Chapter 3396 3398【Flip the Forbidden City】

 In order to realize the comprehensive transformation of the capital, Xiang Nan also invested huge sums of money and even demolished many residential buildings.

Of course, every household was given high-priced compensation. Many envious residents could not help but wonder why their homes were not demolished.

 The acquired land was used by Xiang Nan to build high-rise buildings. Of course, tall buildings in ancient times should not be too high. They were all about seven stories and were built with steel bars, cement, concrete, etc.

 After such a house is built, it can accommodate more people and more shops, which is beneficial to people's living and business transactions.

Moreover, not only the capital city was renovated, but the Forbidden City was also renovated.

The construction of the Forbidden City began in the fourth year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1406), and it has a history of 369 years. Although it has been repaired many times during this period, it is still inevitable to suffer from aging. Such as the gold bricks for paving the road, the roof tiles on the temple, the supporting columns, etc.

In previous years, there were only minor repairs, but this time Xiang Nan hopes to do a major demolition and renovation.

The Forbidden City was originally a civil structure, which consumed a lot of large timber, so that later it was difficult to find such large timber. Later, when the Qianqing Palace was burned down, the palace of the Ming Tombs was also forced to be demolished.

Now Xiang Nan plans to change it to a reinforced concrete structure, and widely distribute water pipes, drainage pipes, floor heating pipes, electric wires, etc. underground to make the major palaces more livable.

Everyone who has visited the Forbidden City knows that even though the emperor is of the highest rank, the queens and concubines are all neither rich nor noble, but in fact the houses they live in are not big at all.

 Qianlong's palace in Yangxin Hall was only ten square meters.

Of course, there are reasons for doing this. Because among the Feng Shui theories that the ancients believed in, one of the most important ones is "Don't live in a house where there are few people in it."

 It may sound superstitious, but it actually makes sense.

 Because the heating measures in ancient times were not in place. If the house is too big, it will be difficult to heat it. Living in a cold room makes people naturally uncomfortable and prone to colds and fevers. In ancient times, colds and fevers could easily kill people.

 In comparison, if the house is narrow, it is easier to keep warm. A fire pot can make the whole room feel like spring.

In addition, the emperor's palace is small, and another advantage is that there are no safe corners. In a house of ten square meters, let alone one extra person, even one extra ornament can be noticed at a glance.

However, after Xiang Nan's renovation, all palaces were equipped with floor heating, so heating is no longer a problem. Then the house can naturally be built larger.

As for preventing people from sneaking in and plotting, to be honest, it is a bit unnecessary.

If an assassin really breaks into the emperor's palace, there will be no use waiting for the emperor to see him.

 …

In order to demolish and build the Forbidden City, Xiang Nan and his party moved to the Old Summer Palace.

Yuanmingyuan was mainly built from the end of Kangxi to the Yongzheng period. It was originally a garden awarded to Yongzheng by Kangxi in the 46th year of Kangxi. After Yongzheng ascended the throne, it underwent large-scale expansion.

 Historically, Qianlong expanded the Old Summer Palace again and added Changchun Garden and Yichun Garden, collectively known as the "Three Old Summer Gardens". The prosperity of the architecture and the beauty of the gardens are the highest among all gardens in the capital.

However, after Xiang Nan ascended the throne, he has been practicing strict economy, and he has to save food and clothing in the palace. Naturally, he did not build many such gardens, so he did not build Changchun Garden, Yichun Garden, Summer Palace and other gardens.

Even the Old Summer Palace, Changchun Garden and other gardens that were built before are rarely used to live in. This time it was mainly because of the renovation of the Forbidden City that I had to come to the Old Summer Palace.

Moreover, coming to the Old Summer Palace and looking at the lakes and mountains will make you feel better, which is also good for Ruyi's recuperation.   …

Just as the capital is being renovated and the Forbidden City is being overhauled, planning for railways in various provinces has also begun. In addition, the Yellow River dam is also under investigation.

 Building railways and building dams requires a large number of talents. For example, surveying, planning, design, and construction supervision are impossible without relevant skills and experience.

 Fortunately, Xiang Nan has carried out education reforms before and has taught millions of high-tech talents over the years.

Coupled with the practical experience of large projects and projects such as the Yellow River Bridge, Yangtze River Bridge, Southeast Railway, Eurasian Railway, etc. in recent years, a large number of skilled and experienced talents have been cultivated, and therefore it is necessary to build railways and dams. There are enough people to use it.

If it were still the previous imperial examination, selecting one or two hundred Jinshi every four years, building railways all over the country, and building dams on the Yellow River, it would be a wonderful idea, and the manpower alone would not be enough.

 …

Xiang Nan did not hesitate to spend a lot of money to build railways in various provinces.

But fortunately, building railways is something that will benefit the present and benefit the future. Just like the Beijing-Tianjin Railway, when it was first built, many people thought that Xiang Nan was spending money excessively and wasting public funds.

As a result, after the Beijing-Tianjin Railway is completed, trains will run back and forth non-stop every day, and all kinds of goods and people will be exchanged, and the freight alone will be earned. Not to mention how many taxes have been collected after the economic stimulus. It can be said that this road is a golden road.

 And now that the bank has been opened, the court actually no longer has funding worries. If you don't have enough money, you can print more. Anyway, there are more than 2 billion taels of silver in the national treasury as a reserve.

If Xiang Nan was more ruthless and used monetary leverage, he could issue 20 billion taels of silver banknotes. Let alone city-to-city railways, even county-county railways can be considered.

Of course, given the current level of economic development in the country, it is really not feasible to do that. The city-to-city railway is now able to meet the demand.

 …

Time flies. One year later, the exploration team established the location for dam construction at Bali Gorge in the middle reaches of the Yellow River.

Bali Gorge is the last canyon in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. It is said that it was formed by Dayu in the past when he controlled the water and split the mountains. The canyon is eight miles long, so it is called Bali Hutong. Bali Gorge includes Dayu Gorge, Longfeng Gorge and Gushan Gorge, collectively known as the Little Three Gorges of the Yellow River.

 Experts from the exploration team all believe that it is most suitable to build a dam here.

Xiang Nan also knew about Bali Gorge, and knew that the first Yellow River dam in New China was almost built here. However, Soviet experts later recommended Sanmenxia, ​​so Balixia missed the opportunity.

The Sanmenxia Dam, which was built at a huge cost, not only failed to achieve the expected effect of blocking electricity, but instead led to the destruction of hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile farmland in the Weihe Plain. Later, the Xiaolangdi Project was added, and the Yellow River was completely conquered.

Xiang Nan learned the lesson from Sanmenxia and set the goal of “water control and sediment discharge” at the beginning of the Balixia Dam design.

With his participation in the design, the plan for the Yellow River Dam was quickly implemented and construction began immediately.

 When they heard that Xiang Nan was going to build a dam on the Yellow River, many people in Li screamed in disbelief.

Because the Yellow River has been wild and untamed since ancient times, even Emperor Yu the Great was unable to completely tame the Yellow River, causing it to suffer from constant flooding for thousands of years.

Even if Xiang Nan has great abilities, can he still compare with the saints?

 (End of this chapter)