Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1169 Engineering and Disarmament

On the tenth day of November in the second year of Jianji, Shao Shude went directly to the Imperial College after he went down to court.

"Your Majesty, if the Ministry of Industry makes a plan for the construction of the Pond at the pass of Fangcheng, I think it can be done." Xiao Fu knew that the saint wanted to talk to him about this matter, so he did his homework early.

"Oh? Last time I asked you, you were still vague. Why are you so sure this time?" Shao Shude wondered.

"The minister has already taken Ying Jian Kezi to Fangcheng County for reconnaissance. The pass is actually not short, and there are rivers passing by, so it is not difficult to get water. It must not be difficult to dig a pond." Xiao Fu said: "What I am worried about Yes, that means there is not enough water, and the pool is not full, so it won’t be possible to make a few boats a year.”

"After the survey, do you think it can be fully charged?" Shao Shude asked.

"Your Majesty, the builders have selected two places suitable for digging ponds, and suggested building two ponds and storing water at the same time." Xiao Fu replied: "The Ministry of Construction has also sent people to participate in this, and they all think it is feasible."

Shao Shude turned his attention to Yang She, the servant of the Ministry of Industry, and asked, "Yang Qing, is this really feasible?"

"Your Majesty, I think it is feasible, but manpower is needed." Yang She replied: "In the past, when His Majesty first entered Luoyang, he asked the students of the Guozijian to record the width and depth of the rivers around Luoyang, and how much rain it rained in a year. After hearing this, I was suddenly enlightened. After several years of collection, the Guozijian recorded that there are about ten palms of rain in Luoyang a year, and there may be more than ten palms in the mountainous areas."

The palm is a unit of measurement for evaluating the height at the shoulder of a war horse.A palm is about ten centimeters.That is to say, the annual rainfall in Luoyang at this time is about [-] millimeters, and it even exceeds [-] millimeters in mountainous areas.

And this is also the main reason for the repeated flash floods.This autumn, the Luoshui River flowing through Shangyang Palace surged, apparently pouring into a large amount of flood water from the mountainous area, so the embankment in the project had to be reinforced urgently.

"Xiao Qing?" Shao Shude asked Xiao Fu again.

"There is indeed so much rain." Xiao Fu replied: "The Guozijian has recorded for several years and found that the rainfall is slightly less than a few years ago, but it still looks like ten palms."

Shao Shude nodded silently.

What an era of abundant precipitation!The annual precipitation of [-] millimeters fills rivers and reservoirs, nourishes farmland and pastures, and prospers water transportation and commerce.I dare not imagine what Henan will look like if this number is cut in half.

The statistics of Guozijian may be relatively rough, but the trend is indeed clear and intuitive.Shao Shude noticed Xiao Fu's words. It turned out that the rainfall in Luoyang has been gradually decreasing in recent years.

This process is very slow, and there may be repetitions in the middle, but the general trend should not be wrong.

Every major climate cycle, whether it is an ice age or a warm period, does have repetitions in the middle.During the glacial period, there is a small warm period with rebound and warming.During the warm period, there are also periods when the temperature drops.

But what we look at is mainly the general trend.Shao Shude hopes that after the temperature drops to a certain level in the past few years, there will be a wave of rebound, so that the people in the war can breathe.

"Then let's build it." Shao Shude said: "As for manpower, I will come to find a way, whether it is conscripting the people or releasing prisoners, there will be no shortage. However, before that, it is best to take the first-class national highway Go ahead and fix it."

This road has reached Ye County in the middle of this year, and is currently advancing in the direction of Fangcheng County.

With a first-class national road, when building a reservoir on the mountain, it is also convenient to transfer materials, which can greatly reduce the cost of the entire project, which is still very useful.Furthermore, having water transportation does not mean giving up land transportation, the two go hand in hand.

"Your Majesty, in the middle of the third year of the construction of the pole at the latest, the first-class national road can be built to Fangcheng." Yang She, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, said: "This road is indeed very important. After reaching Ye County, the goods exported to Luoyang There is a lot more, and the wild goods, grains, and livestock from the counties are continuously transported, and the prices of such goods on the market have dropped again and again, and the people have applauded."

Shao Shude smiled gratifiedly.As the capital, Luoyang is a pure consumption city, there is no doubt about it.The price of various commodities on the market depends only on the relationship between supply and demand.The improvement of transportation conditions can greatly increase the volume of goods transported and reduce transportation costs. These will eventually be reflected in the price of commodities. It is no wonder that the people are not applauded.

After talking about these two projects, Shao Shude said again: "Yang Qing, the Ministry of Industry will send a group of officials to Andong Mansion next year to guide them in building water canals, roads and houses. There are six counties in Andong Mansion including Lushun. To cheer up, the Ministry of Industry needs to make great efforts."

Just a few days ago, the last batch of ships left Lushun Port and returned to Dengzhou. This year's immigration and material transportation tasks were declared complete.

Considering the composition of the local people, Shao Shude felt that it should be improved.Therefore, in the third year of the establishment of the pole, in addition to continuing to transport the family members of Guide, Longwu Second Army, and Weibo immigrants, they will also recruit immigrants from Zhili, Henan, and Huaihai, and go to southern Liaoning for reclamation.

The preliminary plan is to transport at least [-] families of immigrants from Henan, [-] households of Weibo civilians, and some families of soldiers.The land of the six counties of Andong Prefecture will enter a period of great development next year, focusing on reclaiming wasteland, improving water conservancy facilities, relocating government soldiers, and consolidating the border defense system.

All of these require sufficient population support.The Central Plains states, others dare not say, at least in terms of population, they can solve the big gap.

"Your Majesty, the development of Anton is inseparable from Denglaiqing and other places." Yang She said: "I heard that the people of Huaihai Road are quite critical of supporting the development of Andong Mansion, thinking that they are purely helping outsiders. I feel that, Maybe it's time to adjust."

"I also have this intention for a long time." Shao Shude said: "After a while, the Anton Mansion will be included in the Huaihai Road. No matter how you look at it, the most convenient contact person for the Anton Mansion is Denglaiqing Sanzhou."

"Your Majesty is wise." Xiao Fu and Yang She responded together.

"Actually, these are trivial matters." Shao Shude stood up and said, "What I really care about is the various projects. You should encourage yourself. Two ponds at the pass of Fangcheng were built at the same time, and the foundation was laid first. After Jinxiang Road is almost completed, we can build it with all our strength."

After all, Shao Shude was still worried about this road, and wanted to continue to try the possibility of water transportation, transporting materials from the middle reaches of the Yangtze River to Luoyang through a canal with a ship lift.

If it succeeds, it will greatly change the situation where Luoyang relies on Henan and open up a new source of income and grain.

******
In fact, notices had been posted in the suburbs of Luoyang to recruit volunteers to settle in Liaodong, but the effect was not very good.

This is not surprising.Because most of the people who came to settle in Luoyang were warriors and family members of officials, and the living conditions here were good, it was normal not to want to leave.

But not without exception.

On this day, as a large number of Khitan prisoners were escorted to the capital, many people's minds became active.

In a restaurant next to Nanshi, a group of old men who looked like warriors looked at the Khitan captives displayed in the street downstairs without blinking.

Well, to say they were old men might be harsh.Because they generally look in their early forties, they are not small, but they are not really big.

There were cheers one after another in the street.

Winning battles is nothing new to the people of Luoyang.But every time the captives paraded through the streets, they were still very excited, after all, they were all idle people.

The sergeants escorting the prisoners also puffed up their chests and their stomachs, high-spirited, as if they had won the battle.

"After I retired, it seems that the ministries haven't recruited new people to make up for the vacancies." Someone glanced out the window enviously and said.

"No." Someone nodded: "There are rumors in the market that His Majesty may gradually reduce the number of each imperial army, and it will not be so fast to make up."

Veterans are discharged every year, and recruits are recruited every year.But this year is a little bit different. Originally, he had hoped that his nephew could join the army to make a living, but as a result, the various ministries of the Forbidden Army no longer recruited new recruits.

Warriors have fought together for a long time, so the relationship is naturally excellent.After a long time, it is normal to marry each other.If this situation develops for decades, the Luoyang Forbidden Army will become a sticky force that is pro-party.

The imperial court obviously didn't want to see this situation, so they successively set up four recruit training bases in Lingzhou, Weizhou, Shanzhou, and Yunzhou. Every year, some people trained and then made up for the various ministries, so as to reduce or delay the recruitment of recruits. Possibility of the Custodian pro-party glue.

There are even even more explosive rumors that the Nanya Privy Council will reduce the number of each imperial army, and each army will reduce two infantry commanders, adding up to 5000 people.In other words, the number of people in a single imperial army will be reduced to about [-]—the possibility of veterans and generals’ children joining the army will be further reduced, and the competition for the limited number of places will become increasingly fierce.

Of course, there is actually a way to change this decision of the imperial court.For example, they made a collective noise, but they didn't dare.

"How about trying your luck in Andong Mansion?" Someone suggested, "If my son can't join the Imperial Army, it will not be easy to live in Luoyang. I heard that Anton Mansion won a big victory this year and captured many cattle, sheep and dogs. If you go to be a soldier in the government, you can grant one hundred and fifty acres of land to each person, and you can inherit from father to son, which is actually pretty good."

As soon as these words came out, many people frowned and pondered.

Luoyang is a good place. If you want to leave here to seek a living in a remote place, this decision is not easy to make.

But practical difficulties also exist.Many sergeants did not purchase fields and had no permanent property.What's more, there is not much land around Luoyang for sale. Once you lose the huge income from serving in the army, life will actually be rather sad.

The number of the imperial army is indeed relatively large, and the annual expenditure is an extremely heavy burden. It is inevitable to gradually reduce the number of troops.

Some people dare to disarm, such as Zhu Quanzhong in history, who abolished the tens of thousands of troops in the 20th Party Congress to less than 15, and finally reduced it to less than [-].Some people did not dare, and even had accidents, such as the Later Tang and Later Jin Dynasties.

Shao Sheng obviously dared, so he had to make plans early.

"You can wait and see how the people who go first are doing." Someone broke the silence and everyone echoed.

(End of this chapter)