Chapter 97 097 The New North-South Canal!

"Mother, why hasn't Father come back yet?"

Hongge played in the back garden for a while with his cousins ​​who had just returned from school. He returned to Shensi Hall covered in sweat, took a bath, and then discovered that his father, who was usually home by this time, was still nowhere to be seen.

Luo Fu glanced into the courtyard and guessed, "The Ministry of Revenue must be busy today. Come on, let's eat first, we won't wait for him."

He then instructed the maid to go to the kitchen to serve the meal.

Hongge'er was indeed hungry. Although he wanted to wait for his father, his mother had a younger brother or sister in her belly and was probably even hungrier than him, so he decided to eat first.

It was only June, and Luo Fu had already passed the morning sickness stage, but her lower abdomen was flat, and she didn't feel anything special.

After the mother and son finished eating, they strolled around the courtyard twice before Xiao Yu returned, wearing a light scarlet official robe. Because he had ridden a horse all the way with a strong wind, he wasn't sweating much. Upon learning that the mother and son had eaten, Xiao Yu, as usual, first went to bathe and change his clothes before coming to the central courtyard, feeling refreshed.

Luo Fu sat at the entrance of the main room, drying her hair and enjoying the cool air. Hong Ge'er sat clingily next to his father, asking questions curiously.

The little guy was interested in politics, and Xiao Yu, who was quite talkative, patiently explained to him, "It has been raining a lot in Yangzhou these past two months. Today we received an official document from Jiangdu County saying that the Han Canal was blocked and caused a small flood. Fortunately, it did not cause any disaster. However, the prefect requested funds to dredge the Han Canal, and I had some disagreements with the Ministry of Works about how much money to allocate."

Luo Fu leaned against the door frame, fanning herself with a round fan as she listened with great interest. Upon hearing this, she said, "Man'er, Jiangdu County is my hometown. Before I married your father, I even took a boat trip on the Han Canal. Your uncle took me and your aunt there."

Hongge couldn't imagine the location of Jiangdu County, nor did he know what the Han Canal looked like, so he ran to his father's study and, with Chaosheng, brought over all the map tubes his father used to store.

Xiao Yu had just finished eating, so he carried a chair and placed it under the eaves, sitting next to his wife.

And so, Xiao Yu sat in the middle, with Luo Fu and Hong Ge'er sitting and standing on either side, watching Xiao Yu draw the approximate location of the Han Canal with his finger in Jiangdu County, Yangzhou.

Hongge'er: "The name of this river is really strange. Why is it called a ditch?"

Xiao Yu looked at the lady beside him.

Luo Fu recalled for a moment and said with some pride, "I know, because it wasn't a river that was originally there. It was specially dug by King Fuchai of Wu during the Spring and Autumn Period in order to attack the State of Qi. This connected the waters of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, making it convenient for the State of Wu to transport troops and grain by water when it attacked Qi."

It was all told to them by her brother-in-law during the boat trip. Luo Fu still remembers the way her sister looked at her brother-in-law with adoration, her chin in her hand. Of course, Luo Fu also admired her brother-in-law's knowledge. It was because she had experienced her brother-in-law's refined and gentlemanly demeanor up close that Luo Fu made up her mind to marry a scholar, preferably as learned and talented as her brother-in-law.

Seeing how pleased the lady was, Xiao Yu complimented her, saying, "Your Majesty is learned in both ancient and modern times, which is truly admirable."

When her son couldn't see, Rosé gently pinched his lower back.

Xiao Yu then rowed from Huai'an to Xingyang on the banks of the Yellow River: "There is another large river here that was dug by manpower. Does Madam know about it?"

Luo Fu: "..."

She glared at the man.

Xiao Yu had no idea that his wife was unaware of the situation. After receiving a sharp look from her, he told the mother and son, "Initially, King Hui of Wei during the Warring States period dug a canal here called Honggou. In times of peace, the water from Honggou could be used to irrigate the fields on both banks or for trade. In times of war, it could be used to transport grain and troops. Successive emperors dredged Honggou, and Wang Jing, a master of water management during the Han Dynasty, carried out a major overhaul of it. After the Han Dynasty, officials and the people gradually renamed it Bianhe. Unfortunately, because the Yellow River has a lot of sand, Bianhe is often silted up. Every year, the court has to spend silver and manpower to dredge it to ensure its navigation. Before the late emperor went south to conquer Chen, he also dredged Bianhe. Later, after the two northern expeditions, the national treasury was strained, and Bianhe has been silted up ever since. Many sections of the river are now closed to navigation."

Luo Fu leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Now that the national treasury has silver, why not use it to dredge the Bian River and the Han Canal?"

Xiao Yu: "..."

It is not easy for the national treasury to accumulate silver, and the Bian River is more than a thousand miles long. To dredge it again would require at least hundreds of thousands of laborers. With the south having been pacified for thirty years, why go to such lengths to repair such a large river that is constantly silted up and swallows up silver?

"Dad, are there any other ditches?" Hongge'er had other things he was curious about.

Xiao Yu continued to tell the little guy about the canals he knew, such as the Ling Canal that Qin Shi Huang dug in what is now Jiaozhou, the Zheng Guo Canal that the Qin state dug in Guanzhong, and the Baigou, Pinglu Canal, Quanzhou Canal, Xinhe Canal and Cao Canal that Cao Cao dug later to conquer Yuan Shao and the Wuhuan in the north...

As he spoke, Xiao Yu's hand traced a path to Zhuojun in Jizhou. North of Zhuojun lay the Donghu, and northeast of Zhuojun lay Liaozhou.

Xiao Yu suddenly stopped. After a moment, he rolled up the map, asked his wife to look after the child, and hurried to Wanhe Hall.

Xiao Rong and his wife had already eaten dinner, but since the summer days were long and it was still light, they didn't go to bed too early. Instead, they sat in the courtyard, fanning themselves and chatting. Deng Shi mainly listened to Xiao Rong's various boasts, such as how he had drunk down some old marquis, or how so-and-so's sons were all good-for-nothings and not as promising as his three sons.

Ms. Deng was quite interested in how other people's children annoyed their parents, so she loved listening to his ramblings.

Xiao Yu arrived at this time.

Xiao Rong asked in surprise, "What brings you here?"

Xiao Yu summoned his father to the main room, laid out a map, and pointed to the ditches along the waterways that Cao Cao had used to travel north, asking, "Why didn't the late emperor consider dredging these ancient channels for transporting grain during his two northern expeditions?"

The late emperor was extremely skilled in warfare, having conquered the empire through battle. He failed in both of his northern expeditions. The first was when he colluded with two Hu tribes in the Yin state to resist the Great Zhou. The second was when he had the advantage of favorable timing, location, and popular support in the Yin state. The third was when the Great Zhou was struggling with the difficulty of supplying provisions for its long-distance expedition.

It took Xiao Rong a while to understand his son's question. Although he was a marquis without much ability, he was still a marquis. Whenever the late emperor discussed the strategy for the Northern Expedition with several generals, Xiao Rong was either present, had heard the heated discussions between the emperor and his ministers at court, or had obtained information from various connections. Therefore, he was indeed able to answer his son's question.

“You said they are ancient canals, built three or four hundred years ago. Some have long since dried up and become dry canals, while others have been completely taken over by farmland and disappeared. The late emperor did consider it, but during the first Northern Expedition, he felt that he could take Liaozhou in six months at most, so there was no need to waste manpower and resources to rebuild these canals. As you know, the first Northern Expedition failed, and the late emperor was unwilling to give up. He prepared for another two years and then went to fight again. The late emperor was in such a hurry, how could he have the patience to wait for the canals to be repaired? When the second expedition failed again, the court had difficulty recruiting soldiers, and military supplies had to be raised by increasing taxes. Where would there be extra silver to use for canal repairs?”

"What, you want to persuade the Emperor to rebuild this waterway?"

Xiao Rong glanced at his handsome son, who was clearly thirty-one but looked like he was in his early twenties, and guessed.

Xiao Yu stared at the map in silence for a long time before saying to his father, "It's just a thought. Whether to build it or how to build it is still uncertain. Please don't tell anyone else."

Xiao Rong simply disliked his third son's straightforward temper, but he was still very proud of his son's talent. He laughed and said, "Don't worry, I'm not that stupid. If you really have a way to repair the canal, the Emperor will surely remember you for a great achievement. I won't let anyone else steal your chance to make a contribution. Take your time to figure it out, and feel free to ask me anything you don't understand."

Xiao Yu: "..."

.

In the following days, Xiao Yu would go straight to his study after returning from the Ministry of Revenue, and look through his collection of books and maps about the water systems of Jizhou, Qingzhou, the capital, and Yangzhou, including historical records of the construction and dredging of canals in various dynasties.

The books were scattered and some might only be mentioned briefly. Xiao Yu couldn't finish the task by himself, so Luo Fu, Qingchuan, and Chaosheng came to help. Hong Ge'er could recognize many characters, but he was too short to reach the bookshelves or easily take books from the desk, so he stood obediently at the door watching his parents work.

In mid-June, Luo Fu suddenly woke up from her sleep and instinctively leaned into Xiao Yu's arms, only to find that she had missed him.

The person's pillow and blanket were cold. Luo Fu thought for a moment, put on her clothes, took out the key to the small door, and went to the front yard with a lamp. After turning through the veranda, she saw that Xiao Yu's study was indeed shining with light.

Luo Fu arrived at the inner door of the study, lifted the curtain, and saw Xiao Yu standing behind the desk, wearing only an undergarment, holding a book in his left hand and drawing something on paper with a pen in his right. Luo Fu watched him motionless for a while, and he didn't even notice her arrival.

Candlesticks were placed on three sides of the desk, and the light seemed to know that he was busy with something important, so it all gathered around Xiao Yu, making his lowered face look as smooth as jade.

Luo Fu watched for a while longer, then left quietly as she had come, without going in to disturb him.

After several busy days, probably because the family's collection of books was not enough, Xiao Yu told Luo Fu and began to frequently visit Chen Wenqi, the director of the Water Conservancy Bureau.

Chen Wenqi is fifty-eight years old this year. Because he often travels to various places to manage water or repair canals, this famous water management official, personally promoted by the late emperor, has become tanned. When he stands in the court, he is the most outstandingly dark-skinned among the civil officials. He is not very tall, but he is thin and sturdy, and he looks like he will live a long life.

Eight years ago, when the three departments jointly investigated the case of the former crown prince's embezzlement of disaster relief funds in four prefectures, Chen Wenqi had some dealings with Xiao Yu and greatly admired this young, upright, loyal, and people-loving man.

Upon learning that Xiao Yu wanted to investigate the method of connecting the north and south canals, Chen Wenqi felt as if he had been given a magic pill by Xiao Yu. He immediately took Xiao Yu to immerse himself in his room full of books about water systems and canals in various places. Sometimes they would discuss until dark, and Chen Wenqi would simply let Xiao Yu stay overnight at his residence. Several times, after finishing his duty at dusk, Chen Wenqi would go to the Ministry of Revenue and directly drag Xiao Yu to his residence.

The news quickly reached Emperor Xianping's ears. After the morning court session that day, Emperor Xianping, who was always eager to ask questions, summoned Xiao Yu and Chen Wenqi to the imperial study.

Chen Wenqi smiled and said, "Let Xiao Yu report his brilliant idea for flood control to the Emperor."

Hanging in the imperial study was the largest map of the dynasty. Xiao Yu invited Emperor Xianping to the map and drew a slightly curved line between Jiangdu County in the south and Zhuo County in the north. The curve was on the Yellow River east of Puyang County. "Your Majesty," Xiao Yu said, "the Bian River, which was extensively repaired by the late Emperor, is 1,300 li long. The ancient canal that Cao Cao used to connect the Yellow River and Zhuo County is about 2,000 li long. If Your Majesty were to straighten the canal and build a new one connecting the major rivers and lakes in the north and south, the new canal from Huai'an to Zhuozhou would be about 2,000 li long, saving a full 1,000 li of waterway. In other words, when Your Majesty launches a northern expedition in the future, it will only take 40 to 50 days to transport the grain from the south to northern Hebei!"

-----------------------

Author's note: As we all know, this is the Grand Canal, a miracle formed by the wisdom of our Chinese ancestors over two thousand years. Let's give the male protagonist and the Great Zhou a huge cheat code.

100 little red envelopes, see you late at night!