my grandfather was qin shi huang

Chunyu Yue was stunned for a moment, then quickly bowed.

"Your Majesty is wise. Please forgive me. I was not thoughtful enough..."

Zhao Ying smiled and waved his hand.

"Minister Chunyu was also speaking out of a public spirit. When discussing matters in the court, everyone should express their own opinions. How can there be any talk of pardoning sins..."

Chunyu Yue bowed twice and then stepped back.

……

Zhangtai Palace.

As his health improved, the First Emperor's spirits also improved. His favorite rocking chair no longer seemed so nice to him. Although he would occasionally sit on it and enjoy a moment of leisure, he seldom lay on it for a long time to bask in the sun as he did in the past.

Now that he lives in the harem, he likes farming more and more.

The entire imperial garden had been dug up by him...

There is a row of greenhouses on the east side, and they are all full of vegetables.

Chives, garlic sprouts, shallots, coriander, cucumbers, water spinach, and the Kunlun purple melon, which was recently presented to Zhao Ying as a good omen to congratulate His Majesty on his ascension to the throne, is the eggplant known in later generations.

Among these, most were collected by Liu Ji from the Western Regions or Southeast Asia.

This guy has the advantage of geographical location and is familiar with his majesty's preferences. Whenever he hears about some fresh vegetables or grains in the Western Regions, no matter whether they are useful or not, he will find a way to find them, and then combine them with some other local rare things and send special people to deliver them to Zhao Ying.

And I don’t know if this guy did it on purpose, but he didn’t send much at a time, just one or two things.

The main hit is every now and then.

In the beginning, the First Emperor only planted a little bit of crops, but now he is so energetic that he simply ordered people to open up this imperial garden and plant crops for fun.

Fortunately, the season is cold now, otherwise Zhao Ying doubted whether he would plant winter wheat in this large area.

However, although he didn't plant anything now, he turned over all the land, saying that he wanted to dry the land and conserve its fertility. Anyway, he was just playing around. When he got tired of playing around, he would go to the open space nearby and shoot a few arrows.

Three stone strong bow!

It made him regain the feeling of being strong and healthy.

"Your Majesty, it hit the target, right in the bull's eye—"

At this moment, he drew his strong bow and shot an arrow. Hearing the surprised voice from the eunuch in the distance, the First Emperor slowly put down the bow and arrow in his hand. Suddenly, he lost the interest to continue shooting. He turned around and handed the bow and arrow to the eunuch who was standing with his hands hanging aside, and slowly walked towards the shed nearby.

There is a warm path that he and Zhao Ying, the grandfather and grandson, built with their own hands, as well as various colorful vegetables that he and Zhao Ying, the grandfather and grandson, planted together. Now these vegetables, covered by greenhouses, have grown tender green.

The greenhouse is made entirely of colorless glazed tiles, and looks like a magnificent crystal palace under the sun.

If calculated based on the selling price of the glass shops in Xianyang City, the cost of building this greenhouse is almost unimaginable. If this gets out to the outside world, it will probably become another proof of the First Emperor's extravagance.

But both the grandfather and the grandson knew very well that compared with the selling price, the cost of this thing was actually pitifully low.

If it weren't for the colored glaze from the colored glaze workshop, not only would it be sold well in all parts of Daqin, but even the Hu merchants who originally brought colored glaze from some small countries further west in the Western Regions would start to import it from Xianyang and sell it in their own countries. It has gradually become a very important source of income for the court, and the two of them, grandfather and grandson, probably have the idea of ​​promoting it nationwide.

Now, who would want to be treated as trash if they can be sold as treasures...

Although it is already October, it is very warm inside the greenhouse and there is no need to turn on the floor heating.

Entering the greenhouse, you can see a completely different scene from the outside world, lush green, which makes people feel refreshed. The First Emperor squatted on the ground and began to carefully tend to the Kunlun purple melons that were just over a foot long.

Hearing the familiar footsteps behind him, the First Emperor did not turn back.

Hei silently stood behind the First Emperor and bowed.

"Your Majesty, just now the Minister of Rites Chunyu Yue proposed that the new emperor change the era name..."

The First Emperor's hand movements paused slightly, then returned to normal, and he hummed softly, without any sign of anger or relief.

"...However, the new emperor rejected it on the spot..."

The First Emperor's voice finally showed some movement.

"How did he say……"

Hei said honestly.

"Your Majesty, the new emperor believes that your achievements surpass those of the Three Sovereigns and your virtue surpasses those of the Five Emperors. The fact that the Great Qin can be what it is today is entirely due to your achievements, which can be a model for all ages. Therefore, it is decided to use the first year of the First Emperor as the first year of the Common Era..."

When the First Emperor heard this, he did not look back, but the broken Kunlun purple melon in his hand truly betrayed his mood at the moment. After a long time, he put down the broken Kunlun purple melon in his hand and stood up.

Shaked his head gently.

"This kid is really patient. He didn't even discuss such a big matter with me beforehand..."

In fact, there was one sentence he didn't say.

That is, is this child really not worried that my reputation will overshadow his?

He thought to himself that if it were him, he probably wouldn't be able to do this.

Hei could sense the relief in the First Emperor's heart, and his tone also became cheerful. He followed the First Emperor carefully, fearing that he would step on the seedlings that the First Emperor had planted himself.

"Your Majesty also said that future generations should count according to the Gregorian calendar, which will never change. I think that he may feel that calling the First Emperor by his years is disrespectful to Your Majesty..."

The First Emperor smiled and shook his head without saying anything else.

Coming out of his own shed, the First Emperor looked at the sky, then turned and walked towards the hall in front where government affairs were handled.

Looking at the direction where the First Emperor left, a smile appeared in Hei's eyes.

Your Majesty, it has been a long time since you have been so active.

It seems that the decision made by His Majesty at the court meeting today really pleased His Majesty.

As an old man who had been with the First Emperor since childhood, he naturally wanted to see the First Emperor and Zhao Ying, the grandfather and grandson, live in harmony and have a good beginning and a good end, rather than seeing any tragedy of fratricide.

Your Majesty, your life has been very hard. You have finally been able to live a normal life for a few days. You cannot lose this again.

Now it seems that the thing I was most worried about has really passed.

The rest of the days were uneventful.

The First Emperor would go to the front hall on time every day to handle government affairs with his grandson, just like when he let Zhao Ying act as regent, and he was willing to support his grandson.

Forehead--

That can't be said, because now he not only has to be a back-up, but also has to do the real work. Zhao Ying, this bastard who doesn't behave like a human being, treats his grandfather like a coolie every day.

The most outrageous thing is that these days, he often throws all the work to him under the pretext of going back to see his children.

That’s too much!
The First Emperor kept grumbling to himself and complained to the Black Butler every day about this bastard who was not a good son of heaven, but his subordinates continued to work without any slack, and even their appetite was a little better than usual.

The twenty-eighth year of Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s reign, mid-October.

The winter rice in areas such as the south of the Yangtze River is about to be harvested, but heavy snow has already fallen in areas such as the north.

Zhangtai Palace.

On the steps of the main hall.

Zhao Ying and the First Emperor, wearing snow-white fur coats, stood side by side, looking at the heavy snow falling outside. The snow was dense and complicated, covering the entire Xianyang city, and it was so vast that there was no end in sight.

He couldn't help but frown.

This heavy snowfall was even heavier than last year's. It had been snowing heavily for three or four days, and the snow outside was a foot high. Now, nearly two-thirds of the imperial guards in Xianyang City had gone out in the snow to help the people nearby shovel the snow to avoid casualties caused by the heavy snow crushing the houses.

Zhao Ying had specially summoned the Grand Historian to inquire about it, and also consulted Zhang Liang, Huang Shigong and others, but the responses he got were not optimistic.

This heavy snow showed no sign of stopping in the short term, which made both the grandfather and grandson quite worried.

While thinking, Zhao Ying's ears moved slightly, and he turned his head to look into the depths of the snow in surprise. Because the heavy snow blocked the door, in the past few days, except for Wang Li, who was personally responsible for guarding Xianyang and presiding over the task of clearing the snow for officers and soldiers, and Shaofu Shi Lu and Xianyang Ling Yan Le, who were in charge of disaster relief, everyone else was basically in a semi-resting state.

The snow is falling too heavily.

Even though there were soldiers clearing the snow from time to time, it was still inconvenient to travel, so Zhao Ying simply gave everyone a few days off.

After all, in the dead of winter, there are not as many urgent government affairs to be dealt with as during the busy farming season.

Soon, the First Emperor saw someone walking towards him in the snow, with one foot deep and one foot shallow. When he got closer, the First Emperor saw that the person was Shi Teng, the governor of Qin.

"Your servant Shi Teng greets the Emperor, greets His Majesty—"

Nei Shiteng walked to the steps, stopped, gently stamped the snow on his feet, tidied his appearance, then quickly stepped forward and bowed.

Looking at Nei Shiteng, whose entire body was dyed white by the heavy snow.

Zhao Ying smiled and stretched out his hand to help.

"My dear, there is no need to be so polite. It is snowing hard outside. Let's go in first and have a sip of hot tea to drive away the cold wind..."

After everyone sat down and the palace maid brought them steaming hot ginger tea, Zhao Ying looked at Nei Shi Teng with a smile.

"You have come here in such bad weather and snow, my dear, but what is the important matter..."

Nei Shiteng put down the teacup in his hand and stood up with his head bowed.

"Your Majesty, due to the heavy snow blocking the roads, the grain collected from Jiangnan cannot be transported back to Xianyang on time. The grain and grass needed by the three counties in Mobei and the Western Regions cannot be delivered on time either. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me for some time..."

Upon hearing this, the First Emperor frowned slightly and subconsciously turned his head to look at Zhao Ying.

Food and grass are the foundation of a country. Once there is a problem with its transportation, the situation will become extremely difficult and the garrisons in various places may soon face the serious problem of food shortage.

Not only that, the people escorting the food and fodder would be trapped in the snow by humans, and the loss alone would be a very serious problem if they were fed and munched by horses.

Zhao Ying thought about it and then said in a deep voice.

"Perhaps I can think of a way to solve this problem..."

Upon hearing this, the eyes of the First Emperor and Nei Shi Teng lit up.

……

Soon after, looking at the sleds and ice beds outside the hall, the First Emperor and Neishiteng could not help but feel excited.

"Your Majesty, you are truly a genius. You can come up with such a plan. Really, really - I bow down to you..."

Looking at Nei Shi Teng who was spinning around excitedly, touching left and looking right, Zhao Ying couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't be too optimistic. First of all, we can't find many suitable dogs for this sled. If we can only use manpower to pull it, the effect will probably be minimal..."

Having said that, Zhao Ying turned his gaze towards the ice bed.

"On the contrary, this ice bed may be slightly better. After a few days, when the ice on the river is a little thicker, we can easily transport food and fodder. The efficiency may even be as good as that of horses and carriages..."

Upon hearing this, the excitement on Nei Shiteng's face faded a little.

He said with some regret.

"It's a really good thing. It saves time and effort. It can even save the energy of livestock. It's a pity that the river can't go directly to Xianyang. Otherwise, even if it snows heavily, it won't affect the transportation of our food and grass..."

After saying this, he sighed with a look of regret.

"The south of the Yangtze River has become a rice-producing area that is no less than Guanzhong. If we can continue northward along the Hang Canal and build a canal to connect the five major water systems of the Haihe River, the Yellow River, the Huaihe River, the Yangtze River, and the Qiantang River, wouldn't it greatly facilitate transportation between the north and the south..."

Nei Shi Teng was just speaking from his heart, but Zhao Ying couldn't help but be moved when he heard it.

Continue northward along the Hang Canal, and you will see the five major water systems: the Haihe River, the Yellow River, the Huaihe River, the Yangtze River, and the Qiantang River!
Isn’t this the Grand Canal from Beijing to Hangzhou?

If it is really completed, it will not only facilitate transportation between the north and the south, but will also greatly strengthen the court's control over Jiangnan and other places.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smile and nodded.

"Good, I'll follow your words!"

Neishiteng: ...

I immediately settled in Bengbu.

Seeing that Nei Shi Teng was dumbfounded and the First Emperor was frowning and looking at him with very strange eyes, Zhao Ying couldn't help laughing.

"When the weather warms up a bit, I will follow your advice and immediately gather people to build this Grand Canal connecting the north and the south..."

Seeing that Zhao Ying didn't seem to be joking, Nei Shiteng's expression suddenly changed.

"Your Majesty, please don't do that. I just had a feeling, don't take it seriously..."

To build a grand canal connecting the north and the south, anyone with a little bit of idea would know how big the project is and how much manpower and material resources are needed.

Just a simple thought made Neishiteng feel his scalp tingling.

If this were really done -

If you go out, you will be scolded to death. I guess the common people will even want to beat you up with a club in the middle of the night.

"This matter will benefit the present and future generations. Even if we don't do it today, our descendants will be able to do it. We may be able to do it slowly..."

Unlike Neishiteng's blind worries, the First Emperor keenly discovered the potential value of building this Grand Canal.

Once the construction is completed, it will be equivalent to opening up the hub of Jiangnan and Guanzhong, and becoming a complete whole.

Zhao Ying smiled and nodded.

"Father, what you said makes sense. It is indeed not suitable to dig a canal in the north now that it is covered with ice and snow. However, the weather in the south of the Yangtze River is warm, and it is also the off-season for farming. Perhaps we can take this opportunity to have the people straighten the Han Canal, widen it, and deepen it so that it can carry the dragon-headed warships of our Great Qin..."

The First Emperor understood the elegant meaning of the music and nodded in praise.

"good!"

Neishiteng: ...

Well, the Emperor Emeritus and Your Majesty have already hit it off, and I'm afraid there's no room for maneuver in this matter.

It goes without saying how many benefits there are to building this Grand Canal. But he is now worried that if he goes out, he will be beaten up by others. After all, Daqin already has enough projects.

The three counties in Mobei were going to build cities and settlements on the grasslands. The construction in Hexi was in full swing, and the construction in Anxi County was also going on. Liu Ji had not stopped building the highway for more than a year.

The number of applications for money and grain is almost one every month, which is simply inhumane.

In Shangjun, the situation was not peaceful either. No one dared to easily stop the land reclamation plan that was set by the Emperor. Hundreds of thousands of laborers gathered in Mount Li.

If we were building such a large canal...

His scalp tingled.

Your Majesties, aren't you afraid of the collapse of the Qin Empire?

In fact, Zhao Ying had his own ideas. Unlike Emperor Yang of Sui in later generations, the current labor system of the Qin Dynasty paid the common people who came to work, and the wages were not low.

In addition, he was not prepared to complete it with the full power of the court.

Perhaps he could learn from what he did in Kuaiji County and get all the wealthy businessmen and powerful families in the world to participate. After all, they were just holding a blank check and exchanging it for current benefits.

For example, the wealthy businessmen who participated in the event could not only enjoy tariff reductions when traveling on the canal, but they could also receive official protection from the Qin Dynasty!
Protection fees!
Even though the laws of the Qin Dynasty are very strict, they cannot change the fact that banditry is rampant everywhere. When these wealthy families transport goods north and south, their expenses on security alone are astronomical.

Now, I can promise them protection from the government. I just want to ask you if you are willing to do so. (End of this chapter)