Of course, for Liu Zhi, this is only the first step, and for his own plan, he even does not hesitate to launch a biochemical war.

However, he will not take this step unless he has to, after all, it will kill many innocent civilians.

Nor did he worry that the Roman Empire would overexpand and become stronger.

After the slave republic and the absolute monarchy, the Führer republic also came to an end, and the domestic contradictions reached a climax and were on the verge of eruption.

Even if the plague could be contained, it would only be delayed for a while, and then, as long as the physician team could bear fruit, he would use it in exchange for asking Rome to send troops to rest the empire.

Of course, for Rome, even if the Han did not ask for it, they would send troops, after all, there was a feud between the two sides, and it was very likely that this plague was artificially spread by the rest of the country.

For the arrogant Roman Empire, how could it be unbearable.

In addition to the fact that this layout may take several years to complete, it is necessary to mobilize the countries along the Mediterranean coast to unite and dig canals to solve the problem of trade routes.

In the construction of the Grand Canal, Dahan has rich experience, not only presenting the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in advance, but also adding some short-distance canals to connect the entire waterway.

Now that the casting of Zhuozhou City has begun to take shape, Liu Zhi intends to focus on water conservancy projects.

The Xiaoice period is estimated to last another one or two hundred years, and the climate will continue to deteriorate and be capricious.

There's no way to change that, and the only thing she can do is reduce the damage caused by the harsh climate.

According to the historical process of climate change, the northern grasslands will usher in a major drought, which will cause the oases to disappear, the grasslands to be degraded, and the desertification of the entire northwest will expand rapidly.

The living space of the northern nomads will be gradually compressed, forcing them to migrate south for hundreds of years.

From the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the end of the Western Jin Dynasty, it reached its peak, and the Hu people and the Central Plains civilization fought bloody battles because of the struggle for the right to survive.

This gave rise to the famous Wuhu Rebellion in history.

Therefore, while the drought is not very serious, it is necessary to intervene early, otherwise there will be endless troubles.

On the Western Regions, the project of guiding iceberg snow water into the ditch has already begun, and investment will continue to increase in the future.

Anyway, the border was cleared, and the border troops were mobilized to help the local people build together, which also solved the problem of insufficient manpower.

As for the Liaozhou grassland and the Hungzhou grassland, in addition to guiding the water source of the snow-capped mountains, it is also necessary to plant trees to maintain soil erosion, combined with the management experience of later generations.

For example, planning and orderly grazing, even artificial replanting of pasture, and indiscriminate cultivation and planting are strictly prohibited.

In the areas of Liangzhou, Bingzhou, and Youzhou, the South-to-North Water Diversion Project or the East-West Water Diversion Project can be adopted to divert water from resource-rich areas to poor areas by ditches.

For this reason, Liu Zhi, who had not been to the court for a long time, decided to convene a meeting of the court to discuss the matter of increasing water conservancy projects.

He also deliberately issued an edict in advance to summon Chen Yu, the governor of the northeast who was far away in Zhuozhou, and over the years, Chen Yu has been presiding over various projects and has rich experience.

From the Grand Canal to Zhuozhou City, he proved his outstanding ability with facts, which is obvious to all, and no one can refute it.

Therefore, when it comes to water conservancy projects, no one has more say than him, but he is now old and in a high position, and Liu Zhi does not plan to let him climb mountains and wade through rivers again, and do it himself.

In the first two days of the court meeting, Chen Yu finally arrived in Luoyang, the capital of the capital, and he had rarely been to the capital in all these years since he won the first imperial examination.

Several times they returned to Beijing to report their posts, and all of them came and went in a hurry.

Although he was one of several important ministers of the Han Dynasty who was trusted by Liu Zhi, he was the one who had the least contact with the emperor.

When he was admitted to the imperial examination, he was already forty years old, and due to the fatigue of running around all the year round, people in their sixties already had gray hair and wrinkles.

However, his body is still quite strong, and his spirit is also very strong, and he speaks in a loud voice and full of energy.

Liu Zhi summoned Chen Yu in the Zhongde Palace, and after a few words of greeting, he went straight to the point, and heard that His Majesty was going to start a big project again, and he did not blindly raise his hands in approval.

As the main person in charge of the Grand Canal and Zhuozhou City, he knows how much such a big project costs the people and money.

Both the Grand Canal and the city of Zhuozhou are of unparalleled extraordinary significance to the country, both for the purpose of regional development.

Facts have proved that although a lot of national and financial resources have been spent, the returns are also very rich.

Especially the Grand Canal, at that time, the country was just developing, and it was not very rich, and the construction of this huge project was almost completed with the strength of the whole country.

The difficulties and obstacles encountered in it, even a pragmatic person like Chen Yu felt unbearable.

And until now, it can only be said that the main structure has been completed, and the rest of the details have been being improved, and it is estimated that it will last for many years.

However, the merit of the Grand Canal is not only as simple as an ordinary water conservancy project, but also a great road connecting the entire Central Plains and the north and south, and connecting the Maritime Silk Road.

The road carried the Empire's main transport tasks, but also connected overseas territories and extended to maritime trade.

It can be said that the role of the Grand Canal is not only regional, but also of great significance to the whole country.

The city of Zhuozhou, for the country, also has an irreplaceable development role, not only to make the original remote Jizhou rapid development and prosperity.

It has also made the entire Northeast region from the previous wild land to the Jiangnan of the Northeast, the land of fish and rice.

It has added an important granary to the country, and the sense of identity of the Northeast to the Central Plains has been rapidly enhanced.

Of course, in turn, the imperial court's control over the northeast region also deepened rapidly.

It was precisely because there were so many powerful reasons that Chen Yu resisted the pressure of some opposition members of the imperial court back then, insisted on it, and resolutely stood on the emperor's side.

Facts have also proved that the emperor is far-sighted and has the correct ability to make a long-term layout.

However, spending such a large price to develop water conservancy in the northwest and even more remote areas will do more harm than good.

But since the emperor mentioned it solemnly, he must have his reasoning, so Chen Yu decided to listen to Liu Zhi's reason first.

Over the years, the Han Dynasty has also made great progress in meteorological forecasting, and combined with the Zhouyi Bagua Theory, it is concluded that there will be a continuous drought in the entire northwest region in the next 100 years, which is not so difficult for the Han people at this time.

Moreover, in recent years, there have been signs of this, and the rain in the northwest is indeed getting less and less every year, and there is still a certain distance from drought.

It is indeed reasonable to take precautions as an emperor, but the northwest region is vast and sparsely populated, and the productive forces are underdeveloped.

What's more, in the eyes of the Central Plains civilization, they are all Hu barbarians, and spending huge manpower and material resources for such a place is really worth the loss.

Due to his poor background, Chen Yu is already one of the ministers of the imperial court who cares most about the people's livelihood, and if even he opposes it, this plan is likely to encounter unprecedented resistance.

"Your Majesty, the minister thinks that it is too early to propose a construction plan now, so it is better to send a full-time official from the Ministry of Industry to investigate and investigate on the spot.

Then let the local officials report the local situation in detail, and evaluate it in combination with what they say, to see if it is worth repairing. ”

Although Liu Zhi knew that a great drought did exist, he did not have sufficient evidence to convince his courtiers.

Liu Zhi had never encountered such a time since he came to power, and although he could force orders, these projects could not be carried out smoothly if the entire imperial court was in a state of opposition.

"I'll think about it again."

There are still two days to go before the grand court meeting, and Liu Zhi wants to continue to solicit opinions.

Immediately afterwards, Liu Zhi summoned several of his main confidants, most of whom adopted a conservative attitude towards the matter, and a few of them even openly opposed it.

To sum up, the reason is nothing more than that the northwest region is vast, the population is sparse, the geographical conditions are poor, and the construction of water conservancy projects is too difficult to draw.

What's more, it is mainly nomadic over there, and it does not need a lot of water for irrigation, as long as it can ensure that drinking water is sufficient.

Seeing that no one agreed, Liu Zhi was anxious in his heart, and if he didn't take advantage of his good health to determine this matter, it would be even more difficult to start after the great drought.

After thinking about it, he sent someone to call the crown prince Liu Jin over, and Liu Zhi's movements in the past few days have not been deliberately hidden from the East Palace, so Liu Jin has long known about this matter.

As soon as Liu Zhi spoke, he expressed his opinion.

"The father and the child thought that in order to convince the courtiers of this matter, it was necessary to give sufficient reasons.

After all, the project is too big, and the price paid is too high, and the Central Plains has not been peaceful in recent years, and disasters have occurred frequently, so they all hope to use their energy in this regard. ”

Even if he did not agree with this project, as a son, Liu Jin still did not hesitate to stand in his father's position to speak.

However, things went around and around, and they still returned to the original point, but in any case, Liu Zhi really couldn't give a convincing reason.

It seems that there is only a second best thing.

Liu Jin's words made him finally change his strategy, and the Great Dynasty Meeting was still held as scheduled, and well-informed people at this time already knew the whole story.

So when the emperor still unswervingly threw out this issue, he immediately encountered a cold spot.

Several important ministers of the imperial court have already expressed their stance alone, so naturally there is no need to repeat it at this time, seeing that they are silent, the rest of the middle and high-level officials have also wisely chosen to remain silent.

If the emperor knew that everyone was against it, but he still insisted on going his own way, then the person who stood up to oppose it in court first would probably be used by Liu Zhi to make an example.

So everyone wisely chose not to be silent, and made up their minds to see the situation first.

In fact, Liu Zhi does have high hopes for middle-level officials, many of whom have been transferred to the northwest fringe areas to serve as magistrates.

As a result, they are well aware of the situation in the northwest, which has been lacking in water resources since ancient times, which has greatly limited the development of the region.

If even they are against it, then the entire court from top to bottom will not be able to find a single supporter.

This scene reminded Liu Zhi of when he ascended the throne at the beginning of that year, when he was still in good order, with a small dynasty every five days and a large dynasty every month.

Every time he went to the court, he had to fight wits and courage with the Manchu civil and military forces, so that he was often like a great enemy, and when he encountered any important things, he had to take precautions in advance.

In this way, he was like a chicken blood all day long, thinking all the time about how to win every tough battle.

Over the years, he has become more and more passive, and although he firmly controls the power of the entire empire, he can no longer be interested.

Since his accident, his body has been even more debilitated, and for this reason, all court meetings have basically been canceled.

Everything is to be discussed by the courtiers and then report to him, and those trivial things of Chen Guzi's rotten sesame seeds have long been unable to be delivered to his desk.

But today, he suddenly remembered the turbulent years of the past.

looked at the crown prince Liu Jin who was sitting in the hall, such a young man and an old man, and his lazy appearance back then was completely different.

Anyway, he threw out the question, and since everyone didn't want to express his position, then just consume it.

The emperor's throne was a hardwood chair, and he could only sit there in a straight posture, which was very uncomfortable for a long time.

There are reasons for this, the first is to remind the emperor that you can't covet enjoyment in the court, you must be rigorous and diligent.

The second is also to remind the emperor that every court meeting should not be delayed for too long, so as not to delay it endlessly.

But Liu Zhi came prepared today, and he had already asked people to put a cushion on the chair in advance, and he leaned lazily on it, without any image at all.

Anyway, the current Han court knows that he is not in good health, and no one dares to accuse him of a bad image in person.

Seeing that the emperor was so persistent, everyone began to look at each other, and after a period of silent communication and games, someone was finally pushed out as the first bird.

An official from the Ministry of Industry stepped forward and expressed his views with great firmness.

The minister believes that the south-to-north water diversion project is indeed feasible, but it must be delayed.

Now that the country has just built the Grand Canal, the consumption in all aspects is very large, and it is necessary to give a period of time to recuperate.

Once there is another big move, if there is anything unexpected, the imperial court will not be able to afford it at all. ”

I thought that he had already made it very clear, and the emperor should listen to it, at least not as insistent as before.

But Liu Zhi seemed to be completely incomprehensible, and directly skipped the main central idea, but seized the loophole in his words, and asked below herpes.

"Since you also agree to build the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, how long do you mean by slowing down?"

In a word, the official of the Ministry of Industry was so angry that he almost choked, and the emperor definitely deliberately pretended to be deaf and dumb this time.

But at the same time, it also conveyed his meaning very clearly, that is, it must be repaired, and it must be done as soon as possible.

"This ...... It should be the same for one or two decades, without such a long time, the court will not be able to turn around at all. ”

The official's face was red, and he finally said this sentence with numbness.