The dragon boat went north along the canal, all the way mighty.

When passing the confluence of the canal and the Yellow River, Zhang Lingyang looked west for a long time before returning to the cabin with a sigh.

As for why Zhang Lingyang sighed, Xiaofuzi, Han Xiao and others were puzzled.

They naturally didn't know what Zhang Lingyang was thinking now.

Originally, Zhang Lingyang planned to go to Luoyang for an inspection on the way back to Beijing after his southern tour.

Now, it seems that it is not!

As for why Zhang Lingyang wants to go to Luoyang?

Actually, the reason is very simple.

Zhang Lingyang wants to move the capital!

In Zhang Lingyang's view, today's capital is not suitable for Dingdu.

The capital is close to the north, which is not conducive to controlling the whole country.

Especially for Jiangnan, an important fiscal and tax place, in the past 200 years since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, it has gradually developed into the world of the gentry, and the power of the Son of Heaven has not been heard for a long time.

In addition, the surrounding land is not fertile, and the grain production is very low, so it is simply impossible to ensure the daily consumption of the capital, let alone the military rations needed by the border towns.

Every year, it is necessary to rely on Jiangnan, Huguang and other places to transport a large amount of grain and grass to maintain the daily needs of the capital.

This undoubtedly increased the burden of the imperial court.

If it was for the convenience of stationing troops on the border before, but now Warat is no longer a threat to the Great Zhou, and stationing heavy troops near the Great Wall is just a waste of people's power.

Therefore, Zhang Lingyang will think about moving the capital.

Where can the capital be moved?

It is said that the most prosperous place in the Great Zhou should be Jiangning, an important town in the south of the Yangtze River.

But Jiangning's fat powder is too heavy, and staying there for a long time will wear down people's spirit.

Throughout the ages, only forces in a corner of peace would choose Jiangning, the capital.

What about other places?

There are only a few places to choose from, such as Kaifeng, Luoyang, and Chang'an in the Yellow River Basin......

As a city with a long history, Kaifeng Mansion has built its capital since feudal dynasties.

But the pros and cons of Kaifeng's geographical environment are also obvious.

Located in the hinterland of the Central Plains, with convenient transportation, a large population, and fertile farmland, it can be said that it is the best choice for building the capital.

But the shortcomings of Kaifeng Mansion are as obvious as his advantages.

That is, there is no danger around Kaifeng Mansion to defend, and once something happens, I am afraid that the enemy will immediately come to the city.

In addition, the Yellow River in the north of Kaifeng Mansion is a famous above-ground river, and once the embankment bursts, the consequences are unimaginable.

Therefore, Zhang Lingyang also crossed out Kaifeng Mansion.

The remaining two places are only Luoyang and Chang'an.

The two cities of Chang'an and Luoyang have profound historical and cultural heritage, which is incomparable to other cities in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Needless to say, the geographical location of Chang'an was in the previous life, when the Tang Dynasty, the Xionghan Dynasty, and the Qiang Qin were all here.

But in the era of the Great Zhou Dynasty, just like the Ming and Qing dynasties in the previous life, the current Chang'an City has long since declined, and the land of the Guanzhong Plain is no longer as fertile as it used to be.

In addition, the precipitation here has been declining year after year, and water resources are scarce, so it is a little unrealistic to want to restore the heroic wind of the Han and Tang Dynasties here.

In the end, Zhang Lingyang chose only one place left in Luoyang.

Luoyang, together with the north, south, west and east, can be said to be the geographical center of the country.

There is Hangu in the west, there is the Tiger Prison in the east, there is the Yellow River in the north, and Songyue in the south, and it can be said that Luoyang is surrounded by many dangers, easy to defend and difficult to attack.

In fact, the disadvantages of Luoyang are not without disadvantages, that is, the plain of Luoyang is too narrow.

But why did Zhang Lingyang still think about moving the capital to Luoyang?

In fact, it is obvious that moving the capital to Luoyang can effectively control the situation in the whole country.

The era of the Great Zhou Dynasty is different from that of later generations.

In later generations, no matter where the capital was, the developed railway network could transport grain, grass, soldiers, and weapons to all parts of the country in a timely manner.

But the era of the Great Zhou Dynasty did not have such developed transportation conditions.

Therefore, how to effectively control the national situation has become the focus of Zhang Lingyang's consideration.

Although the narrow plains of Luoyang are not enough to provide enough grain and grass, compared with the current capital, the distance from Jiangnan to Luoyang is nearly half.

Therefore, because of the above reasons, Zhang Lingyang wants to move the capital to Luoyang.

It's just that moving the capital is not a matter of one sentence, and Zhang Lingyang can only make a decision after careful investigation.

Besides, even if Zhang Lingyang is the Son of Heaven, moving the capital is not a matter of his words.

First of all, what he had to do was to convince the ministers of the DPRK and China.

Secondly, he wants to build Luoyang before moving the capital.

Otherwise, with the current scale of Luoyang City, it is not enough to become the capital.

……

Zhang Lingyang's return to the capital was already in May.

The day after returning to the capital, Zhang Lingyang had not had time to deal with Zheng Yongji's affairs, so he heard the Ministry of Rites reply to the French envoy Pierre who went to Beijing to ask for a meeting.

Why did Pierre come?

Thinking with his toes, Zhang Lingyang could guess it.

Today's European continent, although England is the dominant country on the sea, but in the European continent, France is the real hegemon.

Therefore, it is inevitable that France will have a major entanglement of interests with England.

Now Pierre has entered Beijing, naturally, for trade.

Of course, the procurement of pills for the treatment of the Black Death was also inevitable.

This time, Pierre's entry into Beijing, like Wilson's entry into Beijing, not only brought a large amount of scientific and technological materials and machinery and equipment, but also brought a lot of scientific and technological personnel.

For these, Zhang Lingyang welcomed with both hands.

As for Pierre's proposal to expand the scale of trade between the two sides, Zhang Lingyang also agreed.

On the basis of the original, Zhang Lingyang and Pierre agreed that Dazhou would once again open five coastal ports as treaty ports with France.

Of course, these ports are not just trading with France.

Any country can trade with Da Zhou at these ports.

Some people may ask, why did Zhang Lingyang not open more treaty ports?

Zhang Lingyang also has his own considerations.

Zhang Lingyang is worried that the excessive inflow of European goods into Dazhou will have a serious impact on Dazhou's economic market.

Although the Great Zhou is still in the era of small-scale peasant economy, this does not mean that the Great Zhou really does not need European goods.

Not to mention anything else, just based on the current situation of the Great Zhou, if too many treaty ports are opened, it is inevitable that firearms will flow into the Great Zhou through various channels.

It is understandable that the court of the Great Zhou Dynasty purchased firearms, and once it was purchased by private individuals through smuggling, it would be a very serious threat to the Great Zhou.

Fortunately, there are only more than 10 treaty ports between Dazhou and Europe now, and as long as the port management is stricter, it will be difficult for firearms in Europe to flow into private hands.

There is another important reason, that is, Zhang Lingyang's reform has only been carried out for less than a year, and it is far from training enough customs personnel.

With a shortage of manpower and too many open treaty ports, taxation will be an extremely troublesome matter......

.。 m.