"The fastest way to get from western Liaoning to Laizhou is to cut the bend and take the sea route straight. If you take the land route, you have to go around a big bend and spend more than half a month, which is a lot of trouble."

"The sea is indeed windy and rushing, but the route is very mature. The Beiyang Trading Company's fleet is trustworthy. Look, did Brother Que arrive in Laizhou safely?"

While looking at the letter from his son Yuwen Weihan, Yuwen talked to Yang Lihua. Yang Lihua held the portrait of her son in her hand, looked at the familiar posture and replied helplessly: "I have never been on a sea boat, so I'm a little worried..."

"Worried, this is nothing, but don't be frowning all day long. Brother Que is growing up and it's time to go out and see. Otherwise, if you're stuck in Chang'an, what's that like?"

"Look, Jilang took a walk around Longyou, and he was much more energetic, right?" Yu Wen Wen said this, got up and walked to the window, looked at the scenery outside the window, feeling refreshed and happy: "Come and take a look, Hebei style is different from Guanzhong."

Yang Lihua got up after hearing this, came to the window, looked at the scenery on the shore outside the window, but didn't know how to answer.

To be honest, the scenery on the shore seems to be nothing strange to her, so should she just pretend to echo Yu Wen Wen or "reveal feelings"?

Before Yang Lihua could answer, Yuwen Wen turned his head and looked at her: "Come on, let's take a pose and give you a sketch for your husband."

"Uh... Can you not pose a scissors hand?"

Yang Lihua felt a little embarrassed. Seeing Yuwen Wen shook her head, leaning against the window honestly, smiling slightly, and posing her scissors hand.

Yuwen Wen held a charcoal pen and painted on a drawing board with white paper. Because the ship was a little shaking, the painting speed was slower than usual.

Yang Lihua tried her best to keep her posture so that Yuwen Wen could complete the painting as soon as possible. Looking at her husband's concentration, she thought of her son Yuwen Weihan again.

Yuwen Weihan and Guan Junrong went to Youyan to "run" and have now arrived in Huangcheng, Laizhou, where Qingzhou General Administration, and have been sending letters to Chang'an along the way, accompanied by sketches.

Different sketches have different scenery, but what remains unchanged is Yuwen Weihan's smile and scissors hands.

Yang Lihua was very puzzled by Yuwen Wen's strange request. Her son went from Liaoxi to Laizhou and actually took the risk of taking the sea route. This made her mother very worried. However, she knew that her worries were useless, so she could only burn more incense and pray that the Buddha would bless her son.

As she thought about it, Yang Lihua was a little dazed, but when she heard Yuwen Wen say "laugh", she quickly regained her smile.

"So, a kind mother defeats her son..." Yuwen Wen muttered. Yang Lihua's expression changed just now, but he saw it, "If you have the chance, I must take you to sea to see it!!"

"No...I can't stand the big bumps..."

"Then don't move!"

“Yes yes…”

Looking at Yang Lihua's awkward smile, Yu Wen Wen was very satisfied. The other party's "saying no, but his body is honest" style really made him feel endlessly.

The beauty intoxicated him, and the same is true for the country, so he had to go out to inspect from time to time to see the sufferings of the people and see if someone fooled him.

Since ascending the throne, Yuwen Wen has been "staying in Guanzhong for three years. This time he went to Hebei for a tour, and then took his family out to have a breath, take a look at the beautiful mountains and rivers, and change his mood.

By the way, I would like to inspect the traffic conditions of the Yongji Canal to see if someone took the opportunity to exploit and extort the people along the way because of the construction of the canal.

The Yongji Canal, which runs southwest to northeast, is nearly 2,000 miles long. It connects the Yellow River at the southern end and reaches Yan County in Youzhou at the northern end. Once the construction is completed, it will be more convenient for the imperial court to mobilize grain from Hebei, and control over Hebei will be further strengthened.

So after Yuwen Wen ascended the throne, he immediately started to carry out various preparations for digging the Yongji Canal. After preliminary investigation and demonstration, a plan was quickly decided, and then manpower and material resources were mobilized to start construction.

Digging a canal is not from scratch. This Yongji Canal actually connects many rivers in Hebei to form a connected waterway. Many sections of the canal are actually the river channels of the existing rivers.

Therefore, the excavation distance of the entire Yongji Canal is not as long as two thousand miles. It can also be used to use the existing ancient canal channels. The difficulty is not as great as imagined. After completion, the transportation conditions in Hebei can be greatly improved.

In this era, water transportation is the most effective mode of transportation, and the canal is the expressway of this era. However, the construction of the Yongji Canal has been carried out for more than two years, and only one-quarter of the river section (half of the southern section) has been completed.

Yuwen Wen would never "repeat" the mistakes of Emperor Yang Guang of Sui, and would not recruit millions of people from Hebei in order to dig the Yongji Canal and complete the construction that year.

In this way, the speed is faster, but the price is that countless people's families will be destroyed.

People's strength is very precious. As the emperor, we must cherish it and must not abuse it. Yuwen Wen dares not squander the people's hearts and strength at will.

This time he went on a tour, went out of Tongguan and arrived in Luoyang, entered the Heyang area on the north bank of the Yellow River through the river bridge, and then boarded the boat in Wuzhi and started the canal journey.

The end point is where the canal enters the Zhang River. This distance is the current navigation section of the Yongji Canal. The destination of his patrol is Xiangzhou Yecheng, located in the upper reaches of the Zhang River.

Of course, the emperor must have a show when traveling, but in order to avoid the need to waste money, Yuwen Wen did not make any extravagance. The so-called "dragon boat" he and his family were simply modified from ordinary passenger ships.

The draught is not deep and the weight is very light, so his so-called "dragon boat" does not require the people to drag it on the shore, and they can move forward by relying on the boatman on the boat.

Yesterday, the fleet had passed the Liyang territory. After walking for a few more days, it would be possible to reach Yecheng. Yuwen Wen took his family on a boat and had food and accommodation on the boat, which would save the prefectures and counties along the way from being exhausted and damaged, and he built a large-scale palace for reception.

I don’t know how long it took, but Yu Wenwen finished drawing the sketch and saw Yang Lihua taking the painting and looking at him, he moved out of the cabin.

On the deck, Yuchi Chifan and Xiao Jiuniang were taking their children to see the scenery, but were pestered by the excited little guys, and they didn't notice that Yuwen Wen came out.

Yuwen Wen didn't say anything, walked aside, held the railing and continued to look at the scenery beside the canal.

With the sound of horse hooves, a large number of cavalrymen on both sides of the canal followed the fleet. The imperial guards who were busy in Chang'an all day long finally had the opportunity to come out and breathe. The soldiers galloped one by one, which was extremely comfortable.

Looking at the ships in front and behind, Yu Wen Wen didn't care about his fleet with an ordinary appearance. As the emperor, he didn't need to rely on extravagance to demonstrate his emperor's power.

What is the face of the emperor?

An honest and efficient official, a strong army, a peaceful and prosperous people, a warehouse full of money, grain, cloth and silk.

And a convenient transportation network allow central government orders to reach various prefectures and counties without any obstacles.

Whether it is Nanzhong, Lingbiao and Liaodong, they are "tied up" by a well-connected transportation network, closely connected with the Central Plains and will never be separated.

As he thought about it, Yuwen Wen looked at the front of the canal and the distant Youyan land in the northeast. He not only wanted to see Youzhou, but also Liaodong.

The Central Plains have been in chaos for hundreds of years, so it is given the opportunity to invade Liaodong. Now, the child who has been home for nearly two hundred years is back.

He ordered the excavation of the Yongji Canal not only improves transportation in Hebei, but also wants to revise Liaodong.

This canal will be a tough umbilical cord, connecting the orphan of Liaodong with the Central Plains mother again, allowing Liaodong to absorb rich nutrients from the mother body and grow vigorously.
Chapter completed!