Tiantang Splendid

All the rice purchased from Nanyang was piled up in Luoyang. Due to the freezing of the Yellow River and the impassability of the Three Gorges, it could not be transported to Guanzhong. As a result, there was a shortage of food in Guanzhong, and the price of rice soared. There was already a faint sign of a food shortage.

It may sound unbelievable, but when the country is rich and the people are strong, and the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty has fallen, it is the time when the world is intimidated and rampant. As the capital, Chang'an may have a food shortage... But it is the truth.

What's more, the food shortage in Guanzhong has a long history.

In the 14th year of Emperor Kaihuang, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty had to go to Luoyang temporarily because of the lack of food in Guanzhong, so he left behind words such as "the emperor chasing food" and "eat Luoyang" and so on, which have been passed down through the ages...

Li Ji looked solemn, and said slowly: "Guanzhong is the land of abundance. The pass is everywhere to block the inside and outside. It only needs the wind and rain to be self-sufficient. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Since ancient times, it has achieved countless imperial hegemony. But once there is a natural disaster and the food production is insufficient. The pass that usually guards the pass has become a natural moat that prevents food from entering. Although the Yellow River runs through the east and west, the Sanmenxia is sad for gods and ghosts and difficult for birds. Even if it can solve the urgent need, there will be food shortages in the future. When it happens, we should discuss a complete policy to relieve future worries.”

Guanzhong is certainly a land of abundance, but the continuous development for thousands of years has caused a sharp drop in land output. In addition, since the Sui Dynasty, Guanzhong has been the capital and political center of the world, and its population has increased rapidly, resulting in a huge food consumption.

Previously, Emperor Taizong’s eastward expedition to Goguryeo almost used the power of the whole country, and transported countless grains and fodder from Guanzhong, which greatly reduced the grain stock in Guanzhong. In addition, the extraordinarily abundant rains in the past two years caused continuous flooding and reduced grain production. At this moment, the Yellow River suddenly Freezing cut off water transportation, causing a sudden food crisis.

In fact, the Tang Dynasty was not short of food. The rice purchased by the navy from Nanyang and grain from Jiangnan, Shandong and other places arrived in Luoyang by water, almost filling the many official warehouses in Luoyang along the Yellow River, but it was difficult to transport them to Chang'an.

The Yellow River near Luoyang is frozen, and the Sanmen Gorge is difficult to cross. Only a small amount of food enters Guanzhong every day, which is far from keeping up with the consumption of the huge population...

Li Ji, Li Xiaogong, Liu Ji, Ma Zhou, Xu Jingzong and others were all frowning and helpless, unless they can make the Sanmenxia natural moat open, otherwise this is an unsolvable problem.

Liu Jie said: "The biggest obstacle to grain transportation is the roads are not smooth, and this is the scope of the Ministry of Industry. Now that there is a grain shortage in Guanzhong, the Ministry of Industry should help His Majesty solve the problem."

The rest of the people are speechless. Are you still fighting blindly at this time?However, it cannot be said that Liu Ji is wrong. The Ministry of Industry is responsible for the transportation of the world, whether it is by land or water.

Li Chengqian was also a little dissatisfied, but after all, Liu Ji was right, so he looked at Fang Jun, he is an emperor who is not easy to speak out.

Fang Jun turned a blind eye to the eyes of his surroundings, put down his teacup, and raised two fingers: "The food shortage in Guanzhong will inevitably cause turmoil in the hearts of the people and the unrest in the world. It needs to be resolved urgently. I have two strategies."

Xu Jingzong wondered: "Water transportation in Guanzhong has been a difficult problem since the history. I don't know how many wise ministers and wise men are at a loss. How can Duke Yue have two strategies? Please come quickly and let us see the sun and solve our troubles." !"

Everyone was speechless, how did this man look like when he was oppressed by Fang Jun in the academy, even if he is a minister of the Ministry of Rites, he still has to be shameless?
Li Chengqian was also curious: "Aiqing said to come and see."

Fang Jun nodded, and said: "The biggest obstacle to water transportation in Guanzhong is the natural moat of Sanmenxia. It is difficult for people and ghosts to cross, and fish and turtles are extinct. The pass is even worse than the four passes. The policy of the ministers is to set up two fleets, one above Sanmenxia and one below Sanmenxia. The grain will arrive at Sanmenxia, ​​and then unload the ships and go around the mouth of the gorge by land. Go upstream to load another fleet, pass through Tongguan, enter the Weishui River, and arrive at Chang'an."

Li Ji pondered for a while, and said to Wang De, "Bring the map of Sanmenxia."

"Here."

Wang De didn't dare to delay, so he quickly responded, trotted to the side hall, and took a map after a while.The scale of the map is very small, so the expansion is huge, and the table and case cannot be placed. Li Ji simply left the table and unfolded it in the hall. He knelt down on it, found the location of Sanmenxia, ​​and watched it carefully.

The rest of the people also left the table and gathered together, Li Chengqian simply got up and went to watch.

Xu Jingzong praised: "The map drawn by the Ministry of War is so good, look at the winding river, look at the mountains on both sides, it is so detailed, there is no mistake, with a map in hand, it is like overlooking the mountains and rivers, amazing!"

Everyone is speechless, you haven't played yet, have you?

Everyone knows that the level of map drawing in the Tang Dynasty was improved by leaps and bounds when Fang Jun was in charge of the political and military department. credit.

This sycophant...

But before he finished despising Xu Jingzong, he heard Li Ji say: "Erlang's method is wonderful! It seems that there is an extra procedure that wastes a lot of manpower and material resources, but it speeds up the speed of food delivery to Chang'an as much as possible. What we lack now is not Manpower and material resources are exactly the speed and quantity of transporting food!"

Now that they didn't care about despising Xu Jingzong, the rest of them also gathered in front of the map to carefully check the terrain and roads near Sanmenxia. After careful calculation in their hearts, they all felt that Fang Jun's seemingly clumsy method was indeed effective.

The fact is that Datang is not short of food now, what is lacking is how to transport more food to Chang'an in a short period of time, as long as this is ensured, no matter how much manpower and material resources are wasted, it is worthwhile.

Liu Jie frowned and said: "It seems that the crisis of food shortage in Guanzhong can be solved in the short term, but it will consume too much manpower and material resources. It is like drinking poison to quench thirst, and it will not last long."

Xu Jingzong snorted and retorted: "So what if you drink poison to quench your thirst? Since others have solved the problem, they should show their admiration instead of being censorious. The higher the official position, the wider the mind should be. I'm afraid it's not right for people with narrow privacy to rise to the top position suddenly." Blessings of the Empire."

Liu Jie retorted: "Because we are in a high position, we should seek truth from facts, instead of just passing by to solve temporary worries, we must be prepared for danger in times of peace and solve the problem thoroughly."

Li Chengqian waved his hand to stop the quarrel between the two, and asked Fang Jun with a smile: "Aiqing just said that there are two strategies, and since the lower strategy can solve the problem in a short period of time, how clever is the upper strategy?"

Fang Jundao: "The best strategy is simpler and can directly solve the problem of lack of materials in Guanzhong, but relatively speaking, there are many things that need to be done, and that is-relocate the capital."

There was a sudden silence in the hall.

Liu Jie's eyes widened and he shouted angrily: "Presumptuous! Emperor Gaozu raised troops from Jinyang and attacked Chang'an to frighten the world. This is the cornerstone of the empire. No matter the land of Longxing in Jinyang or the capital of Emperor Huanghuang in Chang'an, they are all within Guanzhong. , if you move the capital rashly, wouldn’t it be the same as abandoning the foundation? Such words that harm the country should be punished by death!”

Fang Jun was also annoyed, glared at Liu Ji and said, "If you don't accept it, you can be reasonable. Who do you think you are? You'd better talk to me in the future. If you continue to be so irritable, I'll let you see what you've seen. It's real rage!"

Civil and martial arts have different paths, and interests are contradictory, so Liu Ji has targeted him several times, but he has not taken it to heart. In the end, it is just a court battle. At most, political opinions and positions are different, but there is no personal grudge.

But this guy probably thinks that he is the head of the civil servants, he is so erratic, he is so used to shouting and beating and killing!
Ma Zhou, who hadn't spoken much, asked, "If the capital is moved, where will it be moved?"

Fang Jun said: "Of course it is Luoyang."

The crowd nodded.

If the capital is really moved, then Luoyang is indeed the most suitable place.The former Sui Dynasty also encountered difficulties due to unfavorable water transportation. Therefore, Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty and Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty vigorously managed Luoyang, making it the most prosperous place in the world, with convenient water and land transportation, and overlooking the plains, deterring Shandong. It has been the capital of the dynasty since ancient times.

Of course, the reason why Luoyang was strategically located in the former Sui Dynasty was not only to share the material pressure for Guanzhong, but also because of being forced to breathe by the Guanlongmen Clan, and to strengthen the deterrence of the south...

All in all, at this time, if the world chooses a place that is more suitable as the capital except Chang'an, it must be Luoyang.

Li Xiaogong shook his head and sighed: "Luoyang is indeed very good. The Grand Canal connects the north and the south, and connects the world through the Yellow River. It can fully bear the continuous development and expansion of the imperial capital. However, if you want to move the capital, it involves too much."

As the capital city of the empire, Chang'an City is the center of the world, where every inch of land is precious. Countless wealthy families, high-ranking officials and dignitaries settled their businesses in Chang'an, and merchants even invested huge amounts of wealth in Chang'an. This is an astronomical figure that cannot be counted.

Once the capital is moved, land prices in Chang'an will plummet and wealth will shrink, and everyone will strongly oppose it.

When Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty came to the throne, he determined to move the capital to Luoyang. After he ascended the throne, he built the Eastern Capital. With his majesty, magnanimity, domineering and domineering, he failed to fully move the capital to Luoyang after his death, which shows the huge resistance.

Of course, the biggest obstacle for Emperor Sui Yang's failure to move the capital was the mighty Guanlongmen Clan at that time. Now the Guanlongmen Clan has almost collapsed, and the rest are not mentioned. Without this biggest obstacle, if Li Chengqian is iron If you want to move your capital, it may not be impossible to succeed.

But in this way, the government will inevitably set off violent fluctuations, which will inevitably affect the various new policies that will be implemented in the world...

The rest of the people also looked solemn, and the involvement was really too great.

Fang Jun suggested: "The relocation of the capital has a great impact. It is better to move now than to be quiet. Stability is the most important thing. However, for the long-term development of Chang'an, the construction of Luoyang is a surefire strategy. It is better to increase money and silk, transfer craftsmen, or replace the palaces left over from the previous Sui Dynasty. Repair or rebuild on the original site, and wait until the Yellow River is completely frozen in winter, and water transportation will become more and more difficult. Your Majesty will lead all civil and military officials to Luoyang to live temporarily, which will greatly alleviate the shortage of supplies in Guanzhong.”