Within the Ganlu Hall.
After Li Zexuan said that, Li Er frowned and fell into deep thought.
The five ministers in the hall were no longer as casual and indifferent as when they had first entered. They all lowered their heads, silently digesting Li Zexuan's words in their hearts. A moment later, Xiao Yu stepped forward and cupped his hands.
"Your Majesty, the words of the Marquis of Yong An make sense! If the Yellow River is raised in a few years, the amount of money needed to build a dam will be in the tens of thousands! In comparison, the cost of planting trees is just a drop in the ocean! I suggest we return to the old system and re-establish the positions of Shan Yu and Lin Heng! "
The old system that Xiao Yu mentioned was the old system of the Zhou Dynasty. During the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Imperial Court established the positions of Shan Yu and Lin Heng to manage the forests of the country. In the Rites of Zhou, there was a clear description of these two positions.
"Mountain Yu is in charge of the government of the mountains and forests. Things are fierce and are thus forbidden. Midwinter chop Yang Wood, midsummer chop Yin Wood. Common people chop Ji Wood, chop Ji Wood. When the time comes, the people chop Ji Wood. When the time comes, the people chop Ji Wood. "Shan Yu cuts Ji Wood in the middle of the season, and Lin Heng is under Shan Yu. If there is any injustice, he will be rewarded and punished accordingly."
This meant that Shan Yu's position was higher, and he was mainly in charge of protecting the resources of the forests and making decisions on the planting and cutting of trees. Lin Heng's position was lower, and he was under Shan Yu's leadership. His main responsibility was to patrol the forests and enforce laws.
From this, one could see that the dynasties before the Qin and Han Dynasties placed a lot of importance on protecting the environment and forests.
However, the history of planting trees in China could be traced back to three thousand years ago. The Book of Rites said, "In the first month of spring, the virtue is in the trees." This meant that planting trees in the spring was the greatest moral act. As early as the Yu Shun era in the later period of the patrilineal clan society, there was an official in charge of the forest called Yu Guan. During the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Imperial Court established Shan Yu, which evolved from Yu Guan. This was the earliest Minister of Forestry in China's history.
During the time of Yu Xia, there were also administrative regulations to protect the forest. The "Great Collection of the Book of Zhou" said, "Yu's Prohibition, in the third month of spring, the forest does not climb the axe, but the vegetation grows."
Therefore, the concept of protecting the environment and forests was not first proposed by modern people. Our ancestors had considered this problem from the very beginning!
Now that Xiao Yu proposed to restore the old system and reappoint Shan Yu and Lin Heng, other than Li Zexuan, everyone in the hall regained their senses. Since there were precedents for planting trees and protecting the forest, Li Zexuan's Arbor Day was no longer so abrupt!
Furthermore, even though the Great Tang didn't have officials who were in charge of managing the forests like the Western Zhou, the people still had the consciousness to plant trees. It was just that they didn't plant trees by the Yellow River, but on the ridges of their own fields! In the Tang Dynasty, every Yongye Field would have a certain number of trees planted around it. This was called the Farmland Shelter Forest!
"Marquis Yong 'an, have you estimated how much it would cost to build a shelter forest in the Yellow River basin?"
Li Er stood up and paced in front of the dragon table. Then, he looked at Li Zexuan and asked in a deep voice.
Clearly, after a long period of consideration, Old Li was moved!
Li Zexuan clasped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the Yellow River is more than five thousand li long, but the area with serious soil erosion is only three thousand li. I believe that building a shelter forest with a width of five li and a length of three thousand li will be enough to solve the problem of the Yellow River overflowing with sand and the rising of the river bed!
I have estimated that this shelter forest will require about three hundred million saplings. If we use poplar saplings that are easy to survive and cheap, they will only cost one or two copper coins each. Three hundred million saplings will cost at most seven hundred and fifty thousand strings of cash! "
Li Er almost fainted. He said angrily, "Seven hundred and fifty thousand strings of cash? Is this the cheapest way to manage the Yellow River? "
Xiao Yu and the others also widened their eyes in shock. They shouldn't have spoken up for Li Zexuan just now. The expenditure was too huge, so huge that the Great Tang Imperial Court couldn't afford it!
Li Zexuan cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the estimated price of 750,000 strings of cash is based on the fact that the white poplar saplings are being purchased in large quantities, causing the price to skyrocket! Currently, the price of white poplar saplings in Chang 'an City was as low as one copper coin for two. Moreover, the saplings could be directly obtained by cutting the branches of adult trees in the fields. The cost was low and the reproduction speed was fast. It was completely possible to mobilize the people of various counties to cultivate the saplings themselves!
The imperial court can also encourage the people of the counties along the Yellow River to plant trees to offset part of the taxes. Moreover, this protective forest belt is definitely not something that can be completed in a year. This subject conservatively estimates that it will take at least five years! In other words, within five years, the amount of money that the imperial court spent on building the forest belt, directly or indirectly, was at most 150,000 strings of cash!
Furthermore, the government did not have to fork out all of the money. They could ask the citizens to fork out a portion, such as the Warm Tang Foundation! Based on this calculation, the imperial court would spend at most 70,000 to 80,000 strings of cash to build the forest belt, and the actual amount of money needed would be much lower than this. "
Li Er's expression softened slightly. He frowned and said, "70,000 to 80,000 strings of cash is not a small amount!"
Li Zexuan clasped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, each year is at most seventy to eighty thousand strings of cash for a total of five years. Ideally, the Imperial Court's investment in these five years should be able to solve the problem of the Yellow River once and for all. Otherwise, the Great Tang will frequently face the risk of the Yellow River bursting its banks! Your Majesty, think about it. Every time the Yellow River bursts its banks, the imperial court would have to repair the banks and open up the warehouses to provide relief. How much money would be spent on this?
It can be said that the losses that a large scale flood would bring to the Tang Empire would be comparable to the cost of building the forest belt! Therefore, this subject believes that instead of frequently repairing the banks and opening up the warehouses to provide relief in the future, it would be better to start building the forest belt on both sides of the Yellow River!
Furthermore, the imperial court can set up a day as Tree Planting Day and encourage the people to plant trees on that day. The more people there are, the more strength there is. This can reduce the financial burden on the imperial court! "
Hearing this, Li Er closed his eyes and pondered for a long time. Finally, he said, "Alright! I'll believe you this time! We'll do as you say. We'll restore the old system and reappoint Shan Yu and Lin Heng. We'll build the forest belt on both sides of the Yellow River. From now on, the 20th of March will be Tree Planting Day! As for Shan Yu and Lin Heng, do any of you have suitable candidates in mind ~? "
Everyone looked at each other and finally looked at Li Zexuan. Li Zexuan was dumbfounded. He quickly waved his hands and said, "Your Majesty, you can't! You can't! This subject has too much work to do. I really don't have the energy to take on the roles of Shan Yu and Lin Heng. Your Majesty, please find someone else! "
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