Father, I really don’t want to be the emperor

The plague this time came with great force. At first, Zhou Qun felt that the plague was sweeping too hard and would cause irreparable losses to Dakang. However, the situation turned out to be exactly the opposite of what he had imagined. Ning Fan just used The plague was brought under control in less than seven days.

"The plague may come back at any time because the disease-causing pathogens are already in the contaminated water sources."

Ning Fan was still worried.

Cholera was a terminal disease that was almost incurable in the era before antibiotics. Once it was contracted, it would be fatal.

Therefore, Ning Fan did not dare to be careless. He frowned and looked at the deserted streets, feeling increasingly depressed.

"Your Majesty, is there no solution to this plague?"

Zhou Qun also looked distressed.

"There is a solution, that is, everyone must pay attention to hygiene, build a reasonable sewage pipe network throughout the city, and all households must use toilets, and feces cannot be disposed of randomly."

After careful consideration, Ning Fan gave an answer.

"Of course, there is a more important point, that is, we must be particularly careful about the source of drinking water in the future. When we ordinary people drink water, we must also boil the water."

Ning Fan added.

"Your Majesty, what is the sewage pipe network and what is the toilet?"

Zhou Qun was confused by Ning Fan's words, because he didn't understand what Ning Fan meant.

"This so-called sewage pipe network actually means that all sewage from every household is discharged into the same ditch, and then the sewage is collected into one place through a unified underground pipe network for final treatment."

"Actually, to put it bluntly, it is to unify the wastewater that we use for daily life, such as vegetable washing water, face washing water, foot washing water, and excrement water, etc., into the same ditch and discharge them into the same place. , and it does not integrate with the water network we drink every day.”

Ning Fan explained in a simple and profound way, as if he was afraid that Zhou Qun would not be able to hear clearly or understand.

Zhou Qun is such a smart person. He understood what Ning Fan meant just after hearing Ning Fan explain it once, but he shook his head repeatedly.

"Your Majesty, if we do it in the way you said, it will be very difficult. You must know that although the entire Kyoto is planned, many houses do not have special drainage channels. It would be necessary to build an underground sewage pipe network. It’s very expensive and takes a long time.”

Zhou Qun also had a troubled look on his face.

As the prime minister and the great steward of the imperial court, Zhou Qun knew that every bit of Dakang's treasury revenue was hard-earned. This money could not be spent carelessly. Military expenditures had to come from it, and the research institutes built in various places also had to come from it.

The cake is only one big piece. If you cut off a piece here today and a piece there tomorrow, then the little money accumulated in the imperial treasury will probably be lost soon.

"No matter how difficult it is, the sewage pipe network must be built, and the toilets I mentioned must also be used. According to my observation, the people in our city will throw away the excrement every morning. Pour into the river, this is the most basic cause of the plague."

Ning Fan's face showed a look of determination.

Kyoto is the most prosperous and wealthy place in Dakang. Cities like this have caused plagues due to insufficient sanitary conditions, let alone other cities.

In order to develop a prosperous society in the future, health issues are a top priority. If Kyoto cannot be built into a model city, and cities everywhere will spring up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain in the future, they will not pay attention to the underground sewage. Pay attention to the pipe network.

"Then I would like to ask for your Majesty's instructions. I will ask someone to fix the underground sewage pipe network immediately. But what kind of toilet is your Majesty talking about? Could you please explain it in detail?"

Zhou Qun looked curious.

"The so-called toilet is actually a convenient thing. We usually discharge feces into the toilet, and then the toilet discharges the dirty things into the sewage pipe network through water pressure."

Ning Fan took a pen and paper and drew the principle and style of the toilet. When Zhou Qun saw the toilet drawn by Ning Fan, his face was filled with surprise.

"If we want the plague to never happen, we must do a good job in hygiene, and the disposal of sewage and feces is the top priority."

While Ning Fan was explaining the importance of hygiene to Zhou Qun, he suddenly thought of something, and that was plastic.

Dakang's ceramic firing technology is still very high. It is not difficult to make a toilet, but if you want to make pipes, you must use plastic.

However, after Ning Fan thought about it, he felt that the manufacturing cost of plastic pipe networks was too high. It was impossible to refine polyethylene with current chemical technology.

What's more, if you want to develop plastics, you must develop petrochemical technology. With the current level of technological input, it will take at least fifty years to be successful.

If plastic cannot be extracted, then another alternative technology in Ning Fan's mind is to use aluminum instead.

Aluminum will not rust. If aluminum is used to build the tap water pipe network, then it is no longer a dream to provide clean water sources for the entire city. However, with the current level of industrialization in Dakang, a large number of aluminum pipes must be cast. It is unlikely, so it is best to build an underground sewage pipe network now and then provide tap water in the future.

After much discussion with Zhou Qun, Ning Fan brought in Shen Mengxi again, because every time he encountered this kind of technical problem, Ning Fan was always the first to think of Shen Mengxi.

This is not to say that Ning Fan is lazy and overbearing, but that as an emperor, there are too many things to deal with every day, and Ning Fan has no time to polish them carefully.

After explaining the casting and basic structure of the toilet to Shen Mengxi, Shen Mengxi quickly understood it.

"Your Majesty, after having this toilet, will every household be able to use it in their own homes?"

Shen Mengxi was a little surprised.

"In general, this should be said, but the sewage pipe network should lead from every household to the unified sewage channel in the city."

Ning Fan said again.

"Your Majesty, the population of Kyoto is close to four million. This is a huge population, and the amount of feces and sewage produced every day is also staggering. Wouldn't it be congested if these feces are in the underground pipe network? And if they are concentrated in the If it were a place, wouldn’t the sewage cause a stink to the sky?”

Zhou Qun and Shen Mengxi both looked worried.