Sky Curtain: The Overlord Charges into Battle, Shocking Emperors of All Dynasties

"Turning a natural barrier into a thoroughfare?"

"Huajiang Canyon Bridge?"

Many people carefully considered the specific meaning of the sentence on the sky screen. They believed that the sky screen was definitely not without purpose and would not just tell the story of an ordinary bridge.

Li Chun pondered the words displayed in the sky, lost in thought.

As a craftsman, he had considerable experience in bridge construction.

The Zhaozhou Bridge, built earlier, featured a unique open-spandrel arch design and has withstood numerous flood seasons, standing firmly and safely across the Xiao River.

"Could it be that later generations really built a large bridge over the canyon?"

This thought crossed his mind, as if he were asking himself a question.

"How is that possible? Building a cableway or a pier across the canyon is already an incredibly difficult task!"

"If we really want to build a bridge, what materials can withstand the fierce winds in the canyon? How could the bridge foundation possibly support the weight of the entire bridge?"

Even though Li Chun had tried his best to estimate that future generations' technology might make great leaps, building a bridge in the canyon was clearly beyond his comprehension.

Only those who truly understand bridge construction can comprehend the difficulties involved.

Not only Li Chun, Cai Xiang, Chen Shouqing, and others, but also other officials and bridge builders who were skilled in bridge construction and invented various new methods of bridge building, all tried to draw them on paper.

They frowned as they tried to design a bridge across the canyon: how to build it, how much money it would cost, what materials it would need, and how much time it would take.

But after trying it, they realized that it was extremely difficult.

The most important task was how to erect bridge piers one after another in the middle of the canyon.

And at that height, can the bridge piers withstand that weight?

That's too difficult; it's practically impossible.

How did the later generations manage to do it? Did they not need to build bridge piers in the middle?

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties,

Previously, some dynasties did not include Guizhou and Guangxi under their rule, and therefore were unaware of the geographical location of Huajiang.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, whether it was the establishment of Tusi (chieftains) or the abolition of the Tusi system and its replacement with direct imperial administration, the understanding of the Guizhou region was much greater than that of other dynasties.

"Huajiang? Where in the present-day Ming Dynasty is that?"

Zhu Di tried hard to search his mind for this place, but the Ming Dynasty was too vast, and a river naturally did not hold much weight in his mind.

Some officials in the imperial court had served as envoys in the Guizhou Provincial Administration Commission and were familiar with the geography of the Guizhou region.

"Your Majesty, the north bank of the Huajiang River is located in Yongning Prefecture, Anshun, Guizhou Province, while the south bank belongs to Sicheng Prefecture, Guangxi Province, and is under the jurisdiction of the local chieftain."

"This place is a must-pass for merchants and caravans, but the current is swift and building a bridge is too difficult, so the only way to cross is by boat."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di frowned. He wasn't thinking about merchants and travelers, since commerce was ultimately a lowly pursuit.

He was pondering why the Guizhou Provincial Administration Commission was established during the infighting between the two major chieftains, given the mountainous terrain of Guizhou.

If the Guangxi chieftains were to rebel again, how could the army possibly cross this river to quell the unrest?

Just as Zhu Di had guessed, the Tusi (local chieftains) in Guangxi, Guizhou and other places were constantly causing trouble during the Ming Dynasty. It was not until the Qing Dynasty implemented the policy of replacing Tusi with centrally appointed officials and resolving the Tusi problem that things calmed down a little.

During the Chongzhen era, an attempt was made to build a stone bridge in the Huajiang area, but it was washed away by the river.

The same was true during the Qing Dynasty. In the late Qing period, demand surged along the Yunnan-Guizhou trade route, forcing another attempt to build a bridge, which was again washed away. Finally, a new iron chain bridge was built, which was the only successful reconstruction.

On both banks of the Huajiang River, the mountain people looked at the sky with hopeful expressions.

Could this bridge really be built? Would the dynasties of later generations really spend so much manpower and resources just to build a bridge?

They don't know arithmetic; all they know is that it will cost a lot of money, more than their descendants could ever earn in several lifetimes.

They had also witnessed the government's repeated attempts and failures.

By now, they have long been disheartened and no longer have any expectations.

Now, the sky has given them new hope.

The image on the sky slowly unfolds.

Houses stand in rows, roads are wide and flat, and a thin mist shrouds the distant mountains, creating a vast expanse of white, with clouds and mist swirling around, giving it an ethereal, fairyland feel.

The scene here elicited a gasp of amazement from the ancients.

"Is this the house where the descendants lived? To me, all I see are brick and tile houses; there isn't a single thatched or mud hut!!"

A shirtless man, his exposed skin a deep brown, as if he'd been fished out of soy sauce, screamed in shock.

He struggled for half his life and only managed to afford a few thatched huts, of which only one room he was willing to use stone and brick.

But the houses where these mountain people lived were actually better than the houses of this farmer who lived on the plains.

"Didn't you say it was a bridge? Where's the bridge? This is all roads!!"

"Look...look at the sky!!"

A man pointed to the sky, his finger trembling uncontrollably, and shouted, drawing dissatisfaction from the surrounding crowd.

Honestly, what's all the fuss about?! What's in the sky?!

But when they focused their attention on the upper half of the image,

Amidst the swirling clouds and mist, something seemed to appear and disappear, only two protrusions visible, extending downwards from the clouds, revealing a faint, indistinct black body.

"A dragon!! It's a real dragon!!!"

"It's not a dragon..." The person next to him stared blankly at the sky, not correcting the mistake in the other person's words.

"It's a bridge, a bridge in the sky!"

"There's a bridge in the sky!!!"

As the clouds thinned, the "dragon" hidden behind them broke free from their constraints and revealed its true form.

On either side of the mountain, nearly a thousand meters above the ground, lies a straight, long bridge.

The Huajiang River flows beneath the bridge, washing over both banks, and there isn't a single point of support beneath the bridge.

Like a giant dragon soaring into the sky, it transforms into a bridge connecting the two sides of the canyon.

The scene in the sky then shifts to the foot of a mountain, beside a small house.

Two men wearing helmets were asking an elderly woman with gray hair for water.

After drinking a few glasses of water, the man couldn't help but ask,

"Auntie, why do you live alone in these mountains?"

"Sigh, all the children have gone out to work. It's convenient for my grandson to study there, but the roads are difficult to travel, so he can only come back for the Chinese New Year."

The old woman's eyes were almost overflowing with longing and loneliness.

"Auntie, we're here to repair the bridge!"

"Build a bridge?!"

"This area is all mountains and canyons, how are you going to build it? And where will you build it?"

The camera zooms out, focusing on the houses, and the myriad mountains and deep valleys on both sides of the Huajiang River are revealed in their entirety to the people below the sky.

Looking around, it was impossible to find even a single flat plot of land, a few acres in size.

"Auntie, come with us."

The two men, standing on high ground, were full of fighting spirit. They pointed their fingers upwards.

"Build it from one end to the other!"

"Is it really possible?"

"It definitely can!!!"

The camera zooms out again, revealing two bridge towers standing tall atop the once myriad mountains, with a long rainbow spanning the sky.

In the morning mist, amidst the verdant green of the myriad mountains, a black dragon meanders through the clouds, soaring above the high peaks.

The scene then shifts to a bird's-eye view, with clouds drifting beneath the bridge and the Huajiang River flowing swiftly by.

A text message flashed by:

"Making mountains bow, rivers give way, and natural barriers turn into thoroughfares!!"