Although the Crusades had caused a bad relationship with Europe, this did not prevent these white-robed monarchies from purchasing tea, porcelain, and silk from the Song Dynasty and selling them to medieval Europe. They also purchased minerals, spices, and other raw materials from Europe and Africa and shipped them to the Song Dynasty.

Under such preconditions, the Song Dynasty became the factory and market for Arab merchants in the Middle East. Whether it was exported goods or imported goods from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, they had to travel back and forth through the Song Dynasty.

Therefore, the Arab world naturally had to maintain good relations with the Song Dynasty, so as to prevent the Song Dynasty from rejecting their raw materials and exporting their goods.

For a while.

Since the Tang Dynasty, the Song Dynasty actually had a vague feeling that all nations came to pay tribute.

At the end of the year, all departments are on holiday and the Constitutional Yuan is also idle.

In November, data statistics from various departments were basically submitted to the Prime Minister of the Constitutional Council for approval and verification. From December to January, the court basically had a state of resting for a few days, working for a few days, resting for a few days, and working for a few days.

Zhao Jun is now a family man, and after staying at home for two days, he felt a little restless.

He thought that the river embankment had been repaired in recent years, and the Yellow River would flood in the eighth year of the Qingli period, which was about to happen in two years. He didn't know how the specific project had progressed over the years, so he decided to inspect it.

After letting Cao Xiu say hello to Zhao Zhen, he left Bianliang in a low-key manner.

As a result, as soon as he left the city, Jia Changchao followed him.

After all, he was in charge of the Yellow River canal construction project. Since Zhao Jun was going to inspect the Yellow River, he naturally had to accompany him.

The first section of the canal they inspected was the one dug from Kaifeng to the north. This was a project decided by Zhao Jun at the beginning of this year. It was funded by the Ministry of Finance in the first half of the year and organized for construction by the Ministry of Industry. Jia Changchao also kept an eye on it from time to time.

It was late winter, but just as spring was about to arrive, a heavy snow fell in the north. The ground was covered with rustling snowflakes. Although not as bitterly cold as in the Northeast, it was still biting.

Zhao Jun and Jia Changchao kept a low profile on this trip. They sat in the carriage, warming themselves by the fire while discussing the canal diversion plan two years later.

"We mobilized 120,000 laborers last year for excavation work. Now the main sections of the canal are basically complete. By the first half of next year, the canal will be officially open to traffic."

Jia Changchao introduced the situation of this new canal in the car.

"Well, that's a good thing."

Zhao Jun said, "The construction of the new canal will not only boost the economy along the route, but also provide flood control and waterproofing. The only concern is that there are too many canals. If the Yellow River floods, the Bian Canal plus the new canal will easily flood Bianliang. Therefore, the canal must pass more than 20 miles outside the city."

Jia Changchao added, "Our economy hasn't yet developed beyond the city walls, so transportation will be a bit inconvenient at first. If we build a dock on the canal, it will probably take some land transport to get goods to the city."

"That's unavoidable. The Three-Yi River's return to the river is extremely harmful. Although we've conducted several Yellow River control projects over the past decade, it's still unclear whether we can change this historical situation. So we must work harder to control the Yellow River. As for the economic issues, we will expand the city next year."

Zhao Jun lifted the curtains and looked out the window.

Outside the window, the world was blanketed in snow, and the official road was sparsely populated. A vast trench had already been dug to the east, but the construction site was deserted, having all gone home for the Lunar New Year.

However, the area along the canal seemed to have been built up, with many sheds and houses, and the nearby villages and towns were also bustling.

This is a good thing for construction.

Because the canal in Bianliang only has two sections, east and west, and no north and south sections.

Therefore, Henan Prefecture to the west of the canal and Yingtian Prefecture to the east were very prosperous, while places like Fengqiu, Changyuan, Zaocheng to the north, and Yingchang and Ruzhou to the south were not very developed.

If a canal could be built from Bianliang to the Yellow River in the north and to Nanyang in the south, it would not only greatly connect the north and the south, but also provide for future plans.

The South-to-North Water Diversion Project in later generations followed such a route.

However, there are too many canals in Bianliang, and it would be disastrous if a flood occurred. Therefore, the flood discharge and flood control projects around Bianliang still need to be done well. In addition to the canals, a large number of ditches and reservoirs must be dug and built to achieve the purpose of regulating water resources.

"yes."

Jia Changchao nodded, then looked out the window and said, "Master, we're almost in Fengqiu."

"Um."

Zhao Jun responded and then casually asked, "I asked Xia Song last month. The court has allocated nearly 70 to 80 million strings of cash for river repairs in recent years. Has there been any corruption involved?"

Jia Changchao's heart skipped a beat. He really didn't know whether there was corruption or not, because he only visited the river repair project once or twice a month.

After all, as a prime minister, it is impossible for him to go to the construction site every day, and he has no idea whether the people below him are deceiving their superiors or concealing the truth.

But now that his superiors were asking, it would be a problem if he couldn't explain it clearly. So he thought for a moment and replied, "There was definitely corruption, but the amounts were not large, so I didn't report it to the prefect."

"Hmm"

Zhao Jun nodded slightly and said, "The funds allocated by the court are for the quality of the river embankment. If the canal and river embankment reinforcement are done well, it will be a thousand-year project. A little corruption is nothing, and it can be dealt with properly. But if large-scale corruption occurs and affects the quality of the river embankment, causing irreversible consequences, then you must be careful with your head."

"Yes, yes, yes."

Jia Changchao broke out in a cold sweat and said hurriedly, "I will strictly control this matter and will not allow anyone to take advantage of it."

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