Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5490

Chapter 5490

The barracks were very simple, with brick walls, black tiles, and beams and pillars. They were clean and simple. The beds, which were made of templates, had neatly folded quilts with linen covers and cotton linings that felt dry and soft to the touch.

The students immediately tossed their luggage aside, jumped onto the beds, and felt incredibly comfortable as the thick, sturdy wooden planks supported their spines. The journey from Chang'an to Huating Town was entirely by water; although there was no need to walk, it was still far from easy…

Beep beep!

A sharp whistle blew, and a soldier shouted from outside the door: "It's time for dinner at the mess hall. You have a 15-minute time limit, or you'll be late!"

The students who had just lain down to rest quickly got up and rushed out the door.

But the soldiers outside the door shouted at them: "What a mess! What kind of order is this? Line up and count off!"

The students had no choice but to obediently line up and call out their numbers one by one.

Once the number of people was confirmed, they followed the soldiers toward the mess hall. Along the way, they encountered veteran soldiers from the camp, all of whom were lined up neatly and marched in unison. Although there was no one supervising them, they were orderly and filed into the mess hall.

Each student received a shiny, disposable molded plate. Some students examined it closely, noting that it didn't seem to be made of silver, but rather some kind of alloy. It looked quite large and was divided into squares.

Once you reach the window, an iron plate is placed on the table, and the chef spoons each dish into a separate compartment, followed by a large spoonful of white rice.

There isn't much meat, but the variety is plentiful.

A soldier responsible for maintaining discipline shouted from the side, "That's all the food we have, but you can eat as much rice as you want!"

The students, carrying their plates, found a place to sit down and eat with their heads down. They had already developed the discipline of not speaking while eating or sleeping during their time at the academy.

When we came out after dinner, the light drizzle had stopped, and the sky was showing the glow of sunset.

They went back to their barracks to get their daily necessities, wash up, and then went to bed.

The next morning, before dawn, the sound of whistles rang out, and the entire military camp instantly went from still to boiling.

Soldiers and students got up, made their beds, washed up, and then went to the canteen together for a meal.

Around 9:00 AM, the "Mingkong" warship, which was moored at its berth, slowly moved towards the port and docked, setting up gangplanks one by one.

The students gathered on the playground with their bags on their backs, and then boarded the warship.

Even before the training began at the academy, the professors and instructors tirelessly recounted the hardships of Liaodong. Everyone was mentally prepared for the upcoming journey, knowing that it was an arduous struggle of "fighting against the heavens and the earth, and demanding food from the wilderness," and some were even prepared to make sacrifices.

However, upon boarding this invincible warship, many people still couldn't hide their excitement, agitation, and confusion and fear about the future.

When the "Mingkong" entered the Yangtze River waterway, it happened to encounter a fleet of dozens of warships coming from upstream in a grand manner.

The students were chatting idly on the deck when they saw the fleet and were quite surprised: "So many warships, where is there a battle?"

The warships are coming from upstream; if war breaks out, it means there's a local rebellion...

"how is this possible?"

"Then why are so many ships together?"

The naval captain on the "Mingkong" explained, "This is also a fleet heading to Liaodong, traveling with us. On board are experienced farmers sent by the governor of Yuezhou to support the development and construction of Liaodong. After all, there are too many Hu people in Liaodong. They are good at fishing and hunting but know nothing about farming. These people will go and teach and guide them."

"So it's Director Xu!"

Some people are puzzled: "The development of Dongting Lake is also at a critical juncture, and there is a shortage of manpower. Why should we support Liaodong instead?"

"Haha! You're a junior, aren't you? You still don't understand the relationship between the Grand Commandant and Xu Siye!"

"Don't let Xu Siye's cleverness fool you; he always gets the short end of the stick when he faces the Grand Commandant. When the Grand Commandant asks him for someone, he doesn't dare refuse!"

"I heard that Xu Siye asked the Grand Commandant for tools, but the Grand Commandant refused and instead asked Xu Siye for all these experienced farmers. Xu Siye's face turned pale at the time!"

"Yes, yes, that's the taste!"

Many older students still remember the days when Fang Jun and Xu Jingzong were in the same academy. Their sometimes good, sometimes bad, sometimes friendly and sometimes hostile relationship is still talked about today.

Once the warships passed the lighthouse at the mouth of the Yangtze River and officially entered the sea, they joined dozens of other warships and sailed northward along the waterway.

Several days later, they arrived at the mouth of the Liao River.

After emergency construction and continuous improvements last autumn, a huge port has now been built on the south bank of the Liaoshui River estuary. The fleet sails into the port and docks, and everyone disembarks and moves into temporary barracks.

Although the port is large, it became very crowded when so many people poured in at once.

Here, students from the academy and farmers from Yuezhou will be divided into countless "small teams," and together with various supplies continuously transported from Huating Town, they will be sent by boat along the Liao River to various reclamation sites.

This was a meticulous and complicated project, taking into account the differences in various settlements, such as geographical location, soil composition, population structure, and surrounding environment. In practice, this meant allocating different quantities of tools, food, and medicine, with particular emphasis on how to distribute them among students and farmers in a systematic, thorough, scientific, and rational manner.

At the same time, a final training session was held for the students and farmers who supported the construction.

After working tirelessly for half a month, a temporary team of over a hundred people finally managed to come up with a distribution plan.

Starting in early March, warships carrying tools, medicine, food, and personnel left the port every day, heading upstream along the thawed Liao River, arriving at each settlement, just like sparks scattered here and there.

We look forward to the day when wildfire can spread across the plains, taming this barren wilderness that has been desolate for millions of years, cultivating fertile fields, feeding our people, and thoroughly incorporating this uncivilized land into the map of China.

*****

Although the Liao River has thawed in March and the rushing waters are vast and mighty, the temperature is still very low. The morning mist shrouds the river surface, making it damp, cold, and chilly.

Neither the Chinese dynasties nor the nomadic regimes ever truly governed this region. The so-called river embankments only existed in their original state, eroded by the river. Sometimes they were winding and low, with barren hills and mounds, and sometimes they disappeared completely, leaving a vast expanse of water. The mighty Liao River flowed through this wasteland and swamp, following the terrain, and rushed into the sea.

The primary task in developing Liaodong is to develop the Liaoshui River basin.

The primary task in developing the Liao River basin is naturally water management.

The purpose of water management is to restrain the Liao River, which has been flowing for thousands of years, with dikes, so that it flows obediently into the sea and does not flood or release water during the rainy season. In addition, the marshes in low-lying areas are enclosed and drained to expose the underlying soil.

But how easy is it to achieve this on this vast plain crisscrossed by rivers and dotted with swamps?

……

Twenty-year-old Lu Zhaolin, dressed in a cotton-padded coat, stood at the bow of the boat, which slowly moved forward, cutting through the river. Behind him were more than ten boats carrying people and supplies.

The cool river breeze felt slightly chilly on my face. The sun gradually rose and the thin mist slowly dissipated. Looking out over the riverbanks, all I could see were gray-black fields, with rolling hills and towering mountains in the distance.

Behind the riverbank, vast swamps reflected the morning sun, not only engulfing the fertile black soil, but also resembling giant mouths roaring to the sky, waiting to swallow everything that tried to conquer them.

If it fails to complete the construction of the river embankment and the dredging of the waterway in a single day, it will be virtually invincible in this land, and all kinds of poisonous insects and ferocious beasts will kneel down and revere it.

Human beings are as insignificant as dust.

Another student standing beside him, gazing at the vast mountains and rivers and the marshes everywhere, sighed softly, "Is this the land we are about to conquer? I thought we were well prepared for the difficulties, but now that we're here, I realize we were too conservative."

The overflowing rivers and swamps are a far cry from the fertile fields of my dreams.

Can this ancient, barren land really be transformed into fertile fields full of crops, as the Grand Commandant claims?

Lu Zhaolin smiled and said, "It all depends on human effort. Chinese civilization has expanded outward from its core for thousands of years. Every step in this process has been as difficult as it is now. But despite the stumbling steps and the arduous road ahead, we are now united across the land and the Chinese and barbarians are of one mind. Do you remember what the Grand Commandant said? Man can conquer nature!"

The power of heaven and earth is indeed irresistible, but humans have brains and hands, enough to change the world through the gaps in the power of heaven.

The student's low spirits lifted. Fang Jun was like a god in the academy, and all the students worshipped and obeyed him without question, taking every word he said as gospel.

"To be honest, I was quite surprised when I saw that you, Brother Shengzhi, had also volunteered to come to Liaodong."

Soon to become comrades-in-arms fighting side by side in the harsh wilderness, coupled with their past friendship as classmates, this student had no reservations and said whatever came to mind.

Even within the Zhenguan Academy, a place teeming with talented individuals and geniuses, Lu Zhaolin belonged to the top tier. He was exceptionally talented, came from a distinguished family, and was related to the wife of Fang Xiang and the mother of Fang Jun. Regardless of his performance in the imperial examinations, he was destined for a bright future.

Why come to this harsh and cold place, Liaodong?

(End of this chapter)