Chapter 7089 Lower Limit? What lower limit!

Chapter 7089 Lower Limit? What lower limit!
"Why don't you attend that small meeting sometime? After all, it's your business. Whether the Grand Minister of Agriculture can handle it or not, you're definitely qualified." Chen Xi briefly explained the recent events to Qu Qi, and then asked Qu Qi.

Anyway, Chen Xi herself definitely won't go, because this matter might end up with a bloody fight.

There weren't many skilled technicians to repair the Leiji Terrace. Wang Liang, as the head of the Kuaiji Wang clan, was over fifty years old and still the Marquis of Fenglong Township, the kind of person who held a fiefdom within the country.

As a result, Wang Liang is now leading two groups of people to repair the Leiji Platform. He looks like an old farmer, and his once fair and plump figure is now tanned and yellowish from the wind and sun.

To be fair, the Wang family of Kuaiji did have excellent family upbringing. Even a big shot like Wang Liang, at this age, didn't complain much when leading his team to repair the Leijitai on the front lines. At most, he would grumble a few words, but he was indeed quite efficient in leading his team to work.

Chen Xi really couldn't say anything about this, and even Li You, who had always been a thorn in the side of the powerful families, didn't have a good solution. He even approved more than thirty official positions with salaries ranging from two hundred to six hundred shi for the old and young working for the Wang family of Kuaiji. It wasn't that they couldn't give them higher positions, but realistically speaking, this level was already enough.

In most cases where the systems are not subordinate to each other, this level is sufficient to handle all the problems.

As for manpower, there really isn't any left. The Wang clan of Kuaiji now only has five old men in their sixties and seventies left in their hometown. While passing on their family knowledge to the younger generation and teaching electromagnetism, they also teach them how to build the Thunder Platform. In the eyes of the elders of the Wang clan of Kuaiji, the Thunder Platform is, in mystical terms, a supernatural power or a magic, but the real principle is still electromagnetism itself.

Therefore, the Kuaiji Wang clan would try their best to impart knowledge to the students sent by the Han dynasty to learn how to build the Leiji Terrace in the most efficient way. However, for their own people, they still had to start by learning the most basic electromagnetic conversion.

Students learning to build the Leiji Terrace, lacking the relevant foundation, can only be taught from the very basics, and it takes about five years to formally graduate. Even the direct descendants of the family who are the orthodox inheritors of the family's learning, although they have a lineage, also need a considerable amount of time to sort out and inherit it.

In addition, the people left in my hometown are all elderly, and it's hard to say when they might be gone.

Just like how Wang Liang had previously left seven teachers at home, each with their own specialties, some teaching how to create a potential difference, some teaching lightning attraction layout, some teaching electromagnetic conversion to guide discharge, and so on.

As a result, within just a few years, two of them died. According to the doctor who was specially assigned to go there, it was simply due to abnormal climate—too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter. The two old men, who were about the right age to live, passed away. Taichang sent some gifts and sent someone to inquire about their well-being.

Honestly, there was really nothing that could be done. They just died without warning, and you couldn't find the cause of their death. In short, the already small class almost had to be reduced in size. As a result, the Wang family of Kuaiji managed to squeeze a 57-year-old man out of the class and send him back to his hometown to replace the two old men who had passed away.

In short, that's the general situation. There's a serious shortage of technical talent, and Rome even wants to borrow manpower from the Wang family of Kuaiji. Chen Xi was speechless about this.

However, it must be said that the Romans were indeed very insightful.

"What am I supposed to do?" Cookie knew immediately that this was a very troublesome matter, so she decided to stay away. This was clearly a recipe for a full-blown fight, the kind that could potentially result in death. After all, it was all based on the will of the people, and it was impossible to just give up.

“You might be able to stop it if you go,” Chen Xi said with a headache. “Anyway, this is a problem. The Kuaiji Wang family has really squeezed out all their human resources. They are a small family, a small family that only split off a hundred years ago, and they don’t have many people.”

The Kuaiji Wang family was a very small family, and because they were involved in electromagnetism, Chen Xi had specifically investigated this family. Fortunately, Chen Xi had suppressed typhoid fever in this era, and the major families had not been cut off, so Chen Xi quickly found out about the ancestors of the Kuaiji Wang family.

After Tian Qi, the Sun family of Wei Commandery later changed their surname to Wang. Chen Xi couldn't find any more detailed information, but Chen Ji hinted at the time that the family's ancestors had some connection with Wang Mang's lineage.

Chen Xi didn't delve into it too deeply, just learned a little about it. But no matter what, this family was just a small family of about sixty people. It was only because a genius emerged from the family with strong family learning and was fortunate enough to be born into this good era created by Chen Xi that they were able to rise to prominence.

Of course, the title of Marquis of Fenglong Township bestowed upon the Wang family of Kuaiji was not arbitrary. After all, their ancestor was the Marquis of Yangting in Kuaiji. Once they passed the threshold of becoming marquises, even if their state was abolished, it would be much easier to continue their lineage than to start over.

However, in comparison, no one objected to the title of Marquis of Kuaiji Wang Clan. After all, increasing grain production was considered military merit, which had always been the case. Merit came from farming and warfare, which was the orthodox way.

The only downside is that there are too few people. Including the girls who can work, there are only sixty-odd people. Even so, to avoid Li You's butcher's knife, they did Li You a big job, killing more than a dozen people. They haven't been able to catch their breath for so many years. There's nothing they can do. With so few people, their ability to generate blood is so poor.

However, precisely because there were fewer people and fewer sins accumulated by the family over the decades, Li You let them go after they dealt with those spoiled brats who bullied men and women.

Of course, upon closer examination, the damage caused by those dozen or so young men to the local area could be roughly offset by each of them repairing two Leijitai (a type of ancient Chinese watchtower). Unfortunately, no one can know the future, and the so-called "merits and demerits do not offset each other" also depends on the circumstances. The case of the Wang family of Kuaiji clearly shows that they can offset their merits and demerits.

"It's really tough for their family. With so few people, they've managed to pass down their ancestral heritage completely and even innovate upon it. But I won't get involved in this." Qu Qi first praised the heritage of the Kuaiji Wang clan, then decisively rejected the trap Chen Xi had set for him. He didn't know how to repair the Thunder Platform either. If he did, he might be of some use, but since he didn't know how, he would only cause trouble.

"So how will the issue of the Leijitai be resolved?" Although Quqi refused, she still wanted to know how it would be handled. This was a big deal. The scale of the production reduction at Liaoxi Farm was already very high. Repairing the Leijitai was the right thing to do, since they had already enjoyed it. Canceling it would indeed cause a social impact.

"We can only shift the blame to Wenru. After all, the young and strong members of the Wang family of Kuaiji are few and far between, so half the responsibility lies with Wenru," Chen Xi said casually. This was also why Li You was asked to chair this small meeting, since the blame was indeed on Li You.

“I remember, Wang Yuan from Yuan Gonglu’s side? Or someone else, it seems they’ve already used up their resources and returned to Chang’an.” Although Qu Qi didn’t pay much attention to these things, the Kuaiji Wang clan was nominally under his command, and they often hung out in the same temple with him, so he knew what the most elite members of the Kuaiji Wang clan were doing now.

“Wang Tao and Wang Yuan are both in Chang’an right now,” Chen Xi nodded and said.

Cookie glanced at Chen Xi sideways. Wasn't this clearly a way of telling Li You to hand the people over to Gongsun Gong and Zang Hong? One for each of them, at least that would be an explanation.

"There's no other way, this is the only option. As for other electrical research, we can postpone it for now. Stabilizing public morale is more important," Chen Xi said with a smile.

“If that’s the case, I’d be willing to lend my support. After all, they’re both worth two thousand shi (a unit of grain), there’s no need to escalate things to the point of a tense standoff during a court meeting.” Qu Qi thought for a moment. Since Li You still had two top-notch servants from the Kuaiji Wang family who were quite capable, he could participate in this matter and also learn about the current situation of the Kuaiji Wang family.

"Okay, I'll let you know when the meeting starts." Chen Xi nodded upon hearing this, but didn't tell Qu Qi that even if Li You contributed his only two electrical experts, it wouldn't be enough, because there was also trouble in Jizhou, and their thunder control station was also having problems.

To be honest, it's not that there's a problem with the lightning strike platform itself, but rather that the current materials simply can't withstand being struck by lightning for five years. Even with strong heat treatment, the high temperature from lightning will damage the heat treatment process.

In addition, it wasn't just the people in the three northern and three southern prefectures who were concerned about this matter. After the matter was exposed, officials in various places with a little ambition sent people to find out about the situation of the lightning towers. They discovered that their lightning towers had also suffered some damage due to years of lightning strikes.

Although the impact on several provinces, led by Qingzhou, Yanzhou, and Yongzhou, is not too great at present, it is best to strengthen them in order to avoid the situation of becoming like that of Jizhou or even Youzhou.

Therefore, considering the need for repairs, reinforcements, and the inevitable appeasement, two people are definitely not enough. The current situation is that Li You can only provide two people, and even if you put Li You on the Thunder Platform, Li You still only has two people. This is very dangerous.

Therefore, Chen Xi estimated that after the Grand Assembly, the number of people attending the branch venues would definitely not be less than six people with a salary of two thousand shi (a unit of grain). In the past, the sheer number of people could have been enough to arrest them all for treason.

Chen Xi didn't believe that Wang Yi, who had been pretending to know nothing but had been secretly borrowing manpower to reinforce the Sanfu Leijitai, would not participate. Even if he couldn't get it this time, he could at least show his face, make a name for himself, and reserve a position. If it didn't work this time, there would be a next time, right?

I gave in this time, but I can't expect to give in again next time!

It wasn't that Chen Xi looked down on Li You; he was genuinely worried that Li You wouldn't be able to handle the situation. After all, the fact that things had escalated to this point was largely due to Li You's exploitative practices. If Li You were to take charge, he might not be able to keep things under control. Since Chen Xi himself couldn't go, he had no choice but to arrange for someone who could manage the situation.

It's obvious that Cookie is the right choice, so even if Cookie doesn't come, Chen Xi will have to talk to her sooner or later.

How to describe Li You's deterrent power? It's fine at other times, but in this matter, Li You himself admitted that he was wrong, so what kind of deterrent power is he?

Just like Chen Xi, although he disliked Cao Cao, he believed that Cao Cao's actions were correct in some matters. For example, he believed that one should know and correct mistakes, but not admit them!

If you admit your mistake, you won't be able to speak again!
“Speaking of thunder platforms, I remember seeing one in Jiaozhou last year when I went there to look for wild rice.” After accepting the task, Qu Qi began to think about how to deal with these people. But as he was thinking, Qu Qi remembered that he had seen thunder platforms in Jiaozhou. “And I’m sure that some of these thunder platforms can indeed attract thunder.”

It's only because of cookies. Anyone else would never let someone from outside the village get close to something like that. After all, it's a magical tool for increasing grain production. What if you just glanced at it and it caused problems? Especially on rainy days, it's even less likely that anyone would get near that thing. Danger is one thing, and outsiders are another. As for cookies, the Farmer Emperor came to test how well his subordinates were doing...

“Yes, three or four veterans from Jiaozhou successfully built the Leiji Tower.” Chen Xi nodded and said, “Of course, only those three or four Leiji Towers were built by them.”

"Didn't they say there were seven or eight Leijitai in Jiaozhou?" Qu Qi was taken aback. If only three or four were built, what about the other three or four? They couldn't have just grown out of the ground, could they?

“Stolen from somewhere else.” Chen Xi gave a shocking answer that stunned Cookie.

"Huh? You can steal this thing?" Cookie was dumbfounded.

“There are roughly three teams involved in building the lightning-attracting platform: a geomancer and construction team, a technical design team, and a meteorological observation team.” Chen Xi did not answer directly but instead explained the construction method of the lightning-attracting platform. “Among these three teams, the technical design team needs the most brains, but the Wang family has done its best to modularize it. As long as the meteorological observation team and the geomancers work together to select a suitable location, and the construction team builds it according to the design drawings, it can basically attract lightning successfully.”

"And then?" Cookie didn't realize the problem.

"Don't you realize the problem?" Chen Xi said, looking at Cookie.

"What's the problem?" Cookie looked at Chen Xi with a blank expression.

“Weather patterns can be similar, and so can terrain,” Chen Xi explained simply, causing Cookie to gasp.

The man from Jiaozhou originally came to learn how to build a lightning rod. Of course, he didn't have any background in electromagnetism or know anything about lightning attraction. But he had a sincere heart. He wanted to bring this wonderful thing back to his hometown. Even if he learned how to build it and could earn a high salary, if he could teach it to his son and he would never have to worry about food and clothing, just the fact that he learned how to build one for his hometown would make the locals want to pour him a bowl of wine!
Unfortunately, learning something like the Thunder Platform is incredibly difficult; it's impossible to master. I followed it all the way from Youzhou to Qingzhou, working for free, and after all this time, I still haven't learned it.

However, during the process of learning how to build the Leiji Terrace, the old man from Jiaozhou who had studied geomancy—well, let's be frank, I won't pretend anymore—used to work under Yu Jin. Although the technical approach and the geomancy approach are quite different, after comparing the two, how could he not learn the Leiji Terrace, let alone the geomancy?

Then one day, he discovered a place with terrain that was exactly the same as his hometown, and the celestial phenomena were also very similar. In other words, this Thunder Platform only needed to be placed in a suitable location under the celestial phenomena of his hometown to be fully usable!

What else is there to say? We went back to our hometown and gathered all our brothers there. It just so happened that during the snowstorm the previous year, this group of people braved the snow to dig up the entire Leijitai and move it back to their hometown.

Although the Leijitai platform and the soil beneath it together weighed several hundred tons, it didn't matter. With strong conviction and no cloud-like pressure, a dozen or so veterans from Jiaozhou stole the thing.

Steal it back, put it in a suitable place, and if you find it works, what else is there to say! Keep stealing!

As for the village that lost Leijitai, after the snow disaster ended, the people were almost insane; they were even tempted to kill!

Consider that in the last century, two villages fought to the point of death over water. This is the third century, and it is a well-known fact that the Leijitai production has increased by 25%. Under these circumstances, the theft of the Leijitai must have been a major case.

It's just that the veterans from Jiaozhou are all elites. They came in the wind and snow, fully prepared, and didn't leave any loose ends. When asked, they all said they built it themselves. Besides, they did build it. For example, Tangtang did build a Leijitai. For this, he has become a hero in the eyes of the locals.

After discovering that no one would suspect that they had stolen the thing, the guy who wasn't on the right path started looking for a suitable platform to move to Jiaozhou once he found one.

After being captured, the reason given was quite convincing: such a divine object should be controlled by the strong, and how could a weak person who couldn't even protect Lei Jitai possess such a divine object!
As for why he was arrested, it wasn't because the county solved the case, but because he stole from a tough guy, and in the end, someone miraculously opened the box.

Even so, the locals couldn't get Leijitai back after it was stolen to Jiaozhou. Shi Xie directly stated that it was a spoil he had obtained from the bandits. As for the Leijitai you mentioned, he didn't know anything about it. They almost came to blows back then.

Cookie was dumbfounded. Damn, are the locals really this shameless?

"The person who led the theft of Lei Jitai is imprisoned in Jiaozhou. The victims in Qingzhou and Jizhou want to extradite him back to their localities for trial, but there has been no progress so far. To be honest, I even suspect that he hasn't been imprisoned at all." Chen Xi sighed and said, "In short, this matter is just left unresolved for now. To be honest, the problem is quite big, but there really isn't a good solution."

Shi Xie said to lock him up, so he locked him up. After all, it was just theft, at most a huge amount, and the person even had a noble title. Shi Xie said it was used to offset the debt, and he was already in jail. He had already been dealt with as a serious crime. What could the others do? There really was nothing they could do.

What's worse is that the stolen Lei Jitai can't be recovered. The locals, who are watching others increase their production, are furious that their Lei Jitai was stolen.

September is over, sigh. Last day! Those with votes, please cast them! Try your best during the National Day holiday. Also, please vote for the event organized by the event organizers; there are free votes every day, don't waste them!