Songcheng County belongs to the Yellow Flood Area, but it is not on the edge of the New Yellow River. The New Yellow River Road is still 80 miles away from Songcheng County and close to another county, Yucheng County.
At noon the next day, Chen Qing arrived at the new Yellow River Road. Inspecting the new Yellow River Road was one of the purposes of his trip. Both sides of the bank were barren mudlands. The continuous drought had made the soil as hard as rocks, and no grass could grow.
"Isn't there always grass growing here?" Chen Qing pointed at both sides of the bank with his riding crop and asked.
"Exactly!"
Liu Sheng nodded and said: "There has been no grass growing here for more than ten years, so we are most afraid of rain here. When it rains heavily, the ground will be covered with mud, making it difficult to walk."
“Have you ever tried growing grass?”
Liu Sheng smiled bitterly, "No one cares about this kind of thing."
Chen Qing did not show any dissatisfaction, and said: "This will cause a large amount of soil to flow into the river, making the soil fertility worse. In the past few years, Shaanxi Road has been planting a large number of wild peas on both sides of the river. It has been implemented for three years, and the effect is very good.
Well, animal husbandry is booming and the soil has been greatly improved. If you promote the cultivation of wild peas in large quantities, perhaps animal husbandry will become a major feature of Guide Prefecture."
"Can wild peas be grown successfully?" Liu Sheng was a little unsure.
"It should be possible. Wild peas are very tolerant of the soil. They can be planted in large quantities in northern Shaanxi where it is even poorer. Not to mention that you can grow wheat here. I will arrange for the Xuanfu Envoy to send seeds over later."
"Let's give it a try then!"
Chen Qing glanced at him, a little dissatisfied with his casual attitude, and said in a more serious tone: "I am thinking about how to manage the Yellow River Flood Area. When I came to Songcheng County this time, I also considered setting up a pilot project in Songcheng. If Wild Pea
If the planting is successful, I will fully promote it to other states and counties. If you are not willing, I will not force it, I will go to Puyang for a trial!"
Liu Sheng and Khan came down. Over the years, they were accustomed to dealing with various errands assigned by the superiors, and they did not change for a while. It was not until hearing the dissatisfaction in Chen Qing's tone that Liu Sheng realized the seriousness of the problem. He quickly said: "Of course we are willing.
It is also our dream to form an industry, and I guarantee that Songcheng County will implement it to the letter."
Chen Qing softened his tone and gave them a step up, "I know you don't have enough confidence, but you must do it. I will ask the Animal Husbandry Department to arrange experienced officials to help you. They will come to inspect first, and then start planting next spring. It matters.
You must pay attention to the survival of the entire yellow flood zone."
"I humbly obey my orders!"
Chen Qing urged his horse to run towards the Yellow River in the distance, and soon he came to the bank of the Yellow River. In fact, Chen Qing had seen this Yellow River in Xuzhou in later generations.
It is two miles wide, and the current is very fast, making it look very majestic.
Niu Gao's fleet has already docked. Niu Gao hurriedly came forward to pay homage, "I'm sorry to see you, Your Highness!"
Chen Qing smiled and nodded, "Niu Dutong worked hard to block the Yellow River this time!"
Niu Gao said with shame on his face: "I didn't expect the Jin soldiers to retreat suddenly. We happened to be not on the new road of the Yellow River. When we heard the news and rushed over, the Jin soldiers had already crossed the Yellow River and even the pontoon bridge was demolished. Alas! I judged it
I made a mistake and missed the most important action."
Niu Gao was telling the truth. If they could destroy the pontoon bridge, the Jin soldiers would not be able to cross the Yellow River and would most likely be wiped out on the west bank of the Yellow River. However, Niu Gao failed to seize this important opportunity and allowed the Jin soldiers to successfully evacuate.
, for this reason, Yang Zaixing, Liu Cui and others were quite dissatisfied with Niu Gao.
But Chen Qing can't blame Niu Gao. The task he assigned Niu Gao before was only to prevent the Hebei Jin soldiers from supporting Bianliang, but did not involve the evacuation of the Bianliang Jin soldiers. No one expected that the Jin soldiers would withdraw so quickly, not even Chen Qing himself.
We cannot blame Niu Gao harshly for his poor intelligence. This is not a game. They are hundreds or thousands of miles apart, and there is no intelligence delivery on the water. How could Niu Gao know that the Jin soldiers were retreating?
Chen Qingwen comforted Niu Gao and said: "This is not your responsibility. Even we did not expect that the Jin soldiers would abandon Bianliang and retreat. We thought there would be a siege. I think Wanyan Wushu was defeated because of the existence of the war fleet.
We decided to abandon Bianliang early, otherwise they would not even have a chance to retreat. It is the early retreat of the Jin soldiers that reflects the success of your fleet and poses a huge threat to the Jin soldiers."
What Chen Qing said makes sense. If the Niugao fleet hadn't successfully intercepted 500,000 frozen muttons and Wanyan Wushu suddenly realized the serious consequences of a failed retreat, would Wanyan Wushu have evacuated Bianliang in a hurry and in advance?
?Absolutely impossible, he will definitely defend Bianliang City and continue to encourage the imperial army to go north.
From the huge amount of supplies left behind by the Jin soldiers, we know that they had no retreat plan at first and ended up retreating hastily.
Of course, there are also worries about the Song Army's iron fire thunder, but the fear of being cut off by Niugao's fleet must also be an important factor in Wanyan Wushu's decision to retreat.
Niu Gao was moved and said: "Thank you for your tolerance, Your Highness!"
Chen Qing smiled and changed the subject: "I have a very important question for you. What do you think of the shipping value of this new Yellow River route?"
Niu Gao shook his head, "It's possible to sail a large ship with a weight of more than a thousand stones, and it's barely stable, but an ordinary cargo ship can't. I suggest you use the Bian River."
"Why, because the water is strong?"
"It's not that the current is turbulent, but that it's unstable. The water is filled with countless uncertain currents. Generally, a small cargo ship will capsize inexplicably. This is likely to be a cross-cutting undercurrent, and the water is too heavy and too heavy.
It is so thick that it is difficult to control the ship. Even a humble two-thousand-stone ship needs guidance to reach the shore safely, let alone an ordinary cargo ship."
Chen Qing nodded. He himself believed that the new Yellow River route was not conducive to shipping. After all, it was a new river. However, Niu Gao confirmed that he had given up the idea of launching shipping on the new Yellow River route and would still dredge the Bian River according to the established plan.
After Bianliang arrived at Songcheng, it was washed away by the Yellow River that burst its banks. A long section of the Bianhe River from Songcheng to the south has disappeared. Even if there is a section of the Bianhe River in the south, it flows through the Yellow River Flood Area, and large areas are empty.
Inhabited areas have little economic value.
So Chen Qing decided to dig a new Bian River. The new Bian River has been identified, so he uses the Cai River. The Cai River flows south through Bianliang, and then connects with the Ying River in Chenzhou and flows into the Huai River. This main river can also pass through the vortex.
The water connects Bozhou and Xuzhou and other places, and can also connect Yingchang Prefecture, Ruzhou and other places through Yingshui River, forming a water transportation network extending in all directions.
But this new canal also has shortcomings, that is, the siltation of the Cai River has caused the river to become very narrow, and ships with a size of more than 300 stone cannot sail. At least a hundred miles of the river requires manual dredging. The Puppet Qi State also once
I considered dredging the Cai River, but I had no money, so I had to give up.
Chen Qing left 10,000 troops to garrison Songcheng, while the rest of the army returned to Bianliang. He himself led 3,000 cavalry to inspect Caihe River.
Chen Qing returned to Kaifeng Prefecture from Songcheng County to continue his inspection. In the afternoon, he arrived at Lincai Town in Chenliu County. Lu Dai, the magistrate of Chenliu County, accompanied Chen Qing to the Cai River.
"How far is your Chenliu County seat from Caihe River?" Chen Qing asked.
Lu Dai quickly said: "Return to Your Highness, it's about thirty miles away."
Chen Qing shook his head, "It's too far. You need to dig a Cao River, otherwise Chenliu County will be completely forgotten by the Xinbian River."
After a pause, Chen Qing smiled again and said: "Of course, you can also do the same as Songcheng County, first go through Laobian River to Bianliang, and then transfer from Bianliang to Caihe. The distance will be increased several times. It is better to go directly
Opening a Cao River will not only be beneficial to you, but also beneficial to Songcheng."
Lu Dai sighed and said, "I have also been worried about this matter these days. All the elders in our county want to dig this Cao River. There is a small river that can be used, but there is no money and food, so we cannot mobilize the people."
Chen Qing said slowly: "My proposal is to pay for food instead of paying for food. Each worker is settled at fifty cents a day, and then each person is provided with one catty of food per day, and every thirty people are provided with a big tent. In fact, it is to take care of food.
Take care of it, each person will receive fifty cents per day, and then your county government will be responsible for formulating a plan and organizing the people. After formulating the plan, immediately rush to the Bianliang Kaifeng government office, find the pacifier Zhang Xiao, and report your plan to him
, once approved, he will allocate money and food."
Lu Dai scratched his head and said: "Your Majesty already knows what your Highness said, and we have reported the plan to Mr. Zhang."
Chen Qing glared at him, "Since you know, why do you ask?"
Lu Dai quickly said: "The notice issued by the pacifier is about the dredging method for the main road of Cai River. What I am worried about now is the branch line, which is the 30-mile Cao River branch line from Cai River to Chenliu County. I don't know if it is the same as the main trunk line."
The method of dredging is the same?”
"Same, there is no difference between the main road and the branch road!"
"I understand, I will try to formulate a plan today and tomorrow. I will go to Bianliang in a few days and report to the pacifier."