Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 234 The cargo ship, forward four!

"Master, is this an earth dragon turning over?!" the page asked, trembling.

“No, they’re building a city ahead, listen!” Sun Chengzong replied.

……

Fellow villagers,
Ouch!

So, start ramming.
Ouch!

They pounded and compacted it densely, ramming it in one go.

Solololohey!
For the Ming Dynasty,
Ouch!

The phrase "The setting sun over the Yellow River" comes from the distinctive, raspy voice of a man from northern Shaanxi. It is a unique vocal technique that can penetrate the layers of ravines on the Loess Plateau, a special skill that is completely different from, yet ultimately the same as, Mongolian throat singing.

Accompanied by the chants, huge stones weighing hundreds of kilograms were lowered. The stones were pulled up by four, six, or eight people holding ropes, and then dropped down with the rhythmic chants, slamming heavily onto the loess ground.

Sun Chengzong was wrong about one thing: although they were using the same technique as when they laid the foundation for the city, they were not actually building a city. Instead, they were building a new, straight road closer to the Yellow River at the foot of Linzhiyuan in Tongguan. This road would be used to transport grain from the Yellow River to the area by land when the Yellow River flooded in the spring and summer and the Sanmenxia Gorge became completely impassable.

Tongguan opened its west gate to welcome Sun Chengzong into the pass. Tongguan was under the jurisdiction of the Governor-General of the Three Borders. Of course, given the chaotic official system of the Ming Dynasty, who was in charge of the defense zone depended on the emperor's word. When an official took office, the official document would define the scope of his jurisdiction.

More abstractly, sometimes these areas overlap: conflicts can erupt in areas with no jurisdiction, and overlapping jurisdictions can lead to serious fights!

The arrival of his superior made General You Shiwei of Tongguan clench his fists. Tongguan was the eastern gateway to Guanzhong, and the daily volume of goods passing through it was enormous. As local residents, how could the Tongguan garrison turn a blind eye? They'd be lining their own hands with every little bit of it.

In the Ming Dynasty's current order of battle, the Tongguan garrison is a second-line fighting force. Tongguan has enjoyed peace for a long time and has not yet suffered any attacks from any direction, so the supplies allocated to Tongguan by the imperial court are insufficient. In order to support the troops, You Shiwei has also made the same mistake as many generals; he cannot withstand scrutiny.

Fortunately, Sun Chengzong did not come to audit the accounts this time. He randomly checked the soldiers of several battalions at Tongguan and found that they were actually quite good. Then he encouraged You Shiwei with a few words, and led his entourage and guards out of the pass, leaving the Wei River basin and entering the Yellow River basin.

Sanmenxia was a necessary route to the capital. The Guangzhiyi records: "From Tongguan, following the river eastward, passing through Shanzhou, crossing Luoyang, and arriving at the capital, it is a distance of 1,200 li."

On a whim, Sun Chengzong decided to travel along the newly built straight road. The young servant found the journey dusty, earth-shaking, and incredibly noisy, but Sun Chengzong saw something different.

"Master, their accents don't sound like locals!" the page boy said, somewhat puzzled.

“You’re right, they’re definitely not from Guanzhong or Henan. They were originally bandits from northern Shaanxi,” Sun Chengzong said calmly. “Ah?!” The pageboy trembled in fright and dragged the donkey away from the group of laborers.

"Ta-da! Time to eat! Time to eat!"

The mournful chants abruptly ceased with the sound of the gong. The laborers, whose faces had always carried an unyielding bitterness, now wore unrestrained smiles, as if a group of wooden statues had suddenly come to life.

They dropped the huge stone blocks they were carrying and lined up in a long queue in front of the food buckets. Their bowls were enormous, more like earthenware basins than bowls.

"Such a big bowl, can they finish it all?!" The young page had many questions, but this time he didn't need his master to answer them. It turned out that the bowl was only meant to hold a tiny bit of the bottom portion! A small spoonful of mixed grain rice and a large spoonful of sweet potato leaf soup were their lunch.

They squatted on the ground, ignoring the stone stools that could serve as tables. They ate with great relish, devouring what was clearly pig swill with gusto, their faces beaming with happiness and contentment. The soup rinsed their bowls clean, yet after finishing their food and drink, they would lick them licked clean again, making everyone around them hungry.

Just as Western nobles and serfs were practically different species, Sun Chengzong and his entourage were clearly not ordinary people at first glance. However, this was, after all, a major east-west transportation route, so it wasn't unusual for officials to pass through. Out of courtesy, the lowly official in charge came over to pay his respects, and Sun Chengzong took the opportunity to strike up a conversation with him.

When the steward learned that this man was actually the descendant of Sun Chengzong, the Governor-General of the Three Borders and Imperial Tutor, he almost knelt down in awe. So he answered every question with utmost deference.

"My lord, please allow me to report. There are a total of 13,896 people in charge of repairing this Linzhiyuan Highway, and I have 700 people under my command."

However, Sun Chengzong asked some tricky questions, and the steward almost couldn't answer them.

"Sir, these people are neither civilians nor military households. They are now newly established 'river dwellers,' or 'canal transport households' in official documents. They can move around, but they cannot run around, and they usually cannot go more than thirty li away from the river; they can marry; they are not paid, but they are given grain and work points..."

After asking the questions, Sun Chengzong was slightly disappointed because he realized that the so-called "canal households" were only temporarily set up and could only accommodate a limited number of people, which could not completely solve the current problems in northern Shaanxi.

The main purpose was to settle these pacified bandits. If they were simply sent back to farm, they would most likely rebel again; but killing them all would be too cruel!
In the afternoon, Sun Chengzong and his entourage arrived at Sanmenxia. The so-called Sanmenxia refers to the Human Gate, the Ghost Gate, and the Divine Gate. Here, the Yellow River is split in three by three giant rocks in the middle of the river: the Human Gate is closer to Sun Chengzong, the Divine Gate is sandwiched between two river islands, and the Ghost Gate is to the north.

What was unfolding in Sanmenxia at this time was even more awe-inspiring than the road construction: when the road was being built, a few people would work together to compact the surface; but here in Sanmenxia, ​​dozens or even hundreds of boatmen would pull the tow ropes together, the tow cables as thick as bowls, and the grain transport boats carrying seven or eight hundred shi of grain would go upstream in unison to the sound of their chants.

The boat trackers' straw sandals clung tightly to the road, their toes curled, each one straining, the muscles in their calves bulging like tendons. They leaned forward, almost touching the ground, straining to lift their heads, their foreheads etched with wrinkles, yet still unable to stop the sweat from streaming down their faces, dripping from their eyebrows and chins to the earth.

People stood on the riverbank of the three islands in the middle of the river, looking like a group of ants from a distance. The huge cargo boat, which was originally impossible to pull in one direction and difficult to control, was now being pulled up by the combined efforts of both sides, relying on human strength.

Apart from the abandoned Shenmen, the north-south passage was put to use. A large number of grain transport ships made a leap here, sailing towards the Wei River with full hope, and transporting precious grain to Guanzhong. Grain transport ships, forward!

(End of this chapter)