"Although you said it is not without reason..."

Wu Meiniang pondered for a moment and said, "But just because of this, I'm afraid it's impossible."

Han Yi nodded and smiled, "The Queen said, of course it is not possible to rely on this point alone, but this is particularly critical, because if this system is not abolished, there is no other way. This matter is done by man and no matter how clever the method is, someone must implement it. If you want to make the grain transportation better on this system, you think that is nonsense. This is why I hope to abolish the grain transportation, rather than change it."

As long as this operating model is used, it will inevitably cause a lot of waste and exploitation of the people.

The imperial court's government orders were correct, but to transport food to Chang'an, the government had to maintain the operation of the imperial court. However, after the government orders, the imperial court could not control how local officials would use this government order.

Wu Meiniang nodded and said, "Even if the canal transportation is abolished as you wish, what should I do afterwards?"

Han Yi said: "That's much simpler, just leave it to the businessman."

"I'm afraid the cost will be higher if I give it to the businessman."

"This thing is vaguely expensive---."

Before Han Yi could finish his words, Wu Meiniang said curiously: "What does this have to do with the fact that things are rare and precious?"

"Of course it's relevant." Han Yi explained: "The canal transport only transport grain and tribute. In other words, the canal transport is the only fleet serving the imperial court. No matter what, once it becomes the only one, it will naturally be expensive. If it is handed over to merchants, it is not the only one. When the cargo ships on the river shuttle day and night, the transportation cost will naturally become much cheaper. For example, if there are 10 million ships back and forth on the canal every year and the grain needed to be used is one million stones, then the average grain transported by each ship is only ten stones, and even if they are asked to send it for free, they will be willing."

Wu Meiniang said angrily: "But there must be tens of millions of ships."

"This is just an example."

Han Yi smiled embarrassedly and said, "With the beginning of trade between the north and the south and the northwest, merchant ships in various places will inevitably increase significantly, and the canal transportation will appear redundant. Every time the merchant ships arrive in Chang'an, they transport a little grain day and night, and never stop. In a year, this amount is enough, just twenty times more. In addition, there is still a disadvantage in the canal transportation. Today's canal transportation is only two points and one line, which is the starting point and the end point. However, in this case, it will take a long time and greatly consume manpower and material resources. If the merchant ships have to avoid this, they can transport it in four or five points, one line, and one line at a time. For example, if a person runs 10,000 steps, it will never be as good as a hundred people running 10,000 steps. Moreover, when the distance reaches a critical point, although it is only one person, the money you spend on it will definitely be more than you hire a hundred people."

Wu Meiniang also seemed to understand it, but this was not important. As a ruler, she didn't need to know every detail. She just needed to know whether Han Yi's plan was virtual or real.

She and Li Zhi were both worried about this because Han Yi was too exaggerated and unbelievable. Is there a different purpose or, this is just a trap.

But now it seems that Han Yi is really sure, so he really may abolish the canal transport. Wu Meiniang pondered for a while and said, "But canal transport is very important to the court. Even military rations have to rely on canal transport. Do you think this is appropriate to hand over such important matters to merchants?"

Han Yi said: "As it said, this thing is precious because it is rare. Today's canal transportation is the only fleet that transports food to the court, so it seems extremely precious. But when thousands of merchants transport food to the court, it will appear to be ordinary, just like breathing, no big deal, it is just a transaction.

In addition, the court only handed over the task of transporting food to merchants, rather than the power to merchants. This rule was decided by the court. This is like the court does not need to let every citizen come to the court to be an official. The people are just the people, so just use the law to restrain them.

The same is true for the river transportation. The merchants transport food, but the imperial court can set up some special departments, or directly dispatch royal police to monitor the river, or set up relevant departments on the docks to check the goods coming and going, so that they can control the goods more effectively. If it is the canal transportation, everyone will be officials, and the imperial court will not be able to supervise it."

Wu Meiniang nodded slightly, thought for a while, and said, "You made a lot of sense, but no one has done this before, and no one knows the consequences of doing this. This is not your business. No matter how big the mistake you make, it is just a loss of money. This is a major national event, and you have to consider it carefully."

Han Yi said: "Please rest assured that the queen is not planning to abolish the grain transport in one day. The reason why I requested three years is that I hope to gradually reduce the scale of the grain transport in these three years and abolish the grain transport step by step."

Wu Meiniang glanced at Han Yi slightly, pondered for a moment, and suddenly said, "Actually, there is a better way."

Han Yi was stunned for a moment, suddenly opened his eyes, immediately understood, and whispered: "My queen's meaning is that she hopes to move the capital to Luoyang."

Wu Meiniang said, "Isn't this possible to solve it once and for all?"

Han Yi said: "The Empress, in terms of geographical location, Chang'an and Luoyang have their own advantages and disadvantages. Just talking about the grain transportation, Luoyang is indeed more convenient. But my opinion is that this is not a matter of one day or one night, nor is it a change in food. The Empress should not forget that half of the troops in the country are in the Guanzhong area, and there is such a large piece of land in the northwest. If the capital moves eastward, it will weaken the imperial court's control over the northwest."

Wu Meiniang pondered for a while and said, "In this way, is this impossible?"

Han Yi said: "That's not, but you can't be in a hurry. You need to take it step by step. In addition, abolishing the canal transportation and switching to merchant ships can also promote the development of Luoyang. The benefits of the canal transportation today cannot benefit the people, but will bring harm to the people, and only benefit those who are officials. If you switch to merchant ships and increase trade in various places, Luoyang will inevitably become the economic center of the world. Wherever the money is, people will naturally go, and everything will be natural."

How smart Wu Meiniang is, she naturally would not let Han Yi fool her for a few words. After thinking for a while, nodded and said, "I will feel much more at ease if you have such a consideration." At this point, she sighed softly and said, "That is, you, if it were someone else, I'm afraid that Your Majesty wouldn't care."

Han Yi bowed and said, "I will definitely not let down the trust of Your Majesty and the Queen."

Wu Meiniang nodded with a smile.

———

After meeting Han Yi, Wu Meiniang returned to her bedroom and informed Li Zhi of some of Han Yi's theories.

"It seems that he is really confident that he can do it." Li Zhi just wanted to know if Han Yi is really capable of fulfilling his promise. As for how Han Yi does it specifically, he doesn't want to understand, and he doesn't understand it either.

Wu Meiniang nodded and said, "From his performance, it should be. I wonder if Your Majesty plans to let him do it?"

Li Zhi pondered slightly and said, "What do you think?"

Wu Meiniang shook her head gently and said, "This is not a trivial matter, and I dare not speak nonsense."

Li Zhi was thinking for a long time and suddenly said, "If he could really increase the food delivered to Chang'an twenty times, I would rather let him give it a try."

Wu Meiniang said, "I wonder what considerations Your Majesty is for?"

Li Zhiruo said: "Now the world is stable in the north and south, and there is only one Goguryeo left in the east. It is not worth worrying. The main threat comes from the tribes in the northwest, as well as the Tubo in the west and the tribes in the northwest. Although they surrendered to our Tang Dynasty, they still have to wait until the northwest plan is successful before they can completely control the local area. If Tubo has been expanding over the years, it can be seen that its ambition is quite large and it is also my biggest concern. If more food can be transported from Jiangnan, I can have a stronger army in the northwest to ensure the suppression of Tubo."

Han Yi was right. If you want to transfer the center to Luoyang, it is not a matter of day or night, but you still need to make a long-term plan. Wu Meiniang nodded and said, "Your Majesty is considering it carefully." The reason why she always wanted to transfer Luoyang was to avoid the Guanlong Group. But the problem is that the trend of the Tang Dynasty was to move westward, not eastward, because the sea on the east side, how could it be possible to move the political center eastward while moving westward? At least it had to wait until the northwest stabilized before she was qualified to talk about moving eastward.

Li Zhi smiled and said, "I hope Han Yi will not disappoint me."

Li Zhi is definitely not a foolish monarch. The reason why he promised Han Yi was not entirely forced by Han Yi, nor was he fooled by Han Yi. He could refuse it. However, Han Yi's reforms were highly consistent with his strategic layout. Li Zhi had ambitious ambitions and was never willing to stay under Li Shimin. The Tang Dynasty had the largest territory under his rule, and it gradually shrank and became smaller after him.

At present, the Tang army wiped out the Turks, and the north and south were safe, but there were some threats on both sides of the east and west. The problem of Goguryeo was no longer how much threat it was to the Tang Empire. It was only a part of being beaten. The question was whether it could be eliminated in one fell swoop. The main opponent was Tubo, and the northwest had not yet been completely stabilized. Tubo also had power in the northwest. If the suppression of Tubo could not be maintained, once Tubo attacked, the northwest might be in chaos. This is very terrible.

The biggest problem in the northwest is that there is no food. Therefore, Li Zhi agreed to Han Yi's request. The only reason was that twenty times the food. As long as there was enough food, he could have a stronger military force in the northwest. In that case, he could not only suppress Tubo and consolidate his control over the northwest, but if it could be further increased, he would have to advance westward and expand the territory of the Tang Dynasty to a field that the Central Plains emperor had never set foot in. If he could do this, break the regional restrictions, and complete the great achievements that the Qin Emperor and Han Emperor Wu and Emperor Tang had not completed, then he would be the first emperor in the ages, and he also had the capital to challenge Li Shimin.

It can be seen that this canal transportation is by no means a trivial matter, because it carries the future of the Tang Dynasty.
Chapter completed!