With the faint mechanical roar from far and near and the sound of water slurry stirring, a long tugboat fleet was driven to roam in the widened canal.

These tugboats with pink claw markings were packed with my accompanying staff and staff teams, and a group of guards armed to the teeth, along with their cars, horses, equipment, and supplies and needs, as well as food and water for a long time, all of them were packed on them.

In addition, there are several cavalry teams directly under the Yuhou Army named after the training on the shore. They are responsible for the alert and reception work along the coast in a relay manner. There are also several athletes from the inland waters who disguise themselves as fishermen and boatmen, as the front drive of the fleet and the wardrobes behind the temple.

Therefore, although the travel lineup is much more inconspicuous than in the past, the security measures are more stringent and orderly.

In May, when the weather is getting hotter, I just watched about twenty teams from various states in Huaihang. They competed together for the Dragon Boat Festival. After awarding the championship reward to the Ruan brothers from the Yunzhou Dragon Boat Team, it became the day when my mobile office was traveling again.

Although I have been cruising in Huaizhen for many reasons over the years, for a long or short period of time, it is the first time I have taken a boat to observe the scenery along the river to observe the scenery along the coast;

With the expansion of territory and the improvement of water conservancy and canal facilities in recent years, the river channels that can pass through large ships and the safe areas that have stabilized their control have also been increasing. Therefore, the scope of this trip has also been further expanded from the original six core prefectures in Huaidong to the eleven outer prefectures in the east, west, south and north to the short-lived western prefectures in Huaizhen.

Another reason is to avoid disturbing people and other collateral effects similar to those brought about by large groups of people on land when they pass through the border. After all, with the growth of population and local prosperity over the years, it is impossible to prevent them from being affected without any impact; it is more likely to give birth to bad habits in the bureaucratic system, such as using the name of reception, or seeking political achievements in the end, and storing image projects.

On the contrary, when traveling in the river, in addition to the occasional interception of the merchant ships passing by, in order to pass by, the number of demands and petitions on the shore can be basically separated.

Therefore, in addition to the bituminous smell of coal and the smell of marine lubricants that came by chance in the wind, reminding me of some industrial elements, sitting under the pergola outside the cabin whenever you have something to do, relaxing and freely drinking the sweet and sour and sour drinks prepared by the service staff on the boat, and it is also quite pleasant to take a breath of wind and see the scenery;

Here, you can watch the slowly retreating cities, villages and pedestrians along the coast, all the shuttle docks and river boats all the way. Nearby is the shade of green trees and willows, and in the distance is the pastoral songs with crisscrossing fields, which can be called unique and innovative.

When I accidentally stopped to stay, investigators from the corresponding departments and fields came to hand over the information, or were the heads of important local directly affiliated departments to report various progress and latest situations.

Or based on these feedbacks, we actively designated and summoned nearby local officials to come for discussion, and some garrison generals who were particularly concerned about would also be summoned; we would either give up news or make suggestions on the spot, encourage or correct me.

But what people have the most intuitive experience is the endless canal under me and the various changes it has brought.

It can be said that Qingxu Town, which had been dominated by the back for a hundred years, was able to maintain a relatively independent and powerful town meteorological and pattern in this Huai Shang area adjacent to the core area of ​​the Northern Dynasties and the key to the north and south. It also ensured the basic living standards of the core area in a series of continuous natural and man-made disasters. A large part of it was due to these main streams of Caohe Branches that integrate agricultural irrigation, regional environmental climate regulation functions, and water transportation systems.

During the Huaibei Strategic Battle of the First Northern Expedition, as one of the resistance and obstacles for the eastern army of the Kuomintang to move northward, Qingxu Town, as a strategic node of the four battles, was able to persist for a long time in the wave and momentum of hundreds of thousands of southern troops attacking and attacking;

It was also the same as the relatively intact canal system and a sufficiently large-scale transport fleet of vehicles and ships, which was preserved from wars throughout the ages. It was only with relatively disadvantaged military power and resources that had always resisted the rolling trend of the Southern Dynasty without interruption, and the labor force was spent under each strong city for more than a month and a half.

Because these Qingxu vehicles and ships passing through the water not only transported personnel and supplies to the besieged city walls, but also often carried the armies and war soldiers equipped on the ships, broke into the rear and inside lines of the Eastern Route Army, harassing and intercepting the food roads, burning and destroying areas with empty or slack defenses.

Until the Northern Expedition Army learned from its mistakes, it took advantage of manpower and material resources to pile up soil and sink boats, and silted many sections of river main roads and forks that were conducive to traffic. Relying on labor and abundant resources, beacon posts were set up everywhere along the river. When they heard the warning, they would encircle and block the river, and they were ambushed on the road they had to pass with firearms and heavy equipment;

Finally, the water surface power to Qingxu Town was squeezed and shrunk into several areas of water that were difficult to achieve, and thus slowly eliminated the most troublesome foreign aid and help under Qingxu Town.

Nowadays, Huaizhen under my rule is no exception. It has greatly expanded and extended the distribution of river network water systems, and added new technologies such as small steamers (steam and water steamers) to increase the transfer of troops and materials. Since then, there has been no deep labor and animal tugs along the way. Instead, it has greatly activated personnel exchanges, commodity circulation and economic activities.

Even with less loss and operating costs, maintaining a huge supply and marketing system that ultimately reaches the municipal and rural level, as well as the internal distribution system of military and civilians, is also a large part of the results.

Therefore, the current economic layout of Huaizhen is characterized by "heavy industry, mining, forestry and animal husbandry in the east, while many agricultural production areas in the west", "coastal fishing and fishery and inland aquaculture in the west", and "simultaneous development of marine trade and salt industry", while the strategic trend is the pattern of "the north is focused on the west, the east is guarded and the west is expanded, and the sea and land are advanced simultaneously."

Relying on this canal transport and transportation system, Huaizhen can fully realize the basic needs of taking relatively small military forces and military proportions, relying on river distribution and road traffic nodes, limited fortresses and city blocks as strategic support points, and can maintain relative maneuverability and elastic defense at any time, and even take the initiative to attack and defend the enemy abroad.

Then, the local two and three mobilization capabilities include a large number of potential young and middle-aged people who have received simple military training or are respected by short-term service, forming a reserve basis, as well as a considerable landing and delivery capabilities from the sea.
Chapter completed!