The Super Summoning System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1253 Dig it first!
With the development of sea salt and the prosperity of commerce, land transportation can no longer meet the needs of merchants.

Liu Bian heard the news and felt that the time was ripe, and finally decided to start the Grand Canal project!

As for the canal, people's impressions are all stories about the excavation of the Grand Canal by Yang Guang, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, which cost people and money so much that the Sui Dynasty perished.

In fact, the Grand Canal was not originally created during the Yang Guang period, but has existed since ancient times.

The excavation of canals can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

The first person to dig the canal was Fuchai, king of Wu. At that time, Fuchai, the king of Wu, wanted to go north to attack Qi, but there was no river connection between the Jianghuai and Huaihe Rivers.If you go by land, it is too troublesome, and if you go from the river to the sea, it is not safe.

Ever since, Hangou, the first canal in China, appeared. It connected the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River. Since then, waterways have been connected between the two places.

Since then, all dynasties have built canals on a large or small scale.

By the time of Emperor Sui Yang, there were not a few canals, and what he mainly did was to connect the major canals.Of course, during the period of Emperor Sui Yang, new canals were also dug.

Now that I have this idea, it is natural to take action.

However, excavating the Grand Canal is a big project. During the period of Emperor Sui Yang, there were already a lot of canals in various parts of the country. perish.

But the Grand Canal that Liu Bian wants to dig now is even larger than the Grand Canal in the period of Emperor Sui Yang. If he is not careful and eager for quick success, he may follow in the footsteps of Emperor Sui Yang.

So Liu Bian decided to discuss with the officials of the imperial court first: "Let the officials of various ministries come to discuss the matter!"

But after a long time, officials from the three provinces, six ministries and nine ministers came to the scene one after another.

All the ministers stood in line in the hall, and Liu Bian came to the hall.

Liu Bian looked at Mi Zhu and said, "I called you here this time to discuss something important, Mi Zhu, let's talk about it!"

The requests of merchants from all over the world were passed on to Liu Bian from the Ministry of Commerce, so Liu Bian discussed with Mi Zhu about the excavation of the Grand Canal in advance.

Seeing what Liu Bian said, Mi Zhu naturally understood that what Liu Bian was talking about was about the canal, so he stood up, cupped his hands and said, "Because of the development of sea salt in Youzhou, Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Yangzhou, and Jiaozhou, which are close to the sea, it has greatly It has attracted merchants from all over the world. However, these five states are lands close to the sea, and the journey to transport goods to the interior is a long way away. So recently, some merchants have come to the Bookstore Department, hoping to dig a canal to facilitate their transportation.”

Xun Yu cupped his hands and asked, "Does Your Majesty want to dig a canal?"

"Not bad!" Liu Bian nodded.

Pang Ji cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, merchants are after profits, why should we bother with their requests? Now that our Han Dynasty has just been unified, the people should recuperate and focus on farming and mulberry. Digging a canal will not only waste people's money, but will also expropriate land on a large scale , This is something that shakes the foundation of the country."

"Pang Daren's words are wrong!" As soon as Pang Ji's words fell, Di Renjie stepped out and said, "Although businessmen are after profits, they can drive the economy of various places and make them more prosperous.

As for the delay in farming and mulberry, my big Han people are now planting corn, sweet potatoes, rice, wheat, etc. on a large scale, and cotton is gradually replacing silkworms, and the output of all kinds is much higher than before. Even if the people are called to dig canals, It will not delay farming, and will not let the people go hungry.

As for the excavation of the canal and expropriation of farmland to shake the foundation of the country, it is even more nonsense. You must know that once the canal is opened, the water from the canal can be used to irrigate the farmland in the future. Thousands of acres of fertile land can be regained. "

Liu Ye also stood up and supported Di Renjie's point of view: "Master Di is right. There are three advantages to digging a canal. The first is convenient transportation. The third is to divert water from the canal for irrigation. Therefore, I support His Majesty in digging the canal!"

Hua Xin also said, "Digging a canal has many advantages, but everything has advantages and disadvantages. It has only been three years since our Han Dynasty was unified. How can we carry out such a large project now? This is too hasty. If five years later, I was the first to agree, but now, I disagree, please think twice, Your Majesty!"

For a while, the officials expressed their opinions one after another, some agreed with the excavation of the canal, and some opposed it.

In the end, only the three senior officials and Xie An remained silent.

"What do you love Qings think?" Liu Bian looked at Xun Yu, Liu Bowen, Xie An and others.

Xun Yu cupped his hands and said, "I don't know if Your Majesty has any ideas on how to dig the canal. If it's just a small-scale excavation, it's harmless. If it's a large-scale excavation, it needs to be carefully considered."

"Papa papa!" Liu Bian clapped his hands.

After a while, a guard came into the hall carrying a huge map and placed it in front of the hall so that all the officials in the hall could see it.

"Mi Zhu, tell me!" Liu Bian did not go down to the palace, but ordered Mi Zhu to tell the story.

"Promise!" Mi Zhu bowed his hands and took the command, holding a bamboo pole, and gestured in front of the map: "Your Majesty wants to dig a total of four canals, one of which is to go south from Yishui in Youzhou to Jizhou. Connecting the Yellow River in Qingzhou!
The second is to divert water from the Yellow River to the south and connect to the Huaihe River, which mainly passes through Yanzhou.

The third is to divert water from the Huaihe River to the Yangtze River. This is mainly from Yuzhou to Jiangxia.The fourth is to divert the Luoshui River to connect the Hanshui River to Xiangyang. "

When Xun Yu heard this, he couldn't help but click his tongue: "This project is too big, it will take ten years to complete it! Besides, Your Majesty is not planning to attack Mongolia, Jurchen? If you are digging a canal, I'm afraid you can't be there Going north to use troops, the country may not be able to afford it.”

Liu Bian pondered: "These four canals were not excavated at the same time. If the north uses troops, the canal from Youzhou to Qingzhou can be suspended. Let's move to the south first, such as from Luoyang to Xiangyang. Luoyang is the capital of our Han Dynasty, and Xiangyang is If the most prosperous city in the south can be connected by a canal, it will only take a few days to go back and forth between the two places, and the two places will be more prosperous."

Xie An cupped his hands and suggested: "Luoyang and Xiangyang are the most prosperous places with the most businessmen. If the canal is dug, the people between the two places will benefit, so the people who support it will be the most. Your Majesty should try digging this canal first." One canal, see the effect and the response of the people, if the effect is good, we can start digging other canals."

Naturally, Liu Bian would not be so stupid as to start the construction of the four canals at the same time. When the war against Mongolia happened, there would be great turmoil in the country.

Therefore, Liu Bian decided to adopt Xie An's suggestion and dig a canal first to see how it works.

(End of this chapter)