Rebirth of the best emperor

Chapter 225 South-to-North Water Diversion
Seeing Shang Yang coming out, all the ministers were stunned.

They are a little apprehensive towards Shang Yang now, and every time Shang Yang stands up, nothing good happens.

Shang Yang didn't care about everyone's expressions, and said directly: "Your Majesty, regarding the reform plan of the Hedao Yamen, Shangshutai has already drawn up a plan here. Before the Hedao Yamen had no head officer, now it is Master Lu Yuan who has served as the deputy envoy of the Hedao Yamen. , I would like to ask Your Majesty, do you need to consult Mr. Lu for the reform plan of the Hedao Yamen?"

"About this matter, you can handle it yourself." Wang Mang pondered for a moment and said: "Lu Yuan can participate, but this matter is still up to you."

"I understand." Shang Yang nodded, and said: "I have one more thing to tell His Majesty."

"Speak." Wang Mang signaled Shang Yang to continue.

Shang Yang glanced at Changsun Wuji, who came up holding a map and unfolded the map. Shang Yang introduced: "Chang'an City is located in a tributary of the Luoshui River. The Luoshui River has been extremely rich in water resources since ancient times, but In recent years, the number of residents in Chang'an has increased, and the land along the river has continued to increase, so the water in the Luoshui River is somewhat stretched."

After a pause, Shang Yang continued: "According to the five-year plan of Daqin that I am formulating based on His Majesty's suggestion, the size of Chang'an City will be at least doubled on the existing basis. If the future urban planning is followed, There is no doubt that water will be the first resource that Chang'an will lack in its development and growth."

"Master Shang, are you a little alarmist?" Dali Temple Qing Shen Buhai asked.

"Lord Shen, you may not know much about this matter, but our household department does." Li Hong stood up and said at this time: "In fact, the water shortage in Chang'an has happened for a long time, and you may not feel it normally. But when farmers expand wasteland, they feel deeply, and the Chang'an Order should know a lot about this."

Lin Guodong immediately said: "Your Majesty Qizuo, according to the records of the Chang'an County Government, as early as a hundred years ago, the Luoshui River could reclaim tens of thousands of acres for the emperor every year, but 50 years ago, this number dropped to about [-] acres. Since ten years ago, the newly added arable land along the Luoshui River has been around [-] mu every year."

"Why is this?" Shen Buhai frowned.

"Not enough water!" Lin Guodong sighed: "Who doesn't want to reclaim more wasteland, but when the wasteland is opened up, there is no water to grow food."

"But I think there is a lot of water in Chang'an City?" Shen Buhai said, "There are many water features in various gardens, and the rivers in the city have never been short of water."

"Ensuring the water supply of Chang'an City is the homework that every Chang'an order must do!" Lin Guodong said seriously: "No matter how hard it is, you can't suffer from the court, and you can't suffer from Your Majesty. This is the common wish of the people of Chang'an!"

What Lin Guodong said was simple, but everyone who listened could understand the meaning of Lin Guodong's words, that is, Chang'an's water supply is guaranteed, and in order to supply Chang'an's water, even the irrigation water for the cultivated land near Chang'an can be sacrificed.

Yu Wenkai, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, also stood up at this time and said: "I don't know if Chang'an is short of water or not, but every year the Ministry of Industry invests a lot of money in the rivers near Chang'an. The main thing is not to repair the rivers, but to refine the rivers , which saves water.”

"There is no way to increase revenue, so we have to cut costs." Lin Guodong sighed, then looked at Shang Yang and said, "I didn't expect Mr. Shang to see this quietly, but he didn't know what Mr. Shang wanted to do. what?"

"Shang Yang, what do you want to do, just tell the adults." Wang Mang said first.

Shang Yang nodded towards the surrounding area, then looked at Wang Mang and said, "Your Majesty, it is like this. I transferred the map of Daqin from the Ministry of Industry. From the map, there are fewer rivers and dense population in the north of Daqin. Looking at it, it is possible that there is a lack of water, and although the population in the south of Daqin is also dense, there are many rivers and a lot of rainfall, and floods occur all the year round."

"The minister and Mr. Changsun Wuji made a total calculation and came up with an idea, that is to dig an artificial river to divert water from the south to the north of Daqin." Shang Yang said, drawing a line on the map, from now on Starting in Shenmu County, where the rebels were entrenched, they passed through Nanyang, Xinyang and other places, all the way to Chang'an.

Pointing to this line, Shang Yang said: "This line is the best route that I have discussed with Mr. Changsun for a long time. This waterway is less expensive and has quick results. I also consulted Mr. Yuwen from the Ministry of Industry. Looking at the geography of the mountains and rivers, the man-hours were not much, and I even named it the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. As for the name of this artificially excavated river, please name it by Your Majesty."

"Submit it." Wang Mang ordered Deng Fang to fetch the map, and then looked at it carefully.

From the map, although this road is not the shortest, according to the map notes, it is indeed the best road, but...

Wang Mang looked at the officials and said, "Is the water shortage in Chang'an really so severe that we must dig this river?"

"If Chang'an maintains the current scale, there is no need to excavate this river, but if the scale of Chang'an continues to expand, then the existing water volume in Chang'an will definitely not be enough." Lin Guodong shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, the capital city will It’s not easy, this is not just for fun, apart from the high housing prices and high prices in the capital, the lack of water is also an important factor.”

"How to say?" Wang Mang said.

"The former Jing Zhaoyin and the current Chang'an order have always strictly implemented two policies." Lin Guodong said: "The first is the household registration restriction. It is very difficult for outsiders to settle in Chang'an except to become officials in Chang'an. Those who obtain Chang'an household registration must not only have a clean family background and rich family property, but also undergo strict political review. The second is land restrictions. The growth of land in Chang'an and its surrounding areas is strictly controlled. The government will verify the amount of land growth every year based on the situation in previous years. .”

Lin Guodong looked at Wang Mang, and continued: "The ultimate purpose of these restrictions is to limit the increase in water consumption. As early as a hundred years ago, Jing Zhaoyin at that time had discovered this. For so many years, relying on various restrictive policies , Chang’an can always guarantee water.”

Shang Yang echoed on the side: "Your Majesty, I didn't know about the situation that Master Lin said earlier. Later, in order to draw up the future development plan of Daqin, I checked the files of various ministries, and suddenly found that all plans were implemented. The prerequisite is the sustainable development of Chang'an City, and the development of Chang'an City is already limited by the lack of water resources. Under such circumstances, I discussed with Lord Changsun Wuji and came up with the South-to-North Water Diversion Plan."

"You guys are doing very well." Wang Mang took a deep look at Shangyang. In fact, from the perspective of his future generations, the development of a city will inevitably be restricted by water use, but he didn't notice this, but let Shang Yang, a local, discovered this first. It has to be said that Shang Yang is indeed a talent.

Glancing at Shang Yang, Wang Mang's expression changed, and he said again: "Shang Yang, I see that your South-to-North Water Diversion Plan cannot be formulated in a day or two. Why didn't you mention it before?"

　the second
　　
　
(End of this chapter)