Chapter 396 Cutting Off One's Own Lifeline

[In fact, the problem of eating has always been a worry for the emperors of the Tang Dynasty.

Emperor Li Zhi went to Luoyang seven times. In the old days, people ridiculed him and said that when he went to the east capital, he just went there "to eat".

In fact, this is not slander. For example, the last time Li Zhi went to Luoyang was in 682. In this year, Guanzhong was hit by winds and floods. The price of rice soared to 400 yuan per bucket, and there was no market for it.

For comparison, the price of rice in Chang'an in the 15th year of Zhenguan was 20 qian per dou, and the highest price of rice during the entire Zhenguan period did not exceed 40 qian.

Another lowest point in rice prices in the Tang Dynasty was during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, when in the 13th year of Kaiyuan it was only 13 yuan per dou of rice.

At that time, Guanzhong had already experienced the tragedy of exchanging children and eating them due to disasters. Under such circumstances, Li Zhi's imperial convoy "visited Luoyang, the eastern capital". Do you think he was not fleeing for food? Who among the people believe it?

During the reign of Emperor Zhongzong of the Tang Dynasty, famine occurred again in Guanzhong. The ministers wanted to follow the old example of the Emperor and persuaded Zhongzong to go to Luoyang to beg for food. Zhongzong rebuked him angrily:

"How can there be an evil emperor who pursues food!"

This situation became even more serious after the An-Shi Rebellion. During Emperor Dezong's reign, the lack of food in Chang'an caused the imperial guards to be unstable. Later, when they heard that the Jiangnan grain transport fleet had passed Sanmenxia, ​​they hugged the prince excitedly and cheered:

"The rice has arrived in Shaanxi, and my father and son are alive!"

So, could Qinchuan, which is known as eight hundred miles of fertile land, really not be able to support a prosperous Tang Dynasty?

Of course, this may not be the case. The changes in the fertile land in Guanzhong can be seen from the history books.

According to the "Yuanhe County Map", in the sixth year of Yonghui, Sun Xiang, the governor of Yongzhou Prefecture, reported that the Zhengbai Canal, which used to fertilize more than 40,000 hectares of farmland, was cut off by wealthy monks and merchants, resulting in that it could only irrigate less than 100,000 hectares. There are thousands of hectares of fertile fields.

Li Zhi ordered a thorough investigation and reopened the Zhengbai Canal, but less than a year later, the same thing happened again.

According to "Quan Tang Wen", Xizong, who later obtained a Chengdu green card, openly lamented:

The two canals of Zheng and Bai in Guanzhong have benefited both ancient and modern times. They provide 40,000 hectares of fertile land and are the source of food and clothing for billions of people. The powerful and powerful compete to occupy it.

The "Song Huiyao Shihuo" compiled by the official historian of the Song Dynasty has a clearer record of Guanzhong's irrigation fields. In the second year of Zhidao (996 AD), Song Taizong ordered the emperors of Dali Temple and Guanglu Temple to choose He Liang and others. After surveying the land and finally conducting an on-site inspection, Song Chen reported:

The Zheng Canal is more than 300 miles long, with 40,000 hectares of irrigated land. The Bai Canal is more than 200 miles long, with 4,500 hectares of irrigated land. The two sites total 44,500 hectares. What remains today is less than 2,000 hectares, only one-twenty-two.

In sharp contrast to the rapid reduction of irrigated fields, the Tang Dynasty’s reclamation intensity in Guanzhong was in sharp contrast.

"The mountains are high and the ravines are high, and the grass is full of grass" is the description of the scenery in Guanzhong by literati during the Kaiyuan period.

During the Tang Dynasty, the registered population of Guanzhong alone was more than three million. The huge population base made Guanzhong achieve a true sense of "the land is filled with fields, and the mountains are covered with land".

But this is of no use. On the contrary, uncontrolled reclamation has caused soil erosion, land salinization and fertility loss in Guanzhong.

During the Kaiyuan Tianbao period, it was necessary to transfer at least two million stones of grain from Luoyang every year to have enough food for the capital.

However, the Yellow River used for water transportation is also overwhelmed. From the records from the mid-Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, it is not difficult to see that the water flow of the Yellow River has been steadily decreasing year by year, and the time available for water transportation and navigation in a year has also been increasing. Shortly, at the end of the Tang Dynasty, the scene of "hanging rivers on land" had already appeared in Shandong. People at that time recorded that the height of the houses in the Yellow River was almost more than ten feet high.

Therefore, in a sense, the demise of the Tang Dynasty was also an inevitable event, because the deteriorating environment had made it difficult to support Guanzhong.

The more they were hungry, the more they were cultivated, and the more they were cultivated, the more they were hungry. In the end, the lifeblood of the relationship between the Tang Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty was directly cut off. This is a true portrayal of the Tang Dynasty's three hundred years of cultivation in Guanzhong.

This can also be regarded as one of the reasons why "the capital fell six times and the emperor fled nine times" in the Tang Dynasty. 】

In the Manlu Hall, Ma Zhou and Liu Rengui opened their eyes wide, and almost subconsciously looked at Li Shimin uncontrollably.

After all, the light screen said it twice, and both times it was directed at the protagonist, it would be difficult for the two of them to ignore it.

Chang'an fell again and again, and the emperor escaped again and again. Is this really the Tang Dynasty they lived and worked for?

Li Shimin's face was as cold as ice, and he looked like he should keep strangers away, which also stopped Ma Zhou and Liu Rengui from inquiring.

The Tang Dynasty destroyed Jieli last year, and the scene of General Li Jing offering prisoners at Shuntianmen is still vivid in his mind. The people of Chang'an were all honored, and Ma Zhou was no exception.

Therefore, it is difficult to imagine that now that His Majesty’s martial arts is so abundant, how could the newcomers end up in such a state?

Liu Rengui felt even more uncomfortable. After all, he knew more. To destroy the Japanese at Baijiangkou and to destroy Goguryeo after more than ten years of hard work, the martial virtues of the prosperous Tang Dynasty were unparalleled.

So unexpectedly...

Of course, Li Shimin would not say a word. He just remembered these things seriously, remembering these simple eating issues that made the emperor of the Tang Dynasty lose his temper.

And the emperor is already like this, let alone the common people?

So Li Shimin finally sighed:

"The Tang Dynasty flourished for hundreds of years, but the Tang Dynasty did not flourish every year during the hundred years, nor did it flourish everywhere."

The praise of the eternal emperor has faded away.

The general who reined in his horse and attacked thousands of miles with his sword, and the incompetent general who exhausted the entire army to death.

The Japanese slaves were frightened by the red flames at Baijiangkou. Baekje rebelled against the Tang Dynasty and vowed to restore the country and survive.

In between, Changsun Wuji, who was forced to hang himself, and the daughter of the Wu family who linked up with each other step by step to succeed the Tang Dynasty.

All these were drawn in front of Li Shimin into a vast and magnificent scroll, as well as the people who died supporting this grand scene.

He looked away from the light curtain and looked at the map of the Tang Dynasty again. Finally, an idea came to his mind:

Is the dual capital system feasible?

…

In the greenhouse of Bianjing, Zhao Pu looked at his nose, his nose looked at the light curtain, and his eyes did not look sideways, but at the same time, his two ears were already erected.

But what disappointed him a little was that the greenhouse was quiet at the moment, and the two brothers of the Zhao family, who were of noble status, did not say a word.

In the greenhouse, only the sound of the burning stove and the occasional cold wind passing by outside the house could be heard.

Zhao Kuangyin kept silent and calculated his lifespan silently.

Because this Song Taizong was most likely the second emperor of the Song Dynasty, if the new emperor ascended the throne, the old emperor would most likely be gone. He did not believe that his son could play the Xuanwu Gate operation like Tang Taizong, and he had neither the ability nor the need.

His knowledge was not bad. He had a rough understanding before that there seemed to be a unique calendar in the future, which included more than two thousand years.

According to the corresponding time of the Tang Dynasty, we can slowly calculate which year is the first year of Emperor Taizong of Song Dynasty.

Zhao Guangyi, who was sitting opposite Zhao Kuangyin, also finished the calculation in his mind. He boldly raised his head and glanced at his brother who was frowning. He felt a little regretful:

I don’t know which year of Emperor Taizong of Song Dynasty this Zhidao is.

After all, if it is the first year, it means that his brother can live for a long time.

That is definitely not good news for him.

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