Live History Broadcast: Opening Ceremony Spoilers - Our Ancestor Was Enraged

Chapter 18 Yang Guang's Infrastructure Construction

Lin Ke: "In history, there are only two dynasties that died after only two generations: the Qin Dynasty founded by our Zheng Ge and the Sui Dynasty founded by Yang Jian. So what kind of person was Emperor Yang of Sui, Yang Guang?"

First Emperor, Ancestral Dragon: ...

"I will surpass the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, and look down upon the Shang and Zhou dynasties, so that they will be unmatched for ten thousand generations..." This was the goal that Emperor Yang of Sui set for himself, which can be said to be very ambitious.

"When his father was still emperor, he wasn't the crown prince, but his reputation was far better than Yang Yong's, who was known for his extravagance and lust. He was described as having [handsome appearance and early intelligence]."

"When I was still only interested in eating, drinking and having fun, Yang Guang had already followed the old generals on expeditions to the south and north, conquered Jiankang, the capital of Chen, sealed the Chen treasury, and did not take a single coin of gold and silver. At this time, his wisdom was known throughout the world."

"But people are always greedy. When Yang Guang was feeling down late at night, he felt like something was missing. He looked up and saw his brother's position as crown prince."

"Yang Yong, while his father was a famously frugal man, was much more vulgar. Not only did he have a large number of wives and concubines, but he also liked to gather with ministers and had a set of golden armor made for himself."

"Over time, Yang Jian had to give him a heads-up to restrain himself! But instead, he became even more outrageous!"

"After seeing this, Yang Guang laughed. This was simply an opportunity presented to him. So Yang Guang began his acting career. He acted exactly like his father! Whenever Yang Jian and Dugu Jialuo visited him, Yang Guang would always pretend to be very simple and unassuming."

"Gentlemen, if you compare the two sons, which one would you prefer?"

A wealthy merchant from the Song Dynasty: Of course, it's the youngest son.

Zhang Fei, a rough but shrewd man: I don't think either of them are good people!

"Therefore, in 600 AD, the eldest son was deposed and the younger son was established as the crown prince."

"By the way, regarding the death of Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian, some people say that Yang Guang was responsible, but there are not many records of this, it is almost mentioned in passing."

Sui Dynasty

Upon returning and hearing this, Yang Jian was enraged and pointed at Yang Guang, exclaiming, "You unfilial son! You unfilial son!"

"Now that his parents are gone, Yang Guang has no one above him to restrain him, so he can do whatever he wants!"

"At this time, someone advised: Your Majesty's destiny belongs to the element of wood, and Yongzhou is located at the intersection of wood and wood, so it is not suitable for you to stay for long. Rebuild Luoyang and restore the Jin Dynasty's rule."

"Yang Guang waved his hand and agreed. At that time, Yang Guang ordered that every tree in Luoyang be wrapped in silk and that rare building materials be transferred from all over the country. For example, the pillars had to be made of Yuzhang wood, and rare flowers were also used. The new Luoyang was completed in less than ten months, but at the same time, the suffering of the common people was increasing rapidly."

"The number of people mobilized is so large that even Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, didn't need this many to build the Great Wall!"

"This new Luoyang will mobilize two million able-bodied men every month. It's like truckloads of treasures being transported into the city and truckloads of corpses being hauled out. Once it's built, people will definitely be allowed to visit it."

"Yang Guang summoned envoys from various countries to visit, which lasted for more than a month. The number of participants reached more than 18,000. Some people might ask, won't foreign envoys boost the economy? Unfortunately, all the drinks in the city were free, and the main focus was on making the exhibitions and displays free."

"Do you think the suffering of ordinary people in the Sui Dynasty ended there? This was just the beginning."

"Emperor Yang of Sui, who wanted to be comparable to the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, started his second infrastructure project - the Grand Canal."

Sui Dynasty

The farmers in the countryside stopped what they were doing, their joy of harvest extinguished by Lin Ke's words.

Why are we so unlucky to have to live with this emperor!

A little girl covered in dirt tugged at a woman's clothes, crying out, "Mother, why isn't Father back yet?"

The woman's eyes were numb, but she seemed to react a little when she heard these words. She wiped the girl's face, as if hypnotizing herself: Your father will come back, be good, listen to me!

"Emperor Yang Guang ordered the construction of the Grand Canal, which ran from Beijing all the way to Luoyang and then to Hangzhou, with a total length of approximately 2,700 kilometers."

"Leaving aside the manpower and resources expended, this step of the Grand Canal connected the north and south of the country, making the empire's waterways accessible in all directions. It not only promoted economic and cultural development, but also strengthened control over the northeast and the south."

"The problem was that Yang Guang was too impatient. For example, he demanded that the Yongji Canal be completed within five months, putting all the pressure on the people at the bottom of society."

"He ordered all male soldiers over the age of fifteen to work, regardless of gender, totaling 3.6 million people. Goodness, the population at the time was only over 50 million, and last time only about 20 million were mobilized. With this, some of them may have worked twice."

"I'm not saying this to be mean, but Yang Guang, you're really dishonest! You didn't pay him for his work, and he didn't even get a pension after he died! It was all unpaid labor. In this respect, you're not even as good as Qin Shi Huang, Ying Zheng!"

"Later generations discovered the tomb of happy, a low-ranking official of the Qin Dynasty, at the Shuihudi site, where most of the bamboo slips were unearthed."

"Among them, the Qin Law states: If a criminal is serving a service, the service can offset the crime. If an ordinary person is serving a service, the wages are settled according to the number of days of service. If they choose to live at home, they will receive eight coins a day; if they choose to live on the construction site, they will receive six coins a day."

"Furthermore, to digress a bit, the story of Meng Jiangnu crying down the Great Wall is not accurate."

"According to later research, Meng Jiangnu was a figure from the Warring States period, not from the Qin Dynasty. So the common people of the Qin Dynasty should not misunderstand their emperor!"

The First Emperor knew that Lin Ke was biased towards him, but he really didn't expect her to be so biased towards him and to stand firmly in his defense of him. It didn't seem so bad!

Liu Che knew that Lin Ke, that brat, was openly biased towards the First Emperor. And now it's started again. He hoped that the ancestor from that timeline would be careful. He couldn't help his descendants.

"Ahem, back to the main topic. Under Yang Guang's influence, the river was repaired, and it was time for Yang Guang to show off again."

"He built dragon boats that were 13 meters and 5 stories high, 15 meters wide and 60 meters long, and he owned 5,191 such dragon boats."

"I really wish I had a father like Yang Jian; the wealth he left behind is just too much!"

Big Han Liu Zhuzhu: Who says otherwise!

Liu Qi, the Great Chess Master of the Han Dynasty: (smiling) Che'er?

……