Gazing at the churning Yellow River and the majestic bridge piers, Li Shimin's resolve to relocate the capital strengthened by a third.
A miracle!
Once this bridge was completed, it would be unparalleled in the world!
Zheng County was only a hundred-odd li away. He could already imagine the shock of foreign envoys coming to pay homage, upon seeing the Yellow River Grand Bridge after the capital was moved!
Fetch me a brush and ink, I shall compose a poem for this grand bridge! wΑp.kanshu伍.net
Ma Zhou quickly produced paper and a brush from his robes and handed them over.
Li Shimin, holding the pencil, wrote a short poem with flamboyant strokes.
To Li Chun
A great river, wide its waves,
Wind blows the scent of rice flowers on both banks.
The world's foremost bridge, now complete,
Connecting north and south, its fame will spread!
Looking at his own verses, he nodded with satisfaction and then smiled at Fang Er.
Boy, you compose one too?
Fang Er had been wanting to complain, but he was caught off guard. Scratching his scalp, he took the pencil, pondered for a long time, and finally left behind his masterpiece.
Untitled
Ah!
Yellow River, it's truly yellow!
Grand bridge, it's truly long!
A thousand li of waves, it's truly wide!
Ten thousand nations pay homage, all truly awestruck!
Everyone was stunned by the poem. Li Shimin stared at him blankly, "Boy, this is your poem?"
Ah, what is it? Where doesn't it rhyme? Shall I revise it? Fang Er asked with mock seriousness.
Li Shimin was speechless. Was this a matter of rhyme?
However, he immediately burst into laughter, "Hahahaha, good, good!"
Come, come, have this poem by the Duke of An, carved onto a stone tablet and erected at the bridgehead!
Hahahaha~~~
With that, he put his hands behind his back and walked with a smile towards the helicopter.
Fang Er rubbed his nose, handed the two poems to Li Chun, and returned to the helicopter with the others.
He had written that nonsensical doggerel intentionally. If he had wanted to, he could have easily picked a few well-known poems praising the Yellow River Grand Bridge from later generations.
But with so many serious ones, it was quite interesting to have an unserious one occasionally, wasn't it?
As for fame, hehe, at my level, do I still need it?
The helicopter buzzed as it flew over the Yellow River. After half an hour, they arrived at the small city of Zheng County.
At this time, Fang Xuanling, along with the ministers of various departments, as well as Wei Zheng, Ouyang Xun, Yu Shinan, and other officials from the Censorate, were already waiting here.
Hearing the sound of the aircraft, they all came out from the county office to greet them.
When the helicopter landed, everyone stepped forward to bow.
Your subjects greet His Majesty!
Old Li waved his sleeve and said calmly, "I have summoned you here to discuss a major matter."
In yesterday's telegram, they were only told to wait here, but not what the matter was. Fang Xuanling, upon hearing this, spoke first.
Please instruct us, Your Majesty!
I am relocating the capital!
Boom!
Hearing this, the ministers' minds felt as if struck by lightning. Why relocate the capital all of a sudden?
The Tang Dynasty's treasury had only just recovered a little, and now they were going to waste it?
Building a new capital meant constructing a new city, which would cost not just millions, but tens of millions of coins!
Your Majesty, setting aside where to relocate the capital, the national treasury alone is insufficient to support the construction of a new city! Fang Xuanling pleaded tearfully.
Wei Zheng stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty, I agree with Duke Fang. There are too many urgent expenses at present. Relocating the capital now would be unwise."
Li Shimin seemed to have anticipated this situation. He pointed to the east and said, "My silver mountain is right there!"
Dig it up! I refuse to believe that excavating a silver mountain is not enough to build a new capital!
Fang Xuanling retorted with a troubled expression, "Your Majesty, even if we were to dig, it would take time! With current capabilities, we can only transport three million taels of silver annually."
Besides, Chang'an city has just been renovated. Is there really a need to relocate the capital?
Everyone, follow me out of the city to take a look!
Li Shimin said no more, but led everyone outside the city.
Zheng County was located in a plain. In the boundless farmland outside the city, the people were busy with summer planting, a peaceful scene unfolding between the farming paths.
Ascending the city wall and looking at the people outside, Li Shimin recounted the analysis he had with Fang Er yesterday.
Now that the realm was peaceful and the Tang Dynasty was unmatched, Chang'an's inconvenient transportation was unfavorable for long-term development.
Look here, as far as the eye can see, it is flat and unobstructed. If it were a time of chaos, it would be a battleground, but now, there is no need to worry about such things.
Although forgetting war leads to danger, I wish some ignorant fools would dare to step forward, so that the supervisory army can get some good training!
He turned to Yuan Tiangang, "Venerable Yuan, how is the local Feng Shui?"
With the Yellow River in front and Mount Mang behind, it is truly a blessed land!
Li Chunfeng, however, was staring at a spot north of the city, his brow furrowed as if he had sensed something.
Is there anything amiss? Yuan Tiangang asked quickly upon seeing this.
He had been busy witnessing miracles for the past few years, almost entirely neglecting divination. In terms of Feng Shui alone, Li Chunfeng could be considered accomplished.
After a long while, Li Chunfeng cupped his hands and bowed to Li Shimin, "Does Your Majesty still remember the Tuibei Tu?"
Li Shimin raised an eyebrow, "Of course, I remember. But what does your Tuibei Tu have to do with this place?"
This humble Taoist seems to have seen this place in the Tuibei Tu. Li Chunfeng pointed to the direction north of the city he had been staring at, "There, a thousand years from now, a lake will appear, named Longhu."
Longhu?
Li Shimin was startled by this. Named after the dragon, wouldn't that mean it is a place where dragons reside?
Hahahaha, I am the Son of Heaven, the true dragon! Could it be that even Heaven deems it suitable to relocate the capital here?
After a burst of laughter, he looked at the assembled ministers, "My lords, do you have any objections?"
Your Majesty, the national treasury...
Before Fang Xuanling could finish, Li Shimin waved his hand to interrupt him.
Is it not just money? If the silver mountain is not enough, then assemble an ocean-going fleet and bring back that gold mountain from across the sea!
I refuse to believe that with the wealth of the entire realm, we cannot build a new capital!
Your Majesty, the establishment of a new capital is too taxing on the people and wasteful of resources. I implore you to reconsider! Wei Zheng, as always, was stubborn, but he had learned not to argue for the sake of arguing, but to address matters on their merits.
With all due respect to Duke Wei, this student dares to disagree! Ma Zhou stepped forward, bowed to Wei Zheng, and said loudly.
Now the Great Tang has changed the corvée labor system to a hired labor system. The people get paid for working, and with the money, they can return to improve their lives.
When merchants earn money, they can pay more taxes, and the national treasury will increase its income. With the treasury having money, it can continue construction. This is a virtuous cycle. How can it be considered taxing on the people and wasteful of resources?
Wei Zheng was stunned. Could things be viewed this way?
Your Majesty, this subject agrees with relocating the capital. Such a large undertaking is a rare opportunity for the artisans to improve themselves! It also happens to provide a place for those artisans who were selected in this year's skill examination to put their talents to use.
What matters is not the task itself, but that there is work to be done. This was the thought of Du Yiyang, the Minister of Works.
The tasks requiring high technical skill were all taken by Fang Er. The artisans in the Ministry of Works spent their days digging ditches and building houses. It was a ghost of a chance for their skills to improve.
This subject concurs!
Ouyang Xun and Yu Shinan echoed in unison. A prosperous era should embrace change, isn't that how better works are written?
Hahahaha, since that is the case, the matter is settled!
Li Shimin made the decision on the spot, settling the relocation of the capital.
Uh~ uh~
Bang!
Everyone looked towards the sound and saw the county magistrate of Zheng County collapsing to the side, his limbs twitching uncontrollably, as if he had been electrocuted.
Zheng County had become the new capital, meaning it would be transformed into the new Jingzhao Prefecture.
A county magistrate of a medium-sized county leaping to become the Prefect of Jingzhao was like a huge pie falling onto his head, causing him to convulse!