Fight the Giants

  Chapter 88 Waiting

  When I heard that I could arrive in Guazhou at noon, everyone was so excited that they refused to have a good lunch. The speed of the boat is much faster.

  Everyone set off from the Jiangning County Wharf and went all the way up the Qinhuai River to the north. After a day and a half, the boat finally merged into the Grand Canal.

   At two o'clock in the afternoon, after a good rest, the ship set sail again.

   After rowing for half an hour, I heard a commotion ahead. Huo Xi hurriedly looked forward on tiptoe, and saw that the boats in front had gradually stopped.

  You can vaguely see the figures on the pier in front of you.

   I don't know if I have arrived at "Guazhou Wharf". What's the situation ahead. It would be nice to have a telescope at this time. It's still more than ten miles away, so it's hard to see.

  Looking towards the river, people's voices are constantly coming from both sides of the front. Just listening to the sound, one can predict the prosperity of Guazhou Wharf.

  Yang Fu also tiptoed to watch, but the boats on the river were next to the boats, and neither of them could see what was going on ahead.

   "Xi'er, let's go, let's climb Liangshan Mountain and have a look."

  Huo Xi's heart moved, and he followed Yang Fu through the cabin from the bow, grabbed the grain bags piled in the middle of his boat, and the two climbed up the grain mountain.

   Waiting to stand still on the grain mountain, Huo, the vision suddenly improved a lot.

   "Xi'er, why did the boat stop ahead?"

  Huo Xi looked forward, and the ships stopped.

  Looking back, there are hundreds of thousands of boats in the Yangtze River with no end in sight. The front did not move, and the ships behind had to stop.

   "It should be waiting to pass the gate." The front should not be the Guazhou Wharf. She almost forgot about passing the gate.

   "Xi'er, what is gate passing?"

   Before Huo Xi could answer, Qian Xiaoxia's voice from behind also raised high: "Huo Xi, Yang Fu, what did you see? What happened? Why didn't the boat in front of you move?"

  Seeing Huo Xi and Yang Fu climb up the grain bag, Qian Xiaoxia also climbed up, but Xiao Xi didn't watch, and couldn't figure out why the front didn't move.

  Huo Xi glanced at him and saw that all the boats on Taoyedu were looking at the Huo family at the bow, so he clasped his hands together and raised his voice to everyone, "We should be at Guazhou Wharf ahead! We are waiting to pass the lock!"

   "Boy Huo, what is gate passing?"

  Huo Xi was taken aback for a moment, he didn't expect that everyone didn't even know about "passing the gate".

   After thinking about it, the transportation is inconvenient these days, and there are few people who travel far. Everyone usually only fishes in the Qinhuai River and the Yangtze River, and has never been to farther places.

   Then popularized it to everyone.

  The Grand Canal goes north all the way, from south to north, running through the five major water systems of Qiantang River, Yangtze River, Huai River, Yellow River and Hai River.

  Because the water level of each river is different from that of the canal, it is necessary to set up dams or sluices at the junction of the canal and each river, and use the dams or sluices to control the water levels of the two rivers, balance them, and achieve the purpose of navigation for ships.

  For example, the water level of the Yangtze River is abundant in spring, summer and autumn, and the water level is higher than that of the canal. In the dry season of winter, the water level is lower than that of the canal.

   As for the Huaihe River and the Yellow River, the water level is one low and the other high.

  If ships want to enter the canal from various water systems, they have to find a way to balance the water levels of the two rivers first, so that ships can enter the canal.

   There are many ways to control the water level of the two rivers. The purpose is usually achieved by setting a sluice, which is the most efficient.

  When the ship reaches the back gate, close the front gate, open the back gate, and the water from the back river will flow in. Fill the gap between the two gates, and the water level will be the same as that of the back river.

  The ship started to go into the box.

  When the boat reaches the front gate, the rear gate is closed, the front gate is opened, the water flows out, and the water level gradually matches the river ahead.

  The ship sails out of the box.

  By opening and closing the front and rear boxes, water is injected and released, so that the water levels of the two rivers are balanced, and the boat can pass smoothly.

  If a ship on the Grand Canal wants to enter the Yangtze River, the operation is reversed.

  In addition to this function of this kind of sluice, in the rainy season, when the water level of the Yangtze River reaches the dangerous line, it will also release the flood by opening the sluice.

  So the role of the canal is not only for transportation, but also for flood control.

  Huo Xi spread the word to everyone, stunned Taoyedu and nearby boatmen.

  I originally thought that it would be enough to transport grain north to Huai'an, but how could I know there are so many ways here!

   Be good, it turns out that the water level is different from river to river. I'm ignorant.

   "Boy Huo, what do you use to block the water in such a deep river as a ship lock? Can the water be held back?" How about the water of a river? Must not be washed away?

   "Maybe iron or stone." Someone said.

   "The iron and the stone are so heavy, how much human and animal power is needed to pull the gate."

  Huo Xi saw that everyone was half-knowledgeable and still very interested, so she explained it again.

   "Use wood or stone." Huo Xi raised his voice.

  After the ship lock is used to control the water level, no matter it is a ship from the Yangtze River or the Yellow River, or a ship from other rivers, it must be manually opened.

  The ship locks at this time were mostly wooden gates. Because iron gates were prone to rust and were too heavy to lift, wooden gates were mostly used.

   But wooden gates are far less solid than iron gates. Therefore, the gate is generally not too large, otherwise it cannot withstand excessive water pressure.

   In this way, it is extremely difficult for one or two ships to pass through the lock. As for how many ships can pass through the two gates at the same time, Huo Xi doesn't know yet.

  But according to the current level, it is estimated that there will not be more than twenty or thirty ships. If it is a large merchant ship, it will be less.

   Fortunately, these are fishing boats, and they are not very big. There are not many boats as big as hers.

  But the first batch of tank ships shipped from Jiangning was hundreds of thousands of ships, and I don’t know how long it will take to stop the ships and wait for the lock.

  After Huo Xi finished explaining, everyone understood.

   Sure enough, I went out for a trip and learned a lot. As far as the water level is concerned, it turns out that there is a drop between the river and the river.

Huo Xi smiled and said: "Of course there is a gap. We live on the plains, and those who live on the hills are higher than us, and some are lower than us. It's the same with rivers. "

   "I heard that in some dams, the water level drops by tens of feet. To pass through, you have to pass through several gates."

  For example, the Three Gorges Dam in later generations. The difference between the upper and lower water levels is more than 100 meters. From upstream to downstream, it is realized through five ship locks.

   After everyone listened, they all stared wide-eyed.

  The difference between the upper and lower water levels is tens of feet? God, didn't that drown the people and the boat? The whole city can be submerged in water, right? Wouldn't that be an underwater city?

   Everyone looked up at the sky, the water level was several tens of feet away, how high must it be!

   Simply unimaginable.

  He Feng took the boat and originally planned to inform everyone along the river to wait patiently to pass the gate, but he wanted to explain it to everyone, but he was not expected to be explained by the Huo family boy.

   explained better than him.

  He was taken aback.

  This kid is young, but he has a lot of knowledge. He Feng looked at the Huo family's boat, and took a closer look again.

  Seeing the kid's father and uncle were stunned, they didn't come back to their senses. He Feng couldn't help shaking his head and laughing. I don't know how this family educates the child, and where the child learned those words just now.

  He Feng cast his eyes on Huo Xi again, and felt that this kid was unusual.

   "Wait patiently and line up to pass the gate. You can't land, and you can't go ashore. If there is any loss of grain, be careful!"

  He Feng notified one by one in a boat, his voice was cold.

   Today’s personality exploded, and there will be more explosions. Those who have votes should also vote. Thank you everyone

  (end of this chapter)