In fact, whether it is dirt roads, cement, or asphalt, the roads will be damaged over time and need maintenance.

In ancient times, there was no special road maintenance department, or the road was too bad, and the government could not bear to pay for the repair, or a certain kind person paid for repair and gained a good reputation.

As for the emperor's patrol, the local government naturally had to pad the loess, fill pits and fill in the depressions, and repair them on a surprise basis.

Xu Qilin traveled by land, and it was only so far from Chang'an. The road conditions made him feel that he was really suffering from riding a car. Especially for a carriage without shock absorption, his butt would be twisted in half.

Rail transportation is almost unaffected by road mines and weather, unless heavy floods occur or blizzards cover the road.

However, long-distance rail transportation certainly requires a lot of supporting facilities, such as many repair stations along the way. If the tracks and vehicles are broken, they can be repaired in time.

Well, now Xu Qilin mainly solves the problem of canal transportation. The top priority is the land route in Sanmenxia. Even if other flights are dragged for one or two years, it is not a big problem.

It’s very simple. To transport grain to Guanzhong, it’s not necessary to start from the Jianghuai River. The granary in Luoyang has a mountain of grain, which is at least a few million stones.

It is precisely because Luoyang has some food, but it is difficult to transport it into Guanzhong, that the Tang dynasty rulers and ministers in Chang'an often ran to Luoyang to eat because of famine.

After the coal mine investigation, the funds were withdrawn to continue to develop, Xu Qilin boarded the ship again and headed straight for Huayin County along the Wei River.

"Weichuan's water power is impermanent in size and size, and the flow of shallow sand is deep, which means it is a barrier. It only takes hundreds of roads to move the air order, and it cannot be repeated."

"In the sixth year of Yuanguang of Emperor Wu of Han, Zheng, a senior general, was in charge of the leadership of the Grand Secretary, and tens of thousands of soldiers were sent. The water worker Xu Bo was supervised and the canal was built after three years. After the canal was completed, the 900-mile Weihe River channel from Tongguan to Chang'an was shortened to more than 300 miles. The transportation was convenient, and the pass was depended on it."

"In the fourth year of Kaihuang, Emperor Wen of Sui ordered Yuwen Kai's troops to lead water workers to dig canals and divert the Wei River. It was more than 300 miles from the east of Daxing City to Tongguan, called Guangtong Canal, and built Guangtong Warehouse at the entrance of the canal. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, Guangtong Canal was silted, and it has been today."

Along the way, Xu Qilin kept asking officials who were familiar with the canal transportation, and also saw the situation in the Wei River with his own eyes, feeling that he had taken the reform of the canal government simply in the past.

The Wei River has many silt and sand, many shallows, especially in the middle and lower reaches of the river. The river channels are wandering and tortuated, and there are many sandbanks in the middle of the river. The river troughs alternate with silt, and the main troughs are forked and swung frequently.

Moreover, there are many disasters in the lower reaches of the Wei River. From the first year of Zhenguan to the first year of Tianbao, there are as many flood disasters recorded as thirty-four times.

This is another punishment from nature! Xu Qilin looked at the turbid Wei River and smiled bitterly and sighed.

As the population increases, the huge demand for food, housing and fuel is too much for nature. Deforestation and land, burning grass and reclamation of land, nature is unbearable, and it returns the greedy human beings with disasters.

But now, Xu Qilin can only finish his work first and then consider whether he has the opportunity to make changes in the future. After all, human survival is the most important thing. You cannot let them stay hungry and freeze to protect the environment.

Of course, opening the Guangtong Channel to increase transportation capacity is more realistic than relying on the Wei River, which is often silted.

I'm afraid that His Majesty Li Er will be frightened when he sees this grand money-spending plan, so he will give up! Xu Qilin thought for a while and decided to suppress this advice for the time being.

Let’s do it step by step, don’t even think about eating a fat man in one bite, and don’t think about spending money to make His Majesty Li Er feel pain.

Arriving in Huayin, this is the intersection of the Wei River and the Yellow River. Xu Qilin took his people ashore to investigate and determine the location for the establishment of the warehouse.

During the Sui Dynasty, Guangtong Cang was originally built at the entrance of Guangtong Que, that is, the south bank of the Weishui River in the northeast of Huayin County. It was later renamed Yongfeng Cang and became an important granary near the capital at that time.

But now the Guangtong Canal is silted and blocked. To achieve sectional transportation of the Yellow River and Wei River, we can only rebuild warehouses and rely on the Wei River for water transportation.

Fortunately, the changes in the river troughs in the Huayin area of ​​Wei River are no longer very severe, and it is not too difficult to choose a location and build a warehouse.

After finishing the work, after a day of rest, Xu Qilin led his people through Weikou, changed the boat and entered the Yellow River waterway, and continued to go west.

I went down the river and the itinerary was very fast. I had already sent someone to arrange the boat. The boat owner and the boatman were very experienced and the journey was quite smooth.

Soon, everyone came to Shanzhou, which was also a very important link on the canal transport route. From Luoyang to Shanzhou, the water route was dangerous as Sanmenxia Fuzhu, and the transportation by car by car was expensive.

There is a Taiyuan Warehouse in Shaanxi, which saves the cost of building another warehouse. In Xu Qilin's plan, if the warehouse built in the west of Sanmenxia is smaller, the Taiyuan Warehouse should be the main distribution center.

I stayed in Shanzhou for a day and night, purchasing materials, mainly dry food. Xu Qilin also invited the boatmen to eat and drink in the restaurant and learned in detail about the specific situation along the Sanmenxia coast.

According to the ship workers, there is a canal transport plank road along the coast of Sanmenxia. However, this plank road cannot be transported, but is for the boatman to carry the boat forward.

Most of these plank roads are made of a small path that is recessed into rocks at halfway up the cliff on the river bank. Where the draw cannot be made, a square hole is carved every two meters to penetrate wooden beams and lay the boards and bridges.

Whenever the canal ship was about to go upstream, the boatman would pull the boat along the plank road. On the stone wall in the middle of the plank road, there were many small holes in the shape of a bull's nose to tie ropes for the fiber puller to control and exert force.

As long as the canal ship goes up against the current, it all depends on the coolies of the boatman. The profession of the boatman is undoubtedly the highest among many high-risk industries. There are heavy ropes on the shoulders and rugged mountain roads under the feet. If you are not careful, you will fall off the cliff and either die or be injured.

"You climb the rock, grab the cliff with your hands, pull the boat with your shoulders and ropes, stick your butt out of the sky, and grab your head to your legs and pull it. Make two money to take it home to support your wife, children and parents..."

Later generations also had the Yellow River horn shouted by the boats, which can be said to be a vivid record of the pain of boatmen pulling boats and the difficulties of sailing against the current.

While Xu Qilin was moved, he was also considering whether the narrow plank road could be widened and reinforced into a road that could transport food and food.

There is no need to drive a few lanes in both directions, even if it is a one-way road, as long as you can overcome the danger of the pillar as soon as possible.

And this idea is not outrageous. Think about the ancient Qinshu Road and the Three Gorges Plank Road, which all played an extremely important role in the history of ancient politics, economy, society, military and transportation.

Of course, whether it is feasible or not, is there any other better solutions? Xu Qilin still needs to conduct a field inspection and listen to the opinions of experts.

After resting and preparing well, Xu Qilin and others boarded the ship and set off again, down the river, heading straight towards Sanmenxia.

When the sea was seven or eight miles away from Sanmenxia, ​​the boatmen approached the shore at an ancient ferry during the Han and Sui periods, and gave Xu Qilin and others guidance and explaining the situation on the shore.

Xu Qilin remembered it in his heart, took his entourage and abandoned the boat to land, and let the boat continue sailing. After passing the pillar, he waited for them in the east of Sanmenxia.

Walking east along the river beach, Xu Qilin and others walked while observing the terrain. After walking for a mile or two, they saw a platform on the shore.

This platform is about 100 meters east-west and about 20 to 30 meters north-south, close to the river beach.

"Let's mark it on the picture." Xu Qilin ordered, "If there is no suitable place ahead, I'm afraid there will be only one place to build a position here."

An official pointed and reminded: "Please look, this is the first floor, and there is a small village further up!"

After pausing, he added: "Is it the boatman who said that the Ukura Village? Send someone to inquire!"

Xu Qilin took out his telescope and looked carefully before he asked someone to go to the village to inquire. It would be best if he could hire a guide who had walked through Sanmenxia.

After sending the people, Xu Qilin and others went to the platform, measured and surveyed, recorded various data, and waited for a while before they saw the officials sent to lead two people.

These are two people, one old and one young, who were surprised and frightened by the officials who suddenly came to this remote countryside. After a brief question, it was the village chief and his son. Because he had relatives in Longyan Village east of Sanmenxia, ​​he walked across the path to visit.

Xu Qilin comforted her heart, explained her purpose, and took out copper coins as rewards, asked them to act as guides, and walked the path.

The village chief rushed to give it back, but Xu Qilin insisted on doing so, so he had to accept it and lead everyone to go east along the river.

As you walk along the way, you will see the cliffs and ridges along the coast and the roads are narrow. It is okay to travel, but it is not enough to transport supplies. Moreover, this path is closer to the river beach, and once the river water rises, it will be flooded and blocked.

While walking, checking the terrain, Xu Qilin casually chatted with the guide, but found out that there was a mountain road that could reach Longyan Village. However, it was time-consuming and labor-intensive to cross mountains and ridges.

"The old man will take us through this path and work hard to walk the mountain road!" Xu Qilin said: "I see, it is difficult to take a carriage and horse on this path."

Seeing that Xu Qilin was young and had a kind attitude, he was not arrogant and was willing to work harder, and agreed with Xu Qilin's statement, "The mountain road is also difficult to walk, but after digging, widening and repairing, chariots and horses should be allowed to walk."

After pausing, he continued, "This path will be flooded nearly half when it rises, but the mountain road is fine."

Xu Qilin is not sure that the mountain road can be successfully transformed. If it doesn't work, he can only take out a groove road on the cliff and add it to a plank road with stone pillars and wooden boards. This time-consuming and labor-intensive method can be used to achieve the goal.

When I entered Sanmenxia, ​​I heard a huge sound of water, and the river seemed even more turbulent. After walking a while, I saw the three river gates called the Divine Gate, the Human Gate and the Gate of Ghost. The yellow mud and water collided in the River Gate, which was shocking.

Xu Qilin was very worried. After searching for him, he did not find any wreckage in the ship. He couldn't help but say to himself: "Those two ships should be fine and have passed by safely."

"Don't worry too much." An official comforted him: "It's not the flood season, and they are the most experienced boatmen, so there will definitely be nothing wrong."

The village chief echoed, "This place is not the most dangerous. If you walk a little longer, you will see the pillar. Where is the gates of hell!"

Xu Qilin wiped the sweat from his face and urged everyone to speed up.

It was not long since they passed three gates, and a mountain-shaped rock across the river came into view.

After passing three gates, the river rushed towards the pillar, rushing and slapping, and the splashing waves and water splashes rose into the sky like a pillar of smoke rising several feet high into the sky.

Xu Qilin was shocked by the momentum of nature, opened his mouth slightly, and looked at the "mainstream" standing proudly in the water.

Under the impact of thousands of years of water, Dizhu Mountain has been covered with scars and becomes mottled. But it still stands steadily, fighting the collision of turbid waves in silence.

Sanmen Canyon has water on both sides, with a thousand-foot wall, a rugged rock, and a dangerous terrain. There are two stone islands in the middle of the river that divide the river water into three troughs, so it is called "Sanmen Gorge".

The main pillar is facing the three gates, and the river water rushes the door and goes straight to the main pillar, and then passes through the main pillar, so it is called "the main pillar in the middle".

The Sanmen canal transportation began in the Qin and Han Dynasties, and has a history of nearly a thousand years. In a thousand years, there were countless people who died in Sanmen canal transportation, and countless ships hit the pillars and overturned the river.

Xu Qilin was dazzling in front of this natural danger, staring at the turbid waves, speechless for a long time.

"If you can escape the danger of the pillar by land, you will be extremely merit!" The old village chief's sigh resonated with everyone and interrupted Xu Qilin's gaze.

If you don’t think about it in person and don’t think in real life, how can you know the dangers of the three gates and the difficulty of the canal road?

The nobles who are superior only consider transportation costs and money, but do not pay attention to human life?

"No matter how many difficulties and dangers, I will succeed." Xu Qilin's face turned solemn and said loudly: "I hope you all work together to achieve this achievement."

…………………

After passing Dizhu Mountain, the water suddenly became smooth and the river channel became wider, which made people feel relaxed when they saw each other.

"After passing the platform in front, it is Longyan Village." The village chief pointed at his hand, with a relieved smile on his face.

Xu Qilin probably had already walked 16 or 7 miles, which is consistent with the historical records of "eighteen miles of mountain roads". Look at the platform, surrounded by mountains on three sides and facing water in the south, and the terrain is relatively low and flat, and it is a place where you can build a warehouse.

Everyone walked closer and observed and found that the platform seemed to be the remains of the Han and Sui granaries, and fragments of gray rope-patterned tiles could be found on the ground.

"This place is probably closest to Sanmenxia, ​​and it is more suitable for building a position." Xu Qilin looked back and sought other people's opinions.

"The river channel is wider and the river water is slower. The canal boats can be parked here and then turn back."

"It's okay to build a position, but how to go by land?"

Xu Qilin turned to the village chief and asked, "Where did the mountain road you mentioned come up?"

The village chief pointed ahead and said, "There is another two miles to come to Longyan Village, and the mountain road passes through Longyan Village."

Xu Qilin looked up and looked at the village. He didn't see it, but saw two boats parked on the shore in the distance. It must be the ancient ferry that the boatman called - Kuanglan Ferry.

From the distance, if you walk up from Kuanglan Dun, you should be Longyan Village. Perhaps, where is it more suitable to build a position?
Chapter completed!