Outside the square city, a long canal runs across the east and west, and a large number of cargo ships sailing in the river, which are very close to each other, almost connected to the end. At first glance, each canal ship has a deep draft, full of cargo, and the boatman on the ship often holds a prize to make the ship move forward slowly.

On the shore, there were endless pedestrians passing by. Many people stopped, stopped at the shore, and looked at the boats on the canal, and were amazed.

Princess Shunyang and her group who rushed to Yecheng also stopped by the roadside, looking at the incredible canal, only eyes wide open.

Princess Shunyang, the princess, Yang Zan, had heard the accompanying officials mention this canal before. Now, looking at the busy river surface, I deeply felt what a magical craftsmanship is.

Ye Wandao has been a key road for the Central Plains to enter Jingxiang since ancient times. Fangcheng has always been a place that military strategists must fight for, and there is a special terrain of Fangcheng Pass. Therefore, Fangcheng is the key to Ye Wandao, but there has never been a waterway between Ye Wan.

Yang Zan had been to Fangcheng when he was young before and knew that the terrain was quite high. According to the situation of "water walking to the lower part", Ye Wandao could not open the canal because the rivers on both sides could not reach such a high place.

But now the canal is right in front of him, and a large number of ships are sailing on the river.

What's going on?

The reason is very simple, because there is a steam pump.

The Yewan Canal, which is connected to the entire line for less than a year, is a very complex canal with multi-level river sections, multi-level ship locks, and several large weirs as water level mediation facilities.

The entire canal and supporting facilities rely on countless coal-burning steam pumps to adjust the water level, making it possible to "flow water to a high place" and making the canal connecting Shangwan and Yecheng a reality.

Yang Zan and his family crossed the Han River through Xiangyang, arrived at Fancheng on the north bank and rode their horses on their way. After arriving in Shangwan, they witnessed the spectacular scene of the steam pumping unit "replenishing" the canal.

The chimneys with rolling black smoke, the tall steam pumps, the constant roars and the continuous gushing of water dragons, shocked the people who witnessed the wonders.

At this moment, Yang Zan watched the ships loaded with cargo slowly moving forward, and asked the accompanying officer interestingly, wanting to know that these ships are moving in one direction.

The official's answer was simple, because the shipping of the Yewan Canal was very busy. In order to improve traffic efficiency, the shipping period was divided into day and night. During the day, the ship sailed from east to west and drove in one direction; at night, the ship sailed from west to east, which was also one-way.

The reason for this regulation is that if two-way traffic is to be maintained, the width of the canal will double the amount of earthwork for construction, and to maintain the canal water level, more pumps must be invested, consume a lot of coal, and increase the operating cost of the canal several times.

Based on multiple considerations, the final plan set by the court was to excavate a canal with a width of one-way traffic, which was operated day and night, and ships in both east and west directions were staggered for travel time.

That is the result now, and it works well.

Because of a series of water level adjustment measures, the water level of the Yewan Canal is not shallow. Under normal water level, ships with a cargo capacity of 250 stones can be passed.

The "stone" among 250 stones refers to volume, which means that the volume of the cabin can accommodate 250 stone meters.

Because of the existence of a steam pump and water systems are used at both ends of the Yewan Canal, the water level of the canal can be maintained stable all year round, which ensures a stable freight volume.

Since the opening of the canal for a year, a large amount of goods have traveled to and from east (Yecheng) and west (Shangwan) every day, which greatly facilitated the transportation of materials in Jingxiang and Henan. As well as the increasing popularity of Japan, the cities and villages along the canal have flourished.

Bulk goods walk on the canal, and travelers walk on the post road. Fangcheng located on Yewan Road and Yewan Canal is also becoming more and more popular.

Yang Zan and his family stayed at Fangcheng Inn yesterday, and when they entered the city, they felt the hustle and bustle of Fangcheng.

The opening of the Yewan Canal has brought more than these changes.

There is a large coal mine in Pingdingshan in Yecheng. With the increase in the mining volume, a large amount of coal is transported to various parts of the Yuzhou General Administration with the help of water transportation, allowing more and more steam pumps to operate, and pour water (or drainage) into the water conservancy network that has been continuously improved in recent years.

Flood discharge in the rainy season, water storage in the dry season, water release in the dry season to resist drought. With a water conservancy network with steam pumps, the Yuzhou General Administration has brought good harvests year by year.

The same is true for the Jingxiang land at the western end of the Yewan Canal. Relying on the huge transportation capacity of the Yewan Canal, a large amount of Pingdingshan coal was imported into Jingxiang, which also supported the water conservancy network with steam pumps as an auxiliary, and also made the ongoing Hansan Development awesome.

Coal can not only be used as fuel for steam pumps, but also replace firewood. As the fuel in people's daily lives, a large amount of coal is made into "coal balls" and "honeycomb coal". It is burned in a new coal stove, which can boil water and cook, and keep warm.

Because Pingdingshan coal mine has abundant mineral deposits and convenient water transportation, it ensures the smooth operation of the Yewan Canal, and also allows Henan and Jingxiang to obtain a large amount of cheap coal, making more and more cities popularize new coal furnaces.

Coal, as a mineral, brings huge profits to miners, and trafficking of coal has also made dealers profitable. More and more people are involved in coal mining and transportation industries, which has led to a continuous increase in coal production and continued decline in coal prices.

The opening of the Yewan Canal has significantly changed everyone's lives. Shangwan, Rangcheng, Xinye, Fancheng, Xiangyang and other places, the people in the city no longer need to go out of the city to harvest. They only need to go to the coal yard to buy "honeycomb coal" and "coal balls" to maintain the fuel needed for daily life.

In winter, there is a greater demand for coal in various places, and the magical "heating" requires a large amount of coal burning. The small stove used for heating at home for ordinary people is not inferior to burning firewood.

At this moment, more than half of the cargo ships sailing on the canal were loaded with coal and transported to various places in Jingxiang to meet the increasing demands of officials and people from all over the country.

The accompanying official pointed to the coal transport ships and said, "The prince-in-law, Yecheng is not the same today. The number of households is more than 50,000. Whether in the city or in the building, it is crowded. Now the government is considering expanding the city. After a few years, it will be a new look."

"The princess is His Majesty's elder. His Majesty has the order to install heating in the mansion in autumn. At that time, the princess and the princess will be able to understand what 'warmth is like spring'."

"In winter, Yecheng is filled with thick smoke. The chimneys of every household are filled with black smoke. Those who don't know how to look from a distance, only the city has caught fire."

"It's not just Yecheng, but Fangcheng is the same. Now, as long as the coal ship can reach, there are coal yards and steam pumps."

The accompanying official introduced Yecheng to Yang Zan's family. There was the Shunyang Princess Mansion in Yecheng, which would be the place where Yang Zan's family lived (under the surveillance of the government). Compared with the exile place, Yecheng was much more lively.

The group continued to rush. While walking, Yang Zan discovered that there were many passenger ships sailing on the canal.

There were men, women, young and old on the boat, leaning against the window, looking at the scenery on both sides of the strait with curiosity, chattering non-stop, speaking with a Henan accent, and it seemed that many people were traveling together.

After walking forward for several miles, there were more and more passenger ships. If it weren't for the passengers on the ship wearing civil robes, it would be easy for people to think that the court mobilized thousands of troops into Jingxiang.

Yang Zan was shocked by such a large-scale passenger transport and curiously asked the escort: "Is this... an immigrant?"

"Yes, the court mobilized a large amount of manpower and material resources to develop the Han Mian area. The people of Jingxiang enthusiastically participated, but there were too many wastelands to be developed, and there were still few people. So the court began to mobilize the people of Henan and moved their families to the Han Mian area to settle down and open up land."

"Farm tools, seeds, oxen, houses, and there are all kinds of help from trading companies such as Jiahesheng. As long as you are willing to open up land, there will be land."

Jiahesheng is a trading company that operates steam pumps. In fact, there are other businesses. The trading company mainly provides agricultural services to help farmers maintain bumper harvests. During the wave of Hanxi Development, a large number of similar trading companies are active, helping the government turn the former wilderness, swamps, and mudflats into fertile fields.

This is a long process. Now the court has not forced the people of Henan to enter Han Mian. Now those who are willing to relocate their families are all hired workers who have been employed in Han Mian for a period of time. Seeing that there is indeed a big deal, they return to their hometown and mobilize their families to register with the government, and then move their families.

With the free pick-up from the government, many Henan people helped the elderly and young, full of longing for a new life, left their hometowns with a large population and a small land, and went to the vast new world to settle down.

The large-scale development and large-scale immigration of Han Dynasty will last for a long time, and the imperial court (the emperor) was very patient and did not force the people to move on a large scale as soon as they came.

Since Yang Zan finished his exile life, he read a lot of newspapers and knew that the court had recovered Nanzhong and began to develop and mobilize immigrants on a large scale. Not only that, thanks to the increasingly prosperous sea trade, the widening of the ridges is no longer a place that makes people feel terrified.

More and more people have been to Lingbiao Jiaoguang, and their understanding of Jiaoguang is getting deeper and deeper. When Yang Zan was sitting in a restaurant in Xiangyang, he heard passers-by talk about the customs and customs of Guangzhou.

Yang Zan looked at the spectacular fleet in front of him and sighed only about the changes in the world and the changes in the world.

The accompanying clerk also revealed the latest news to him: there will be major changes in Liaodong.

"Liaodong? It seems that Goguryeo has occupied Liaodong for a long time?" Yang Zan asked a question with some uncertainty. He was not very familiar with the situation in Liaodong.

"Since the Later Yan period, Goguryeo has occupied Liaodong for nearly two hundred years," the official replied, and then said relaxedly: "But their good days are over. At the beginning of the year, they dared to invade Liaoxi. The court would not take this breath."

"Does the imperial court want to use troops against Liaodong?"
Chapter completed!