New Shun 1730

Seeing the merchants like this, Tan Zhen no longer had the previous worries about grain transportation.

Since there was no problem with sea transportation, there was no need to worry about the southern part of Jiangsu, so the only thing left was northern Jiangsu.

Jiangsu was not big, but southern Jiangsu and northern Jiangsu were completely two completely different worlds.

Under the prosperity of Songjiang, there was poverty along the Yellow River in northern Jiangsu. The famine caused by small-scale breaches almost every year made the speed of land annexation in northern Jiangsu much faster than other places.

Tan Zhen knew very well what this meant, and on his way to northern Jiangsu this time, he heard some extremely terrifying rumors.

In northern Jiangsu, where the Yellow River was flooding, there is now such a "strange" story circulating.

The protagonist of this story is called Fan Dan.

Just talking about this name, of course, Tan Zhen knew it.

It is often sung in northern folk songs and some lotus operas: Shi Chong is rich and Fan Dan is poor, Gan Luo is lucky early and Taigong is late. Peng Zu is long-lived but short-lived, and all six people are in the five elements.

He also knew that this person was a historical figure, a famous scholar in the Han Dynasty. Because of the Party Imprisonment Disaster, he was unwilling to go along with the crowd and made a living by begging. He was regarded as the patron saint of beggars.

However... the Fan Dan sung in northern Jiangsu, Anhui and other places is not this Fan Dan.

Instead, it borrowed the allusion of Fan Dan begging for food and distorted another story: Confucius was trapped in Chen Cai and borrowed food.

In this story, Confucius sent Gongye Chang to borrow food, and Gongye Chang asked Fan Dan, who was a beggar, to borrow food.

The celebrity of the Eastern Han Dynasty was used in the Spring and Autumn Period, just like Li Jing became the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King. The history is too long, the dynasty is in chaos, and the people can't tell it apart.

The real horror of this story lies in the dialogue after borrowing food: Confucius said, I borrowed your food, and I will definitely return it to you in the future. If I can't find you, I will return it to your family; Fan Dan said, I am a beggar who begs for food, and all the people who have no food in the world are my family.

This story is widely circulated in the flood-affected areas of the Yellow River and Huai River, where there are many beggars. Tan Zhen is very clear about the power contained in the last dialogue in the story.

This sentence makes it legitimate for the poor to eat the rich. Although it is only the legitimacy that the poor think, it has reduced moral constraints.

All rich families have people who read scriptures at home, so they are all disciples of Confucius.

All beggars say that they are Fan Dan's family, so the promise made when Chen Cai borrowed grain that year was valid, because Confucius did not return the grain to Fan Dan in the story, so the debt had to be repaid by Confucius' disciples to Fan Dan's family.

Anyone who reads the books of sages is a disciple of Confucius, and no one dares to deny this.

Then shouldn't Confucius ask you to pay back the grain he owed?

When there is a disaster, a breach, or the Yellow River opens again, there is no food to eat, and groups of people go to the rich to eat the rich, isn't it natural to pay debts and repay ancestors' debts?

The wisdom of the masses is infinite, but at this time Tan Zhen did not lament this, but lamented that if one day Huaishang suffered a disaster, it would probably be a large-scale uprising.

Whether it was the Luojiao founded in the late Ming Dynasty, the White Lotus Sect that felt uncomfortable if it did not rebel, or the Yiguandao that evolved from the Luojiao, they all had a huge mass base in Huaishang.

And the story of "Confucius asked Fan Dan to borrow grain and did not return it" has found the rationality for rebellion when he could not survive in the future.

What did Dashun rely on to start his business? Which official in the Dashun court did not know?

Eat his mother, and his mother, the King of Rebellion came and did not pay grain.

This slogan alone is a bit like "banditry".

But their slogan "Confucius owes debts and does not pay them back, we are not robbing the rich, we are just asking for debts" is extremely reasonable, and the last bit of "moral" guilt is gone.

Now everything is ready in northern Jiangsu, Anhui, and southern Shandong.

The slogans were there, the rationality was there, the organizations included Luojiao, Yiguandao and Bailianjiao, and the leaders were ready-made religious leaders. The land annexation caused by the small-scale floods and the conscription of civilians for canal repairs was far greater than that in other places... The full pile of firewood was poured with oil, and now all that was missing was a major natural disaster.

This crisis was in sharp contrast to the prosperity of Songjiang. Tan Zhen was promoted by the reform of the land system in the southwest, and he knew that such things could not be delayed. The later it was delayed, the more likely it would be a big disaster.

The court had to be determined to solve the problems of the canal and the Yellow River, so that peace could be maintained forever.

He wanted to be a loyal and upright minister, and for the sake of the long-term stability of the dynasty, he would do something that would benefit the present and future generations.

But on the other hand... Tan Zhen also knew that if the uprising happened to break out at the stage of abolishing the canal and changing to the sea, or if the short-term pain of abolishing the canal and changing to the sea accelerated the local conflicts...

Would these people who abolished the canal and changed to the sea bear this responsibility?

Can I afford it with my body?

After thinking for a long time, Tan Zhen still kept a trick.

Before the first batch of grain transport ships set sail, Tan Zhen pretended to talk to Chen Qinghai about the Huai River again.

It was a pretext, and he was sure that Chen Qinghai would pass these things on to Liu Yu.

Although Liu Yu and he were both Jiedushi, they were different. Liu Yu was a nobleman who went to town, and he was a Jiedu.

Tan Zhen felt that Liu Yu would be better at talking about some things.

After all, the many benefits of abolishing the canal and changing to the sea were closely related to Liu Yu.

If the people who benefited did not come out to stand up and protest, who would? Anyway, it was certain that Liu Yu would support it, so it would be better for him to be the vanguard and lead the way, and set off another court debate on canal and sea transportation.

…………

After the grain transport ship arrived at Liugong Island, the warships no longer escorted it.

Chen Qinghai passed Tan Zhen's message to Liu Yu, and then repeated Tan Zhen's seemingly "unintentional" words before leaving.

After listening to Chen Qinghai relay the story of "Fan Dan and Confucius", Liu Yu knew that the matter in Huaibei might have been backlogged for too long. It has been backlogged since the Song Dynasty until now, and has formed a unique culture.

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, great things happened in Huaishang, and at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the place was not stable either. The result of the normalization of rebellion was the creation of such a "justifiable" reason to survive by eating the rich.

However, those religions such as the White Lotus Sect are not very effective in fighting, and the court is also very tight. This time, Catholicism is banned, and the internal Luo Sect, White Lotus, etc. are also strictly investigated.

If an uprising wants to be effective, it must have soldiers who have served as soldiers. Abandoning canals and replacing them with seas, and dismantling old armies, every step will intensify the combat effectiveness of this uprising.

Things are universally connected.

Maritime transportation, military reform, canal abolition, overseas trade, Songjiang portization... These may seem to have nothing to do with the Yellow River, but in fact each of them has a huge relationship.

Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing for what Liu Yu wants to do is worthy of careful consideration.

What Tan Zhen means is that when the Jiedushi envoy came to Beijing to report, Tan Zhen, as the Jiangsu Jiedushi envoy, legitimately raised the issues of water transportation and river defense. This was his duty.

But later, he accidentally told Chen Qinghai about the hidden crisis in Huaibei. It must have deep meaning. Do you need to cooperate with him?

How to coordinate this?

After finding Kang Busao, he mentioned Tan Zhen's worries and the crisis in Huaishang. Kang Busao smiled and said, "This Jiangsu Jiedushi Master Tan has a good vision."

"Sir, please see, this world is so big that it can be divided into eight regions: southeast, northwest, northeast, southeast, northwest, and southwest. Among the world, this dynasty started in the northwest and achieved success in the Central Plains. The crisis of this dynasty is really like this Master Tan said that only Huaishang is the most dangerous."

"The Central Plains is flat, and those who start troubles have never achieved success in the Central Plains. They all start from all directions, and when they become powerful, they will dominate the Central Plains and achieve great things."

"In the northwest, if the Western Region is pacified and the Hetao is recovered, all can immigrate and colonize Mongolia. The young master borrows a knife to kill people, leaving the Zhun tribe and the Yellow Sect behind, isolating the Sufis and Hanafis, and there will be no worries in the northwest."

"There is no need to mention the prosperity in the southeast."

"The northeast is vast and sparsely populated. The alien races have been destroyed. The Mongols have surrendered. There are bastions and post stations, and there is no danger even if they are squeezed by Rakshasa."

"In the southwest, all ethnic groups live together, so it is difficult to achieve great things. To change the land and return it to the current situation is just a small chaos, and it is difficult for Han people and small ethnic groups to stand together."

"In the south, the dispute between natives and foreigners has been around since ancient times. However, the imperial court has opened the sea ban, and many people have gone to sea to make a living. The young master is dedicated to conquering the South Seas. If the South Sea is settled, there will be no major trouble here."

"Therefore, if there is a great chaos that shakes the world, if this dynasty is in chaos, it will definitely arise from Huaishang."

"However, it doesn't matter if you just look at Huaishang. After all, chaos in Huaishang is the easiest to quell."

"It's just a chaos in Huaishang. The imperial court mobilized to suppress it, but there was insufficient suppression elsewhere. Therefore, the chaos in Huaishang is most likely to be the first chaos in the world; but it is least likely to be Huaishang that will eventually cause the world to collapse."

Kang Buyao studied uprisings in thousands of years of history more thoroughly than Liu Yu, especially the situation in Sulu, Anhui and Henan, and he drew lessons from history.

"If there is chaos on the Huaihe River, the south is Jiangnan. If the people in the south of the Yangtze River are rich, they will not follow. This is one of them."

"Since the Song Dynasty, the Yellow River changed its course in Huaishang, and the water network was crisscrossed, and was divided into small pieces by canals and the Yellow River. There are heavy troops in the Gyeonggi area, and they cannot go north or south. However, it is difficult for the imperial court to go deep into peace. Most of them have to By deploying defenses along the river and relying on the canals, the Yellow River and other waterways, we can trap the chaos in Huaishang."

"The space for maneuvering is too small. If something happens in Huaishang, you must be the pioneer of the king."

"However, if it is trapped on the Huai River, the canal will be cut off and the north and south will be separated."

"The north and the south are separated. The court wants to control the south. The navy is the court's first priority, and shipping can be achieved. Especially when the shipping is so smooth this time, the court has less worries about shipping."

"I think Master Tan's worries are actually a good thing."

Kang Buyao's words were enough to make him lose his head.

That is to say, in front of Liu Yu, what he said was obviously revealed.

Liu Yu didn't care too much about this terrible idea.

When he was in front of the emperor, for a moment, he had the terrible thought of "looking forward" to a disaster in the Yellow River and changing its route to the north. Natural disasters would cut off water transportation, leaving the court with no choice but to change sea transportation and regulate the Yellow River and Huaihe River.

He and Kang Buyao had similar thoughts. One was waiting for natural disasters, and the other was waiting for human chaos.

The judgment of the court is like pushing a donkey, whipping the court, and the court will move forward.

It's just that what Kang Buyao values ​​​​is still the status of the navy.

He believed that if something happened to Huaishang, the navy would become an important force and general comrade in the imperial court's control of the south. Liu Yu, who had single-handedly organized the navy, would also be stable and could speak with more weight.

Kang Buzao didn't feel that what he said was too much. The possible disaster in Huaishang had nothing to do with him, and it was not caused by him.

He felt that this was just a matter of fact.

But Liu Yu knew in his heart that this matter had nothing to do with him. Possible natural disasters are an introduction. As long as there is no natural disaster as big as the Yellow River diverting its course to Shandong, the most likely possibility of something happening to the Huai River is to abandon the canal and convert it to the sea, with Songjiang becoming an export center and the source of initial industrialization.

If Dashun catches up with and surpasses the speed of the British Industrial Revolution...

Unlike the Qing Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty was under the impact of external forces. As a trading port, Guangdong caused the most serious initial impact on small farmers and handicrafts in Guangdong and Guangxi, which to some extent contributed to the Guangxi uprising; and if Dashun had independently entered the industrial revolution, Songjiang, as the textile center, would have been hit the hardest, the weakest in endurance, and the first to start the uprising, and it would definitely be Huaishang.

So, is it better to prepare for the rainy day and solve Huaishang first, so that the impact of initial industrialization on small farmers in the future will not seem that dangerous to the court?