A Millennium Aristocratic Family Starting from the Shang Dynasty

Chapter 370: Drilling a canal to connect the world
The city of Luoyang became more and more prosperous, with silks from Jiangnan, ivory from Lingnan, furs from Liaodong, preserved fruits from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, jade from the Western Regions, fine wine from Jinling, and a dazzling array of commodities.

Every day when the city gate opens, there is an endless stream of caravans coming and going.There are many restaurants in the city, and during the period when a large number of merchants come and go, the Yellow River carp is the most popular, which means the carp leaping over the dragon gate.And Luoyang is the imperial capital. Every three years, the Academy Examination takes place when the carp leaps over the dragon gate, and when you jump over, the carp transforms into a dragon.

Almost all the farmland ten miles away from the city has been planted with vegetables and fruit trees, and these fruit trees are supplied to the dignitaries of Luoyang City.

Even the water that the dignitaries drank was delivered from mountain springs outside the city.

Luoyang City is like a black hole, swallowing up materials from all over the world, and there are long convoys on the roads every day.

After Xiao He raised the issue of Luoyang City, everyone in the court paid special attention to it.After all, these people all live in Luoyang.

After some deliberations at the Great Court Meeting, the construction of the canal from Luoyang to Huai'an was successfully completed.Then he ordered the craftsman to send out manpower to survey and map the route.

Building a canal is not something you can just dig a ditch at random, it must go through rigorous surveying and mapping.Although Daqian's national power is strong, it cannot be wasted casually.

The canal from Luoyang to Huai'an needs to rely on natural rivers as much as possible. Otherwise, the thousands of kilometers of rivers without water sources to replenish the water can easily cause flow interruption.

Even if it was barely passed, the water level in the canal was too low, making it difficult for ships to pass, and transportation was limited. In the end, a lot of manpower and material resources were wasted, but the purpose was not achieved.

After Wang Jing's edict was issued, many scholars who knew how to control floods were dispatched to the academy.Although the water control method of Daqian Academy has not been taken seriously in recent years, every generation of the royal family will send royal and public children to learn it.

Wang Jing is the best at water control among this generation of academies.

After some surveys, in the fourth year of Tianming, the great craftsman Wang Jinghe wrote a letter to Zhai Yue, and the Grand Canal from Luoyang to Huai'an was changed from Daliang to the starting point.

"Your Majesty, Daliang was the capital of the former Wei State. King Hui of Liang built Daliang City and dug a large ditch in the north of the city to divert water to irrigate farmland. Later, he dug a network of Daliang canals, which were then connected to the Jishui River north of Xingyang and diverted the Yellow River water to the east. .Further south, there is Yingshui, which can connect Pengcheng, Shangqiu and other cities, and finally enters Surabaya and connects to Huaihe River."

"The rivers such as Bianshui, Jishui, Yingshui, and Sishui were borrowed, and finally entered the Huai River, leading to Huai'an and south to Kuaiji. In this way, the canal could use the ditches and rivers dug in the former Wei Dynasty to reduce construction."

Wang Jing was quite satisfied with this plan. Although the canal was moved to Daliang, the distance between Luoyang and Daliang was not too far.

"Your Majesty, although the starting point of the canal is in Daliang, the Yellow River is in the north of Daliang. Ships can pass up the Yellow River and enter Yinluo Water. Luoyang only needs to repair the Yinluo Water channel."

Wang Jing and Zhai Yue's plan was approved by Wang Jing and soon began to be implemented. A large number of craftsmen and academicians were sent to various places to measure local hydrological conditions.

Wang Jing requested that the canal be designed as large as possible. After this period of discussion, Wang Jing has realized that as long as the canal is successfully excavated, Daqian will be able to better control the southeast, and even the connection between southern Fujian and the Central Plains will be deepened. .

Maybe in a few years, southern Fujian will be integrated into Daqian.

In the fifth year of Daqian Tianming, Wang Jing ordered the conquest of millions of laborers to dig a canal from Daliang to Huai'an.Millions of people began digging canals through this ancient land.This canal is not only used to transport supplies, but also to transport soldiers and warships. Therefore, the canal needs to be dug deeper and wider.

The length of the canal exceeds a thousand miles. Even though it borrowed many rivers and some ditches and canals dug by the former Wei and Song Dynasties, the amount of work was still astonishing.

Wang Jing ordered a large amount of grain and grass to be used to dig the canal. He planned to complete the canal in three to five years.

In real history, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty dug the Grand Canal. The section from Luoyang to Jiangdu required millions of laborers and was completed in less than a year. Such a huge project, even in the modern society of the past, would have taken a long time to complete. time.

Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty requested that construction be started in March and completed in August. It was indeed a miracle for mankind to dig a canal, but what was the result?The result was that millions of dead laborers were buried in the grave.Historical records record: "Forty or five people died in service." 'Officials carried dead men in their cars', 'As far as Chenggao in the east and Heyang in the north, facing each other on the road'.

What does it mean? Four or five out of ten common people died. Officials carried the corpses in vehicles to the foot of the mountain outside the city in the east and to Heyang County in the north. There was an endless stream of people transporting the corpses.

Just from these cold words, it is not difficult to see that at least 50 people died when this section of the canal was built.

When Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty built the canal, he could have given more time, but he forced the canal to be completed in half a year.From beginning to end, he never regarded those people as human beings. He was indeed talented and capable, but the damage he caused was even greater.

Wang Jing mobilized millions of people and had plenty of time. It would not cause social unrest. It would just mean that the government spent more money and food.But Wang Jing didn't see it that way. Since the founding of the country, Zijue has left behind a large number of books, which have completely different views on the money economy than others.

For a country, money stored in the country's treasury does not reflect any value. It is just a pile of copper.Only when money is spent can the value be reflected.

Through the excavation of this canal, the court spent a lot of money and grain, and the people gained a lot from it. At the same time, merchants from various places also gained a lot of profits from various commodities, and the circulation of commodities intensified.

As more goods circulate, the state collects more taxes from merchants. At the same time, when people have money, their spending response also increases, and the market prospers.

After the money circulated in the market, it returned to the court through various methods such as taxes, salt, iron, and wine.

In the end, people's lives improved, their incomes increased, businessmen made money, and the country received taxes.Although it seems that the tax revenue is not as much as before, the construction of the canal is also completed.

The state could collect a lot of money here through the canal.

Society will develop and progress only when coins and commodities are circulated. If coins are kept in the warehouse of the Taifu, the world will be like a pool of stagnant water.

In the seventh year of Daqian's destiny, the Luohuai Canal connecting the Yellow River and the Huaihe River was connected. From then on, Luoyang could be reached by boat directly to Kuaiji. This canal became the main transportation artery in the heyday of the Chinese Empire and lasted for thousands of years. It was known in history as 'the hub of the world and Lin'. Controlling the four seas, ships and boats meet to support public and private affairs. '——"The Rise and Fall of the Great Qian Dynasty"

(End of this chapter)