"Hurry up! The road construction workers are behind us. If we don't complete the survey today, we will fall behind tomorrow. If we are overtaken by the road construction workers, our people will be in big trouble." Li Hao urged slowly.

After entering the summer, the northwest desert is simply not a place for people to live. It is extremely hot during the day and extremely cold at night.

A popular local saying is that people wear fur coats in the morning, wear gauze in the afternoon, and eat watermelon around the stove.

After passing the Yumen Pass, there is the vast sea. There is not much desert, but more of the desolate Gobi. Sometimes there is not even a root of grass on the Gobi Desert. Walking on it feels like there are only yourself and your companions in the world. This feeling cannot be expressed in words.

Exact description.

Although Li Hao didn't know how to describe it, he felt the insignificance and helplessness of human beings compared to nature.

In our view, ants are insignificant. Perhaps in the eyes of God, we are also ants and insignificant existences.

The railway must be built from Yumenguan to Hami. This railway must not only avoid the desert, but also avoid the terrible subsidence areas and quicksand areas, and try to avoid ambush locations that may be used by the Mongols. In this way

Therefore, the railway cannot pass through the mountains.

It is not easy to find such a road, not to mention that road construction workers have already started laying it at Yumen Pass. Three thousand road construction workers can lay ten miles of railway every day. It is even more difficult to find such a road in a short time.

Disaster.

Li Hao only had one month! No matter what, he had to complete this journey within a month. In order to hurry, Li Hao had to ride a horse. Now, under his crotch is a tall horse that exudes a fishy smell.

camel.

"Don't listen to the nonsense of the historians. They will have to spend two and three months on the Xingxing Gorge alone. They told the commander that it would be open to traffic in half a year, just to make him happy. What month is it now? It's May!

It snows in August, God, it really will snow in August. Do you think they can carry out construction steadily with thick snow on the ground? Besides, the land has permafrost. After repairing it in winter

, the roadbed will sink in the summer. If the settlement is uneven, the railway will be broken, or even the train will roll over due to uneven rails.

So! This year, they can construct at most three months. In the remaining time, they can only go back to Yumenguan and build some other railways. For example, the railway from Xi'an to Chengdu via Hanzhong!

The Land of Tian Abundance produces so much grain every year, but because of the difficulty in transporting it through the Shu Road, our new dynasty has to solve the problem of the Shu Road Difficulty. Commander, the country of Tian Abundance is richest in the world." Xiong Cilu

Sitting on a camel, gnawing on twists and fingers, and wandering around.

Seeing Xiong Cilu starting to eat twists, Li Hao also hurriedly took one. The weather is hot in the Gobi Desert, and only deep-fried twists like twists can ensure that they don't go bad for a long time. Take advantage of the lack of wind and sand and hurry up, otherwise it will come later.

When there is wind and sand, you will eat a mouthful of sand.

Perhaps because he was thirsty, Xiong Cilu wrapped the military kettle tightly in a towel, shook it vigorously a few times, and then took a big gulp!

This is a secret skill taught to them by old travelers who often travel to the northwest. As long as they shake it a few times, the water in the kettle will become much cooler.

"Hey...! If the railway is not repaired this year, maybe the defenders of Hami City will be hungry in the winter. The 40,000 troops of the Third Division are here. If there is a lack of supplies, the consequences are really unpredictable. The wind and snow are still strong in winter.

The airship can't fly either." Li Hao also knew that what Xiong Cilu said was true, but there was nothing he could do.

After exploring the road early, he still had to make a trip to Sichuan. If he had not made the trip to Hami, he might be walking on the difficult road to Shu now. Xiong Cilu was right, since it was a new dynasty, the road to Shu must be difficult.

Throw this matter to the horizon. Let the Kingdom of Abundance and Ming Dynasty be closely connected through railways.

Otherwise, if there is another person like Zhang Xianzhong, he will still think of separatist rule in Sichuan.

"Don't worry, my fourth master! Look at this endless flow of convoys. They are not all transporting supplies to Hami!

Cao Wenzhao has been a division commander for several years, but he still doesn't know the importance of logistical supplies. Look at the airships in the sky, they are flying non-stop like bees all day long. Are they not transporting grain, ammunition and various supplies?

Coupled with these convoys on the ground, imagine that Commander Cao will stock up on enough supplies before winter. I really don’t understand why the commander wants to attack the Western Regions. Look at this place that has no shit, no wonder the Mongols always want to invade us

The Central Plains. Compared with the Central Plains, this place is fucking shit and is only suitable for exiles."

Xiong Cilu was very disgusted with the desert, and also had no interest in the Gobi. He believed that the Mongols staying here was God's punishment for them.

"You talk a lot, so get the shovel down and let's explore the geology." While Xiong Cilu was talking, Li Hao had already finished a piece of mahua, drank two sips of water, and patted the camel's neck to signal that he wanted to get down.

The camel leader quickly grabbed the camel and signaled it to kneel down on the ground. Li Hao jumped off the camel with one leg.

Geological exploration uses a thing called a Luoyang shovel. This thing was invented by his elder brother Li Xiao. Li Hao doesn't understand why Li Xiao calls this thing a Luoyang shovel. But this thing is really easy to use. It can make a few explorations on the ground.

By digging the hole, you can know the geological conditions underground. Even the unique curvature of the Luoyang shovel can bring up some underground soil, and you can carefully observe whether it is a soil layer or a sand layer underneath.

"Fourth Master! I heard that some people in Guanzhong have used this thing to rob tombs. I heard that with the Fengshui acupuncture and acupuncture points, you can easily find ancient tombs. Many people have made a fortune through this thing, we might

You can also dig out an ancient tomb." Xiong Cilu laughed and joked while digging a hole.

"Forget it! This vast sea may be able to produce spring water. Graves? Just save it...! They really can think of such evil things as tomb robbing. I heard that the Uighurs are causing trouble in Guanzhong this time.

Guanzhong was completely turned upside down." Li Hao carefully inspected the beaten soil.

"Yesterday, I heard from people at the military station that the Uighurs were causing trouble this time and they were going to kill the old-nosed people. I heard that the villages along the Weishui River in Guanzhong were massacred by whole villages. In some places in northern Shaanxi, almost all the people were killed.

They were all killed. In many counties, no one was left alive by the Uighurs!" When Xiong Cilu said that the Uighurs in Guanzhong were causing trouble, he immediately remembered the gossip he had heard.

"Can the Uighurs attack the county town? There are garrison divisions stationed in the county town. Although their equipment is a bit inferior, they are still an army and can they be afraid of the chaos? When the Mongols first attacked Yinchuan, there were also garrison divisions in Yinchuan City.

It’s just two garrison divisions. In the end, didn’t it last until my eldest brother led troops to rescue?”

"Fourth Master! You really don't believe it. The Uighurs have seized a lot of explosives. How can the gates of the county town and those thin city walls be opened as soon as they are exploded? In fact, most of the garrison divisions in Guanzhong are just pretending. I heard

There are also those who take advantage of the quota.

Do you know how many Uighurs there are? Seriously, two million is only a lot more. Two million! They are overwhelming. What kind of disaster will it cause in Guanzhong? I heard that except for a few in Guanzhong,

County towns, as well as outside Xi'an, were all slaughtered by the Uighurs. A few people escaped into Lishan Mountain and survived.

The commander is really angry! He has ordered the Japanese soldiers to carry out indiscriminate revenge. The Uighurs in the entire Shaanxi Province are not allowed to let go of even a baby. They must kill them all. The Japanese soldiers can be called ruthless in killing people. Now

It was the Uighurs' turn to run into Mount Li. The poor Japanese soldiers had to dig holes in the mountains to find someone.

I heard that the commander-in-chief also formed a search team, not sparing any caves in Zhongnan Mountain, and vowed to make the Uighurs pay for their debt with blood."

"The Uighurs also made a little too much noise this time. My eldest brother killed them just to make them behave like children. The north is pretty good now. There are Zhuang barbarians in Guangdong and Guangxi, Miao barbarians in the two lakes, and there are a few in places like Fujian.

The nation is watching. If we don’t kill wantonly this time and follow the same example in the future, won’t our Ming Dynasty be a river of blood?

Hmm! This place is nice. Look, there are rocks underneath the soil. This kind of road surface is not easy to sink. It seems that we are on the right path."

"Ha! When people walk in the Gobi Desert, they always want to drill a spring. How much can they increase their drinking water? How good of you, you are so happy after hitting a stone. I will let you hit a stone mountain tomorrow. I am so happy.

enough!"

"They are merchants. We are looking for a way. Can we do the same? Get on the road and keep walking." Li Hao ignored Xiong Cilu who was packing his things and patted the camel leader, signaling him to get on the camel and continue on his way.

Xiong Cilu commanded a group of servants and began to pack up and prepare to continue on the road. If he couldn't get to the military station tonight, he would have to sleep in the Gobi Desert. Who knows if he would encounter wolves!

Anyway, Xiong Cilu has seen that there is a large group of green eyes looking at you from a distance in the middle of the night. You don’t know when, they will all pounce on you and bite you to death. Along the way, you have seen a lot of dead people’s bones. Some are even still

Half-gnawed human remains, under the attack of wolves, even if you have a gun, it will be useless.

With the sound of camel bells, the camel team continued on its way.

Willow River! As you can tell from the name, it is an extremely small river. When Li Hao walked here, he realized that the river was even smaller than he thought. It was only six or seven meters wide and its length was hard to say. Li Hao was eager to build the railway.

Hao is not here to do geographical research, but to find a place to cross the river.

Li Hao suspected that the Liutiao River was most likely the above-ground part of an underground river. He found that the water in the Liutiao River was not only clear, but also freezing cold. Even in summer, it would still be bone-piercingly cold when you put your hand in it.

"For such a wide river, we only need to build a railway bridge. We have to find a relatively strong place, otherwise the river beds on both sides will easily collapse over time." Xiong Cilu is also an old prospector, and he knew it was necessary just by looking at this river.

Choose a place to build the bridge.

"Okay! Explore along the Liutiao River until you find a place where you can build a bridge." Li Hao gave the order, and the team marched along the Liutiao River, exploring along the river from time to time, trying to find a place suitable for building a bridge.

I dug several places, but none were ideal. It looked like there was sand underneath the hard surface. Such a layer could easily cause collapse. When the bridge collapsed in a few years, it would be a big sin.

"Fourth Master! One Luoyang shovel is missing." There had just been a sandstorm yesterday. Xiong Cilu took stock of the things that accompanied the team, and suddenly found that one Luoyang shovel was missing.

"Separately go out and look for it." The Luoyang shovel is not an ordinary thing. It is now a necessary equipment for exploration. If this thing is lost, we can only send another one from the mainland, and the wait will be long.

The servants separated to search. After a while, a servant who was walking across the sand dune suddenly ran back panting. He pointed to the back of the sand dune, gnashing his lips and his face was red with anxiety, but he could not speak.

"What's wrong?" Li Hao frowned. These servants were not only servants, but also students. They learned exploration knowledge from Li Hao and would become members of the exploration team in the future, traveling throughout the Ming Dynasty to explore places suitable for laying railways.

"Over there... over there... I can't tell, Fourth Master, you'd better go over and have a look." The servant looked panicked and pointed behind the sand dunes.

Li Hao was a little curious. These people who traveled around with him had seen a lot of the world. When they were in Shaanxi, they even dug out ancient tombs. What was behind the sand dunes that actually frightened them into being so virtuous.

After looking at each other with Xiong Cilu, the two of them took out a large eight-pellet rifle from the camel's backpack. They pulled the bolt and checked the yellow bullets. The two of them walked up the sand dune, one behind the other.

The sand dune is thirty or forty meters high, although it is not too high. But it is not easy to climb the sand dune. You have to be careful every step to prevent your feet from sinking into the sand. Although the sand in the sand pile cannot hurt people like quicksand.

But if the sand gets into the shoes and you don't shake them off, then these shoes will be your lifelong nightmare.

There are densely packed wooden pillars standing on the surface of the dunes, some are prismatic, round, and some are shaped like paddles. They are all made of mature poplar wood!

Li Hao's mouth grew wide in surprise. Although poplar trees grow in the northwest, due to the lack of water in the northwest, there are many poplar trees, especially those in the desert. It takes many years to become useful!

There used to be such a legend!

It is said that poplar trees bloom for thousands of years, bear seeds for thousands of years, become useful for thousands of years, and wither for thousands of years. After withering, they will stand for thousands of years and not fall down, and after falling to the ground, they will not rot for thousands of years.

Although I know this is nonsense, I am right about one thing, that is, the growth cycle of Populus euphratica is very long. It may not take a thousand years for a Populus euphratica to grow so tall, but it is estimated that hundreds of years are necessary.

Things that are hundreds of years old, stuck like wooden stakes in this desert?

"Fourth Master! What on earth is this?" Xiong Cilu was a little shocked. Poplar trees of this thickness can be sold for a lot of money in Xi'an.

"How do I know?" Li Hao shook his head. For more than a thousand years, the Western Regions have been mysterious and unfamiliar to the Central Plains.
Chapter completed!