The canal transportation involves the interests of many officials and has been a major disaster area for corruption since ancient times.

It is said that "one stone of rice can only yield seven or eight dou", "every time a grain transport is carried out, county officials with a large amount of money can become rich by hundreds of thousands", and "every time a stone of grain is transported to the capital, the price is often two or three times the market price in the southeast."

On the surface, the most important problem with grain transportation was its high cost. The freight for transporting grain was far higher than the value of the rice itself.

However, the capital was a place where people from all over the country gathered and where soldiers, civilians, and merchants gathered, all of which relied on grain transport. Because the capital's food supply was crucial, the grain transport had to continue even if it cost a lot of money and made a loss.

Whether it was the Ministry of Revenue officials or local officials, everyone knew about this drawback, but no one dared to stop the operation lightly. What do you want? Do you want to starve the emperor to death or provoke a civil uprising in the capital?

Therefore, the disadvantages of the canal transportation were so obvious that it enriched officials and impoverished the country, but it continued to exist.

Zhu Youxiao would also feel relieved if the decline of the canal transportation would lead to economic development in the counties along the way and thus cause resistance from officials.

But in his opinion, those officials were not so noble. They wanted to continue making money from the canal transportation, so they found some excuses to oppose it.

Don't you understand your tricks? Zhu Youxiao sneered and decided to start from the source, arresting Zhu Dadian, the governor of the grain transport, to intimidate the obstructionist officials.

Gradually expanding the volume and scale of maritime transport is an established policy, not simply a matter of economic efficiency. When the Little Ice Age reaches its peak and drought dries up even the Yellow River, what good will it still be for canal transport?

Now, although pacifying Liao was still the top priority, the Jian Nu could no longer cause any major disturbances. As long as Zhu Youxiao survived, the Jian Nu would be exhausted in two or three years at most.

However, how to survive the major disasters that lasted for decades and occurred one after another, and how to endure them without causing civil unrest, became a difficult task that was equally important as pacifying Liaoning.

It was famine and civil unrest that destroyed the Ming Dynasty, and the Jiannu simply took advantage of the situation and reaped a huge advantage. At least that's what Zhu Youxiao thought.

Although the newspapers have predicted the approaching disaster, how many people take it seriously and how many officials are working hard to deal with it?

Zhu Youxiao stroked his forehead lightly, and after much thought, he felt that it was time to invite some local governors to Beijing to report on their positions and give them solemn instructions in person.

Well, they need to prepare first, at least draw up a plan covering various measures to resist disasters.

………………………….Dividing line………………………………

The gunshots rang out in a flurry, rapid but not chaotic, and the combined sound was deafening.

White smoke rose, spread and dissipated, and even the people hiding in the mountains could smell the pungent smell of saltpeter and sulfur.

"The Jurchens have been repelled again!" Zhang Dongrui stared with wide eyes. Although he could not see clearly, he could see that the Jiannu's attack was resisted by the Ming army and they retreated helplessly.

Inside and outside the trenches, as well as on the dozens of meters of flat ground leading to the Ming army's position, were scattered with the corpses of the Jiannu people, their flesh and blood stained and the bloody red was glaring.

The smoke completely dissipated, and shields, flags, swords, guns, and corpses were scattered in a mess, with wounded soldiers screaming and wailing on the ground. A bloody slaughterhouse-like scene appeared before people.

Without artillery or even the simplest grenade carts, the Ming army repelled the Jiannu's four fierce attacks with flintlock rifles and bayonets.

By the way, not only flintlocks and bayonets, but also breastwork trenches provided effective protection, minimizing the lethality of enemy bows and arrows.

The wide but shallow trench had an obstructing and decelerating effect, making this the area where the Jiannu suffered the heaviest casualties.

On the narrow front, the Jiannu army was unable to make use of its numerical advantage and suffered heavy casualties under the almost non-stop flintlock fire.

Daishan's banner still stood behind the formation, but it was Yuetuo who was in command. After two failed attacks, Daishan realized that this was not the place for them to show their talents.

The terrain was unfavorable, the enemy had their positions to rely on, their firearms were sharp, and the attacks were fast and dense; although our own troops were numerous, they could not be deployed, the damage done by bows and arrows was limited, and we could not consume the enemy equally.

Therefore, Daishan has decided to take a detour. Although the Tongyi road is the fastest, it is not the only one.

Moreover, Daishan was worried that if he delayed any time, the Ming army would pursue him. If he was blocked here, the situation would become even worse, and the entire army might be annihilated.

Therefore, Daishan had already retreated, taking another more remote route back north. It was not because he was afraid of death, but because he was injured and the carriage was moving slowly, so Yuetuo and Sahalian begged him to do so.

In order to cover the evacuation of his father and the brigade, Yuetuo handed his father over to Sahalian and personally commanded the attack here to contain the Ming army.

Enough blood had been shed, and Yue Tuo felt immensely distressed at the sight of the tragic scene on the battlefield. Estimating the time, his father and the entire group should have already turned onto that secluded road, and the Ming army would have been too late to intercept them.

The narrow battlefield limited the Jiannu's maneuverability, but it also helped them in another way: it allowed them to reduce the number of troops needed for the attack without appearing to be a perfunctory attack.

"Retreat the wounded first." Yue Tuo stopped the attack, pretended to reorganize, gathered the wounded as much as possible, and retreated them to the rear of the formation.

Because the road was not straight and there were woods and hillsides on the side of the road, even if the Ming army had telescopes, their vision would be blocked.

The Jiannu suffered at least three to four thousand casualties, and Kong Youde on the opposite side was also making an estimate.

Such a result of the battle has met his expectations. Of course, he also knows that it is obviously unlikely to stop the Jiannu here and wipe them out in one fell swoop.

The 3,000 dragoons he led could only block the Jiannu's fastest and most convenient route back north, which was almost their limit. He was unable to control other routes.

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