Chapter 398 Canal Plan
Chapter 398 Canal Plan
The next morning, King Yuchi Wusupi and Prince Yuchi Bazhi came to visit Xiaoxia again.
He brought dozens of boxes of beautiful jade as gifts to Xiao Xia, and also brought a small box containing the finest treasures from their collection, which he presented to the Emperor of Sui.
Xiao Xia opened the small box for the emperor with great interest. Inside were five pieces of beautiful jade, red, yellow, white, black and green. The red ones were like cockscombs, the yellow ones were like steamed chestnuts, the white ones were like cut fat, the black ones were like lacquer and the green ones were like spring grass.
It really is a top-grade jade. Xiao Xia closed the box and said with a smile, "I'm sure the Emperor and Empress will like it!"
Yuchi Wusupi added: "Khotan is very willing to become a vassal state of the Great Sui Dynasty. We will pay homage to the Sui Dynasty every year. If the Sui Dynasty is willing to station troops, we have no objection, but we hope that the number of troops will not be too large. A small country with little national strength cannot afford to support too many troops."
The other party actually offered to solve the problem of army supplies for themselves. Xiao Xia was of course more than happy to accept this. Generally, the Sui army bore the cost of their own supplies, but Xiao Xia also understood that only the Sui army did this. Other garrisons, such as Tuyuhun, required the other party to bear the cost of supplies.
So it is normal for the other party to have such thoughts.
Xiao Xia did not reveal the truth, but smiled and said, "Of course the army will not be too large, about 800 people. We will also set up a Protectorate Office in Khotan to manage the soldiers, trade with Khotan, Qiuci, Gumo, Shache, Shule and other Western Regions, and liaise with the imperial court. If Khotan needs help from the Sui Dynasty, it can directly contact the Protectorate Office."
Yuchi Wusubi did not understand the rules of the Sui Dynasty. Once the government was established, Khotan would be incorporated into the territory of the Sui Dynasty. Of course, this did not affect the rule of the Kingdom of Khotan. This was a territory in a broad sense, and was different from the narrow territories such as Shanshan County and Qiemo County.
Yuchi Wusupi pointed at the prince Yuchi Bazhi and said, "My prince wants to go to Chang'an to learn painting. He will bring a group of noble boys to follow you to Chang'an to learn Chinese language and cultural system."
Xiao Xia said happily: "Welcome to Chang'an!"
After another day of rest, the Sui army set out on the third day. General Xiao Xia promoted Miao Shaoling to General of the Central Army and ordered him to lead 800 cavalrymen to stay in Yutian for two years.
The Xiaoxia army set out, their camels loaded with food and water, as well as gold sand, gems and jade exchanged from the Kingdom of Khotan. Of course, the quantity was not large and would not occupy many camels.
Xiao Xia himself also reaped a lot of rewards. He obtained thirty camels loaded with beautiful jades. More importantly, he got news about Yuan Shoucheng. Yuan Shoucheng did not die in Kunlun Mountain, but returned to the human world after attaining enlightenment.
Master Guangzhi bid farewell to the Sui army with hundreds of Han people. Khotan had long been their homeland, and they could not abandon their homeland and return to their ancestral homeland. Moreover, there were still Sui troops stationed in Khotan, which made them feel more secure.
More than 2,000 cavalrymen embarked on a long journey home. It would take them at least three months to return to Liangzhou.
...........
In Chang'an, the news that Xiao Xia led his army to completely destroy Tuyuhun had reached Chang'an. The whole city of Chang'an was beating gongs and drums to celebrate the victory, and the court and the public were even more jubilant.
As Li Jing led the army back to the court, he brought back a large amount of supplies, including millions of livestock, millions of sheepskins, and other large quantities of supplies, including hundreds of thousands of stones of salt alone.
All the wealth accumulated by Tuyuhun for hundreds of years was seized by the Sui Dynasty.
Although Xiao Xia distributed gold, silver, silk, copper coins and cloth to the soldiers, the court did not get any, which made the court a little dissatisfied. But on the other hand, the court also saved a lot of rewards. In the end, it was the same thing.
But the only difference is the person who rewards. The court's reward is because the court wins the hearts of the army, while Xiao Xia's reward is because Xiao Xia wins the hearts of the army.
However, considering Xiao Xia's contribution to expanding territory, Emperor Yang Guang did not pursue the matter.
In addition, the imperial court also obtained an extremely important salt producing area, the Tuyuhun Salt Lake, which had a large output, excellent quality, low cost, and did not require the use of wood to boil and purify salt.
The court immediately decided to establish four counties, namely Heyuan, Xihai, Qiemo and Shanshan, and sent county officials as well as pastoral supervisors and salt supervisors.
This war to annihilate Tuyuhun increased the territory of the Sui Dynasty by 30%. Emperor Yang Guang was very pleased and changed Xiao Xia's title to King of Jin, making him inherit his throne with a fief of 5,000 households.
In addition to the great victory on the Western Front, the court was also discussing another major event during this period, which was the construction of a canal.
In the imperial study, Yang Guang and several prime ministers discussed the plan of digging the Grand Canal. It was Yuwen Shu's suggestion to dig the Grand Canal. Since it was decided to move the capital to Luoyang, then digging the Grand Canal became a top priority to transport grain from Jiangnan to Luoyang.
Crown Prince Yang Zhao said, "Father, if we dig a new canal, the workload is too large, it will occupy too much farmland, and it will take a long time. I suggest that we use the canals dug by the previous emperor like the previous emperor dug the Han Canal. For example, dredging the Bian Canal and Yang Canal can become the Tongji Canal, and then dredging the Jiangnan Canal. In this way, the canal from Luoyang to Jiangnan can be completed in two or three years."
Crown Prince Yang Zhao had done sufficient homework on digging the canal. Previously, Yuwen Shu suggested digging a new canal that would be ten feet wide and on a grand scale, and mobilize five million workers to carry out the digging.
Crown Prince Yang Zhao firmly opposed it. Not only would it be a waste of money and labor, it would also bring down the entire Sui Dynasty. It was already very costly and labor-intensive to conscript a million laborers to build Luoyang, so which dynasty could afford to conscript another five million laborers?
Although Emperor Yang Guang was a bit ambitious, he was not stupid. He knew what it meant to waste five million laborers, so he ordered Crown Prince Yang Zhao to take the lead and submit a plan for digging a canal.
Yang Zhao's plan was to build the canal after completing the construction of Luoyang, so that two or three million people would not be needed at the same time. However, this plan was rejected by Emperor Yang Guang, who did not want to delay the project for so long. Yang Guang nodded and said, "The plan of dredging the Bian Canal and Yang Canal is acceptable. Continue!"
It’s not that Yang Guang didn’t want to dig a new canal, but he was moved by the words "protracted and time-consuming". Digging a new canal would indeed take too long, and it would take at least ten years to complete. He couldn’t wait for ten years.
Yang Zhao added: "My son's proposal mentioned that the excavation should be carried out in the county, which means that the laborers should not leave the county. If the laborers cross the county, not only will the laborers be extremely tired, but the burden on the court will be too heavy, and too much time will be wasted, which will greatly delay the project."
Yuwen Shu beside him said, "Your Highness, the construction of the Eastern Capital has already used up all the civilians from Henan Prefecture, Xingyang, and Liang County. If we don't cross the border, what will we do with the canal from Henan Prefecture to Liang County?"
Since Yuwen Shu moved the tablets of his father and ancestors into the Wuchuan Tower, he officially became the spokesperson for the Guanlong nobles, and his every word and action was in line with the plans of the Guanlong nobles.
Yang Zhao said quickly: "We have considered two options. The first option is that the canal from Henan Prefecture to Liang County can be dredged next year. We will first dredge the canals in Qiao County, Pengcheng County and Xiapi County."
"This plan will delay too much time. I don't agree with it!" Yang Guang shook his head.
Yang Zhao sighed and said, "The second plan is to replace the civilians. We will recruit a million civilians from Xiangcheng, Yuyang, Nanyang, Yingchuan, Henei, and Wei to repair Luoyang, and replace the civilians from Henan, Liang, and Xingyang, and let them return to their own counties to dig the canal."
Yang Guang nodded, "This plan can be considered. What do you think, Prime Minister?"
Yuwen Shu frowned, "We have only half of the East Capital under construction, and if we recruit new people, I'm afraid they won't be skilled enough!"
Yang Su shook his head. "The purpose of recruiting migrant workers is to do rough work. Fine work is the job of craftsmen, so it doesn't affect them."
Everyone also expressed their agreement. Seeing that everyone agreed, Yuwen Shu kept silent. He did not dare to do it too obviously, as it would arouse the emperor's suspicion. He had to take it slow and simmer it over low heat.
Yang Guang immediately said: "Since everyone agrees, let's adopt the second plan and replace the civilians."
Yang Zhao was refreshed and continued, "Father, in order to complete the dredging as soon as possible, the logistical support of the laborers is very important, just like the morale of the army. Our third plan is the county responsibility system. The counties will be responsible for the food and lodging of the laborers. Families that contribute will not have to pay for food, and families that do not contribute will have to pay for food. All counties will make unified arrangements, which will help speed up the dredging progress."
Yang Guang agreed to all plans that would help speed up the excavation progress. Yang Guang nodded and said, "I approve!"
Yang Zhao added: "My fourth proposal is a new one. Can the tents, livestock and salt seized from Tuyuhun be allocated to the canal construction office?"
Yuwen Shu hastily objected, "Your Majesty, these livestock and supplies are for the army. I do not agree to use them for other purposes."
Yang Zhao said angrily: "We are not eating the tents and livestock. We are just borrowing them to build the canal. We will return them to the Ministry of War after use. Besides, the army is not short of tents and livestock, let alone salt. Why not let the people use them?"
Yang Su also said: "Your Majesty, I have seen with my own eyes that there are indeed a lot of cattle, horses, mules, donkeys and camels, about 600,000 or 700,000. They can be used to build the Eastern Capital and dig the canal. Otherwise, it would be a waste of animal power to keep them without working."
Prime Minister Wei Chong also said: "Prime Minister Yang is right. It is a waste to keep millions of livestock without working. It is better to use them."
Yang Guang nodded, "I also approve of the fourth plan!"
Yang Zhao added: "I am willing to serve as the ambassador for the construction of the canal and coordinate the construction of the canal in various counties. Please approve it, father!"
Yang Guang asked with some concern: "Is the prince in good health?"
"Your Majesty, I am too fat. I have been living a life of luxury in Chang'an. It would be better for me to go to the Central Plains and walk around more and get some sun. This would actually help me lose weight."
Yang Guang thought about it and it made sense, so he smiled and said, "I hope to see the emperor lose 20 pounds next year!"
Everyone laughed. Yang Zhao took the opportunity to propose that Gao Jiong, who had been demoted to the prince's guest, be his deputy, and Yang Guang agreed.
Yang Guang immediately appointed Crown Prince Yang Zhao as ambassador for canal construction, and promoted Gao Jiong to Minister of Works, serving as deputy ambassador for canal construction, with full responsibility for coordinating the canal construction.
(End of this chapter)