How could Lu Chengqi not know this truth? The excavation of the Grand Canal is difficult to calculate the manpower, material and financial resources spent. Pen ~ fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info Li Jie, with such a point, tried his best to oppose it, which is also reasonable.

But the benefits of the canal can be seen by all discerning people. But the construction of the Grand Canal is always full of resistance, and every official does not jump out to oppose it, as if he is not a serious courtier. There may also be officials like Li Jie who consider the overall situation, but most of them are only opposed for the sake of opposition, so that it is difficult for successive kings to dig canals. If it weren't for the courageous emperor, I'm afraid that this idea would have died down.

Of course, Lu Chengqi will not give up so easily. The Grand Canal is second only to Chidao and Maritime Trade in his layout. It's good to say that the sea trade has already relied on the sea trade to get the first pot of gold. With the first person to eat crabs, there will naturally be a second. Dashun's maritime trade has always been spontaneously formed, and the scale is not small. Lu Chengqi's establishment of the Ship Department is just to make maritime trade more standardized.

The matter of galloping has already been raised. Good things are not afraid of no one appreciating, Lu Chengqi firmly believes that soon, these businessmen may have to beg him to lay a longer gallop road.

But the Grand Canal, this is the most sensitive nerve of civil officials, Lu Chengqi has always dared not rashly throw this bomb, otherwise, a case will make these civil officials collectively fry the pot, and the voice of the crusade will definitely drown out Lu Chengqi. So this idea can only be taken out and shared with Li Jie, who is considered a confidant. But unsurprisingly, Li Jie resolutely objected.

Lu Chengqi sighed in his heart, but said: "Li Qing, don't be busy denying it, I just want to ask you, if you can dig this canal, is it a move that benefits the country and the people?" ”

Li Jie was stunned for a moment, he thought about it carefully, and said for a long time: "Back to Your Majesty, this move is indeed beneficial to the country and the people, not only can transport grain and grass to the border, but also can transport troops, ensuring that the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun are safe and sound, which is really a great achievement." ”

Lu Chengqi said with a smile: "Li Qing is really talented. But in my opinion, this is only part of the story. The advantage of the canal is still transporting materials from all over the country, so that there will be no famine in the north and a full barn of rice in the south. ”

Li Jie is not a fool, he also knows a little about what Lu Chengqi wants to do. Having said all this, isn't it for the sake of paving the way for business! Once this little emperor took power personally, he spared no effort to promote the development of commerce, and indeed achieved certain achievements. The national treasury, which had an annual income of at least 30 million guan, is now approaching 90 million guan. The opening of commercial taxes can be regarded as the little emperor's outstanding vision and genius. Since then, Dashun has no financial worries.

However, the destructiveness of merchants to society was unacceptable to Li Jie, a traditional Confucian scholar. After all, all dynasties have tried their best to distort the image of merchants, as if they had said that those who did business were heinous. First of all, businessmen value profit over separation, and in ancient times, friends did not know when the next goodbye would be, and they might never see each other again. In the ancients, who were very backward in communication, they could often only rely on the Hongyan to transmit messages and comfort the news. But businessmen will inevitably be looked down upon by other industries if they say they will go and chase money and interests.

At this time, the rulers often adopt the strategy of fooling the people, hoping that the people will live within a fixed range, and it is better not to leave until death. The merchants, however, had to travel through thousands of mountains and rivers, which in the eyes of the rulers was a factor of instability and must not be praised, otherwise everyone would follow suit. Even after the Spring and Autumn Period, merchants were seen as part of the cause of the "collapse of etiquette", and social thinking was stereotyped. Since then, businessmen have never turned over in public opinion, because those who grasp public opinion are often scholars, who use pens to make knives and ruthlessly slash the reputation of businessmen. Because of these scholars, who became high-ranking officials, they completed the class transformation, from poor people to landlords. What are the landlords most afraid of? It's the destruction of the smallholder economy by commerce! The two have always been hostile, and it would be strange if they could accommodate each other!

Influenced by this kind of thinking, Li Jie naturally did not have a good impression of businessmen. Although the opposition to the Grand Canal is out of public interest, it is also clear that Lu Chengqi is doing this to improve the economy. So no matter how big Lu Chengqi's reasoning is, Li Jie still has an opposing opinion: "Your Majesty, the minister still can't agree. The canal was dug and the cost of the people was huge, and the people of Dashun could not be fed, and if they were forcibly conscripted, they were afraid of a change......"

Lu Chengqi already had a way to deal with it: "If I don't levy conscription, use the employment system, and use money and silver as compensation, according to Li Qing's view, what is this plan?" ”

The employment of migrant laborers was not uncommon in later generations, in order to release the surplus labor force and not to gather in the narrow land. But Li Jie has never heard of such a thing, so it is naturally difficult to answer: "What Your Majesty said, the minister does not dare to speculate." It may be possible to hire peasant households, but once this example is opened, it will be impossible to levy labor in the future, so I hope Your Majesty will think twice. ”

Lu Chengqi said with a smile: "Landlords can also hire long-term and short-term workers, why can't I?" Li Qing, I only ask you, if the canal is dug up, can the flooding of the Yellow River be alleviated? ”

Hearing this, Li Jie immediately began to deduce in his head, and found that if the diversion was carried out, it would indeed reduce the possibility of the Yellow River breaching.

Lu Chengqi didn't bother him, and let him calculate slowly by himself.

After tea time, Li Jie: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that if the canal is dug, it can indeed reduce the flow of the Yellow River. It's just that the highlands in Dashun are different from each other, and the difficulty of digging can be imagined. In addition, the flow of the Yellow River has decreased, and if it rains continuously, it will still burst. This matter consumes a lot of people's strength, and the result cannot be accurately calculated, and the minister still disagrees! ”

Lu Chengqi smiled bitterly, he couldn't tell Li Jie, this was proved by later generations, changing the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River to be smoother, and then diverting it, can greatly reduce the flooding of the Yellow River, right?

The only thing that can be done at this moment is to explain the truth to Li Jie.

Lu Chengqi is a liberal arts student, and he is also proficient in geography. Thinking of this, he immediately took a pen and paper and drew a schematic diagram of his idea on rice paper for Li Jie to look at.

Li Jie is also a master of drawing, and although Lu Chengqi's pen power is immature, he can also understand it, and he does not dare to comment on it. Criticize the emperor's painting skills, this is the way to death! Although Li Jie is honest, he is not stupid.

While painting, Lu Chengqi said the experience of governing the Yellow River summed up by later generations: "The reason why the Yellow River is called the Yellow River, Li Qing naturally knows the origin. Probably because the water of the Yellow River is unusually turbid and mixed with a large amount of sediment. Can Li Qing agree with this statement? (To be continued.) )