The concept of Wujing was indeed proposed by Liu Mu, and its significance is to make Datang a diversified country with polycentric development.

Chang'an alone is not enough.

Li Shimin began to explain the concept of the five capitals.

"Chang'an is naturally the capital of the Tang Dynasty, a unique and long-term place of stability. The design of five capitals, four ports and seven seas, I have been thinking about this question, whether the Xijing of the Tang Dynasty should be placed in Gaochang, or a little farther away, the Lu Silk Road, Luntai County at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains. This is a long-term consideration. ”

It's a long way indeed, and it's a staggering distance.

Du Ruhui asked, "Sage, can the train arrive in one day?" ”

"The train can only go to Liangzhou in one day and night, and it takes at least four days and three nights to get to Luntai, or even longer. But in the long run, I do think about it, or Gaochang for two days and one night. ”

"Gaochang is good, there is a salt lake in Gaochang, and you can build a huge workshop city, with pastures in the north, cotton fields in the west, and grain fields in the east. The salt lake is a strategic location for refining gunpowder raw materials, and can be the center of the west. But the minister is puzzled, is Wujing enough? ”

Li Jing's sentence is Wujing enough, and the question is quite clever.

Li Shimin said with a smile: "Wujing outside Chang'an. ”

"The saint is wise."

In fact, Li Jing had already guessed the location of Wujing, and Li Shimin pointed at Li Jing: "It seems that Li Shangshu has thought of it, so it is better to listen to it." ”

"The minister thinks that the south should be Guangzhou City, the east should be Yangzhou City, and the north should be Yanzhou City. Then in the southwest, if there is no capital in Shu, the southwest is unstable, but Shu is difficult, and the minister can't figure it out. ”

Li Shimin laughed heartily: "I have good ministers in Datang, why is Datang not prosperous." There are two places where I can't make up my mind, one is the northwest, Gaochang is good, and I also think it's good. Only this east, Liu Mu proposed several times that the east should be placed in Huating or Hangzhou. ”

Li Jing immediately said: "Sage, Huating is not good. ”

"Tell me why."

"Sage, all ministers, Huating will be a rich place in the future, whether it is industry, fishery, or business, it will be excellent, but Huating has no strategic buffer, if the enemy's powerful naval army comes straight to my Tang Dynasty, Huating is dangerous, Huating can be used as the first line of defense, and Yangzhou will be the center of the east."

Li Shimin asked rhetorically: "If the enemy sailors come, can't I be the first island chain guard of the Tang Dynasty, and the Seven Seas Guard?" ”

Li Jing told Li Shimin very directly: "Sage, the ministers are not only guarding against foreign enemies, but also Qihaiwei. In the case of Guangzhou, there can be a defense line outside Guangzhou Bay, and Qiongdao is the outermost defense line. Yanzhou is still 100 miles away from the harbor, although there is a canal, but there is an additional barrier. ”

Li Jing insisted on his idea, Qihaiwei is too far away, and they are all loyal and reliable people now, but a hundred years later, hundreds of years later. Therefore, Datang must have enough deterrent power to the outside world, and anyone who has the slightest abnormal movement should be destroyed with thunder. But in case, if you suddenly attack, it is safer to have an extra barrier.

Li Shimin did not shy away from it, and asked at the moment: "What if Wujing has a heart of disobedience?" ”

Li Jing was even more direct: "Sage, if even the five Kyotos have the heart of disobedience, the danger of the country is already the rebellion of the Seven Kings, and the chaos of the late Han Dynasty." ”

"Sage, this kind of thing is better not to discuss, the minister thinks that there is still a place to choose, Yangzhou is in Jiangbei, since Sui thought that Jiangbei is deliberately suppressing the cities in the south of the Yangtze River, if you want the Tang Dynasty to have a leapfrog development, the minister proposed, Jianye City."

The Jianye proposed by Du Ruhui is Jinling, which is Nanjing in later generations.

"I think it's appropriate." Li Jing also supports Jianye City, where because of the geographical advantages, especially the large number of raw silk from Fusang Road, the four major silksmith cities in the south of the Yangtze River are Yangzhou, Hangzhou, Jianye, and Suzhou. Among them, there are more than 10,000 looms in Suzhou and 6,000 looms in Jianye.

Du Ruhui suddenly interjected and said: "Huating County already has enough population and income to be promoted to the state. There are countless fish processing and canning factories in Huating County, but it is known that tens of thousands of canned food are transported to the dock every day. Huating is also the largest linen cloth producer and market in Datang. ”

"It's good, I've read the report of the household department, the linen cloth produced by Huating last year has exceeded twice the national linen production of the Tang Dynasty in the ninth year of Wude, this is only a county, good."

Li Shimin is very satisfied with this development.

Du Ruhan said with a smile: "Then the sage should praise Xingzhou, Xingzhou's steel output is already thirty-five times the national output of the Tang Dynasty in the ninth year of Wude, and this is only a state." However, Xingzhou will not be able to maintain the first place next year, and the new five blast furnaces of Fukuoka Steel Mill have been completed, and the output has become the first steel mill in Datang. ”

Li Shimin didn't wait for Du Ruhui to finish speaking, and immediately said: "So, can you build a railway for the Tang Dynasty?" ”

"The minister thinks it's off topic, and what I'm going to discuss today is the battle of the Six Edicts. Sage, you led the topic to Wujing, and this went around in circles and returned to the railway. Du Ruhui really doesn't want to mention the railway, this railway does not cost water, but the Yangtze River rushes. As the right servant of Shangshu Province, he always wanted to wait a little longer.

"Well, the railway is also a long-term solution." Li Shimin still hopes that the railway project can be established.

Du Ruhui sighed heavily: "Sage, if you want to build a railway, I think that the first railway will go to the north line of the Qin Straight Road and go to Shuofang, not to Luoyang." Luoyang at least needs a canal for steamships, and whether it is going up the river or against the current on the canal, 10,000 troops can be mobilized in one day and night in case of emergency. ”

"Yes, just go north to repair, I'm ready. Aiqing immediately submitted the corresponding report, as soon as the New Year passed, he would choose an auspicious day to worship heaven and earth, and the first step was to replace the small railway from Chang'an to Huayuan with a formal railway, and then repair it all the way to the north, and this matter was decided. ”

Li Shimin's digging of this pit Du Ruhui was stunned.

Li Jing pushed Du Ruhui on the side: "Go to Shuofang to repair, this suggestion is good, ensure the safety of Datang's northern defense, and then continue to go north to west and east." ”

"No!" Li Shimin waved his hand: "Four horizontal, four vertical and eight auxiliary, I will build a railway of 100,000 miles within 30 years." Hahaha! ”

This time, even Li Jing was stunned.

How crazy it is.

However, building a railway is indeed a great thing, although it costs a lot of money and uses a lot of manpower. However, if the railway is opened, the economic and strategic strength of the entire Datang will increase tenfold, or even dozens of times.

Finally, the railroad can be built.

When Shangshu Province was still planning to unite the six ministries, a proposal from the Tang Emperor Li Shimin had already been delivered.

Holding Li Shimin's proposal to Shangshu Province, Yao Silian said with a smile: "Judging from the ink, this one is estimated to have been written for a long, long time. ”

All the courtiers are smiling, they have been following Li Shimin for a long time, especially in the past few years, Li Shimin has shown his fanaticism for the railway, and everyone understands.