Chaos of the Three Kingdoms Summons

Chapter 2669 Two Ministers Oppose Each Other, the Emperor's Decision

"Slow down? Take it slow?" A loud voice rang out urgently.

The speaker was Chang Yuchun, the newly appointed commander of the Southern Central Imperial Guard, who had returned to Beijing after his Southeast Asian campaign to report on his duties. He had been stationed in the southern region for several years and fought in Southeast Asia for three years, so he was most familiar with the situation in the south and Southeast Asia.

At this moment, General Chang Yuchun stepped forward, his armor clanging as he said, “Your Majesty! Imperial Censor Li and Physician Yan only know the suffering of the Central Plains, but do they know the urgent situation in the South Seas? The natives of Jiaozhi and Rinan are fierce and prone to rebellion! The South Seas and other places are even more plagued by miasma, and the Han people are few and far between!”

"Without a convenient route to transport troops and provisions, we would be too far away to act in time should anything happen! Should we wait for a slow and gradual approach? Once a rebellion breaks out, the money, provisions, and lives spent suppressing it will be no less than opening a river! As for the sea route?"

Chang Yuchun scoffed, "Does Imperial Censor Li know the dangers of the sea? A hurricane can feed the entire fleet to fish and shrimp! How can you talk about stable delivery?"

"This canal is the reins around the neck of the South! With it, the imperial court can firmly control the vast coastal borders and deter those treacherous local kings and chieftains! This is the river that protects peace!"

Wang Meng, the head of the six ministers who had been silent all along, stepped forward and slowly spoke. Although his voice was very calm, his words carried great weight as the head of the six ministers.

“What you all say makes sense. The benefits of opening the canal are obvious. It is a long-term plan to control the area south of the Yangtze River and even Southeast Asia and to promote economic prosperity. However, the enormous cost and the suffering of the people are also undeniable facts.”

"The key is how to choose the lesser of two evils and the greater of two benefits."

Wang Meng then looked at the emperor and said, “Your Majesty, I believe that this river must be dug. However, we should strive to save manpower and minimize the disturbance to the people in the process of dredging.”

As he spoke, Wang Meng turned to Zhuge Liang, who was also one of the six ministers and the Minister of Works.

"Minister Zhuge, is there a better strategy for the project planning? For example, could we make full use of existing waterways and lakes? Or could we carry out the construction in sections, prioritizing the removal of key obstacles from Luoyang to the Yangtze River and from the Yangtze River to Panyu?"

"Schedule the construction work to avoid the busy farming season? When conscripting laborers, could we prioritize recruitment, supplemented by reasonable wages and rations, instead of simply forcibly conscripting them? Disease prevention and medical supplies must be adequately guaranteed!"

"These details are crucial to public support and the success or failure of the project, and must be handled with utmost care!"

Zhuge Liang immediately responded: "Your Majesty and your colleagues are wise! This is exactly what we intend to do! We will prioritize opening up the 'choke point' and postpone the rest."

"Laborers will be recruited with generous pay and allowances, and their families will be permitted to bring them to cultivate wasteland near the work area. Special medical officers will be appointed to prevent and control malaria. The necessary funds and provisions will be provided by the national treasury, and wealthy merchants will be encouraged to contribute, with promises made in exchange for future benefits from the canal's navigation..."

“Easy for you to say!” Another minister from one of the six ministries spoke up, this time it was Fang Xuanling, the Minister of Rites.

Fang Xuanling, who was already in his fifties, with his hair and beard standing on end, said angrily, "No matter how generous the conditions are, they cannot change the fact that hundreds of thousands or even millions of young men have left their homes and are risking their lives in poor and dangerous places!"

"Can money and grain completely prevent an epidemic? The construction period has been delayed again and again, and the expenses are like water flowing away. How long can the national treasury support this? Jinglue! Kongming! This is using the blood and sweat of the people to achieve personal glory!"

"Your Majesty! I, your humble servant, will risk my life to remonstrate with you! If this river is opened, it will surely cause widespread resentment and shake the very foundation of the nation! I implore Your Majesty to reconsider! Retract your decree!"

He was so excited that he trembled all over and knelt down, his head hitting the ground with a dull thud.

"Your Majesty, each generation has its own affairs!"

"We've been fighting for so many years, the people have suffered enough, and the Yuan and Mongol forces in the north are still not pacified. This isn't how we should utilize our resources. The country needs a proper rest!" Di Renjie, the Minister of Justice and one of the Six Ministers, spoke with great fervor. Among the Six Ministers, Wang Meng and Zhuge Liang were considered young, while Di Renjie was the oldest.

Now that the country is finally unified, Di Renjie had actually been considering retiring from official life.

After all, these people have been occupying the position of Minister of the Six Ministries, which is actually blocking the way for many others.

In other words, due to the need to develop the south and control Southeast Asia, the two capitals are now operating in parallel, with a separate team set up in the south, freeing up some positions.

But the vast majority of people still wanted to go to the important northern court. After all, that was the real political center, the place where national decrees were issued.

Although the Southern court also claimed to be the central court, it always had to obey the Northern court.

He's already sixty years old; it's time for him to step down and give way to his subordinates.

Having already decided to retire, there were some things he could have ignored. However, Di Renjie was not the kind of person who was irresponsible to the court and the people.

In the imperial court, there are actually only a few people standing at the top.

The six ministers, plus the two chief censors of the Censorate.

In place of Guan Zhong, who went south, the newly appointed Minister of Revenue, Zhang Juzheng, has not yet spoken. Li Jing, the Vice Minister of War, has always maintained neutrality. As for Wei Xiaokuan, another Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, although he will fulfill his duties as a censor, he is more inclined to military affairs than political ones.

Of the remaining five people, three had already expressed their explicit opposition, so the hall fell into a deathly silence. All eyes were fixed on Emperor Li Xiang on the dragon throne.

Li Xiang remained silent. He saw the blueprint in Zhuge Liang's eyes, the urgency on Li Gang's face, the wisdom of Wang Meng's weighing of options, the worries of Di Renjie, and even more so, the resolute determination that almost shattered the gold bricks beneath Fang Xuanling's already graying hair.

He knew that his ministers' words were not alarmist. The construction of the canal was a war without gunfire, and any misstep would inevitably have a heavy, even unbearable, price.

Li Xiang slowly stood up, the jade beads on his crown gently clinking together.

He didn't look at the ministers below who were remonstrating with him to the death. Instead, he looked out of the hall, as if he could see the waterway that was still in its infancy but was destined to change the fate of the empire, the jungles and miasma of Jiaozhou and even the South Seas, the sails of Panyu Port, and the gold mines of Jiaozhi.

"Minister Li, Minister Di, Minister Fang!" Li Xiang finally spoke, his voice low and firm, "I understand your worries. I also know the suffering of the people."

But Li Xiang then changed his tone, his voice firm and resolute: "However, this river must be dug!"

"If we don't develop, the land of Southeast Asia will forever remain uncivilized! If we don't develop, the task of developing the South will be arduous and far-reaching!"

"If we don't dig, and chaos breaks out in the south or even Southeast Asia, the court will have to use ten or a hundred times the lives of its soldiers to fill the gap! That would truly shake the foundations of the nation!"

(End of this chapter)