In the Taiji Palace.
Li Shimin, who had just walked out of the pain of losing his father, did not pay much attention to the court. Now, he was shocked by Mo Jiazi's speech.
"Regarding Meton's proposal for the development of Jiangnan, let's discuss it!" Li Shimin said loudly.
Immediately, the expressions of the officials varied. Most of the officials in the north belonged to the Five Families and Seven Kingdoms. Naturally, they knew that Mo Jiazi's purpose in proposing the development of Jiangnan was to break the encirclement of the Five Families and Seven Kingdoms.
The officials in the south were excited. For a long time, the south had superior conditions, but its development was lagging. As a result, the southern officials did not have much influence in the court. Mo Jiazi's proposal for the development of Jiangnan was exactly what the Jiangnan officials wanted. Once the south rose, their position in the court would also rise.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, Marquis Mo's plan has been in progress. Jiangnan has always been known as the land of fish and rice. However, the population is relatively small, and a large amount of wasteland has not been reclaimed. If the court greatly supports and takes the opportunity to promote Johor rice, just as Marquis Mo said, in less than ten years, the wealth of Jiangnan will definitely double."
Although Feng Zhidai did not get along with Mo Jiazi, the development of Jiangnan proposed by Mo Jiazi was greatly beneficial to Jiangnan. As the representative of the Jiangnan aristocratic families, the Feng family naturally had to speak up for Jiangnan. After all, this involved their own interests. Once Johor rice made a contribution, the Feng family would also make a great contribution.
"Yes, Lake Su and the two lakes are flat. With a bit of cultivation, there will be a large amount of fertile land. If we combine this with planting Johor rice, the world will be rich," a southern official said loudly.
"However, other than this, many hills in Jiangnan can be developed into terraced fields. Once Jiangnan is developed, the arable land in the south will not be inferior to the land in the central plains. Moreover, the yield will be higher."
"Planting mulberries in ponds, raising silkworms in mulberry leaves, feeding silkworms in pupae, and fertilizing mulberries in ponds. The mulberry fish pond model will be spread to Jiangnan.
…
One by one, the Jiangnan officials spoke freely. They were all moved by the beautiful vision of the development of Jiangnan.
Li Shimin could not help but look at Su Lingnong. Su Lingnong immediately stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the trial planting of Johor rice in the two lakes has been successful. Some areas in the two lakes can also achieve three crops a year."
"Alright!" Li Shimin's eyes suddenly lit up. If the Johor rice was successfully planted in Lingnan, it did not mean anything. However, if the Johor rice could be successfully planted in the land of the two lakes, wouldn't that mean that high-yield rice could be widely planted south of the Yangtze River? The benefits contained in this made Li Shimin's heart skip a beat.
"In the opinion of the Minister, the promotion of Johor rice is one of the priorities, but the construction of brick roads is also the most important. Back then, Merton proposed three vertical and five horizontal plans. Now, they are all being built in the north, but there are very few in the south. If you want to get rich, you have to build roads first. The south is rainy and the roads are muddy. If the brick roads are not smooth, no amount of wealth can be transported to Chang 'an." There were also some radical southern officials who directly quoted Meton's previous idea and openly sought benefits for the south.
"Yes, Yazhou is the best example. Since the construction of brick roads in Yazhou, the tribute oranges in Yazhou have been popular in Chang 'an and Luoyang. The Jiangnan area is rich in fruits. If the brick roads can be built, and with the help of farming techniques, in three to five years, the expensive fruits will definitely become the daily food of ordinary people." Su Lingnong suggested.
Once the Jiangnan area was developed, it would definitely be the time for farming to prosper. Naturally, he was eager to advise.
"This is not the dereliction of duty of the Ministry of Works. There are many rivers south of the Yangtze River. Just the number of bridges that need to be repaired is innumerable. The difficulty of building brick roads is multiplied. In addition, the brick roads are continuously paved. Now the southern brick roads are only paved to the three towns of Hankou. The brick roads further south are still under construction." The assistant minister of the Ministry of Works, Zhang Liang, made excuses for the Ministry of Works.
"How long will it take? Now that the brick roads of the Longhai Line are unblocked, it is imperative to build a smooth brick road from the north to the south. It is beneficial for both the country and the people." Feng Zhidai said proudly.
Once the brick roads were built south to Lingnan, it would take him at most half a month to return to Lingnan. It was more than the original journey. Moreover, everyone knew the benefits of building a brick road through the Tang dynasty. However, most of the officials in the imperial court were from the north. The brick roads in the north had already branched out and connected many important economic towns. The effect was very obvious. The road construction in the south had almost stopped. The proposal of the Jiangnan area development immediately ignited the faint conflict between the north and the south.
"The road construction in the south is too heavy, and there are too many bridges. The amount of work is too large."
"Simply ridiculous. Not to mention building the Wei River Bridge, we only need to build it to the scale of the Qu River Bridge to make the Jiangnan area unblocked."
"A Qu River Bridge costs tens of thousands of strings of coins. How many rivers are there in Jiangnan? How many bridges need to be built? I'm afraid the entire national treasury won't be enough."
…
Suddenly, the officials from the north and the south quarreled, constantly fighting for their own interests.
For the Jiangnan officials, as long as the imperial court agreed to the development of Jiangnan and followed Mo Jiazi's plan, the rise of Jiangnan was just around the corner.
For the northern officials, especially the five families and seven hopes, once Jiangnan rose, it would directly threaten the position of the five families and seven hopes. The consequences would be even more serious than Mo Jiazi's. Naturally, they could not let the south get what they wanted. They did their best to suppress and delay the rise of Jiangnan.
However, after all, the Jiangnan officials were alone and weak. Facing the many southern officials, they quickly lost the argument.
"Your Majesty, please make a decision." The Jiangnan officials were still unwilling. They asked Li Shimin for help.
Li Shimin opened his mouth and couldn't help but look at Dai Zhou. Unfortunately, Dai Zhou shook his head. Everyone knew that Mo Jiazi's plan had many benefits, but everyone also knew that the fatal flaw of Mo Jiazi's plan was the cost. If the imperial court really supported the development of Jiangnan, then the cost would be astronomical. The Ministry of Civil Affairs could not afford it.
Li Shimin couldn't help but sigh and comfort, "The development of Jiangnan involves too many things. This matter needs to be considered at length."
Although he was quite interested in the development of Jiangnan, the focus of the Tang dynasty was still in the Central Plains. Moreover, the cost of the development of Jiangnan was astronomical. Even he couldn't help but click his tongue when he thought about it.
"However, if you want to be rich, you must first build roads. Minister Zhang, the brick road connecting the north and south is imperative. The Ministry of Works must build it as soon as possible." Li Shimin changed the topic.
"Yes!" Zhang Liang, the Minister of Works, braced himself and said. The matter of building the brick road connecting the north and south had already been placed on the Ministry of Works' desk. He had delayed it for so long and could no longer hold it back. Now, he could only push the boat with the current.
The Jiangnan officials couldn't help but look gloomy. Li Shimin's meaning was clear. He probably didn't have the money to carry out the development of Jiangnan. He was only responsible for building the brick road. The rest would be up to the people of Jiangnan to rely on themselves. Without the support of the imperial court, it would be impossible for Jiangnan to surpass the Central Plains with its own strength.
Many people couldn't help but look at the old man at the front of the officials. This person was the leader of the Jiangnan officials, Xiao Yu, Duke of Song.
Xiao Yu was ranked in the Lingyan Pavilion and held a high position. If he was willing to speak for Jiangnan, he would definitely be able to obtain more benefits for Jiangnan.
"On behalf of the people of Jiangnan, I thank Your Majesty!"
What surprised the officials was that Xiao Yu didn't fight for the interests of Jiangnan. Instead, he took the initiative to accept this result.
The northern officials couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. They knew that although they had temporarily protected their interests, they had offended the aristocratic families of Jiangnan.
"An overt scheme. This must be Mo Jiazi's overt scheme," the officials of the Five Surnames and Seven Watches said through gritted teeth.
Everyone knew what Mo Jiazi meant when he mentioned the development of Jiangnan. If the Five Surnames and Seven Watches took the initiative to cooperate with the development of Jiangnan, it was no different from cultivating an enemy for himself. If the Five Surnames and Seven Watches stopped the development of Jiangnan, it would push the aristocratic families of Jiangnan to Mo Jiazi's side. No matter what, Mo Jiazi wouldn't be at a disadvantage.
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