Zhou Xian had been operating the two prefectures in Denglai for many years and had already built them into his own stable rear. However, these two prefectures had many mountains and few fields, barren land, and sparse population, which was difficult to support everything he needed to fight south and north. But at present, all kinds of supplies and military supplies that could be assigned to the entire army were provided by the two prefectures. In addition, the local artillery factories, shipyards, and mines were all in Laizhou, and they could not be moved out in a short period of time.

In order to transport the existing materials from the two prefectures to supply the entire army faster, Zhou Xian needed a decent official road instead of letting the people pull the baggage and slowly traveling on the winding mountain road. More importantly, the two prefectures of Denglai, especially Dengzhou, were the springboards for marching from the sea to North Korea and even Liaodong. When the Liu Zeqing rebellion was quelled and western Shandong was stabilized, Zhou Xian needed to rely on the wealthy Western prefectures to conquer the Qing Dynasty.

Zhou Xianzeng discussed this matter with Wan Ji and Gu Yanwu. According to the plan they set, the entire Shandong should eventually form an overall plan of three ports, two channels and two routes.

The three ports refer to three ports, Weihai, Lushun, and Jiaozhou. Lushun is located in southern Liaoning and is affiliated to Shandong Dusi, and is a natural deep-water seaport. Weihai should be built as a naval base to protect the East China Sea. These two are military ports, and Jiaozhou should be built as a Min Port. After Zhou Xian and Zheng Zhilong reached an agreement, Jiaozhou became the closest place from the sea to Jiangsu and Zhejiang. From there, not only is the journey much less, but it is close to land, but it is also relatively safer.

The two canals refer to the re-dragging of the Guangji Canal and the digging of the Yellow River, allowing it to go out from Jinan, along with the small and small rivers, to go out of the sea. Shandong's geographical environment caused it to drought for nine years, and every time the world's severe droughts cannot be avoided in Shandong. Many people are struggling to survive, and there are many people who have to follow the thief.

The Guangji Canal was built by Xu Youzhen, a treacherous minister who framed Yu Qian during the reign of Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty. Although others had a bad character, the construction of the Guangji Canal solved the concerns of the Yellow River and also irrigated the 2 million mu of fertile land around Jinan. However, due to the financial constraints of the Ming Dynasty, the canal dam was seriously damaged and the silt was blocked, and it was useless until now.

The Yellow River has been diverted many times, and now it enters the Huai River from south to the Huai River and then enters the sea from all over the place. However, the Huai River channel is far from meeting the water of the Yellow River. When the river water increases sharply, it overflows, causing floods. Zhou Xian intends to divert the Yellow River to enter the sea from Jinan. On the one hand, this can reduce the pressure on the Huai River, and on the other hand, it can also rely on the Yellow River water to irrigate the fields in Shandong.

If these two channels can be fully implemented, it will at least reduce the drought in Shandong. However, Zhou Xian cannot carry out water conservancy, while Gu Yanwu only proposed this idea and did not formulate a specific plan.

The two routes refer to the official road from Laizhou to Jinan and from Jiaozhou to Linyi. The main function is to transport supplies, but in the future, Zhou Xian wants to expand sea trade through these two routes.

Now, Weihai Port among the three ports has basically been completed, while Jiaozhou and Lushun ports are under construction. At present, Zhou Xian has captured a large number of rebels, and the army has joined forces to cause disasters, and a large number of people have been displaced. Now, using these remaining labor to build roads and dig canals will undoubtedly save a lot.

But many things cannot be carried out at the same time. Zhou Xian first recommended building a road from Laizhou to Zibo and clearing the Guangji Canal as soon as possible.

After listening to Zhou Xian's explanation, Yu Baiyi finally nodded and said, "General, my subordinates admit that what you said is very reasonable, but I still have to be responsible for recruiting new recruits. I think this matter should be left to County Magistrate Gu, and my subordinates are willing to cooperate with him with all their strength."

Zhou Xian smiled and said, "I have such a plan. You will return to Zibo tomorrow and bring all the prisoners in Jinan City back and hand them over to Gu Xianzheng. In addition, he will be allowed to recruit people in Zibo to build roads. You can provide them to him at that time. As for the clearance of Guangji Canal, I asked Xie Sheng, who is willing to take charge of this matter."

Yu Baiyi nodded and sat down.

Zhou Xian turned to Ding Keze and said, "Ding Guerrilla, tell the soldiers what you just told me again."

Ding Keze stood up and said, "Seven days ago, Li Yan went to Xuzhou to meet the general Li Dingguo under Sun Kewang. The news we received was that Li Zicheng and Sun Kewang had reconciled, and they would send troops to Shandong soon. Li Dingguo is likely to set off from Pizhou and attack Yizhou. Li Yan is likely to cross Sishui and attack Tai'an."

Kai Lee asked, "How many troops do they have?"

Ding Keze replied: "The main force on Li Yan should be the 20,000 soldiers led by He Jin. However, they have recently surrendered many defeated soldiers of Li Huajing and recruited many new soldiers, with a total force of less than 40,000. Li Dingguo had about 50,000 people, of which about 20,000 were the officers and soldiers he captured in attacking Xuzhou and other places. In addition, after Liu Zeqing fled back to Linqing, he killed two princes, Zhu Yijiang and Zhu Yiyan, and sent people to send the heads to Kaifeng. His move was obviously to beg for surrender to Li Zicheng, and he might cooperate with the rebel army to attack Shandong from the west at that time."

Zhou Xian smiled faintly and said, "Although Liu Zeqing was defeated, he still had 80,000 people occupying Linqing and Liaocheng. He could easily hand over the chips in his hand, which shows how cowardly and incompetent he was. Shen Ruiqing, you should bring a thousand people and two Zhao Yu cannons to Yucheng. If Liu Zeqing dares to cross the river, bomb the ship with cannons, cooperate with local townsmen to defend the city and wait for our army to rush to help."

Shen Ruiqing was formerly the President Qian, and was promoted to garrison for his previous military achievements. He quickly stood up and bowed: "Subordinate to obey the order."

Zhou Xian continued: "Li Yan and Li Dingguo's troops are less than Liu Zeqing, but neither of them are easy. Li Yan has few soldiers, occupying Sishui and threatening Yanzhou. Tai'an's city is strong, and he is not afraid of him. But Wang Jun is unpredictable. Once he surrenders to the rebel army, the consequences will be unimaginable. Liu Guangli, you bring your headquarters with one thousand troops and follow me to Tai'an tomorrow. Li Kai, you point out five thousand elite soldiers and give them to Liu Huizu, and go to Linyi immediately."

Li Kai stood up and said, "Military Gate, I'll go to Tai'an! You stay in Jinan."

Zhou Xian knew that Li Kai was worried about him and waved his hand and said, "No need. Wang Jun sent his military advisor Xiang Lei Chao to Jinan to test my attitude. If you were just going, it would make him even more worried. I went in person not only to appease him, but also to completely reorganize the troops under his command."

Li Kai frowned and said, "But Wang Jun..."
Chapter completed!