Grand Canal
When the peach blossom season arrives in March, the Grand Canal is teeming with cargo ships.
Wu Zetian held Princess Taiping atop the newly built dispatch tower, overlooking the bustling canal transport hub.
The little princess is dressed in a traditional Hu-style dress that allows for easy movement, with her hair tied up in a high braid. She is holding a specially made telescope to observe the river.
(OS: If this scheduling system could be connected to the internet, it would be comparable to a modern logistics center!)
Li Zhi pointed to the orderly fleet of ships below and explained to his daughter, "Taiping, look, according to the flag signaling system designed by your mother, two hundred grain transport ships can now pass through in an hour."
Taiping lowered his telescope and suddenly pointed to a grain ship that had veered off course: "It's... veering..."
In the blink of an eye, the ship struck the buoy.
Wu Zetian immediately said to Di Renjie behind her, "Send the order that all grain transport boats must strictly follow the designated waterways."
Holding the newly revised "Regulations on Water Transport," Li Hong added, "Your subject suggests establishing a waterway supervision post."
Li Xian squeezed to the front: "My newly invented navigational buoys can help!"
At this moment, Taiping suddenly tugged at her mother's sleeve and pointed to a private boat flying a flag with the character "Cui" on it.
The boat was trying to cut in line, and a young man in brocade robes was standing at the bow.
(OS: This kid from the Cui family is like someone cutting in line on a highway!)
Li Zhi's face darkened: "Issue my imperial decree: all major waterways for grain transport shall proceed in an orderly manner."
Surprisingly, when the young man from the Cui family saw Taiping, he hurriedly ordered the boats to retreat.
The accompanying officials whispered among themselves, "It seems the Cui family is also afraid of offending the little princess."
During the afternoon inspection of the new dock, Wu Zetian instructed Taiping to activate the mechanism.
As the gate slowly opened, the little princess suddenly said clearly, "Accessible..."
Li Zhi was overjoyed: "What a wonderful 'smooth sailing'! Issue an imperial decree to designate today as the Festival of Smooth Sailing."
As dusk fell, Wu Zetian carried Princess Taiping as she inspected the canal workers' quarters.
Seeing the workers' neat living quarters and the children of canal workers studying, she said softly, "Taiping, remember, ensure that everyone who has contributed to the canal transport can live and work in peace and contentment."
The little princess seemed to understand, but nodded earnestly.
She took out some treasured candy from her bosom and distributed it to the children who were studying.
That night, Wu Zetian drafted the "Decree on the Welfare of Canal Workers" under the lamp.
Taiping lay to the side, her little hands drawing crooked waterways on the blueprint.
Although the lines are still immature, they vaguely reveal the prototype of the future canal transport network.
(OS: This kid's drawing is actually quite realistic. Could he really be an engineering genius?)
——
[Mini-Theater: The Little Supervisor of the Grand Canal]
(Dispatch Tower Duty Log)
Princess Taiping has come to "inspect" again today.
Strangely enough, whenever the princess was on the tower, the cargo ships behaved exceptionally well.
Today, a ship wanted to take a shortcut, but the princess turned her telescope around and the ship immediately returned to the main channel.
Now the canal workers are saying that Her Highness's telescope can see through people's hearts.
The most interesting thing is that the young master of the Cui family, who is usually very arrogant, was so frightened when he saw the princess today that he kept bowing.
He later learned that he had been criticized by the princess for his "shallow knowledge" during the last imperial examination, and he still felt lingering fear about it.
The second prince, however, was unconvinced and insisted that he was the one who improved his sister's telescope.
The princess then shoved the mirror into his hands: "Second brother, would you like to try it?"
The second prince looked at it for a long time, but still couldn't distinguish the types of cargo ships.
(Her Highness is truly gifted in the art of water transport!)
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