Chapter 40 Lanzhou Bridge Opens to Traffic The two Western countries are at a standoff

Seeing that the emperor was so eager to see the Yellow River Bridge, Zhang Zhimu persuaded him: "Your Majesty, everyone's meals are ready, let's go after lunch!" You can also take a good look! ”

"Oh! You see, I've forgotten about it, so I'll listen to you, and we'll go back after lunch! Emperor Chongzhen said with some embarrassment.

"Actually, like the emperor, I can't wait to see this bridge right away," Zhang Zhimu said, "Once this bridge is passed, our entire western territory will be connected!" ”

"Zhang Dongjia's metaphor is very apt!" Emperor Chongzhen said, "Our railways and highways are like the veins of the country, and when the veins are connected, our muscles and bones will be strong!" A country is strong when it has a rail and road network. They can bring together the strength of our entire country, and such a country is an invincible country! ”

Emperor Chongzhen was a little excited.

After lunch in a hurry, Emperor Chongzhen did not rest, and came to the Yellow River Bridge in Lanzhou with everyone.

This bridge is the same as the Tongguan Bridge, but it is not as long as the Tongguan Bridge, and the Yellow River here is not as wide as the Yellow River in Tongguan. However, the geographical location here is special, the bridge here is opened, and the entire railway and highway are connected with the highway and railway in Hexi. With these two connected arteries, the security of the vast western part of the country can be guaranteed.

Because Emperor Chongzhen and Zhang Zhimu attended the ceremony together, the opening ceremony of the Yellow River in Lanzhou was naturally more enthusiastic. After the ceremony, a grand banquet was held, and representatives of various ethnic groups in Lanzhou were also invited. Zhang Zhimu and Emperor Chongzhen also made enthusiastic speeches. Emperor Chongzhen's speech at the banquet was already familiar, and the atmosphere was very good.

After the banquet, everyone did not stop, and took the train overnight to cross the brightly lit Yellow River Bridge and drive west.

Like Emperor Chongzhen, everyone participated in the majestic ribbon-cutting ceremony of the bridge, and after appreciating the style of the bridge, their hearts had already flown to the border pass that countless people had sighed. In the past, it was very difficult to come to the border of the Western Regions, and countless people went and never returned, leaving countless poignant poems for future generations.

Lu Bingyi, Tang Jingyao, and Duan Jingzhong took a group of people to hang up a passenger car and also went west with the special train.

In the dining car, Zhang Zhimu, Chen Yufeng, and Ouyang He listened to their work reports.

Lu Bingyi said: "Before we came to Lanzhou, we went to the construction site of the Weihe River diversion project and had several meetings with the technicians there, and according to the latest measurement data, after calculation, we will build the Weihe River dam, and after the water level of the upper reaches of the Weihe River passing through the valley is raised in place, the upstream river will extend a long distance in the direction of the Tao River." The canal originally planned to be built from the Tao River required the construction of three dams, but now it seems that one of the two locks will be sufficient. In this way, not only can the task of water diversion be completed, but also the route can be opened to the Tao River! However, the steepness of the river from the Tao River into the Yellow River is too high, and in order for ships to enter the Yellow River smoothly, it is necessary to build a dam on the Tao River to raise the water level and use locks to send the boats through. We want to do this again in the second phase of the project. ”

Chen Yufeng asked: "We want to have two projects to divert water into the Wei River, one is to divert water from the Jialing River into the Wei River, and the other is to divert the water from the Tao River into the Wei River. ”

"It's better to speed up the diversion project! We expect it to be completed in about four years! The project of diverting water from the Jialing River has just passed a few years, and it is still early! ”

"The railroad on our side has been opened, is the point of shipping still so big?" Ouyang He asked.

Tang Jingyao smiled and said, "Hehe! Mr. Ouyang, of course, with the railway, the transportation conditions have been improved a lot. However, the advantages of this water transport are unmatched by any other mode of transport. First of all, the cost of transportation is the lowest, whether it is road or rail. And then there is the large capacity, which is incomparable. There are also oversized items, which can only be shipped by ship. In addition, the role of shipping in stimulating the cross-strait economy is incomparable with other methods. ”

Lu Bingyi said: "There is another thing that cannot be ignored in such a project, and that is the role of flood control. Then there is the economic benefits of power generation. Finally, irrigation is also very important. ”

The special train ran west at high speed, overtaking many trucks along the way, and also saw many trucks parked on the side of the road to make way for them.

Zhang Zhimu asked: "The transportation of goods on this line is very busy!" ”

"Huh!" Lu Bingyi said with a smile, "Don't hide it from Mr. Zhang, the opening ceremony in Lanzhou can only be held until you come." But the bridge has already been opened to traffic, so we can't wait! They sent me a telegram, and I agreed that they would use the night to quietly set off to cross the bridge. With the bridge opened, more supplies could be transported westward. In addition to our army and production, the goods of the merchants are also lined up to be transported. In particular, Mr. Lu has built a large freight yard in Hami and Lop Nur, and there are too many things to transport. ”

"It seems that our Hami will be a cargo distribution center in the future!" Ouyang He said.

"Not yet," said Lu Bingyi, "Mr. Lu's eyes are on Lake Balkhash, and he has already sent someone to choose a place at Lake Balkhash." The copper factory over there is about to be built, and our railroad is going to be built there. The Grand Canal on the Western Front also started from there. Lake Balkhash has long been a cargo distribution center in Mr. Lu's eyes! ”

"Haha!"

Everyone laughed, and Zhang Zhimu said: "When it comes to business, Mr. Lu is here, but I don't want to ask!" ”

Duan Jingzhong said: "As long as the things we produce are transported over, no matter what, they can be transported by the merchants of the Western Regions. Our hot water bottles, matches, enamel products, and medicines are not in demand. It's more expensive, more profitable, and lightweight. So, I support the construction of this canal. I think that in ten years, our things will still not be sold, and the only problem is the transportation problem. ”

"There's one thing that makes shipping a lot less stressful for us now." Ouyang He said, "We don't need to transport grain from the interior to the west. Samarkand is a grain-producing region, and the military rations we have to the west are completely sufficient to buy from here. ”

Lu Bingyi said: "Not only that, but there is a lot of cotton over there, and a lot of it is shipped back every year. When I arrived at the kiln, I didn't know how much the price would have to be doubled! ”

Zhang Zhimu and Emperor Chongzhen stopped at many places along the way, and they went to see many places on the Great Wall. Now the function of these Great Wall defenses is already small. But people still did not dare to abandon these places, and the psychological fear of the north was still far from dissipating.

Emperor Chongzhen also sighed all the way.

Not only did they look at the original castles and other fortifications, but they also went to see the chrome and nickel mines. Now the transportation is convenient, the mining conditions of the two mines are also better, a lot of large machinery is used, and the special railway lines have also been repaired to these two mining areas. After the Lizhi Yellow River Bridge is opened to traffic, the ore here can be directly transported to the kiln smelting yard and Baotou.

While visiting these mining areas, Zhang Zhimu introduced to the emperor: "These chromium and nickel are treasures, and our steel can be turned into stainless steel by adding these." Our cannons and breeches are plugged with a layer of chromium, which can increase the service life for a long time. ”

Emperor Chongzhen nodded again and again and said, "What a treasure!" ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "Earlier, when we arrived at Jiayuguan and then forward, it was our oil field. We're going to build an oil refinery here, so that not only oil can be produced here. We don't have to transport oil from our kiln in the west, and it can also drive the economic development here. It can attract a lot of mainland businessmen and all kinds of people to come. It's much better than us mobilizing immigrants to come here! ”

"Well, that's a good idea!" Emperor Chongzhen nodded and said.

The special train will stay at Jiayuguan for two days, first, everyone should have a good look at this famous pass here, and second, Lu Bingyi, Tang Jingyao, and Duan Jingzhong will take another road from here to Shazhou (Dunhuang) and Lop Nur to investigate.

Here, Ningde and Jiang Pai jointly sent a telegram, apparently Ning De and Jiang Pai had discussed it and reached a unanimous opinion.

In their opinion, the plan to seize access to the Black Sea this year will not be realized. Because, having fought through the Caucasus Mountains, the Ottoman army did not achieve a clear advantage by virtue of the fact that there were many more muskets than the Russians, as expected. On the contrary, the Russians, with their experience in the use of muskets and flexible tactics, did not let the Ottoman Empire, which had an advantage in numbers, not take advantage. However, both sides have consumed a lot of ammunition, and now the battle between the two sides is becoming more and more dependent on ammunition. However, both the Ottoman and Russian armies were already using reloading ammunition on the battlefield. Now both the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire are buying bullets from us in large quantities. The Russian Empire also wanted to buy a thousand muskets, but they wanted to pay for it with a portion of the wheat. The Ottomans also wanted to buy smokeless ** for reloading ammunition. The Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire are now in a stalemate, and it is impossible to predict who will hold out for a little longer. The original planned defeat of the Russian Empire has not yet come, and our opportunity to make a move has not yet come. Ningde and Jiang Pan share the hope that the operation to seize the Black Sea export can be postponed until next year!

Zhang Zhimu was in a room with Chen Yufeng, Ouyang He, and Yang Jing, drinking tea and studying the telegram sent by Ning in the name of Ning De and Jiang Jiao.

Ouyang He said: "Ning De and Jiang Ji are both veterans. They know the best at the front, and the advice they put forward on a case-by-case basis makes sense. It would be easy for us to seize the mouth of the Black Sea by brute force, but that would create a disadvantageous environment for us. In particular, Yoo Sung-hwang's last telegram also reminded us to be vigilant that the entire Western countries are uniting against us. In addition, time is also strong for us, we have been able to improve a lot of border facilities this year, and more importantly, the level of roads leading to border defense has been greatly improved. This is very beneficial for us. ”

Chen Yufeng said: "I think they can sell it to them, but they can't give it to them without smoke." Russians**, must bring gold. Now we are not so short of food. The land they reclaimed also produced a lot of grain, and the original month and other places were all grain-producing areas. We are not very short of food in the west. ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "However, I called them back and told them that if the grain is of good quality and the price is very cheap, they can still ask for a little." Our next step is to develop breeding, which also requires a lot of grain as feed. All the Russians can give us is wheat. They give us wheat, and we process the wheat bran to make monosodium glutamate, and the rest is equivalent to eating wheat for nothing. ”

Yan Boju smiled and squeezed his little eyes and said, "Zhimu didn't forget to calculate the silver at any time!" ”

"Hey! If Mr. Lu were here, I wouldn't be too lazy to count! Zhang Zhimu said, "We can exchange industrial products for agricultural products, which is a cheap thing." We can get back a lot of delicious food for our people! ”

The people of Yaogang are not afraid of chaos, but the Ottoman Sultan is worried.

When the vanguard of the Ottoman Empire set out, it was already well understood that the Russian Empire had crossed this small force of troops across the Greater Caucasus Mountains. Their task is to annihilate this lone army on the spot.

The Russian Empire made a low-level mistake, they originally wanted to take advantage of the great victory to attack the Ottoman Empire, when one of his forward troops easily broke through the Ottoman army's blockade in the Greater Caucasus Mountains, crossed the Greater Caucasus Mountains, and it was at the height of the fighting spirit, and got the news that the Ottoman Empire had purchased a large number of muskets. The Russian Imperial Army, well aware of the power of the muskets, stopped the offensive. However, their army that crossed the Greater Caucasus Mountains did not withdraw. They felt that if they withdrew, the efforts of the last attack would be in vain. The problem is that they also did not strengthen the army that crossed the Greater Caucasus. A very low-level mistake was made.