The largest face-saving project of the Sui Dynasty: foreigners come to the Sui capital to eat for free

Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty did many controversial things, the most famous of which was the construction of the Grand Canal.

In the eyes of many people in ancient and modern times, the construction of the Grand Canal was undoubtedly the patent of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty. In fact, in the Sui generation, it was Lao Yang who first thought of digging a canal, and he was also the first to implement it.

In the fourth year of Emperor Kaihuang’s reign, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty saw that “the size of the Wei River is irregular, the shallow flow and deep sand are often blocking water transportation”, so he ordered people to “ divert the Wei River from the northwest of Daxing City, and slightly follow the old route of the Han Dynasty Cao Canal to the east. "To Tongguan and into the Yellow River", a canal "more than three hundred miles long" was dug. Because this canal passed through Guangtongcang in Weikou, it was named Guangtong Canal.

Before the excavation, there were different voices inside and outside the court. However, when the canal was completed, everyone saw the benefits and tasted the sweetness. "Since then, water transportation has been convenient, and Guanzhong relies on it, so it is also called Fumin Canal." For a time, everyone in the government and the public praised Lao Yang, and they praised him all the time.

Yang Guang, who was still the king of Jin Dynasty at that time, saw that his father, the head of Yangcun Village, had accomplished such a feat, and he yearned for it. He not only entered the eyes, but also entered the ears and hearts. When he became emperor, he couldn't wait to enter the industry.

Due to population growth, food supply in the north has become a problem. *** The report showed that there was a food shortage, but after research, Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty found that the food shortage was just a false proposition. There is enough food, but the problem is that regional development is unbalanced. There are more people in the south and less people in the north. However, land transportation is inconvenient. When the rice from the south arrives, people in the north will probably starve to death. Therefore, what appears to be a lack of food is actually a lack of transportation.

Is there any solution? Of course, the land route is inconvenient, so let’s take the water route! However, there is no waterway! It's simple, just build a waterway!

In the early years of Daye (AD 605), Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty drew a line on the map: "There must be a canal." Hence the Tongji Canal. Three years later, he drew another line: "There still needs to be a canal." Then there was the Yongji Canal. Two years later, Emperor Sui Yang said again: "There must be a river." This is the Jiangnan River. The ministers came over to take a look, okay, it's a line. This line is the world-famous Grand Canal.

When mentioning the Grand Canal, everyone will think of the Tang Dynasty poet Pi Rixiu's "Reminiscing about the Bianhe River": "This river died in the Sui Dynasty, and it has been connected to the waves for thousands of miles. If there was no dragon boat incident in the Water Palace, , ***Yu didn’t teach much about merit. “Actually, it’s not just the people of the Tang Dynasty, we today also rely on this Thousand Miles of Waves!

What is this called? This is called merit in later generations. However, if we ask ordinary people who lived at that time, I am afraid that no one would say yes. The thing is a good thing, but the way of doing it is wrong. The merit will be in the hereafter, but the sin will be in the present.

The construction of the Grand Canal was an unprecedented and huge project. In that era, it could only be accomplished by using huge manpower. When the Ji Canal was opened, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty conscripted "more than one million people from the counties in Henan and Huaibei" and "more than 100,000 people from Huainan" for free. When the Yongji Canal project started, "More than 500 soldiers from Hebei Province were dispatched" and "the men refused to surrender". Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty slapped his forehead and pulled the women out to serve as men.

As soon as the Tongji Canal was opened, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty could not wait to visit his second hometown, Jiangdu (he had lived in Jiangdu for many years). The dragon boat he rides on alone is nearly 80 meters high, and there are four-story pavilions built on the boat. There were 6,000 accompanying ships, stretching for nearly 100 kilometers, and there were more than 80,000 optical fiber sailors. "Everyone within a radius of five hundred miles is ordered to offer food, which is extremely rare on land and water"; if there is not enough to eat, "when the food is about to be eaten, many of them will be thrown away and buried."

How can the common people be happy with such extravagance and waste!

This is just one project of the Grand Canal.

In March of the first year of Daye, the Luoyang New City project broke ground, with "two million people serving every month." It was completed in the first month of the next year. In ten months, a city the size of Xicheng District in Beijing was built.

In May of the third year of Daye, "Ding Nan from more than ten counties in Hebei Province was sent to dig into the Taihang Mountains." Yu Gong was delighted when he saw so many people coming. After asking around, it turned out to be this: the emperor was going to Bingzhou and didn't want to go far, so...

After only two months, he He also "ordered Ding Nan to spend more than a million to build the Great Wall."

The three important ministers left to him by Lao Yang - Dr. Guanglu He Ruobi, Taichang Qing Gao G and Minister of Rites Yu Wenbi - unanimously opposed it: Your Majesty, don't repair it. History has proved that in addition to wasting people and money, that thing can kill a bird at a critical moment. use?

Emperor Sui Yang didn’t listen, Qin Shihuang could cultivate it, why can’t I? It only took twenty days for the project to be completed. Afterwards, Gao G and the others were still talking about this matter in private. Yang Guang became anxious and beheaded all three of them on the grounds of "slandering the government." You old boy, are you going to nag again? In July of the next year, "More than 200,000 Ding men were sent to build the Great Wall from Yugu to the east." Continue to practice, how?

The above are just a few of the extremely large projects. As for the construction of the Ligong Garden, it is considered a trivial matter. Xianren Palace must be built in the east, Jiangdu Palace must be built in the river, Jinyang Palace must be built in Jinyang, Fenyang Palace must be built in Fenshui, and Linshuo Palace must be built in Zhuojun... These palaces and gardens are all the essence of one water. furnish.

From the first year of Daye to the sixth year of Daye, in less than six years, the number of projects undertaken by Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty exceeded the total number of projects in the three hundred years of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty did not build the Grand Canal, but he did it; the Tang Dynasty did not build the Great Wall, but he did it; the Tang Dynasty did not build the Taihang Mountains, but he did it. The reason why the Tang Dynasty did not carry out these projects was actually because Emperor Yang of Sui had already completed them for them.

And these large and small projects all require two things, people and money. In fact, money also comes from people. Therefore, all kinds of bad things have to be paid for by the people in the end. You are asked to contribute money and effort, and the beautiful wife is married back, but it is Emperor Yang of Sui who enters the bridal chamber. Who can be happy if this matter is left to him?

On the first day of the first lunar month in the sixth year of Daye (AD 610), a small-scale massacre broke out outside the gate of Dongdu Palace. A group of fake monks claiming to be Maitreya Buddha, numbering about dozens of people, snatched the weapons of the guards in an attempt to attack the political center, but failed. Although this incident was small, it was the first civil uprising in the Sui Dynasty recorded in "Zi Zhi Tong Jian", and it could be said to be the forerunner of the troubled times in the late Sui Dynasty.

But Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty did not pay attention to it, and continued to show off his wealth. Fourteen days later, during the Lantern Festival, he gathered chiefs and envoys from all over the world to "show off hundreds of operas." There are as many as 18,000 artists participating in the performance. "The sound is heard for dozens of miles, and the lights are burning all over the world. It ends at the end of the month, and the cost is huge."

Merchants from various countries requested to carry out foreign trade in the Eastern Capital. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty agreed immediately and immediately issued an order, requiring merchants in the city to "decorate their shops, make the eaves and roofs uniform, decorate with curtains, stock up with precious goods, and make the characters prosperous." Even vegetable sellers must spread dragon beard mats. . When foreign businessmen pass by a hotel or restaurant, the owner has to pull their arms and legs to invite them in. Not only does he not charge a penny after the meal, but he also has to act like Aunt Baiyun and shout slogans: "China is rich, but the food and drink regulations are not straight."

I wonder if even the ladies of the Sui Dynasty had to "entertain" foreign guests for free?