A Promise Fulfilled
As one might expect, the utterly absurd claim that they would turn an entire mountain into a reservoir and bottle up a river spread across the whole of Henan Province in no time at all.
"Does that even make sense?"
"It's complete nonsense!"
Most people were skeptical.
But then—
"I hear the Sichuan Dang Family is the one taking this on this time as well?"
"Hmm?"
"If it's the Dang Family's work… it might just be possible?"
The track record and trust the Dang Family had built over the years quietly kindled expectations in people.
Applause needs two hands to make a sound. Had opinion settled cleanly on either "of course they can build it" or "of course they can't," the matter might never have become such a sensation. But when views split down the middle, argument was inevitable. And thanks to the Dang Family's long string of radical ventures, they had no shortage of enemies—or allies.
In short, like a superstar who drove both fanatics and haters equally mad, talk of the Dang Family's construction project roared beyond Henan and all the way into the political circles of Beijing.
"Hmph! As if it could ever succeed. That 'grand dam' of theirs will collapse in spectacular fashion!"
There were those like Pi Jaehun of the Byeongjong Pi Family, who poured out curses and swore it would fail.
"There is not a single error in Elder Brother's design! And if anyone claims there is, that so-called error is merely a margin of safety by another name!"
There were those like Gol Jun-sang of the Gongjong Gol Family, who offered absolute trust and praise.
"What do the calculations say?"
"We failed to obtain Young Master Dang's blueprints, but after mobilizing every mathematician of the Divine Calculation Party, the numbers that came back say it's more than worth attempting."
"…They said the Second State-run Ironworks wouldn't be run as a joint-stock company, correct? A pity. And the coal-mine concessions?"
"Emperor Sungui moved first, so we couldn't take much. Worse, the Sima Clan was already in motion…"
"Haa…"
There were those like the Zhuge Clan, who studied the mathematical data, predicted success, and moved to seize the profits that would follow.
"Buuurp!"
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Even without eating I can belch just thinking of those Zhuge bastards clutching their stomachs! Haha!"
There was the laughing Sima Clan.
"It's impossible!"
"It'll work!"
"Want to bet?"
"Ten taels!"
"Bullshit, only ten? Ten and another twenty on top!"
"You're insane—fine! Thirty taels!"
And then there were the idle thrill-seekers who simply got excited about gambling.
With the entire Central Plains watching, it was only natural that a staggering crowd gathered on the day of the completion ceremony for the first gorge dam—the Baekgak Mountain Dam.
The Provincial Administration Commissioner of Henan read the ceremonial address. Hwiyeom offered thanks to every person of influence who had attended. Then he ordered the gates opened. At once a roar like a thousand horses charging down a valley filled the air, and the waters of the Sa River surged forward in a rush of white foam.
The bold idea of diverting the Sa River itself—a sizable tributary of the Yellow River—gave the onlookers the sensation of generals looking down upon the field of a massive water attack.
Like a thousand-li steed that snorts at a mere hundred-li road, the Sa River raced through the gorge between the mountains and began to fill the basin walled in by peaks like a folding screen.
The valley that should have let the water escape was blocked by a vast gray barrier; not a single drop could get through.
Mouths fell open at the sight of that wild, magnificent idea—using the mountain itself as an embankment—becoming reality. Without exception, people cried out in wonder.
At last, when the water had risen high enough, the Sa River's current began to slow. And still the Baekgak Mountain Dam released not one drop.
"About time?"
Hwiyeom glanced sideways. A man from the Construction Department began waving a blue flag toward those below—signaling the gate on the opposite side, the outlet gate.
Among the people who had been staring blankly at the rising valley waters, those who wished for the Dang Family's ruin clenched their teeth.
It's not over yet.
Enough water has poured in to drown an entire city. The gates are holding all that weight. There's no way men can lift them!
They hoped the outlet gates would refuse to open and leave Hwiyeom a laughingstock.
But as if he could read their thoughts, Hwiyeom gave a soft snort of laughter.
"Of course, opening an entire gate under that enormous water pressure would take tremendous force."
He looked around at the crowd with a deliberately teasing smile.
"But it seems everyone has forgotten. The whole reason we built this dam in the first place was to skim only the upper layer of the standing water and supply clear water to the State-run Ironworks, was it not?"
"?"
"!!"
Some looked puzzled; others raised their brows in sudden admiration. Hwiyeom lifted his hand, and a red flag waved.
"Upper waterways—open the gates!"
Dozens of gates built into the upper level of the dam swung open. Each one looked for all the world like a stone-throwing port cut into a city wall—especially since they sat high on the face of the barrier. The one striking difference was that the neat ranks of openings, bored near the crest of Baekgak Mountain, were fitted with straight concrete aqueducts.
River water thundered through the pipes with a sound like a dragon's roar. The water level in the dam stopped rising.
To the people staring blankly at the outflow, Hwiyeom spoke.
"Even though the Sa River is muddy, once it pours into the bottom of that gorge and rises this high, the sand settles below and clear water floats to the top. That clear water will ride those aqueducts straight into the Second State-run Ironworks. Of course, some unfiltered grains of sand, leaves, grass, and twigs still get through. So before it reaches the ironworks, the water passes through a total of four settling basins. The result is that the State-run Ironworks can draw industrial water as clean as spring water—and in vast quantities."
To the people of this age it was nothing short of a miracle. Even Hyeondeok Daesa, the Thousand-Handed Living Buddha—said to be the oldest man present—had never witnessed such a sight.
Water control was one of a nation's most vital tasks. Even those from martial sects who normally took little interest in such matters felt a shiver at the success of a project of this colossal scale. How much greater, then, was the emotion of the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Henan, a statesman charged with the people's welfare and with water management? No one could put it into words.
"…This… this is… by heaven…"
He repeated "this… this…" several times while groping for the right phrase, then shook his head and said,
"Even if the First Emperor who raised the Great Wall returned to life, he would offer pure admiration at a work of this magnitude. You have truly accomplished something that will be recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian, Academician Dang."
"Your Excellency has already grasped that this dam's role is not merely to supply clear water to the ironworks, have you not?"
"How could I not!"
When Hwiyeom asked with a smile, the Commissioner almost shouted.
"Floods have been the eternal headache of every city along the Yellow River! But I declare it here and now—Henan will suffer no more water disasters! Never again!"
The Yellow River was notorious for its floods. The Sa River was one of its larger tributaries, and now they possessed the power to regulate its flow and volume. Moreover, the critical outlet gates had not even been opened yet.
When torrential rain threatened to make the Yellow River and the Sa River overflow, those outlet gates would open. The Sa River's volume would be sucked into the dam in an instant and discharged through the far gates—gates that emptied into an uninhabited valley system beyond Baekgak Mountain. By dispersing the river's volume, flooding on one side could be prevented.
And that was not all. When drought threatened, water could be stored in the dam and released for irrigation. Since the factories used only the surface layer of the reservoir, simply opening a lower channel and gate would make drought control far easier.
From the Provincial Administration Commissioner's point of view, it was a situation that made his shoulders dance of their own accord. The farmers who had come to watch understood it as well. A festival atmosphere seized the surroundings in a heartbeat.
"Long live the Sichuan Dang Family!"
"Long live the Sichuan Crouching Dragon!"
Someone started the cry, and hundreds of farmers who had come to watch made the valley ring with their cheers.
Michelangelo stood dazed at the sight until Gwak Do of the Construction Department jabbed him.
"Why are you staring into space, you bastard Michelangelo?"
"…"
Uncharacteristically moved, Michelangelo gazed at the single vast work of art he had created—the beautiful arched dam—and then spoke as if dropping the words.
"…When that brat first summoned me, he said this."
Looking him straight in the eyes, the young man had said it with a deep smile.
"At the time I thought it was just pretty talk… but it really came true…"
Michelangelo looked down at the dam with uncharacteristically deep eyes, then gave a soft laugh.
"History will remember me now. This Michelangelo—the greatest architect who first sealed off a mountain and a gorge and raised the largest dike in the world. I can feel it. In this very moment I have stepped out from under that damn Leonardo old man's shadow."
He bowed his head deeply. What expression crossed his shadowed face was impossible to tell, but Gwak Do chose not to speak, and after a moment Michelangelo muttered,
"Ah, damn it—the spray from the waterfall is flying high!"
"…Yeah."
"Hey, Gwak."
"What?"
"It was hard work building it. Thanks for making my design come out this well."
"…They say when a man starts doing things he never does, it means his time is near."
"You son of a bitch?"
Michelangelo's eyes bulged as if his sentimental mood had been smashed to pieces. Gwak Do only snorted a laugh.
"If you're grateful, don't just talk—buy me a proper drink."
"…Hah!"
Michelangelo snorted through his nose and said,
"I'll get you so drunk you'll crawl home on all fours."
While Michelangelo and Gwak Do shared that moving exchange, the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Henan studied the dam carefully, then turned to Hwiyeom with a look of curiosity.
"By the way—what are those structures on either side of the grand outlet gates?"
Large buildings stood on both sides of the gates, and there was no obvious way to guess their purpose.
Hwiyeom smiled faintly.
"For now, they have been given no role."
"For now? Meaning they will be given one later?"
"Yes. Building them afterward would be nearly impossible, so while we were constructing the dam we prepared the buildings and drainage channels in advance."
"So they can be used later? What role will they play?"
"Well…"
Hwiyeom smiled gently.
"If I told you we would borrow the force of the flowing river to create the thunderbolts of heaven… would Your Excellency believe me?"
"What?"
The Commissioner looked utterly nonplussed. Then his expression shifted into a broad grin.
"I find it hard to believe! But when the man who built something like this says so… I almost want to believe it. Hahaha! And when will that come to pass?"
"Well…"
Hwiyeom smiled.
"I don't think it will take all that long."