The most arrogant in history

Wu Qiong was stunned, and clasped his fists and said, "How is it for my own good? Your Majesty, please explain clearly."

The nine ministers were all puzzled and looked at Ye Kun.

Ye Kun glanced around and said:

"The previous dynasty had three major water conservancy projects, Dujiangyan, Lingqu and Zhengguoqu. At the time, they were a waste of money and labor, and the people were resentful. But what about now? We curse the emperors of the previous dynasty while enjoying their legacy. Without Dujiangyan, would there be bumper harvests every year in the Chengdu Plain?"

In fact, the same thing happened when Emperor Yang of Sui built the canal in history.

The Grand Canal of the Sui and Tang Dynasties finally benefited Li Shimin and played a great role in the Zhenguan Reign.

Historians all think that Emperor Yang of Sui rushed to build the Grand Canal, which resulted in countless deaths and the collapse of the Sui Dynasty. If Emperor Yang of Sui had taken his time, the Grand Canal would not be a stain on Emperor Yang of Sui, but his great achievement!

The Tang Dynasty poet Pi Rixiu commented on Emperor Yang of Sui's construction of the Grand Canal:

"It is said that the Sui Dynasty fell because of this river, and it still flows thousands of miles. If there were no dragon boats in the water palace, his achievements would not be greater than those of Yu."

If it weren't for Emperor Yang of Sui's poor personal ethics, building dragon boats, and ruining his family and country, the Grand Canal alone could be compared to Dayu's merits in controlling floods!

After hearing Ye Kun's brilliant opinion, Wu Qiong and others looked at each other and smiled bitterly.

Ye Kun added: "There are also straight roads and galloping roads that were opened up by others. They have been in use for hundreds of years and are still in use today."

Wu Qiong said: "Your Majesty is right. But why is it for my own good?"

"You manage the country's finances and taxation. You should know that the cost of water transportation is one twentieth of that of land transportation."

Ye Kun stood up, walked to the side of the map, gestured and said:

"The coal in the Yanzhao area is cheap. But when it is sent to Jiangnan, it is more expensive than rice. That's because the transportation cost is too high. The products in Jiangnan are also ridiculously expensive when transported to Zhuojun.

If there is a north-south Grand Canal, all freight will go through the canal, and tax revenue will increase greatly. Merchants are willing to pay twice as much tax and save the remaining money for carriage fees.

Moreover, goods passing through the canal cannot evade tax, which will bring several times more tax to the court. By then, the Ministry of Finance managed by Wu Qiong will have more money than can be spent, which is good for you, isn't it? "

The canal is the economic lifeline of the country.

Controlling the canal’s tax revenue basically means controlling the economic lifeline.

Taking the Qing Dynasty as an example, it is said that 90% of the national tax revenue came from the Grand Canal.

Sang Buyi trimmed his beard and analyzed:

"Many merchants nowadays smuggle and evade taxes, which indeed causes tax losses to the court. The key is that this kind of smuggling cannot be eliminated. If there is a Grand Canal, transportation costs will be greatly reduced, and the prices of goods will also drop, and no one will smuggle. Because the cost for smugglers to cross mountains and rivers is too high, it is not worth it."

"Master Sang is right."

Ye Kun nodded: "If the court cannot control taxation, the country will really perish. I will not rush to build the Grand Canal. We can do it in stages, one section at a time, and try to use foreign laborers so as not to affect production and social stability."

Wu Qiong finally nodded: "Okay, let's discuss it together and dredge the Han Canal first."

"Thank you very much."

Ye Kun stood up and clasped his fists: "I still say the same thing, we will move forward tentatively. If the financial resources and people's strength are insufficient, the project will be suspended. This is also my first time as an emperor, so please forgive me if there are things I have not considered."

Everyone hurriedly returned the greeting.

The Grand Canal project was preliminarily approved, and Ye Kun was very happy.

After returning to the palace, I went to Jasmine's Lixiangyuan and prepared to have a few drinks.

Jasmine was not feeling well today and did not follow Ye Kun.

Ye Kun was also worried and went to take a look.

Jasmine came forward, took off Ye Kun's outer cover, and said with a smile: "Your Majesty is very happy today, is there any good news?"

"Yes, there is a happy event." Ye Kun pulled Jasmine to sit down:

"The Grand Canal plan I proposed has finally been preliminarily approved. In the future, we can take a boat from Zhuo County and go directly to Jiangnan. We can also follow the canal into the Yangtze River, and then go to Tianmen County and go to our hometown."

"That is indeed a great joyous event. Jasmine congratulates the Emperor."

"Congratulations to you too." Ye Kun was concerned about Jasmine: "Are you feeling better? What did the imperial physician say?"

"I'm fine, I just have a bad stomach. I warmed it with a water bag and now I feel much better."

"You need to rest more in the future and not eat anything carelessly. You must listen to the doctor." Ye Kun sighed:

"Your stomach problems are also caused by overwork. From now on, you should rest in the palace. I have no shortage of assistants around me, so you don't have to worry about everything."

Jasmine has been very tired these years, following Ye Kun around all the time.

"Your Majesty, I feel at ease following you. I'm afraid others won't be able to take good care of you."

Jasmine's eyes were slightly red: "You are more tired than me. You are the one who needs to rest more."

"Okay, listen to me and take care of your health first."

Ye Kun comforted her and had dinner with Jasmine in Lixiangyuan, personally checking the quality of the food.

Three days later, the Ministry of War reported: "The 70,000 troops to attack Goguryeo have been assembled and are ready for action. All the guns, artillery and food supplies they need are complete."

Ye Kun nodded and ordered the vanguard to set off immediately.

He took the central army and headed to Liaodong two days later.

This time, Ye Kun personally led the army to attack Goguryeo. He did not take the sea route, but took the land route through Liaodong, which was under the jurisdiction of Xiahou Chang.

However, Xiahou Chang’s consent has not yet been obtained.

Sang Buyi was worried and said:

"Your Majesty, Xiahou Chang still has at least 200,000 troops, and you only have 70,000 troops deep in Liaodong. What if Xiahou Chang turns against you and surrounds you? What should you do?"

"Then I will destroy Xiahou Chang while I am at it."

Ye Kun didn't care at all and said with a smile: "I have already sent a message to the Jinling Navy to send another 30,000 to support Huangfu Lin. I have a large army of both land and water, with complete guns and artillery. Whether it is Xiahou Chang or Goguryeo, those who follow me will prosper, and those who oppose me will perish."

Sang Buyi pondered and said, "I will not be able to rest assured until we prepare 50,000 reinforcements."

"No need, these troops are enough."

Ye Kun shook his head and went to find the Xiahou sisters.

Xiahou Jie and Xiahou Zhu were also worried and in tears at this moment.

Seeing Ye Kun, the Xiahou sisters knelt down together and said in tears:

"My father is ignorant of the majesty of heaven. Please, Your Majesty... spare his life. After we arrive in Liaodong, my sisters and I will go and persuade our father to hand over Liaodong completely."

"I am personally leading the army this time, which makes things difficult for you."

Ye Kun helped the Xiahou sisters up and said, "Don't worry, your father will hand over Liaodong as soon as my army arrives. As the saying goes, a man who knows the times is a hero, and your father is not a fool."

The Xiahou sisters wiped their tears and nodded together.

The next day, Ye Kun led his troops to battle.

The defense of the capital was handed over to Jiang Youbao, Tan Bamao, Sang Buyi and others.

There was also Guan Yong's army stationed in Yinshan to protect the new capital of Zhuo County.

The generals of the central army who followed Ye Kun were all from Yu Lian Chunhua's family, young military officers trained from the Cheng and Huang families in Fuling County.

Back then in Fuling County, Ye Kun selected fifty young men from the Cheng family and the Huang family respectively to train in the army.

Ten years later, the Cheng family and the Huang family became powerful families in Fuling County and Dongba County. There were more than a dozen generals among their children, and they were very famous.

Huang Jian, the left commander of the central army, is Chunhua's cousin, two years older than Ye Kun. He is experienced in many battles and once fought against Xiahou Chang's army in Guanzhong for three years.

Many of Huang Jian's brothers died in the Guanzhong War that year, and they hated Xiahou Chang. They clasped their fists and said:

"Your Majesty, if Xiahou Chang still dares to bargain, I will kill him for you. He is also a tyrant. If you really let him hand over Liaodong and take over Goguryeo, I am afraid that Goguryeo will still be divided by him in the future."