Controlling floods is a very complex system and can be said to be the most technologically productive project of this era. Wang Yong recruited more than 100,000 people and 300,000 slaves for this purpose. He even sent Wang Meng, a son of the royal family, to lead 5,000 soldiers to obey his orders.
With many people under his command, Sun Shuao can flex his muscles, especially those who have a large number of academy students. These people have been educated in the academy and know a lot of knowledge. They can assist Sun Shuao in managing the people, supplies, etc.
While controlling floods, students from these academies also recorded detailed records of river management and the geography and hydrology of Huai State.
These recorded data, as well as various problems that arise during water control, will also be summarized and compiled into a volume. Sun Shuao's information and methods for controlling the Huaihe River Basin will be passed down to the academy. In the future, there will also be students studying water control in the academy.
Sun Shuao spent a lot of time investigating mountains, rivers, and then dredged the Huaihe River. He also found several low-lying areas in the lower reaches of the Huaihe River to dig artificial lakes and build reservoirs.
The construction of water conservancy projects takes a long time and requires a lot of strong labor, but the benefits after completing the project are also obvious.
If displayed by the system, then the labor levy of Huai State at this time is at least 60, the money and food consumption is also 80, the status is under construction, and troops cannot be sent.
Of course, if this water conservancy project is completed, Huai State will also get the effects of reducing flood disasters by 70%, drought disasters by 70%, grain irrigation +80, grain production +80, and national strength growth +20.
Sun Shuao dug eight artificial lakes for water storage in the Huaihe River Basin, and built 27 reservoirs, 375 sluices, and a complete flood diversion irrigation system.
The entire system employed about 400,000 people and took eight years to complete. Wang Yong named it Yong'an Canal Irrigation Area, praying for the eternal stability of the Huai Kingdom.
After the construction of this water conservancy project was completed, the irrigable farmland in Huai State directly increased by hundreds of thousands of acres. At the same time, the lower reaches of the Huaihe River are almost no longer affected by floods. The Yongan Canal irrigation network can divert floodwater into dozens of ditches to irrigate both sides of the Huaihe River.
Rivers such as Sishui and Yishui have also been regulated, and the emergence of a large number of reservoirs and artificial lakes has improved the Huaihe River Basin's ability to fight floods and droughts. Historical records: "The people live in peace, the people are in Yinfu, the people are well-supported and happy, the industries are prosperous, there are no moths and insects in the business, and the harvest is good."
[Your descendants appointed Sun Shuao to preside over the construction of the Yong'an Canal Irrigation and Water Conservancy Project. This water conservancy project is an important step in the entire history of human civilization. You have gained a lot of luck. 】
Zijue was also surprised by Wang Yong. This heir who could only be considered mediocre could have such good luck. At the same time, he could also know people well and make good use of them, appoint wise ministers, recuperate and make Huai Kingdom stronger and stronger.
In the first year after the construction of the Yong'an Canal irrigation system was completed, the Huai State experienced a great harvest, with mountains of grain and fodder, the people were prosperous, and the national treasury was abundant.
Huai Palace Hall.
Wang Yong carefully read the reports from various places. The grain output in the Huaihe River Basin alone was more than the output of the entire Huai Kingdom in the past. Wang Yong was even more delighted with such a great achievement. After eight years of hard work, he succeeded in one day.
"Uncle Sun and Shang Qing are really great talents who can stabilize the country. With the completion of the construction of Yong'an Canal, there will be no hunger in the Huai State! This is a great achievement for thousands of years!"
"Your Majesty, I dare not take credit for this project. This project could not be done by me alone, but by the efforts of millions of people in Huai State!" Sun Shuao was not arrogant about taking credit. On the contrary, he was very humble. His character even amazed Wang Yongdu. .
He was in charge of water control, but he was not greedy at all. His family had no property, let alone good land and a beautiful house. This time he controlled the water and won Wang Yong's trust.
"Please do not refuse your great contribution. I am willing to invite you to serve as the prime minister, and be granted the title of Lord Yong'an, with a population of thousands of households." Wang Yong grabbed Sun Shuao's hand and said.
Sun Shuao nodded, then paid homage to Wang Yong and said: "I am despicable and live in seclusion on the seaside. Only when I am valued by the king can I have the opportunity to display my ambitions, build the canal of Yong'an, and promise to be the prime minister. How can I do that?" I will not spare any effort to repay your great kindness to the Lord."
Although a bumper harvest of grain is a good thing, there is also a saying that low grain prices hurt farmers. Sun
Shu Ao immediately suggested to Wang Yong that the grain in the hands of the people should be purchased at a relatively reasonable price to prevent the low price of grain from hurting farmers.
Wang Yong immediately agreed to the suggestion and handed the matter over to Sun Shuao for execution.
Part of the large amount of harvested grain is kept in the country for future use, while part is used to sell to other countries, and some is used to make wine.
Sun Shuao encouraged the people to raise cattle, sheep, pigs, and poultry, and made an agreement that if no one bought the livestock after they were raised, they could be sold to the government. Pigs and sheep will be used as meat for the army.
The Huai State had a large population and prosperous commerce, but business transactions were often conducted by barter, and large-scale currency transactions were cumbersome. Sun Shuao wrote a letter suggesting that large coins should be minted.
The coins of the Huai Kingdom were first minted by Zijue. They used round coins with square holes made of bronze. This kind of coins was easy to carry. However, because commercial transactions were not popular at that time, there were only two denominations.
Now that these two coins can no longer keep up with the situation, Sun Shuao suggested casting coins with higher value. So two coins, Huaimo and Huaiqian, were minted. These two coins are made of silver and have face values of hundreds and thousands.
Han is rich in minerals, and many silver mines have been discovered. Huai is also rich in silver. Originally, silver was used to make ornaments or to reward meritorious officials, but it did not have much use. Now it is just suitable for casting coins. .
Using silver as currency not only prospered commerce and trade, but also increased the tax revenue of Huai State, achieving multiple benefits with one stone.
The emergence of Huaimo and Huaiqian made Huaiguo's business more prosperous. At the same time, Huaiguo's tax revenue also increased significantly. In the past, large-scale trade using barter led to many transaction difficulties, tax difficulties, and corruption problems were also solved.
Sun Shuao promulgated many laws that were beneficial to workers, farmers, and businessmen, attached great importance to the development of people's livelihood, and severely cracked down on the encroachment of nobles and nobles on the interests of the common people. This made many officials and nobles dissatisfied with him, and then he framed Sun Shuao in front of Wang Yong, talking about corruption and bending the law, and punishing him severely to make huge profits. Wang Yong asked the secret guards of the country to investigate.
Then it was discovered that what Sun Shuao did was in accordance with the law, but what these nobles and nobles said was a false accusation. Wang Yong was furious and punished these nobles and confiscation of their land. In serious cases, they directly deprived them of their titles. After Wang Yong's blow, these nobles and nobles immediately became honest and did not dare to violate the law again.
...
The Yong'an Canal is the oldest grand water conservancy project in the world and is still in use today. It makes full use of the geographical conditions of the Huaihe River Basin and takes advantage of the situation according to the topography and water veins of the surrounding mountains, rivers and valleys, so that it has the functions of water storage, irrigation, System functions such as flood control, sand discharge, and flow control ensure that the comprehensive benefits of flood control, irrigation, water transportation, and social water use are fully realized. The greatest thing about it is that it has endured for more than 2,750 years and is playing an increasingly important role.
Yong'an Canal is a national key cultural relic protection unit and has been included in the world cultural heritage, world natural heritage, and world irrigation engineering heritage. ——"Eighth Grade History·Volume 1·History of Ancient China"
