The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 877 New Canal, Useless

On the long dike, two women are walking towards Yang Tong under the leadership of the guards. The woman in Hanfu is tall and elegant, like a fairy in the nine heavens. This is Yuan Ziyan, the daughter of Yuan Dahuyou.

Looking at Yuan Ziyan coming from afar, Yang Tong was greatly surprised. Didn't this little magic stick play tricks with Yuan Tiangang in Liaowangzhai?

Thinking of Yuan Tiangang, I couldn't help looking at the heroic girl next to Yuan Ziyan. This girl's clothes were very similar to those of the Miao nationality. At a glance, she was about the same age as Yang Qinfang, and her appearance was considered good, although she was not as good as the concubine in the palace. She is at the level of a country and a city, but she has the unique charm of a girl from an ethnic minority. Her big eyes seem to be breathtaking, and her curly hair falls on her shoulders, making her look even more charming!
Under the hem of the skirt, a pair of pretty calves were exposed, which made people can't help but take a few more glances.

No need to think about it, Yang Tong guessed that she was Lan Xue'er whom Yuan Tiangang asked Liao Wang to marry him.

"My humble minister, Yuan Ziyan, sees the sage." Just as Yang Tong was thinking about it, Yuan Ziyan approached and saluted.

Yang Tong was stunned for a while by her self-proclaim, and then remembered that he had made her an official, and quickly said: "...Excuse me."

"Who is this?" Although he guessed it, Yang Tong asked without further ado. If it wasn't, it would be a joke.

Not as Yang Tong expected, only Yuan Ziyan said: "Return to the Holy One, this is Lan Xueer, the princess of Liaoren..."

"Your Majesty, you are Yang Tong, the Great Sui Army God and God of War?" Lan Xueer looked at Yang Tong with burning eyes, like a hunter staring at his prey.

The Holy One?

All the people around Yang Tong were speechless, and the person who was in love hadn't understood the meaning of "Holy One" until now.

"Xue'er, didn't you say that? The Holy One is the Holy One, there is no such thing." Yuan Ziyan complained.

Lan Xueer turned back: "Isn't there one in Chengdu?"

Yuan Ziyan sighed: "That's fake, okay?"

"That's all right! She can do whatever she wants." Yang Tong could see that this girl was relatively simple and didn't know the twists and turns of the Central Plains; Yuan Ziyan probably lost her temper by being tossed along the way, otherwise she wouldn't have shown it. The look of life is loveless.

"As ordered."

"Where's Great God Yuan?"

"Eh? Your Majesty is referring to my father?"

"correct."

"He dare not come!" Yuan Ziyan sold Yuan Tiangang unceremoniously.

"I won't do anything to him!" Yang Tong looked at Lan Xueer, who couldn't stop looking at him, and couldn't help laughing, "Isn't that enough?"

"I heard people say that you are not only the emperor, but also the number one god of war in the Sui Dynasty, and the most powerful warrior in the Sui Dynasty. It doesn't look like you." Lan Xueer showed a skeptical look on her face.

"My title as the number one God of War is not earned by me, but because I have a group of Gods of War under my command, and even my men have won the battle, so everyone says I am the number one God of War."

"Then why should they listen to you?"

"Because I'm the number one god of war!" Yang Tong said to Yang Qinfang, who had an unusually ugly face, "Take Miss Lan Xueer to play around."

"Here!" Yang Qinfang was furious, as if I was taking care of children.

Lan Xueer walked away without saying a word.

"..." Everyone.

Yuan Ziyan explained on her behalf: "Sister Xue'er, I don't know much about Central Plains etiquette."

"I know!" Yang Tong understood very well, and Shui Tianji was also like this, they were all used to it.

Asked: "Aren't you in Yizhou?"

"Return to the Holy Lord!" Yuan Ziyan said awkwardly: "I am a humble minister, I brought sister Xueer to recognize her relatives..."

"I agree with this kiss."

"Thank you, my lord." Yuan Ziyan breathed a sigh of relief. She was afraid that Yang Tong would not admit it. If he did not, the humiliated Liaoren would definitely surrender to Li Yuan and live forever with Da Sui.

"..." Sending a beautiful girl over a long distance, and thanking him, Yang Tong felt weird, and he didn't want to get entangled in this matter, so he asked, "Is there anything else?"

Yuan Ziyan said: "Li Yuan asked Li Jiancheng to be a lobbyist in an attempt to reconcile with King Liao and make Liao people loyal to the puppet Tang, but King Liao didn't agree, he just went around in circles with them. What's more, the weather this year is very abnormal, and my father thought that there must be heavy rain , Your Majesty, please prepare early."

"This construction site is prepared for heavy rain." Yang Tong looked up at the clear sky, and said, "You are a little fairy, do you think it will rain or not?"

"My lord, I am a human being, not a god; so I think I should do it!" Yuan Ziyan was speechless, but this smart woman quickly found an excuse for herself from Yang Tong's words.

Give yourself double insurance once and for all.

"Whether it's down or not, this construction site must go on." Yang Tong took a deep look at her, and didn't care about her cleverness.

"My lord, we came here by water, and found that Ziyang, Longshan, Luchuan, Fuling and other counties in Yizhou are all drought this year!"

Seeing that Yang Tong didn't care about anything, Yuan Ziyan breathed a sigh of relief. When she met Yang Tong before, the aura of dominating the world was not obvious, and she explained to him that there was no pressure. She lost the courage to look at him.

Not only that, she found that the bottom of her clothes was wet with sweat, as if she had experienced a thrilling battle!
The heart is also beating uncontrollably.

Dao Xin, which had been practiced for many years, was completely defeated and vented for thousands of miles.

This is
The majesty of an emperor?

"The Chengdu Plain is also dry?" Yang Tong was surprised. Speaking of which, the Chengdu Plain also suffered from drought in the pre-Qin period, and it was quite serious. At that time, drought and floods were the most common and major natural disasters in the Chengdu Plain.There are mountains on all sides of the Sichuan Basin. The terrain of the Chengdu Plain slopes from northwest to southeast, and the elevation difference of the rivers is large.Take the Minjiang River as an example. During the rainy season, it will flood, and the Chengdu Plain will become a vast ocean.But in the dry season, due to the small surface river runoff and few ditches, there will be droughts again. This is the reason why the ancient Shu primitive tribes and the ancient Shu kingdom migrated frequently. When Dujiangyan is repaired, the most direct benefit is that the floods will not Yes, after the Han Dynasty and the Shu Han Dynasty built the weirs and ditches in Chengdu, the drought disappeared.Since then, the Chengdu Plain seems to have come to hang, with few droughts and floods.But now, Yuan Ziyan actually said that the Chengdu Plain is also dry, which is really incredible.However, Yang Tong also knew that Yuan Ziyan would not joke about such things.

"It stands to reason that Ziyang and Longshan and other prefectures should not belong to the Chengdu Plain, right?"

Yuan Ziyan became less and less confident. She didn't know that when she became a minister, she was already in a humble position of not being treated. What's more, the other party was still the emperor who ruled the world?
"As long as it's Li Yuan's territory."

Yang Tong laughed. The reason why the Sui Dynasty did not directly attack Yizhou was because the Li family and his sons had not yet fought among themselves. At this time, the puppet Tang Dynasty was quite popular. No matter whether it is the soldiers of the Sui Dynasty or the people of Yizhou, the people who died were not what Yang Tong wanted.In order to turn the internal struggle between Li's father and son from bright to dark, Yang Tong "escaped" from Daxing to Luoyang. The next time he marches into Yizhou, he will not only recover it and destroy the Li family, but also let the people who can't bear the exploitation of the Li family The road welcomes and creates a foundation for the Sui Dynasty to rule and prosper Yizhou.

When going south by boat, I was thinking about how to make Li's internal strife more violent. I never expected that there would be a severe drought in Yizhou, which has few droughts and floods. Is this the so-called god-sent opportunity?

Li Yuan has been expanding his army crazily after the New Year. Although it is not empty, he has also plundered all the young and strong in the Chengdu Plain. Excluding Li Shimin's army and Li Xiaogong's southern expedition soldiers, he got another 15 people, just Yizhou With that little wealth and raising so many soldiers, he is digging his own grave.

In order to support the army, they could only increase taxes on the disaster-stricken people. If it really made them hungry and full of complaints, it meant that the great Sui Dynasty was not far from the great unification in form and in people's hearts.

At this moment, the sound of horseshoes came from the south of the long embankment. Yang Tong followed the sound and saw Li Chun and a young man dismounting from their horses.

Yuan Ziyan had more winks than Lan Xueer, and when she saw an official waiting far away, she saluted Yang Tong and said, "The sage has an important task, so I will leave first."

Yang Tong nodded and ordered Yuan Ziyan to be sent away.

"My humble minister, Li Chun, sees His Majesty."

"My humble minister Yan Liben sees His Majesty."

Li Chun brought Yan Liben forward to salute.

"Thank you!" Yang Tong looked at Yan Liben, and found that he was about the same age as himself, handsome, elegant, and personable, but his skin was dark, and he obviously traveled around for many years, so he had the characteristics of a person from the Ministry of Industry.

"Yan Aiqing!" Yang Tong didn't know what kind of official Yan Liben was, so he could only address him with the disgusting 'Aiqing': "I heard that your brothers are also good at calligraphy and painting besides crafts and construction, can you send me some paintings?"

The famous and priceless "Picture of Emperors of Past Dynasties" is the work of Yan Liben.Another representative work of his, "The Picture of Walking Chariots", records Lu Dongzan's meeting with Li Shimin. Now that the world has been messed up by himself, Lu Dongzan has long been cold, and this painting must have ended without a problem.

But Yan Liben said: "The paintings of the Holy Majesty are lifelike, just like real people, and it is difficult for a humble minister to beat a horse."

"My sketches focus on writing. They have no artistic conception. They are absolutely incomparable with Danqing paintings. It's settled like this. Send me some pictures some other day." It's just fooling people, but when it comes to painting, those female literary youths in the palace are better than themselves.

Even Li Xiuning, who is a beginner in sketching, has the potential to come from behind.

Yan Liben said happily: "If the Holy One doesn't dislike it, I should devote myself to drawing a few pictures."

He is a relatively pure literati. Although he is versatile, he is not proficient in the ways of literati in the world, and he is very tired of studying the self-motivated. He has always admired the willful behavior of Yang Tong and other generals. Very pure, plus he likes painting very much, if Yang Tong hadn't been the emperor, he would have been kind enough to ask for advice.At this time, I was very happy to see that the emperor who painted the most human-like people actually liked his paintings.

But how did he know that Yang Tong was so enthusiastic because he missed his paintings?

"By the way, does your elder brother Yan Lide have any good works recently?" Yang Tong was a little bit hopeful.

"Returning to the Holy Lord, my brother recently drew a "Picture of Ancient Emperors", depicting the twelve emperors from the Han Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty, namely, Emperor Gaozuwen of the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wen of Wei, Emperor Wu, Emperor Zhaolie of Shu, Emperor Wu of Jin, Emperor Wen of Chen, Emperor Fei of Chen, Emperor Xuan of Chen, Emperor Chen Empress, Emperor Wu of Zhou."

"..." Yang Tong's heart moved, "Let your brother show me another day."

Yan Liben said indifferently: "What's the matter, it's just a painting. If the Holy One likes it, my brother will definitely be overjoyed."

"That's the deal." Yang Tong laughed, the "Picture of Ancient Emperors", which even money can't buy, was so indifferent to Yan Liben? ?

He finally understood that whether it was Yu Shinan, Zhiyong, Yan Lide, or Yan Liben...all of them fell into the obsession of "not knowing the true face of Lushan Mountain, just because they are in this mountain", and they don't know the value of their works at all.

If the Yan brothers were allowed to paint dozens or hundreds of paintings, it would be a great contribution to the nation.

Look at Yu Shinan and Zen Master Zhiyong, how conscious are they?Every day in the secretary's office, I copy the authentic works of the ancients without selfishness, and hand-copied the rare and fragmented scrolls with great joy.

It's just that Yang Tong also knew the anecdote of Yan Liben's "regret for painting and calligraphy", so he didn't dare to mention it, lest he be ashamed and deeply ashamed to warn future generations not to learn painting.

But Yang Tong also understands why Yan Liben "regrets calligraphy", because the literati of this era have backbones and hard bones. When you are happy, let them bend down and kneel down to paint anytime and anywhere. For a literati who kneels on the ground and kneels his parents in the middle, it is an extremely disgrace.

The reason why the paintings handed down by the Yan brothers are rare is probably also because of "regret for painting and calligraphy".

He pretended to say: "Yan Aiqing, you have to remember that poetry and calligraphy are just hobbies in spare time, and must not be regarded as a lifetime career. Only doing practical things for the country and the people is a good man."

Yan Liben said happily: "The Holy One's words are very true, and this minister also feels the same way." Yang Tong was stunned, and his mouth became bitter.

Dozens or hundreds of masterpieces just disappeared?
"Painting may not be very useful in other industries, but it is an indispensable skill in the Ministry of Industry. It is necessary to use painting skills in surveying and mapping mountains, rivers and geography, and designing palaces and bridges." Li Chun said.

"Li Shilang is right, but I am short-sighted." Yang Tong got off the donkey along the slope, and quickly changed the subject, "Yan Aiqing, you are a child of an architectural family with profound knowledge, what do you think of this new canal that 'diverts the Yellow River into the Huaihe River'?" ?”

Yan Liben was a member of the Ministry of Works and a member of the Ministry of Water. His official residence was from the sixth grade. Although he was a low-level official, he was quite serious. Since the plan for the new canal was issued, he was not only considering the specific matters of the new canal , still running around on the route of the new canal; also because of his seriousness and responsibility, he was appreciated by Li Chun, who is also upright and silent.

Yan Liben already had a plan for the new canal. Hearing Yang Tong's inquiry, he didn't exchange pleasantries, and went straight to the point: "My lord, please forgive me for speaking bluntly. There are huge problems with the new canal route, which is not reasonable."

Yang Tong hurriedly asked, "What's unreasonable?"

"Except for the three-level flood diversion project here, most of the rest are unreasonable."

Hearing this, everyone was taken aback.

What Yan Liben said was quite a complete rejection of the new canal.

"Tell me your reason." Yang Tong looked serious.

"Please wait a moment, Your Majesty." Yan Liben ran to his mount, took out a roll of paper from a pen container, then returned to Yang Tong, and handed it to Yang Tong: "My lord, here are two drawings, one is the new canal Of the original drawings, one was drawn by Weichen."

Yang Tong took it and opened it. The first one was his own plan, from Anshan Yellow River Embankment in Dong’e County, Dongping County to Liangcheng County in Xiapi, and after meeting Yishui River, continue southward to Luoma Lake, and then move Luoma Lake. Mahu was dug open and used the Sishui riverbed to rush to the Huai River.

In the meantime, hundreds of rivers and dozens of lakes have been connected one by one. With the existence of these rivers and lakes, not only save a lot of manpower and material resources, but also obtain many water sources.

Looking at the route of Yan Liben's painting, it is just the opposite. He avoids water and detours when he encounters lakes.

The biggest feature is that it does not affect or destroy the existing hydrological environment, and keeps the original state as much as possible. It is a real new canal.But the manpower, material resources, and financial resources needed will also be multiplied countless times.

Yang Tong was really puzzled, and asked, "But why?"

"My lord, I think that if the construction is carried out according to the previous plan, although the immediate effect will be achieved, there will be endless troubles in the future." Without waiting for Yang Tong to ask again, Yan Liben began to analyze: "The mission of this new canal is to connect the north and the south, and to transport grain in leisure time." [-]. Transporting troops during wartime cannot be sloppy at all. If we use lakes as river channels, there are many inappropriate things: the first is hydrology. Although the lakes along the line of the new canal are abundant in water, we cannot guarantee that they will remain unchanged for a hundred years. In the current situation, even if there is a dry lake, the entire route will be paralyzed; even if it is not paralyzed, the farmland on both sides of the river will not be able to receive effective irrigation because the lake water is drained by the canal, and eventually the farmland will fail.”

"Secondly, there is the issue of safety. Limited by the size of the boats, if a small boat encounters a strong storm on the lake, it is not surprising that the boat is destroyed. Moreover, the vast lake has always been favored by water bandits. I Wagang, Douzigang, and Gaojipo, where there are the most rebels in the Sui Dynasty, are all lakes and swamps. If a large number of material transport fleets travel through the lakes all year round, it is almost like sending food and wealth to the local water bandits. The stakes are very high.”

"Taking a step back, even if the weather has been smooth and the lake is calm. But the purpose of this route is for material transportation, so speed must be paid attention to. Every point of the route must be the best transit point, and the entire route needs to be extremely efficient. .If the lakes are simply connected, it is easy for people to see the direction of the vast lake, and it is easy to go around in the lake. Too many wrong roads are wasted, a lot of time is wasted, and the transportation cost is also rising. In the end, the cost It will also be shared with the people who shop."

Yang Tong: "..."

Yin Mingyue: "..."

Wei Zheng: "..."

Li Chun: "..."

"Your Majesty, this..." Yin Mingyue carefully looked at the flushed Yang Tong.

Yin Mingyue also agrees with Yan Liben's statement, but this canal plan was created by her husband to save time, effort, and money, but now, it has been criticized to the point of being useless.

It must be embarrassing, right?

"Ahem... Yan Aiqing is right." Yang Tong is not a person who suffers face-saving. Although he is a little embarrassed, he is more fortunate.

Li Chun cupped his hands and said: "As the right servant of the Ministry of Industry in charge of the Ministry of Water, I have committed the crime of negligence, please forgive me."

"It's not your fault! Fortunately, except for the third-level flood diversion project, the rest have not yet started, and it is still too late to revise the excavation plan." Yang Tong thought it was no wonder, because there were major projects everywhere this year, and every project was under construction. Competing with God for time, everyone in the Ministry of Industry is too busy to touch the ground, and there is no time to take care of the overall situation; moreover, the original intention of this canal is to divide the flood of the Yellow River, which was almost decided hastily, without even the preliminary survey.

"The sage is wise." Wei Zheng admired Yang Tong's attitude of knowing his mistakes and being able to correct them.

"Yan Aiqing, are these lakes just abolished? Abandon them instead of using them?"

"No!" Yan Liben shook his head, "Although it is unreasonable to use lakes as the channel of the canal, the large and small lakes along the entire route are the basis for the operation of the new canal. Because the most important significance of these lakes is to provide sufficient water for the canal. But relying on their natural overflow is obviously not enough. For example, Pinglu County, Lu County, which the new canal must pass through, has not only poor geographical conditions, but also is at the watershed of the new canal. Although it is close to Wenshui River, according to Weichen's observation, if the new canal If it is repaired, the southward flow of Wenshui is too much, and the northward flow is relatively small. The northern section may not be able to pass large ships. We must build dams and reservoirs along the canal according to the geographical situation, and use sluices to control the water volume of the entire river. At the same time, other appropriate lakes will be built. For the long dike, add a long dike sluice. When the water rises, the gate will be opened to dredge it, and when the water recedes, the gate will be closed to store it. In addition, it is also possible to choose a site in the middle of the canal bed and build multiple gates. When the water is dry, open the lower gate and close it after all ships enter; then open the upper gate to increase the water level of the river bed. Unimpeded."

"Good idea!" Yang Tong made a decision immediately, "After this new canal has been modified, the project is extremely huge. In order to make the canal a truly useful river for future generations, it is up to you to redesign the route and set up gates everywhere. If you encounter any problems, please contact me directly. If the line is not accurate, we will never start work."

Anyway, there is the Grand Canal of the Sui Dynasty, and the capital of the Sui Dynasty is not in Zhuo County, so it will be better if it is later. At worst, the flood diversion project will be done first, and other places will be put on hold.

As for the Sui version of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, it doesn't matter even if it is a few years later.

As for the war criminals, the big deal is to repair the "Luo into Bian project" in the future. Anyway, there are many places that need to be built. I am afraid that there will be no manpower or no project.

This is a manifestation of being responsible to the court and the people. No one in the court, Chinese and military would say that Yang Tong changed his orders day and night, only that he knew his mistakes and could correct them.

And things like face have always been determined by fists and strength.

It's not what you want, Yang Tong doesn't care
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your trust." Yan Liben was overjoyed.

(End of this chapter)