Sui Dynasty: I, Yang Guang, am both scrupulous and stable

Chapter 156
After being granted the title of Grand Sima, Yang Guang told Yang Jian about his plan for the Grand Canal the next day, and Yang Jian made the decision immediately after hearing the words.

Yang Jian looked at the map of the Grand Canal drawn by Yang Guang and said: "The Grand Canal, the Grand Canal! The canal has become one with the Central Plains. Although it may cost a lot, it must be done, and it must be done."

"Father, to build the canal, we need to build the Guangtong Canal first. As long as Chang'an and Luoyang are connected, Chang'an will not fall into a food crisis like before, and Luoyang's potential can be better activated."

Yang Yong thought for a while: "Daxing City is still under construction, is there any spare manpower to build Guangtong Canal?"

"My son, I've calculated it and it should be okay."

"Then do it."

"My son plans to lead Yu Wenkai through the route first and find the best route first."

"Go, I agree."

Yang Guang took the order and left. Yang Jian turned around again to look at Yang Guang's map. The blazing desire in his eyes burst out when no one was around. He laughed alone and said: "Amo is really a genius. A genius. Such a large-scale project can be done by others." He dares to think about it, let alone do it, but he dares to think about it, and he dares to do it if he is confident. Although it costs a lot, Amo has always made money and saved money. I want to see what he plans to do this time."

Yang Guang went home to pack his things, and after explaining the affairs of Daxing City to Li Yuan, he took Yu Wenkai and set off the next day. In order to be safe, Yang Guang went to the barracks and led [-] elite soldiers out.

After all, this is Yang Guang's first time traveling far away after traveling through time.

On the way to Luoyang, leading the team on a tall horse, Yu Wenkai was riding beside him.

Yu Wenkai asked as he walked: "Your Highness really plans to dig Guangtong Canal?"

"Of course, why am I talking about this if you don't dig it?"

"But His Highness has not conducted an on-site inspection, so how can you be sure that it can be passed?"

"I'm going to take you on a field trip."

I can’t tell you that this is how cultivation was done in history.

First, they arrived at the Wei River northwest of Daxing City. Yang Guang faced the Wei River and said: "Yu Wenkai, I have calculated that the water will be diverted from here, slightly following the old route of the Han Dynasty Cao Canal to the east, to Tongguan and entering the Yellow River, which is more than three hundred miles long. Because there are The excavation route of the old canal in the Han Dynasty can basically be followed, but because we need to dig wider to make it feasible for ships, the route must be more careful."

"Your Highness is considering it, but the construction of the canal is a huge project, and the maintenance after the construction is often more costly than the construction, and it must be maintained for a long time, otherwise it will soon silt up."

"Do you have any good ideas?"

"I have no good solution, but does your Highness know about Zheng Guoqu?"

"Naturally know."

"The Zheng Guo Canal was built by the Qin Dynasty, but it is still in use today. Does your Highness know why?"

"Appreciate further details."

"Because the area that the Zhengguo Canal flows through can irrigate farmland well and feed many people, if the Zhengguo Canal siltates, the people along the coast will be short of water, and the farmland will not be irrigated. In this case, if the Zhengguo Canal siltates, The local people are more anxious than the government."

Yang Guang understood what Yu Wenkai meant. According to the technology of this era, siltation is unavoidable and can only be managed. And governance cannot rely solely on the government. Only by connecting it with people's livelihood can the people also spontaneously have governance. Desire, so that long-term governance can be achieved.

When talking about people's livelihood, Yang Guang suddenly thought of dams. Modern dams block water and form lakes, which can fight floods, irrigate farmland, and generate electricity.

According to the current capabilities, power generation has not been invented yet, and there is no ability to build dams in these large rivers, but after thinking about it, it seems feasible to build a dam on this newly dug canal.

According to modern canals, building a dam in a canal is almost like taking off your pants and farting, which is useless.

But this era is different. Because the Central Plains is flat, building such a long canal requires careful calculations. If one place is wrong, the water will not be able to pass through. However, it is much more convenient to block a dam in the middle to allow a certain gap, and with the dam , the water flow will become gentler. In this era without mechanized power, the gentler water flow means that it will be more convenient to reverse the flow.

There will also be more sustainable water sources, which is good for people's livelihood and business.

Yang Guang then piled up two river models with a drop next to the Weishui River, then put a wooden board in the middle and filled it with water. He said to Yu Wenkai: "When selecting a site for the canal, find a place with a slightly higher drop and build one." Dams are used to retain water sources. When the upstream water sources exceed the set retention height of the dam, they will flow into the downstream. In this case, the upstream surviving water sources will appear out of thin air. Then dig tributaries and introduce irrigation. What do you think? "

Yu Wenkai frowned and looked at the model. Theoretically speaking, they were unable to build such a water dam, but considering that Yang Guang had now developed a new material such as cement, and the topography of the area where the Guangtong Canal passed was already It is relatively flat, even if there is a drop, the drop will not be too large, and the strength requirements for the dam are not great.

And because the canal has not yet been dug, it can be built before it is opened, that is, it can be built on flat ground, which once again reduces the difficulty of the project. This calculation seems feasible.

In the modern sense of the canal, transportation is the key, and its biggest function is to shorten the voyage. However, the canal of this era is not. This is a people's livelihood project, and the word "river" is the key, so that places with water shortages and few rivers can have a stable water source. , which can make the surrounding land fertile.

Chinese people never waste an inch of land that can grow food.

"Does Your Highness really want to do this?" "I'm not sure that I haven't done it before, but I think we can give it a try. Divide the Guangtong Canal into two or even three sections, and block it with a dam in the middle. As for how to navigate the boat due to the height difference, There are facilities like this.”

Yang Guang demonstrated to Yu Wenkai how to use water flow to make ship lock stairs under the height difference of the dam. Since the height difference is not high, even one step of stairs is enough.

Open the upstream gate, fill the lock with water, wait until it is as high as upstream, and then you can pass. Go downstream, release water into the lock, and wait until it is as high as downstream, then you can go.

Yu Wenkai looked at Yang Guang in surprise. He really didn't know how Yang Guang's head was so long that he could come up with such a plan out of thin air.

"Let's check all the way over and give it a try."

Yu Wenkai has never been a person who sticks to rules. He nodded immediately, and the two of them followed the route to check it out.

……

Two days after Yang Guang set off, Yang Yong returned to the court with his army. This time the emperor prepared a good welcome banquet for him. It was much grander than going out for the expedition. For the first time, Yang Yong also returned to the East Palace to celebrate the victory with the princess. feast.

Not even the Crown Princess herself expected it.

At the celebration banquet in the palace, Yang Jian and Yang Yong told him to take charge of Northern Qi and pay attention to people's livelihood and other matters. Yang Yong agreed very confidently, because Luozhou was a city of Northern Qi at that time, and Yang Yong took the order. He was about to leave for Luozhou, and uncharacteristically, he only took the princess with him.

Yang Jian was very pleased with his son's transformation, but Empress Dugu just smiled on her face. She could see why Yang Yong did this. She was completely disappointed with Yang Yong now. It's easy to change a country, but hard to change a person's nature. There's something better to say.

Yang Jian told Yang Yong: "Amo went to Luozhou two days ago. Since you are going to Luozhou, you two can still meet."

"My son understands."

Early the next morning, Yang Yong set out with his personal guards and the Crown Princess. To everyone's surprise, he did not ride a horse by himself but rode in a carriage with the Crown Princess.

The Crown Princess had not met the Crown Prince for several months since the last incident and Yang Yong's expedition. The sudden change in attitude left her at a loss.

Yang Yong took the Crown Princess's hand, which made the Crown Princess a little confused.

He gently stroked the back of the princess's hand and said, "Yuanzhen, I was the one who felt sorry for you before. I have seen a lot during this expedition, and I also want to understand that it was all my fault before. I hope you can give me a solution." If the opportunity changes, I will definitely treat you twice as well in the future."

The woman who had never been loved by her husband suddenly felt loved by her husband today, and she felt grateful for a moment.

"Your Highness, what you said is true?"

The princess's eyes turned red for a moment, and Yang Yong nodded with determination: "Of course it's true."

The Crown Princess immediately nestled into her husband's arms, and Yang Yong hugged the Crown Princess.

Yang Yong is a true adventurer. He can always show his adventurous instinct at any time. It's time to show his real skills.

"Your Highness...there are military guards outside. I'm afraid it's inappropriate."

Yang Yong didn't care about the occasion, and Yun Luo was favored because she catered to him. For a moment, the princess was hesitant.

Yang Yong disagreed: "There are sounds of horse hooves and wheels. Just try to keep your voice down. Don't you find this scene exciting?"

The princess was scared but said nothing.

She had made all the mental preparations, but she didn't expect that time flew by and everything was over in an instant.

The spring breeze is proud of the horse's hooves, and the prince comes and goes quickly.

Yang Yong lay half-lying in the carriage and said to the Crown Princess with admiration: "You did a great job this time. You didn't even make a sound."

The Crown Princess was surprised. Even if the relationship between the old couple was not very harmonious before, they still knew the truth.

I just didn’t expect that human speed really has no limit, it’s faster than fast.

Balance exists among all things. Although it is fast, it also saves time.

The Crown Princess was quite helpless, but then she thought about it, it was better than nothing, it was just faster, so what's the harm?
After Yang Yong sorted everything out, he stepped out of the carriage and shouted: "Stop."

The team stopped, and Yang Yong was full of energy. He stood in front of the carriage and said: "The King of Jin is traveling slowly to explore the water channel. Follow the route of the King of Jin. Speed ​​up. Let's catch up and meet the King of Jin." .”

(End of this chapter)