For currency, Xu Ping's idea was to advance in the direction of paper money step by step in the capital, and experiment with various auxiliary coins in the surrounding state capitals, and finally form a complete monetary system. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info with a new currency, replacing the national local iron money, etc., to complete the unification of the currency, and promote the completion of the national market.

The first step was to bring the tentacles of the commodity economy down to the countryside and connect the scattered peasant households with the big markets of the whole country. The second step is to make the transition from shopping vouchers to paper money, gain experience, and change the mindset of the people.

Thoughts are the most difficult to change, and it is difficult to convince one person with your mouth, let alone many people. Xu Ping can only do it little by little with the least shocking method, waiting for the day when the water will come to fruition.

After talking about the situation of the small iron money and the new tea law on Jingxi Road, Guo Jian said: "Deputy envoy, this time the lower officials have come and gone between Tangzhou and Ruzhou several times, and they have seen the old site of the Xianghan Cao Canal dug decades ago, and it is a pity that it is abandoned there. ”

For this big project, Xu Ping naturally studied it, and the third division was also in charge of the ditch. After listening to Guo Zheng's words, Xu Ping said: "Of course, Cheng Neng, the transfer envoy of Jingxi Road, only saw the advantages of opening the canal, but underestimated the difficulty of the project, and in the end, it was not successful. The mountains between Tangzhou and Ruzhou are continuous, this is one of them, and another one is that this canal is connected to the Huai River and the Yangtze River, where is it so easy. ”

In fact, Cheng Neng is not a whim, empty talk. Between Tangzhou and Ruzhou, there is a pass in Fangcheng, and the blocked water and the Lishui are very close, and the distance is only one or twenty miles, and it is not impossible to open a canal. ”

Xu Ping smiled when he heard this: "Cheng Neng also thought like this back then, so he repeatedly assured Xiling that he would insist on opening a canal. I have also understood the topography there, and the difficulty is not the canal that opens the dozens of miles, but the mountains in the middle, which are the watershed of the water source of the Southern Han River and the Beihuai River. If the dam is lifted from south to north, there is nowhere to drain the water in the middle mountain, and the flood will inevitably collapse the dam during the rainy season. And it's a dam that collapses completely, and it's out of control. He only opened the south canal, in fact, the water lifting in the north is also average, and there is no major supporting project, which will fail after all. ”

Xia Guan didn't think about it in detail, but he felt a little pity when he saw that the ruins that were excavated back then had arrived at the Fangcheng Pass. After a few more miles, it will be connected to the water system in the north of the mountain. ”

Xu Ping shook his head: "It's not a matter of a few miles away, Cheng Neng couldn't even measure the terrain of each river back then, thinking that there was a zhang of water in the canal, and then the dam would rise all the way, and it was inevitable that it would collapse." This matter involves a lot, and it can be done when the follow-up three divisions accumulate financial and material resources, so don't think about it now. ”

Between Tangzhou and Ruzhou is the remnant vein of Funiu Mountain, there is a pass in the territory of Fangcheng County, it is a strategic place since ancient times, from the intersection of Jianghan and Han to enter the Central Plains, the Chu State has built the Great Wall here in the Spring and Autumn Period. The low-lying terrain of this pass is very close to the two tributaries of the Han River and the Huai River, and there have been people who have wanted to communicate the north and south water systems from here since the Han Dynasty.

During the Taiping Rejuvenation of Taizong, Cheng Neng, the transshipment envoy of Jingxi Road, wrote a letter requesting that a canal be opened here to communicate the transportation of Han River and Ru River, and connect the two major water systems of the Yangtze River and the Huai River. As a result, when the canal was repaired to the Fangcheng Pass, heavy rain fell from the sky, which washed away the dam built downstream, causing huge losses of people and materials, and the project was stopped. Ten years later, it was excavated again, but it was still unsuccessful.

The route of this canal construction effort is very reasonable, and the south-to-north water diversion project is still chosen here after a thousand years, but the actual construction difficulty exceeds the limits of the times.

At that time, there were no usable measuring instruments, and there was no idea of the elevation of each section of the canal and how deep the canal should be. When the water level cannot be reached due to the high terrain, the water level is gradually raised by the dam. However, I didn't want to cross the mountain range in the middle of the Yangtze River and the Huai River water system, and there was the Yellow River water system not far to the west, and the hydrological situation was quite complicated, and I didn't have the ability to figure it out at that time. The method of lifting water from the dam level by step actually incorporated the water from the watershed into the canal, and when the flood season came, there was nothing to be done, and the dam was almost inevitable to be washed out.

In order to succeed in opening a canal in such a place, it is necessary to understand the local geography and hydrological conditions. The Bianhe River around Kaifeng Prefecture connects the Yellow River and the Huai River water system, which has led to chaos in the water system, and then the Han River water system is introduced without comprehensive planning. The area around Kaifeng Mansion must not be allowed to become a large depression that accommodates the surrounding water system, so that the cultivated land in this area will be completely wasted, and the cultivated land, including Xu Ping's own farm, will be difficult to cultivate.

The two water systems of the Yellow River and the Huai River in the Central Plains often fight, and in some places the river basins are ambiguous and unclear, so it is necessary to be very cautious in digging new canals. The canal directs water in, and there must be a smooth route to drain the water, otherwise the water system of the groundwater will be disturbed, which will affect a large range of agricultural production.

Guo Jian didn't know much about Xianghan Caoqu, and seeing that Xu Ping had already done an in-depth understanding, and thought it was not appropriate now, he didn't talk about it anymore. There are mountains and mountains, and the project situation is indeed difficult to estimate.

Turning the conversation, Guo Zhi said: "Actually, what the lower officials want to say is not the Xianghan Cao Canal, but the diversion of Luoshui into the Bianhe River. This time to Jingxi Road, come and go are to take the post road from Zhengzhou to Henan Province, after Zhengzhou into the territory of Mengzhou, Xiaguan found that Biankou is not far from the Luoshui into the Yellow River, if the people are requisitioned, a few months can open a canal, with Luoshui instead of the Yellow River, as the source of the Bianhe River. The Yellow River is muddy, the water of Luo is clear, and the people who dredge the river can be saved after guiding the Luo River into the Bian. ”

Xu Ping was stunned for a moment, he had not studied this project himself, and there was no trouble with the water system disorder, but only replacing the water of the main stream with water from the tributaries of the Yellow River, so that the Bianhe River would no longer be affected by the sediment of the Yellow River.

After thinking for a while, Xu Ping asked, "Is this really possible?" Now there is nothing important about the Qiaodaoxiang army from Yongzhou, if it is really feasible, it will not take much effort to take them as the main and then requisition the people of the surrounding states. ”

Guo Jian said: "Xiaguan went back and forth along the route twice, and he checked it clearly, and there must be no obstacle to the opening of the canal. Moreover, there are many ponds along the way, which can adjust the amount of canal water, and there is no fear of drought and less water in the Bianhe River. It is estimated that about 100 miles of canal will be opened, and the clear water of the Yiluo River can be used to replace the water of the Yellow River into the Bianhe River, and there will be no longer any fear of sediment deposition affecting the water transportation. ”

The current Bianhe River is diverted from the Yellow River, which is closed every winter and reopened in spring. Due to the uncertain course of the Yellow River, the location of the Biankou where water is diverted every year is not fixed, causing countless troubles. Moreover, the Yellow River has a lot of sediment, and the Bianhe River must be dredged every year, otherwise it will affect the water transportation. That's it, after the capital, not out of the scope of Kaifeng Mansion, the Bianhe River is a bit of a hanging river on the ground, the river is high above the ground outside the embankment nearly a foot high, once the embankment is quite terrible.

After thinking about it again, Xu Ping said to Guo Zheng: "You write a detailed notebook for me about this matter, and I will go with you to read it along the road in a few days, if there is really no obstacle, it can be repaired." Now there are the bridge and road van army, and they are the best at doing these things, and it is best to complete them before entering the scorching heat. ”

This project not only cleared the Bianhe River, but also communicated with Luoyang's water transportation, which has indeed benefited a lot.

(Note: The history of Daoluo's entry into Bian was proposed by Guo Zheng, but he died before the start of construction, and there was no meritorious service.) (To be continued.) )