Chengkuo Canal

A large canal in China completed in 246 BC by the ancient kingdom of Qin. The canal was originally part of a ploy by the king of Han intended to drain the resources of his rival. However the Qin successfully completed the canal and the plan back-fired as it irrigated thousands of square kilometres of additional agricultural land, providing the kingdom with sufficient resources to increase the size of its already massive armies. To this day the land surrounding the Chengkuo Canal is extremely fertile.