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Chapter 620 Embargo
After returning from Li Yingna, Li Chongjiu returned to Qianyang Hall to handle government affairs.

On the side of Zhongshu Province, Yu Shinan and Zhang Xuansu, who were on duty, came together.

"Jiang Shan ensemble invites Xu Yuanlang, Xu Yichou and his son will not die, just let them serve the people." Li Chongjiu read the memorial, and couldn't help frowning, "I ordered the Xu family's father and son to beheaded, and he actually defied me. the meaning of."

Yu Shinan said: "Your Majesty, there is a reason why Jiang Shanhe entered the city to surrender..."

Yu Shinan told the story of Xu Shiji, Wang Bo and Jiang Shan's joint plan.Only then did Li Chongjiu understand: "It turns out that there are still such twists and turns. If it weren't for this, we wouldn't be able to take Yanzhou so quickly. For this reason, Jiang Shanhe promised Xu Yuanlang and his son that Xu Yuanlang and his son will not die. Although it is self-assessment, it is also understandable. "
Zhang Xuansu said: "Your Majesty, after hearing that Xu Yuanlang was captured, he yelled at His Majesty in front of the prison guards all day and all night for being dishonest and shameless."

After hearing this, Li Chongjiu asked, "Is there such a thing?"

Zhang Xuansu said: "Your Majesty, Xu Yuanlang is the way to seek death, this person must not be let go."

"But General Jiang has already agreed to him, so aren't we breaking our promise?" Yu Shinan objected.

Zhang Xuansu said: "Jiang Shanhe agreed, but His Majesty didn't give him such power, just take it back, and give Jiang Shanhe some compensation at that time."

Yu Shinan said: "But this matter is related to the state system, so spread the word."

Li Chongjiu said: "You don't need to argue any more, I have already made an opinion on this matter. What I am concerned about now is how the embargo in Guanzhong has been done in the past two months?"

Zhang Xuansu said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, I am about to report to you. The waterways from Luoyang to Guanzhong, and the land roads are all blocked, guarded by soldiers, and the past traders are strictly inspected. According to your Majesty's previous explanation, any food and salt involved will be severely punished." Ten times the tax."

Li Chongjiu said: "This matter is not easy to handle. Although we set up checkpoints, there are also profit-seeking people who smuggle into the pass. We must deal with such people severely."

Zhang Xuansu said: "Your Majesty, this matter will be strictly supervised by the officers and men."

Li Chongjiu said: "I feel more at ease when Zhang Aiqing is doing business, so the price of grain in Guanzhong has fluctuated during the two months of the embargo."

Zhang Xuansu said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, the weather in Guanzhong this year is not bad. Although the weather is not smooth, it is still a normal year."

"Normal years, what about last year?" Li Chongjiu asked with concern.

"It's also good."

Zhang Xuansu said with a smile: "However, even if it is good, Guanzhong's grain and rice cannot be self-sufficient in a normal year. Since the founding of the Sui Dynasty, Guanzhong's grain and rice have to rely on the rice from the Jianghuai River to be transported to Guanzhong. At least one million stones are needed every year. In the past, when the grain was transported, the grain ships would go straight to Luoyang, pass Sanmenxia all the way to the north, and pass the Tongguan Road by land, and then ship to Chang'an through the Weishui River. Now the Yellow River waterway One ka, there is no grain ship going west on the Yellow River."

After hearing this, Li Chongjiu asked, "Didn't you say that Sanmenxia is difficult to navigate?"

Zhang Xuansu said: "Your Majesty is right. In the past, when the Yellow River passed through Sanmenxia, ​​it was very difficult for a boat to sail against the current. Therefore, all dynasties have dug stone rings or holes in the rocks along the north bank of the river, and then inserted crossbars in the holes and laid wooden boards as a Pull the fiber plank road, let the trackers pull the boat upstream. But even so, Sanmenxia still has boats destroyed from time to time. In the seventh year of Daye, the Dizhu landslide, the Yanhe River flowed back for tens of miles, and the flood of the Yellow River submerged three rivers downstream. There are more than ten counties, so the Sanmenxia waterway is even more difficult, but there are always people who are greedy for luck and sail from here on.”

Li Chongjiu said: "The waterway is not smooth, it seems that there is only one way by land."

Zhang Xuansu said: "Exactly, His Majesty has captured Luoyang and issued a ban. No matter the Jianghuai merchant ships or land merchants can enter Guanzhong from the west. Therefore, although the summer grain in Guanzhong is about to be harvested, the price of grain is still low. It went up instead."

Li Chongjiu said: "This is the case in a good year, but it depends on how Li Yuan survives in a bad year. Even if I don't attack Chang'an and block Luoyang, I can force Li Yuan to run out of food within a few years. Of course, unless Li Yuan moves his capital, he will lose With the support of the Guanlong Clan, the death is faster, so does Li Tang have a way to deal with it now?"

Zhang Xuansu said: "According to the news we sent from Li Tangchaotang, Li Yuan has attached great importance to the increase in food prices in Chang'an, and is already planning ahead. He even listed it as a priority to attack Xiao Mi this year."

Li Chongjiu smiled slightly when he heard this. Now Li, Tang and Zhao countries are facing difficulties. Li Yuan is facing the crisis of insufficient grain and rice in Guanzhong, but Li Chongjiu is due to the blockage of Yongji Canal, which makes it difficult for Luoyang and Youjing to travel.However, Li Chongjiu has ordered Zhou Bo and He Chou to lead the matter, and it is expected that the Yongji Canal will be dredged within this year.

And what about Li Tang?Although this year has a bumper harvest of grain and grass, there are many major disasters and minor disasters in Guanzhong. It is impossible for Li Yuan to be so lucky every year.Last year, this year may have allowed Li Yuan to survive. If there is a famine in Guanzhong next year and Li Yuan can't take care of himself, Zhao Guo's opportunity will come.

So now for Li Chongjiu, it takes the best time.
"Li Yuan is a far-sighted person," Li Chongjiu asked immediately, "Then what countermeasures can the Li and Tang courts discuss? I don't believe that they will sit and wait for death."

Zhang Xuansu said: "Li Tang came up with two methods?"

"Two ways?" Yu Shinan said with a smile, "I really didn't expect that if there was a way, Emperor Wu would not have to move his capital to Luoyang."

Yu Shinan looked disapproving, and Li Chongjiu said: "Let's listen, maybe there are some things to look at? From my point of view, the fertile land in Guanzhong has been reclaimed to the extreme. Li Tang's current solution is to get it from other places. Raise food."

Zhang Xuansu said: "Your Majesty really knows things well. One of Li Tang's solutions is to rebuild the Baoxie Road. The grain and grass will pass from the Baoxie Road to Baoshui Tongmian by land, and from the Xiehui to the Wei, and then go to the tank boat."

You must know that there are four ancient roads from Hanzhong to Guanzhong: Baoxie Road, Chencang Road, Tangluo Road, and Ziwu Road.Although the Baoxie Road has many narrow and dangerous sections and is long, compared with the other three roads, the distance is shorter and it is also the most important passage from Hanzhong to Guanzhong.

Li Chongjiu smiled and said: "Could it be that Li Yuan wants to transport grain from Sichuan and Shu? I heard that Zhuge Liang left Qishan seven times and retreated because of the lack of grain. If Bao Xie Dao can really transport grain, Li Yuan is really better than Zhuge Wuhou. "

Zhang Xuansu and Yu Shinan all smiled when they heard Li Chongjiu's teasing.

The fact is also the same. As we all know, when talking about the richness of the states in the world, Sichuan and Shu are close to Chang'an, while Jianghuai is far away. If grain can be transported from Sichuan and Shu to Guanzhong to solve the problem of food shortage, of course it is the best.

But the dream is not reality after all, the difficulty of the Shu Road is daunting.It took too much effort to transport grain across the Qinling Mountains.

Zhang Xuansu said: "Exactly, the Li and Tang courts negotiated to dig a road from Shangzhou, cross the Qinling Mountains to Sichuan and Shu. However, this strategy is just a drop in the bucket in my opinion. The grain from Sichuan and Shu can be transported to Guanzhong in this way. Except for the princes and ministers, few common people can afford grain and rice."

"What about the second method?" Li Chongjiu asked.

"The second method discussed by Li Tang's court is to farm fields in the east of the river and divert water from the Yellow River to irrigate. If successful, thousands of hectares of fertile land can be opened, and more than hundreds of thousands of stones can be harvested."

Li Chongjiu frowned when he heard the words: "Is it feasible to farm the fields in the east of the river?"

Yu Shinan took a step forward and said: "Your Majesty, there is a precedent for this matter. In the Han Dynasty, the water transportation was limited due to the mainstay, and the grain ships were damaged a lot. Therefore, a minister suggested that the canal be used to divert the water from Fen to Pishi and Fenyin, which is today. The land of Fenyin and Puban. The minister said that after collecting the grain from the Weishang to Guanzhong, the labor of transporting thousands of miles of water can be saved. But in the end, the emperor sent tens of thousands of soldiers to make canal fields, but there was no harvest."
"It's not so easy to lead the canal to irrigate. Your Majesty can rest assured that if Li Yuan wants to farm here, he will just repeat the same mistakes."

Zhang Xuansu said: "But now Li Yuan really attaches great importance to the grain in the east of the river. In order to ensure a good harvest of grain and grass in the east of the river, Li Yuan sent Yu Yun, the general manager of Shanzhou, to station troops in Lingzhou to prepare for the Turks to attack the grass valley. Li Yuan also ordered to set up a navy on the Yellow River in Lingzhou. , went to the south of the Yangtze River to recruit shipwrights to build ships, and set up six city water transport boxes for the governor's grain ship."

Yu Shinan said: "Although it is easier for Li Yuan to stockpile grain in Hedong than to transport grain from Baoxie Road, but the grain from Hedong is not only for Guanzhong, but also for Lingzhou and Hexi soldiers and horses. There is no spare capacity."

Both Zhang Xuansu and Yu Shinan believed that the good farmland in the east of the river was limited. If the good land in the east of the river could really be used to supply Guanzhong, then the dynasties would not have to think of ways to transport grain from the river and the Huaihe River.

Since the Han Dynasty, the population of Guanzhong has always been the most important in the world. From Han, Wei, and Sui, there have always been rich people who have moved to Gaozi, and heroes have enriched Guanzhong.However, Guanzhong has a large population, but since the Qin and Han Dynasties, due to long-term severe drought and waterlogging, the grain production in Qinchuan for eight hundred miles has not increased much.

Now that the population is increasing and the food supply is decreasing, Guanzhong has become a predicament. Although Li Tang established Guanzhong as his capital, there are advantages, but there are also disadvantages.This is why in the end of the Tang Dynasty, from Gaozong to Wu Zetian, and later Xuanzong, they always wanted to move the capital to Luoyang, but except for Wu Zetian, other people's plans to move the capital were strongly opposed by the Guanlong clan, but failed .

When Xuanzong arrived, Tang Xuanzong appointed Pei Yaoqing as his prime minister, and Pei Yaoqing proposed to use the transfer method, first stop the land transportation in Shaanxi, and set up warehouses at the mouth of the river, so that those in the south of the Yangtze River can be transported to the mouth of the river; the millet will be transported into the warehouse and returned to the south of the Yangtze River.The imperial court then hired boats to enter Luoyang.Afterwards, granaries were set up in the east and west of Sanmenxia, ​​and the water boats from Luoyang were transported to the East Cang, and then transported to the West Cang by land, and then to Chang'an by boat, so as to avoid the water danger of Sanmen.

Pei Yaoqing's method is to transfer the goods step by step, and let a special person be responsible for the land and water transportation, which eases it a little.

But now that Luoyang is controlled by Li Chongjiu, even if Li Tang thinks of this method of transferring luck step by step, it will be useless.In fact, the establishment of the capital in Guanzhong during the Qin and Han Dynasties was considered correct. By the time of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it was very reluctant to establish the capital in Guanzhong.

(End of this chapter)