In late September, the first phase of the Sanfu water conservancy project was completed. Thirty-three irrigation canals were diverted in the Weishui, Jingshui and Luoshui watersheds, and the Baigong Canal and Zhengguo Canal were dredged.
The Zhengguo Canal diverts the Jingshui River in the east, reaches Luoshui River in the west, and is parallel to the Wei River. It is more than 300 miles long and irrigates 1.6 million acres of farmland.
Baigong Canal was built on the basis of Zheng Guo Canal in the Han Dynasty. Because it intersects with the old Zheng Guo Canal, it is commonly called Zheng Bai Canal by the people. It is more than 60 miles long and mainly irrigates more than 200,000 acres of farmland in Jingyang, Gaoling and other counties.
These two projects are the main artificial irrigation canals in Sanfu. The two canal basins occupy nearly one-third of the farmland in Guanzhong and also provide water transportation channels.
Throughout the dynasties, water conservancy projects were built on the basis of these two artificial canals, feeding hundreds of thousands more people in the Guanzhong Plain.
Compared with Zheng Guo Canal, the more than 30 irrigation canals dug by Liu Xiang are a bit less impressive.
But after all, it was a big project that required 100,000 laborers and took ten years to be completed. He couldn't afford it now, so he could only dredge it and restore farmland irrigation along the coast.
Jingzhao Yin Zhang He was ordered to supervise the Sanfu Water Conservancy, and the militiamen in the township pavilions along the way were responsible for maintenance. He appointed the militiamen to concurrently serve as the canal directors and arrange daily inspections.
After the water conservancy project was completed, nearly 60,000 Qiang and Hu laborers and 50,000 selected Han people were transferred to Liangzhou to build the highway from Ji County to Jincheng. After the spring of next year, they will be transferred to Wuwei to build the ridge running through the Hexi Corridor.
Fort.
Liu Xiang also planned to select some of them as military households.
Cao Cao's troops have already reached Zhangye. If they capture the Juyan vassal state, Zhangye vassal state, Jiuquan County and Dunhuang County to which Zhangye County belongs, they will be able to connect with the Western Regions.
During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, "Henan", "Mobei" and "Hexi", the three great victories in the battles of "Henan", "Mobei" and "Hexi" changed the offensive and defensive positions of the Xiongnu, and the four counties of Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan and Dunhuang were set up in the Hexi Corridor to separate them.
The relationship between the Xiongnu and the Qiang people in the south is the so-called "breaking of the right arm of the Xiongnu".
Over the next thirty years, they conquered Loulan three times, conquered Dawan three times, and fought for chariot divisions five times, finally confirming the rights of the Han Dynasty in the Western Regions.
During the Yuanjia and Yongxing years of Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty, the Changshi Mansion of the Western Regions was successively attacked by Khotan and Cheshihou, and was subsequently abandoned.
During the Xiping reign of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, Dong Zhuo was the last Wuji captain. Later he was transferred to Bingzhou governor, and the Han Dynasty lost control of the Western Regions.
Eighteen years have passed so far.
According to original history, it was not until 222, the third year after Cao Pi ascended the throne, that the Han people re-entered the Western Regions.
Liu Xiang didn't want to wait that long, so he let Cao Pi and his father, Lao Cao, take back control of the Western Regions himself.
Not only did he want to re-establish Wuji Xiaowei, but he also wanted to rebuild the Western Region Changshi Mansion.
It's just that the journey is long, and transporting grain from Sanfu to the Western Regions costs fifty to seventy times as much. That is to say, transporting one stone of grain there would cost the people fifty to seventy stone for food and wear and tear along the way.
Don't expect Liangzhou to support the Western Regions. Liangzhou now has to rely on Sanfu to transport grain.
Sun Jian has completed the registration of the six counties of Liangzhou. There are less than 200,000 Han people, and the number of nomadic Qiang and Hu is difficult to count, because the Qiang and Hu tribes, which are easy to organize, have been brought to Ji County by Han Sui, allowing Liu Xiang to cook them with a spoonful
Already.
The six counties are extremely short of population. The smallest county, Beidi County, has less than 10,000 people, and the largest county, Hanyang County, has only more than 80,000 people.
Liangzhou has been completely destroyed.
According to Sun Jian's estimate, because the Western Expeditionary Army was still raiding the territory and the Qiang, Di, Xiongnu and other tribes were on the run, there were probably less than 400,000 people in the entire six counties of Liangzhou.
But the army has 70,000 people, and there are 30,000 accompanying soldiers and civilians. The more than 3 million shi of grain that the third assistant has collected in the treasury this autumn will probably be spent on the war in the Hexi Corridor.
The follow-up construction of Sanfu and Liangzhou, and part of the grain and grass for the war in Shu, still need the support of Jizhou, You, and the two states must support Yan Rou's actions in northern Xinjiang. The northern border of the Han Dynasty has been silent for more than three years, and the barbarians are all
Those who care about food but not fighting must once again demonstrate the military power of the Han Dynasty.
The war in the Hexi Corridor also attracted the attention of the Xianbei people.
The Duliao Camp, the 10,000 Bingzhou Army stationed in the north, the naturalized Nanlou tribe, the Xiutu tribe, and the Xianbei tribe needed an armed march, or in other words, a group of Xianbei people who had gone south to graze their cattle needed to be slaughtered.
Only in this way would they not dare to think of plundering the Han Dynasty.
The Liaodong side is quite stable. Liaodong Changshi Yang Qian has been sitting there, and there are also Wuyan tribe who are grazing in Horqin, which is enough to frighten the Dongyi countries.
Qingzhou and Xuzhou will support Zhang Liao's march south. If there is another war between Runan and Jingzhou, food and grass will be tight.
Production in Liangzhou must be restored as soon as possible, and farming in the Western Regions must be established.
The Wuji Xiaowei Department, which originally stationed the car division, relied on local farming to support itself, but its scale was too small. During the Xiping period, the Wuji Xiaowei Department only had 500 soldiers and 2,000 households of officials and civilians working in the fields.
This scale cannot meet the consumption of Cao Cao's 40,000 troops and 30,000 civilians.
It seems that we need to acquire a piece of land for farming in the Western Region.
The first choice is of course the Turpan Basin, which is the territory of the Six Kingdoms of Cheshi. In fact, Liu Xiang also wants to cross the Tianshan Mountains in Turpan, occupy modern Urumqi, and then continue north to occupy the Junggar Basin, but that is a matter for the future.
Already.
With Cao Cao's military strength and Yan Rou's restraint on the northern border of Bingzhou, the Xianbei people would definitely not dare to go south. The remaining Huns were just a group of stray dogs, and the threat was limited. The Hexi Corridor was about to be opened.
The fire kilns in Chang'an have accumulated a large amount of cement, and they will be able to quickly build forts next year. Then, the business groups will have to keep up. They can't just fight without making money, otherwise it will become a militancy.
The only way to make money while fighting is the way to go.
"It is said that Xun Yu, Liu Yu, Zhen Yao, and Mi Zhu are here to see you." Liu Xiang ordered his attendants to invite the "business partners" he chose. The Yingchuan gentry, the Jizhou gentry, and the two big merchants in Hebei and Henan were the ones who opened up the Silk Road.
The first pioneers on the road.
He thought for a moment and then ordered: "Call Sun Ce and Cao Ang too."
The Cao family and the Sun family cannot be left behind.
If you take the land from the nobles, you must compensate it with other benefits, otherwise it will not last long.
These families must tie up their own chariots to contain the entire scholar group.
Not long after, everyone arrived.
"The Western Region is about to be opened up. It is impossible for our army to occupy all the territory there, and I don't want to provoke a crusade from the coalition forces of the thirty-six countries in the Western Region. Therefore, if we want to trade, the caravan must go with the army. I am here to find you this time.
Discuss trade matters."
Xun Yu, Liu Yu, and Mi Zhu all understood what Liu Xiang meant. Behind them were nobles from all over the country. The lord asked them to organize this force and send it to the Western Regions.
The three young men Zhen Yao, Sun Ce, and Cao Ang were a little confused about the situation. After all, they were not family members.
Especially the fifteen-year-old Zhen Yao, she was wondering, what does brother-in-law mean? Our family is now headed by my sister, and my brother-in-law knows this, so why bring him here, and go directly to the harem to tell my sister if there is anything.
Zhen Jiang and Gan Mei had arrived in Chang'an long ago, and only Miss Zhao Ji stayed in the bookstore to work hard, which made Cai Yong very angry.
Sun Ce, the most direct-minded person, couldn't turn around. His father was determined to pursue military success and become a prince. Their family had never run any big industry, and they had struggled in the military camp since they were young.
When I heard that the Western Region had been opened, I didn't think about doing business at all. Instead, I felt that this was a good opportunity to lead troops and make meritorious deeds. I immediately got up and asked for orders: "My lord, I am willing to lead troops to protect the caravan. I will be able to eliminate bandits along the way."
Liu Xiang turned to look at Sun Ce, feeling that the child was a bit stupid, and couldn't help but mutter in her heart: "Well, I didn't ask you to be a guard, let alone to suppress bandits. You are just a mouthpiece."
Sun Ce is nineteen this year, because Sun Jian has never left Liangzhou since he was his subordinate when he suppressed bandits together, and has never experienced all the twists and turns in history.
Therefore, his eldest son has been growing up in the military camp of Wudu County. He has not fought in all directions, and he has not suffered from the loss of his father. As a result, his temperament is relatively simple and his mind is too upright.
This is a good thing.
"Bo Fu, don't be impatient. When you lead the troops and show off your power, sit down first. I will talk to you in detail later." Liu Xiang comforted him with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Sun Ce was happy, sat down, and raised his eyebrows triumphantly at Cao Ang next to him.
Cao Ang grinned in embarrassment, you can't figure out the situation, so don't drag me along to embarrass you!
Although he didn't know what to do specifically, the Lord definitely didn't ask them to be guards when he called them here. He decided to listen carefully to the trade matters.
I am different from that fool Sun Bofu!
No longer paying attention to the three boys with different expressions, Liu Xiang said to Mi Zhu: "Zizhong is the most proficient in business matters. This caravan will be led by you. The most important thing is to understand the market, prices, and demand in the Western Regions.
The second is to serve as a Han envoy and communicate with all countries in a strict manner."
Then he said to Xun Yu and Liu Yu: "Go and negotiate with each company for materials and personnel. I want 50% of the profit, 10% for Jinchuan Guards, and 10% for Liangzhou to support the army. You can discuss the remaining 30% yourself."
Be careful and give me an answer later."
Seeing that some people were a little confused, he explained: "I want to build a fort from Wuwei to Yumen Pass and leave military households to garrison it to maintain the stability of the Hexi Corridor. I will temporarily name it Jinchuan Guard."
"only."
Xun Yu and the others did not ask in detail. Today was just an intention. They all understood that they had to contact each family back and have a unified opinion. Then they could discuss it in detail.
Liu Xiang then explained to Sun Ce and Cao Ang that the Xu family was involved in trade matters and asked them to write letters to the adults at home.
After the matter was said, several people left.
"It's been a long time, and I'm just the messenger!" Sun Ce felt very unhappy, and couldn't help but complain as soon as he left the palace gate.
"My lord has promised us a lot of gold, mountains and silver. Don't be ungrateful." Cao Ang advised.
"I know, I know, but I want to lead the army and make achievements. If my lord doesn't go on the expedition himself, we can only stay in Chang'an. When can I become a general?" Sun Ce was filled with depression. If only he could follow his lord and conquer the world a few years earlier.
How wonderful, but it’s a pity that I was born too late.
well!
A hero is useless when he is born at the wrong time!