Li Yi and Guan Yu have been married for thirty years, how can they not know Guan Yuxin's thoughts, and continued with a smile: "Since the beginning of the army, I have known Yun Chang and Yide, and I have gone through ups and downs, and the brotherly love can shine in history. Li Mu is your nephew, don't you expect him to be successful? ”

Guan Yu said with a wry smile: "The emperor is pressed by brotherly affection, is there a way out?" ”

Li Yi said with a smile: "Conquer Ekbatana, change the name of this city to Zhongyi City, Yun Changjin is the king of Zhongyi, lead 100,000 male soldiers, and rest in peace." ”

Guan Yu said: "Then the courtiers thank the emperor." However, the matter of this king is very important, and the emperor is asked to think about it carefully. ”

Li Yi said with a smile: "If you get the rest of the whole territory, you will definitely be on the same level as Rome." Rome's strength is not comparable to that of Kushan and Anxi. Although Rome, Anxi, Kushan, plus my Tang Dynasty, are known as the four major empires today, compared with the Tang Dynasty and Rome, the latter two are far behind. But Rome is on par with my Datang, even if my Datang is stronger, if you want to conquer Rome, it will not be an overnight effort. ”

After a pause, Li Yi continued: "After conquering Tianzhu, Guishuang and Rest, I have a circle of thousands of miles under the rule of the Tang Dynasty, and the territory has reached infinity. If I do not give a reward, lest people complain. ”

Guan Yu said: "This is not possible, to be able to fight all over the world with the emperor and build an immortal career for the Tang Dynasty has fulfilled everyone's wish in life." ”

Li Yi said with a smile: "If you don't reward your merits, how can you do it because of Mingjun." I intend to let you old brothers guard one side and pass it on to your descendants, what does Yun Chang think? ”

Guan Yu shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, this matter must not be done, guarding one side, holding heavy soldiers, in the long run, the end will not fall, and the outcome is unpredictable." The emperor still vested the military power in the prince, and ordered him to appoint the chief general. ”

Li Yi said: "If the prince has a different heart, who can restrain him? Alas, the place is big, it is very difficult to govern, and it is also difficult to stabilize. ”

How can Guan Yu understand Li Yi's current mood, in Li Yi's heart, wherever it belongs to the territory of the Tang Dynasty, he expects long-term stability and eternal obedience to the central regime. It's just that people's hearts are unpredictable, with territory, with soldiers and horses, who doesn't want to be a person who monopolizes power, political struggle, as long as society exists and develops, will not disappear.

Guan Yu said: "I can minister tens of thousands of people in the Tang Dynasty, and I will eventually think of a good plan." ”

Li Yi smiled bitterly: "Our generation has accumulated supreme prestige, maybe we can hold it down, right?" But what will the next generation, or grandchildren, think? ”

Guan Yu said: "Don't worry about the emperor, get rest first, and then make plans." ”

Li Yi smiled: "That's all." ”

Suddenly remembering something, Li Yi patted the case and said: "It's not good, I almost forgot about it." ”

Guan Yu was startled when he saw Li Yi, and hurriedly asked, "Your Majesty, why are you so panicked?" ”

Li Yi said: "Half a year ago, I ordered Yu Dayou to lead a naval army to come, and ordered him to enter the Mediterranean Sea from the Red Sea, with the intention of disturbing the heart of Rome. Today, I remembered that the Red Sea has no access to the Mediterranean. ”

Guan Yu was stunned for a moment and asked, "What can I do?" ”

Li Yi looked at Guan Yu and said: "The eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea is still under the control of the Sabbatarians, and Jiang led the Ardaban IV to win it. Yun Chang, I have something to ask for, this matter is extraordinary, I hope Yun Chang agrees. ”

Guan Yu said: "Could it be that the emperor plans to dig the river? ”

The excavation of the canal can be said to have a long history in Chinese history, and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, which is famous at home and abroad in later generations, was not excavated only in the Sui Dynasty. In fact, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal was built in the Spring and Autumn Period of the Wu Kingdom.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, canals were basically dug to serve the military campaign to conquer other countries. For example, the direct purpose of Wu Wangfu to send people to dig a ditch was to transport the army to the north to invade the Qi country, and the chasm dug by King Wei Hui in 360 BC was basically to serve the military campaign to conquer other countries.

The Sui Dynasty made the decision to run the North-South Canal after the unification of the world, and its motives went beyond the purpose of serving military operations, because the whole world was unified by this time.

There was an economic motive for the Sui canal. For a long time in ancient China, the economic center of gravity has been in the Yellow River Valley, and the economy of the north is more advanced than that of the south. But by the time of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, society had undergone profound changes. Compared with the chaos of more than 400 years, which has severely affected the economy of the North, the economy of the South has developed rapidly and has become the center of gravity of the national economy.

After the Sui unified the whole country, they attached great importance to this region, but Chang'an, the capital of the Sui Dynasty, could not move south with the development and change of the economic center of gravity. Therefore, the state needs to strengthen the management of the south, Chang'an needs to connect with the rich economic zone, and needs the south to supply the north, whether it is the central court, the bureaucracy and aristocracy, or the northern border.

At the same time, the long-term division has blocked the economic exchanges between the north and the south of society, and with the increase in the level of productive forces, economic development has urgently required the strengthening of economic ties between the north and the south during this period.

The Sui Kai Canal had not only economic motives, but also political ones. The period of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties was a period of great development of the gate valve family, and their power was quite strong. After the unification of the Sui Dynasty, they still relied on their powerful power in an attempt to contend with the central power. This sharp contradiction has always existed in the Jiangnan region, which posed a serious threat to the Sui regime, and it was imperative for the Sui rulers to implement effective rule over the south.

At the same time, the minority regimes on the northern border were also a great problem for the Sui, and the Sui Dynasty sent a large number of troops to garrison the border, and these troops were not enough to rely on the tuntian, but had to rely on the supply of grain and salary from the Jianghuai and the Central Plains. The road is long, and digging a canal is the key to solving the problem.

All dynasties after the Sui Dynasty and the late Qing Dynasty, whether it was the regime during the period of great unification or the period of separation, all paid attention to the dredging and improvement of the canal, and its motive was nothing more than economic, political, military and other aspects, and made full use of the canal for transportation.

On the basis of the canal, the establishment of a huge and complex transportation system, the continuous transportation of material resources from all over the country to the location of the capital, has become one of the main means of the rulers of the Chinese land.

The reason for the repair and diversion of the canal is also the frequent silting of the canal and the change of the location of the capital of different regimes. The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal was completed in the Yuan Dynasty, and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in the Ming and Qing dynasties became the main line of north-south water transportation.

The canal was dug and renovated under the leadership of the rulers, and the rulers gathered huge manpower and material resources to dig the canal for the main purpose of transporting it. The canal was born for the real purpose of Cao Yun, which was the life support and power supply system of the feudal dynasty to maintain the life continuation of the dynasty.

Due to the difficulty in solving the problems of piracy, wind and waves in the sea, canal water transportation is the main preferred solution in the history of water transportation. The excavation of the canal is a veritable achievement of the present and the benefit of the future, and for the builders, its effect will soon be apparent, and it will have a decisive impact on the dynasty. Therefore, the wise rulers of all dynasties attached great importance to the construction of canals.

The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal began to dig in 486 B.C. and has a history of more than 2,500 years. Xuxi and Xupu are the earliest sections of the Grand Canal to take shape, and it is the embryonic period of the canal, which is said to be named after Wu Zixu, the doctor of Wu State.

At that time, the ruler of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River of Wu was the monarch of the Wu State, after the Wu State had already conquered the Chu State and the Yue State, only the Qi State was in front of him, the Fu Cha for the Northern Expedition to the Qi State, competing for the hegemony of the Central Plains, he mobilized the people to dig the canal (that is, the canal of the Huai River into the Huai River from Yangzhou to the northeast, through Sheyang Lake to Huai'an), because it passed through Hancheng, so it was named "Hangou", with a total length of 170 kilometers, the Yangtze River water was introduced into the Huai River, and became the earliest section of the Grand Canal to be built, and the canal was born for water transportation.

In the Warring States Period, a big ditch and a chasm were dug successively, so as to communicate the four rivers of Jiang, Huai, He, and Ji.

King Wu then defeated the state of Qi at Ailing. In 482 BC, in Huangchi, he led the elite assembly princes to compete with Jin for hegemony, but Wu was destroyed by a sneak attack by Yue.

Although Fucha died, he left behind not only the rudiments of Yangzhou, but also the canals are still in use today.

An important river dug by Qin Shi Huang in Jiaxing also laid the direction of the Jiangnan Canal in the future. According to the "Book of Yuejue", Qin Shi Huang "governed the waterway of the tomb from Jiaxing, went to Qiantang and crossed the land, and passed through Zhejiang", and the canal and canal culture were derived from this.

The Grand Canal was excavated in the Spring and Autumn Period, completed in the Sui Dynasty, prospered in the Tang and Song dynasties, straightened in the Yuan Dynasty, and dredged in the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the long years, it has gone through three major construction processes. After the completion of the last construction, it was called the "Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal".

At the end of the Han Dynasty, many sections of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal had been excavated. Even, after the founding of the Tang Dynasty, in order to facilitate north-south transportation, Li Yi requisitioned many people to dig canals in China in the past few years, and the most numerous were of course the Dongwei people.

Therefore, as soon as Li Yi spoke, Guan Yu understood what he meant.

Li Yi said: "Not bad. The foreign servant army plundered a lot of wealth, and I intended to order Ma Chao and Chen Qingzhi to divide some of the goods, recruit young men and women in the rest of the country, and add the prisoners of peace to rush to Gaza City to preside over the excavation of the river. ”

Guan Yu said: "I don't know what is the width, depth, and distance of the river? ”

Li Yi said: "Between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, there is a canyon called the Isthmus of Suez, which is the closest place between the two seas, and the distance is about 400 miles. It needs to be surveyed and understood, and it is carried out in sections. As for the width and depth, it is enough for the battleships of our Datang Navy to pass smoothly. ”

The core strength of the Datang Navy is battleships, and if there are no battleships, the power of the Datang Navy will plummet, so Li Yi has such a decision.

Guan Yu said: "Stretching for four hundred miles, it can't be done in a day. ”

Li Yi said: "From the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, there is still a country called Egypt, which has submitted to Rome, the inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula, living in groups in the form of tribes, and submitting to rest. Yun Chang can lead a large army to recruit Egyptian and Arab young men for my use. If the Egyptians did not agree, they would have entangled the Romans to stop them, and when the clouds grew, they could see the opportunity. In the rest of the country, I ordered Ma Chao, Jiang, and Chen Qingzhi to lead millions of servant troops to harass Rome, making it unable to aid Egypt. ”

Guan Yu said: "Without further ado, please give the emperor an order, and I will go immediately." ”

Li Yi said: "If you are alone, the supply of grain and grass materials may be slow, and Yun Chang can advocate it on his own." I'll do my best to back you up. ”

Guan Yu agreed, received the edict, and went to order troops.

Guan Yu's departure means the preparation for the construction of the Suez Canal. Li Yi's crossing advanced the excavation of the Suez Canal by more than 1,600 years.