Xuzhou Guangyuncang is one of the four major water transport granaries in the Ming Dynasty
The four major water transport granaries in the Ming Dynasty
They are Fengji in Huai'an and Guangyuncang in Xuzhou , Dezhou Cang in Dezhou, and Linqing Cang in Linqing
When Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty in 1368, he made Nanjing the capital, sent troops to the north, captured most of the capital, and renamed it Beiping Prefecture. In the first month of the first year of Yongle (1403) , Peiping was promoted to Beijing, and the capital was moved to Beijing in the 19th year of Yongle (1421). After that, grain from the southeastern region was imported into the capital via the canal for consumption by officials and the army. Since Huai'an, Xuzhou, Dezhou, and Linqing have smooth waterways, grain was first concentrated in these four places and then transported to Beijing. Huai'an, Xuzhou, Dezhou, and Linqing were the four transfer stations along the canal where the Ming Dynasty collected tribute grain. They played a very important role and were praised by later generations as the "Four Major Water Transport Granaries of the Ming Dynasty."
1. Huai'an: Named after the Southern Song Dynasty, which places the hope of stability in the Huai region. Since the excavation and widening of Hangou, Huai'an has become an important port for the canal to enter the Huaihe River, and a choke point that water transportation must pass through in the past dynasties. The governor in charge of water transportation in the Ming Dynasty was stationed here.
2. Xuzhou: An important port of the Grand Canal, where the Bianshui River flowing from Henan to the east and the Surabaya River flowing from the east to the south meet. From the 5th century BC to the 16th century, this was the only place where the Jianghuai River leads to the Central Plains. In the Ming Dynasty, more than 12,000 water ships sailed to the capital Beijing via Xuzhou every year, carrying 4 million tons of grain.
3. Dezhou: There are many lakes, and it is known as the "Lake City". In the Ming Dynasty, Dezhou was a transportation hub with "water and land" and an important port on the Grand Canal.
4. Linqing: Located at the confluence of the Shandong Canal and the South Canal, it is the "throat where the north and the south meet". According to royal regulations, 2.2 million tons of grain transported by civilians from Jiangsu, Anhui and other places are concentrated in the Linqing warehouse, and then from The officers and soldiers transported him to Beijing.