"Will this trick of yours work?"

In the study room of the Fang family residence at the back door of Xingqing Palace, Zheng Shuqing looked at Fang Chongyong doubtfully and asked.

It's already late at night, and the two of them are still plotting here.

There are many things to do next, the most critical one is: discuss with the head of the Shaofu Supervisor, Zheng Shuqing's relative, Shaofu Qing Zheng Yan, and quickly make these Tang brocades into clothes for the dancers.

That way it won't delay important things.

Expedited, high quality, at least the workmanship cannot be worse than the quality of the fabric!

With such a request, except for Shaofu Jian, no other family in Chang'an has such strength.

Before discussing with Zheng Yan, Zheng Shuqing needed to confirm with Fang Chongyong for the last time whether this deal could be done!

"Actually, there is a shortcut this time. There is no need to go to Wei Qing, let alone Aunt Gongsun's help."

Fang Chongyong said quietly.

Lao Zheng was most afraid of him saying such things, so he quickly lowered his voice and asked, "How do you say this?"

"Yang Yuhuan is in her prime. As long as Zheng Shilang orders a few sets of clothes for her and lets her wear them during the celebration, the saint will be delighted. The batch of Tang brocades will not be a problem.

This method is safe and economical, and can also please Yang Yuhuan and indirectly please the saint."

Fang Chongyong explained the benefits of this method to Zheng Shuqing: it has good curative effect, quick results, and saves money.

Lao Zheng, who is a native, knew as soon as he heard that this matter had great side effects, and quickly asked: "Is there anything wrong with it?"

"Of course it's inappropriate. The hidden dangers are huge! Just believe me, there are many things that cannot be explained for a while."

Fang Chongyong sighed lightly. He couldn't say that at least many people in this era would blame Yang Yuhuan for the Anshi Rebellion in the future and believed that it was closely related to it.

If you get involved in the matter between Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan, you will be planting a bomb around you that may explode at any time!

"Well, that's fine. I also think it's inappropriate to ask Yang Yuhuan about this matter."

Zheng Shuqing nodded slightly. He said this purely because he had the instinct to survive in officialdom after serving as an official for many years.

Countless predecessors have proved through bloody lessons that as long as you have a relationship with the concubine in the palace, you can be taken away when it is beneficial. However, if there is any trouble, you are likely to be implicated and fall for no reason.

Originally, the imitation of the new Sogdian brocade was a good thing that benefited the country and the people, and it might have a great impact on the future textile industry of the Tang Dynasty.

Because of this background, Zheng Shuqing didn't want to take the wrong approach. Not to mention that Fang Chongyong didn't mention it, even if it was mentioned, he was unlikely to accept it.

Providing fine clothes and fabrics to the dancers in the Liyuan is one of the duties of the Shaofu Supervisor, and it is a "public to public" matter.

Impeccable.

This is also the main reason why Zheng Shuqing often looks to Fang Chongyong for advice.

The ideas of this young prodigy are often extremely feasible and legal!

"Letting Mrs. Gongsun show her face this time will definitely offend Yang Yuhuan. She may not say anything now, but once this incident leaves a root cause, it will be difficult to eliminate hidden dangers.

What the future will bring...it's hard to predict.

But the future is too far away and I can’t worry about it for the time being.”

Fang Chongyong looked at Zheng Shuqing very seriously and said.

"A favored woman can still be so dishonest in her position. What kind of disturbance can she cause?"

Zheng Shuqing said disapprovingly, not paying attention to Fang Zhongyong's reminder.

Yang Yuhuan, as the longevity princess, was snatched away by the saint as a plaything. This was a messy matter that had to endure the wind and stench for three hundred miles.

What kind of tricks can this woman pull off?

Zheng Shuqing didn't think Yang Yuhuan could do anything about this woman. Maybe Li Longji would get tired of playing casually for half a month?

However, it is foreseeable that this time they provided "performance costumes" to Aunt Gongsun's apprentices, but did not ask anything about the favored Yang Yuhuan. This incident will definitely pierce a thorn in the latter's heart.

After all, there is no harm without comparison.

Are you trying to curry favor with Yang Yuhuan to climb up the ladder, or are you "deliberately" trying to embarrass this woman who is destined to become a noble concubine?

There are few things in the world that have the best of both worlds. Often, if you please one side, you will offend the other side. Fang Chongyong and Zheng Shuqing both made the choice to avoid the future Concubine Yang!

…

In a study room of Li Linfu's house in Pingkangfang, on the desk of the newly promoted right minister of the Tang Dynasty, there is a memorial from Cui Xiyi, the governor of Hexi Province.

It said: Due to drought this year, the grain harvest in Hexi has been poor, and the output is much lower than last year. I hope the imperial court can support Hexi from the capital.

Li Linfu fell into deep thought.

In fact, this is not the first time that what is mentioned in this memo has occurred.

The total grain output in the Hexi Corridor has been affected by the continuous decline in yields per mu, and has become unable to continue.

In the Hexi Corridor, with Liangzhou and Ganzhou as the main grain-producing areas, the increase in overall grain output in the past few years was only due to border residents' continuous reclamation of wasteland in Liangzhou.

But now most of the land that can be reclaimed has been reclaimed, and grain output is slightly declining every year.

Now, not only are there no redundant oases for farming, but there are some areas that were developed very early. Due to the intensification of desertification, the local Tang army has abandoned large areas for cultivation.

The army was downgraded to guarding, and guarding was downgraded to garrison. They even directly withdrew from the oases that were swallowed up by the desert. This phenomenon occurred from south to north. The farther away from the upstream icebergs and snow, the more severe the desertification.

These things used to be like a needle pricking the back of Li Longji's hand, but now they have become a steel nail digging into the palm, forcing people to deal with these thorny problems.

It rained continuously all night, and since the beginning of this year, all-out war with Tibet has begun in the Hexi and Longyou areas, so the army needs even more food and grass.

Not only is the Hexi Corridor unable to transport grain from Liangzhou back to Chang'an as before, but there is a food gap of about 800,000 dan, which needs to be provided by the Gyeonggi region.

Li Longji ignored this question and threw it directly to Li Linfu.

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! This saint is busy fooling around with Yang Yuhuan in the pear garden. Who cares whether Liangzhou is short of food?

I, the Tang Dynasty, are invincible. If something happens, it will be the problem of the officials. Just kill a few of them to punish them.

This is what Li Longji thinks.

He believed: If the affairs of the country cannot be handled by the six ministers, then what is the use of them?

These people serve the emperor and the country, rather than trouble the emperor himself!

Now the newly appointed left prime minister, Zhang Shougui, has no knowledge of central government affairs and is not very familiar with the situation in the court, so he is not qualified to point fingers at Li Linfu.

All in all, now is a good opportunity for Li Linfu to vigorously seize power and install party members, but it is also a time to test his administrative ability.

If you don't have the ability to deal with complex situations, then the current good situation will collapse in a very short period of time.

"To transport rice and grain to the Western Regions, it is necessary to recruit mules, horses and cattle from all over the country, which is not advisable. It is a wise move for Hu merchants to traffic grain and grass to Hexi, and then use the harmonious buying method."

Li Linfu said to himself.

"But the total number is certain. Hu Shang transported the grain from Chang'an, so the gap must be filled."

Li Linfu knew very well that Li Longji was very happy with his achievements and wanted everything. But if he supported the troops in the Hexi Corridor but caused famine in Chang'an, then he would definitely be the right prime minister to the end.

The quantity of grain coming from Hebei is sufficient, and the freight through Tongji Canal is the least, so... we can only continue to suffer in Hebei and increase the volume of water transportation in Hebei.

Well, transport alone is not enough, there must be something to transport, so the tax must be increased a little. It would be better to increase the household tax in Hebei. Renting is an "ancestral family law" and should not be neglected. The household tax is flexible and adaptable. Add households

Tax.

Li Linfu thought that it was necessary to increase the collection of grain from the Hebei region to meet the logistical needs for troops in the Western Region and Hexi region.

However, just collecting taxes is not enough. How to transport the grain and fodder to Chang'an is the top priority. This brings the problem full circle and returns to water transportation.

During the reign of Emperor Gaozong, there was a food shortage in Chang'an. The imperial court also tried to find a way to transport grain and grass to Chang'an by land. Then... more than 80% of the mules and horses responsible for the transport died from exhaustion, but the food shortage in Chang'an was not fundamentally alleviated.

That slap in the face could be said to have almost wiped out Datang's ambitions.

Therefore, the grain and fodder needed by Chang'an later had to rely entirely on water transportation. However, water transportation also had problems with water transportation, that is, the river courses had to be sorted out for a long time, and the freight was not cheap.

Nowadays, water transportation to supply Chang'an is already very difficult. If Chang'an is turned into a transit point for grain and fodder to supply the Hexi Corridor, it will be a burden that the national finance cannot bear.

Therefore, the method proposed by Zheng Shuqing was a good one. Let merchants from the Western Regions transport grain to the Hexi Corridor to sell to the people, and then use the Hebian method to collect the grain from the people to the Changping warehouse, and finally use the grain in the Changping warehouse for military supplies.

Li Linfu has already seen these benefits.

But it's not enough.

"Water transport, water transport...where does the food come from?"

Li Linfu fell into deep thought and felt that there was nothing he could do with the existing transportation conditions.

Unless, a new canal is dug?

After this thought appeared in my mind, I couldn't get rid of it.

He took out a map of the distribution of canals from the cabinet and held up an oil lamp to examine it.

The Yongji Canal has always been relatively smooth, and the distance is much shorter than the Tongji Canal. Therefore, there is not much potential to be tapped in this section.

The main points where water transportation is stuck are the section from Chang'an to Luoyang. The steepness of Sanmen Gorge has caused tanker ships to lose as much as 20% to 30% in transit!

The idiom "mainstay" comes from this.

That pillar alone, it is no exaggeration to say, was as destructive to the Tang Dynasty as several major earthquakes.

"Can we open another canal between Shaanzhou and Chang'an?"
To be continued...