The Maojin knife from the late Jin Dynasty

Chapter 346 Luoyang’s Small Prosperity

The Zhengbai Canal development project, the road maintenance from Chang'an to Luoyang, and the dredging of the canal from Luoyang to Xingyang were almost the three most important projects in the entire Yanhan period after Liu Tai decided to recuperate.

To put it simply, the development of these three projects, Zheng Bai Canal, was naturally to make Chang'an self-sufficient, complete food supply, and prepare for the expedition against Shu.

The road maintenance from Chang'an to Luoyang is to transport materials from Luoyang to Chang'an.

As for the canal from Luoyang to Xingyang, it is to absorb the resources of Hebei and the Central Plains.

Finally, after Liu Tai rested for a year, the canal from Luoyang to Xingyang was successfully dug.

However, what shocked the family even more than this was that the news was spread to the city under Liu Tai's governance through Wang Xizhi's Information Department.

Liu Tai said to Wang Xizhi, "I know it is not easy to spread the news to every corner of Yanhan, but if you control the court's tongue and spread the court's policies, you must find a way to make the court's voice heard in the shortest possible time. spread throughout Yanhan,

At the same time, this is the only way to promote the simplified Chinese characters you invented to the maximum extent!

As long as all literate people can read newspapers, we will not need to spread them, and simplified Chinese characters will be accepted by Han people all over the world! "

Wang Xizhi couldn't help but feel excited when he heard Liu Tai's words.

For Wang Xizhi, although he did not have any strategy to determine the status of the country or the talent of a hero, the route he originally took was that of a romantic celebrity.

But now that his best calligraphy was recognized by Liu Tai, especially when Liu Tai arranged such a considerate position for himself, Wang Xizhi burst into tears of gratitude.

After all, Wang Xizhi's reputation was enhanced by publishing his article in this newspaper.

Not to mention that I can still decide who publishes articles on this, not to mention that no scholar in the world will give me face.

Liu Tai also knew the status of the newspaper and made it clear to Wang Xizhi that the first few pages were reserved for the court, such as what policies the court had issued.

But you can just read the back panel yourself, but as the court's mouthpiece, the articles published here must be the main text and cannot have any political issues.

Wang Xizhi naturally understood, especially since he was originally a celebrity, and he was even more comfortable playing with this.

In order to cooperate with Wang Xizhi, Liu Tai began to bring in movable type printing, a technology that was not very suitable for China.

After all, for China, they usually just print notices or books, and engraving printing is enough.

Before the invention of pen, ink, paper and inkstone, woodblock printing had probably already been invented.

The most typical example is the Chuan Guo Jade Seal. Liu Tai occasionally looked at the eight words "Ordered by Heaven, and live forever" on the Chuan Guo Jade Seal, and he would be a little excited. However, it is undeniable that at least the appearance of the Chuan Guo Jade Seal Time is earlier than pen, ink, paper and inkstone.

But movable type printing is different. Because movable type printing requires frequent re-typesetting, its lifespan is not as long as block printing. In addition, for various books and other things, block printing is enough, and there is no movable type printing at all. need.

Naturally, Liu Tai did not bring up movable type printing, because it was really unnecessary.

But things are different now. Now that the Ministry of Information has been established and different newspapers need to be published every day, movable type printing is naturally the only way to go.

Of course, the arrival of the Ministry of Information was not limited to the need for movable type printing technology.

Liu Tai's death order to Wang Xizhi was to give him three years to travel from Xiliang to Youzhou. The news I wanted from the court could be conveyed smoothly within a month at the latest, so that it would be clear to the border areas. know what happened in the court.

Liu Tai knows very well that the effective control range of an empire is almost the place where an elite army can directly launch its attack within three months, because once this army gets there, it can basically destroy it.

But sometimes as long as the information communication is smooth and the local government clearly understands the court's intentions, the control within the effective scope will be further improved.

After all, the biggest problem in ancient times was the cost of communication between the court and local governments.

Needless to say, after a general has been left alone for more than ten years, even if you really want to trust him, you still don't know if you should trust him after a long time.

And the generals who are also in the local area are completely unaware of the direction of the court. What will happen if they are summoned back? It is also somewhat risky for the generals. After all, no one knows what is waiting for them.

Therefore, the official's own words must be used to spread the court's trend to the border areas or regions.

Even if it lasts for a month, it doesn't matter. It's better than the frontier being suspicious of the court and the court being suspicious of the frontier.

Of course, the biggest shock brought by this news department is the aristocratic family, because all the time, whether it is the Han Dynasty or the Jin Dynasty, they are playing elite politics, or in other words, everything is discussed in the court before final decisions are made. decided.

But this process, or the fierce confrontation inside, is basically known only to the parties involved.

Now, after Liu Tai asked Wang Xizhi to create this news department, things started to look a little different.

Because so and so in the court expressed their opinions on this news page, what positions did so and so appoint and remove in the court, and what did so and so really do in the court, all these are known to the noble families and the common people. .

It is almost a natural consciousness of the Han people to be humble and dare not forget about the country. After all, they also want to know what the court's decision is, and whether they have gained or lost in the process.

So not to mention that the aristocratic family subscribed to a newspaper of this court every day, soon even the illiterate people among the people began to gather around the military history to listen to the news in this newspaper, in order to have more reasons for their bragging.

In this process, the newspapers sold by the News Department only cost a penny each, but even so, there was no need to worry about selling them.

After all, anyone who is truly knowledgeable knows that if they can understand the message above, they will be worth a fortune. Of course, similar tabloids soon began to appear in the private sector, but as a matter of fact, many small newspapers cannot survive in the current environment.

No way, Liu Tai's newspapers were distributed nationwide, but their sales network actually covered the entire Han Dynasty. At least two to three million copies of the newspapers were sold every day, and some of them were for people in the Cheng Han and Jin Dynasties. Bought.

After all, they also wanted to understand the current Yanhan, but found that they could not get as clear a message as the news in the Yanhan newspaper if they inquired carefully. They had finally learned to read the news carefully, but the news in this newspaper might not come as quickly as the news in this newspaper.

But now that Liu Tai has made Luoyang and Chang'an his capital, the population of these two places is now less than 400,000.

Liu Tai can still make a profit after amortizing the costs by relying on the entire Dahan market. But if other tabloids can sell 10,000 copies for a penny, it would be great, but how can a newspaper with 10,000 copies make any money? The paparazzi who inquired about the news couldn't afford it.

It can only be said that the current low-density population in the two capitals cannot support the newspaper industry. As for the newspaper industry that can spread throughout the country, it relies on the imperial court's post system to do so. Who are you, how dare you Play like this!

But even so, Liu Tai has already prepared that as the population increases, private newspapers will inevitably appear.

When the time comes, I will be able to introduce an entry threshold system based on the population of each county. Some small newspapers will be fine, but the big newspapers will naturally find one, and some local newspapers will naturally merge those small newspapers. .

To be honest, due to the level of productivity in ancient times, any newspaper that could reach the state level or even cross the state level was to some extent the epitome and voice of collective political power, and also facilitated direct communication between the local government and the court.

All in all, for Liu Tai, the Ministry of Information was just a pavement for comprehensive literacy education after unification in the future, and the court's mouthpiece to convey news to the localities. As for what the aristocratic families or people below thought, Liu Tai didn't care.

Now, the canal from Xingyang to Luoyang has been successfully completed, and it has even been decorated with ink pictures. It comes to the aristocratic families in Hebei and the Central Plains who benefit from the canal. Their business towards Luoyang has naturally become more abundant.

After all, even they all know that Xingyang is just the central hub, and Luoyang is the real economic center of Yanhan.

It was not until the canal was actually opened that a large amount of material, population, and capital poured into Luoyang. At this time, Liu Tai's original plan for Luoyang began to work.

Which villages provide vegetables, which villages provide meat, which villages provide horses, and which villages provide furniture. More importantly, several markets in Luoyang are brightly lit, and Liu Tai's purpose-built roads are facing the surging carriages. Diversion.

Under the original layout, a large influx of Luoyang's floating population quickly filled Luoyang, a city that was originally somewhat empty.

But even so, the order of the entire Luoyang did not change much. On the contrary, Xi Jian, who was dispatched by Liu Tai to manage Luoyang, soon discovered that this influx of people not only did not have any impact on Luoyang, but even followed Luoyang. After digesting this group of people, even Luoyang is still a bit empty.

"Why do you feel that Luoyang is still not full?" Xi Jian was a little confused.

Because according to normal principles, so many people are pouring into Luoyang. Not to mention the competition between locals and outsiders for resources, just because there are not so many industries to support so many people at a time, it will inevitably cause fluctuations in food prices or other daily necessities. .

Basically, we have to start building a new city and wrap so many people into this city.

But the reality is that there is nothing. On the contrary, with the influx of population, the entire city has digested so many people silently, as if everyone who enters this city can find a home in this city.

However, Xi Jian soon discovered that when he was managing it, he felt that the distance between certain industries and Luoyang was too far. He originally planned to adjust it manually, but after learning that it was Liu Tai's arrangement, Xi Jian also Don't dare to move without permission.

I just feel that I have governed Luoyang for several years and gained experience, and then I wrote to Liu Tai to persuade him. After all, Liu Tai was reasonable.

But now, Xi Jian immediately understood. At first, he felt that the supply of each village was a bit too far, but now with the influx of a large number of people, it just happened to take over this part of the people.

Even so, the villages around Luoyang are not considered dense now, and there is still a lot of redundancy.

"How big was Luoyang that His Majesty originally planned, and how many people could it accommodate?" Xi Jian couldn't help but feel a little confused at Liu Tai's eyes. He knew that Liu Tai was powerful, but every time Liu Tai looked at him, his understanding would be refreshed.

Now, Xi Jian seemed to see Liu Tai's inexplicable precise and long-term vision.

It is obvious that when Liu Tai first planned Luoyang, he was aiming to accommodate a population of one million or more.

But the problem is that since the First Emperor, no city with a population of one million has been born in China. How confident does Liu Tai think that Luoyang will become a city with a population of one million.

But watching Liu Tai open up the Yongji Canal and the canal from Xingyang to Luoyang, allowing the entire north's materials and population to converge towards Luoyang, this alone gave Luoyang the possibility of impacting a million-level city. Obviously The current situation has long been expected by Liu Tai.

Not to mention, what if Liu Tai unified the world, opened up the cities in the south, and attracted the resources and population from the south!

Xi Jian's breathing quickened when he thought about it.

There is no way, Xi Jian is really managing Luoyang, and he has seen with his own eyes the changes in Luoyang after the canal between Luoyang and Xingyang was opened, and Luoyang really has the possibility of impacting a city with a population of one million.

At the same time, this made Ye Xijian couldn't help but think about it. The opening of this section of the canal has attracted the population from the Central Plains and Hebei. It is natural to imagine how many people will be brought if a canal is opened to the south of the Yangtze River. And know.

Especially people like Liu Tai, who most hope to build more and more, have already built a section of the Yongji Canal to connect the Bohai Sea and the Yellow River. So in order to further control the country, building a canal to connect the Yangtze River is not considered. What!

If it were anyone else, this would definitely be considered insane.

But in Liu Tai's place, Xi Jian even suspected that this was Liu Tai's plan.

That's why Luoyang left so much redundancy, in order to take over the resources of the entire China!

Xi Jian couldn't help but take a cold breath when he thought of this for himself, but his eyes immediately shone with excitement.

After all, for Chinese intellectuals, nothing is more exciting than unifying the world.

When Liu Tai first occupied Luoyang, he already had the idea of ​​unifying the world. This was naturally great for Xi Jian!

Of course, Xi Jian felt that things were going well, but Liu Tai didn't think so because Cheng Han actually took the initiative to attack!

(End of this chapter)