A Millennium Aristocratic Family Starting from the Shang Dynasty

Chapter 369 The opening of the canal in Luoyang, the divine capital
In the third year of Tianming's reign, the emperor issued an order to investigate the country, and a large number of local powerful people, nobles, and officials were investigated.As time goes by, the intensity of the inspections has not weakened, but has become stronger and stronger.

The extent of the involvement even reached an astonishing [-].Of course, there are local powerful officials and officials who have violated the law, but there are also many local officials who take the opportunity to attack political opponents and plunder money.

After Wang Ce realized that something was wrong, he immediately wrote to Wang Jing.After seeing Wang Ce's letter, Wang Jing was suddenly shocked. The matter really needed to be controlled at this point.

An edict was immediately issued to terminate the investigation.

The oppressive political atmosphere gradually relaxed, and society regained its vitality.After clearing out the previous vested interests, the imperial court obtained a large amount of land, and a large number of hidden households were liberated and became ordinary people.

The imperial court's taxation did not decrease due to the allocation by those powerful men, but instead received a considerable increase.After all, those local powerful officials will find various ways to evade taxes, while ordinary people have no connections and can only pay taxes honestly.

In the Taifu, Xiao He, the chief minister of the Taifu, was checking this year's tax situation. At this moment, a petty official came over in a hurry.

"Zhengqing, this is the land tax around Luoyang this year. I have checked it several times and there are no mistakes or omissions!" He handed over the document.

Xiao He took the document and looked through it. He quickly frowned and asked, "Why is there less food in this year's grain tax?"

"Mr. Sir, the people around Luoyang are more willing to pay copper coins to offset taxes, so there is less food."

Daqian implemented a regular tax that could be deducted by paying grain or copper coins. However, people in other areas basically paid grain and few paid copper coins. However, the opposite was true in Luoyang. More people paid copper coins than grain.

One of the important reasons for this is that Luoyang City is too prosperous, with merchants from all over the world, and a large amount of goods gathered here.This resulted in prosperous commerce here and a lot of copper coins in the hands of the people.

Xiao He nodded and asked the official to go back, while he continued to check the documents. After a while, Xiao He sighed: "There is less food in Luoyang this year. It seems that we will increase the amount recruited from other areas. Next year Some additional corvees will also be levied.”

"By the way, I have to show it to Your Majesty first." Xiao He immediately picked up the document and walked out.

Xiao He was also surprised when this kind of problem occurred in the Luoyang area.

There are many fertile fields in the Luoyang Basin, and they are irrigated by Yinluo water. They should be able to be self-sufficient in food, but the reality is that Luoyang is short of food.

The city of Luoyang has become more prosperous. Since Wang Luo moved the capital to Luoyang, the population of Luoyang has continued to increase.In this period when most parts of the world are in civilized deserts, Luoyang City at this time is a shining pearl.

When Wang Luo moved the capital, 40 people moved to Luoyang, including 10 in Luoyang city and 30 in the surrounding areas.After more than 30 years of recuperation, the combined population of Luoyang City and surrounding areas now exceeds one million.

With such a large population, a large number of garrisons, royal nobles, and civil and military officials all living here, the need for food is even greater.

Originally, even with such a large population, the Luoyang area could still supply it.But with the development of business and the large number of wealthy and powerful people in Luoyang City who began to demand a variety of food, things changed.

Those rich and powerful people wanted to eat fruits and vegetables. These things were prone to spoilage and could only be grown nearby, so many people began to grow fruits and vegetables.

After these people started planting, they found that the income from growing fruits and vegetables was obviously higher than that from growing grain.As the emperor's capital, Luoyang's food prices were almost the lowest in the country.

The people were not stupid and made their choice easily.As a result, a large amount of farmland was no longer planted with food, but with cash crops.

There are many dignitaries in Luoyang City, and the demand for fruits and vegetables is very astonishing. The yields of fruits and vegetables in this era are not as high as in later generations, so the planting area is large. More cash crops are planted, and less food is grown. .

Even though there is a lot of fertile farmland in the Luoyang area, there is still not enough food.

Dragon Head Palace.

Wang Jing was handling government affairs, and his chamberlain came to report. Xiao He, the chief minister of the Taifu, came to see him. "Let him in!"

After a while, the chamberlain came with Xiao He.

"Your Majesty, Xiao He, is here to see you. May your Majesty be safe!"

"Good morning." Wang Jing said with a smile: "Xiao Qing came just in time. Sit down quickly. I am here to ask Xiao Qing."

"What do you want to ask, Your Majesty?" Xiao He asked after sitting down.

"The former emperor considered the corvee to be light and the tax to be low. Why is the corvee in the counties around Luoyang increasing every year?"

"Your Majesty, the increase in corvee labor is to transport supplies and food." Xiao He said.

"Oh, why is that?"

Xiao He said: "Luoyang is the center of the world. There are millions of people and many needs. The world's wealth is gathered here, so a large number of corvees are needed to transport it."

"Isn't there a Chi Dao?" Wang Jing asked.

"Your Majesty, although there is a way, there are more supplies." Xiao He sighed, and then handed Wang Jing the slips and the documents he compiled and said: "Your Majesty, please see, this is the quantity of supplies compiled by the Taifu."

Wang Jing took the document and looked through it briefly, and was immediately shocked by the numbers in it.

Luoyang needs to transport [-] carts of charcoal alone, and even more other materials.Seeing this, Wang Jing realized how much material support Luoyang, the most prosperous, most magnificent and largest city in all Xia, needed.

"Is there anything Xiao Qing can do?" Wang Jing asked.

"Your Majesty, there is nothing you can do!" Xiao He shook his head and said. If he wants to reduce Luoyang's supply, the best way is to reduce the number of high-ranking nobles and officials in the city. But how can this be reduced?Or another way is to move the capital.But this is even more impossible.

Wang Jing thought for a moment and realized that this was almost impossible.

"Your Majesty, although it is impossible to reduce the supply, there are other ways!" Xiao He said suddenly.

"What's the solution?" Wang Jing asked immediately.

"Canal!" Xiao He said: "Your Majesty, Chidao cannot transport too many materials, but it can dig a canal. At that time, the Huai'an Canal connected to the Huaihe River in the north and to Suzhou in the south. Goods gathered in Huai'an, and the labor required was much lower than in Luoyang. Today, Luoyang has The water of Yinluo has the Yellow River in the north. If a canal can be dug, the world's goods will flow smoothly!"

After Wang Jing heard this, he felt that it was reasonable to build the canal, and immediately ordered the craftsmen to come as supervisors.

After the master craftsman arrived, Wang Jing asked directly: "Is it feasible to dig a canal from Luoyang to Huai'an?"

Hearing this, the great craftsman said: "Your Majesty, Luoyang has abundant water resources. There is a canal in Huai'an that connects to the Huai River. A canal from Luoyang to Huai'an can be built."

Wang Jing said happily: "You will make a plan as soon as possible and then submit a letter to the court!"

"only!"

(End of this chapter)