"If nothing else happens, it will be completed by the end of this year." Zheng Guo looked at the river in front of him, which was being opened up by countless barbarians with shovels and poles, with a look of relief on his face.
After arriving in the Hetao, Zheng Guo spent several months traveling throughout the Hetao area, and finally chose to dig canals and build water conservancy projects in Helan County first.
The river flows from the east of Helan County. If a canal can be opened to extend to the foot of Helan Mountain and finally merge into the river north, then Helan County will have an additional 100,000 hectares of fertile farmland.
In addition to irrigation, this canal can also play a role in navigation, continuously transporting coal from Helan Mountain to various parts of Zhao State.
"Thanks to your help, sir, otherwise it would be impossible for me to complete such a magnificent project in such a short period of time with my own efforts." Li Fu said with admiration, bowing his hands.
I have to say that a professional is a professional. He worked for more than a year without planning the canal route. After Zheng Guo came, he completed it in a few months.
Other problems that had troubled Lifu for a long time, such as poor water levels, dredging of sediment, building bridges, gates, and Jin Ferry, were also solved by Zheng Guo.
The Yellow River did not lack water during this period, and the vegetation on the Loess Plateau was not destroyed. However, after all, the Yellow River flowed through the Loess Plateau, and the sand content was still very high. After reaching the lower reaches, the water flow became gentle and sediment began to accumulate, causing the river bed to become increasingly thin. High, the rivers continue to overflow, forcing countries to organize manpower to build dams.
However, there is very little part of the Loess Plateau flowing through the upper reaches of the Yellow River, so the sediment content of the river water in Helan County is not high.
But the canal is no better than the Yellow River. The water flow is gentler and the sediment sinks more easily. Once accumulation forms, the river bed will rise, the river channel will be blocked, and the canal will lose its function.
In order to solve this problem, Zheng Guo built a wooden cage with wood in the upper reaches of the river, filled it with huge stones, and formed a stone barrier. A large number of stone barriers were arranged into weir bones, which were three or four miles long.
It slows down the river water here, precipitates the coarse sand in the river, and introduces the fine sand into the canal. In this way, the problem of excessive sand content in the canals can be solved, and it can also be used to irrigate farmland, reduce the alkali content of the farmland, improve the soil, and fertilize the fields.
This river mud is very fertile, and people downstream will dig river mud to fertilize their fields every winter.
"Starting from next year, Helan County will have as fertile land as the Central Plains." Le Jian said excitedly.
If Li Fu knew something about water conservancy and could build the canal sooner or later without Zheng Guo's help, then Le Jian really didn't understand it at all.
For him, the arrival of Zheng Guo was no less than a long drought, meeting an old friend in a foreign land. After all, Helan County was well managed, which was also his political achievement.
His father's aura was too great. When he was in Yan State, others kept talking about his father Le Yi. He even inherited the title of King of Chang State from his father.
When he came to Zhao State, Le Jian didn't want to be shrouded in his father's halo.
"I think too much. This is just the main canal. Even if it is dug, it will only take away the boats. If you want to irrigate farmland, you have to dig auxiliary irrigation canals, including small ditches that lead to the fields. It's not enough. It's far away. It will take at least two or three years to complete everything." Zheng Guo said angrily.
Compared with the first ones, the latter ones are the most troublesome. Each auxiliary canal must be designed to ensure that water can flow into the fields step by step.
If the State of Zhao just wanted to be like Fucha, it would be much easier to dig a ditch to transport troops and food. One or two hundred thousand prisoners would be able to dig it out in a short time.
"It takes such a long time for a Helan County, then wouldn't the entire Hetao take ten or twenty years?" Li Fu frowned. He also planned to put the Hetao on the right track within five years and build it into a Zhao State within ten years. It is the second largest grain production base in the country.
Now it takes ten or twenty years to build a water conservancy project alone. Wouldn't it be possible to complete the other projects until he dies of old age?
"It won't take so long. I have already designed the canal plans for other counties. After this canal is dug, half of the manpower can be freed to go to other counties. The remaining auxiliary canals and third-level canals, For the fourth-level water canal, the Hu people can dig part of it and the local civilians can dig part of it. It is estimated that the entire water conservancy facilities in the Hetao can be built almost in five to seven years." Zheng Guo shook his head and said with great pride.
For more than two years, the people of Hetao were only responsible for cultivating farmland, building houses, and building schools. The other tasks of mining coal, digging canals, and building official roads were all done by Hu captives.
Wait until next year, after the farmland reclamation is completed, manpower will be freed up. Of course, the end of reclamation does not mean that there is no more reclaimed land, but that the reclaimed land has reached the upper limit of cultivation. Even if reclamation continues, there will be no extra energy for cultivation.
"It's still a bit long, can't it be faster?" Li Fu looked at Zheng Guo. There is no governor-general position among the official positions of the State of Zhao. This position was specially established by Zhao Kuo for the better development of the Hetao. It only lasted for ten years. After the expiration of the term, he would return to the court to serve.
He hopes to build the Loop into what he wants during his tenure.
"It's already very fast. This is because one or two hundred thousand prisoners work non-stop every day. Otherwise, ten years will not be enough, at least one generation will be needed. Although the Hetao has fertile soil and abundant water and grass, the rainfall is far less than that of the Central Plains. To develop it into fertile farmland, water conservancy facilities must be improved," Zheng Guo said.
Although he did not know what the 400 mm equivalent precipitation line was, he knew the importance of rainfall to agriculture.
From the north to the west of the Hetao, rainfall continues to decrease. From the east to the south of the Hetao, rainfall increases rapidly, and the Hetao is the transition zone. Coupled with the special terrain formed by the Yinshan Mountains, Helan Mountains and the Yellow River, the Hetao has an environment suitable for farming and grazing.
Even though the precipitation in this era was much higher than that in later generations, the Hetao has just reached the critical level of the 400 mm precipitation line. If the pastureland is truly transformed into farming, water conservancy is absolutely indispensable.
"In addition, I also plan to dig three large lakes here, here, and here for water storage, to adjust the water level, to prevent floods and droughts." Zheng Guo pointed to the south and north sides of Helan Mountain on the map. And a place in Shuofang County said.
These three points were carefully selected by him and are very suitable for use as water storage lakes. Rice can be grown around the lakes and fish can be raised to improve the lives of local people.
As for the east bank of the Yellow River, which is far north of Qu Yan's hometown, it can continue to be used for grazing. However, according to Zheng Guo's observation, the carrying capacity of this land is limited. If it is overgrazed, it is likely to cause soil desertification. It is not suitable to plan pastures. It is still okay for people to keep some free range.
