I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 974: The Capital City Expands, Su Yao Sets Out Again (Combined Chapter)

Spectacle harms the country?

After understanding Su Yao's words, Xun Yu, who was originally relaxed and smiling, suddenly stood up in awe and explained:

"Your Highness is right to worry, but the court is not expanding the capital and palaces just for luxury and pleasure."

Xun Yu said solemnly, "Since the pacification of the world, envoys from all over the country have come to the court in an endless stream. The old palace is already too small to show the majesty of our Han Dynasty. Especially after Your Highness went on the Western Expedition and established the Western Region Development Company, merchants from all over the world gathered in the capital, and the market was crowded. It was imperative to expand the city."

This is true.

The Luoyang City of the Eastern Han Dynasty was built on the basis of the ancient cities of Zhou and Qin. However, in order to demonstrate the legitimacy of the Eastern Han regime, Emperor Ming of Han intended to "set up a capital in the image of the sky" during the construction of the capital, and established two palaces and a market. The scale of the imperial palace was not small.

However, the scale of Luoyang city itself is not large, covering only 10 square kilometers, far less than the 36 square kilometers of Chang'an in the Western Han Dynasty.

This was certainly sufficient in the early days of the Eastern Han Dynasty when everything was in ruins. However, with economic development and population growth, by the middle and late stages of the Han Dynasty, there were no civilians left to live in Luoyang, and the outside of the city walls were filled with "illegal" buildings.

Therefore, in history, the Wei State later expanded the city of Luoyang, increasing it tenfold in one go to an area of ​​about 100 square kilometers, even exceeding the area of ​​Chang'an City in the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

Today, thanks to Su Yao's activeness, Luoyang City has not only not been destroyed by war, but has even ushered in unprecedented prosperity and development due to the peace in the world and his various policies.

In addition, after Su Yao's new policy, various government offices, many official workshops, schools, etc. were added, and there was no available space in the city. Naturally, the need to expand Luoyang City became more urgent.

"Especially with your highness's great victory, more than a dozen kings from the Western Regions will come to Beijing to pay tribute and send their sons as hostages. The settlement of these vassal states has become a very urgent issue."

"Therefore, the court is preparing to set up a 'Sifang Pavilion' to accommodate envoys and hostages from various countries." Xun Yu continued to explain, "In addition, Your Majesty also plans to set up a 'Wanguo Commercial House' near the expanded West Market of Luoyang City, which will be specially used for merchants from the Western Regions and overseas to trade and live."

"In that case, the expansion does make sense." Su Yao nodded slightly.

In fact, he had only said it casually. He had no objection to the expansion of Luoyang City in the rear. It would be better to say that he had actually had this plan a long time ago.

But when I think about the various troubles of demolition and the time-consuming project, the priority of this matter is really not higher than other things.

I didn't expect that after I left, Wannian and the others would have the courage to do it on their own.

However, this is actually because Su Yao himself has not yet entered the thinking of later generations and does not fully understand the current imperial power.

Indeed, the centralization ability of the emperors during the Qin and Han dynasties was far inferior to that of the Ming and Qing dynasties, but the sacredness of their imperial power far exceeded that of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Things like the difficulty of demolishing houses in the Song Dynasty and the emperor having to live in a small corner were simply viewed by the Qin and Han emperors as "Do you think you are worthy of being called an emperor?"
Especially the combination of Su Yao and Wan Nian, one has made great military achievements and no one in the world dares to disobey him, and the other is benevolent and loves the people, so the people strongly support the court's policies.

Therefore, the expansion of Luoyang went very smoothly.

"Moreover," Xun Yu continued, "Your Majesty has also issued an edict that the money and grain needed for the expansion project will be taken from the profits of the Western Region Development Company, and the national treasury will not be touched. In addition, the conscripted laborers will be paid in full, and the farming season will not be affected. There will be no forced conscription."

As he spoke, Xun Yu took out the plan for expanding Luoyang City and gave it to Su Yao for review.

This time, Su Yao also became interested.

The two immediately started a heated discussion on city planning.

Su Yao unfolded the plan and his eyes suddenly lit up.

The blueprint showed that the new city of Luoyang was in a neat square shape, expanding outward with the original city as the core. Eight city gates were added in the east, west, south and north to form an "eight-way thoroughfare". The area also expanded fivefold to 50 square kilometers. The city wall of Luoyang also officially crossed the Luo River, making it a large city across the river.

The most eye-catching area is the "International District" specially designated in the northwest corner, which is planned to have embassies, trading houses, Hu temples and other buildings, and it looks like the prototype of an international metropolis.

"Interesting." Su Yao tapped the blueprint with his finger. "The design of this International District was based on the Huren Street in Chang'an City?"

Xun Yu nodded with a smile: "Your Highness is wise. But compared with the past Chang'an, it is more complete. There are not only trading houses here, but also schools, clinics, and even..." He lowered his voice, "Your Majesty intends to set up an 'Exotic Customs Hall' here for artists from various countries to perform singing, dancing and acrobatics."

Su Yao raised his eyebrows when he heard this. Wannian had really learned the entertainment industry from him. Just as he was about to make some jokes, he suddenly saw a line of small words on the edge of the drawing: "Constructed by the Western Region Development Company".

"This..." Su Yao pointed at the line of words, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "The company still accepts projects?"

Xun Yu couldn't help laughing: "Your Highness, you don't know that since your Western Expedition, the company's business has been booming. Not only does it engage in silk and porcelain trade, but it also involves construction, transportation, and even "

As he spoke, Xun Yu took out a briefing from his sleeve: "The company has recently established a 'Western Region Security Company' to provide escorts for caravans."

Su Yao took the briefing and saw that it listed the company's various businesses: from traditional commodity trading to the construction of new post stations, road maintenance, and even projects such as "introducing foreign talents." The most outrageous one was the last one: "Writing letters for me, ten coins per letter."

"Good fellow," Su Yao held his forehead with his hand, "They are planning to develop the Western Region into a group company."

Xun Yu said solemnly: "The company system created by Your Highness is indeed very useful. Now that the court is sending troops to the Western Regions, most of the military expenses come from the company's profits. What's even better is..." His eyes flashed, "Raising funds through stocks will not shake the foundation of the national treasury, but also allow private wealth to be used by me."

Su Yao nodded thoughtfully.

The wisdom of the ancients should not be underestimated. He originally just wanted to use the company form to solve the expeditionary military expenses, but he did not expect Wannian and his court officials to learn from it and take this modern corporate system to a new level. It seems that when he returns, Luoyang City will be greatly changed.
Su Yao was very excited after hearing this, and his competitive spirit also rose, so he immediately put forward his own suggestions on the planning and construction of Luoyang City.

That is the model of Luoyang City in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, which is known as the pinnacle of ancient urban planning and architecture!

Su Yao spread out a piece of white paper and picked up a pen to sketch the outline of Luoyang City in his memory: "Since we are going to expand it, we might as well do it all at once. I suggest adopting the 'three-city system' layout - the palace city, the imperial city, and the outer city are layered on top of each other."

His pen tip danced on the paper: "The palace city is located in the northwest highland, symbolizing 'the North Star is in its place and all the stars surround it'. The imperial city surrounds the palace city, and has three provinces and six ministries and other government offices. The outer city is divided into 109 blocks, each of which is divided by a cross street, with a block wall and a block gate, and can be closed for management when necessary."

Xun Yu stared at it intently: "This layout is more orderly than the Chang'an City in the past!"

"Not only that." Su Yao drew a few thick lines on the blueprint, "The width of the main road must not be less than 40 steps, with open drainage ditches on both sides. The roads in the neighborhood must also be 10 steps wide to ensure that fire trucks and horses can pass through unimpeded."

He specially designated an area in the north of the city: "Here is the Hanjia Granary City, which stores the grain tax of the whole country. In addition, three major markets are set up on the banks of the Luo River in the south of the city - the North Market is for daily necessities, the South Market is for luxury goods, and the West Market is the trading area for foreign merchants."

Xun Yu suddenly pointed to a spot on the blueprint and asked, "Your Highness, what is the meaning of the 'Heavenly Street' you marked here?"

Su Yao raised his lips slightly and said, "From the main gate of the imperial city to the Dingding Gate of the outer city, build an imperial road a hundred steps wide. Plant peonies, pomegranates, cherry blossoms and other flowers on both sides. When the flowers bloom in spring, you can order all officials to ride horses and parade through the streets to have fun with the people."

"Excellent!" Xun Yu clapped his hands in praise. "But..." He pointed to the northeast corner of the drawing. "What is the large open space reserved here?"

"Imperial College and Imperial Academy." Su Yao explained, "Previously, the newly established disciplines of mathematics, law, engineering, and medicine in the Imperial College had already been partially moved outside the city due to land issues. Since we are going to build a new one this time, I will build a school covering a thousand acres here!" Then Su Yao's eyes flashed:
"In the future, I want to make this place the academic center of the world!"

Xun Yu took a deep breath after listening.

According to Su Yao's plan, the scale of the new Luoyang City may exceed 200,000 acres.

It reaches the foot of Mang Mountain in the north, spans the Yi and Luo Rivers in the south, connects to Jianshui River in the west, and reaches Qilijian in the east. It is much larger than the capitals of all dynasties. Today's Luoyang City is just a bait in front of it, and the entire old city will become an imperial city.

What is even more amazing is that on this blueprint, Su Yao also designed several super-high buildings and even a specific plan for a water supply system - bringing valley water into the city and digging several artificial rivers in the city, which not only solves the water supply problem but also can be used for transportation.

"Your Highness, this proposal." Xun Yu's voice trembled slightly, "I am afraid it will require the mobilization of millions of civilians and cost billions!"

Su Yao laughed: "Haven't you already asked the Western Region Development Company to undertake the construction? That's perfect."

Su Yao pointed to the simple drawing and explained:

"Our project can be carried out in three phases. The first phase is to expand the outer city and major government offices, and the second phase is to relocate the civil functions in Luoyang City in an orderly manner."

"As for the construction funds, haven't you already let the Western Region Development Company undertake the construction? Leave the city walls and government buildings to them. If they are not enough, issue "construction bonds" and use future income as collateral."

"As for the projects in the inner city, we can also introduce other capital and adopt the 'development rights bidding'. Let the merchants from various noble families bid for the development rights of a certain block, and after the completion, give them the tax rights for a certain number of years, which will belong to the developer."

"This"

Xun Yu was stunned when he heard this, and he swallowed his saliva and said:
"Your Highness, this is an unprecedented plan!" Xun Yu exclaimed, his eyes sparkling with excitement. He carefully examined the blueprint drawn by Su Yao, and gently traced the crisscrossing lines with his fingers. "In this way, not only can the court save a lot of expenses, but it can also make use of private capital. It is really a good plan!"

"It's just that a large number of civilians are introduced to participate in the court projects. If they cut corners."

"Wen Ruo, don't worry." Su Yao smiled and continued to explain: "For these projects, the Ministry of Works will naturally supervise them. There will be a 'Project Supervision Department' led by the court, and the public can also send people to supervise the quality and progress of the project. After each stage is completed, the accounts will be made public so that everyone can see where the money was spent."

Xun Yu nodded repeatedly: "Your Highness is far-sighted. This way, we can prevent corruption and win the trust of the people. But..."

He hesitated for a moment and said, "Such a huge project will probably require millions of laborers and take several years to complete."

“Will private capital alone be enough? And will there be any unexpected changes during the long construction period? Mobilizing a large number of people may also delay the farming season.”

This is true.

The court’s previous expansion plan was already quite large, but even so it required the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of civilians.

Now, this plan requires the manpower of more than one million people. Although Su Yao has subcontracted it, it may be difficult to subcontract it all.

You know, when Zhu Yuanzhang built Nanjing, it took 28 workers 28 years to complete the project. With today's construction technology, it will take even longer, so more people must be mobilized to speed up the construction.

However, Su Yao was prepared for this.

Then, like a magic trick, he took out two sets of prescriptions, namely.
“Cement and concrete???”

Xun Yu took the two prescriptions in confusion, and saw that they detailed the method of making a powder called "cement" and the formula of "concrete" made by mixing cement, sand and gravel.

"Your Highness, this is"

Su Yao smiled mysteriously: "This is a magical tool for building cities. Just grind limestone and clay, add an appropriate amount of gypsum, and you can make cement. Then mix it with sand and gravel in this proportion to build a rock-solid city wall. It is stronger and more durable than rammed earth."

"There is such a magical object?!" Xun Yu was shocked. "If it can be made, the efficiency of building a city will be increased several times!"

"That's right." Su Yao nodded. "I have ordered people to test the formula in the Western Regions, and once it succeeds, it will be sent back to Luoyang. By then, city walls and palaces can be quickly built with this."

Su Yao originally intended to use this item to build roads in the Western Regions, but now he is using it to build cities and improve efficiency, which is a great way to make the most of it.

As he spoke, he took out another roll of drawings: "This is the method for making a new type of scaffolding and pulley block. When used with cement, it can greatly improve the efficiency of the project."

Xun Yu was so excited that his fingers trembled slightly. "Your Highness is truly a god! With this artifact, the expansion of Luoyang will be twice as effective with half the effort!"

"And what's more," Su Yao said with a sly look in his eyes, "this project can just mobilize all the students from the engineering colleges in Luoyang, combine theory with practice, and strive to train a group of outstanding engineering talents to lay a good talent foundation for large-scale development and construction in the future."

"Finally, we need to mobilize the people's power."

Su Yao turned his gaze towards the northwest Wusun direction and smiled:
"Doesn't the Wusun Kingdom have 600,000 people? They didn't appreciate our kindness this time, so we can just ask them to do the work. This will not only alleviate our labor problem, but also weaken their future resistance in the area. Isn't it a good idea to kill two birds with one stone?"

Xun Yu was startled at first, then he clapped his hands and laughed: "Your Highness, this is a brilliant plan! Using war to support war, using the enemy to defeat the enemy, it is truly a brilliant plan for the ages!"

The two men smiled at each other, as if they had already seen a majestic and magnificent new Luoyang city rising from the ground, with all nations coming to pay tribute.

In this heated discussion, time had unknowingly reached late at night. Hong'er came in quietly to add tea, and seeing that the two were in high spirits, she quietly stepped aside.

Su Yao then realized that it was already late, and stood up and said, "Wen Ruo has come from a long distance, so he must be exhausted. Let's stop here today, you should have a good rest, and we will discuss it tomorrow."

Xun Yu quickly stood up and saluted: "Your Highness is busy with military affairs, I am sorry to bother you. These drawings..."

"Take it back to Luoyang and give it to His Majesty and the Ministry of Works for detailed discussion." Su Yao rolled up the blueprint and handed it to Xun Yu solemnly, "Tell His Majesty that after I pacify Wusun, I will return to the capital to plan the new city with her."

Xun Yu took it with both hands and said solemnly: "I will definitely convey it. May Your Highness return victorious soon!"

"Master." Hong'er gently put on his outer robe for him, "It's late at night and the dew is heavy. It's time to rest."

After seeing Xun Yu off, Su Yao stood outside the house, looking up at the starry sky, his heart unable to calm down for a long time.

The northwest sky was full of bright stars, as if guiding him on his journey.

Wannian sent tens of thousands of people this time. Although they probably won't have the chance to participate in the war, can he use this information to strengthen the Wusun people?
Just do it when you think of it.

Immediately, Su Yao took Hong'er's hand and told her to grind the ink and give the order.

Soon after, just as Su Yao's army finally set out for the expedition, the country of Wusun was also disturbed by the news coming from the east.
(End of this chapter)