Chapter 451 Planning Beiping City, Returning to the Fundamental Issues

A few days later, Zhao Jun arrived at Beiping Prefecture in early May.

Beiping Prefecture is Xijin Prefecture in Nanjing, Liao State, and also the capital of my country, Beijing.

As early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Yan State planned this place as Youbeiping County, and later called it Ji County and Yanjing.

When it was renamed Beiping County in the Western Jin Dynasty, Beiping became another name here.

Shi Jingtang, the child emperor of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, ceded the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun to the Liao State, and Beijing became Liao territory. It was first set up as Nanjing Youdu Prefecture by the Liao people, and then changed to Xijin Prefecture.

Three years ago, in the sixth year of Qingli, Fan Zhongyan, the prime minister of the Song Dynasty, led the Song army to conquer Xijin, expelled the Liao people from the pass, and recovered the rivers and mountains of the Han people.

The court decided to restore it to its old name of Beiping, and abolished Beijing Daming Prefecture, one of the five capitals of the Song Dynasty, and moved it to Beiping.

Beiping's geographical location determines its important geopolitical value, so heavy troops are deployed here.

It was the height of summer in May of the lunar calendar, and the weather was getting hotter. The wide official road should have been crowded with people, but the recent abnormal climate meant that there were fewer merchants and civilians.

At this moment, a large group of people and horses were moving slowly on the road. Wang Shougui summoned 5,000 elite guards to escort them from the outside, and the horse team in front held flags to clear the way.

In the middle, there was a ceremonial guard beating drums and gongs. Teams of soldiers were fully armed. Although they were not allowed to carry guns, they were also equipped with halberds and axes.

Zhao Jun's own guards were guarding around the carriage, beating gongs and drums all the way to Beiping Prefecture.

Zhao Jun was helpless about this.

This was the prime minister's ceremonial guard. As one of the five capitals, Xijin Prefecture naturally had such equipment.

Although he wanted to be low-key, he was low-key in the local area. After arriving in Beiping Prefecture, he had to act high-profile and let all the people and aristocratic families in Youyan Road know about it.

First, it demonstrated the authority of the court, and second, it was also a warning to these aristocratic families-telling them who the real owner here was.

Otherwise, if they still act in a low-key manner and are submissive, the local noble families will think that the court is weak and can be bullied.

When the convoy arrived outside Beiping Prefecture, Zhao Jun lifted the curtain of the carriage, and a wave of heat hit his nose.

He glanced around. There were fertile farmlands on both sides of the official road. Many people were busy in the fields and near the canals in the scorching heat.

The main river in Beiping is the Sanggan River, and there is also a Gaoliang River. The famous Gaoliang River Battle took place in the southeast of the city.

The Sanggan River flows from northwest to southeast, passing through the southwest corner of Beiping City and heading southeast.

A large number of farmers along the river bank are digging canals. Although the Han people in Youyan are slightly resistant to the government's policy of paid labor service, there are few responses.

But the government is still willing to organize the digging of canals.

After all, it is their own land. If they don't work hard, they will starve to death if the grain harvest fails.

In front of us is the South Gate of Beiping Prefecture, which is majestic and tall. The height of the city is comparable to that of Bianliang, and even better than that of Bianliang, and it is comparable to ancient capitals such as Chang'an and Luoyang.

Zhao Jun's position is outside Danfeng Gate, one of the southern city gates. There is also an urn outside, called Qixia Gate. Entering the urn and passing Danfeng Gate is the former Liao Nanjing Imperial Palace.

The light black city wall was carved with knives and axes, and there are still many dents left. It is obvious that when Fan Zhongyan attacked the city, he used cannons to bombard the city wall.

After entering the city through the urn, it is the Liao Imperial City. The left and right sides should be the Yu Yuewang Temple and Yongping Pavilion, but Zhao Jun only saw a square, which is very different from the Liao Nanjing floor plan he had seen before.

After passing the square and approaching the palace, Zhao Jun noticed that many places on the palace wall outside the palace were burnt gray and black. Obviously, a very large fire had occurred here.

"When Lord Fan attacked Beiping, the Liao people set fire to the city in an attempt to stop the might of our heavenly army. Fortunately, Lord Fan was very smart and used the trick to defeat the Liao people!"

The convoy stopped in front of the palace. Zhao Jun got off the carriage and saw him looking at the marks on the palace wall. Yang Ting, who was also the prefect of Beiping Prefecture, introduced: "Now some of the burned palaces and palace walls have been demolished, and some have been slightly repaired, which is what it looks like now."

They did not rebuild, but just demolished the burned palaces. For a while, the palace seemed empty. Many missing palaces made the building complex look untidy and lacked some beauty.

Zhao Jun nodded slightly and said: "Where is your office now?"

"In the west of Qingliang Palace and Linshui Palace, that side is close to Guanyin Lake and has not suffered much fire damage."

Yang Ting pointed to the west of the palace.

If Liaonan is cut horizontally and vertically into four areas, then the entire southwest corner is the imperial city area.

But the imperial city area is not exclusive to the Liao royal family, but also has streets and markets, and even villages. The former Liao imperial city market in the distance has been burned, leaving only a wasteland, like the wild weeds everywhere.

A few miles away from the palace, a huge lake can be vaguely seen, which is probably two or three square kilometers in area. The weeds and wormwood on the lakeside sway in the wind, and there are continuous buildings on the east bank.

As the Beijing of the Song Dynasty, Beiping Prefecture has theoretically become Zhao Zhen's palace. If local officials move in, it would be tantamount to treason.

Therefore, their office and residence can only be outside the palace, and the palace has become a decoration.

"It's a pity that such a large area is empty."

Zhao Jun pointed to the imperial city in the distance, which was like a wilderness, and said: "Cancel the imperial city, and vigorously develop the construction in the city. Otherwise, so much land should be left here. Isn't it a waste?"

"Uh"

Yang Ting was surprised: "Then where should the government office be moved?"

"Go into the palace and take a look."

Zhao Jun stepped forward and entered the palace gate into the palace.

Compared with the wild areas, the damaged area of ​​the palace was less. The main reason is that most of the buildings in the imperial city are made of wood. Once a fire breaks out, it can easily spread.

The imperial palace was protected by palace walls, and the Liao imperial palace had few buildings and a large area. There were only a few palaces such as Jianing Hall, Yuanhe Hall, and an artificial lake, so it was basically not affected much.

After walking into the palace, you will see the same spacious square, and there is still a lake on the left, named Yaochi.

Facing the south gate, there is a large palace called Yuanhe Hall about 200 meters away from the palace gate.

At this moment, Yang Cha, Yang Gao, Wang Si, and Tang Jie have gone to investigate and deal with the Cui Yi corruption case.

Except for Wang Anshi, Chen Xiliang, Su Huan, Li Xiaoji, and Zhao Bian, there were only a few senior officials such as Yang Wei and Zhou Hang who led the way.

They took Zhao Jun into the palace and introduced the situation to him.

Zhao Jun entered the Yuanhe Hall and came out from the back door of the Yuanhe Hall. Because the palace has very high steps leading to a height difference, he could stand on the high steps and scan the entire palace.

I saw that about four to five hundred meters behind Yuanhe Hall was Jianing Hall. There were only two or three small palaces next to it, which looked quite shabby.

Then he looked down at the overall situation of the palace, then went out from the north gate, climbed to the Yanjiao Tower in the northeast corner of the imperial city, and looked down at the current appearance of Beiping City.

Yanjiao Tower is where the Emperor of the Liao Dynasty climbed up to look into the distance and observe Jin. Later, the Jin Kingdom destroyed the Liao Dynasty, and Jin Xizong stationed himself here in Yanjing.

Zhao Jun used a telescope to overlook the entire city of Beiping. The streets in the city were far from prosperous and far from Bianliang. Many buildings were burned down by fire three years ago, and there were few new buildings. They looked quite depressed.

Seeing the appearance of the current Beiping City, compared with the vast and boundless Beijing City of later generations, it is simply one with eighteen floors underground and one with thirty-six floors in the sky.

In the afternoon, Zhao Jun, who had seen the current situation of Beiping City from the palace, wiped his sweat and returned to Yuanhe Hall to have a meeting with everyone.

Yuanhe Hall is not just one palace, but a small palace complex. In addition to the main hall, there are side halls on both sides, a rear pavilion in the northeast corner, and a side hall in the northwest corner.

The hall is also divided into an outer hall, an inner hall, a back room, and a side pavilion. The overall structure is quite spacious, which can meet the functions of meeting and resting between the Liao emperor and his courtiers.

Zhao Jun stepped into the inner hall with his hands behind his back, looked around and said: "I think this place can be used as the official office of Beiping Prefecture. Two more palace walls will be built behind it to divide the South Palace and the North Palace. The South Palace is like Bianliang. The Constitutional Yuan, the Ministries, the Privy Council, and the Beigong are His Majesty’s residence. Anyway, His Majesty has never been to Peiping. Even if he comes in the future, he will only stay for a few days at most. It is a serious waste to leave such a large area empty. "

"this"

As the magistrate of Beiping Prefecture, Yang Tian was directly responsible. Hearing Zhao Jun's words, he hesitated and said: "But if the palace is overhauled, wouldn't it go against the official saying that the royal family should be simple and should not be luxurious?"

"I asked the officials not to do this before, but now I do it in Beiping Mansion. Of course I have my reasons!"

Zhao Jun said.

"Please also ask the Supreme Court to clear up my doubts."

Yang Tian handed over his hand.

Everyone also looked at him curiously.

Zhao Jun glanced around and saw a dragon chair above. Naturally, he didn't sit down. He just sat on the first seat below the dragon chair and said, "Sit down and talk."

Wang Anshi and others sat on Zhao Jun's side according to their official rank, while Yang Tian and others sat on the opposite side.

But naturally they did not dare to sit face to face with Zhao Jun, so they vacated the first seat opposite and sat in the row below.

After everyone was seated, Zhao Jun said: "I think Beiping Mansion is too depressed. There are many dilapidated buildings in the city. It shouldn't be like this here."

He looked around at the crowd and said: "During the Liao Kingdom, this was the most prosperous capital of the Liao Kingdom, with a large population and prosperous economy and trade. The current situation is no different from what it was back then."

Yang Tian explained: "After the First World War in Peiping, a large number of streets in Nancheng were burned down, and the North City was also affected. Many people in the city either migrated or died in the war. The population has been greatly reduced. It may take a few more years to return to its former glory."

"No."

Zhao Jun shook his head and said, "You still haven't seen the essence of the matter."

He said: "The prosperity of a city lies not only in its special significance, but also in its location."

"Beiping is adjacent to Yanshan Mountain in the north and is surrounded by rivers and plains, making it suitable for farming. Therefore, from the very beginning, the foundation was laid for a large number of people to live here."

"But it is not enough to gather people in the fields. There are so many plains in Hebei but there is no such metropolis. This is because of its special geographical location."

"It is connected to the outside of the Pass in the north and the Central Plains in the south. When it was the territory of the Han people, it could have close contact with the barbarians outside the pass. When it was the territory of the Liao people, it also communicated with the Song Dynasty, and this was how it built such a big city."

"It is unrealistic to increase the city's population by relying solely on local farming people, because farmers will not give up their fields and come to the city."

"Only by allowing Peking's commerce to flourish can city construction be quickly restored and the current depressed situation changed."

Whether an ancient city could prosper was related to local agriculture, but it was only a basic relationship. The real decisive factor was commerce.

The most typical examples are Chengdu, Quanzhou and Guangzhou.

Especially Quanzhou and Guangzhou, which should have been remote and wild places in ancient times, became one of the top ten cities in the Song Dynasty. They had a large population and were extremely prosperous, which was due to sea trade.

So agriculture is the basis for maintaining the local population, but commerce determines whether this place can become a large city.

Zhao Jun looked at everyone and said: "The current problem of Beiping Prefecture is that commerce has not been built up. Many caravans no longer stop or travel in Beiping, but go south to Bianliang or north to Liaoyang, which makes Beiping Prefecture meaningless."

"Well, I figured it out, Dean. In the past, Liao-Song trade used Beiping as a transit station, and goods were concentrated here, so it flourished."

Wang Anshi was quick-witted and immediately said: "Now that we have recovered Yanyun, the Liao people's trade with us has dropped significantly. Although the Northeastern Jurchens and Bohai tribes trade with us, they are mainly in Liaoyang, and the caravans only It is to regard Beiping as a city for resting while passing through, rather than the trade distribution center in the past. "

"Yes."

Zhao Jun praised: "This is the change of Beiping Prefecture now. The war is indeed the main factor for the depression of Beiping Prefecture now. The war has caused the stagnation of business in the city, and the development has not progressed but regressed, and the market is sluggish and depressed. But now three years have passed. If it develops normally, even if it cannot restore the previous prosperity, it should have warmed up. But it is still like this now, and we have to find the reason. "

"What should we do then?"

As the prefect of Beiping, Yang Ting is naturally concerned about this issue.

Zhao Jun made the final decision: "Build a large-scale construction! While Beiping is in ruins, the government will invest and re-plan the streets and roads in the city. As long as a large number of workers are recruited to build the city, the city will naturally prosper quickly. "

Workers come to build houses, and a large number of people flow in, which will inevitably lead to the settlement of small vendors, handicraftsmen and other industries.

With infrastructure and handicraftsmen, the caravans will naturally come.

After all, the reason why the caravans from the north do not settle in Beiping now is that Beiping is becoming more and more depressed, and the degree of commercial prosperity has been greatly reduced. Without the goods they need, it can only be a resting place for caravans passing by.

But as long as there are goods, there will definitely be caravans who choose to buy goods in Beiping and transport them to Liaoyang or Zhangjiakou and other Song-Liao borders to sell them.

After all, the current trade routes between Liao and Song and between Song and Jurchen, that is, from transporting to Zhangjiakou or Liaoyang, are very long and the cost is very high.

If it is transported from Bianliang to Beiping, sold to merchants in Beiping, and then sold to the border by merchants in Beiping, the cost will be much lower.

So as long as Beiping is rebuilt to attract migrant workers and handicraft workers, it will not be difficult to restore the former prosperity or even take it to a higher level.

"The governor is wise!"

"So the construction is to restore the prosperity of Beiping. I am shallow."

"The governor has foresight. We are ashamed of ourselves."

When Yang Ting, Zhou Hang and others learned the reason, they were all impressed by Zhao Jun's foresight.

But Zhao Jun shook his head and said, "It's not that easy."

"Is it because the court has no money?"

Yang Ting hesitated. It would cost a lot of money to build a large-scale project, and the court would need to allocate funds. If the court had no money, it would be difficult.

Zhao Jun shook his head again and said, "No, the court is very rich now."

A new tax collection policy has been formulated at the beginning of the year. The court's tax revenue is expected to increase significantly next year. How could a court with an annual income of 200 million guan be short of money?

"What is that?"

Everyone was puzzled.

Zhao Jun said bluntly: "This is back to the original problem. The Han people in Youyan do not trust the court, and there are also aristocratic families who are obstructing them. Even if you have money, you may not be able to recruit so many people. So if you want to build and develop, you must first solve the local aristocratic families!"

"So that's it!"

In an instant, everyone suddenly realized.