Chapter 252: Hexi Corridor

The entire Liangzhou Prefecture.

Instantly fell silent.

Vicious!

This scheme of Liu Chang's is simply too vicious!

Using a plague to kill!

As everyone knows, in ancient times, a plague was an almost irreversible natural disaster. Plagues have always been the most terrifying existence threatening humanity. Some plagues have even directly changed history!

"White bones exposed in the fields, for a thousand miles not a rooster crows. Of the living, one in a hundred remains; thinking of this breaks one's heart." This is the most realistic portrayal of ancient plagues.

Why did the population plummet so rapidly during the Three Kingdoms period?

Some might say it was due to the consumption of the population by war.

Actually, that is not the case.

What truly consumed the population was the plague brought by war. Because ancient medical conditions were poor and awareness of prevention was weak. Once a plague broke out, it was uncontrollable and devastating.

Once a plague spread, at least half the people in a prefecture or county would die.

In Huaxia history.

During the Liang dynasty of the Southern Dynasties, the capital Jiankang had a population of over four hundred thousand. During the Hou Jing Rebellion, Jiankang was besieged for several months, and the city suffered from a severe lack of food. Some starved to death, and their corpses were tossed into the Huai River at will. After the drinking water was contaminated by the rotting corpses, a large-scale plague formed, and after the war, only tens of thousands of living people remained in the city.

This is a quite terrifying death ratio.

Not to mention the plagues in world history; things like the Black Death or the Spanish flu, which would easily result in millions or tens of millions of deaths, were extremely terrifying.

Throughout the dynasties, people would turn pale at the mere mention of a plague.

But every year, because the territory of the Longyan Dynasty is too vast, there are always a few places where a plague breaks out, though there are also specialized agencies that take measures against these plagues.

Recently.

In Changzhou, within the borders of Liangzhou, malaria has been frequent. Liangzhou has already controlled the source and the water supply, and is preparing for the next steps...

But now...

Liu Chang's vicious scheme made these people unable to help but hold their breath.

Killing with a plague?

Releasing refugees to Dunhuang?

If that happens, the plague will begin to spread; what will happen to the forty thousand people of Dunhuang!

Liu Chang intends to use the plague as an "accident," then cause those ninety thousand Yinzhou Army soldiers to lose their combat effectiveness, and let the father and son of the Liu family both become infected.

He is willing to have the forty thousand people of Dunhuang be buried along with them!

Chen Ping even forgot to breathe.

Nearly forty thousand people buried with them, just to kill two men?

Just to make the development momentum of Yinzhou come to an abrupt halt?

Is it worth it?

But he only thought about it for a moment before gritting his teeth, cold light flashing in his eyes: "Liu Chang, you handle this matter, but remember, keep it secret, keep it secret, you must keep it secret!"

"Yes!"

Liu Chang received the order and left.

The others, until this moment, were still so frightened that their scalps were tingling.

Chen Ping has gone mad!

He has been driven mad by Liu Dahao!

Mad to the point of disregarding all consequences, burning his bridges!

Liu Chang left Liangzhou Prefecture and immediately found a few soldiers, each riding a horse to set off. Changzhou is not far from Liangzhou, only about three days' journey.

What he did not expect was...

At this time, outside Liangzhou Prefecture, among the crowd, there was a man with a common face who, seeing Liu Chang prepare valuables and a few days' worth of dry rations, felt that this was a bit abnormal, and thus secretly followed him.

From Cheshi to Dunhuang, at the marching speed of the Yinzhou army, it would take at least nearly a month.

The straight-line distance is actually about the same as from Loulan to Yinzhou.

But clearly, this road to Dunhuang is superior to the road to Loulan. At least the desert on this road to Dunhuang is not as terrifyingly man-eating; it is mostly Gobi, with not much desert.

But it is still just as arid, with wind and sand, which makes people very unaccustomed to it.

Qingyang Shuo sighed in admiration along the way: "If a canal were truly excavated along this road, it would be a miracle of the world! The Young Master bringing prosperity to the Western Regions will surely go down in history!"

This time, the reason for choosing this road.

Besides the goal of taking Dunhuang, Liu Zheng naturally wanted to inspect the situation of this road in person. One must know that this road from Dunhuang to the Western Regions is the world-famous Hexi Corridor in history!

This is also why Liu Zheng chose to use this place as the starting point for the Grand Canal. Because the Hexi Corridor starts from Wushao Ridge in the east and ends at Yumen Pass in the west, and is situated between Nanshan and Beishan in the north and south. It is about nine hundred kilometers long and ranges from several kilometers to nearly a hundred kilometers wide, a long and narrow plain trending Northwest to Northeast, shaped like a corridor, hence it is called the Hexi Corridor.

Then why is it called Hexi (West of the River)?

This point is very important.

The Hexi Corridor is to the west of the Yellow River! In this way, coupled with the Yellow River and the water sources of Nanshan and Beishan, in Liu Zheng's design, it is perfectly fine for this place to become the starting point of the Grand Canal, and the East-to-West Water Diversion can also be fully realized.

In the Hexi Corridor, there are three inland basins, including the Shule River system, the Hei River system, the Beida River system, and the Shiyang River system; these water systems are extremely important for the excavation of the Grand Canal.

The Yellow River and the water sources of the Qilian Mountains are the most important resources for the Grand Canal.

Liu Zheng must figure this out.

And actually, the most important point of all.

Is that the Silk Road from Yinzhou to Loulan is not the true Silk Road of history!

The Silk Road of history originally started from this Hexi Corridor.

But Liu Zheng...

He wanted to turn this place into the starting point of the Grand Canal!

The project is massive, and there are many places that need to be inspected.

Thus, Liu Zheng was quite busy, and upon hearing these words from Qingyang Shuo, he also chuckled and said, "I just don't know how Chen Ping will respond to us taking the route through Dunhuang. He has been able to govern Liangzhou for so many years; he is no mere good-for-nothing."

Qingyang Shuo also laughed, "Now that the Yinzhou Army is a triumphant force, Chen Ping would not dare to oppose the world by shutting us out with great fanfare. Therefore, there are only two paths: first, a Hongmen Banquet; second, inciting Zheng Yuxing..."

Liu Zheng nodded upon hearing this.

Although he was not in Longyan, he knew that Longyan must have been turned upside down by his Imperial Examination System, leaving everyone in a state of panic.

The old emperor was already using him as a sword.

But Liu Zheng was not afraid...

Since you want to use me, then I will become even sharper, and even more formidable!

Taking this opportunity to vigorously develop his own strength is what matters most!

Under such circumstances, it is indeed very possible that Zheng Yuxing will follow the rhythm of the Third Prince and have some kind of conflict with him.

But regardless of how things turn out.

He will face it all.

Now, he is a drawn sword!

Wherever he goes, he kills; even in the worst-case scenario, where he must confront the Liangzhou Army, Liu Zheng is not afraid!

Just at this moment.

Suddenly, Jiang Xuan came running over, panting: "Young Master, Young Master, something terrible has happened!"

Liu Zheng and Qingyang Shuo exchanged a glance and hurriedly asked what was going on.

Jiang Xuan's face turned pale: "In the ranks, someone has contracted Malaria!"

"What?"

Qingyang Shuo's expression changed drastically, and he nearly jumped up from his wheelchair.

Liu Zheng also furrowed his brows slightly.

Malaria?

In ancient times, this was a type of plague; once it spread, it would be difficult to contain.

He asked urgently: "How many people?"

Jiang Xuan said with a bitter face: "These past few days, I wasn't paying enough attention, and already a thousand people have been infected..."

Both men's hearts sank upon hearing this.