Chapter 1 The Compromised Solution

Speaking of the Danyang Clock Tower's decoration project, the final compromise方案 (fāng'àn, plan) made Ye Tao laugh and cry. Because the Danyang Clock Tower used a cast iron frame structure and simple prefabricated hoisting technology more thoroughly than the Yicheng Seven Seas Pagoda, how to make the external sculptures and decorations had not been decided even after the interior of the Danyang Clock Tower was completely completed. Anyway, once there was a plan, the sculpture work could be carried out on the ground according to the plan, and then hoisted into place. Dai Yuege, the largest contractor for the project, was angry that his most elite construction team was being dragged on the construction site, wasting a lot of time, but he was also somewhat helpless. Amidst the dispute, the Danyang Clock Tower stood in Danyang for so long, with its crude brick surface smeared with rough gray. Because the investment structure of the Danyang Clock Tower was far more complicated than that of the Yicheng Seven Seas Pagoda, this dispute was even more difficult to quell. It is said that in the end, the ruler Tan Xiaopei really felt uncomfortable seeing the ugly semi-finished product in front of him, so he summoned the disputing parties and asked them to come up with a unified方案 (fāng'àn, plan) as soon as possible.

Among the disputing parties, the Ye Family Workshop and Dai Yuege were the most indifferent. From the perspective of construction difficulty and operational experience, they felt that a方案 (fāng'àn, plan) similar to the Seven Seas Pagoda would be fine. Danyang and Yicheng echoed each other from afar, which could also be considered a beautiful thing. However, this方案 (fāng'àn, plan) was not taken seriously by everyone from the beginning. If this方案 (fāng'àn, plan) was adopted, it would invisibly greatly enhance the political status of Yicheng, and the importance of the Seven Seas Pagoda, along with the importance of the Seven Seas Chamber of Commerce, would be elevated even more in the eyes of others. Neither the arrogant Danyang officials nor the Jiuzhou Chamber of Commerce, which had contributed money and efforts to the construction of the Danyang Clock Tower, were willing to accept such a result.

And because the Danyang Clock Tower was so eye-catching, the folk forces formed by Danyang's celebrities, scholars, retired officials, and representatives of various clans were also constantly offering suggestions.

The decoration方案 (fāng'àn, plan) put forward by the Ministry of Works emphasized the solemn and dignified side of the Danyang Clock Tower. A large number of officials from the Ministry of Rites participated in this方案 (fāng'àn, plan), with the intention of beautifying such a clock tower into a symbol of the Eastern Plain King's power. However, although there was nothing wrong with this方案 (fāng'àn, plan) in terms of general principles, and all parties would not object too strongly, with the example of the Yicheng Seven Seas Pagoda in mind, everyone felt that this方案 (fāng'àn, plan) was really not very good.

Among the celebrities and scholars in Danyang, there were indeed many with talents in painting and other fields. The方案 (fāng'àn, plan)s they came up with were magnificent, but because too much openwork and round carving were used in the sculptures, from an operational point of view, the production of these carved pieces might not be a big problem, but the losses during installation would be great, requiring a lot of repairs and spare parts to be made. And the Ye Family Workshop, which already had management experience with the Seven Seas Pagoda, also pointed out that such a decoration方案 (fāng'àn, plan) had too obvious characteristics of hiding dirt and grime, and it would be quite troublesome to clean the outer walls in the future.

In general, the decoration方案 (fāng'àn, plan) proposed by the Jiuzhou Chamber of Commerce combined aesthetics and operability the best. However, the merchants' unrestrained imagination led them to create an extremely colorful方案 (fāng'àn, plan). They actually proposed to use a large amount of mineral pigments, and even gold and silver foil, in conjunction with sculptures and other techniques, to carry out such decorations. Judging from the simulated drawings, this方案 (fāng'àn, plan) was indeed the most beautiful, but in this era, applying gold and silver foil to the surface of stone was not a problem, but using it indoors and outdoors were completely different matters. The erosion of wind, frost, rain, and snow would cause these pigments to weather and peel off quickly, and the appearance at that time would be unsightly.

At the imperial conference to mediate the opinions of the three parties, Gao Zhen, as the most technically savvy among the Eastern Plain officials, also attended. When the three parties were arguing fiercely, Gao Zhen felt that it was improper to make such a scene in front of the ruler, and said, "The decoration of this clock tower is not like changing flower pots for flowers you raise, with one set after another. What are you doing?"

Unexpectedly, these words greatly inspired Tan Xiaopei. He felt that since these exterior wall decoration panels were made one by one on the ground and hoisted up, they should also be able to be removed. So, he asked people to summarize all the方案 (fāng'àn, plan)s of the three parties, together with the meeting records of the discussions in front of the emperor, and handed them to Tan Weixin, asking Tan Weixin to ask Ye Tao if there was such feasibility.

This time, both Tan Weixin and Ye Tao were dumbfounded. The examples that came to their minds were not the changing of flower pots for the flowers and plants they kept at home that Gao Zhen was talking about, but the mobile phones and other products that they were already familiar with. They both had practical experience of how popular mobile phones with replaceable shells were back then.

And now, if what needed to be replaced was the shell of an entire building, was that possible?

Ye Tao had readily available architectural designs and specific data from the construction. From a design standpoint, he could come up with several方案 (fāng'àn, plan)s to make the installed decorative panels removable, such as installing groove-shaped fitting structures on the current walls to hang decorative material blocks, such as using chemical adhesives that could lose their effect under certain conditions, or building a metal frame structure outside the current walls to hang decorative blocks. However, all of these required a basic condition, that the structure of the building was strong enough. After all, because the decoration方案 (fāng'àn, plan) had not been finalized at that time, the design of the Danyang Clock Tower considered the strength problem according to a decoration方案 (fāng'àn, plan) roughly similar to the Seven Seas Pagoda.

However, after specific calculations, Ye Tao found that the strength of the Danyang Clock Tower was fully capable of allowing the Danyang Clock Tower to change its shell. After thinking about it again and again, he still submitted the方案 (fāng'àn, plan) of adding a frame and then installing a replacement groove as the first方案 (fāng'àn, plan). After all, this方案 (fāng'àn, plan) was more reliable than directly installing it on the current inner wall. Although the construction quality of the inner wall was absolutely satisfactory, it was obviously not a strength for the brick-built wall to cope with lateral pulling forces. And although installing a metal frame would reduce the original reserved strength and cause some problems when the clock tower encountered more intense earthquakes or typhoons and other catastrophic weather, at least the installed decorative panels were likely to fall off, but overall, this方案 (fāng'àn, plan) was still the safest.

After many days of calculations and research, Ye Tao finally wrote the clock tower shell replacement方案 (fāng'àn, plan) along with the various problems he thought it would cause, into a memorial so thick that people didn't want to touch it, and submitted it.

This time, everyone was dumbfounded. Tan Xiaopei had originally heard that the installed decorative panels could not be easily removed and had already given up hope. He was preparing to convene another imperial conference and decide which方案 (fāng'àn, plan) to use himself. He didn't expect that although Ye Tao explained why the panels couldn't be removed after installation according to the original方案 (fāng'àn, plan), he also gave a feasible方案 (fāng'àn, plan). And this方案 (fāng'àn, plan) made everyone completely stunned and completely crazy. The multi-material and multi-color方案 (fāng'àn, plan) led by the Jiuzhou Chamber of Commerce was the most mature and became the first方案 (fāng'àn, plan) to be implemented immediately. The other two方案 (fāng'àn, plan)s were left to the two parties who proposed them to continue to improve.

Ye Tao also made another issue very clear. He could indeed allow the building to change its shell, but the large amount of engineering preparation came at an expensive cost, and the disassembly, installation, and repair of each shell replacement in the future would also have costs. This part of the cost was not in the original budget. The increased costs in this construction needed to be allocated, and in the future, the costs of each reinstallation must not be borne by the Ye Family Workshop or Dai Yuege's construction team.

The Jiuzhou Chamber of Commerce generously footed the bill and proposed the establishment of a Clock Tower Management Bureau, with people from all parties joining to coordinate the selection of future decoration方案 (fāng'àn, plan)s for the clock tower, as well as the issue of fundraising. And the Ye Family Workshop, led by Ye Tao once again, began an unprecedented attempt.

It must be admitted that the addition of Persian craftsmen was a huge help to this decoration project. In Persia, and further west, the technology of building with stone was more mature than in the East, which was accustomed to wooden structures, and there were more diverse means of decorating stone. Aided by Ye Tao's technology in the application of technology and his experience in project management, the energy of the Persian craftsmen quickly bloomed. Gold foil, silver foil, cobalt blue, lapis lazuli, cinnabar, and other mineral pigments were used efficiently, and the progress of the decoration project was very rapid.

The final appearance of the Danyang Clock Tower was extremely different from the Yicheng Seven Seas Pagoda. At the four corners of the tower, four stone strips extending straight from the ground to the top were carved with classic, simple, and timeless cloud patterns. And on the four walls, when panel after panel of stone were hung on the cast iron frame, the entire pagoda integrated the two characteristics of majesty and liveliness. Although a colorful decoration方案 (fāng'àn, plan) was adopted, the color and pattern design were carefully designed, and the clock tower was not made into a gaudy and vulgar object, but rather displayed an inspiring temperament.

Ye Tao had completed another high-difficulty task that others could never have imagined, everyone thought so. But for Ye Tao, he had only solved a trouble that he didn't want to touch at all.

However, after the clock tower was completely completed and carefully tested, and it was felt that there were no major safety hazards, it was already the end of the year, and Ye Tao had to prepare to spend the New Year in Danyang before leaving. Anyway, his many officials had also returned to celebrate the New Year one after another, and he could not carry out his work if he ran to Sufu Town at this time. However, just at this time, Shi Xiu, who had voluntarily stayed in Sufu Town to preside over the detailed exploration work, sent news: the situation in Sufu Town was not right. A large number of local wealthy households and powerful people had united to resist the Eastern Plain court's plan to build a canal.

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ps: Some digressions, not occupying VIP words, those who don't like to read can skip it

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