New Shun 1730

After handling the company's dividends and setting a high-accumulation policy, Liu Yu asked the bank to print banknotes for the emperor's dividends and internal funds, changed his face from sadness, and headed for the capital.

This time he did not take a boat to go to sea. This was not because he was worried that the boat would sink and the emperor would worry about shipping. Anyway, he was carrying banknotes. Even if the boat sank, there would be no legends such as the sinking of the Spanish treasure ship. He would just print it again.

He chose the most classic route back to the capital.

Suzhou Prefecture, Yangzhou Prefecture, Qinghe Ferry, cross the Yellow River, go north along the river, cross Shandong, and return to the capital.

The Grand Canal was about to be abandoned, and he wanted to take another look at the Grand Canal before it was abandoned.

The last time I came to Qinghekou to greet the emperor was in early winter.

It's summer now.

The weather has been pretty good recently, and it is supposed to be a prosperous season, but everywhere I look, there is always an indescribable feeling of depression.

Before entering the Qingjiang Estuary, the Huanghuai Governor came to greet him, his face turned green.

After receiving the news that Liu Yu was coming a few days ago, Governor Huanghuai knew that something was wrong. Liu Yu is a person who likes to wander around and observe people's sentiments.

At this juncture, if you wander around, you can easily be beaten to death.

If something really happened, he couldn't bear the responsibility.

Xin Dao, you said that since you are from the Navy, can’t you honestly take a boat to Dagukou? What canal route did you say you took? Isn't this just looking for trouble?

I felt a lot of dissatisfaction in my heart, but I still had to look good on the surface, so I could only call my close confidants, pick out the best 70 or 80 people, and tell them to follow Liu Yu and ensure their safety.

After the greetings, a few people Liu Yu recognized were introduced, such as Liao Hanhui, who had made bold plans to control the Huaihe River last time and was encouraged by the emperor with the words "I am a small Yu and I am a fish".

In the "Xiang Army" organized and trained by Cao Gong, there are also some of Liu Yu's old troops, all of whom were engineers and soldiers. Now they are needed for the training of the Xiang Army.

The governor of Huanghuai hosted a banquet for himself, but the banquet was held in a large tent outside the city, not at the mouth of the Qingjiang River.

"Don't blame me for being careless, Mr. Xing. If you enter the mouth of the Qingjiang River, you won't be able to enjoy today's meal. A gentleman cooks far away. It's one thing to know something, but it's another thing to see it with your own eyes."

Governor Huanghuai picked up the wine and first set the tone for today's reception. Some officers who were qualified to accompany them and were former engineers at Jinghai Palace also knew what it meant. Before they even started drinking, they started to persuade them: "Since we are a country, someone will always suffer. A short-term disadvantage will bring eternal benefits." . Please don’t feel sad.”

Liu Yu laughed, picked up the glass and drank it all, and then said: "Don't worry. Since I promoted this matter, I am not ignorant of the consequences. Qingjiangkou with 800,000 yuan will not take three years, and only 800,000 yuan may be left." Ten thousand people.”

"Before I came, would you have thought that when I entered the Qingjiang River Estuary, I would be paved with flowers, people would wholeheartedly welcome me, and everything would be full of vitality?"

"I was thinking about the King of Chu being trapped in Gaixia and committing suicide in Wujiang River."

After that, he poured another glass of wine and stood up and said: "Controlling water is not my specialty. Abolition of canals to change the fate of the sea and Nanyang is closely related to water control. In this battle, whether it is Gaixia or Pengcheng, it all depends on you. Please. !”

Everyone stood up one after another and drank the glass of wine with Liu Yu.

Liao Hanhui, who was accompanying him at the side, said hurriedly: "Don't worry, Duke, I am appreciated by your majesty, and I have to take on this important task. This management of Huaihe River is my idea and my advice. Although I am not talented, I am somewhat confident. ”

"It rains heavily now. We will wait until the weather is cold and the water dries up, and it will dry out for a few months. The main trunk will be opened first, and then the tributary irrigation canals and other channels will be slowly repaired in the future."

"During the Qin and Han Dynasties, they were still able to build Dujiangyan, Zhengguo Canal, and even conquer Lingnan and build canals. Isn't it worse now than before?"

"I have made it clear today. Floods in Hongze Lake, Huaihe River, and Anhui cause people to die every year. This year's control of Huaihe River will definitely kill people, and hundreds of thousands or millions of people on both sides of the canal will definitely be affected. . But if we die every year, or even if the embankment of Hongze Lake collapses one day, we can say that we stab people and kill them. Is it not me who is a soldier?"

"I……"

Liao Hanhui saw that Liu Yu's complexion was not very good, and thought that Liu Yu felt guilty in his heart, at least to the 800,000 people in Qinghekou. Once the canal is destroyed, these people will have no choice but to live in other places. The prosperous business in the past will never return, and even Huai'an Prefecture may be "disappeared into other prefectures".

Little did he know that Liu Yu's thoughts were extremely firm. He had experienced many things like the Dayuling Commercial Road in Lingnan, so how could he still have such a fragile heart?

But before Liao Hanhui finished speaking, Governor Huang Huai felt that Liao Hanhui's words were getting more and more wrong. He was afraid that he would say something wrong in his impassioned generosity, so he quickly interrupted and said with a smile: "Okay, okay, this is not a pre-war mobilization. I took over Xingxing back then. Even if I go to suppress the rebellion in the Western Regions, I will never say such impassioned words. It is really unnecessary."

"Now there is plenty of silver. Xing Gong ensures that the rice grain shipped by sea is in place. The Academy of Sciences also has special high-efficiency explosives. Although it cannot be used for fighting and is a bit dangerous, it is first-class for blasting soil."

"Then what the pre-Qin, Han, Sui and Tang Dynasties could do, why can't this dynasty do it? Why bother thinking about the overlord being trapped in Gaixia? It's really unnecessary."

"You just think you are the only one responsible?"

"I am here to do the most offensive thing. Do you know how many people's ancestral graves will be submerged? How many people's fields will be submerged in this flood control? Your Majesty told me to just do it and don't be afraid of offending people. But speaking of it, this kind of thing... No one will object openly, but how many times will they stab me secretly?”

"It's easy to hide from an open gun, but it's hard to guard against a hidden arrow. We are all grasshoppers on a rope in this matter. If you want to curse someone, you'd call them a turtle and a bastard with a vine."

"But how big of a deal is it? Duke Xing, I, and everyone here, many of them were killed in the sea of ​​blood and corpses. Even this little thing is worth sighing, and it seems to be left behind. ?”

Liu Yu was already a little numb, to the point where he could no longer itch after having too many lice.

As the saying goes, everything that can be accomplished has been done. Whether it can be accomplished this year depends on whether God will give it a chance. I feel sorry for these people who have been ravaged by the Huaihe River for hundreds of years.

Relying on the words of Governor Huang Huai, Liu Yu also said: "That's right. How big of a deal is it? Brother Liao is an expert in water control and specializes in the art. Since you are confident, what else do I have to worry about?"

"While you're in the mood for wine, why don't you show this flood control atlas and I'll take a look at it too."

Liao Hanhui nodded in agreement, and soon, a huge map was hung up.

Liao Hanhui came to the picture with a glass of wine in hand, and he really had the air to guide the country.

However, Liu Yu only felt sad that they were all made of iron farm tools, had no machinery, and the same people had almost the same level of productivity.

The same project, but different organizational capabilities, were put into the main irrigation canal where the Huaihe River flows into the sea in later generations, which is the mobilization level of a prefecture-level city.

A prefecture-level city mobilized for the same hub at the level of Shovel, Earth Basket and Qinghekou. Construction started in November and was completed in May.

But at this time, it requires the efforts of the whole country and the total fiscal revenue for a year, and the efforts of the whole country cannot make big moves for several years. It is necessary to mobilize resources from all over the country, including rice from Nanyang, beans from Liaodong, iron from Gyeonggi Province, money from Songjiang Prefecture, and even borrow money from the Netherlands.

The mobilization power of the whole country is comparable to that of a prefecture-level city in the future.

In his previous life, he had seen many big projects. Now, although Liao Hanhui was impassioned and giving advice, Liu Yu was not so excited and just listened quietly.

The canal channel that enters the sea passes through the place where the largest population in Nanyang has been in recent years. Especially Funing, which suffered a major disaster.

The Xinhe River will divert water from Gaojiayan, pass through Huai'an and Funing, and then enter the sea.

In the future, a three-bank embankment will be built to block the Yellow River and the Xin River.

According to Liao Hanhui's excited introduction, Funing and other disaster areas will be turned into irrigated fertile fields.

Of course, although I am working in northern Jiangsu, I am actually happiest in Anhui.

A major cause of the floods in the Huaihe River was the previous government's policy of protecting water transportation, which made Hongze Lake higher and higher. The water flow in the upper reaches was not smooth, and flooding would inevitably occur if it rained slightly.

It's blocked down there.

Moreover, there is no need to protect water transportation, and the Yellow River strategy of "protecting the north but not the south" that began in the Ming Dynasty can basically be abandoned.

However, Liu Yu has nothing to do with Anhui's affairs.

But from Liao Hanhui's introduction, Liu Yu's plan of "fishing for law enforcement" gradually took shape.

Funing is the place where Liu Yu was forced to engage in a pure "throwing away money" business during the last big disaster in Nanyang.

Since the area was to be turned into an irrigation area along with the construction of the New River, Liu Yu felt that his money could not be wasted.

My Youth Loan is quite influential there, as it is considered a charity organization after all. The secret is full of ears and eyes.

Now that the Xinhe River needs to be built through that place, the people there must be mobilized.

Fishing law enforcement, how to fish?

Liu Yu already had a rough idea in his mind.

I saw Liao Hanhui talking about the planned Funing Irrigation District, where he was talking about the many "bad policies" of the previous and current dynasties.

"In the past, we had to protect the canal transport, but when there was waterlogging, we had to drain water into the fields; when there was a drought, when the seedlings in the fields were half withered, we had to protect the canal transport and not use it to irrigate the fields."

"Now that water transportation has been abandoned, this new river has been built. It can drain water during floods and irrigate the land during droughts. This is called a river."

"If the Xinhe River is built and connects Huai'an to Funing, according to my calculations, at least 1.2 million acres of irrigated fields will be added."

When Liao Hanhui's fingers moved to Funing, Sheyang and other places, Liu Yu said: "This section must be about organizing the people and recruiting civilian service, right? I think it's not enough to rely on the Xiang army alone."

Liao Hanhui hurriedly said: "That's right. Even if the Duke doesn't ask, I'm going to tell you. We still need to ask the Duke to coordinate and transport the grain, rice and utensils by sea."

"That's the main place where we've traveled to Southeast Asia in recent years, and the Duke is familiar with it. Since the Qingmiao Loan can be found in every county, it's no problem to get grain and rice equipment."

"There will be no disasters this year, I mean..."

He glanced at Liu Yu and finally said: "What I mean is, can the people who owe the Duke money and want to go to Nanyang delay their departure until March next year?"

"Construction starts in October. If there are no accidents, and if the weather gets cold early and there is no autumn rain, it will be completed in March. I also asked that in March, when the monsoon has not started, it is still possible to go to Nanyang."

Liu Yu said with a smile: "Don't say March, even if I don't leave this year, it doesn't matter. It's just another 120,000 or 30,000 yuan. But it's just that I'm acting on behalf of others. This matter still needs to be done by Jiangsu Province." The envoy came to give me a document, so I can coordinate. Although they owe Qingmiao Loan, they have not yet arrived in Nanyang. After all, they are the people of northern Jiangsu and I have no control over them."

"Well, when I return to the capital this time, I will report to the Holy One and explain this matter clearly. I think I will also ask for an extra job. I will be responsible for the logistics, supplies, and the collection of money and food from the people along the coast."

Since he said this, everyone present was very happy, but they were afraid that he would not care. This kind of logistical affairs that coordinates tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people cannot be managed well by ordinary people. And it depends on shipping. It would be troublesome if there was an extra department to coordinate.

Now everyone is on the same boat, each with their own difficulties: Liu Yu has the most lice, Liao Hanhui is the most dangerous, and the governor of Huanghuai is trying to suppress the situation and offend people, and will flood their ancestral graves and land. Now that he can't push it away, he must do it well.

The reason why Liu Yu wants to wade into this muddy water is simple: fishing, law enforcement.

Give the money and food that should be given to the conscripted laborers to the local gentry.

Let them "distribute" to the laboring people.

Liu Yu thought to himself, if everyone is shot, there must be innocent people, and if one is shot every other, there must be some who escape. Today I give you the opportunity to embezzle, intercept, and deduct. If you don't kill half of the gentry in Yan, Fu, She and other places, I will change my surname next year.

And this matter does not need to be said too explicitly, as long as it is mentioned to the emperor in a subtle way, the emperor should know what Liu Yu wants to do.

If he is not going to make a national case, he will tell Liu Yu directly that this is not okay. As long as there is no objection, it means tacit approval, and they may even have to prepare a firing squad and conduct an inventory of the land in advance.