Master Yuan, start!

Next is Jingde, which was also upgraded to the prefecture-level city of Jingdezhen. Although it is not as good as the first two, its administrative level has at least been raised.

Only Zhuxian Town is still a town in the 21st century.

Even in the minds of some young people, they have to react when they hear the word Zhuxian, because their initial impression is the novel "Zhu Xian".

The only chance for Zhuxian Town to appear in the eyes of the people across the country every year is probably the few seconds of intangible cultural heritage introduction of "Zhuxian New Year Pictures" broadcast on CCTV during the Spring Festival.

The reason for its decline is the decline of water transportation. Zhuxian Town is adjacent to Kaifeng. Before the Yellow River broke and changed its course, goods from Zhuxian Town could go directly to the Huai River through the Yunliang River and Jialu River.

However, after the Yellow River changed its course, the tributaries near Zhuxian Town silted up, the river dried up, and water transportation was interrupted. Zhuxian Town, which was once prosperous, eventually collapsed on the eve of China's industrialization.

Instead, there is another small town in the lower reaches of the Jialu River, Chenzhou Prefecture, Zhoujiakou Town.

Zhoujiakou is located at the confluence of the Jialu River, Ying River, Ru River and Sha River. The water flow in the region is stable. After the decline of Zhuxian Town, it quickly replaced it as an inland port for goods from the Central Plains to flow south.

The name of Zhoukou rose from then on.

However, Zhoukou's rise was not timely, although there was a passage that went directly to the Huai River, then went south to the Grand Canal to reach the Yangtze River.

Unfortunately, Zhoukou's rise coincided with the time when railway construction was in full swing, and Zhoukou was not on the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway Line.

In addition, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, due to the long-term hostility with the West, which is mainly composed of maritime countries, the maritime and river transportation industries have not been able to develop significantly.

As a result, the inland waterway transportation in the north has long lagged behind that in the south. Even the cities along the rivers and coasts in the southeast are unable to organize river-sea transport, which has greatly hindered the progress of economic development.

After the reform and opening up, the southeast was freed from its constraints, but the vast inland areas were plagued by siltation of rivers, which made navigation impossible and affected economic development.

The China-Europe freight train, which later became famous, had an annual transport volume of only 400 million standard containers at its peak, which was exactly the same as the monthly volume of Shanghai Port during the same period.

However, China does not have only the Port of Shanghai. The combined annual throughput of all ports is more than 3 million containers, which is nearly 80 times that of the Eurasian Railway.

It’s also foreign trade, and the efficiency is evident.

Therefore, water transportation is the trump card for economic development.

Therefore, the Yangtze River dredging project is so valued. First, giant ships of 10,000 tons can sail directly to Nanjing, then cargo ships of 10,000 tons can sail directly to Wuhan, and after the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, they can even sail directly to Chongqing, a large inland hinterland.

Chapter 243: Minister of Water Resources Continuation 2

After the entire Yangtze River was opened to navigation, cities along the coast all saw growth.

Northern cities naturally did not want to be left out. Tianjin proposed a plan to open up the Haihe River for navigation, and Xuzhou proposed a plan to go out to sea via the Grand Canal.

The most exaggerated ones are Jinan and Zhengzhou. One proposed a plan to open up navigation on the Yellow River, and the other proposed a plan to open up navigation on the Yangtze River via the Jialu River, Huaihe River, Grand Canal and Yangtze River.

We want to rely on water transportation to transform inland cities into amphibious cities on land, sea and air.

It may sound like a pipe dream for a city in the heart of the Central Plains to build a port, but it is indeed feasible.

However, because the rivers in these places have been blocked for nearly a hundred years, cleaning them is extremely cumbersome, and as of 2024, only part of the rivers have been opened to navigation.

If we want China's economy to develop in a balanced way in the future, the sooner we dredge the river and open it to navigation, the better.

Of course, Yuan Shikai would not be so foolish as to start damming the Yellow River.

As a short river close to the sea and backed by a large city in the north, the Haihe River is a good practice venue.

Once you have accumulated enough experience, you can start attacking the Yellow River, Daqing River and Wei River.

Restore the glory of the Sui and Tang Grand Canal and make the Central Plains great again.

I wish all the book friends’ mothers happy every day!

Dear book lovers!

Today is Mother's Day. In order to give everyone some time to have a meal with their mothers at home, I will not waste your time reading.

So today's pigeon?

I found red envelopes on the page. Please take them. Consider them as my contribution to treating all the beautiful mothers to a meal.

No need to thank me, the author is so considerate of book lovers?

Chapter 244 Racist Churchill

By the Haihe River, in front of a breakfast stall, several rickshaw drivers gathered together to chat.

"Have you heard? The British are coming to negotiate tariffs with us."

“Negotiating tariffs?”

A vendor busy preparing breakfast looked suspicious: "Didn't Lord Yuan send Lord Zhang Jian, the supervisor of the Tianjin Customs, to talk to the Inspector General of Customs, Robert Hart, a long time ago?"

"Yes, it's in Qingchunlou, by the Haihe River. I saw them go in with my own eyes that day." Seeing that the peddler didn't believe him, a young driver still swore a promise.

"What do you know? It's just the leaders who set the tone. They can't do it themselves every day, so they still have to rely on their subordinates to do the work.

But the subordinates cannot make decisions after all and have to ask their superiors for permission on everything.

So, the British sent someone who is really in charge from their capital to make the decision!" The middle-aged driver lowered his voice, as if he knew some inside information.

"So that's how it is!" The peddler nodded in agreement when he saw the driver's serious statement.

"No wonder a large area was cleared at the dock yesterday. It was to welcome the British envoy?"

"Oh? There's such a thing?" The driver was stunned at first, then he realized: "See, I'm right."

The peddlers and hawkers discussing state affairs had almost no impact on top-level policies, but it also helped them to use up their energy that they had nowhere to vent on a daily basis. Therefore, Yuan Shikai was happy to see such street discussions and did not order a ban.

Moreover, sometimes, people who don't understand the facts tend to make up reasonable explanations for what has happened.

A simple "good night" message on a social media platform can be interpreted to reveal shocking secrets. Some Chinese people have always had a talent for humor.

Originally, Yuan Shikai only made a grand display on the Haihe River to welcome the new ambassador to China, but the people misunderstood it as a negotiation on tariffs with a real heavyweight.

However, he did not choose to refute this kind of "rumors", but let it go. After all, this is what the people have been eagerly looking forward to, and there is no need to puncture their good wishes.

...

On the banks of the Haihe River, Yuan Xiangcheng discussed with Liang Pushi how to dredge the Hunhe and Liaohe Rivers flowing into the sea in Fengtian Province outside the Great Wall.

The drivers were at a breakfast stall by the river, discussing the rank of the incoming British envoy.

The boatmen, with thick linen hanging on their shoulders, would wait on the shore at dawn, hoping that more wooden boats would arrive that day.

The people living along the river also rubbed their sleepy eyes, picked up wooden buckets and walked out of their homes, pouring the filth that had accumulated overnight into the river.

All aspects of life can be seen in one river.

Young Churchill stood on the deck, smelling the fishy smell coming from both sides of the Haihe River, and couldn't help frowning.

The smell reminded him of being in India, if the temperature was a little warmer.

"The East is full of barbarians." Although Churchill was young, racist ideas had already taken root in his mind.

Churchill always believed that passing on the life experience of advanced civilized society to backward barbaric society was the most meaningful thing the British Empire did, so he volunteered to go to India.

But after arriving in India, he was not as happy as he had imagined. Apart from training, he was exposed to black-skinned Indians who were ragged, dirty and smelly all day long.

He regretted his decision and wanted to return to London to pursue his dream of becoming a writer, but when he was about to be discharged from the army, he found that he could not afford the termination fee.

Churchill always had a desire to be a journalist and author. He liked writing. Historically, after joining the army, he also worked part-time as a military reporter, published several reports and novels, and later established a friendship with Mark Twain of the United States.

However, Churchill had just turned 20 at that time and was just an unknown person with no fame. Publishing houses would not be willing to accept manuscripts from unknown writers.

When submitting articles to London newspapers, after months of anticipation, he would only receive a ruthless rejection.

Without royalties, he couldn't collect the compensation for his military discharge, and couldn't return to London, which became a dead end.

Therefore, after hearing the news that he would be transferred to the Far East, Churchill volunteered to go to China with MacArthur as a member of the advance force.

Swamp! Losing skirt, 758742

He had a brilliant writing project in mind, a project that would help him become famous by taking advantage of the French defeat.

Churchill was very curious about how China, a society composed of barbarians, defeated the French. If he wrote about the experience of the Qing people defeating the French, would it be a best-seller in London?

"What's the matter, little Churchill, don't you like it here?"

Dou Nale also stood on the deck at some point. He took a deep breath and was eager to make a new breakthrough in China.

"No, it's not." Churchill retracted his gaze and replied respectfully:

"Sir, this place reminds me of India, with the boatmen on the riverbank and the toilets dumping into the river. Is this really the largest city in northern Qing Dynasty?"

Along the way, Churchill went north with Sir Claude MacArthur, hoping to get close to the "Napoleon of the Far East" who often appeared in the newspapers of the concession.

A considerable number of Qing people in the Shanghai Concession firmly believed that China would be unified under the leadership of this general, and they praised the "bonded area" he established outside the Great Wall, and even called him the savior of China.

And former Chinese ambassador to China, Eugen, also claimed that Yuan Shikai was willing to negotiate with Britain on the three tariff issues for 4 years.

These news made Churchill curious about General Yuan, whom he had never met before. He seemed to be a groundbreaking figure.

However, after seeing the backward and dirty scenes along the Haihe River, Churchill gave up the idea.

How could Napoleon be born in such an environment?

Maybe he was just lucky, just like the British Empire was defeated in Afghanistan. It was not the Afghan soldiers who defeated the British army, but the complex terrain and harsh weather in Afghanistan.

China seems to be no different from India. As for General Yuan, he is probably just a tribal leader, nothing special.

"Decades ago, there were also trackers on the Thames in London, and female factory workers would dump wastewater in the morning." Unexpectedly, Claude Dowell refuted Churchill's words.

"Times always progress, don't they, little Churchill?" Dounell asked in return. "With the increasing number of Chinese steamships, these trackers will eventually disappear."

Seeing that Churchill seemed to be about to refute, Dounale smiled again, patted Churchill on the shoulder and said:

"Of course, I'm not saying London is the same as here, little Churchill. You have to know that colonial civilians and colonial officials are different." Dounale said with a deep gaze:

"We must treat General Yuan with the same respect we would the Maharaja of Hyderabad, so that he will be willing to serve the British Empire."

"Sir, we're on shore!"

There was a shout from the side.

"Okay, I'll be there right away!" Dounale looked at Churchill deeply, then turned and left.

Respect the barbarians? Churchill couldn't help but murmur in his heart as he glanced at Donald who had already reached the edge of the gangway.

Along the way, he met many Qing Dynasty officials with pigtails. Regardless of their official positions, most of them were submissive and fawning.

Is there any need to respect such colonial officials?

Although he didn't understand, Churchill adjusted his hat brim, put on his rifle, and followed Donald down the gangway.

On the dock, Yuan Xiangcheng, who had been waiting for a long time, stretched out his right hand and shouted in loud English: