Disciplining Emperor Gaozu of Han

Liu Bang's return to Xiao He to ask for money was of paramount importance, affecting the morale of the army and the subsequent battles. Such a crucial matter that Liu Bang disregarded it demonstrates the charisma of only one person.

"Lady Qi!" Liu Ying immediately thought of a famous person.

Liu Bang had countless women in his life, but only one left an unforgettable mark on him: Lady Qi.

Liu Ying was very curious about Lady Qi, and stared wide-eyed at the doorway.

A beautiful young woman, dressed in brocade, with a joyful expression, came running towards Liu Bang and threw herself into his arms.

With fair skin, a beautiful face, long legs, a slender waist, and a delicate figure, she is neither too tall nor too short. Every part of her body, down to the smallest detail, is in line with men's aesthetic standards.

Moreover, every gesture she makes exudes endless charm, making one's bones go weak and soft.

"No wonder that old rogue Liu likes her so much." Liu Ying has admired too many beauties online, but none of them are as charming as her.

Liu Bang opened his arms and embraced the rushing Qi Fu in his embrace. He held her beautiful buttocks, hoisted her onto his shoulder, his face flushed, and ran away as fast as the wind, quickly disappearing from sight.

"So eager?" Liu Ying knew that Liu Bang was driven by lust and was deeply in love with Lady Qi, but he never expected him to be so eager. He carried Lady Qi away in front of everyone.

"Hehe!" Xiao He's expression was calm, as if he was used to it.

Xiahou Ying shook his head repeatedly, remaining calm and composed.

The officials on official business all had strange expressions, but no one spoke, as if they had seen too much of this before.

"Uncle, why would he do this in broad daylight?" Liu Ying asked Xiahou Ying.

"That's just the kind of person he is." Xiahou Ying spread his hands.

"This has broadened my horizons," Liu Ying exclaimed.

If Liu Ying had a good history, he wouldn't have asked Xiahou Ying this question, because it was somewhat unnecessary.

Liu Bang had a minister named Zhou Chang, who held the official position of Imperial Censor and was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Fenyin, making him a high-ranking official in the court. Once, when Zhou Chang went to report something to Liu Bang, he happened to find Liu Bang with Lady Qi on official business. Zhou Chang turned and ran away, but Liu Bang chased after him, caught up with him, pinned him to the ground, and beat him mercilessly while riding on his neck.

Xiao He gritted his teeth and strode away.

"Uncle, please wait." Liu Ying had no choice but to clean up the mess for Liu Bang.

"Liu Ying, what is it?" Xiao He stopped and turned around to ask.

Liu Ying picked up the Prime Minister's seal, quickly walked over, and handed it to Xiao He, saying, "Please forgive me, Uncle, and don't hold a grudge."

Xiao He refused to accept it: "Liu Ying, I really have no other choice. If he wants money, he can find a way himself."

"Is there really no other way?" Liu Ying looked up at Xiao He and asked.

"There's really no way!" Xiao He spread his hands, looking distressed. "I know we desperately need money, but Guanzhong is in ruins and we don't have complete control over Sichuan and Chongqing. We simply have no money."

"Ying Bu's rebellion has held Xiang Yu back, but it won't last long. A great battle is about to begin, and we need important ministers to oversee the rear. I urge you, Uncle, not to act rashly." Liu Ying said, tying the seal to Xiao He's waist.

"I...I..." Xiao He really wanted to give up, but looking at Liu Ying, he ultimately did not refuse.

Liu Ying pulled Xiao He back, helped him sit down, handed him a bowl of hot soup, knelt behind the long table, and looked at Xiao He, saying, "Uncle, I am new to Guanzhong and unfamiliar with the situation here. Please tell me about it."

"It's no use telling you," Xiao He said, unwilling to speak.

"Since we can't make any money right now, it won't hurt to talk about it," Liu Ying pleaded.

"Alright. If you want to hear it, I'll tell you." Xiao He pondered for a moment and then agreed.

This conversation lasted for quite some time, until it got dark.

"Where are we staying?" Liu Ying asked, somewhat speechless.

Liu Bang was truly a skilled warrior; he hasn't shown himself to this day, and he's not afraid of exhausting himself.

"Xiahou Ying, you arrange it." Xiao He was too busy to deal with the accommodation of Liu Ying and her brother.

Xiahou Ying responded and led Liu Ying and Liu Le away. They arrived at the west side of the palace, found two empty rooms, and settled them in.

The room was not small, but the furnishings were very simple, with only a tatami mat, a small table, and a stove and pottery pot for boiling water.

That's all.

Fortunately, dinner was quite plentiful, with lamb leg, venison, and fried dried fish, which was quite delicious.

The next day.

Liu Bang was still nowhere to be seen, continuing his relentless battles with Lady Qi.

Xiao He and Xiahou Ying were used to this and assumed that Liu Bang had not returned.

Liu Ying was getting a little bored, so he approached Xiahou Ying and asked, "Uncle, could you show me around?"

He was unfamiliar with Guanzhong and wanted to travel around to see the sights, so he needed a guide, and Xiahou Ying was just right.

"Alright." Xiahou Ying's main job was driving carriages, and Liu Bang was looking for enjoyment in life. He also had nothing else to do, so he agreed.

Liu Le wanted to go with them. She rode her pony, took a few guards, and left Liyang.

"Liu Ying, where do you want to go?" Xiahou Ying asked as they left Liyang.

"Is the Zheng Guo Canal far from here?" The Zheng Guo Canal is so famous that Liu Ying wants to see this renowned canal with his own eyes.

"It's not far, just keep heading north, we'll be there soon." Xiahou Ying was a good guide, leading Liu Ying and her brother straight north.

Just three miles from the city, there was a small canal, which was filled with mud and had already been leveled.

"This is the Mao Canal of Zheng Guo Canal," Xiahou Ying said as he rode up to the edge of the Mao Canal to Liu Ying.

"This is Mao Qu?" Liu Ying looked at it with wide eyes and was very disappointed to find that it was no longer usable.

"The Zheng Guo Canal wasn't just a canal; it was a network of water conservancy projects, covering an area of ​​over three hundred li around Pinyang County." Xiahou Ying was very familiar with this. As he rode forward, he pointed to the wasteland by the roadside and said, "This used to be a salt marinade. It wasn't exactly barren, but the vegetation was sparse and scattered. Now, look at how lush the weeds are."

The weeds in front of us were as tall as a person, growing very vigorously. It was clear that this place was once excellent farmland, but it was abandoned because of Xiang Yu's massacre of Guanzhong last year.

"Can Zheng Guo Canal cure salt poisoning?" Liu Ying only knew that Zheng Guo Canal had prevented famine in Guanzhong, but he did not know that it could also cure salt poisoning, which he found incredible.

"Of course!" Xiahou Ying gave a thumbs-up, praising, "Zheng State, that's a water conservancy project that's unparalleled in the world. The Zheng State Canal they built wasn't just for irrigation, but also for controlling salt production."

"How can this be cured?" Liu Ying couldn't think of any good way to cure salt poisoning in the Qin Dynasty.

"Drawing water from the Jing River will suffice," Xiahou Ying's words confused Liu Ying.

"Can the Jing River cure salt poisoning?" Liu Bang was even more puzzled.

"The Jing River originates from the western plateau. Every rainy season, it brings a large amount of muddy water, and this mud and sand can be used to treat salt production." Xiahou Ying exclaimed again, "The people of Zheng are truly capable to have such ingenious ideas!"

"I see." Liu Ying understood.

The soil of the Loess Plateau in western China contains a variety of minerals. During the rainy season, these minerals are carried to the Guanzhong Plain by the Jing River along with the silt. Diverting the Jing River to the fields can help control salinity.

Furthermore, the silt brought by these Jing Rivers is excellent fertilizer, equivalent to fertilizing the land.

For the Qin Dynasty, which did not yet have the technology of composting fertilizer, this was undoubtedly the best way to increase production. As a result, the area covered by Zheng Guo Canal yielded one zhong per mu, which is one hundred kilograms.

According to the Qin system, one mu was equivalent to 0.8 mu in modern times, which translates to a yield of 120 kilograms per mu in modern times.

This was considered a high yield at the time.

Therefore, this is why Zheng Guo Canal is praised by later generations.

"It's a pity it's been destroyed." Liu Bang followed Xiahou Ying north along the Mao Canal and soon came to a branch canal.

The branch canals, like the main canals, were still clogged with mud and overgrown with weeds, making them completely unusable.

Traveling north along the branch canal, we arrived at the main canal, only to find that the main canal had also been filled in, and even the diversion gates were gone.

"Does Xiang Yu not feel comfortable if he doesn't sabotage things? He even sabotaged the Zheng Guo Canal." Liu Ying was furious.

"Liu Ying, do you know who the allied forces of the vassal kings that Xiang Yu brought are?" Xiahou Ying sneered, "The royal families and nobles of the six kingdoms. Their countries were destroyed by Qin Shi Huang, and their ancestral graves were desecrated by Qin Shi Huang. How could they not hate the Qin people? When they entered Guanzhong, it was like tigers entering a flock of sheep. They destroyed everything they could."

"Good!" Liu Ying suppressed his anger and thought about it carefully; it really made sense.

"What's that?" Liu Le asked, riding on his ponies, looking at a large mound of earth not far from the dry canal.

"That's a burial mound." Xiahou Ying sighed repeatedly. "After we pacified the Three Qin regions last year, the ground was covered with bones. The King of Han ordered them to be buried. There were just too many to bury separately, so they were buried in one big mound."

"How many bones are there?" Liu Ying asked, looking at the large mound.

"There should be three thousand," Xiahou Ying estimated, looking at the burial mound.

"Three thousand?" Liu Le screamed in disbelief.

"That's too much." Liu Ying was shocked.

"What's so special about this? There are many more graves like this in Guanzhong, at least eight hundred, if not a thousand," Xiahou Ying said through gritted teeth.

Note:

The Records of the Grand Historian, Biography of Zhou Chang, states: "Once, when Zhou Chang was in Yan, he went to present a memorial to the emperor. Emperor Gaozu was embracing Consort Qi. Zhou Chang turned and fled, but Emperor Gaozu caught him, rode on Zhou Chang's neck, and asked, 'What kind of ruler am I?' Zhou Chang looked up and replied, 'Your Majesty is the same as the rulers Jie and Zhou.'"

The Book of Han, Biography of Zhou Chang, records: "Chang once entered the palace to report on matters, while Emperor Gaozu was embracing Consort Qi. Chang turned and fled. Emperor Gaozu caught him, rode on Chang's neck, and asked, 'What kind of ruler am I?' Chang looked up and replied, 'Your Majesty is the ruler of Jie and Zhou.'"