Chapter 48: Racing Against Time (Vote Request)
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"Today is May 4, 1918. I believe that today will become the most significant day in Sichuan's history and even Chinese history. Seven years and one month ago, the incompetent Qing government sold out the construction rights of the Chengdu-Hankou railway, but the diligent and brave people of Sichuan resolutely rose up to resist, launching a mighty movement to protect the railway, which heavily struck the Qing government while also proving to the world the patriotic and self-strengthening spirit of the Sichuan people, making people believe that the Sichuan people have the ability and determination to build their own railway!"
"Today, the people of Sichuan will once again carry forward the magnificent spirit of the Protecting the Road Movement, and we will also carry forward the spirit of hard work, bravery, fearlessness in the face of danger, and arduous struggle. I also believe that under better conditions, the railway from Chengdu to Chongqing will create a world record for China's railway construction speed with the efforts of the people of Sichuan, and this spirit of unity and cooperation will continue to be passed down, making our beautiful Tianfu Country accessible in all directions, and the roads of our beautiful Bashu land unobstructed..."
China Railway First Group is fully responsible for the construction of railways within Sichuan Province, while its "arch-rival" China Railway Second Group has obtained the right to build another section. The two major groups must compete with each other, but Hu Tianming, Chairman of China Railway First Group, believes that his group has a greater advantage due to the enthusiasm of the Sichuan people for railway construction, the difficulty of construction, and so on. Of course, sufficient construction period will also be allocated for the difficult Ba-Cheng Railway in the future. However, the construction difficulty faced by its arch-rival China Railway Second Group from Guiyang to Kunming is not small either, and the two major groups still have to compete with each other sometimes.
On May 4, 1918, at 9:00 am, the Sichuan section of the Chuanqian Railway officially started construction. When the bulldozer buried the first shovel of yellow earth and covered the foundation stone, it marked the beginning of simultaneous construction in Chengdu and Chongqing. The 504-kilometer railway construction project from Chengdu to Chongqing, with a two-year construction period, was officially launched. On the other side of the Yangtze River, the Chuanqian Railway from Chongqing to Guiyang also started construction.
"Sichuan's preliminary population statistics are 70 million, while Guizhou has less than 15 million. In other words, the residents along the railway line from Chengdu to Chongqing are all traditional cities, with nearly five or six hundred people per square kilometer, whereas our section is responsible for less than one hundred and fifty people, just enough to be a quarter of others. To put it simply, there should be fewer spectators, flag-wavers, and cheerleaders for the construction site, but we can't be intimidated by them, only by grasping the present can we grasp the future."
Upon learning that the on-site work of China Railway First Group was much more lively than this side, Guo Hai, Chairman of China Railway Second Group, did not have too many complaints. When he drew the lottery to get the main railway construction project in Yunnan and Guizhou provinces at the beginning, he had already made up his mind. Another person who was equally unlucky, or perhaps even more unlucky, was Zhu Jialiang, Chairman of the Third Group. One group was divided into two halves, with one side responsible for the difficult task of building the Nanning-Kunming railway and the other side rushing to complete the remaining half of the Liuzhou-Guiyang line, which is the remaining Ma Wei-Guiyang section of over 300 kilometers.
"We have to rely on the third group's results more often, and even the railway from Guiyang to Dali needs to use their results. As long as the railways from Liuzhou to Guiyang and Nanning to Kunming are completed, we will have enough strength to carry out three-party simultaneous construction of the railway from Guiyang to Dali, which is much more comfortable than the first group being solely responsible for the Chengdu-Xi'an line!"
"But they didn't have it easy, I heard that they encountered another big problem the other day." Ke Yiliang, the person in charge of the Sichuan-Guizhou section, looked at the busy construction site, busy workers, and roaring machines, everything was so beautiful.
"What trouble did they run into?"
Guo Hai kept an eye on the materials in his hand, the second construction section of the Chuan-Qian railway undertaken by the Second Group started from Maoerdui on this side of the Yangtze River, and the task of building bridges such as the Baishatan Yangtze River Bridge and the Wujiang Railway Bridge spanning the Tiankeng was assigned to China Road and Bridge First Construction Company, but there were still many difficulties waiting for them.
After the railway construction enters Guizhou, it will face difficulties such as complex geology and varied terrain, especially severe rock weathering. The limestone area where the railway passes through has many hidden caves. According to the plan, 115 tunnels and open-air bridges need to be built, with a total length of 34 kilometers. In addition to assigning the most difficult two large bridge construction tasks to the company that originally completed the most difficult Qianjiang Bridge on the Liuzhou-Nanning line, there are also 123 bridges that need to be extended by 10 kilometers waiting for them.
They got this construction section, they will face the super difficult tunnel construction object that the group has encountered for the first time since its establishment, which is the Liangfengya Tunnel with a total length of 4270 meters to cross the Loushan Mountains. However, compared to the third group's encounter, they are much luckier. After studying the materials carefully, it will be very beneficial to grasp the construction progress and make reasonable scheduling arrangements. Upon hearing Chief Engineer Ke's words, Guo Hai raised his head, ready to listen to what misfortune Zhu Jialiang had encountered this time.
"I used to think that the Nan Kun Railway, which they encountered with unimaginable construction difficulties, might be a small test for the third group. After all, they were established the latest, and their equipment was limited to the latest and best models. The tasks with greater construction difficulties were assigned to them, and the significance of tempering they could gain was enormous. However, now it seems that the significance of their tempering has already exceeded our imagination. Nevertheless, we have also found sufficient reasons for why they are so favored and loved by the top management..." As he spoke, Ke Yi Liang unfolded the simplified drawings he had obtained to explain to his boss why the third group was so favored.
Liuzhou to Guiyang remaining section actually does not have much difficulty, according to the Third Group's habit will definitely be limited to eat this soft persimmon well and clean. Then put all the power into the Nankun line, from the altitude of less than 100 meters of Nanning Basin slowly climbing to the altitude of more than 2000 meters of Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, the Third Group has used up all its strength to build to Xingyi, Guizhou, and can be said to have created a remarkable miracle.
They will face difficulties mainly in two aspects: bridges and tunnels. Problems such as high-intensity earthquakes, landslides, and soil expansion are not a problem for them. The key is that this road has too many tunnels and bridges. The most difficult one is the Wuxi Hongguo section of the Jiatang Highway tunnel. Although the tunnel has a construction length of nearly 5,000 meters, this is not the difficulty. The difficulty lies in the fact that nearly 1,000 meters of the tunnel's body is coal seam stratum. When excavating the tunnel, it is necessary to strictly prevent excessive gas and mechanical friction sparks from causing explosions. Even if the project overcomes these challenges, they will still need to find a way to reduce the gas concentration in the tunnel to a certain extent to ensure traffic safety. These are extremely difficult problems that have not been encountered in the world before, with great difficulty.
"This is not a big problem for them, it just takes time. In the past, the rice flower ridge tunnel in Tianlin County did not stop us, and at that time, the main force of construction was the backbone of the third group, now they have gone independent and become even more unstoppable, can a small family bamboo tunnel scare them?"
To cross the watershed of the Youjiang River and the Nanpanjiang River, the railway department organized a large number of manpower and resources in Tianlin County's Bantao Township to excavate a 9,392-meter-long super tunnel. The tunnel overcame numerous large and small faults, alleviated repeated torrential floods, adopted new tunnel support structures, curved wall lining sections, and other new technologies and designs. However, dozens of people lost their lives at the construction site. The cost of constructing this tunnel was extremely high, but its returns were also substantial; otherwise, the current Hongshui River cascade hydropower station plan would not have been implemented so smoothly.
"Indeed, as long as we play the spirit of the railway, there is no mountain that cannot be pierced and no bridge that cannot be crossed. Let's take good care of ourselves now, the 4270-meter-long Liangfengya Tunnel, which crosses the Lou Mountain range, will be the first major test to verify our independent construction strength. Of course, if we can obtain the construction right for the Chongqing-Guiyang section, it will lay a solid foundation for us to complete the Gui-Kun line in the future. The Gui-Kun line is not simple either!"
"Besides, which of our three major groups has an easy project? The Western Sichuan line of the First Group needs to overcome Qinling, our Second Group needs to wander in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, especially in the Wumeng Mountains, and the Third Group needs to climb up the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau with difficulty. If we can all complete our tasks well, these three extremely difficult construction projects will be overcome by us Chinese people. In the future, what railway difficulties will not be conquered by us?"
"I'm afraid it's only when we build railways on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau that the difficulty will be comparable to what we have now. Of course, who will be the one to do it? It's still too early to say, let's just see how difficult this Guizhou line is!" Ke Jialiang never thought that his joking words would become a reality in the future. Building railways on the plateau was indeed extremely challenging, with difficulties that were a combination of the current three major projects, plus its unique environment, which made it even more daunting. But at this time, he didn't have the heart to think about the big problems that would plague himself and all railway workers in the future, as the task at hand was the most pressing matter."
According to the plan, the second group's second task is to build a railway from Guiyang via Kunming to Dali. This railway is a first-class trunk line in the railway department's plan, and along the way, it will wind through the rugged terrain of the Wumeng Mountains in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, with towering mountains, deep gorges, and steep cliffs waiting for them. Just as Guo Hai said, after warming up on the Sichuan-Guizhou line, I believe that the Gui-Dali line, which is less than 1,000 kilometers long, will be easily conquered by the second group.
"This railway will pass through a large number of resource-rich areas, and after the construction of the railway, it will bring great benefits to the development and utilization of resources in the regions along the line, which is very beneficial to the progress of the autonomous region's non-ferrous metals and energy industries. Of course, it can also bring increased income and wealth to the people in the mountainous areas. The stimulation brought by a railway is definitely far greater than that of the highways being built on a large scale now. Our advantage as railway workers lies in our ability to bring about huge transportation capacity and great economic driving force, which is our pride and also the source of our responsibility..."
The second group was just getting started to boost their morale when the first group had to think carefully, as they received a more difficult task. "Shaanxi is the province with the weakest control power of the autonomous region, but it has the best mass foundation. Poverty and hardship are the advantages that allow the autonomous region to develop a good revolutionary situation and unite the people, but they are also the main difficulties in controlling and building. As for Shaanxi, transportation construction is much more pressing than other provinces."
"The autonomous region needs to increase its control, rapidly improve people's income, and create a model for the remaining western provinces... All the pressure is concentrated on one point, that is, whether we can quickly build a steel giant for Shaanxi, Gansu, and Xinjiang in the west. We don't need to ask about highway construction, but since we have been given such an arduous task, we must complete it practically... Especially making the best performance, which has a great influence on whether we can get the western main railway project in the future."
Everyone in the first group is very happy to get the right to build railways in Sichuan and Shaanxi, especially the initial construction of the Chuan-Qian line in Sichuan Province. This section has a small construction difficulty and a short completion period, which is very suitable for the workers recruited by the first group. By the time the project is completed, the Baocheng section from Xi'an to Chengdu will also be ready to start work. After being tempered, the group will have more construction talents to participate in the construction of this main line, which has a great relationship with whether the group can ensure quality and quantity and complete the task ahead of schedule.
"Xi'an and Chengdu, the two major regions, will definitely become transportation hubs in the future. But what I'm interested in is who will be responsible for building the railway from Xi'an through Gansu to Xinjiang in the future. The railway across the vast desert and Gobi has more political and economic significance, and it's also more beneficial for the growth of our group."
It is clear that Hu Tianming was not very interested in the task of building a railway network with two major cities as hubs, covering the entire province. In his view, it might be possible to use a trunk line from Sichuan's Chongqing, passing through Sichuan's Chengdu and Guangyuan, to reach Shaanxi's Baoji, to hammer out the group, and also to obtain more important tasks in the future: that is, a super-important railway trunk line starting from Xi'an, passing through Gansu's Tianshui, Lanzhou, and Jiayuguan, crossing the vast desert and finally reaching Urumqi or Yining.
This railway connects three major provinces, especially the western provinces with extremely low autonomy and underdeveloped social production levels. The passage of this steel giant will bring about earth-shaking changes to these provinces, while also bringing enormous benefits and historical significance to the group.
"Qinling is not to be feared, the third group can slowly and steadily build from the basin to the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau without fear, thousands of meters long tunnels, large-span bridges, etc., are not afraid. The second group will toss about on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau for several years, they are also excellent and not afraid of complicated construction projects, how can we be intimidated by Qinling, which is the only slightly challenging project in our responsible engineering? I say, if we want to do it, let's do it best, strive to complete the preparation for the western artery construction before the other two groups finish their tasks, or even start building some sections... In short, the three major groups need to compete with each other, we need to prove ourselves with strength!!"
"In terms of progress, we can infer the completion dates of some projects. The Sichuan-Guizhou section under our responsibility will be completed in two years, and the Xi'an-Chengdu section will be completed within four to five years, which means that we will complete all tasks in phases 1 and 2 by 1925. The second group's lower half of the Sichuan-Guizhou section is expected to take around three years, while the Guizhou-Yunnan line has a high degree of difficulty and a route length of nearly 1,000 kilometers, so its construction period will inevitably be very long, at least eight years. Therefore, they will not complete it before 1930 unless Guo Hai is as crazy as I am; otherwise, it cannot be completed ahead of schedule, after all, the construction difficulty in the Wumeng Mountains area is too great."
"Come to think of it, our greatest opponent is the Third Group. This rich kid from a wealthy family who emerged from the golden pot has received attention and support for obtaining super-difficult construction projects. The total length of their first two phases of road sections is only about 500 kilometers, although the construction difficulty is great, but within six years or even shorter time, it can be completed absolutely. If the Second Group hands over the railway from Kunming to Dali to them for help, they may also be able to complete all tasks in 1925. Of course, the Second Group, which has been reduced by a part of the task, will probably complete the task around 1927, but it's no longer worth worrying about. Of course, we expect the best result is that the Third Group was pulled away to build the Kunming-Guiyang section, now they both have to work together to complete the task around 1926, while we have already set foot on the railway construction journey straight to the desert..."
Hu Tianming had a nickname called Hu Frenzy, not referring to his recklessness, but rather his extraordinary pride. After some analysis, it was discovered that among the tasks assigned by the Railway Department of the Ministry of Transportation, their first-stage task was the simplest, and in the second stage, all groups would face challenges, but still, the first group's task was the simplest. A Qinling tunnel project wasn't even as difficult as the second group's first-stage project, let alone the third-stage railway network construction plan. The railways in Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces, except for the Chengkun line that passes through the death zone, had no difficulty to speak of. Therefore, Hu Frenzy thought of letting the first group withdraw from the provincial-level railway network construction project and devote itself to more important arterial construction projects.
Of course, this is also the only chance for the first group to prove itself. After all, the difficulty of the Chengdu-Kunming and Baoji-Chengdu lines cannot be compared with that of the Guiyang-Kunming and Kunming-Nanning lines. Perhaps the only way left for the first group is to complete the first two stages ahead of schedule while ensuring quality and quantity, and make early preparations to prove its strength with a major artery.
Regardless of whether the actual situation is as described by Hu Tianming, from 1918 to 1926, nearly eight years or even ten years, was a critical period for the construction of western railways. These railways were extremely important and had considerable transportation capacity, which made it possible for resource development, industrial construction, and people's income increase. More importantly, with a dense transportation network, the autonomous region could better control and develop these areas, utilizing the vast population and natural resources of the west to provide more momentum for the cause, building the west into a pillar of the future republic rather than a drag.
In short, the task of railway construction is arduous and long-term. In the vast western regions, red flags will be planted in many places, and there will be many banners and slogans posted at various construction sites, all bearing bright red characters:
Ten thousand years is too long, we should seize every moment!!
