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Chapter 854 Where do you want to go?

"Hey, Liangfu, you only know one side of the story. The Zhenyuan Floating Bridge was first built by Deng Yu, Duke of Weiguo, and is located ten miles west of the city, connected by boats. Later, Yang Lian, the commander of Lanzhou Wei during the Hongwu period, rebuilt it in the north of the city, and it is still usable today.

However, the Yellow River freezes in winter and melts in spring, so the floating bridge has to be dismantled during this period. Look carefully, there are two iron pillars on the river bank over there, weighing tens of thousands of pounds, buried more than ten feet in the soil, which are used to tie ropes.

But this bridge is different. It is not a floating bridge, but a cable bridge. It is supported and pulled by two piers. The bridge deck is far away from the river and can be used all year round. With it, the Shanxi Xingdusi will be much safer, and the iron smelting plant in Lanzhou will not lack coal and iron ore. It is very useful! "

I don't know if it's because he has stayed in the Northwest for too long or eaten too much mutton, but the former Confucian general Sun Chengzong now has a voice comparable to that of an old shepherd. Even though they are only half a meter apart, his voice can be heard more than ten meters away. When he is happy chatting, he even reaches out to pat Wang Zheng on the shoulder, just like a soldier.

"General Sun, Lanzhou is located in the border area and uses the Yellow River as a natural barrier to defend against the enemy. Why is it going to such a big fuss to build a chain bridge? If a powerful enemy attacks, how will we respond?" At this time, Li Zhizao seemed to have finished calculating the workload of building the bridge, and suddenly turned around and interjected.

Building a large industrial base in Lanzhou was not his idea. His biggest concern was that it was too close to the border. Even if there was a railway connection, it would not be easy to supply and mobilize troops. The local population was sparse and the climate was quite bad. In short, there were many unsuitable conditions.

In his opinion, it is most appropriate to build an industrial base in Xi'an. It is connected by rail and can also take care of the military needs of Shanxi Xingdusi. The conditions are much better than Lanzhou.

This was not just a personal idea, most officials in the Ministry of Industry believed so. But the emperor had made up his mind and no one could persuade him. Apart from resolutely carrying out the plan, his worries never disappeared.

"Hehehe...Minister, you are worrying too much. Your Majesty had already had a countermeasure before building the bridge. If a strong enemy attacks, and the Northwest Military Command and the new army are unable to stop them from crossing the bridge, all the wooden planks on the bridge deck can be removed. With only fourteen iron chains, it may be difficult for the army to cross the river.

If all else fails, there is another solution. Cut the chain. No one can fly over here. After the enemy leaves, the craftsmen can salvage the chain. It will take a month or so to restore the bridge to its original state.

When Sun Chengzong was asked by Li Zhizao, he was no longer so casual, and his voice became normal. It can be seen that he also treated people differently and had a clear distinction between the closeness and distance of the relationship.

"Brother Zhisheng, do you know why His Majesty insisted on choosing this place to build the factory? My younger brother Zhenzhi and I have always believed that Xi'an is more suitable, but it is difficult to disobey the emperor's order, and we are still hesitant." Seeing that Sun Chengzong's expression was so obvious, Wang Zheng quickly took over the conversation and continued with Li Zhizao's question.

"Well... As the saying goes, food and fodder must be sent before troops move. The army attaches great importance to supplies in combat. Xi'an is more than a thousand miles away from Lanzhou, and it costs a lot to transport supplies. In fact, Lanzhou will no longer be a dangerous border area in a short time... I can only say this much, please forgive me."

This question made the usually outspoken Sun Chengzong suddenly become hesitant, and his speaking speed and tone also dropped. Not to mention being ten meters away, even if you were standing next to him, you would have to prick up your ears to hear clearly.

"Brother Zhisheng, why can't you just say it clearly?" Wang Zheng seemed not to understand the meaning and kept asking.

"Liangfu, General Sun is a general, be careful with your words!" But Li Zhizao understood and quickly stopped him.

"...Which way?!" After Li Zhizao's reminder, Wang Zheng finally came to his senses. However, he still couldn't believe it and stretched out a finger and pointed to the west.

"Do you know where the city on the other side is?" Sun Chengzong did not respond. No matter how good the relationship was, he could not violate the military order. The emperor often said, "If the minister is not discreet, he will lose his chastity." This was a warning to officials to say what they should say and not say what they should not say.

But rules are rules, and human feelings cannot be completely ignored. These two must be the emperor's close ministers, perhaps closer than himself, and it should not be considered undisclosed to reveal a little to them in disguise.

"...It is most likely built by Xiong Sanba!" The two men raised their telescopes and looked across the river. They quickly came to the conclusion and even pointed out the builder.

"Hahaha... Liangfu has a good eye. It was indeed built by Doctor Xiong. But this city already existed. It was built by Wang Baobao, a famous general in the Yuan Dynasty. The locals call it Wang Baobao City. Your Majesty gave it the name Bridgehead.

If you want to approach the chain bridge from the north bank of the river, you must first capture the bridgehead. However, this place is less than two miles away from the bridgehead and is completely within the coverage of artillery. It is not easy to encircle it.

From the bridgehead, go west along the track and then north for 500 miles to reach Liangzhou City. There are also two new cities along the way, one is Zhuanglang Fort and the other is Gulang Fort. All of them are built on the steep cliffs of the river valley where one man can block the passage of ten thousand men. Compared with them, the Yellow River is not as good as a natural barrier.

This method is very similar to Fuyu City and Bagua City. Your Majesty must have gone to great lengths to build the city not just to stabilize the border wall. When spring comes, we should have the answer. "

"The Western Regions!" Under Sun Chengzong's seemingly unintentional inspiration, Li Zhizao and Wang Zheng finally got it, but they were also quite surprised, shocked and worried.

The Han dynasty's involvement in the Western Regions can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty, six or seven hundred years ago. The Western Regions is not only a geographical name, but also marks the rise and fall of a dynasty in a large sense.

The northern attack on Mongolia and the western expedition to Jurchen were indeed great achievements in expanding territory and pacifying border troubles, but compared with the recovery of the Western Regions, they were insignificant. If Emperor Jingyang could have brought the Western Regions back into the territory of the Han dynasty, he would have been ranked in the top five among the emperors in history.

But then again, both the Han and Tang dynasties experienced numerous setbacks in the process of occupying the Western Regions, almost exhausting their national strength, and ultimately failed to control it, thus making wedding dresses for others in vain.

If Emperor Jingyang had to mobilize the whole country to march west just to show off his prestige, the outcome would not have been very good. Using force to conquer is relatively easy, but how to effectively manage a distance of thousands of miles is a big problem.

If this issue is not thought through and handled properly, the additional territory will not only not be worth being happy about, but will instead become a huge burden and even drag down the dynasty.

"I can't say it, I can't say it... You two are both the most important people in the imperial court, and you are like second parents to the army. Without steel machinery, muskets and gunpowder, even if you have ten times the courage, you dare not rush west.

I have heard from your majesty that the Royal Gunpowder Factory and the Haihe Machinery Factory are working on a new projectile that is not afraid of rain. Great, with its help, the Western Regions are nothing. With 50,000 land forces in hand, I dare to fight all the way to the Far West countries!"

Although Sun Chengzong's words were passionate, they were actually deliberately misleading. These actions could be said to be preparations for the Western Expedition, but there was no clear timetable for the Western Expedition. The emperor was currently interested in attacking another place, but it could not be revealed in advance.

(End of this chapter)