After lighting up the Dragon Boat Festival, Ren Ning and the others happily picked up the dragon boat and walked to the east of the school ground.
The lake leading to the Xinglan Grand Canal is not far away, just east of the school grounds.
This lake is very large. In addition to being part of the landscape lake of the Zhenguogong Mansion, it also has a role in training guards.
Although guarding the rock fortress in the west does not require water warfare. But more than forty years ago, General Huo Zheng and Princess Yiguang led troops to conquer Nanfeng.
In order to bypass the heavily guarded Huchou Pass, they took a boat and headed south. In the vast sea, as landlubbers, they suffered a lot.
After learning from the painful experience, from that time on, all the descendants of Zhenguo Gongfu have to receive water warfare training in case of emergencies.
On this lake leading to the Xinglan Grand Canal, a complete dock and facilities for water training have been built.
There are so many wealthy families in Star City. However, the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion is the only one with such a lake.
The dragon boat was launched into the water, and Ren Ning and the others boarded the cruise ship.
After everyone was seated and supported, Huo Qing gave the order, and the boatmen, who were big and small, untied the cables and slowly sailed the boat eastward.
After passing several overt and covert checkpoints, it took a long time for the cruise ship to leave the Zhenguo Palace.
"This is the imperial family." Li Hebai clicked his tongue at the side.
His family's Guerrilla General's Mansion is also one of the most wealthy families in Guangxin County. However, after comparing them at this time, they realized the huge gap between the two.
"Yes." Ren Ning and Lei Er agreed with a smile.
Many people know that the Zhenguo Palace occupies a vast area, but most of them have only heard about it and have never seen it with their own eyes. This boat trip went all the way east until it entered the Xinglan Grand Canal, and everyone was convinced.
The place where nobles competed in dragon boats was not far from the west pier of the city.
Yong'an Hutong or Xuanwu Street, where Ren Ning's family is located, is in the northeast of Xingji City.
Therefore, the cruise ship carrying everyone had to go around from the east to the south of the city, and then to the west of the city.
The boat is going fast and there is a cool breeze on the deck.
Ren Ning and others couldn't sit still, so they ran to the deck in groups and talked and laughed while looking at the scenery on the river bank.
Not long after, the ship arrived at the southeast corner of Star City.
Looking up and along the Grand Canal to the southeast waterway, there are two tall and thick stainless steel doors standing more than a hundred feet away.
"These two doors..." Although Lei Er has seen this door before, he still gets confused every time he sees it, "How high are they?"
Huo Qing smiled and said, "These two doors are actually not very high. They only reach the bottom of the canal and are about three feet above the water."
"Isn't this high?" Lei Er, Li Hebai and other soldiers who came back from the south couldn't help but look sideways.
For safe navigation, the water depth of the canal is at least three feet, plus another three feet above the surface. Judging from the level of craftsmanship of this era, they are definitely two behemoths.
"Is it safe enough?" A soldier from Zhennanguan was curious.
"Absolutely safe." Huo Qing glanced at the man and nodded with a smile. "These two gates weigh one hundred tons and can withstand the violent impact of any large ship. They are equivalent to Zhennanguan on the canal."
Because the Xinglan Grand Canal is part of the moat, and it leads directly to the sea in the east. The enemy can go north along the Grand Canal and directly attack Star City.
If necessary, these two gates can be closed directly to temporarily cut off the canal, thus preventing enemies from attacking along the canal.
However, since the establishment of the Xinglan Grand Canal, these two doors have never been truly closed. It's usually only during mid-year maintenance that it tries to shut down to see if it's damaged.
"How on earth was such a big steel door built?" Ren Ning was curious.
The crane department he submitted some time ago has not yet been built, but the Grand Canal was built hundreds of years ago.
"How else can we build it?" Everyone spread their hands: "How can we build the Great Wall? This is how we will build it."
To put it bluntly, there is strength in numbers.
Ren Ning shook his head silently in his heart.
The Great Wall is very great. However, if all the dynasties and dynasties used the power to build the Great Wall to attack the enemies in the north, it is estimated that the Great Wall would not need to be built.
He retracted his gaze to the southeast and looked back at Xingji City beside him.
The bustling east dock appeared in front of us.
Last year, when he returned to the Imperial Capital from Yanji Fortress, he got off the boat here.
However, it was the Dragon Boat Festival at this time, and the area around the pier was even busier. Densely packed boats crowded the entire river. At a glance, both the people and the ships are far better than last year.
But no matter how many boats or people there were, when they saw the cruise ship from Zhenguo Palace approaching from a distance, they all hurriedly made way for them.
The cruise ship successfully passed the busy east city pier and headed for the south city gate.
Not long after walking, the broad moat began to smell of powdery fragrance.
From time to time, one or two magnificent painted boats will sail out from some green willow-lined rivers, floating leisurely on the wide moat accompanied by the smiles of girls and the sound of clanking silk and bamboo.
“That’s weird,” someone couldn’t help but mutter, “Don’t these boats usually come out only in the evening?
Everyone looked at the old driver with strange expressions.
He stood silently for a few minutes.
After a while, I finally saw the South City Gate, or the bridge.
A three-hole stone arch bridge spans the spacious river in front. Each hole is more than ten feet high, and any cargo ship or passenger ship can pass unimpeded below even if its sail is hoisted.
"Damn it!" Li Hebai couldn't help but uttered a curse word, "It turns out this bridge is so high!"
A few days ago, they passed the bridge across the moat during their triumphant return trip to prison. At that time, Li Hebai was only focused on the march of the team and did not notice the height of the bridge at all.
Now, looking from below, he was so frightened that he was sweating all over.
At this height, whether you stumble and fall from the bridge or jump directly, there is almost no need to save someone. Just being hit on the water is enough to shatter your body and bones.
Someone next to me was also stunned. After regaining consciousness, he laughed: "What's so strange? This is Star City."
The implication is that Yunchui is the most powerful country in the entire continent, and its imperial capital naturally has a majestic scene.
Huo Qing shook his head and came over to explain to them.
"The main reason is that the terrain in the south of the city is relatively high, and the water level was already very low when the canal was excavated. In order to continue sailing, the surface had to be dug down. The result is what it looks like now."
"However," he smiled and pointed to the high cliffs on both sides: "That's fine. This moat has completely become a moat that supports the satellite city."
But it’s just south of the city.
Whether in the east or west of the city, the terrain is relatively low-lying. The canal water in these places is almost as high as the ground in Star City. That's why Xingji City has a dock on each side. On the contrary, there is no dock in the south of the city where most people come and go.
After passing the south of the city, we finally circled to the west of the city.
The river in front is covered in red and green, and it is full of joy.
The streets along the river are heavily guarded, with sentries posted every three steps and one sentry every five steps.
"Looking at this battle, Your Majesty should really be able to come out of the palace to celebrate with the people."
