Chapter 407 Bridge Building

Chapter 407 Bridge Building

Chapter 407 Bridge Building
On the south side of the river, wooden boats were put into the river, splashing large amounts of water.

Carpenters crossed the river in batches and began to build a pontoon bridge.

The wood used for the floating bridge was collected from Yangzhou and Jiangzhou. It was dried in the shade for several years. It has a tough texture and is not easy to rot after being painted.

There were people roasting bamboo on the river bank.

The boats are connected together with thick bamboo strips, making them very sturdy.

A better way is of course to connect them with chains, but the cost is too high.

After the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Heyang Sancheng Floating Bridge was rebuilt in the Tang Dynasty and was also connected with bamboo, but the Pubanjin Floating Bridge used iron chains.

"How can we survive when we run out of food?"

"Save me! Save me!"

The servants shouted slogans and buried an extremely heavy stone beast in a pit that had been dug in advance.

There are iron chains fixed on the stone beast, whose main function is to hold the part of the floating bridge close to the river bank so that the whole thing will not drift too much - if conditions permit, it would be best to bury the iron man underground, but isn't this impossible?

Judging from its construction method, this floating bridge is much more formal than the temporary bridges built during wars. With proper maintenance, it can be used for many years.

The original Heqiao was built by Du Yu. It barely stood when Wang Ying of Chengdu started his rebellion, but was soon destroyed in the war. In the end, only a place name remained: Heqiao.

Now, the real river bridge comes.

"Splash!" A boat was pushed into the water from the shore. Shao Xun and Fu Zhi boarded the boat and sailed towards the river bank in the west.

The two riverbanks were very close to each other and we arrived there soon.

After the group came ashore, the soldiers who were clearing weeds and bushes on the island saluted them one after another.

In the center of the island is a shrine called "Heping Hou Shrine".

There are some common people living inside and outside the ancestral hall, and they are now taking soil to build walls and repair houses.

There is a stele in front of the shrine, with dense writing on it.

Fu Zhi stared at the shrine for a long time.

"What is Situ thinking about?" Shao Xun asked softly.

"During the time of Emperor Wen (Sima Zhao), it was rumored that a huge fish was seen in Mengjin. It was several hundred steps long and five feet high. Its head was on the south bank and its tail was in Zhongzhu. The Heping Marquis Temple is this temple," Fu Zhi replied.

Shao Xun took a look at the river temple surrounded by green trees and red flowers and felt it was very nice.

There is a lot of open space around the river temple, with lush trees, abundant water and grass, which is suitable for grazing livestock.

He estimated that thirty hectares of farmland could be cleared to accommodate two to three hundred households. In addition, there were large grasslands and a small amount of woods for grazing cattle and sheep.

But it doesn't really make sense.

This place is mainly used for military purposes. It is okay to open up some vegetable plots and orchards and subsidize military supplies, but there is no need to farm.

"I can't hold on any longer." Fu Zhi sighed and said, "My family knows their own business. I won't live for many days. Many of the people on the river bank were recruited by me, and now they are suffering."

"What do you mean, Situ? You may as well speak frankly." Shao Xun said.

Fu Zhi was speechless for a moment. After a long silence, he just said, "Be nice to them."

Shao Xun looked at him.

Fu Zhi sighed again and said, "Let them live."

"Okay." Shao Xun agreed.

Fu Zhi said nothing more, but sat among the weeds, looking at the north bank of the river.

His health was deteriorating and his life was about to come to an end. Before he died, he was faced with such a scene of the country being destroyed and his family being ruined, which made him feel uncomfortable.

Shao Xun was patrolling the island on his own.

The only men left were basically conscripted to work.

The women grew a little grain, fruit and vegetables, but they hid when they saw people coming because they either did not have enough clothes or their clothes were tattered and could not cover their bodies.

The children were running around naked.

In fact, it is not much different from the Yuzhou he controls.

Even if there is protection from aristocratic families, can everyone really have clothes to wear and not be naked? Impossible.

This is the world today. Hunger has plagued people for several years. The sericulture industry has suffered severe losses, and the hemp fields have also suffered heavy losses. People are not able to eat enough and wear warm clothes.

Not to mention ordinary people, even poor scholars would stay at their relatives' homes and secretly take away some clothes when leaving, which became a laughing stock.

Fu Zhi asked Shao Xun to be nicer to these people, but he really couldn't do it, so he could only agree to let them live.

As long as you live, there is hope.

The mulberry seedlings that are being transplanted on a large scale in Yuzhou are hope.

The newly opened hemp fields are hope.

The hope is to gradually be able to eat more.

The increasing number of cattle, sheep, horses and donkeys are hope.

Let me solve the problem of being hungry and naked first - there is no time traveler more miserable than me.

"Leave this land to me." Shao Xun pointed to a piece of wasteland in the northeast corner of Hezhu and said to Cai Cheng, "I will come to reclaim it this afternoon. Whose sheep are these? Buy them and exchange them for food and people. Give more. Cut down some trees and build a house for me."

"Yes." Cai Cheng was stunned. My lord, are you going to become a hermit?

"Who dug the pond outside?" Shao Xun asked, pointing to the periphery of the land.

Similar to Taozhu, it is a man-made pond based on the terrain, with three sides close to the shore and one side facing the water.

The water in the pool didn't seem to be very deep, because there was no way to park the boat.

"It should be dug by soldiers who went to the island to collect soil." Cai Cheng replied. "Let's fence it off and build a river bank." Shao Xun ordered.

"promise."

Shao Xun walked to the edge of the pool again and looked carefully.

In the Tang Dynasty, many such ponds were dug in Zhongyu City (built on a sandbar in the middle of the river). Relying on the surface of the Yellow River, a large number of carp were raised. They were large and plump, and people at that time called them "yellow croakers". They were often sent to the palace as tribute.

When Li Guangbi was defending the three cities of Heyang, he was short of food for a while, so he caught a large amount of "yellow croaker".

"Go back." Shao Xun waved his hand and said, "From now on, carefully count the refugees on Taozhu, Gaozhu, and Mazhu islands and compile them into a list. Their families will receive one hu of grain per month and three pieces of cloth per year. Let's give them one piece of cloth for now."

"Mingsir, where did the cloth come from?" Cai Cheng asked in a low voice.

"The court should still have some." Shao Xun said, "I will submit a petition to the court later, asking for the allocation of equipment and food. The court has no food, but we can always get some equipment and cloth. I don't need much."

"My Lord, do you want to recruit these young men into the army?"

"It's just a separate army." Shao Xun said, "The three cities of Heyang will eventually have to be defended by themselves. The Silver Spear Army can't stay here for a long time, and will leave sooner or later."

"Yes, sir." Cai Cheng understood.

There are only about a thousand refugee households on the three islands, which is actually very few.

However, the imperial court established Heyang County on Taozhu, and the county included three sandbanks in the middle of the river, a large area of ​​land near Mengjin, and many places on the north bank of the river that were still under the control of the Xiongnu.

The area near Mengjin is quite large, and it is said that thousands of refugees were forcibly relocated here to settle and build cities.

If we count those people, it is indeed a lot of people.

From now on, these people will be the main force in defending the three cities of Heyang on a daily basis.

"The military bugle call is --" Shao Xun thought for a moment and said, "Hei Yao!"

******
On the Zhama Dike, the canopies are like clouds and the flags are like a forest.

The Han emperor Liu Cong rode his horse across the river, looking quietly at the other side.

The Yellow River is not wide. Looking from the north bank, the island in the middle of the river is crowded with people sweating profusely.

The foundation of the city has been laid, and the screening and tamping of the soil has begun.

It actually doesn’t take that long to build a city.

A crude city that is barely usable can be built with tens of thousands of people in half a month. If you want to build it stronger, you need to spend more time and use more good materials.

Now it seems that the Jin people are transporting wood, stone, bricks and tiles to the island day and night, and it seems that they are going to build a strong city. And it is only June now, so they have plenty of time to complete it.

"My lords, tell me, how should we respond when the Jin people build cities on the south bank and in the middle of the river?" Liu Cong looked at the princes and ministers who were following him and asked.

Prime Minister Liu Yannian opened his eyes and said in a hoarse voice: "Your Majesty, the Jin people are good at boats, and I am good at horses. Why should I compete with them for the superiority of one day?"

The general of the central army wanted to refute after hearing this, but Liu Yannian had pleaded for him before, which saved his life, so he couldn't refute it in person, so he could only say: "Your Majesty, we still have to find a way to fight. If we only build a city on the south bank and the river center, it will be fine, but they are likely to go all the way to the north bank to build a city. If the three cities are connected, they can move in and out freely. If they want to fight, they can fight. If they don't want to fight, they can retreat to the strong city. It's like a thorn in the side, and we have to remove it."

Liu Cong glanced at Liu Yannian coldly, thinking that the old man was confused. Then he looked at Wang Zhang again with a complicated expression.

Back to the city itself, the threat is indeed huge. At least Hanoi, which has no strategic location to defend, is completely under the enemy's attack.

After a few years, the people of Jin once again took the initiative to attack, which made him very unhappy.

Yes, I'm just unhappy.

Shao Xun always offended him and disgusted him, and he was becoming more and more unable to swallow this anger.

"Send the order, dispatch Shi Le and Zhao Gu to lead the army to stop the enemy from building the city." Liu Cong flicked his sleeves and gave the order.

Soon someone drafted an edict and issued it.

Wang Zhang was thinking silently.

Even if Shi Le and Zhao Gu are unwilling, they should still obey orders and at least bring some troops with them.

This is a good thing, as it will weaken their strength so that they won't become too powerful in the future.

It should have been done a long time ago!
Since Cao Wei occupied Qingzhou, the imperial court has become alert.

Shi Le didn't dare to resist yet, and he didn't have the capital to resist. It was right for him to come and fight with Shao Xun and consume each other. And if Shi Le didn't dare to resist this time, he would be even less likely to do so next time.

Thinking in this way, it was a good thing that the people of Jin built the three cities in Heyang.

If this had not happened, the emperor might not have dispatched Shi Andong to fight here.

If Shao Xun had not taken control of Henan, the court might not have sent General Zhenyuan Liang Fuci to lead his troops eastward to start managing Hebei.

Great, that’s great!
After watching on the dike for a while, Liu Cong led the crowd away and headed for Yewang.

When they were halfway through the journey, the Zhonghuangmen came to report: Noble Concubine Liu Ying and Grand Tutor Liu Yin died one after another.

Liu Cong was stunned for a while, opened his mouth, and finally closed it again.

Previously, he planned to make Concubine Liu Ying, the daughter of Grand Tutor Liu Yin, the empress, but the empress dowager disagreed and demanded that her niece, Concubine Zhang Huiguang, be made the empress.

Liu Cong agreed.

But he never expected that Liu Yin and his daughter Liu Ying would die one after another?
But that's not the only bad news.

There was a report from Guanzhong that King Yao of Zhongshan and General Shan Zheng of Zhenxi had been defeated in many battles, so they withdrew from Chang'an and retreated to Fengyi, and sent more than 80,000 men and women from Chang'an to Pingyang.

Liu Cong felt a little regretful at this time.

The retreat was orderly, and they were able to return with 80,000 prisoners. In fact, it could not be considered a defeat. At least the strength of the Jin army in Guanzhong was very limited and they were unable to pursue.

If I had known this earlier, I would have given us more soldiers, and perhaps we would have defeated Jia Pi and others.

Liu Cong felt a little confused and it was time to sort out his strategy and decide which direction was more important to him.

(End of this chapter)