A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 870 I watch the sky at night

In the seventh year of Zhenguan,

Jiucheng Palace,

"Your Majesty, I would like to inform you that the Grand Historian and General Li Chunfeng have an audience."

By the Dushui River, the emperor summoned Li Chunfeng.

"What's the hurry to come from Chang'an?" The emperor was fishing under the willow tree, dressed casually. He wanted to train the prince, so he simply handed over the state affairs to the prince. He concentrated on accompanying the queen in Qizhou Palace.

After experiencing the major case in the early days of Zhenguan, Li Chunfeng has been quiet for several years and has become much calmer.

"Your Majesty, I cast the Huntian Zodiac Instrument,"

"Place it in Ninghui Pavilion of Taiji Palace."

The armillary zodiac is an instrument for measuring celestial bodies and demonstrating celestial phenomena. It imitates the shape of the celestial sphere seen by the naked eye. The instrument is made into multiple concentric rings, and the whole is like a sphere. Celestial objects are observed through a viewing tube that can rotate around the center.

This instrument has a long history. Li Chunfeng changed the double ring into a triple instrument to make it more complete.

"Your Majesty, I observed the celestial phenomena at night, made calculations and deductions, and came to the conclusion that there will be floods in Shandong and Henan this autumn. I hope the court can take precautions early."

"Shandong Dashui? How big is the water?"

"The thirteen states in the lower reaches of the Yellow River may be affected."

Hearing this, Li Shimin couldn't help but look serious.

Li Chunfeng is from the Taishi Bureau. Stargazing and calendar calculation are their profession, and weather forecasting is also one of their duties. This is the most mysterious group of people. Most of them are Taoist priests, and most of them have skills passed down from their ancestors.

The emperor still believed in Li Chunfeng's ability.

On the same day, Li Shimin summoned a group of veterans accompanying him at Jiucheng Palace.

Qin Qiong, Sun Wuji and others were very serious when they heard that there would be big floods in the thirteen states of Guandong. Since Zhenguan, the weather has been smooth and there has never been such a big disaster.

This involves countless people in the thirteen states in the lower reaches of the Yellow River.

Even though the lower reaches of the Yellow River in the Central Plains have suffered the most serious damage since the late Sui Dynasty, it is still a plain area and has recovered relatively quickly.

If there is a flood in the thirteen states in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, countless people will be affected.

Changsun Wuji asked, "How can we ensure that Li Chunfeng's calculation is correct?"

Yang Gongren said, "It is better to believe that this matter exists than to believe that it does not exist. Besides, if there is a big flood, we can actually find some supporting evidence."

Li Shimin said, "Li Chunfeng said it was a flood in August, and it is approaching now,"

After some discussion, they all agreed that we should pay more attention to it now and prepare a disaster relief plan while also conducting investigations.

At this time, the Yellow River still came out of the Bohai Bay and was the dividing line between Henan and Hebei.

Wei, Pu, Ji, Cao, Yun, Qi, Zi, Qing,

Wei, Wei, Bo, De, Di,

Below Zhengzhou, there are thirteen states on both sides of the Yellow River,

Once there is a major flood, most of the counties in the thirteen prefectures will be submerged. Historically, major floods on the Yellow River have occurred. The fundamental reason is that the Yellow River is an above-ground river in the lower reaches.

Many river embankments are not adequately repaired, and when encountering rare major floods, they often burst and flood.

"Your Majesty, please go to Dengzhou and seal it to prepare for floods."

Kaifu Yi requested the third division and Prince Taifu Qin Qiong.

"Okay, Uncle Bao, you will return to Dengzhou today and seal it, and patrol Shandong to observe the customs of the province. Once there is a disaster, you will dispatch and coordinate the disaster relief on the south bank of the Yellow River. The right-hand leader is the general Prince Consort Dou Dan, and the governor of Qizhou is Qi Wang Li. You will be your deputy."

"Yang Gongren specially went to Hebei as an envoy to observe the customs of the province. Shi Zhangliang, the governor of Xiangzhou, and Shi Cheng Yaojin, the governor of Youzhou, served as deputy envoys."

Li Shimin not only agreed to Qin Qiong's request, but also sent another senator, Yang Gongren, Duke of Guan, to inspect Hebei.

Henan and Hebei have each sent a former prime minister to take charge. If there is a major flood, they can coordinate and direct disaster relief in a timely manner.

Qin Qiong and Yang Gongren rushed to Chang'an to convey the emperor's will,

Here Cheng Qian also quickly summoned the ministers to discuss the matter.

"I feel that we have to take precautions. If there is a big flood, then another minister should be sent to the south bank of the Yellow River to take command. Otherwise, it will be more than a thousand miles away, and the command will not be able to come. Especially if there is a big flood, transportation will be blocked and information transmission will be inconvenient. "

The right servant shot the Duke of Wei, Li Jing, to request that he also go to Henan. As the Duke of Wei, he was granted the title of Puzhou, and he was willing to go and seal it at this time.

"Then I will assign Yun, Pu, Cao, and Hua west of Jeju to your right servant to patrol the province."

Fang Xuanling suggested that it would be best to put Zheng and Bian prefectures under Li Jing's overall control. If there is a big flood in the Yellow River, Zheng and Bian prefectures may also be affected. Even if they are not flooded, these two prefectures will be very important in disaster relief. Just paddle in.

So Prince Cheng Qian appointed Shangshu's right servant She Li Jing as his envoy to observe the situation, and the governor of Yangzhou, Shi Li Xiyu, and the governor of Yanzhou, Shi Huangfu Wuyi, as deputy envoys.

The imperial court began mobilizing food for disaster preparedness in advance.

Investigations from various aspects have found that a major flood may really be coming, and the government and the public are becoming nervous.

Qin Qiong had been recuperating for several years and was still in good health. After receiving the order, he rushed to Dengzhou day and night regardless of fatigue.

In the event of a major flood, the Jiaodong Peninsula, which is not affected, can become an important place for disaster relief and resettlement.

Dengzhou,

The Sui Dynasty belonged to Donglai County. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, there was great chaos in Shandong. The brothers Chun Yunan and Chun Yulang from Huang County gathered in Wendeng and formed a separate empire. In the fourth year of Wude, they dedicated their land to the Tang Dynasty. Li Yuan ordered Wendeng to establish Dengzhou and made Chunyu Nan the governor. , and was granted the title of Duke of Jin.

In the first year of Zhenguan, Dengzhou Province was abolished and merged into Laizhou, and Chunyu Nan entered the court as an official.

This time, all the kings and honorable ministers were granted the title of worldly title. Qin Qiong, the Duke of Qi, was originally granted the title of governor of Qizhou. Later, King Li You of Qi also made him the governor of Qizhou, so he changed it to the title of governor of Xuzhou. However, the emperor also made his younger brother King Xu. Finally, the emperor An edict was issued to restore Dengzhou. This time not only Dengzhou was restored, but Huang County in Laizhou was also included. The state governance was changed from Wendeng to Penglai Town in the original Laizhou, and was upgraded to Penglai County, which became the state governance.

The move of the state government to Penglai was mainly due to the rise of maritime trade in Datang in recent years.

In the Spring and Autumn Period, the Shandong Peninsula opened a route starting from coastal ports, crossing the Changshan Islands in the north to the Liaodong Peninsula, and then turning south along the southeast coast to reach the Korean Peninsula.

From the Han Dynasty to the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, this route became a famous golden route along the coast.

During the Sui Dynasty, they conquered Goguryeo several times, advancing both by sea and land. Each time they conquered Liao, large armies set out from the Denglai Sea to attack the Korean Peninsula.

When Dengzhou Sea enters the Goguryeo Road, it starts from Penglai Port, passes through the Miaodao Islands to the Liaodong Peninsula, and then travels along the coast to Goguryeo. This route is relatively safe and reliable because it sails close to the coastline, and there are many beautiful scenery along the coast. Able to trade along the way,

Compared with flying directly to Pyongyang, it takes longer, but the risk is also lower.

Penglai Port in Dengzhou has become more and more lively in recent years. Not only does the Goguryeo Seaway go north, but Dengzhou Port also goes south to Yangzhou, Hangzhou and other ports for trade.

The imperial court even set up naval forces in Denglai.

Du Gou, the son of Du Ruhui, is now the Duke of Du State. He served as an officer and leader in Dengzhou Port two years ago. As a result, while suppressing smuggling and suppressing pirates at sea, his left hamstring was severed by a needlefish.

A good Duke of Lai became lame and was transferred back to Chang'an ahead of schedule.

The needlefish is more than two feet long, smooth and slender, and has a hard and slender mouth. It can be called the king in the sea.

The needlefish is delicious, but it is difficult to catch. This fish is shaped like a snake, and it can get through very fine meshes. If you use a fishing hook to catch the fish, the mouth of the stiltfish is very long. After eating the bait, it will spit out the hook, so people cannot catch this marine fish in large quantities for a long time.

Du Gou, the dignified Duke of Lai, had his hamstring broken by a fish. It can be said that it was a great shame and humiliation. After returning to Chang'an, he still remembered this revenge. He offered a large reward for catching the needle fish. Finally, someone finally found a way.

He developed a fishhook with barbs so that the needlefish cannot spit out its life after biting the hook. He also invented the use of many floating gourds connected together and hung rows of fishhook on the net rope to form a net array. You can catch many needlefish at once.

Du Gou sent people to teach this method to the fishermen along the coast of Denglai for free, and taught them how to catch stilts. They also bought large quantities of snails. Many fishermen made a small fortune from snails. The fishermen pooled their money to collect fish in the backyard of the East China Sea Temple. Here, a Gou temple was built and Du Gou was called the God of Gou.

Nowadays, people in Chang’an can eat Denglai’s needlefish.

Qin Qiong has also tasted the meat of this acupuncture fish, which has a sharp mouth and a snake-like body. It is still very delicious.

Dengzhou was abolished for six years, and now it has been restored again, but it is all designed to reward Qin Qiong.

Compared with the previous two counties in Dengzhou during the Chun Yu Nan period, there are now four counties in Dengzhou, which is nearly twice as large as before, and it also has the important Penglai Port.

After Qin Qiong arrived at Penglai, Dengzhou, he held a simple enthronement ceremony, and then quickly visited the four counties of Dengzhou.

"Huaiyu told me before that Penglai Harbor Beach is thin and shallow, and it freezes in winter, making it difficult for ships to enter and exit. The best port in Dengzhou should be Zhifu Bay under Zhifu Island, with deep and wide water, no freezing and no siltation.

Now that I have seen it with my own eyes, it is indeed the case.

Zhifu Island in the north of Hong Kong is connected to the mainland and is a natural barrier. The most amazing thing is that it does not freeze all year round. "

Zhifu Bay is actually the Yantai Port in later generations, a rare ice-free port in the north, as famous as Lushun and Qingdao.

At this time, Qingdao Bay was in Laizhou, and Jiaozhou Bay was the boundary between Laizhou and Mizhou. In the later Yuan Dynasty, in order to facilitate water transportation, a new canal was dug along the glue water from Mawankou of Jiaozhou Bay in the south to Haicang in Laizhou Bay in the north, making Jiaozhou Bay It was once very prosperous, but at this time Jiaozhou Bay was as unknown as Zhifu Bay.

On the contrary, Penglai Port, with average harbor conditions, prospered due to the northbound Goguryeo Sea Route. It turned from a fishing village into a town, and then was upgraded to a county, and became the new state government of Dengzhou.

Recalling that Huaiyu had written to him to discuss the development and construction of Zhifu Port after he was granted the title of governor of Dengzhou, Qin Qiong thought this was a good proposal. Huaiyu even mentioned that he would cooperate with the Du family to develop Qingdao Port. .

Although Du Ruhui died young, he was awarded the title of meritorious official this time. He was given the title of governor of Mizhou and his country was in Lai. Du Gou inherited the title of Duke of Lai and the post of governor of Mizhou.

To be precise, half of Jiaozhou Bay belongs to Miszhou, but Qingdao belongs to Laizhou. However, the Du family inherited the title of Shifeng Governor of Mizhou, and Qingdao, an excellent ice-free port, was right at their doorstep, so it was very convenient to develop it together.

Anyway, Laizhou was not enfeoffed.

"Let's go to Qizhou."

Licheng in Qizhou was the hometown of Qin Qiong, later known as Jinan. It was named because it lived south of the Jishui River.

At this time, Licheng was still south of Jishui, and the Yellow River was still further north. Bordering the Yellow River were Zhu'a County and Yucheng County.

Surrounded by lotuses and three by willows, one city is surrounded by mountains and half is surrounded by lakes. At this time, the terrain of Licheng was not relatively high. Qin Qiong decided to set up his headquarters in the Taoist Huayang Palace on Hua Bu Zhu Mountain outside Licheng, commanding Qing Ziqi. Economic flood prevention and disaster relief.

No matter how great the flood is, it is impossible to submerge Huabuzhu Mountain.

"Mr. Qin, the Crown Prince of Chang'an Supervisor has arrived."

Qin Qiong took a look at it with a solemn expression. The imperial court has approved that the thirteen states in the lower reaches of the Yellow River will transfer grain storage to safe places and begin the preliminary mobilization and resettlement of the people. Once a flood occurs, they must be able to They can be relocated at once and have a place to stay and food to provide relief.

Especially for food, floods are rampant and roads are impassable, making it difficult to transport food from other places as soon as possible.

We must first ensure local food security.

"Li Chunfeng can use the Huntian Zodiac to observe the sky and observe that there will be a big flood on the Yellow River in August. If there is no big flood, then won't our work be in vain?" Li You, the king of Qi, the governor of Qizhou, and the governor, who came over, shouted in dissatisfaction. road.

"Your Majesty, you are not afraid of 10,000, just in case. Moreover, when the Prince of the Supervisory State issued this order, he had already gone through many verifications and determined that there would be a flood soon. This is basically correct."

"Li Chunfeng has the ability to predict the future?" Li You didn't believe it.

"It is now the end of July, and it will soon be August. Recently, heavy rains have fallen in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, day and night, and there is no sign of stopping the rain. Heavy rains have also begun to fall in Guanzhong, Henan, and Hebei. If the rain does not stop, There will definitely be a big flood." Qin Qiong said.

"But isn't the sun shining brightly in our Qizhou?"

Before Li You finished speaking, there was a sudden thunder, then strong winds, dark clouds, and heavy rain suddenly came, and the rain poured down, like the Milky Way bursting its banks!

Li You was stunned.

(End of this chapter)