The beggar emperor at the end of Ming Dynasty - Chapter 558

There is no doubt that hundreds of carriages are driving on the vast plain, which is very spectacular. Two hundred war horses pulled more than 5000 people, which is not only very relaxed, but also ran at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour.

If the friction between iron sheet and wood were not too large, the speed would be faster, because although the wheel is wrapped with iron sheet, the rail wood contacted below is real wood.

So the strange creaking noise along the way made people feel numb.

Qin Huan didn’t expect to lay a layer of iron sheet on the rail, and then apply some oil to reduce friction and improve the service life of the rail. But no matter which project is too big, he can only make do with it first. At least change the rail once a year. Fortunately, the sleeper doesn’t need to be changed.

Although the wooden track is very primitive, the foundation is quite solid and wide. It is not only one meter higher than the ground, but also ten feet wide at the bottom, even five feet wide at the top. In the future, a double track can be laid.

This subgrade is all made of soil, which is knocked out by countless people with wooden hammers, and only mixed with a small amount of lime. The project is huge, which is absolutely comparable to the construction of a section of the Great Wall.

It is almost 1500 miles from Kaifeng to Xiangyang. If it is not only two or three meters above the ground, it is really a living section of the Great Wall.

However, the project looks terrible, but it is actually much simpler than building the great wall and digging canals. Otherwise, it will not be completed in just two years.

First of all, Kaifeng Xiangyang is almost a flat river. There are no mountains blocking the road, and there are few rivers. The most important thing is that it is convenient to borrow soil. Digging soil and building roads next to the subgrade greatly reduces the transportation. The most troublesome thing is to compact the soil inch by inch.

Because he was digging near the subgrade, a gully ten feet wide and two meters deep inevitably formed near the subgrade. At this time, although the rain had stopped, it was full of water. Qin Huan patted his forehead when he saw this scene.

The Dark Monster didn’t expect to dig a canal while building the subgrade! It’s killing two birds with one stone. Just plan a little.

Otherwise, it will not be like this. Some places are wide, some places are narrow, some places are deep, some places are shallow, and some places are intermittent.

However, it was not a big problem to organize people to repair it later. Qin Huan immediately thought of building a canal to connect the Han River with the Yellow River and introduce the water of the Han River into the Henan Plain, so as to solve the annual drought in Henan at one fell swoop.

This is not a fantasy, but it can be realized, and the quantities are much smaller than those of the Beijing Hangzhou canal.

Because the previous South-to-North Water Transfer Project has proved that the terrain of Nanyang area is higher than that of Henan Plain. Under such a premise, it is entirely possible to excavate canals, but the route should be well planned.

Qin Huan was thinking about the canal all the way, and he didn’t want to think about the flood in Kaifeng any more. The team started in the morning and arrived in Xuzhou in the afternoon. It took only four hours, and only changed horses once.

Although it’s slower than riding alone, it’s a full 5000 people. I’m afraid it will take three days to march on foot. It can be seen that the wooden track plays a great role.

After arriving in Xuzhou, the team did not stop, but changed horses again and continued to drive northeast. Qin Huan stopped where there was no way to go.

However, after only 50 or 60 miles, there was no road. A large number of workers were laying wooden tracks at the end. The subgrade was filled with rails and sleepers, which were transported directly from Xiangyang by carriage.

Qin Huan just said hello to the craftsmen and took the army along the subgrade on foot. I have to say that even if there is no wooden track, such a wide and flat subgrade is very convenient.

Because compared with the muddy fields on both sides, the subgrade one meter higher and the compacted ground are definitely a hundred times easier to walk. Qin Huan patted his forehead again and regretted it.

Because if the original design was wider, half of it could be used to lay wooden tracks, and the other half could be laid with a layer of cement to become a highway. Even without cement, it would be countless times easier to walk than the current official roads!

Qin Huan secretly made up his mind that he would go around and have a more look when he started a big project in the future. After all, his thinking is more flexible and knowledgeable than the ancients, and his way of thinking is also different.

After Xu Zhou, Qin Huan was not in the mood to think about the highway and canal, and his heart became heavy.

As seen, although the flood has receded, there is still water in some depressions, but the farmland on both sides is in a mess, and the houses are more or less damaged. Fortunately, the casualties of the people are not serious. Obviously, although the flood has flooded here, it is not so fierce.

Qin Huan was pleased that all the villages and townships were saving themselves, and the officials in the county government were not idle, but the situation became more and more serious as he went north. When he was close to Kaifeng, he needed to take a boat.

At a glance, you can still see the city walls and towers of Kaifeng. It is basically a vast ocean. It is like a huge lake, completely connected with the Yellow River.

In this case, there is no way to plug the gap except when the flood recedes, because the gap can’t be seen anywhere, and it has been four days since the dike burst, and Kaifeng is still soaked in water. You can imagine what the scene was at that time.

“Xiang… Xiang Gong, this… This is really terrible. The people have no place to hide!”

The red warbler looked at Qin Huan with a pale face. The other 5000 people looked at the lake that could not see the end at a glance. Similarly, everyone’s face was moved.

“I don’t know how the past dynasties survived.”

Qin Huan put his hands on his back and sighed. He saw the horror of the Yellow River for the first time. He was sure that more than a million people were drowned this time.

Kaifeng is a hundred miles away. Except for the people in Kaifeng City and county, the people in the four fields are definitely finished.

Fortunately, the walls of Kaifeng City are strong, otherwise more people will die.

After searching nearby for a while, Qin Huan only collected a few small boats. Qin Huan had to let the army stay in place and rowed towards Kaifeng mansion with a dozen people in small boats. He rowed for most of the day before he approached Kaifeng mansion.

At this time, the people on the city wall also found the boat coming. They learned that his majesty had come in person. Soon, bursts of cheers broke out in the city. The governor and a group of civil and military officials also hurried to the city wall.

The flood was receding all the time. At this time, the water level had dropped to the wall for nearly two meters, so Qin Huan was pulled up when the boat approached the wall.

“Minister, Henan governor Duan Hongtai pays a visit to his majesty. Long live your majesty!”

“Long live your majesty, long live!”

With a civilian taking the lead, all the people on the wall knelt down, followed by the people on the houses in the city.

“Get up!”

Qin Huan stood at the head of the city. Looking around, he saw that the roof of the city was full of people, and there were a sea of people on the four walls and towers. It was obvious that everyone lived on the roof these days.

“Duan Aiqing, what are the losses of the people in the city? How did you make it these days? ”

“Your Majesty, due to the barrier of the city wall, the flood did not spread to the city at once. In advance, the minister ordered people to seal all the city gates, transfer some food to the city head, and ordered the people to leave the house. Therefore, the loss of the people in the city was not serious, but the minister was incompetent and could not rescue the people outside the city. He could only watch them…”

Duan Hongtai said here. He fell to his knees with a plop and burst into tears. Others were sad. Not long ago, the whole city was crying.

“This is a natural disaster, which can’t be countered by manpower. It’s very rare that Aiqing can save hundreds of thousands of people in the city. You don’t have to blame yourself anymore.”

Qin Huan picked him up and comforted him with grief. He knew that many people in Kaifeng didn’t die in such a big flood. It’s definitely a miracle.

Of course, this is inseparable from the fact that the people in Kaifeng are ready to be flooded. After all, Kaifeng City has been flooded many times in history.

Because of this, the city wall of Kaifeng is unusually tall and strong, with waterproof function. When the flood strikes, it can not only protect the people in the city and have enough time to prepare, but also resist the ferocious momentum of the first wave of flood and reduce the impact of counties in the south, but this flood is too terrible.