Dahan first prince

chapter 83

——In the tenth year of Emperor Gao, the prince supervised the country and repaired the Zhengguo Canal.

The prince wanted to prepare 20 stone bricks for the construction of Chang'an to be laid on the bottom of Zhengguo Canal, but all officials resisted.The prince refuted it angrily, and said to the officials: "It will not be possible to build the canal in a day, and Chang'an will not be built in a day...

A hundred years later, in the "Historical Records" written by Ma Qian of the Taishi Company, what Liu Ying did today was recorded as an allusion familiar to later generations: If the canal is not completed, it will not be built.

And as the buffoon in this allusion, who told Liu Ying that "Chang'an is more important than Zheng Guoqu", Yang Chengyan was sitting on Prime Minister Xiao He's bullock cart at this time, his expression was full of anxiety.

Although the cart was drawn by oxen, it was the prime minister of the court, and Xiao He's cart was not too shabby.

- at least big enough!

In the carriage, which was about one foot five feet wide and two feet long, Xiao He, Zhang Cang, and Yang Chengyan sat on their knees, and it wasn't too crowded.

The ox cart was driving slowly on Hao Street, north of Weiyang Palace, and the three people in the cart had different expressions.

Prime Minister Xiao He obviously hasn't been able to get over his previous self-ashamedness and feelings for Liu Ying's words, his eyes are still faintly red, and he can't stop sighing.

Ji Xiang Zhang Cang had a thoughtful look on his face, as if he wanted to say something, but felt that it was inappropriate, so he couldn't speak.

As for Yang Chengyan, his face was full of fear, and he couldn't help looking at Xiao He, as if hoping that Xiao He would say something.

Such a quiet atmosphere, I don't know how long it lasted in the carriage.

It wasn't until the ox cart creaked and drove to the vicinity of Beique that this eerie silence accompanied Xiao He's deep and leisurely sigh, and quietly disappeared into the carriage.

"I heard what the family said today, old man..."

"Ugh······"

"It can be described as enlightening..."

Full of bleak sigh, Xiao He laughed at himself and shook his head slightly.

"I thought that if the family was not as good as the weak crown last year, they must be more ambitious than pragmatic."

"But I never thought that it turned out that the old man was blinded by a leaf and lived for a year in vain. He couldn't even understand such a simple truth..."

As he spoke, Xiao He couldn't help but let out another long sigh.

"Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it~"

"Ok?"

As if asking himself, but also as if asking someone, Xiao He slightly smiled, and looked at Zhang Cang and Yang Chengyan in front of him.

Hearing this, Zhang Cang only put aside the thoughts in his heart temporarily, and nodded slightly in agreement.

"Extremely."

"In the past, I only misunderstood that the family was good at benevolence, but short of advice."

"However, today, I really see that the family members are young, mature, and fierce..."

As he said that, Zhang Cang couldn't help sighing, his eyes were full of admiration, anticipation, astonishment, and suspicion.

Regarding Xiao He and Zhang Cang's exclamation, Yang Chengyan seemed to be deaf to it.

Seeing Xiao He opened his mouth, Yang Chengyan hesitated to speak for a while, and finally bowed his hands a little anxiously.

"Master."

"What is the family's plan for today's matter?"

"The Shaofu now has 20 stone bricks. If they are used to build Chang'an, they can get ten miles of city walls!"

"You must know that the four walls of Chang'an can't cover more than [-] miles; if you get [-] stone bricks, you can build half of the wall!"

Asked a little confused, Yang Chengyan frowned even tighter.

"Also, even if the Zhengguo Canal is pressed on the bottom with uncut stones, it is not much different from stone bricks."

"Why does the family insist on building the stone bricks of Chang'an to pave the bottom of Zheng Guoqu?"

Seeing that Yang Chengyan was still unable to extricate himself from the blind alley of "why do we have to use stone bricks", Xiao He couldn't help but look sideways at Zhang Cang, and immediately the two looked at each other and smiled.

"Shaofu Yangchengyan..."

"Ugh."

"A kind and straightforward person..."

Secretly sighing again, Xiao He raised his head jokingly, and looked at Ji Xiang Zhang Cang, who was also uncontrollably amused.

"The confusion of the Shaofu, why not let the Marquis of Beiping resolve it?"

Hearing Xiao He's invitation, Zhang Cang couldn't help but smiled and nodded, then turned sideways, and gave Yang Chengyan a slight bow.

"The family wants to spend 20 stone bricks from Shaofu to pave the first five miles of the Zhengguo Canal. As Shaofu said: this seems like a waste of money."

"However, in this move, what the family wants may not be all the land of Guzheng Guoqu?"

As he said that, Zhang Cang did not forget to turn his head with kindness on his face, and looked at Xiao He with deep meaning in his eyes.

Seeing Xiao He nodded with a smile, he followed Zhang Cang's words.

"If you use 20 stone bricks to build Chang'an, you can get half of the four walls; if you lay them in the Zhengguo Canal, you can only get a mere five miles of a hundred miles upstream from the head of the canal."

"However, the family can tell the good strategy of 'pressing the earth with stones', and you should know that: ordinary uncut stones can also strengthen the soil of the Zhengguo Canal."

"But even so, the family still insists on using stone bricks. The Shaofu thinks, why?"

Hearing Xiao He's words, Yang Chengyan only frowned more tightly, thought hard for a while, and finally shook his head.

Seeing this, Xiao He couldn't help but smiled again, glanced sideways at Zhang Cang, and said in a cryptic way: "The family's desire is not to lay stone bricks in the Zhengguo Canal."

"It is to prepare the stone bricks for building Chang'an, and lay them in the Zhengguo Canal."

After saying that, Xiao He smiled at Yang Chengyan again.

"So, the Shaofu may understand?"

As soon as Xiao He finished speaking, Zhang Cang who was on the side seemed to be afraid that Yang Chengyan would not understand, and added a sentence pretending to himself: "The maintenance of the Zhengguo Canal requires [-] hard labor."

"Today, the Shaofu produces [-] official slaves, and hundreds of officials and courtiers, meritorious lords and relatives, at most no more than [-] private slaves."

"The remaining twenty-six thousand..."

After a short delay, Zhang Cang glanced at Yang Chengyan who was beside him.

"The remaining 20, probably all came from the heart of the Shaofu, preparing to build [-] stone bricks in Chang'an..."

Hearing this, Yang Chengyan thought for a while, and finally shook his head with a puzzled face.

"I was born as a military craftsman. I really can't understand what Xiang Xiang and the Marquis of Beiping said."

"And no matter what it is used for, isn't a stone brick still a stone brick?"

"Could it be that within these stone bricks, there can be tens of thousands of strong soldiers?"

As soon as Yang Chengyan said this, Xiao He and Zhang Cang were stunned for a moment, and then couldn't help laughing.

"Although the Shaofu's words are a little rough, but after careful consideration, they are quite reasonable?"

Zhang Cang made a kind joke, which made Xiao He nod his head with a smile.

"Well, it does."

"Within the stone bricks, there are actually tens of thousands of people!"

Zhang Cang and Xiao He spoke to each other, and the laughter in the carriage became louder in a moment.

After talking and laughing, it was Zhang Cang who finally looked at Xiao He slightly. Seeing Xiao He nodded with a smile, he straightened his face and looked at Yang Chengyan beside him.

"The Shaofu doesn't know at this time, but it's okay."

"However, at this moment, the Shaofu may go to the subordinate government office as soon as possible to record the number of slaves offered by courtiers, hundreds of officials, meritorious princes and noble relatives, and then bring the book into the palace to see the family."

Hearing this, Xiao He only smiled and shook his head, then turned sideways and looked out of the car window.

Today's Liu Ying clearly made Xiao He feel extremely strange, but when he thought about it carefully, he felt a little familiar inexplicably.

"Pursuing practical benefits, but also not forgetting to take into account the false name..."

"Ah······"

With a meaningful smile, Xiao He finally turned around and slowly closed his eyes.

"It really looks like..."

(End of this chapter)