Chapter 126 The Influence of Liaosong Canal
The influence of Liaosong Canal is subtle.
Just like this time, He Xi and King Yan did not need to ride horses and could directly take a boat. From the dock outside Shenyang, go directly to Changchun Fort.
Not to mention that along the way, sailing is countless times easier than riding a horse, and the speed is not too slow. Otherwise, there are some dangers in boating at night in the river. But when necessary, you may not be able to take risks. Not to mention, the riding speed is not too fast. Hundreds of miles in a hurry, that only exists in Ekiden. Normal marching, even on horseback, will not cover hundreds of miles in a day. And waterways are possible. If the waterway is clear, it will be faster than the cavalry.
Not to mention, even if the river here is in the upper reaches of the Liao River. What's more, we have to pass through the Liaosong Canal, which cannot accommodate large ships. But each small boat can also carry dozens of stones of cargo. These dozens of stones of cargo seemed to weigh only a few tons. In later generations, a large truck could transport more than twice that. But the problem is that the transportation capacity of horse-drawn carriages these days is only a few hundred kilograms. You must know that when the car first came out, its load capacity was only three to five tons. At that time, it was an epoch-making invention.
A cargo of dozens of stones requires more than ten horse-drawn carriages. In addition, people eat horse chews. If you want to transport the goods completely to the front line, it will cost even more.
Coupled with the extra time on the road, it is estimated that dozens of horse-drawn carriages will be needed to transport them to the front line.
This is only a short-term study. If this distance is relaxed to one thousand miles. That would be even more serious. Although the mathematical relationship between land transportation and water transportation has not been examined in detail. But when the mileage exceeds a certain amount, the consumption of land transportation will not only be several times that of water transportation, but should be dozens of times.
This is why, before the emergence of railways in ancient times, canal transportation was the most economical method, and after the emergence of railways, sea transportation was still the first choice for bulk cargo.
That's why.
Even without He Xi doing anything, an economic belt was spontaneously formed along the Liaosong Canal.
When He Xi built the canal, the canal was constructed separately. And ten castles were built along the way. Just started to garrison more than a thousand troops. Later it was gradually abolished. This place has been assigned to a guard station. The Ming Guards did not distribute its troops evenly to each castle. Now each castle only houses one hundred households. Some of the remaining troops and horses are in the hands of the commander of the guard post. When they encounter the enemy's situation, they take the initiative to attack. Another few hundred elites. Let them all out. Scout around the canal.
At least we can't let the enemy infiltrate nearby without them knowing it.
These ten small forts were originally purely for military use. But now, there is a market outside the castle. Although it doesn't look like there are many people, there are dozens of shops. There are restaurants, hotels, and boat repair shops selling various boat items. Naturally, there are also grain stores and so on.
It's just that these shops are not allowed to be built inside the castle, only outside the castle.
the reason is simple.
After all, this is a frontier, and there is no Great Wall in the Ming Dynasty these days. Or a side wall to speak of. The natural defense line of the entire Liaodong is actually the Liaohe River, and this area is already on the north bank of the Liaohe River, which means that if the Tatars make a roundabout way, they can directly attack the city.
The biggest source of business for these shops is these merchants. But the origins of the merchants are difficult to say.
Let’s just say it’s a mixed bag. Not too much at all. If placed in a castle, it would be difficult to deal with an internal crisis. It would be much safer to leave it outside the city.
Because this time we were on an inspection tour, we were not in a hurry. Moreover, even if it was an inspection tour, with He Xi and King Yan around, and in such a dangerous area, it was impossible to take less people with us. After all, once the Tatars invaded and captured them, the joke would be big.
Therefore, there were two thousand households accompanying them, which were all elites. Together with the guards of He Xi and King Yan, the number was close to 3,000.
Whether it is modern or ancient times, when there are more people, the speed will be slower. Wherever a person goes, he can leave at will. But thousands of people go to one place. That's trouble.
Therefore, King Yan and He Xi rested at Yunliang Lake today.
This grain transportation lake is where He Xi couldn't close the canal due to a miscalculation, so he just dug a lake in the local area to connect the water veins. He Xi felt a little embarrassed every time he saw this. That feeling is like telling the world what you have done wrong.
Fortunately, He Xi would definitely not take the initiative to mention it unless others asked.
King Yan and He Xi walked on the small bluestone bridge with the canal below. There are shops on both sides of the canal. Although this is only a small area, other than here, it is still fields and barren land. It is even normal for wild animals to appear and wild boars or wolves to rush onto the streets.
But to King Yan, this was amazing.
He had passed by here before. Of course you know what it's like here. It was desolate, just like the place in the north where he was going.
There would be nothing strange about this town anywhere in the Ming Dynasty. Only putting it here made King Yan have to marvel and even have full confidence in his future career. Since He Xi could do it within a few years, he might not be able to do it despite the changes in the world.
In fact, King Yan did not know that this place had always been a place outside the Great Wall in the Ming Dynasty. The biggest business of the Ming Dynasty was to build a post road and establish a shipyard. After Yongle, there were few operations, and they were owned by various ministries outside the Great Wall. In any case, it was still in business in the Ming Dynasty.
But the Qing Dynasty was even more ridiculous. In the early and middle Qing Dynasty, this place had always been a royal hunting ground, the kind of royal hunting ground that stretched for hundreds of miles. No common people were allowed to enter, even though some people migrated to the northeast in the early Qing Dynasty. It was banned again during the Qianlong period.
It wasn't until the late Qing Dynasty that those who could no longer control the area were completely let go.
But this kind of letting go is not proactive. But as it became clear that the management system collapsed, it was relaxed little by little.
King Yan looked around and suddenly saw a bookstore. It should be said that it is not a bookstore. It is a place that sells pens, inks, paper and inkstones along with books. King Yan said: "I didn't expect that there are scholars outside the Great Wall. Brother He, would you like to go and have a look?"
He Xi was also curious. Said: "Okay."
The two of them walked into the store with a dozen guards.
The store is not big, so after a dozen people came in, the place was immediately packed.
A teenage boy with hair growing out of his mouth saw He Xi and King Yan, and immediately knelt down and said, "I have met Mr. He and His Highness King Yan."
He Xi and King Yan looked at each other. He Xi said: "You know me."
The young man said: "When the canal was being built, I was lucky enough to see Master He and His Highness Prince Yan, so they got to know each other. Today I also heard that Master He and His Highness Prince Yan settled in Xiaodi today."
In fact, he didn't know King Yan, but he really knew He Xi. He Xi is now in charge of the construction of the canal and running around. Many people have seen it. This is not surprising. He also heard that King Yan was traveling with Lord He. Seeing the two of them walking side by side, and even He Xi being a little more modest, the identity of this person was self-evident.
He Xi said: "What's your name?"
The young man said: "Xiaomin Zhang Zongde."
He Xi said: "Looking at your name, you don't come from an ordinary family."
Zhang Zongde said: "My ancestor was an old official of the Yuan Dynasty, and he followed Naha to become a great man. He died outside the fortress. The common people were lingering on, and they would perish soon. In order to rescue the emperor, they followed the Muhuali family for no reason, so they settled here as civilian households. When my grandson was still alive, he said that reading was something that could never be done. But here, with more than 200 households in a small land, it was difficult to even buy pens, inks, paper and inkstones. So the common people opened this shop after farming, while farming and reading. It can be regarded as providing convenience to those who are willing to study here."
Compared with back then, Zhang Zongde is much more mature. The old Mongolian who took care of him was too old and was unwilling to go to Korea with the Muhuali family, so he stayed. He and Zhang Zongde are considered as ancestors and grandsons.
As mentioned earlier, Liaodong Dusi is different from other places. There are many households hanging under the guardhouse. The guard station has both military management rights and some civil management rights. Of course, with the establishment of a government in Liaodong, a lot of this part of civil management power is already under the Liaoyang government.
Of course, this is a frontier place, so it will naturally not be divested.
