Chapter 42: Precautions, Large-Scale Relocation

According to the current time calculation, the envoys from various countries had already returned to their countries.

At this moment, the fact that Su Liang possessed hot air balloons must have been known to all neighboring countries. Since they were unwilling to surrender, they must have made full preparations.

Sigh... the Buyeo people were still as united as ever, Su Liang couldn't help but lament.

Goguryeo and Baekje were both empires established by the Buyeo people moving south. Previously, Su Liang had received news from the Bu Liang Ren that both Goguryeo and Baekje were secretly training soldiers, and not only that, they were conscripting soldiers on a large scale.

Looking at this move, it was definitely intended to attack Silla.

For this reason, Su Liang had to take precautions...

Now that the matter of Su Liang killing the Japanese envoys must have reached Japan soon, he didn't know what kind of reaction Japan would make. After all, the leader of the Tang envoys Su Liang killed was Soga no Iruka, the only son of Soga no Emishi, a powerful official in Japan.

Historically, Soga no Iruka had once been powerful, killing Prince Yamashiro no Ōe, the son of Prince Shōtoku, almost emptying the authority of Empress Kōgyoku, and endangering the authority of the royal family. In the end, he was killed by his cousin Soga no Ishikawamaro uniting with ministers to launch a coup.

It was no exaggeration to say that Soga no Emishi, the father of Soga no Iruka, had more power than Su Liang.

The current Soga family was not only the top noble family in Japan but also relatives of the emperor. The previous two emperors of Japan, Emperor Yōmei and Emperor Sushun, were cousins of Soga no Emishi.

Not only that, the current Empress Suiko was also a cousin of Soga no Emishi.

If Soga no Emishi really wanted to launch a coup, he could easily drive his cousin off the throne.

This was also what Su Liang was worried about.

According to the original historical trajectory, there was still about a year before Empress Suiko passed away. But at this time, Su Liang had killed Soga no Emishi's only son. Soga no Emishi would definitely persuade his cousin to deal with the Great Tang.

A small Japan alone wouldn't be taken seriously by the Great Tang. He was only afraid that Japan, Goguryeo, and Baekje would unite. After all, everyone understood the truth that if the lips are gone, the teeth are cold. If it really developed like that, it would be a troublesome matter for the Great Tang.

Sigh... maybe at this moment, the hot air balloon had already been developed by the surrounding small countries, which was not known.

Thinking of these, Su Liang couldn't help but sigh. It seemed he had to make preparations early.

At this moment, Li Er also noticed Su Liang's sigh and couldn't help but frown and ask: "Son-in-law, why do you sigh? Is there any trouble?"

"No... no, hehe... it's just Your Majesty overthinking. I'm just feeling a little emotional," Su Liang denied hurriedly.

In the short term, these small countries would never dare to attack the Great Tang; that would undoubtedly be seeking death. He was only afraid that these three countries would take Silla and then form a unified front, which would definitely be a hidden danger for the Great Tang.

As for the threat, hehe... naturally, it couldn't be counted.

As Su Liang's words fell, Li Er also frowned slightly, not believing Su Liang's words.

But thinking about it, forget it. Since Su Liang didn't want to say more, Li Er couldn't force him.

Seeing Li Er's puzzled gaze, Su Liang said indifferently: "Your Majesty, the north is severely short of water, and I am just considering this matter."

Instantly, a flash of brilliance flashed in Li Er's eyes, and he looked at Su Liang with anticipation: "Does the son-in-law have any good solutions for the drought in the north?"

"This... this..." Su Liang was speechless for a moment, not knowing what to say.

If he told Li Er now that Su Liang planned to connect the Shandongbandao and the Liaodongbandao and fill the sea to create a lake, Li Er would definitely be shocked.

This was like the artificial lake "Dishui Lake" in Modu. Originally, the location of Dishui Lake was the sea. With the accumulation of time and artificial construction, it became a freshwater lake.

There were many precedents in foreign countries in later generations, such as the Zuiderzee project in the Netherlands. The Zuiderzee was located in the northwest of the Netherlands and penetrated deep into the inland like the Bohai Sea. From 1927 to 1932, the Dutch used the method of reclaiming land from the sea to create a sea dike 90 meters wide and 7 meters above sea level. Afterward, they drained the seawater while injecting river freshwater.

Decades later, the Zuiderzee completely became a freshwater lake and was renamed IJsselmeer.

Nowadays, the Yellow River, Hai River, and Liao River were constantly injecting freshwater into the Bohai Sea. One only needed to consider the problem of the Bohai Sea level.

As long as the Bohai Sea level was higher than the seawater outside, there was naturally no need to drain the seawater of the Bohai Sea. In addition, one needed to pay attention to the height of the dike on the Bohai coastline to prevent seawater backflow.

After all the seawater in the Bohai Sea became freshwater, there was naturally no need to worry about the water flowing backward.

Just as Su Liang was pondering these, Li Er's gaze had been fixed on Su Liang, waiting for Su Liang's next words.

Feeling Li Er's burning gaze, Su Liang also told the truth: "This can indeed be solved. Not only can it solve the drought problem, but it can also solve the problem of water shortage in the north."

"It's just that..."

"It's just what? Son-in-law, just say it," Li Er looked at Su Liang excitedly.

At the same time, the others also cast their gazes toward Su Liang.

Su Liang had to continue: "It's just that it's a matter for decades later. By then, the north will no longer be short of water resources, and there will be no need to worry about drought."

"Decades... decades..." Li Er muttered to himself.

After pondering for a moment, Li Er looked at Su Liang and said: "Son-in-law, just say it. As long as it can benefit future generations, I will definitely support it with all my strength."

"It can be done, it's just that this matter cannot be done in the short term."

"Why can't it be done?" Li Er asked.

"The method I mentioned is to connect the Shandongbandao and the Liaodongbandao. At this moment, the Liaodongbandao is still Goguryeo's territory, so this matter cannot be done for now," Su Liang said indifferently.

As Su Liang's words fell, everyone was shocked.

"Son-in-law, seawater cannot be used, and irrigation is even less possible," Fang Xuanling, who had come back to his senses, said immediately.

"Hehe... Minister Liang, you don't know about this."

"For example, if you keep adding water to wine, after adding more and more water, is that wine still wine?" Su Liang asked in return.

For a time, everyone was speechless. After all, what Su Liang said was indeed reasonable.

Moreover, Su Liang wouldn't use this matter to joke.

"Son-in-law, the distance between the Shandongbandao and the Liaodongbandao is a full two hundred li. Although there are many islands between them, the distance to build a dam is much less, but it's still about one hundred and seventy or eighty li."

"Moreover, we don't know how deep the Bohai Sea is, and we don't know how many people are needed to complete this matter," Li Er said in a low voice.

"The average depth of the Bohai Sea is six zhang." As soon as Li Er's words fell, Su Liang blurted it out. As for the deepest depth of the Bohai Sea, Su Liang didn't tell Li Er, but he thought Li Er knew something about it.

"Why shouldn't Your Majesty be worried about Goguryeo, but instead care about this?" Hearing that Li Er didn't ask about Goguryeo, Su Liang also asked.

"Hehe... son-in-law is joking. Yang Guang originally wanted to consume the foundation of the noble clans, which allowed Goguryeo to escape a disaster."

"If I were to lead the army in person, only one hundred thousand elite soldiers would be enough," Li Er laughed loudly.

It had to be said that Li Er was quite confident. Historically, Li Er only used one hundred thousand people to attack Goguryeo. By comparison, Yang Guang used three million troops to attack Goguryeo three times, not to mention the larger number of laborers.

It could be seen how much of the noble clans' foundation Yang Guang consumed back then.

"Hehe... Your Majesty is also joking. Ten thousand Divine Machine Battalion soldiers are enough," Su Liang laughed lightly.

"Sigh... son-in-law, you are wrong!" Li Er sighed and shook his head slightly.

As the words fell, Su Liang became interested.

He immediately asked: "Oh? Why does Your Majesty say that?"

"Hehe... attacking Goguryeo, ten thousand Divine Machine Battalion soldiers are indeed enough, but the cattle, sheep, horses, gold, and silver of Goguryeo always need someone to transport them, right?" Li Er laughed, looking like a businessman.

Su Liang was extremely depressed upon hearing this. This Li Er had tasted the sweetness of the Turks.

Nowadays, he would actually have such an idea.

Su Liang was speechless for a while, only to hear Li Er say slowly: "The people of my Great Tang are indeed hard-working in road construction. These spoils of war should be transported by the soldiers..."

Speaking of this, Li Er seemed to have suddenly thought of something, looking at Su Liang excitedly with burning eyes: "Son-in-law... son-in-law, now that Goguryeo also has more than three million people, why not let them help build the sea-enclosing dam."

Su Liang looked at Li Er with full approval upon hearing this: "Your Majesty is truly a good calculator. This huge project that benefits the country and the people was solved by Your Majesty in just a few words."

"Hahaha..." Li Er laughed loudly immediately.

Everyone in Furong Garden also looked happy. Since Su Liang appeared, many things had become much simpler.

Within a month, after the Divine Machine Battalion completely mastered the use of mortars, they would definitely be able to shock all countries in one fell swoop.

A moment later, this topic was also passed over by everyone.

Afterward, they discussed the relocation of Changan City...

"Son-in-law... regarding the construction of the new Changan City, do you have any other good opinions?" Li Er looked at Su Liang with anticipation.

"This... I do have some ideas."

Su Liang said indifferently: "I didn't consider the water usage of the people before, but now I have a relatively good method."

"Not only can it solve the problem of the people's domestic water usage, but it can also solve the problem of the people's toileting."

Su Liang hadn't considered many aspects clearly before. When he built Taoyuan County, it was the same. He almost forgot that the relocation housing in Changan City was different from the modern courtyard houses in Taoyuan County; those were small buildings five or six stories high.

The water usage and toileting problems of the people hadn't been considered thoroughly.

After all, Su Liang had lived in the Great Tang for fifteen or sixteen years before this. He almost forgot some things. It wasn't until after Su Liang's wedding that the system rewarded him with an encyclopedia search engine that he slowly became familiar with them.

"Hehe... the son-in-law still understands my thoughts. Recently, I have been having a headache because of these." Li Er laughed.

"I wonder what method the son-in-law has?"

"When building small multi-story buildings, you can build tap water and bathrooms together. Not only that, you also need to leave the wiring for the electricity," Su Liang said unhurriedly.

As the words fell, everyone was confused.

They were already accustomed to some terms that often appeared in Su Liang's mouth that they couldn't understand.

Afterward, Su Liang also explained to everyone what tap water, bathrooms, and wires were.

When they heard about tap water and bathrooms, everyone marveled. Just when they heard about wires and electric lights, everyone was dumbfounded and stood there blankly.

After everyone came back to their senses, Su Liang continued: "I've said so much, everyone definitely doesn't believe it. In a few days, I will let everyone see what an electric light is."

Actually, Su Liang could take it out now; he just needed to redeem it from the system. But Su Liang didn't want to be so eye-catching. It was better to be low-key. After all, Su Liang still wanted to save prestige points to redeem a small car.

Thinking about it, there was less than half a year left until the road was all built. It would be a pity not to go out for a ride by then.

After pondering for a moment, Su Liang looked at Li Er and continued: "I will hand over the design blueprints for the small multi-story buildings to Your Majesty in two days. Your Majesty can arrange for the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue to prepare for the related work matters now."

"Good, good, good... after I return to the palace, I will arrange it. I am waiting for your design blueprints."

Time passed slowly, and the relocation work in Changan City was proceeding in an orderly manner.

What Su Liang didn't expect was that after more than a month, the relocation population of Changan City had been counted, and the number of households had reached more than one hundred thousand.

Li Er ordered all dilapidated places to be demolished.

At the same time, the road from Changan to Luoyang had been completely built, and Li Er also let the thirty thousand laborers in Taoyuan County participate in the renovation of Changan City.

A full half a month later...

The people voluntarily signed up to participate in the construction of Changan City, not for anything else, but because His Majesty Li Er was building houses for them and improving their lives, so they naturally would contribute.

Counting it all up, the number of people building Changan City was now approaching one million.

Regarding this matter, Su Liang was not stingy at all, giving the people who voluntarily participated in the construction of Changan City the same wages as before.

The time for building Changan City was still half a year. It had to be said that there was strength in numbers.

During this period, the court officials were shocked...

This matter clearly had nothing to do with Su Liang, yet Su Liang spent a full one hundred thousand jin of gold for it!!

But thinking about the glassware won by the Taiyuan Wang clan for four million gold a while ago, they felt relieved.

At the same time, Li Er was overjoyed.

Su Liang's move not only helped him speed up the construction of Changan City, but during this period, Li Er also held many glassware auctions, and the gold and silver harvested from the noble clans were enough to make his hands soft. ===== CHAPTER 43 =====