In the palace of the New Tang Dynasty, Prince Liu An was gathering with many friends.
Although he was gathering with friends, Liu An didn't look so happy.
Not only Liu An was unhappy, but several of his clan brothers didn't look very happy either, with straight faces and no joy at the party.
Xuan Ping couldn't help but ask: "Your Highness, why are you so unhappy?"
Wang Chulong smiled disdainfully, pursed his lips towards the figure not far away, and asked, "Isn't this obvious?"
The second generation of sages in Chang'an are not all children of the first generation of sages. Of course, Xuanping is. Xuanping is the son of Xuan Moru and the grandson of Xuanyi. Wang Chulong is the grandson of Wang Tianqi. These two
The two most vicious people who were arrested by Qunxian in the first place gradually went astray in their descendants.
Of course, there is nothing that can be done about this. Not only Wang Tianqi's eldest grandson, but also Zhou Chang's second grandson, Zhou Zuoche, is also hanging out with Liu An and the others. This gives Zhou Chang a great headache, and Zhou Chang is reluctant to fight him off.
Grandson, he beat his own son for being lax in his education. Of course, Zhou Kaifang felt aggrieved. If I was at fault, then you weren't lax in his education as well? How can this be justified?
Of course, when Zhou Kaifang was beaten, Zhou Zuoche laughed happily, until Zhou Kaifang decided to pay him double the beating he received from his father.
Of course, what Wang Chulong meant at this moment was Feng Tang, the king of Tang Dynasty.
Feng Tang stood motionless not far away, with a serious expression. He went outside and saw Zhang Shizhi. Inside, there was Feng Tang.
This made Qunxian very distressed.
Liu An sneered and said: "With this emperor sacrificing his life, it is simply impossible to do anything... I have to find a way to make the adults in the family no longer believe his words."
"Ah? What can you do?"
Liu Xiang asked curiously.
Liu An slowly looked at Liu Xiang with a calm expression.
"I'm sorry."
"Ah? What's wrong? Why..."
Before Liu Xiang finished speaking, Liu An rushed forward, pinned his brother down, and punched him. Of course, the fists all landed on his back. Liu Xiang was furious, and the two of them started fighting each other.
Everyone was shocked and hurriedly came forward to separate the two people. Feng Tang couldn't sit still anymore, so naturally he hurriedly came forward to separate the two people.
"You can't do this! How can you attack your own brother?!"
Feng Tang angrily pulled the two away.
But Liu An was still cursing: "Xiang! Just wait! I'm not strong yet! When I get stronger, there will be changes!!!"
"I'm afraid of you?! Just come!!"
The two people were tugging at each other and yelling angrily. Feng Tang frowned and said seriously: "I will definitely inform your Majesty about this matter!"
That afternoon, Liu An and Liu Xiang appeared in front of Liu Chang obediently.
Liu Chang flipped through the bamboo slips in his hand and didn't pay much attention to the two of them.
Isn't it just a fight? This is so normal. When I was young, who didn't I fight with? Who among the brothers didn't get beaten by me? Even the fourth brother also suffered from his own black punch, although later
His mother beat him so hard that he couldn't get out of bed for three days... When he was angry, he would even beat his elder brother. It was just some conflicts between the children. It was so normal that they would be forgotten tomorrow.
If Cao Shu and the others hadn't taken this matter very seriously, Liu Chang would have been too lazy to pay attention to these two idiots. If he wanted to fight, he would have gone out to fight, and he would come to me after one of them died.
Seeing Liu Chang's nonchalant look, Cao Shu pushed his arm.
Liu Chang raised his head helplessly, "I'm busy with something important!"
Under Cao Shu's stern gaze, Liu Chang finally looked at them and asked displeasedly: "Why are we fighting?"
Liu An's eyes widened, "We didn't fight."
Liu Xiang also nodded and said, "I was discussing things with An, and because of the intensity, my voice was louder."
"Then why did Feng Tang say that you were fighting each other?"
Liu An let out a long sigh and said: "Oh, we never fought each other, but Mr. Feng just needs credit. My father asked him to look at me. I am so well-behaved, and he has nothing to show for his political achievements in front of you.
Therefore, he always treats me harshly. I just argued a few words, but with him it turned into a fight..."
The two people in disguise looked like dogs. Liu Chang suppressed the laughter in his heart. When he looked at the two people in front of him, he looked like he was looking at monkeys.
That’s it??
When Nai Gong uses this method to fool his family members, you are not even an egg!
At this moment, Liu An and Liu Xiang's performances were so clumsy and ridiculous in Liu Chang's eyes, but acting like an elder, he still couldn't laugh out loud. He looked at the two people's performances seriously and forced
Holding back a smile, "Okay, I understand. You must live in harmony from now on. I will tell Feng Tang!"
The two were overjoyed and left in a hurry.
Liu Chang clearly jumped up with joy after seeing them go out.
Of course Cao Shu also noticed it and just shook her head, "This guy actually came up with such a way to deal with Duke Tang."
Liu Chang finally laughed, "Hahaha, it's so difficult to pretend not to know even though you know everything. When I looked at him just now, I felt like I was looking at a monkey..."
As Liu Chang spoke, his expression solidified again.
My parents didn’t think so of me back then, right?
No, definitely not!
When Liu Chang was young, he disliked his unclean father very much. He always beat him and bullied him. He was not like his mother who could coax him to sleep. He was always impatient when he saw him.
Driving people away, eating, drinking and having fun all day long, I heard his angry roars from time to time. Liu Chang disliked him very, very much.
But after growing up, Liu Chang suddenly discovered.
Damn it, I have become a father!
He suddenly began to understand a little about that fatuous king, who was always cruel to these scoundrels. It wasn't that he didn't love them, but he was afraid that they would take the wrong path, so he would stop them when they made small mistakes.
I can't coax them to sleep or stay with them all the time because everything is complicated. Even if I'm just giving orders, I have to spend hours doing these things, thinking about the advice of the ministers and the people in various places.
Things, Liu Chang just wanted to lie down, or invite everyone to drink for a while, and talk about the happy and casual days in the past.
Things in the country are always unsatisfactory, and many angry things always happen.
Many times, I want to talk to An and the others and ask them about their situation, but when we sit down together, nothing can be said.
Arranging a stern person who can contradict him is not just to torment his son, but because such a person is very reliable, just like Luan Bu.
Watching my own shadow gradually appear on my son's body, I always look at him in a daze. What always comes to my mind is the appearance of his little fleshy ball when he was just born. I usually scold him a few times, but because of his
A little bit of achievement makes me happy and I can't find any boundaries. I call it my breast tiger...
Cao Shu looked at Liu Chang who suddenly fell silent and asked with some surprise: "Your Majesty? What's wrong?"
"Ah? It's okay, I'm okay!"
Liu Chang grinned and giggled.
He pointed at the memorial in front of him and complained: "It's better to deal with the mess left by that foolish king!"
"Why can't this foolish king just establish his capital in Qi? Why not just establish his capital in Pei County?"
"There is not enough food in Guanzhong. The capital is Chang'an and there are so many officials and soldiers. A large amount of food needs to be transported from Guandong to Guanzhong every year... Look, this is the scale of my father's time. The amount of food transported every year
It’s 400,000 dan... This was from my elder brother’s time, 800,000 dan...”
"This is now...three million stones..."
Liu Chang pulled his hair, "There are 60,000 canal soldiers alone... The transportation of grain is very expensive, no, it is huge... Three million grains set off from Guandong and arrived in Chang'an.
There are only more than 400,000 left...How can this be done?! No matter how much food the Han Dynasty has, he can't afford such a waste!!"
Cao Shu was shocked, "It costs so much?"
"Yes, if the teacher hadn't made some serious calculations, I wouldn't have known it was such an exaggeration..."
"I also recalculated, and what the teacher said is a bit more conservative..."
Liu Chang said: "I have also calculated that according to the current population growth trend, the population in this pass will exceed the total of Qi and Liang in five years. The food that will be consumed by then will be six million dan, and for
To transport these six million stones of grain, the amount of grain that needs to be transported to various places in the Han Dynasty is an astronomical figure. By that time, one year of water transportation will consume enough grain to feed the Northern Army for six years!!!"
Liu Chang explained seriously. Cao Shu nodded and asked seriously: "Then what is your Majesty going to do?"
Liu Chang hesitated for a moment, "I haven't thought about it yet."
"I think... either I should cook my teacher, so that no one will find out about this problem again."
"Or, just cook Liu Jing and say that all the food consumed was embezzled by him!"
Cao Shu rolled her eyes at Liu Chang, and she also knew that Liu Chang was joking.
"Your Majesty, instead of thinking hard here, you should first discuss this matter with the princes."
"We have to wait for tomorrow's court meeting... Hey, forget it, don't wait anymore, let's start now!"
Cao Shu was stunned, "Your Majesty, it's already..."
"If you waste one more day, hundreds of people's rations will be wasted. What a pity. There are still so many people who can't afford to eat... Let's open it now!"
"Lu Lu! You and Zhao Mei took many officials with you and went to tell the officials that I was waiting for them in Xuanshi Hall!"
"By the way, let Zhang Shizhi release Liu Jing and send him to Xuanshi Palace!"
Liu Chang was impatient and would do what he said without any delay. Cao Shu didn't say anything more, helped Liu Chang change his clothes and let him pass.
The ministers were all a little confused. Some of them were at work, and some had just returned home. Suddenly they heard that His Majesty had summoned the ministers, so they did not dare to delay and set off in a hurry.
But, why did Your Majesty summon all the ministers at this time? What big thing happened?
When the ministers gathered together, His Majesty was talking and laughing with Zhang Busuo.
A cowardly king and a sycophantic minister are truly a perfect match.
Zhang Buyi was the first to arrive. When Liu Chang learned that he was coming, Liu Chang asked him to come in early, and the two started chatting.
"Is everything arranged?"
"It has been arranged. She is a very kind widow. Everyone in the county knows her virtuous name. She has no children of her own, but she has adopted four children and raised them... She has only one request, which must be done to her.
The children she adopted regarded them as her own and could not be rejected. They also had to be strong enough to do light farm work... These were her exact words."
"Hahaha, that's no problem. Zhao Gong is a generous person. Besides, doesn't he just grow melons in his courtyard? It's definitely not possible to let him cultivate the land, but he is still very good at growing vegetables and so on.
Excellent."
"She doesn't mind this..."
Liu Chang pointed to his hair.
Zhang Buyi shook his head and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, there is no need to worry about this problem at all. This widow's beloved husband was heard to have been cut off... and he died on the sick bed, so Duke Zhao is nothing.
..”
"Good guy, beheading?? What kind of crime is this..."
Zhang Buyi said softly: "In the Tang Dynasty, there were no traces of torture on the body, but on the contrary, one could not get along with others. In the Tang Dynasty, Zhao Ping had to be lined up to welcome..."
"Hahaha~~"
Liu Chang chuckled, "Anyway, it would be nice if someone could accompany him."
The two chatted for a long time. When they raised their heads, they found that all the ministers had already arrived, and they all watched quietly as the two monarchs and ministers chatted here as if no one else was around.
Liu Chang cleared his throat hurriedly, and Zhang Buyu also returned to his seat... Oh, no, he was standing directly in front of Zhou Chang, closest to Liu Chang.
Zhou Chang took a deep breath, blew his beard, and still managed not to have an attack.
Liu Chang didn't waste any time. He looked at Zhang Cang and asked, "Do the ministers have anything to say?"
Zhang Cang immediately understood that this was something he was told to do.
He stood up and talked about his problem about transporting grain. Zhang Cang was different from other ministers. He didn't like to use allusions, although he also understood that when it came to national issues, he rarely quoted the words of sages and never said anything.
What benevolence and morality.
If Zhou Chang and others were to talk about the same food problem, they would definitely say "Yu Ji will dominate the world by harvesting crops", or "governing people and nature must be stingy", etc., and then talk about a lot of truths, and finally talk about food consumption.
Big or something like that, but Zhang Cang is different.
This was a man of action in the Western Han Dynasty. There was no such thing in his place. He simply came up with a long list of numbers and calculated the results. Zhang Cang calculated the grain transported every year, the grain consumed, and the next trend.
As for the probability of food shortage in the future, etc., according to Zhang Cang's calculations, if such consumption continues, after thirty-seven years, the Han Dynasty will definitely have a very, very serious food problem. This probability has reached more than 90%.
People use sages to speak, but Zhang Cang uses mathematics to speak.
As a mathematician who revised and supplemented the Nine Chapters on Arithmetic, Zhang Cang used all his mathematical knowledge to govern the country. He tried to use mathematics to manage many issues ranging from farmland, taxes, household registration, etc.
, the "manuals" used by Han officials to govern local areas are all works created by Liu Chang after being inspired by Zhang Cang's idea.
The above explains in detail how to calculate cultivated land, calculate grain production, calculate taxes, etc.
Zhang Cang is a great man, no, he may even be the father of applied mathematics in China.
The ministers listened carefully to Zhang Cang's explanation. In fact, mathematics has long been a required course for various schools of thought. No matter whether it is Huang Lao, Confucianism, or Legalism, they will not despise mathematics. Mathematics has long been considered an aristocrat in the pre-Qin period.
Necessary cultivation, if you don't understand mathematics, then you are not worthy of being a noble.
When later generations unearthed the "Nine-Nine Multiplication Table" from the ruins of the Qin State, they were all confused.
The development of mathematics in ancient times was not as bad as the traditional concept. There were many mathematicians in the Han Dynasty, from Zhang Cang in the early Han Dynasty to Liu Hong and Zhao Shuang in the late Han Dynasty. Among them, the mathematicians whose names were recorded in history books are
Very, very many. Ancient China actually attached great importance to mathematics. Many people don’t know that the imperial examinations of the Tang Dynasty once included mathematics. A special mathematics institute was also set up to give official positions to these mathematicians. The status of mathematics gradually declined.
, probably starting from the Song Dynasty.
Liu Jing was standing among the ministers. He was still a little suspicious at first, wondering why His Majesty suddenly brought him out of the prison. At this moment, he understood.
He is responsible for farming and mulberry production, and he is also responsible for water transportation.
If it weren't for Zhang Cang's words, Liu Jing really wouldn't have paid attention to this big issue.
After Zhang Cang finished speaking, Liu Chang looked at them.
"My dear friends, I have summoned you all today just for this matter. You must come up with a solution!"
"Especially you! Respect!"
"You, as the internal historian of Zhisu, have not discovered this problem. What does your Taicang Order do?!"
"Also, it is your suggestion to make Chang'an the capital!"
"Also, it is your proposal to move a large number of people to Guanzhong!"
"All these mistakes are your fault alone. If you don't come up with a solution today, I will cook you right now!!!"
"Sima Xi, don't remember the last sentence!"
Liu Jing frowned, and the ministers were also discussing how to solve this matter.
Some people think that the number of cavalry soldiers should be reduced, while others think that the population in Guanzhong should be moved outside the Guan. Anyway, there are people who can propose any method.
Liu Jing hesitated for a long time and then said: "Your Majesty, there is only one way now."
"you say."
"Open canals... Nowadays, food is transported from the Wei River to Chang'an. The journey is far away. We can dig a canal parallel to the Wei River along the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains... In this way, the distance from Tongguan to Chang'an can be shortened.
Transportation costs will also be reduced, and the canal can also irrigate the cultivated land along the road, which will be beneficial to Italy and the country..."
"No!"
Zhou Chang stood up and before Liu Chang could speak, he said: "Nowadays, various places are still repairing the Chi Road, and a lot of corvees are used every year. Now we have to build the canal, wouldn't this cost even more?"
Liu Jing said seriously: "This canal is not long and does not require a lot of manpower. It will not cause years of corvee."
The ministers talked a lot, and Liu Chang began to think deeply.
"What Liu Gong said makes sense...the canal is indeed a good idea."
"I think we can do this."
Liu Chang's words left those in opposition speechless and could only acquiesce.
"But...it can't just be like this."
Liu Chang said seriously: "There are four issues involved in this. The first is the distance. It is possible to use canals to shorten the distance. Then, there is the ship. Today's ships travel too slowly. If the ships can be improved and speeded up,
The speed can also reduce consumption. The third problem is corruption. Water transportation has given many people a good excuse. When food disappears, they just say it was wasted on the road. No one can find out anyway.
It is necessary to clearly stipulate, accurately calculate the consumption of grain, and strengthen the supervision and control of water transport officials!"
"The fourth question is the issue of grain delivery land. Is it not expensive to transport grain from Qi to Chang'an?"
"You can choose several grain-producing counties around Chang'an and let them be responsible for the grain expenditure in the pass, and the canal will be built around them..."
"What do you think?"
Liu Chang asked.
The officials were already stunned at this moment.