The time entered the twenty-seventh year of King Qingji of Wu, that is, in 487 BC, at the beginning of the eighth month of the lunar calendar.

After letting the prince stay in Xianyang and supervise the regent of the country, Qingji embarked on the road of patrolling.

This is the fifth large-scale patrol since Qingji became the king of Wu.

Almost every time Qingji goes on a tour, he rides thousands of times.

It is true that Qingji also wants to be sympathetic to the people's power and not be extravagant and wasteful, but as the king of a country and the king of a superpower, how can Qingji's pomp and circumstance be small?

This time, the concubines who accompanied Qingji on the tour included Queen Ji Qi, Xi Shi, Zheng Dan, Nanzi and other daughters, and ministers, Sun Wu, Fan Li, Bo Que and others.

As a result, Gongzi Hong, Gongzi Fan, Gongzi Xi and other princes of Wu Wang will follow the patrol.

There were no less than 200 palace maids and attendants, Yulin and Tiger Ben who were responsible for the guards, and 5,000 palace guards.

There are more than 10,000 war horses, 300 chariots, and many uncountable baggage......

You must know that Qingji is on patrol as the king of a country, and he is not going to visit the mountains and rivers.

If it is as extravagant and wasteful as Qianlong in the south of the Yangtze River in history, and there is not much purpose, it will definitely outweigh the losses.

Fortunately, the purpose of Qingji's patrol is to observe the people's feelings, comfort the officials and troops in various places, promote their own virtues, and at the same time deter Xiaoxiao.

The huge patrol team set off from Xianyang and went north along the straight.

Wu has straight roads, gallop roads, plank roads and five-foot roads, all of which are built for convenient transportation, and the project is huge.

Basically, every time he laid down a place, Wu Guo would spend a lot of manpower, material resources, financial resources, and a lot of time to build bridges and pave roads.

After all, if you want to get rich, you must first build roads!

This is an eternal truth.

For example, this straight road in the upper county of Wu State, as well as the Chi Road, was built on the territory of the original Yiqu and Wushi people, which was the territory of the Eight Kingdoms of Xirong, but now it has become an inseparable part of the Wu State.

The straight road and galloping road in Shangjun are still under construction, and more than 100,000 Kunlun slaves are serving in labor here.

Their task is to build more than 700 kilometers long and about 50 meters wide along the mountains and desert grasslands in two years.

In two years, it is necessary to complete the tasks of line selection, line change, construction, construction station, post box, etc., the speed is fast, the project is arduous, and it can be described as a miracle in the history of road construction in China and even in the world!

Of course, these two years are still conservative estimates.

Wu Guo mobilized so many Kunlun slaves, and he must be able to complete the straight road and gallop road in Shangjun as soon as possible.

For infrastructure construction work, the monarchs and ministers of Wu State, and the people from top to bottom are no strangers.

Wu people themselves have the title of "infrastructure madness".

It is conceivable that after the completion of the straight road and gallop road in Shanggun, in addition to the military deterrent effect, it will also play an extremely beneficial role in the unification of government decrees between the north and the south, economic development, and cultural exchanges.

Qingji's son, Gongzi Qi served as the county guard of Shangjun, so this time Qingji went out to patrol Shangjun, and he was responsible for acting as a guide.

"Quick! Work! ”

"Don't be lazy!"

On the huge construction site, the dark-faced, short or sturdy Kunlun slaves were spurred to work.

The scene in full swing is embarrassing.

The soldiers of the Wu army, who were in charge of supervising the work, would not show any sympathy for Kunlun Nu.

Whenever they found that a Kunlun slave was lazy and wanted to take a breath, they would whip each other and beat each other to the point of screaming and breaking the flesh.

"Smack!"

"Ahh

Kunlun Nu, who was whipped with a whip, couldn't help but scream.

Sergeant Wu, who was holding the whip, snorted and said disdainfully: "Don't be lazy! If you dare to be lazy, the whip in Lao Tzu's hand will not be polite! ”

"Quick!"

"Get to work!"

The humble Kunlun slaves, in the eyes of the Wu soldiers, are very cheap.

Even if they are sold, their value may not be as good as a cow or two or three sheep.

If Kunlun Nu dies of exhaustion or is beaten to death, most of the end will be thrown into a mass grave and buried again after a period of time.

Because of the rebellions of Kunlun Nu from time to time, Wu State's management of Kunlun Nu was more strict.

In the huge state of Wu, there is no shortage of labor at all, so a large number of projects, infrastructure construction, that is, those dirty work, are generally done by Kunlun slaves.

As for the strong men who have reached a certain age in China and have to serve hard labor, they can be exempted from hard labor by paying money.

This invisibly added a lot of revenue to the treasury of the state of Wu.

"Wu Qi, where is this?"

"Back to my father, this place is Meridian Ridge."

"Oh."

Meridian Ridge?

This is a battleground for soldiers.

The Meridian Ridge is located in the hinterland of the Loess Plateau.

Because it is consistent with the direction of the prime meridian, it is called "Meridian Ridge".

Ziwuling is a branch of the Qiaoshan Mountain Range, which is between the two major river systems of the Jing River and the Luo River.

The Yanchuan Road and the Malian River Road of Wu are located on the east and west sides of the Meridian Ridge, and the straight road is on its Meridian Ridge.

The straights act as a choke on the valley boulevards on both sides.

Wu Qijin said: "Father, the Yanchuan Road and the Malian River on the east and west sides of the Meridian Ridge are two parallel river valley roads, and the connection between them must pass through the Meridian Ridge to form a choke point, complementing and influencing each other. ”

"That's why Erchen thinks that my Dawu can set up some passes on the straight road, especially at the intersections, and there need to be some pass facilities to control the traffic around Meridian Ridge."

"In particular, the important choke points that control the Yanchuan Road and the Malian River will definitely become a natural barrier between the border county and Guanzhong once the pass is completed."

】

"Good."

Regarding Wu Qi's idea, Qingji nodded and agreed.

The area from Ganquan Mountain to Ziwuling is densely forested and lush, and the Ordos grassland is a place where wild grasses are overgrown, lakes and marshes are all over, Mengbeasts, snakes and insects are infested, and people are inaccessible.

This is a shortcut road to the bottom of the Yinshan Mountain Range.

If Wu State is unable to firmly contain this short road, it is very likely that the soldiers and civilians on the border will be invaded by the Yueshi, Linhu and other northern Hulu in the future, and even the Yiqu people and Wushi who have not yet planned may also rebel......

Therefore, no matter what the purpose is, the straight road and gallop road in Shangjun, as well as the Great Wall that stretches for thousands of miles, must be built.

This Shangjun straight road is the closest road from Xianyang to the Yin Mountains in the north, which is generally straight from north to south, so it is called "straight road".

It can be said that it is recognized as the first highway in the world!

It is worth mentioning that the Wuguo Straight Road and the construction of the Great Wall are two completely different projects in nature.

The construction of the Great Wall was based on the needs of military struggle to resist the invasion of the Saiwaihu people, which can be described as a military project.

And the straight can only be a line of communication.

Of course, it is possible to transport troops, military supplies, and daily necessities for non-commissioned officers, but generally speaking, this is only the case in wartime, so it cannot be simply called a military road.

The military strategic status of the "straight road" refers to its position in military struggle, which is not a temporary event, a battle, or a campaign, but refers to the long-term status and role that has a bearing on the overall victory or defeat of the war.

The military strategic position of the "straight road" is manifested by its geographical location, topography, and the role of barrier and control......

Wu has a straight road, a gallop road, a plank road and a five-foot road.

The specific roles and plans are somewhat different.