jdhmnovel Chapter 1360 Atmospheric Pressure
Chapter 1360 Atmospheric Pressure
The main hall of the county government was only lit by a few glass lamps, but it was still quite bright.
As soon as Shen Zheng stepped across the threshold, the person in the hall knelt down: "The Jiangbei Mine in Linjiang Prefecture has been connected to an underground river, causing the river water to overflow and the mine tunnel to collapse. More than a dozen miners are trapped in the tunnel. General Shao has rushed to Linjiang and has specially ordered me to come here to implore Lord Shen to provide assistance!"
"The mine has been connected to an underground river?!" Shen Zheng froze on the threshold, instinctively saying, "Survey..."
No.
Nowadays, miners in Dazhou have no instruments to rely on when mining, let alone drilling, detection, or maps.
The so-called "mine surveying" by mine owners and local officials was nothing more than relying on experience to observe the mountains, examine the soil, and identify watermarks.
If there really is an underground river beneath the mine, the chances of them avoiding it in advance are about 20%—that's luck.
"Explain more clearly!" Yu Shizhang strode past Shen Zheng and asked urgently, "When did this happen? What is the current situation of the trapped miners? How long is it predicted that the water level will rise above the tunnel? Besides Shao Weishan, who else went there? Tell me quickly!"
The guard immediately reported, "There are three mine shafts in Jiangbei. A few days ago, water began to seep from the bottom of the deepest shaft, Fulin. Yesterday at dawn, the mine walls were breached by the river, flooding Fulin and the connected Xizhi shaft. A quarter of an hour later, the slightly shallower Kangle shaft also began to seep water, trapping the miners inside the Kangle shaft chamber. The small tunnel outside the chamber collapsed, and the water level in the shaft continues to rise. They are unable to clear the tunnel and can only remain inside the chamber..."
They're just waiting to die.
Yu Shizhang frowned deeply.
A dozen or so lives are at stake; this is no laughing matter.
But anyone with eyes to see could tell that the mine was a hot potato at that time, and whoever took it over would be the one to suffer the consequences.
The guard cried out in alarm, "Lord Shen, Lord, in addition to the young general, General Gao of the Linjiang garrison has also rushed over. I don't know how long the miners in the well can hold on, but General Shao promised that even if they can't be rescued, Lord Shen will not be implicated!"
"Boom-thump-thump-"
He kowtowed heavily, his head hitting the ground.
"General Shao is willing to give away all the puppies in the camp! I implore Lord Shen to consider, for the sake of Prefect Jiang, provide assistance to Linjiang!"
"This humble servant humbly begs Lord Shen for assistance!"
"Boom-thump-thump-"
Three more kowtows.
"Get up first." With lives at stake and the situation extremely urgent, Shen Zheng was in a state of utter confusion.
Compared to human lives, coal mines are as insignificant as a feather.
The only solution now is to drain the water and save lives.
However, the mine is dozens of feet deep, and the river water flows back into it, causing the water pressure to increase continuously. Where can the water be discharged, and where can it be discharged?
Her fingernails dug into her palm as Shen Zheng forced herself to calm down.
"Shen Da..."
The guard was about to plead again when Yu Shizhang stopped him, saying, "Don't speak yet."
Shen Zheng clenched her right fist and tapped her forehead repeatedly, muttering, "There will be a way. Wait a moment, let me think of something to counteract the water pressure..."
Water pressure.
These two words swirled in Shen Zheng's mind.
Fighting with manpower?
No.
Using animal power?
That's not acceptable either.
The essence of resisting water pressure is not simply to withstand it head-on, but rather...
"Use their force against them!"
A flash of inspiration struck her, and Shen Zheng ran to the desk, ground the ink, picked up the brush, and completed the task in one swift motion.
Yu Shizhang quickly followed and looked at the paper—"Atmospheric pressure."
He couldn't understand the meaning of those four words.
Shen Zheng gripped her brush tightly, drawing something on the paper while murmuring, "The atmosphere has weight, pressing down on the water surface. As long as there's a vacuum zone above the water, the pressure can force the water out of the mine..."
Yes, yes, that's it.
Shen Zheng's wrist movements became faster and faster.
Yu Shizhang watched as she drew a large pot, a sealed jar, a hollow stick, and... a ball of fire on the paper.
He didn't want to interrupt Shen Zheng's train of thought, but he couldn't bear the anxiety any longer and couldn't help but ask, "What is 'atmospheric pressure'?"
Shen Zheng's thoughts became clearer. As she drew the diagram, she explained, "We drink water using hollow reed tubes. It seems like the water is being sucked up by us, but in reality, it's being forced up by atmospheric pressure. There's a vacuum inside the tube..."
These remarks stunned Yu Shizhang and his personal guards.
"Wh-what?" Yu Shizhang felt like he was listening to gibberish.
Shen Zheng finished writing the last stroke on the paper, grabbed it, and ran outside, saying as she ran, "Let's make a big straw to suck water out of the mine! Time waits for no one, I'm going to the workshop to find Old Qiao!"
"straw?!"
"So much water, who's going to pump it up? Who can pump it up?!"
Yu Shizhang and his guards chased Shen Zheng out of the county government office.
Although Yu Shizhang found the method too bizarre, he still chose to believe Shen Zheng.
But Qin Wei thought differently—he believed Shen Zheng had gone mad.
On the way to the workshop, he endured the jolting and gradually realized that he was going crazy—for some inexplicable reason, he was following Lord Shen around!
Using a pipe to suck water to save someone is clearly the idea of a madman!
The river kept pouring water into the well. Even if hundreds of people worked tirelessly for ten days, they still couldn't drain the water out of the mine!
Ten days...
Let alone humans, even pigs would float to the surface from being submerged...
"Lord Shen!" He spurred his horse forward, keeping pace with Shen Zheng. "A life cannot be delayed. Why don't you... come with me to Linjiang first?"
Shen Zheng stared straight ahead, crouching down to avoid the wind.
“Going empty-handed will be of no use,” she said. “The only solution now is to forge the weapon as soon as possible and transport it to Linjiang by fast horse.”
The guards were shocked and felt a chill run down their spines.
"We still need to forge weapons on the spot?" When they arrive in Linjiang, won't they only be able to collect money from the miners?
"One day." Shen Zheng cracked his whip. "One day is enough. Before dusk tomorrow, I will go to Linjiang with you."
Her tone was too calm.
Like a reassuring pill with hands.
I pried open his mouth, fed him, and swallowed it down his throat. My heart calmed down.
......
Shen Zheng worked in the workshop for most of the night.
Before dawn the next day, she led her personal guards to the prefectural city.
The horse stopped outside the Salt and Iron Bureau. The yamen runners were overjoyed to see Shen Zheng: "Lord Shen has arrived? Please come in, please come in. The lord said that you don't need to announce your arrival. Just go in and find him! Lord Fang should be in his study right now."
Shen Zheng threw down the reins and ran towards the yamen.
"Feed the horse, thanks!"
The constable, holding the reins, looked dazed: "Lord Shen...she thanked me..."
"clatter--"
He now had another rein in his hand.
Guard: "My horse needs to be fed too, thank you."
"Oh."
study.
Fang Qi was playing with a copper sheet that had been treated with zinc.
Three days ago, he wrote a letter to the capital and included two zinc blocks in the envelope. If nothing unexpected happens, the Salt and Iron Bureau will begin forging zinc blocks after the New Year.
All of this is thanks to Shen...
"Master Fang!"
"Bang—" The door was violently flung open, crashing to both sides.
Upon seeing who it was, Fang Qi was utterly astonished.
What you think about comes true?
"Help!"
Shen Zheng rushed to the table and asked, "Lord Fang, how big is the largest iron pot in your yamen? And what about the iron jar? I'd like to borrow them!"
The robbers are here.