, so Erlang felt that since he wanted to build it, he must surpass it and become the best in the world. ”
Li Jing was speechless...
Even if he didn't know the art of civil engineering, he knew that the taller the building, the more difficult it would be to build it. Especially after reaching a peak, the difficulties faced by each inch of height increase may be unprecedented, and it would require a huge amount of manpower, material and financial resources to solve.
He couldn't help but add another thing to his opinion of Fang Jun: rich and willful...
Fang Xuanling on the side didn't know what to say.
The prodigal son did not use the public funds of Huating Town, he paid all out of his own pocket, so there was no hidden danger of being impeached by the imperial censor. However, even Fang Xuanling, who was indifferent to fame and fortune and regarded money as dirt, was a little stunned when faced with the astronomical figure of "600,000 yuan".
How big a project is this?
After thinking about it, I couldn't help but asked: "How long did it take to build this lighthouse? Is it strong and durable?"
Pei Xingjian was in charge of this project, and he was naturally familiar with all the situations. He said, "Actually, this lighthouse looks tall and majestic, but it is not difficult to build. We have cement as an adhesive, and various booms and pulleys for loading and unloading." Stone construction is very fast. However, the entire lighthouse is built with stone, which requires a large amount of stone. There are no natural quarries near Huating Town. These stones are all sourced from Niuzhuji. It was transported from a mountain near the river near the Nanshan Mine. It was shipped directly after mining and transported by water. As for the sturdiness, the most important thing was of course. According to Senior Yu Ming's estimation, as long as there were no big ones. In the event of an earthquake, this lighthouse can stand for more than a thousand years unless it is demolished artificially, and Erlang's requirement is that it must stand for at least 1,400 years..."
Fang Xuanling and Li Jing were both stunned.
Generally speaking, this number should be just a rough estimate. When everyone says it, they will use an integer, such as one hundred, one thousand, or two thousand years.
But this "1,400 years" is a bit strange. It is obviously inconsistent with usual habits. Is there any deeper meaning in it?
One of them is extremely resourceful, and the other is commanding thousands of armies, but they are trying to break their heads, and they can't figure out why Fang Jun came up with such a number as "1,400 years"...
Fang Xuanling sighed helplessly: "Even if it doesn't cost the imperial court, it will indeed be useful after it is completed. However, this kind of project is too huge, and casualties are inevitable. If too many people die because of it, how can we feel at ease?"< br>
Pei Xingjian was quite dissatisfied with this. He said solemnly: "There may be many people who don't know much about Erlang's actions and don't understand their meaning. They think it's just grandstanding and willful. But if you think about it more deeply, if this The lighthouse really does If it can stand for thousands of years, how many fishermen and merchants will benefit from it? The nobles in Chang'an like to build pagodas to accumulate merit, but in the eyes of humble officials, ten thousand pagodas are not as good as one such lighthouse!"
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Saving one life is better than building a seven-level pagoda. If such a lighthouse stood for a thousand years, how many people could be saved from getting lost and running aground on the rocks?
Pei Xingjian looked at the casualties of the people over there and said: "The ships transporting stones under the island and the civilians involved in the construction here are actually organized voluntarily by the surrounding people. The construction site only provides meals and accommodation, without a penny." Get wages. It’s not that we don’t give it, it’s that they don’t want it. Because they know how much blessings such a lighthouse will bring to their descendants, so even if they are injured or dead, no family member has cried. "
Fang Xuanling and Li Jing were silent.
Everyone thought that Fang Jun built this lighthouse just for fun, but they didn't expect that it had such profound meaning.
Fang Xuanling asked: "Do you have any drawings?"
His emotions towards this lighthouse ranged from anger, disdain, and helplessness, to now solemnity, because he also saw another purpose of this lighthouse besides guiding navigation.
Pei Xingjian said: "Of course there is, please come with your humble position."
As he spoke, he led the two of them towards a row of simple houses on the other side.
The layout of the house is very simple, with no extra decoration, except for a large wooden table in the middle with some thick drawings placed on it.
Pei Xingjian said: "Erlang only proposed the construction of this lighthouse, but the design and drawings of the entire construction came from the calculations of more than a dozen of Yu Ming's children."
Fang Xuanling and Li Jing stepped forward and read through them one by one.
The entire lighthouse is composed of two floors. The first floor is a base, a square structure, with multiple rooms of various sizes inside, which are used as fuel storage for lighting the lights and residences for the staff. The second floor is an octagonal tower. The body has an up and down spiral staircase in the middle, leading directly to the light room at the top of the tower.
Fang Xuanling looked at the drawings and felt the majesty and majesty of this unfinished lighthouse, and became more and more sure of his guess.
It seems like a simple lighthouse, but if it can really stand for thousands of years without collapsing, then it is no longer as simple as a lighthouse. It can even become a symbol, a totem, standing at the junction of the Yangtze River and the sea, making all races in the world Everyone can see the greatness of the Han people!
Li Jing looked at the drawings and frowned: "This lighthouse is completely made of stone. It doesn't even have some copper or iron utensils?"
Pei Xingjian nodded and said: "Yes, Erlang once specifically warned that there must be no copperware at all, because in extreme cases, that may be the reason for the lighthouse to be artificially demolished."
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They are all smart people. Pei Xingjian said this cryptically, and Fang Xuanling and Li Jing immediately understood.
What is an “extreme situation”?
It's nothing more than a change of dynasty. There is no navy stationed on this island anymore, and there is no time to be alert...
People are greedy. If there are some copper and iron objects on the lighthouse, someone will come up to demolish it, which may lead to the collapse of the lighthouse. Since they are all made of stone, there is no need to worry about this. The island is surrounded by cliffs on all sides. If you want to dismantle and transport these stones, it will require a lot of manpower and material resources.
The question is, who would be so idle as to dismantle a pile of stones and take them home?
Man-made disasters basically no longer exist. If there are no more natural disasters, even if China changes dynasties, this lighthouse will still stand here. No matter how wind blows and waves blow, I look at the mainland of China coldly and stand still!
Li Jing's eyes were filled with envy and jealousy. He patted Fang Xuanling on the shoulder and praised: "As long as this lighthouse does not fall down, the name of his Fang Jun and the name of your Fang family will be spread throughout the world forever, even if there are vicissitudes of life in the future. There are countless descendants who remember the blessings of this lighthouse and will be remembered forever.”
Mother!
This stick seems to do everything out of control and is very arbitrary, but why does it always achieve the greatest and incredible results in the end?
Sighing again, Li Jing said: "Look at our boy, and then look at this person in your family. Having a child is like the last love of the family..." (End of Chapter)