Qin Huaidao and others passed Luogu Pass and came to live at Linguan Post. The post was not only responsible for transmitting news from the court, but also receiving passing merchants. It had accommodation and meals, which was convenient. After the meal, Qin Huaidao asked the person in charge of the post for an independent
The wing room serves as the headquarters.
With more people and strength, the wing was quickly cleaned up. Qin Huaidao found paper and charcoal and drew a large topographic map, covering the entire area between Luogu Pass and Huayangguang. He also marked the direction of the official road and the location of the inns along the way. Yuchi Baolin came over in a hurry.
When he entered the door, he shouted: "Brother, the army building the road has passed Luogu Pass and will arrive soon. How to settle down?"
Qin Huaidao pointed to a location on the map near Linguanyi and said: "This is a valley. The terrain is open, there are rocks to mine, there are streams to draw water, and it is sheltered from the wind. It is an ideal location. The army will camp in the valley and let the generals come over to see it."
"Follow the order!" Yuchi Baolin hurried away.
Qin Huaidao continued to add the map while thinking about something. An hour later, Yuchi Baolin hurried over with several Goguryeo generals. Their clothes were a little wet. After recognizing Qin Huaidao, they all saluted and did not dare to neglect. Everyone was in awe of Qin Huaidao who defeated Goguryeo.
.
"Luo Zhang, ask the post station to send you some ginger tea to dispel the cold." Qin Huaidao shouted.
"Follow the order!" Luo Zhang, the guard outside the door, agreed.
"Do you have any resentment against me?" Qin Huaidao asked bluntly, clarifying the relationship between the two parties, and his sharp eyes swept around everyone. Road construction is a major matter, and some things should be discussed.
Everyone did not expect Qin Huaidao to be so direct, and they all said: "Don't dare, don't dare..."
"Some of you said something that you didn't mean, and your resentment is reasonable. I don't blame you. You might as well say something clearly today to avoid making it difficult in the future." Qin Huaidao said in a deep voice.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense, and several Goguryeo generals lowered their heads and remained silent.
Qin Huaidao continued: "I know that you hate me, and I will also hate whoever destroys the Tang Dynasty, but hatred cannot solve the problem. The power of the Tang Dynasty is booming, and everyone is united. How can we allow others to sleep soundly on the side of the bed? I hope you understand this principle. It used to be
The Eastern Turks, this time it is Goguryeo, next time it will be Tubo, and the Western Turks will be even more and farther away, conquering a huge territory and unifying the world."
The words are decisive, confident and domineering!
Several generals were all moved and looked at Qin Huaidao.
Goguryeo was originally a kingdom established after annexing each other, and respected the strong. After hearing Qin Huaidao's domineering words, his mentality quietly changed.
Qin Huaidao began to draw a picture: "Goguryeo has been destroyed. What will you do in the future? Will you spend your life with resentment, or will you integrate into the Tang Dynasty, join the expansion and development of the Tang Dynasty, make contributions and leave your name in history?"
"Sir, what do you mean?" a general asked excitedly.
"literal meaning!"
Qin Huaidao looked determined, and there was no need to beat around the bush when dealing with soldiers, just be straightforward: "If you build roads well, I can give you three choices. First, join the Tang Dynasty army and fight for the Tang Dynasty; second, become a mercenary
Army, accept the command of the Tang Dynasty, fight for yourself, have no military pay, and use the enemy's head to get addicted; thirdly, find a place for you to live, integrate into the Tang Dynasty, and become citizens of the Tang Dynasty."
"Sir, do you really mean what you say?" someone asked excitedly. Others also began to breathe quickly, their eyes full of anticipation, and they stared at Qin Huaidao without blinking.
Yuchi Baolin said dissatisfied: "Nonsense, this is the Lord Protector of the Tang Dynasty. He keeps his word and never deceives. Besides, you are just a group of surrendered troops. Why do you need to lie to you? What do you have to lie to?"
Everyone was not angry, but felt justified. A group of surrendered soldiers who were nothing, what could they possibly deserve to be deceived?
Suddenly, everyone's eyes lit up and they became excited, as if they had seen the future and hope.
No one would want to integrate into the powerful Tang Dynasty and become a part of it.
Qin Huaidao took in everyone's expressions and waited for a moment. As long as these people felt hope, they would not act recklessly. Of course, it was not enough. They also needed short-term benefits, so he continued: "Generals, during the road construction period, I guarantee two
Point, first, everyone has a salary, soldiers have one hundred cents per month, and officers have an additional fifty cents for each level; second, three meals a day ensure that everyone has enough to eat, and as for housing and road construction needs, they can only
Live in a tent.”
Everyone only knew that when they came to build roads, they had to eat twice a day as usual, and it would be good if they could eat half full. Everyone had done the same thing. Unexpectedly, Qin Huaidao promised three meals, guaranteed to be full, and paid wages.
Pass.
One hundred Wen is not much, but for Jiangjun, it is a huge pie, and it is also a sign of respect.
This kind of respect moved several generals, and the resentment in their hearts became much less.
Qin Huaidao observed everyone's expressions and asked coldly: "Do you have any objections?"
"No!"
"Follow your orders!"
Everyone expressed their opinions one after another and shook their heads. They had to do it even if they didn't have money. Only fools would object if they gave money now.
Qin Huaidao saw that the military's morale was available, and he was determined. If everyone was really resentful, the smallest thing would break out and cause bigger troubles. It would be easy to solve it with money. He continued: "Since no one objects, I will assign tasks below.
, everything is pretty good.”
Everyone cheered up and pricked up their ears.
Qin Huaidao pointed to the drawing and said: "Your first phase of the task is to strengthen and widen the official road from Luogu Pass to Huayangguang. I need 5,000 people to quarry rocks in the valley and smash them into small stones. 70,000 people are responsible for extracting rocks from the valley."
When the official road is selected in the valley, five thousand people are responsible for spreading, paving and tightening it, one thousand people are responsible for gathering wild fruits, one thousand people are responsible for hunting and fishing to supplement meat, and one thousand people are responsible for cooking. You can decide the specific arrangements for yourself.
, is there any problem?"
"No." Everyone shook their heads. Unexpectedly, Qin Huaidao specially arranged for a thousand people to collect wild fruits and a thousand people to hunt and fish to improve their lives. They were extremely moved.
"This is the road construction headquarters from now on. If anything happens, you can come over at any time. When you go back, tell everyone what I said and make a good division of labor. Work will start tomorrow. I will treat you with all my kindness. If anyone makes trouble,
My sword will not be polite." Qin Huaidao warned.
"Follow the order!" Everyone responded quickly, not doubting Qin Huaidao's words at all. If a country was destroyed, how could he be a kind-hearted and soft-hearted person?
At this time, someone brought ginger tea. Qin Huaidao motioned for everyone to drink some, and gave a few words to go back. Seeing that it was getting late, there were still too many things to do tomorrow, so they went back to their rooms and fell asleep with the sound of rain.
Early the next morning, Qin Huaidao led his people to the official road and asked Luo Zhang to cut down two straight trees, remove the branches and place them on both sides of the official road with a width of eight meters, and signaled all the "interns" to come over.
, gathered around and warned: "Listen up, everyone, your main job is to supervise the quality of road construction."
Some people couldn't help shouting: "Sir, we don't understand how to supervise."
Yuchi Baolin glared at him with a dagger-like gaze, and scolded: "What are you talking about? Listen, the army is not the Imperial College. You can ask again when you ask, and you are not allowed to interrupt."
The other party's neck shrank and he didn't dare to say anything.
Qin Huaidao glanced at the other party and continued: "I will only say this once and remember it all. First, the width of the road is determined according to the current standards. It cannot be less or more."
Everyone looked at the width and felt a little confused.
Without a ruler, the width is indeed difficult to fix, but width is very important. Qin Huaidao was a little helpless to these "interns" who didn't distinguish between grains. He patiently explained: "The official road is surrounded by woods, and there are many fine trees in the woods.
Go in and cut some to make folds, and from now on you will monitor the width according to the folds."
Only then did everyone react. They went into the nearby woods to find thin vines, measured the width, and cut off the excess. Each person measured the same place with one hand, and the width was basically the same. Qin Huaidao continued: "Collect them all.
Well, if anyone makes a mistake, there will be consequences at your own risk."
"Here!" Everyone paid attention and responded one after another.
"The second point is the height." Qin Huaidao pointed to the ground and continued: "After fixing the width, fill the middle with small stones, and then use big stones to pound them tightly. The height of the stones is equal to the thickness of the wood. You can measure it again.
Remember the size, no more, no less." He said and kicked the wood under his feet.
Everyone quickly picked up the chopped vines, measured the thickness, and put the folds away.
Qin Huaidao was almost done and continued: "The third point is the smoothness. The road must be smooth. Two people are responsible for it. Which one of you will do it?"
When everyone heard that special responsibility meant a heavy responsibility, they all hesitated. One person thought about it, gritted his teeth, and said, "Sir, I just want to give it a try."
"Who else?" Qin Huaidao nodded and asked.
Not long after, another person stood up, with a look of stubbornness in his panicked eyes.
Qin Huaidao looked at the two of them. Although he was scared, he dared to stand up and showed that he was very motivated. He smiled and said: "You two are very good. Work hard. As long as you don't make mistakes, the Ministry of Communications will leave a place for you two."
"Thank you for your cultivation!" The two of them were overjoyed and quickly thanked them.
Others looked at her with envy and regret, hating themselves for not standing up just now.
Qin Huaidao looked at everyone and continued: "The same goes for you, all work hard. I will not deliberately target anyone, but I will not accept mediocre people. You will supervise the construction. My people will supervise you, and they will also inspect and report your work."
Write down your performance and report it to me, do you understand everything?"
"Here!" Everyone responded quickly.
After beating everyone, Qin Huaidao looked at the two people who stood up and continued: "It is not difficult to supervise the smoothness of the road. Find a few long ropes, sing the better as you sing, pull the two ends and make gestures, and you can clearly see if the road is uneven.
Just let people fill in the places. Of course, there is no need to be strict. The stones are just a base, and a layer of other things needs to be laid on top. At that point, strict requirements must be met, and I will teach you how to do it."
"Here!" The two of them quickly wrote it down.
Qin Huaidao nodded and looked at everyone again: "Each person is responsible for keeping an eye on the distance of 500 meters. After the paving is completed, we can change places and continue to keep an eye on it. We will discuss the order by ourselves. Luo Zhang, when you see each person, note down the area so that we can trace it in the future."
When everyone heard that they wanted to investigate, they didn't dare to be careless.
At this time, the valley was filled with the sound of hammering and shouting. Qin Huaidao came to the edge of the valley and took a look. Construction had begun below in an orderly manner. He felt reassured and said to Yuchi Baolin who came over: "Go and notify them."
The general called and arranged for people to cut down the trees and clear a way up to make it easier to walk."
"Understood!" Yuchi Baolin hurried away.
After observing for a moment, a group of people came over in a hurry, and the leader was Yu Chigong. Qin Huaidao didn't dare to entrust him, so he quickly stepped forward and saluted: "I have met Shibo!"
"I don't need to be polite, but it's going well?"
"It's okay, there's no problem for now."
"That's good. Your Majesty asked me to escort them over to build the road. He didn't say to stay behind. They can't stay too long. When do you think it's appropriate to evacuate?" Yu Chigong asked.
Qin Huaidao looked at the busy surrender troops in the valley and felt uncertain. Although the cake was drawn and promises and arrangements were made, there was no guarantee that no one would cause trouble. The people from the 700 Patrol Division who were close to him might not be able to suppress it. After pondering for a moment, he said
: "Three days, how about staying for three more days?"
"Three days is not a big problem, but the food and grass we carry are not enough." Yu Chigong reminded.
"Can you ask the Luogu Pass defenders to provide some? Or arrange for someone to purchase some from other places, and all the expenses will be borne by the juniors." Qin Huaidao asked.
"Then it's no problem. As long as we have food, we can return in five days."
"Five days then, thank you so much, Uncle Shi." Qin Huaidao was overjoyed. One more day will provide more security. As time goes by, the road builders will get used to and accept this kind of life, and their anger will be much less, and unstable factors will disappear.
reduce.
And it's just paving stones. It's very fast. Even if the average person is paving one meter per day, 20,000 people can pave 20,000 meters per day, which is 20 kilometers. In five days, it's about 100 kilometers. It can basically pave the Luo Valley.
On the road between Guan and Huayangguang, there is a county town and a garrison further on, who can provide some support in case of trouble.
After chatting for a while, Yuchi Gong took the people back.
Qin Huaidao looked at the heated scene below the valley and felt a sense of pride in rewriting history.
The Tangluo Road is difficult to travel, and it becomes more cloudy and rainy. Only mules and horses can be used. Once the cement road is built, large trucks can run. The transportation capacity will be greatly increased. Food from Hanzhong can be easily transported to Chang'an. Chang'an's food shortage will become a thing of the past. It can also drive
The development of commerce in the two places will be of great benefit to the people.
Hope it doesn’t cause any trouble!
Looking at the vast mountains and dense woods, Qin Huaidao didn't have much confidence in his heart, especially when he thought of what Li Er said when he saw him off, he always felt that something was going to happen.
Not long after, Luo Zhang came over and asked in a low voice: "Uncle, do you plan to cultivate in the middle first?"
Qin Huaidao explained in a low voice: "No, we just lay a layer of stones as a base first, from Luogu Pass all the way to the south, to Huayangguang, and then leave the rest to the local people to do it, which can also be considered as a way to make money for them.
It can also reduce disputes and avoid unnecessary conflicts. After everything is laid, the cement will be laid from Yang County to the north to facilitate transportation."
"Then we have to get all places involved. There are 20,000 people working here, and the speed is not slow. It won't take long to cover it all." Luo Zhang reminded.
"There's no rush. We'll spend a day repairing today so that those interns can get familiar with how to supervise the quality. Tomorrow, we'll send some of them south to guide road construction in various places. Only then will we be more efficient and feel more at ease." Qin Huaidao said with a smile.
Luo Zhang suddenly understood, nodded and asked no more questions.
After watching for a while, the road up from the valley was cleared. Some people came up with small stones and poured them on the pipeline. Those responsible for paving the road, under the guidance of the interns, cut trees of suitable size and fixed them on both sides of the road.
To prevent small stones from scattering, and also ensure that the width is appropriate.
Baskets of small stones were poured down, spread out, and stepped on hard. The foundation of the official road was still solid, but the interns were afraid of accidents. Someone suggested finding large stones, making them flat, like a millstone, and then drilling a few holes.
Tie a tough vine and several people pull it up at the same time, then smash it down, pound the ground, and tamp down the small stones.
There are no rollers, everything is done manually.
Qin Huaidao observed everyone silently and saw that their minds were focused on repairing the road. No one deliberately jumped out to look for trouble. He still did not dare to be careless and secretly reminded the patrol department to be careful and vigilant, just in case.
At noon, Luo Zhang hurried over and whispered: "Uncle, the people who went to collect wild fruits came back and told their generals that they found a suspicious person in the mountain.
Mention it, do you see it?"
"A person with suspicious behavior?" Qin Huaidao's face changed slightly and he thought to himself.
After a while, Qin Huaidao warned: "Arrange a few brothers of the Yulin Guards to disperse into the team of picking wild fruits and hunting, and tell them to be careful to screen them. If they are hunters, don't conflict. If they are bandits, go ahead if they can beat them. If they can't, then attack them."
Light up the smoke as a warning and ask Yuchi Shibo to arrange for people to keep an eye on it and provide support at any time."
"Understood! Is that possible?" Luo Zhangyi pointed out.
Qin Huaidao knew that Luo Zhang wanted to ask if it was arranged by a certain aristocratic family, but he couldn't talk about such things randomly, so he reminded: "Don't make random guesses, which will disturb the morale of the army. Go ahead and make arrangements."
After Luo Zhang left in a hurry, Qin Huaidao began to think deeply. With the road construction army, the nearby prey would be expected to avoid it. Moreover, it was the hinterland of the Qinling Mountains and deep mountains and old forests nearby. Hunters should not dare to set foot in it easily. The people who suddenly appeared were definitely not simple. What did they want to do?
, surveillance?
After thinking for a while, he couldn't figure it out. Qin Huaidao didn't bother to think about it. Anyway, Yu Chigong's army was nearby. Who dared to come and kill whomever he wanted to guide everyone to build the road.
The day passes quickly.
Early the next morning, Qin Huaidao took some selected interns to capture the horse. In the afternoon, he came to Huayang Pass and found the gatekeeper general Zhou Hu. Zhou Hu warmly hosted a banquet. After drinking for three rounds, Qin Huaidao directly asked
Said: "General Zhou, what do you say when you return to Hezhen?"
Zhou Hu quickly replied: "Sir, we have reached an agreement. The food can be divided into two to three thousand dan, and there are more than 800 young and strong people. They asked if the women in the family can also work. Women from poor families have a lot of money."
He has a lot of strength, even if he is half a boy, and the salary can be less."
People in the mountain, both men and women, have a lot of strength. Qin Huaidao agreed: "No problem, women and half-grown men can help break the small rocks. It doesn't take much force, and the wages are the same. No matter food and accommodation, how can you listen to me?"
, responsible for the area from Huayang Pass to Youshui, the journey is not short, can it be completed in five days?"
"If both women and boys come, the number will be close to 2,000, and there will be no problem."
Qin Huaidao made a quick calculation in his mind and felt that it would not be a big problem to lay the stones for five days, so he said: "Send a message overnight and let them get ready. The construction will start tomorrow. Please follow their instructions on how to do it."
"Follow the order!" Zhou Hu quickly agreed.
After the meal, the group found an inn to stay in the pass. Qin Huaidao looked at the drawings and pondered. With the help of the people who returned to Hezhen, there would be no problem from Luogu Pass to the Youshui line. Going down to Zhenfu County, paving the road would have the same problem.
It's not big, but you need to build a bridge over Youshui River, which is a technical job and quite difficult.
Without mechanical equipment, construction in the water would be too difficult and the bridge would be difficult to erect.
"grown ups!"
Suddenly, the shouts of the guards accompanying the patrol department were heard outside.
"Is something wrong?" Qin Huaidao asked in surprise. He was almost asleep at this point.
"Come back to me, Master, Master Cheng is here."
"Chu Mo? Bring him in quickly." Qin Huaidao shouted in surprise, stood up and opened the door.
Not long after, a person appeared at the front stairway, wearing a raincoat and dusty from all the travel. He handed the bamboo hat to the attendant, took off his raincoat and handed it to another person. He quickly stepped forward. It was Cheng Chumo. There were many people outside, so Qin Huaidao didn't say anything.
Turning around and entering the side room, Cheng Chumo followed and closed the door.
"Why are you here?" Qin Huaidao asked in surprise.
"I heard you were coming, so I came over to take a look." Cheng Chumo quickly explained.
"Is it going well?"
"It's going well. The small stones have been laid in Zhenfu County. The paving from the county seat to Youshui will start tomorrow. With many people, it can be completed in one day. Some cement has been fired, but the output is still not enough. Yesterday, an extra hundred kilns were dug. Now,
There are two hundred kilns burning, I didn't expect you to come so quickly, are you okay?" Cheng Chumo said quickly.
"Two hundred people may not be enough. It will be much better to add 300 people immediately after returning. It will be much better to have 500 people burning at the same time. Seeing that there is not enough manpower in the cave dwellings, we will transfer guards from the patrol department and arrange for people you trust and are familiar with to follow. Prepare the sand
How?" Qin Huaidao asked.
"Five hundred people?"
Cheng Chumo was a little surprised. Five hundred people was not a small number, but Qin Huaidao opened his mouth and naturally he would not object. After writing it down, he said: "More than a thousand people have salvaged the sand, and there is a lot of storage. It should be enough."
"One thousand people is still too good. Let Zhenfu County deploy more than 2,000 people to salvage in Youshui. The distance is closer to facilitate construction needs north of Youshui." Qin Huaidao warned that sand is an important material for building cement roads. Demand
It's very big and needs to be taken seriously.
Cheng Chumo had no experience in building cement roads. Seeing Qin Huaidao's solemn words, he realized that he had underestimated the matter and quickly agreed: "No problem, I will do it when I get back tomorrow, but I don't have much money."
"This shipment of five hundred thousand guan has been arranged. Someone will deliver it tomorrow. When the money arrives, you can go together and bring it directly to the Zhuangzi for later use. How about the supply of gypsum?"
"It's already full of Zhuangzi. There are a thousand cars going back and forth every day, and a lot of grinding is done. There are a thousand people helping to grind every day. Is that enough?" Cheng Chumo lost his previous confidence and asked.
"The transportation capacity is not enough. If we more than double the manpower, there will be fewer grinding people. The number will be increased to more than 3,000. The more people, the better. If the manpower is not enough, we will transfer it from other counties. Don't be afraid that if you make more things, you will need them in the future."
It can be done, and once the stone road is paved, it will be completely paved with cement. It can be paved in sections. The demand is huge. If the material is supplied, the construction period will be interrupted. Once the supply is not available, everyone will wait and waste time.
"Qin Huaidao warned.
"Understood, increase production immediately when we get back." Cheng Chumo quickly wrote it down.
Qin Huaidao asked: "No one is making trouble, right?"
"I came here just to talk about the situation and ask about the money. With the money earned, the people will not cause trouble. Don't worry, I will keep an eye on you."
"That's good. Judging from how tired you are, I must be very tired during this period. If you have nothing else to do, go and rest. I have to think about how to build a bridge on the Youshui River."
"It's okay, take care!" Cheng Chumo clasped his fists in salute, turned and left.
Qin Huaidao breathed a sigh of relief, and the stone road was paved from Yang County to Zhenfu County. It can be seen that Cheng Chumo and others who stayed behind were ruthless and very efficient. It also showed that the two counties were very cooperative. This was a good thing. They concentrated on studying the bridge.