Chapter 33 The Liaosong Canal Plan

He Xi said: "If Guogong is willing to keep these 200,000 strong men, it will only take three months. And here everything is ready. On the side of the Shenyang Iron Works, a large number of tools have been built. And in order to support the front, a large amount of food was stored here. Now he has retired. The grain had to be transported back to the rear, and the losses were also severe. Between this coming and going, it is estimated that it will be consumed by about 30%. It would be better to build a canal on the spot with these rations to supply the army. ”

"I've explored here, from the Dongliao River to here, about 300 miles. But there are other natural river tributaries that can be exploited. The middle excavation is less than 200 miles, and there are several watersheds in it. But it's not high, about 30 zhang and 60 zhang, and it's all dirt mountains. Can be dug through. Of course, if you dig through, the amount of work is too large. You can use the lock to make the boat go over the mountain. ”

"Three months, 200,000 strong men. It's okay to make a decision. ”

He Xi already had a draft. As soon as Feng Sheng asked, he confessed to him.

In fact, the Liaosong Canal is not a new project. Of course, this freshness refers to the Hereafter. In the middle of the Qing Dynasty, this plan was proposed. Mr. Sun Yat-sen's national transportation plan also includes the Liaoshen Canal. Among the national plans to go north and south, there is the Liaosong Canal plan.

Of course, the future generations of development are no longer just a Liaosong Canal plan. It is a plan to connect the Northeast Mainland, connecting the Heilongjiang, Liaohe, Mentu and Yalu rivers. If this can be done, the interior of the northeast will be able to go to sea by water.

The plans for the afterlife are enormous. It's not what He Xi dares to think.

All He Xi could think of was to barely connect the Liao River with the Songhua River, and the waterway was also very narrow. Fortunately, the geology of the watershed here is not too harsh. Unlike further north, there is already permafrost. It also increases the difficulty of construction.

But the canal planned by He Xi, the narrowest place, is about a little more than three zhang, that is, ten meters. None of the larger ships in the Liao River could pass through. But there is nothing to be done. You can only solve the problem first, and then expand when you have plenty of money.

And such a canal, in later generations, will be of little use. It is not as wide as some irrigation canals.

Feng Sheng thought about it for a while and said; "I can only say that I have no objection, and you can also dispose of the remaining military rations in Liaodong yourself. These captives were also settled in Liaodong. But the rest is your own business. Also, you have to be prepared. Since you dare to do this to me, you can do this thing in three months, and I believe in you. But I remind you the same, the Tartars will not sit idly by. ”

He Xi felt a pang in his heart and said; "Xia Guan understands."

He Xi's approach is a conspiracy. Once this canal is repaired. How big are the benefits. Anyone can see it. The Tartars won't be unaware of it.

In terms of engineering quantity alone, this thing is not too difficult to do. Two hundred miles, more than three zhang wide, more than two zhang deep. Although the amount of earthwork is quite large. But He Xidu had already prepared steel tools. There is still enough food. And digging doesn't require much technology. It's just that some technical support is needed for measurement. But it's not that hard.

After all, when the new river was opened in the history of the Ming Dynasty, there were many rivers. It was also hundreds of miles wide, but it was completed in a few months. Please do not underestimate the ability of the ancients to organize large-scale projects.

In addition, He Xi prepared in advance. Not a big problem. Even if there are some problems, it is okay to delay for a month or two.

But the problem is, it's something other than engineering.

For example, if the captives are used in this way, the captives will not have other thoughts. For example, the Mongol raids and so on.

On the whole, this canal is already outside the protection of the Ming border army. In addition, these people who repaired the river were all Mongols or Han Chinese who defected to the Mongols. If the inside and the outside should be combined, not to mention that this project cannot be completed, and a catastrophe will brew.

Causeless Timur was defeated by Feng Sheng's men again.

But He Xi didn't underestimate this veteran at all, and didn't say anything else. Just to say that he has been defeated so many times under Feng Sheng, but he is still alive, it can be seen that he is capable. Feng Shengke showed no mercy at all. Coupled with the current comparison of strength and weakness, it is already quite good that he can make some trouble for the army.

Feng Sheng said: "There are not enough soldiers and horses in Liaodong, so I will leave some people for you." Guarding the captives. Of course, a famous general, you probably can't command well, and recently found a young general, called Ping'an. His father was also the elder brother of the year, and now he has grown up. Quite brave, you left it to you. The rest is up to you. Shape up or ship out. Or if you really can't do it, you can also don't do it. ”

He Xi said; "Thank you for your support. I'm going to do this well. ”

The reason why He Xi was in such a hurry to build. Actually, this opportunity is too good. It's not just the captives here, but also the people who support the front line from Liaodong are also stranded in this area. I can use it immediately. But wait for the others to disperse. Reconvening, the cost is too high.

And this is a major artery connecting the northeast water network. Build a day early, for the Ming Dynasty's operation of the Northeast, it will be a day in the morning.

As for the danger. Yes, of course. But the Tartar is not the original Tartar after all. The Liaodong Army is not the original Liaodong Army. After He Xi arrived in Liaodong, the number of Liaodong troops did not increase a lot, but decreased somewhat. However, there has been a great development in armaments compared to before. In particular, Ge Tiangong copied many things from the Taiping Iron Factory. It has made Liaodong iron smelting technology suddenly become the first-rate level of the Ming Dynasty.

Although the output is not much now. More production of farm tools, tools. But a little production of some ordnance is enough to equip the Liaodong Army.

And they are all strong teams that have fought all the way to the founding of the country. The folk customs of Liaodong are also very strong. Although Ye Wang is among the generals of the Ming Dynasty, he can be regarded as a second-rate and third-rate figure. But he is also a qualified general, and the combat effectiveness of the Liaodong Army has been maintained well.

After changing clothes, even if it is not the world's first-class elite, but under the same number, it is not a vain army at all.

And how many people and horses there are in the Yuan court, less than 100,000. And the Liaodong Army is also of this order of magnitude. The only difference is that the Liaodong army did not have as many horses as the Yuan army, and the Yuan army could do a few horses, or even more horses. But the cavalry of Liaodong is at most one person and one horse, and even so, there are not many cavalry in Liaodong.

However, this is not a long chase. It is fixed in a small area between the Liao River and the Songhua River. And after the canal is repaired, it can be withdrawn.

This canal was destroyed by the Tartars, and they didn't have the ability to do that. Even if it breaks a paragraph. It's also very easy to repair. To put it bluntly, it's a ditch, and it can't be used especially in winter.

It's just that He Xi is not without hidden worries.

His worries are none other than that. It is the Goryeo side.

He had actually received some reports from Ye Shen. Ye Shen found that there was an abnormality in Goryeo. Not only did the friction on the front line intensify, but especially the Goryeo attack on the Jurchen tribes on the Yalu River intensified. And there have been several frictions with him with more than 100 people. It seems to be exploring the east bank of the Yalu River. How many troops did the Ming army have.

Moreover, among the Jinghai Chamber of Commerce, the eyeliner arranged on the Goryeo side also reported a lot of news. For example, in the southern part of Goryeo, a large area of grain and grass was requisitioned. As a result, the price of grain in southern Goryeo has increased considerably. There are even people who want to buy grain through them.

All these signs indicate that Goryeo is likely to move westward.

This made He Xi very worried.

Originally? He Xi was going to transfer several guards to deploy along the Yalu River. But now that he listened to Feng Sheng's warning, he hesitated.

Listen to people's advice and eat well.

He Xi didn't dare to ignore the opinion of this veteran of a hundred battles. Don't look down on it, that Tamur of the cause.

Therefore, He Xi thought about it and decided to ignore the situation on the Goryeo side. The reason why he did this was because in his impression, Goryeo had not had a large-scale war with the Ming Dynasty, of course, that kind of border friction probably existed.

But that's the little thing.

More importantly, the situation on both sides of the Yalu River.

It's a barren land, and there aren't many people at all. And the Ming Dynasty's rule over Liaodong was actually along the Liao River. Even if Goryeo crosses the Yalu River, there will not be much loss to Liaodong.