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   Chapter 616 613 [A small country is like a beggar]

  Zhao Han really wanted to visit Beijing, but he gave up the idea.

  The canal from Tongzhou to Beijing was silted up in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, and only some small boats could pass through it, and water transport ships could not pass through it.

  The river next to the capital was silted up, and water transportation was also involved, so the Ming court was actually powerless. The first dredging of the river was dragged from the Hongzhi period to the Jiajing period. After dredging, it was silted up again for decades, and it has not been cleared until now. When the grain arrives in Tongzhou, it goes to Taikuang. If you want to transport it to the capital, you have to use manpower and livestock.

  There are a lot of people in the royal driving team. If you can't sail the boat, you must recruit civilians to transport things. Zhao Han didn't bother to make any fuss, so he returned directly to the south and organized the local people to dredge the river after Beijing's population was full.

   Traveling all the way south to Jining, I couldn't go any further and was blocked by the flood.

  This year, the south is drought, and the north is flooded again!

  The water in the Huanghuai line surged, and the embankment couldn't bear it at all, so it had to take the initiative to burst the embankment to release the flood. Not daring to flood the more affluent south bank, they had to dig a dam to the north. Caoxian, Chengwu, Shanxian, Yutai, Jinxiang... Several counties were affected.

   At the same time, the banks of the Han River were also flooded.

Zhang Guowei, governor of the northern rivers, rushed to Jining to face the saint, and his distress was beyond words: "Your Majesty, the floods in the Huanghuai and Han Rivers this year are the worst since the eleventh year of Wanli! It seems that the sky has been pierced, and the Milky Way The water leaks into the world, and I really... really can't do anything about it."

   Zhao Han wanted to scold his mother very much at this time, not scolding Zhang Guowei, but scolding God.

  The drought in the south this year has finally eased compared to last year. But the flood in the north is actually once in 60 years. From the 11th year of Wanli to now, it has been more than 60 years!

  Zhao Han asked blankly: "How is the flood situation in various places?"

  Zhang Guowei replied: "I only know the situation on the north bank of the Yellow River. Several cities have been flooded. As for the Han River, I heard that the disaster was serious, but I don't know the details."

   There is no way. During the flood, it was difficult for ships and horses to travel. With ancient communication technology, it was impossible to quickly grasp the news.

  At this moment, the southernmost point of the flood has affected Gaoyou and Taizhou.

  The Yangtze River Basin, which has always been dry in spring, also suddenly experienced heavy rain for days. Only because of the continuous drought in the past few months, it has not yet caused flood disasters.

   Chongzhen suffered from drought every year, and Zhao Han suffered from floods every year.

  It seems that God forgot to rain more than ten years ago, and it has been made up for in the past few years.

  Looking at the historical data of the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, one can see how outrageous the climate was. Natural disasters in the Chongzhen and Shunzhi dynasties never stopped. Especially in the cold winter weather, seven years later, in several counties in Hebei, according to historical records, "it snowed for more than 40 days, wild birds froze to death, and travel was cut off."

  It’s okay now, it’s just floods and droughts, and it’s not the coldest year yet.

   "You go to control the water, you don't have to stay in Jining," Zhao Han said, "My accompanying guards, you take 500 people away, whether it's disaster relief, or suppression, you can use it as you see fit."

   "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

  Five hundred emperor's personal guards are by his side, more powerful than holding Shangfang's sword.

  Zhao Han looked at the light rain outside and wondered whether to invade Vietnam in advance. Or, simply destroy Champa, where there is the Mekong Delta, and Champa relies on the grain-producing areas of the delta to barely resist the invasion of the Nguyen regime.

   It is necessary to build an overseas grain production base, otherwise, if the climate worsens, how can the national treasury store food?

   As for the excuse for sending troops, it is disobedience to Wang Hua.

  Champa is a vassal state of Ming Dynasty, but it is a vassal state of Vietnam behind the back of Ming Dynasty. Now, the Datong New Dynasty rules China and naturally has the legal system left by the Ming Dynasty. The Champa Kingdom must bow its head to the Celestial Dynasty!

   First, a diplomatic envoy must be sent to reprimand the ruler of Champa.

  Zhao Han can fully imagine the joy that King Champa felt when he went out to pick up the treasure when he was scolded by the Chinese envoy. Its psychological activity must be: Chinese father, you are finally here, beat me, scold me, after beating and scolding, I will still be your good son. Dad quickly sent troops to help, the guy next door surnamed Ruan bullied me!

  The Champa Kingdom in the early Ming Dynasty had a relatively large territory. Facing the invasion of Vietnam, Zheng He helped it when he passed by.

  After that, it will not work anymore. Daming no longer manages overseas, and the land of Champa has been gradually eroded. Even the king was killed and the capital was occupied. Now only the land in the Mekong Delta is left.

  After the division of Vietnam, the Ruan family married their daughters and wanted to control Champa.

  The king of Champa took the opportunity to stand on his own, and was punished by the Ruan family. Now he is in the state of paying tribute. The food harvested in Champa every year is paid a large amount of tribute to the Nguyen regime, and at the same time, Vietnamese are allowed to immigrate to Champa.

  Once Zhao Han sends an envoy, Champa will surely bow down and surrender, and the Ruan family will threaten Champa with force.

  If the Ruan family mobilizes troops to occupy the city, the Zheng family may launch an attack in advance.

  The Vietnam Civil War broke out ahead of time, so Zhao Han could send troops ahead of time!

  That's a good plan.

   After waiting for half a month in Jining, the flood finally receded. Zhao Han continued to go south by boat, and everywhere he went was devastated.

  Nanyang Town, where Fei Ruhe and Duoduo confronted each other, was also later known as Yutai County. Further south, both sides of the Grand Canal were completely flooded, Gaoyou was flooded into the city, and several city gates were blocked by mud.

   "Father," Zhao Kuanghuan asked looking at the miserable situation, "my child knows the story of Dayu's flood control, can't we dig ditches to divert the flood?"

Zhao Han stroked the crown of the prince's head: "It's not that easy. Zhang Guowei is under orders to control the water. It will take fifteen to twenty years to divert the Yellow River from Shandong to the sea. The main reason for the flooding this year is that Ming In order to ensure water transportation, the court took a crooked path in water control. This year, when the floods and droughts come together, the Yangtze River and the Yellow River will have poor harvests. In this way, the food in the treasury is always not enough, and it has never been able to keep it.”

  Zhao Kuanghuan said: "Sir, it took more than ten years for Dayu to control the water. It took more than ten years for the father to let Zhang Guowei control the water. It will definitely be fine in the future."

  Zhao Han smiled: "Remember, people's livelihood is important, water control is not a temporary thing, and it will be controlled every year in the future."

   "Yes, I remember." Zhao Kuanghuan nodded.

  Before he returned to Nanjing, Zhao Han wrote a letter and ordered the Clippers to send it to the Ministry of Rites and send diplomats to Champa for negotiations.

  Liu Xiangke, who had confronted Li Zicheng face to face, was given the mission of envoy again, and went to Champa with festivals to denounce his monarch.

  Liu Xiangke took a warship to Binh Thong Long, which is also the coast of Binh Thuan Province in later Vietnam, more than 200 miles east of Ho Chi Minh City. This is the capital of Champa.

  As for Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City, it is still a small fishing village at this time.

  The estuaries of the Red River Delta and the Mekong River Delta should be natural harbors, and the soil is fertile and suitable for farming. But it is full of wetlands, and the two banks are mostly mangroves, so it is relatively difficult to develop, and it will take dozens or hundreds of years of continuous transformation to turn it into farmland.

  The south of the Yangtze River in China used to be full of tidal flats and wetlands. It was not until the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Northern and Southern Dynasties that it was fully developed.

  Beidacang in the northeast is still part of the Great Northern Wilderness, and the swamps everywhere are in urgent need of large-scale reconstruction.

   Bintong Dragon City is prosperous in business and trade, gathering merchants from all over the world, but the Portuguese are not allowed to come ashore. Because the two sides belonged to sworn enemies, Portugal once destroyed the country of Malacca, and the royal family of Malacca and the royal family of Champa had the same origin.

  After the demise of Malacca, a large number of citizens fled to Champa to settle down. Later, Champa was once destroyed, and the citizens of Champa also fled to Malacca.

  Historically, before the Champa Kingdom was annexed by Vietnam, it even dispatched an expedition to Malacca, trying to restore the country from the Dutch colonists.

  More than a dozen Chinese warships came, but everyone didn't take it seriously. It is normal for the fleet to pass by Bin Tonglong for supplies.

  Liu Xiangke was escorted off the ship by the navy, and he was neatly dressed in official uniform.

  He walked straight towards the city gate, and the Chinese merchants who were urging the unloading of goods at the pier immediately trotted over to meet them, and asked the officials of the Celestial Dynasty what they were doing here.

   Liu Xiangke turned a deaf ear, and soon came to the gate of the city, but was stopped by the soldiers guarding the city.

   "China's envoy, get out of the way quickly!" The accompanying interpreter scolded.

  Translators were recruited in Guangzhou, and they had to speak Cham, which belongs to the Indonesian language family of the Austronesian language family.

  Several soldiers looked at each other and backed away in fright.

  The city wall of Bintonglong is low and short, made of rammed earth. However, the royal palace in the city was built in a grand manner, and the castle was built with stones.

  King Po Lai drank some wine and was taking a nap, when he suddenly heard the minister begging to see him, saying that the Chinese envoy had come.

   "What are the Chinese envoys here for?" Po Lai asked in confusion.

  The minister is called Hetu, and he is a Chinese fire teacher. In Xinjiang, he is Hezhuo. He said: "Your Majesty, I heard that China has established a new dynasty, and Champa has always been a vassal of China. We have never paid tribute, maybe the Chinese emperor sent someone to question the crime."

  Ask for guilt?

   Po Lai was a little nervous: "Then what should I do?"

Hetu smiled and said: "Your Majesty, this is a great event. According to the ancient records, when Champa was more powerful, it was once invaded by Annan. The Chinese **** Sanbao led a fleet of ships passing by Champa and helped Champa stop the enemy. Since then, the city has regarded China as its suzerain. Now the Ruan clan has been bullying us and forcing us to pay tribute grain. Not to mention paying tribute, but also asking us to sell grain at a low price. We can take this opportunity to respect China and let the Chinese deal with Ruan clan!"

   Po Lai worried: "I'm afraid China will not help. And even if it helps, it is nothing more than changing the suzerain, and we have to pay tribute for our food."

  Hetu explained: "Your Majesty does not know that the Chinese emperor does not lack that little food. China is very rich, and the emperor only wants face. When we pay tribute, the Chinese emperor will be happy and reward more goods back."

   "Are all Chinese emperors fools?" said Po Lai.

  Hetu asked: "Your Majesty, when you left the palace one day, you saw a beggar in the city. You suddenly showed kindness and gave the beggar a handful of silver. What is this?"

   "Shi..." Po Lai said angrily, "Am I that beggar?"

  He Tu said: "For the Chinese emperor, Champa is a beggar. Your Majesty, as long as you obey China, you will not be afraid of the Ruan family in the future!"

   Po Lai thought about it and thought it was a good deal, so he asked the maid to help him get up: "Beggars are beggars, and come with me to see the Chinese envoy."

  (end of this chapter)