Chapter 270 Moving the Capital
Li Jiancheng himself actually liked Chang'an more, after all, it was where he grew up, but he also knew that Chang'an was no longer suitable as the political center of the Tang Dynasty.

Not only was it somewhat remote and difficult to control the southeast, but also the grain output in the Guanzhong region could no longer supply Chang'an, especially when he mobilized a large number of troops when he was cleaning up the court.

Although Guanzhong is known as a fertile land, its land is narrow and the output is not enough to supply the capital or to prepare for floods and droughts.

Now that we have not suffered any natural disasters and the population is still recovering, we can still transfer grain from other places. However, due to the rugged terrain, we must travel by land, bypassing the natural barrier of the Yellow River, and then organize shipping, which is very difficult.

In the fourth and fourteenth years of Kaihuang, there was famine in Guanzhong. Emperor Wen of Sui twice led officials and civilians to flee famine to Luoyang, the eastern capital, to solve the problem of food.

If a drought really occurred, even if the imperial court mobilized all its resources, without smooth water transportation, the grain would be far from enough to meet the needs of Guanzhong.

Then Li Jiancheng had no choice but to follow Emperor Wen's example and become the new grain-chasing emperor, taking government offices and a large number of troops out of Guanzhong and leaving the transported rations for the people.

Luoyang is different. Although it does not have the advantage of Chang'an, it is located in the east of Xiaohan, guarding Wuguan in the south, Sanguan in the west, and Xiaoguan in the north. The terrain is difficult to defend and difficult to attack.
But it is located in the center of the world, with Wu and Yue in the east, Jing and Xiang in the south, Long and Shu in the west, and Yan and Zhao in the north. Especially after Emperor Yang of Sui dug the canal, the north and the south were connected, and the supply of food and fodder was extremely convenient.

The emperor summoned his trusted ministers to ask questions, and they were not surprised. The emperor did not go back to Chang'an directly after returning from Jiangdu, but stayed in Luoyang to celebrate the New Year. This was a very clear attitude.

Du Ruhui of the Ministry of Rites said, "Your Majesty, Luoyang was originally built as a capital city. It has complete facilities and abundant granaries. As long as Your Majesty announces it to the world, the capital can be moved here."

Liu Cheng, the Minister of the Imperial Household, objected, "Your Majesty, Luoyang is not as stable as Guanzhong after all. Moreover, the imperial court is in Chang'an, which can communicate with the Western Regions to the northwest and control Bashu to the south. Although Luoyang is in the middle, it is suitable for controlling the southeast, but the southeast is currently stable. I think the matter of moving the capital should be postponed and planned slowly."

The Minister of Civil Affairs Wang Gui retorted: Luoyang is backed by Mang Mountain in the north, faces Yique in the south, is located in Chenggao in the east, and is backed by Hangu Pass in the west. How can it not be stable?

Jianghuai is a prosperous area where cultural energy converges. If it is too far away to be directly controlled for a long time, it will eventually lead to disunity and cause great trouble.

Moreover, Luoyang is located at a hub of water and land transportation, which makes it convenient for the accumulation of revenue and the filling of the national treasury.”

Wang Long said fairly: "Chang'an has the solidity of mountains and rivers, which is suitable for dealing with turmoil; Luoyang has the beauty of the Central Plains, which is suitable for moralizing the world."

As the ministers expressed their opinions, most of them were in favor of moving the capital to Luoyang. This shows that Guanlong had indeed weakened a lot.

However, they failed to stop Emperor Yang from moving the capital in the previous dynasty, let alone now.

After listening to everyone's opinions, the emperor said: "Since this is the case, we will move the capital to Luoyang and make Chang'an the secondary capital."

"I bow down to the wise and holy decision of our emperor."

Since it is still a two-capital system, the main changes will not be significant. We only need to follow the strategy of the previous dynasty, strengthen the passes on all sides of Luoyang, and make Yongzhou and Yuzhou border each other to establish a capital area with two capitals in the same area.

Hongnong County should set up a Zhechongfu to strengthen the safety of the imperial carriage traveling between the two capitals, and to strengthen control over the mountainous area in western Henan on the south side of the Xiaohan Road.

As the decree was issued, the people of Luoyang cheered and were about to hold various celebrations spontaneously. Upon hearing the news, the emperor specially issued an order to lift the three-day curfew.

The people of Luoyang were very excited to once again become the real people under the feet of the emperor. Not only was the name nice, but there were also so many practical benefits.

It was just before the New Year and there was such a happy event. In addition, there were countless scholars coming from all over the country to take the imperial examination. It was truly a prosperous scene with vitality everywhere.

…………During the Spring Festival of the fifth year of Taiping (622 AD), the emperor accepted congratulations from his officials in the Qianyang Palace.

"The first year of Yuanzheng is the beginning of prosperity, and the new prosperity is the beginning of prosperity. I humbly wish that His Majesty the Emperor of Great Peace and Divine Martial Arts will rest in peace with Heaven."

This year, the officials in the court are generally much younger, which is a good sign. Moreover, young people dance well.

According to the rules, after watching the dances of his ministers, the emperor would reward them with cypress leaves. Last year, four generals with outstanding military achievements, namely Duke of Weiguo Li Jing, Duke of Yingguo Xu Shiji, Duke of Yangdu Li Mi, Duke of Zhangqiu Du Fuwei, received cypress leaves.

And this year, the emperor only rewarded the Duke of Weiguo and the King of Qin, but these two were not in Luoyang yet.

Both the civil and military officials felt a little regretful. After all, this represented the approval of His Majesty, which was sometimes more difficult to obtain than a promotion.

However, the awards were given to the Duke of Wei and the King of Qin. Everyone had guessed why. The two had been at loggerheads over the military examination, and His Majesty might have wanted to appease them.

After that, various places presented tributes, and envoys from foreign vassal states came to pay tribute and present New Year greetings, as well as some auspicious objects.

There are many more envoys from foreign vassal states this year than last year. There are more than ten envoys from the Western Regions alone, and each of them brings precious treasures with them.

In addition, there were envoys from Linyi, Zhenla, Pyu, Nepal, Lion Kingdom and Tocharistan, who also brought generous gifts, and the emperor was generous in rewarding them.

Of course, there was also the most diligent Japan, because they were shocked by the Tang Dynasty's military operations in Liaodong.

More than a decade ago, Japan declared war on Silla and dispatched an army of 25,000 men with the intention of forcing Silla to pay tribute.

But the result was to no avail. However, they never stopped coveting the Liaodong land. They were just waiting for the opportunity.

They were well aware of the strengths of Liaodong, which is why they chose Silla as their opponent instead of Baekje or the powerful Goguryeo at that time.

But the actions of the Tang Dynasty did make them feel real fear. They had been thinking about something but had not dared to take action for more than a decade, but the Tang Dynasty unexpectedly destroyed Goguryeo easily, won without a fight, and annexed the Silla Kingdom.

Anyone can see the fate of Baekje. Japan no longer has a chance in Liaodong.

Therefore, after they realized their own weakness, they, under the arrangement of their country's Prince Shotoku, brought large amounts of gold and silver treasures and came to pay homage to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, hoping to obtain the secret of a strong country from the Tang Dynasty.

It has to be said that Japan was still very sincere. Officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Honglu Temple deliberately arranged the Japanese envoys to move forward.

After paying tribute and giving rewards, the emperor held a banquet for his ministers. The imperial palace, which was built by order of Emperor Yang during his reign, was much richer and more magnificent than the Chang'an Palace built during Emperor Wen's reign.

When the envoys from foreign vassal states arrived at the Qianyang Palace, most of them were dumbfounded. Just one pillar in front of the palace had a circumference of 36 meters. Officials from the Honglu Temple even told them that when the palace was built, it took two thousand people to drag this pillar.

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(End of this chapter)