My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 307 Let Yuan Tan and Xin Pi open their eyes

After Xin Pi sought help from Guan Yu in Xia Pi to no avail, he had no choice but to continue moving south.

Fortunately, Yuan Tan was not a fragile person who would die at the slightest touch. After being granted the administrative and military power of Bohai County by Yuan Shao, he was able to resist Cao Cao for several months.

Cao Cao originally needed to completely clear out Hejian County first and expand the northern end of his territory to Yishui on the border of Ji and You. It would probably be almost the end of August when he finished all this.

When Cao Cao attacks Bohai further eastward, if Yuan Tan chooses to fight for every inch of land, he can at least hold out for two or three months.

If Yuan Tan endured temporarily, chose to leave the undefended places in the countryside to Cao Cao and only rely on the strong city of Nanpi to defend, he could delay the attack longer, at least until next year.

So Xinpi still has time.

After leaving Xia Pi on the ninth day of July, Xin Pi took more than a day to reach Huaiyin via Xiaxiang and Lingxian, which was quite fast.

He originally wanted to continue changing horses and galloping, but Chen Qun who was guarding Huaiyin told him that the land route to the south would pass through the area around Sheyang Lake, and the horses would have to take a detour due to the muddy water. It would be faster to take a boat via the Hangou Canal.

Xin Pi was indeed very tired and his physical strength had reached its limit, so he followed Chen Qun's advice and took the canal boat instead, but he hired more sailors to row the boat and try to make the boat go faster.

Before Xin Pi and his family followed Yuan Shao, they were all from Yingchuan County, Yuzhou, so they knew the south better than those advisers from Hebei.

Although he had never been to Jiangdong, he had been to Huaishui and knew what the Hang Canal looked like in his early years.

After boarding the boat from Huaiyin, he soon discovered that the situation was very different from his impression.

When he came to the Huai and Si areas, Guangling County was successively under the rule of Zhang Chao and Zhao Yu.

Zhang Chao had no intention of governing the local area. As soon as he took the position of prefect of Guangling, he thought about planning to defeat Dong Zhuo together with his brother Zhang Miao and his subordinate Zang Hong.

Although their enthusiasm and contributions in the campaign against Dong Zhuo cannot be denied, in terms of local people's livelihood, Guangling County was greatly mobilized by the campaign of draining the pond to catch all the fish.

Although Zhao Yu, who was later sent by Tao Qian, restored people's livelihood a little, he was soon destroyed by Zuo Rong. Therefore, in Xin Pi's impression, the Han Canal was a stinking ditch that had been in disrepair for a long time, and many places were silted up and difficult to navigate. There were often "blocks" and ships had to queue up to pass through.

He didn't expect that after not coming to the south for a few years, he saw that the Hang Canal had been well managed and the shallow areas had been dredged thoroughly.

In some locations prone to river collapse and soil avalanche, especially near port docks, river banks were even built with stones and reinforced with wooden piles.

Xin Pi sailed for only one and a half days to reach Guangling from Huaiyin via Sheyang Lake. He thought that if he rode a horse in a straight line, he might be able to go faster than sailing. However, riding a horse would require taking a detour around Sheyang Lake, so it would actually be slower.

"My lord, your governance in Hebei can be regarded as giving the people a rest. Jizhou is known to have supported the people for ten years. But compared with Guangling under Liu Bei's rule, it is still far behind.

I heard that when Liu Bei was in dire straits, he met Zhuge Jin, who was hiding from the war. It seems that Zhuge Jin is not only a man of unfathomable strategy, but also a man of great talent in governing a country."

Xin Pi couldn't help but think like this in his heart.

And when he left Guangling by boat and entered the Yangtze River, this sense of unreality finally reached its peak - at least the peak so far.

"Why are you guys being lazy and not rowing? The trip to Moling is urgent!"

Before entering the Yangtze River, the sailors who were rowing and paddling stopped. Xin Pi was in a hurry and could not help but yell anxiously.

But the sailors told him as a matter of course: "The last twenty miles are crowded with ships, and everyone is wading downstream. If you paddle rashly, you may collide with the ship in front."

Xin Pi walked up to the deck and looked around, only to find that it was indeed the case. A large number of boats were lined up and moving slowly, blocking the canal, and none of the boats were rowing or poleing.

This scene really shocked Xin Pi: Are there any automatically sailing ships in the world?

The fleet waved for a while and finally stopped to wait. Xin Pi was anxious again, but was told that he had to wait until the tide of the Yangtze River receded and the water level was low enough before the gates could be opened to enter the Yangtze River. Xin Pi could only wait, and his heart was full of curiosity.

Finally, his luck was good enough. When he arrived at the river mouth, the afternoon tide had already reached its highest point. He only waited for an hour before the canal gates were opened, and hundreds of boats rushed into the Yangtze River.

Xin Pi was in awe and asked the boatman in charge: "Who built this lock? I have read ancient books and only know that Qin Shihuang built the Lingqu Canal to connect Hunan and Guangxi and built a lock. But compared with this, it is a world of difference. This lock can accurately use the rising and falling tides to allow the boat to move automatically without wind, relying entirely on the water flow. It is simply incredible."

The boatman in charge of this boat couldn't help but smile proudly: "Sir, you are from the north, right? You don't even know this. Of course, this lock was built by Lord Zhuge."

Xin Pi: "Zhuge Jin?"

Boatman: "You are wrong. Guangling is the work of Mr. Kong Ming. However, the two Zhuge brothers are both capable of doing anything. It should be possible for anyone to do this. This is not a problem for them.

The Jiangnan Canal on the other side has also been well renovated by Mr. Ziyu in the past few months. You will see it when you cross the river to Dantu later."

While the two chatted, the canal boat sailed into the Yangtze River and turned upstream for dozens of miles. Xin Pi didn't think much of it at first, because Moling was farther upstream than Guangling and he had to go upstream.

But after sailing for dozens of miles, the boat crossed the Yangtze River diagonally, docked west of Dantu County on the south bank, bypassed Jinshanzhou, and entered the Jiangnan Canal.

The Jiangnan Canal, like the Hang Canal, was built during the Spring and Autumn Period. Later in history, they were repaired and connected by Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty and became part of the Grand Canal.

It’s just that the Hang Canal was first built by King Fuchai of Wu, while the Jiangnan River was built by King Goujian of Yue.

Xin Pi was surprised to see the boatman sail into the Jiangnan River instead of going directly upstream along the Yangtze River to Moling:
"Since you were going to take the Jiangnan River, why didn't you just cross the river and sail due south when you were in Guangling? And why did you have to go upstream for dozens of miles? Isn't the mouth of the Jiangnan River in Dantu exactly opposite to the mouth of the Hangou River in Guangling?"

The boatman showed off proudly again: "That was all in the past! Now the whole of Danyang is under the rule of Lord Zhuge. Since March, we have been conscripting corvée laborers during the summer farming off-season to renovate the northern entrance of the Jiangnan Canal!
Today, the Jiangnan Canal connects the Yangtze River, and it also forks into two channels, running north and south, without interfering with each other. You don’t need to pole or sail, you just have to go with the flow! The water level of the Yangtze River at the upstream estuary is high, so it is for ships heading south. The water level of the Jiangnan River at the downstream old estuary is high, so it is for ships heading north. "

Xin Pi was mentally prepared after the incident in Guangling, so he was not so surprised this time.

Brother Zhuge is really capable of execution. It should only take more than four months for Danyang County to fully restore order. In such a short time, they were able to mobilize the people to complete such a renovation project without significantly harming people's livelihood. The planning and management are absolutely first-class in the world. Of course, the amount of work is not as large as Xin Pi expected, because the canal itself is already there. It only needs a little renovation, digging a branch road of several dozen miles at the location connecting to the Yangtze River, and building two gates.

Xin Pi didn't understand the technology, so he naturally overestimated the amount of work required to repair the gate. But for Zhuge Jin, it was a piece of cake.

Especially before Zhuge Jin took action, he seconded people like Chen Qun and Jiang Ji to assist in management. These people had done the same work with Zhuge Liang in Guangling before, and they knew the common pitfalls of this kind of project.

After sailing upstream for dozens of miles, Xin Pi and his party arrived at Jurong County along the canal, where he landed and prepared to change horses and travel by land to Moling.

Fortunately, as Yuan Tan's envoy, Xin Pi's whereabouts were very conspicuous. After landing in Jurong, he was received by the local county magistrate. During the chat, Xin Pi mentioned that he was going to visit Zhuge Jin, and the Jurong county magistrate told him:
"If you want to meet Envoy Zhuge, you don't have to go to Moling. General Fubo is on a tour of Qiantang these days. You can continue to go south along the Jiangnan River. It's faster than riding a horse and you don't have to go around Taihu Lake."

Zhuge Jin's current local official position is still "Prefect of Danyang", but Liu Bei has allowed him to concurrently "take charge of the affairs of the Yangzhou Mufu", so local officials in Yangzhou can also change their address to call him "Envoy".

Xin Pi couldn't help but wonder, "Is Envoy Zhuge in Qiantang? I heard that the General of Chariots and Cavalry entrusted him with all the affairs of Yangzhou, why doesn't he stay in Moling?"

The Jurong County Magistrate said with a matter-of-fact expression, "Of course it is for flood control. Since the pacification of Jiangnan, in the past six months, Zhuge has worked tirelessly to dredge the river, facilitate water transportation, and increase the number of polder fields. Who among the people does not remember his benevolent policies?

Jiangnan, Hebei starts from Dantu and ends at Qiantang in the south. I heard that Qiantang also has the same estuary management as Dantu, and also diverts water from Zhejiang to manage the salt marsh, just like Guangling has managed the damage caused by the saline-alkali land in Sheyang Lake.

If it succeeds, it will be a multi-tasking project, dredging the canal, improving navigation, increasing the number of polder fields, and making the salt marshes along the canal lighter, making them more suitable for irrigation. From ancient times to the present, no one has ever heard of anyone so good at water management.

It is a blessing for the people of Jiangdong that Envoy Zhuge can come to Wuhui. From Guangling to Danyang, and then to Wujun, all the way south, he has not missed a single place. "

Xin Pi could tell that these words were not flattery, but came from the other party's heart, because many of the arguments would not be mentioned at all if they were not personally experienced.

Xin Pi sighed for a while, then returned to the boat and continued heading south.

The fleet sailed from Jurong through Piling, entered Taihu Lake, crossed the lake, and entered the Henan section of Jiangnan again from Wucheng. After another two days, it finally arrived at Qiantang.

Xin Pi had never been to Qiantang before, so he didn't know how desolate it was and how serious the saline-alkali land and salt marsh problems were.

But from what he had seen with his own eyes, he could also see that Zhuge Jin was serious about flood control.

When Xin Pi's fleet was sailing along the old river channel left by King Gou Jian of Yue to the Wulin Gate Wharf in the north of Hangzhou in later generations, they saw a fork in the river, which meandered along the low-lying area on the southern foot of Baoshi Mountain and entered the Salt Lake in the west of the city.

To the south of the Yanze Lake, there was another newly dug river channel, which flowed eastward along the low-lying land north of Wushan Mountain in the south of the city. Finally, near the Sanbao Ship Lock in Hangzhou in later generations, it merged with the original main river channel and flowed into Zhejiang.

The old canal left by King Gou Jian of Yue did not connect to Zhejiang, but only reached the Gongchen Bridge in Hangzhou in later times, because there was no ship lock technology during the Warring States Period.

Although the tides in Zhejiang during the Qin and Han dynasties were not as high as those in Guangling at the mouth of the Yangtze River, there were still daily high and low tides, but they were gentler and did not form tidal peaks. In the era when there were no sluice gates, if the Jiangnan River and the Zhejiang River were hastily dug together, when the tides rose, seawater would flow back in, causing the freshwater system around Qiantang to become salty.

But for Zhuge Jin, he had already tried successfully twice in Guangling and Danyang. The operation of Zhuge brothers' tide-blocking gates had become very mature, ensuring that ships could only pass through the gates after low tide every day, so these problems no longer existed.

Moreover, as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the ancient Yue State built a Zhejiang East Canal in today's Juzhang County and later Ningbo, connecting the Yongjiang River, Cao'e River and Zhejiang water system, which greatly improved the water transportation conditions in the Ningshao Plain.

Unfortunately, the Jiangnan River was not connected to Zhejiang before, so even if the Zhejiang East Canal was connected to Zhejiang, the inland ships in the canal could not go all the way north. They still had to unload the cargo, change ships in Qiantang, and then go to the next section of the canal.

After Zhuge Jin's attempt to open it up, the East Zhejiang Canal will be completely connected to the Jiangnan River and the Han Canal in the future.

In the future, even if the northern section of the Grand Canal is extended to Zhuojun, it will no longer be called the "Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal", but should be called the "Beijing-Ningbo Grand Canal", because the southern starting point is no longer Hangzhou. Hangzhou is only a relay point, and the southernmost end is Ningbo.

Of course, all these projects have not been completed yet. Even if the canal sections are ready, Zhuge Jin only needs to open up a few nodes, but he also knows to save manpower and do a little bit every year, and will not ask for it to be done so quickly.

Now the work in Dantu has been completed in the past six months of this year, while the work in Qiantang has just started, so it may take until next year to complete it.

Anyway, Liu Bei's camp has plenty of time to farm in the south, so Zhuge Jin is not in a hurry at all.

In this era, the Han Dynasty was destined to be revived, so there would be no possibility of the North being invaded by the Five Barbarians and the people moving south. Therefore, the rulers' spontaneous motivation to start a revolution in the South would definitely be smaller than in the same period of history.

If Zhuge Jin had not taken advantage of Liu Bei's stay in the south to speed up the development of the south and make the Han rulers realize that the south could accommodate a large population and arable land after development, it would have been too late when peace lasted for a long time in the future and the population in the north exploded again and could not be accommodated.

The South should have been developed in advance, before the population of the North exceeded its carrying capacity, so that there would be a buffer period for immigration to spread.

Ensuring that the original canal water system is completely unobstructed and connected has always been the top priority of southern development. Only when the water system is highly networked can other construction be launched.

Xin Pi didn't know how grand Zhuge Jin's farming plan was, but when he looked at the scene, he knew that Zhuge Jin's plan was definitely not small.

On the morning of the second day after arriving in Qiantang, after being informed by someone, Xin Pi finally met Zhuge Jin, who was in charge of the Yangzhou Mufu, at the salt lake to the west of Qiantang City, where the West Lake was located in later generations.

Zhuge Jin met him at a water conservancy construction site.

On the construction site, a canal has been extended from the Jiangnan River, connecting the Yangtze River and Taihu Lake to the West Lake through the canal. Although there is only this one connection now, it cannot form convection, and the flow is not large, and it is impossible to quickly desalinate the lake water of the salt lake.

But a few years later, with the implementation of supporting facilities, Zhuge Jin was convinced that the saline-alkali land here could be managed just like Sheyang Lake.

Many high-quality paddy fields will be added in several counties in the southern part of Wu County along Zhejiang.

Zhuge Jin looked at his masterpiece, feeling a sense of accomplishment. He placed a fishing rod in front of him in a pretentious manner, and then summoned Xin Pi.

"Mr. George, thank you for coming all the way here. Mr. Yuan has asked you to come all the way here. I wonder what you can do for me?"

(End of this chapter)