Chapter 338: Should Kaifeng Be Rebuilt or Not

"Kaifeng needs to be rebuilt!" Standing atop the tower, gazing down at the bustling scene of the Eastern Capital, Liu Chengyou sighed with feeling.

When the First Emperor of Qin destroyed Wei, the Qin general Wang Ben led troops to attack Daliang, flooding it with water, and the Wei capital was destroyed in one blow. In the following centuries, Kaifeng remained in a state of decay and decline. From the Eastern Wei to the Northern Zhou, it was established as a prefecture called Liang, and only later became Bian Prefecture, serving as the prefectural seat. It was not until the mid-Tang period, when Chancellor Li Mian governed Bian-Song and rebuilt Daliang, that it rose again—and that was already over a hundred and seventy years ago.

Zhu Wen usurped the Tang and established the Liang, elevating Bian Prefecture to Kaifeng Prefecture and making it the capital. The Jin and Han dynasties followed suit. After half a century of development, Kaifeng had completely supplanted Yong and Luo, becoming the political, military, cultural, and economic center of the north.

However, after decades of rapid growth, the city's age and backwardness could no longer keep pace with social and economic development, nor could it fulfill its function as the capital of a great state. Successive dynasties had carried out repairs and maintenance on Kaifeng, but all of it was patching and mending on the existing urban foundation.

Thus, in Liu Chengyou's eyes, Kaifeng certainly had its splendor, but what he felt more deeply was its disorder and filth. He had come out to observe the people's condition precisely because he wanted to see those shortcomings.

This was not the first time Liu Chengyou had lamented how small Kaifeng's city walls were and how congested its roads were. Throughout the city, the sanitation situation was especially worrying—foul streams pooled together, drainage was poor, and waterways were clogged. Moreover, summer had already arrived, and the stench of rot and decay was about to seize the city, with the streets and markets being the worst. The system of separating markets from residential wards was also increasingly outdated, especially for Kaifeng, where the commercial atmosphere grew ever stronger.

Residential houses were dense and crowded, and the common folk were often troubled by the threat of fire—one small mistake and there was the worry of a blaze. Basically, every month, fires broke out in the city, mostly concentrated in the residential wards. Even in broad daylight, looking around in all directions, one could see traces of smoke and fire; in the early morning or evening, the entire outer city of the Eastern Capital was thick with cooking smoke.

In the final analysis, it was still a problem of urban planning. Kaifeng's ancient urban foundation severely conflicted with the developmental needs of an imperial capital, compounded by the Kaifeng government's severe lack of urban management capability.

Never mind that since Hou Yi became Governor of Kaifeng, there had been two major crackdowns—those only satisfied the most basic needs of public security in Kaifeng. They were far from achieving the great governance of favorable weather and harmony.

Of course, no matter how many shortcomings Kaifeng had, they could not obscure its geographical and economic advantages.

"The Eastern Capital is already so magnificent—does the young lord still wish to rebuild it?" The young Lady Zhe looked at Liu Chengyou's profile and voiced her doubt.

Hearing this, Liu Chengyou took a deep breath, tilted his head, and asked softly: "In this air, besides the scent of vegetation and cooking smoke, what else do you smell?"

Doubt flickered in her clear, rippling eyes. The young Lady Zhe put on a charming air, tried sniffing, and seriously savored it for a moment. Her brows slightly furrowed, she said: "It seems there's a faint sour and rancid smell."

Nodding, Liu Chengyou pointed directly at a street not far away where pedestrians were walking, and continued to ask: "That road is the main thoroughfare here. Do you think a carriage could pass through it?"

The young Lady Zhe looked, thought for a moment, then shook her head: "I'm afraid not!"

The market road here was narrow and congested. Given the width of an imperial carriage, it could barely pass through—but the word "barely" alone was enough to show how inconvenient it was.

Seeing that the young Lady Zhe's face now carried a hint of contemplation, as if she had gained some insight, Liu Chengyou was secretly pleased at her intelligence. He turned and raised his hand, pointing south: "Look at that boat—it moves with difficulty. To reach the northern market, how much extra time will it need to spend?"

Following the direction of Liu Chengyou's finger, one could see on a tributary of the Bian River a small boat, fully loaded with goods, threading through the waterway, heading for the market. But obstructed by roads and houses, it had to go around in a circle before it could enter the market.

"I don't know!" The young Lady Zhe pondered for a while, then shook her head. But after a brief pause, she said with certainty: "However, I understand what the young lord means!"

Seeing the young Lady Zhe grasp his idea so quickly, Liu Chengyou could not help but feel joy in his heart. He sighed inwardly—no wonder she was "She Taijun," truly an extraordinary woman, not merely one who would not yield to men.

"What a pity—I wish to rebuild but cannot!" Liu Chengyou sighed again with melancholy.

"Why?" The young Lady Zhe was indeed stirred with curiosity.

Liu Chengyou spread his hands in a helpless gesture: "Without money and grain, how can we rebuild?"

The young Lady Zhe did not say anything foolish like "How could the Emperor lack money?" Instead, she showed an understanding expression and comforted him: "When the young lord has money, then rebuild!"

Hearing her plain and honest words, Liu Chengyou nodded and could not help but smile.

Of course, waiting for the court to have money would probably be a long wait. The current Great Han court, besides its normal administrative and military expenditures, simply dared not spend money recklessly. Recently, the only major expenditure had been the allocation for river works.

Just as Wang Pu had predicted earlier, after the Beginning of Summer, the *Great Han Criminal Code* was completed, published and proclaimed to the world. Over fifty young officials were selected from the court and the capital region to study the Code.

The compilation of the Criminal Code took thirteen months in total. Adhering to Liu Chengyou's original intent, aside from making revisions, additions, and deletions as circumstances required, it used the old laws as a blueprint and restated them in simplified form, aiming for ease of understanding.

Of course, this "ease of understanding" still had its threshold and steps—it was not something anyone who recognized a few characters could comprehend. In these years when literary culture had declined, the overall quality of the realm's literati had deteriorated. Most scholars, when faced with the old laws, with their obscure and complex passages, even if they studied them with a research mindset and could read them, could not necessarily explain them.

As for Liu Chengyou's selection of personnel to study the law, they were all chosen from the Kaifeng Prefecture, Dali, the Ministry of Justice, and the Censorate. This was specifically to cultivate legal talent for the court. A new office was established, called the Legal Studies Directorate, and upon Fan Zhi's recommendation, the Attending Censor Zhang Shi was made its Director. Among these people, all who completed their studies would be dispatched to the prefectures and counties across the realm as Administrative Assistants for cases and prisons.

At the same time, to promote the Criminal Code, Liu Chengyou issued an explicit edict to all prefectures and governments across the realm, calling on officials, clerks, and scholars to study it. He also set a three-year period, establishing a Law Illuminati examination, and specially held one imperial examination session for it.

With the Han law completed, Fan Zhi, credited with the foremost achievement, was promoted to Left Director of the Department of State Affairs and Chief Minister, and enfeoffed as a marquis. He became the youngest chancellor in the court, effectively filling Dou Zhengu's seat. Among the other officials who participated in the legislation, over ten in number, most were rewarded with money, grain, vessels, and silk, and then promoted according to their talents. Some took up substantive posts, while others, like Legal Studies Directorate Director Zhang Shi, became Legal Studies Doctors, devoted to teaching.

As for Wang Pu, once the law was completed, he immediately, with thunderous efficiency, began preparing the river management affairs. Gathering a group of assistant officials who had some knowledge of river works, he left the capital to survey the hydrological details of the Bian River basin.

The river management project had already officially begun, and the money and grain were already prepared—there was no reason to divert them. Moreover, the river works were also related to the court's strategic plans for the southward campaign.

Therefore, at this moment, even though Liu Chengyou had the intention to plan the expansion of Kaifeng, his heart was willing but his strength was insufficient. Of course, the court still had a modest surplus of grain, but that was reserved for strategic contingencies, to guard against unexpected situations like border affairs or disasters. Most importantly, reserves of money and grain had to be prepared for the southern expedition.

In fact, ever since Liu Chengyou had set the strategy of nurturing the people, accumulating money and grain, and repairing armor and weapons to attack Huainan, all the preparations had already been underway. Once war broke out, with the expenditure of money and grain, the court would have even less energy to manage Kaifeng.

On the other hand, regarding whether to rebuild Kaifeng or not, Liu Chengyou also harbored another layer of concern. Because the thought of moving the capital would occasionally surface in Liu Chengyou's mind. Kaifeng could serve as the Great Han's economic center, but in political and military terms—especially military defense—it truly gave one cause for doubt.