New Shun 1730

Even if there are misunderstandings, the goals are the same after all.

Although the negotiation process is long, they can always come to the same conclusion in the end.

At the end of 46, the negotiations between Dashun and the Netherlands gradually came to an end. The situation of the opening of the southern gate of Hanover caused by the Netherlands' withdrawal from the war also forced Britain to speed up the steps of peace talks.

It seems that the war in Europe will come to an end temporarily. Duke Qi in Amsterdam is ready to represent Dashun and participate in the formal peace talks after the end of the European war for the first time. Even if he is not the protagonist this time, he finally has a chance to speak.

Duke Qi participated in the post-war peace talks this time, and he also knew that Dashun was not the protagonist, nor the leader of the alliance, so he mainly did three things.

Put pressure on Britain to force Britain to return India to France and force Britain to give up Louisbourg by refusing the trade of American ginseng. The thirteen states in North America began to become disunited.

Form an armed neutral alliance.

And, nonsense.

The so-called nonsense is to be the initiator of the "Anti-Piracy Convention", "Anti-Privateer System" and "Anti-Slavery Convention".

Why is it nonsense? Because this is just like the countries that participated in the "Nuclear Weapons Abolition Convention" in later generations, none of them had nuclear weapons.

This time, the countries that could join the "Anti-Piracy Convention" and "Anti-Privateer System" as initiators and signatories, except Dashun, are Austria, Prussia, Russia or those small countries in the Holy Roman Empire that don't even have access to the sea. They don't have any at all.

Even France, which has always had a good relationship with Dashun, will never become a signatory. Not to mention the great maritime powers such as Britain.

This is no different from a group of eunuchs initiating the "Prohibition of Women's Beauty Convention".

The only special thing is that Dashun's special trade surplus makes Dashun hate pirates. Any pirate is an impact on Dashun's export trade.

And Dashun's privateering has two results:

Either, hijack the ships in Guangdong Province and force merchant ships to go to sea from Jiangsu Province.

Or, as in the late Ming Dynasty, those who go to Manila are forced to go to Batavia.

Both situations are meaningless to Dashun. Nanyang is called an inland sea. Privateering by Britain and France is done on the high seas. I have never heard of France issuing a privateering license for the Seine River or Britain issuing a privateering license for the Thames River.

But this kind of nonsense is nonsense today. A hundred years later, the meaning may be very different.

Duke Qi was eager to try and show his skills. He was looking for the opportunity that Liu Yu said, "A hundred years later, you will be famous in history. Whenever the abolition of slavery and the anti-piracy convention are mentioned, your name, your father-in-law, will have to be mentioned."

…………

At the same time, in the distant east.

The messenger who had been running in the north for several months came to the capital and learned that the emperor had already toured the south.

Liu Yu, Marquis of the Whale Sea, was conferred the title of Duke of Xingguo because of the war in Nanyang, and also accompanied the emperor.

The messenger hurried south again and chased to Jiangsu. He learned that the emperor and his entourage had just offered sacrifices to the river god the day before and crossed the Yellow River at the ferry. Now they are on the south bank of the Yellow River.

It is difficult for people in later generations to associate Huai'an City, Jiangsu Province with the Yellow River, but this is how the Yellow River flows at that time.

On the south bank of the Yellow River, the emperor and a group of princes and ministers were inspecting the sluice gates in Qingkou, an important town in Jiangsu at that time.

"Pan Jixun of the previous dynasty said: Qingkou is the intersection of the Yellow River and the Huai River. It is a place where the transportation route must pass. If there is a slight obstruction, it will not be convenient to cross. But if you want it to be smooth, you must let all the water of the Huai River flow out from here, so that it can resist the Yellow River and cannot be blocked by sand. Occasionally, the Yellow River flows first, and the Huai River is still weak, and the river sand flows upstream, which is inevitably shallow. However, when the Yellow River retreats and the Huai River flows, the depth returns to the same level, and it is not harmful."

"The water of Hongze Lake is clear when the Huai River flows into it."

"As the saying goes, people go to high places and water flows to low places. Therefore, in theory, as long as Hongze Lake is continuously raised to a higher level than the Yellow River, the clear water of Hongze Lake can flush the silt of the Yellow River, and the water can flush the sand, the river can be kept unobstructed, and the Yellow River can be prevented from continuous siltation."

"But..."

Many years ago, the governor of Jiangsu wrote a letter to support the plan of abolishing the canal and changing to the sea. At that time, many practical problems were also raised. Although the emperor did not agree at the time, he also sent people who supported the plan of abolishing the canal and changing to the sea to investigate.

Now, during the southern tour to Qingkou, the people buried many years ago were picked up in front of the accompanying princes, ministers, river officials, and Jiangnan officials.

When the emperor heard the word "just", he said, "The ancients said that we should not be afraid of illness and avoid seeing doctors. Just tell me that natural disasters, floods in the Yellow River occur every three to five years, and people are displaced. What is there to be afraid of?"

The official who was kneeling there and reporting on water conservancy got the emperor's advice and said, "Just, this is not a solution."

"In the previous dynasty, in order to protect the imperial tombs of the previous dynasty, even if water was stored, it could not be too high, otherwise the imperial tombs of the previous dynasty would be flooded."

"This dynasty has no such concerns and continues to raise the water level of Hongze Lake. However, the higher the virtue, the higher the evil. The Yellow River is silting up and rising every year, and the water level of Hongze Lake has to be continuously raised."

"Otherwise, it will not be clear water that washes away the yellow sand, but turbid water that flows into Hongze."

This is a simple principle that water flows to lower places. If you want to wash away the silt of the Yellow River, you have to raise the water level of Hongze Lake.

The ancestral tomb of Dashun is not here, and the Yellow River cannot flood Mizhi anyway.

So there is no need to worry, just raise the water level and flood it. Although it is not very decent to flood the imperial tombs of the previous dynasty for the sake of millions of people, it does not seem good to dig up the ancestral tombs and move them to other places...

But even so, the Yellow River has long been an above-ground river, and Hongze Lake needs to be raised further. Let's see which one rises faster.

Today, Hongze Lake and the Yellow River from Huai'an are all higher than the ground. Once a flood occurs, it will definitely be a disaster with millions of victims.

Moreover, since the clear water of the Huaihe River needs to be stored, Hongze Lake does not grow as fast as the Yellow River. Where does the Huaihe River water held in Hongze Lake enter the sea?

The water conservancy official added: "Whenever controlling water, there is always a sequence. Priority."

"In the previous dynasties, the first priority was to protect water transportation and the ancestors' mausoleums, and then all the people."

"As for this dynasty, although there is no danger of protecting the ancestral mausoleum, water transportation is still ahead of all the people in Huanghuai."

"Protect water transport, but not the people; protect the capital, but not Huanghuai. This is not the kingly way!"

These words were a bit bold and unpleasant. Liu Yu, who was accompanying the emperor, hurriedly came out to smooth things over and said without conscience: "Although this is true, there are some big and small reasons."

"Grain is the lifeblood of the capital and is needed for the garrison to fight. If the water supply is cut off, the capital and the garrison will be in chaos, and the number of people in trouble will be more than a million."

"It's not just a big disaster for millions, but a small disaster for millions of people in Huanghuai. We can only protect the big ones and give up the small ones, and suffer the people of Huanghuai."

The water conservancy official also knew that what he just said was a bit unpleasant, and it was like slapping the emperor directly. Seeing Liu Yu coming to smooth things over, he could only agree.

The emperor sighed, but did not rebuke him. He also knew that Liu Yu was not conscientious enough to smooth things over for the sake of this official who dared to speak, and it also saved the court's face.

Then he said to the official: "What Mr. Xingguo said is not unreasonable. The court also has difficulties. Since you have knowledge, just say it. There is nothing to worry about."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After the water conservancy official thanked him, he simply said what was in his heart.

"We must protect water transportation first, and then protect the people of the Yellow and Huaihe Rivers. If there is a flood in the Yellow River, we can only protect the north while leaving the south."

"Let the flood water rush south, not north. If it rushes north, sediment will accumulate in the canal, making the canal difficult to pass. Therefore, every time there is a major flood on the Yellow River, in order to protect the canal transportation, if it cannot be saved, it must be opened "Southern Levee."

"But as a result, the Yellow River sediment rushes into Hongze Lake, and the water bottom of Hongze Lake is higher, which requires higher dams."

"It's almost stable now. If it happens again a few times, once Hongze Lake bursts out and rushes south into the plains and directly into the Yangtze River, I'm afraid everyone in Gaoyou, Yangzhou and other places will be a fish and turtle!"

"This is one of them."

"Secondly, if we want to control the Yellow River, we must first solve the problem of 'what is the purpose of water control?' If this goal cannot be determined, how can we control the Yellow River?"

"Water management is to ensure water transportation is given priority? That will only tie our hands and we will not be able to control the Yellow and Huaihe rivers in our lifetime."

“Only when water control is done for the sake of water control and for the people of the Yellow and Huaihe Rivers, can it be possible to heal the Yellow and Huaihe rivers.”

"However, as Duke Xingguo said, water transport is related to national security, so... I dare you to ask for sea transport!"

"Only in this way can water control be done for the sake of water control; water control can be done for the sake of the people in Huanghuai River. Only in this way can hydraulic engineering officials free their hands and feet. Otherwise, in the end, the symptoms will be treated but not the root cause."

"Nowadays, the dams are getting higher and higher, the Yellow River is high, and the Hongze Lake is also high, and it may still be controllable now. What about ten years from now, or a hundred years from now? I ask the court to think about the future of the country and the country."

The emperor did not think that the matter of sea transportation came from Liu Yu's instructions. But I am very convinced that these are the true words of some officials who truly serve the country.

As the emperor of the Celestial Dynasty, he has internal and external distinctions.

Liu Yu was left to deal with external matters. The purpose of tossing is to get money. And to get the money, you still have to resolve internal matters in the end.

This matter of abolishing the canal and converting the canal to the sea was really a major event. It could be said to completely change many patterns since the Song Dynasty.

Not just millions of water workers.

Just like Qingkou, with a population of 500,000 to 600,000, it is really a big town, where the north and the south meet. If water transport is abolished, what will happen to the hundreds of thousands of people who gather here because of water transport?

Bit by bit, the entanglements are complicated, and they are all things that affect the whole body.

The emperor wants to solve the problem, but if he solves it at this time, he may not have enough money.

When the time comes, give up halfway for fear of causing trouble.

Thinking of the silver, the emperor glanced at Liu Yu and wondered what was going on with the Dutch trade matters.

If that didn't work, we would have to settle for the next best thing and sell the spices and other goods to Britain, Portugal and other countries for trafficking.

You can't just look at those spices as just spices, but not just money.

He didn't follow the example of the previous dynasty, so he only used spices as salary and distributed them to everyone in order to save money.

Liu Yu didn't think anything would go wrong in the Netherlands. He felt that the emperor was looking at him and thought to himself, if you can really accomplish this, it will take a lot of effort.

In later generations of New China, it took fifty years for the Huaihe River to be healed. Although at the beginning, the main irrigation canal in northern Jiangsu did not have any machinery and relied solely on manpower, which is not much different from the current productivity level.

However, what kind of organizational power is that? This is the ability that "generals from the former dynasty" praised as "no government in history has ever popularized a decree, a movement, and a flood control work to such a level that it is widely known to every household."

There must be the spirit and sentiment of "in order to open up a new world, wake up the sleeping mountains, and let the rivers change their appearance."

Is there one in Dashun?

Let’s first resolve the issues of land rent, additional allocations, and taxes, and let the people at the bottom really know that they are human beings, and then let’s talk about spirituality. There is no such thing as energy among the gentry's livestock. The current situation of Dashun is 180,000 people, plus 200 million livestock.

If there is no grassroots organization and control, then just throw money at it.

It is difficult for Dashun to cure Huanghuai. To cure Huanghuai, it needs millions of truly awakened people, tens of thousands of vanguards, the transformation of power and villages at the grassroots level, land reform, and the ambition to create a new world. Such a China does not exist now.

But it is also good. If you want to make trouble, you have to spend money. And it is almost an astronomical amount of money, at least seven or eight digits.

If you are short of money, you have to relax restrictions on industry and commerce and increase overseas trade, which is good.

Now I am really not afraid of your ambition, but I am afraid that you will eat and wait for death.

If you are ambitious and want to leave a name for eternity, but don't want to exhaust the people's strength and start wars, you can only jump out of past experience and get money from places where there was no such thing in the past.

Do you Dashun deserve to learn from the Song Dynasty to engage in comprehensive government-run monopoly of commerce? Learn from Han Wu to grant titles to all people, how can you Dashun have so much vacant land?

If you can't learn this and that, then just get money from overseas.

This will give space for the new class to grow quietly.

Liu Yu was complaining in his heart. The emperor didn't know what Liu Yu was thinking. He came to his senses and asked the water conservancy official who was kneeling there to stand up.

Taking advantage of this, he pointed to the rolling waves in the river and asked: "Abolish the canal and change to the sea? What do you think?"

This question is nonsense.

The local officials dared not speak.

Because they couldn't guess the emperor's mind.

If the emperor really wanted to abolish the canal and change to the sea, the local officials and river officials would oppose it, and they would be accused of "only seeking personal gain and not caring about the country".

If they support it now, how can they get along with their colleagues in the future? What if the emperor just wanted to ask because of the words of this water conservancy official?

Which local official or river official is willing to abolish the canal and change to the sea?

No one spoke for a long time, and the emperor took the initiative to talk about something.

"Some time ago, Portugal offered lions and other exotic animals from Macau as tribute. It also offered a large bird. Fortunately, Zuo Pingzhangshi had a broad view of 'wooden arrows and stone needles' and said that it was called 'ostrich'."

"Zuo Pingzhangshi quoted the Book of Tang and said: In the first year of Yongzheng, Tocharian offered a large bird, seven feet tall, black, with feet similar to camels, flapping its wings and walking 300 miles a day. It can eat iron and is commonly called ostrich."

"Xingguo Gong said that there is such a saying in European countries. It is said that when the ostrich encounters danger, it will bury its head in the haystack, thinking that it is safe because it can't see with its eyes."

"This is similar to the saying 'covering one's ears to steal the bell'."