In June, when the large equipment was basically in working order, I summoned a few people to the Four Seas Hall to discuss the opening of the canal.

Huang Ran, the chief of the water, took the lead in detail: "Your Majesty, the water system from the ditch to the chasm has been explored, combined with the water chronicles, the performance is as follows: the ditch began in Guangling County, Jiujiang County (now Yangzhou), to the Beishenyan Hehuaishui, dredging over the years has not been abandoned, can accommodate a maximum of ten zhang ships; The Huaishui section has abundant water, and there are very few dangerous shoals and shallow reefs; ”

"There is no problem with the amount of water in the Yingshui section, but it flows through the plain very widely, and it is silted up for about 160 miles where it is difficult to sail; The chasm begins in Chen County, and the section to Xingyang County can also be dredged over the years, but the north and south sections of Kaifeng County are not prosperous, and the whole section needs to be dredged, about 100 miles. ”

The eyes of Li Si and I followed Huang Ran's narration and saw Xingyang all the way from Guangling on the map.

"There are 260 miles of rivers that need to be dredged, which is less than the 300 miles of Zhengguo Canal." I looked up at Li Si and the others: "Do you think it's feasible?" ”

Li Si and the three of them looked at each other and arched their hands: "Your Majesty, the ministers are not good at river affairs, why don't you listen to the advice of the chief of the water?" If it is comparable to the difficulty of the construction of Zhengguo Canal, or a little difficult, it is also feasible! ”

Huang Ran saw that several of us were looking at him, and hurriedly said respectfully: "Your Majesty, these two hundred and sixty miles are located in the same plain as Zheng Guoqu, Zheng Guoqu is close to Saga Mountain, with many mountains and stones, and the disadvantage is that it is difficult to excavate and consumes huge manpower, but the advantage is that you don't have to worry about ditch leakage and sediment accumulation; The 260 miles are superior to the fertile soil, which is relatively easy to excavate, but the inferior is that it is easy to silt up sediment, and the dredging consumes more money and grain. Moreover, Zhengguo Canal focuses on irrigation, and this section focuses on water transportation, and the purpose of the two is different, if you say which one is more difficult...... The minister does not dare to judge! ”

I nodded and concluded: "The former is digging and the latter is dredging. ”

"Your Majesty is wise, in the long run, the construction cost is small, and the maintenance work is expensive!"

Feng Zai continued: "Your Majesty, the emperor used Deshui to attack the Huns, and the Baiyue had dug the Ling Canal, and the convenience of Cao Yun had already been fulfilled, and the minister thought that the canal should be repaired!" ”

Yu He didn't act as a backbone, and also agreed: "The current tired people are the foundation of eternity, and the minister seconded it!" ”

I looked at Li Si in contemplation, and said, "What does Li Xiang think? ”

Li Si came back to his senses and said slowly: "Back to Your Majesty, if it is only two hundred and sixty miles of dredging, now that there is a large instrument made by the Lord, the minister thinks it is okay." However, in the future, the cost of dredging the canal is probably not a small amount, and the minister thought that if he decided to build the canal, it was necessary to formulate the corresponding law first, except for the official ships, all the other ships passing through the canal were required to levy a tax on whether the tax could meet the purpose of dredging, and if not, how much the imperial court needed to allocate and whether it was cost-effective! ”

I laughed and praised: "It's worthy of Li Xiang, in one sentence!" Cao Yun Ruoxing must be an important part of the world's calculations, not only that, the economic role and cultural impact of river transportation on the counties along the canal is immeasurable, now Daqin strictly controls the free flow of Qianshou, but in the future Daqin's productivity has a qualitative leap, then there may not be so strict control, the canal can enhance Qianshou's understanding of the world before this! ”

Several people agreed: "Your Majesty is wise! ”

"In this case, this matter will be handed over to Li Xiang, calculate it as soon as possible, if it is feasible, first formulate the law, order Yujin to send people to the surrounding area to build large equipment, and dig the canal after everything is complete!"

Li Si's goatee was already half white, and he slowly got up and bowed down and said, "Obey the order!" ”

Soon after the few people left, Zhang Han came.

"Your Majesty, the generals of the Great Qin Military Mansion will be two years old at this year's Great Dynasty Meeting, and all the courses taught by this professor have been completed, how should they be placed?"

I picked up the list of more than 20 people and scanned it, and said after a while: "Zhao Sheng and Xi Qigu have learned quite well, Wu Jian is a little overkill in the grassland, and ordered him to replace Wu Jian as the right general of the Iron Cavalry, Xi Qi Gu, his temper is still a little short-tempered, let him stay in the Great Qin Military Mansion to teach!" ”

"Wang Jin, who has the best progress, he was originally the right general of the musket battalion, and he is still returning to his original position, Wei Cheng and Yanquan were sent to take over as the left and right generals of the Ganquan Army, and the new musket is about to start building, they can go to the field to familiarize themselves with the operations of the musketeers, and at the same time can train the Ganquan Army in the combat mode of the new army, and the rest of the people are waiting for you and Wei Chi to watch it."

Zhang Han arched his hand and said: "The minister obeys the order!" Nawu Chenghou ......"

I tapped lightly on the table, frowned, and said: "There is Ding Chuan in Hexi, which can deter the Beiqiang clan, and Wang Li's performance is not bad, if he is still in Hexi, it is a bit overkill, I want to find him a real combat opportunity to see if he has really changed!" ”

"Your Majesty is thoughtful, but there is no war around Daqin, I'm afraid it's not easy to find."

I had an idea: "There it is! Wei Man! ”

Zhang Han thought for a while before remembering who Wei Man was, and hesitated for a moment: "Your Majesty, the Korean Peninsula is densely covered with mountains and forests, and it is better than Lingnan. ”

I smiled and said, "You have a point, but it's not entirely true. ”

I pointed to the Korean Peninsula: "Although the Korean Peninsula is densely forested, its mountains are not as chaotic as Lingnan, but in the form of the character '豕', and on the left side of the character '豕', that is, on the west side of the peninsula there is an alluvial plain with river water, and it runs through the north and south, and most of the big cities on the peninsula are also concentrated on these plains, such as Wang Xian." ”

Seeing that Zhang Han was still a little confused, I gave an example: "You should be familiar with the terrain of Changsha County, right?" ”

Zhang Han nodded: "For six years, the Eastern Governor and His Majesty turned to the east through Changsha County. ”

"Yes, the terrain of Changsha County is like the Korean Peninsula, but it is a plain in the middle and high mountains on both sides, while the Korean Peninsula is a plain in the east and high mountains in the west.

I changed my words: "It's just for Wang Li's training, I have no intention of occupying that place, as long as I destroy Wei Man and Chen, and then let the Korean Peninsula submit to Daqin, and pay tribute every year." ”

"Uh......" Zhang Han was confused again: "Your Majesty, where is this Chen Kingdom?" ”

I divided the Korean Peninsula into two with a stroke of my finger: "Wei Man did not occupy the entire Korean Peninsula, but only destroyed the capital of the Korean Empire, and the remnants of the Xuan Dynasty fled to the south, established the Kingdom of Chen, and established himself as the king of Han. ”

Zhang Han was not surprised by my "omniscient and omnipotent", and pondered: "I see, but now it is less than four months before the Great Dynasty Meeting, and the weather in the north is cold earlier, and we need to use troops next year." ”

I nodded in agreement and said, "I still like to use troops in the spring, Daqin is not short of grain and grass, but for those small countries, the grain and grass in spring is terrible!" ”

Zhang Han smiled and said, "Your Majesty is wise! ”