Chapter 1780, thousands of miles of Yangtze River, dangerous in Jingjiang
In Huguang Jingzhou, fisherman Xiong Youdi carefully drove his small fishing boat on the dangerous Jingjiang River.
Since ancient times, the Yangtze River has been naturally dangerous in Jingjiang. The nine-winding Yangtze River has become extremely dangerous here. The Yangtze River is thousands of miles long and dangerous in Jingjiang.
This section of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River starts from Zhicheng and goes down to Chenglingji. The entire river is winding and winding, which is called the nine-bend ileum. Because after the river leaves the Three Gorges, the water flow is rapid and the direction is unstable. The river is winding and large.
There are dozens of twists and turns and dangerous places.
Such a place is very prone to danger. Once it encounters heavy rain, it is very prone to floods. According to local records, major floods will occur here almost every one or two years.
The dams here have been repaired and destroyed, destroyed and repaired again, causing disasters almost every year, and the local people are always preparing to move.
But this is the most important plain area in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, related to the fertile Hanjiang Plain.
The rapid development of Hubei and Wuhan in later generations is inseparable from the construction of the Jingjiang Levee here in Jingjiang after the founding of the People's Republic of China. With the protection of the Jingjiang Levee, nearly 20,000 square kilometers of fertile Hanzhong Plain can be protected.
Large areas of fertile land that were previously unable to be cultivated due to floods were reclaimed and became important food-producing areas. The original flood-stricken areas were transformed into vast and fertile wilderness.
Of course, during this period, this place was still a flooded land. Not to mention fertile farmland, people in the surrounding areas had to be careful even when fishing or transporting goods in the Yangtze River, because the river here was too dangerous.
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Xiong Youdi is an old fisherman. He has fished on the Yangtze River all his life. He is well aware of the dangers of the Jingjiang River. The water in those places is very fast. There are a lot of hidden reefs, rocks, whirlpools, etc. in the river.
, he knew it very clearly.
But even so, he was still very careful and sailed the boat carefully. This was also the key to his ability to fish in this dangerous river.
In dangerous river sections, there are very few people who dare to fish, so the catch is often more than in other places.
"Woo~"
At this time, a whistle sounded from the river. Xiong Youdi looked back and saw that it was a small steamer steaming upstream with billowing black smoke. It was going very fast.
"Well, times have changed. With this steamer, we can sail against the current so fast."
Looking at the steamer emitting black smoke, Xiong Youdi couldn't help but sigh.
In the past, it was very difficult to walk against the current on the river. Your hands would often feel sore. If you encountered a turbulent place, it might be difficult for you to move forward for more than half a year. If you were not careful, you might be injured.
He was carried away by the current to a more dangerous place.
However, with the emergence of steamships, the situation has changed a lot. Steamships rely on steam power to propel them. Their powerful propellers are full of power, and they can easily overcome the inconvenience caused by going against the current, and can also avoid many dangers.
area.
Looking at this steamer again, there are a group of officials in official uniforms and a large number of officials standing on the upper deck. Each of them is holding a telescope and seems to be carefully observing the situation in the Jingjiang River.
"Old sir~"
Soon, the steamboat caught up with Xiong Youdi's small fishing boat.
Zhong Fan, the Minister of Engineering on the ship, put down the telescope in his hand and asked Xiong Youdi with a smile.
Zhong Fan used to be the chief envoy of Guangdong, and was later transferred to Central Asia. Because he did extremely well in both Guangdong and Central Asia, he was also transferred from the local area to the center of the imperial court and became the left minister of the Ministry of Industry.
, just wait for the position of the Six Ministers to be vacated, or if there is a vacancy in the Cabinet, you can directly become the Six Ministers. The Cabinet is old.
It can be said that he is definitely an important official of the imperial court. This time he was also ordered to come to the Yangtze River in the south to be responsible for the comprehensive management of the Yangtze River. He must dredge the Yangtze River and at the same time build dams and reservoirs in dangerous places on the Yangtze River, and build them in important places.
Ports and terminals give full play to the role and value of Yangtze River transportation.
"Sir, I wonder what your orders are?"
Xiong Youdi looked at the steamship in front of him. Even though it was a small steamer, it was still many times larger than his own small fishing boat. Next to it, it was like a huge monster.
"Old sir, how many years have you been fishing in this section of the Jingjiang River?"
Zhong Fan looked at Xiong Youdi and saw very few people fishing in this section of the Jingjiang River along the way. Asking people would know that this section of the Jingjiang River is extremely dangerous and few people dare to fish in this section of the Jingjiang River, even in the past.
Most of the boats do not dare to go along this section of the river.
"It has been more than thirty years. I have been fishing with my father on the Jingjiang River since I was sixteen years old."
Xiong Youdi thought for a while and said.
"Then you must know the Jingjiang River section very well?"
"I can't say I know it very well, but at least I know which places are more dangerous and which places are more rapid."
"That's great. We are officials from the Ministry of Industry of the imperial court. Now the imperial court must vigorously dredge the Yangtze River, build dams, flood control and water storage in reservoirs, etc."
"The first thing that needs to be managed is this section of the Jingjiang River. We are short of guides. I wonder if you are willing to be our guide?"
When Zhong Fan heard this, he immediately became happy.
Regulating the Yangtze River is a systematic project. The imperial court has made great determination and has many things to do. Yang Yiqing, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, grew up in Baling, Huguang. Although his ancestral home is Yunnan, he is an authentic Huguang.
He, together with Li Dongyang and Liu Daxia, were called the three heroes of Chu during this period.
He had deep feelings for Huguang, so he also emphasized the importance of managing the Jingjiang River section.
Because the market in the Jingjiang River section burst its banks and flooded, the surrounding large plain area not only did not become a fertile land of fish and rice, but instead became a swampland due to floods.
If the Jingjiang River section can be managed, it can completely benefit the entire Hanjiang Plain area and turn large areas of surrounding land into fertile farmland and fertile fields.
Of course, from Zhong Fan's perspective, as long as it benefits the country and the people, he is willing to do it.
It has been a while since he came here. He has carefully inspected various sections of the Jingjiang River and agreed with Yang Yiqing's point of view. If the Jingjiang River section can be managed well, the surrounding large areas and land will become fertile.
The fields are enough to benefit the Hanyang and Jiujiang areas in the lower reaches.
"Being a guide?"
"But I don't understand anything."
When Xiong Youdi heard this, he instinctively wanted to refuse.
"No, you know where this section of the river is dangerous, where it's fast, and where it's dangerous. That's enough."
"After this section of the Jingjiang River is healed, the surrounding large areas of land can be turned into fertile farmland. Wouldn't it only benefit the people of Huguang?"
"After this, the Yangtze River channel from here to the Songhu area where it exits the sea will be dredged and dangerous areas will be rectified."
"After this project is completed, ships and large ships can sail directly to Jingjiang, which will greatly facilitate business and trade, and can also promote the development of our Huguang region."
Zhong Fan said with a smile.
"real?"
When Xiong Youdi heard this, his eyes widened slightly in disbelief.
If sea ships could come directly to Jingjiang, it would be completely different. Jingjiang would also have the same convenient water transportation as Songhu and Nanjing.
In more than ten years, Songhu has become a new big city in the Ming Dynasty, second only to the Imperial Capital and Tianjin, and even surpassing Songhu.
Although Jingjiang cannot be compared with Songhu, with the convenient river transportation, business exchanges will become more convenient. In the future, it will be much easier for people in Huguang to go to Songhu, Nanyang and other places.
And if this area can be managed well, then the entire Jingjiang area and the Hanzhong Plain area will not be worse than the Jiangnan area, and they can also become a land of plenty.
"Of course it's true. After a while, the imperial newspapers and newspapers will report it."
"In the future, we will build a railway from Songhu to Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and finally to Huguang. We will also build a railway from Kaifeng, Henan to Hanyang. From now on, transportation will be much more convenient."
Zhong Fan nodded solemnly and said.
"Great, great!"
"We in Huguang should have built railways and dredged rivers long ago."
When Xiong Youdi heard this, he immediately became happy and excited. He could imagine that the transportation in Huguang area would become very convenient in the future.
The Yangtze River, railway transportation, plus highways, and its geographical location are in the central area. People can go south to north and east to west. The geographical location is very good.
"Since you have a destiny and are doing good things for us in Huguang, I should do my best. If you have any questions, please tell me. As long as I can do it, I will never delay it. We Huguang people will also give our full support.
of!"
"Haha, that's great. With the help of the old gentleman, we will be more confident."