"Call Zou Xing over." Han Du casually ordered.
Soon, Zou Xing rushed over with a smile from the inside out and bowed slightly, "Uncle, are you looking for me?"
Through the contact with Han Du in the past few days, Zou Xing found that Han Du didn't care much about etiquette, but paid great attention to doing things. As long as things are done well and the etiquette is simple, Han Du will be happier.
Zou Xing also had reason to be happy. These days, Han Du asked the people to bring ten pounds of fish back every day, saying it was a reward for them. But everyone can see that Han Du is deliberately looking for an excuse to give the people fish.
Although the fish was given to him by Han Du, at first glance it seemed to have nothing to do with him, Zou Xing. However, when the people get the benefits, they will also have a great impression of him as a parent official, so it is inevitable to say "good official". Isn't it worth being happy to be considered a good official by the people?
"The emperor has given me permission to open fields to dry salt." Han Du opened the imperial edict and showed it to Zou Xing.
Zou Xing was suddenly even more excited than Han Du, "Then the official will make arrangements immediately?"
Sun salt!
If your own county really develops salt fields to dry salt, then you will really be developed. Not only myself, but the people of the whole county will become prosperous.
Han Du knew what Zou Xing was thinking when he looked at him. He shook his head and said, "It's not what you think. See clearly. Although the emperor allowed me to open a field to dry salt, he can only use it for his own use." , cannot be bought or sold. So, you’d better not think about getting rich.”
"You can only use it for your own use?" Zou Xing read it carefully. Sure enough, the imperial edict was clearly written. The salt obtained can only be used to pickle marine fish and cannot be bought or sold privately, otherwise it will be punished as selling private salt.
"Alas!" Zou Xing felt like he was happy for nothing.
Han Du ignored Zou Xing's displeasure, but the emperor's will was such that no one could change it. He waved his hand and said: "There is no rush to open fields to dry salt. It will not be too late to wait until the corvees from other counties arrive. The most important thing now is the plank road, which must be built as soon as possible."
"yes."
After these days, the plank road still has not been built. The main reason is that a large number of marine fish have to be processed every day, so the people cannot spare time to build the plank road.
But now it's no longer possible if we don't repair it. Twenty more ships have arrived. If we don't repair it, there will be no way to expand it.
However, Han Du would not leave these twenty ships empty. The loss of fish for each empty day was enough to make Han Du heartbroken. But the more fish you catch, the more people you need to handle them. As a result, there is even less manpower to build plank roads.
This is why Han Du still felt dissatisfied after Lao Zhu agreed to open fields to dry salt. The most lacking thing now is manpower. No one can do anything they want to do. Unfortunately, Lao Zhu refuted his idea of recruiting villagers.
"When will the corvees recruited from various counties arrive?" Han Du didn't know much about this, so he wanted to ask Zou Xing to hear his opinion.
Zou Xing made some calculations in his mind and replied: "Uncle, the imperial edict comes by water, so the time is faster. Now, I am afraid that other counties have not received the transfer order from the imperial court. The following officials estimate, how It will take ten days of labor to get there."
"Ten days..."
Han Du shook his head and said: "Ten days is too long. I can't wait that long. Send people out to the counties now to spread the message. All the corvees must be here within five days. If there is a delay, I will Submit a letter to the Inspectorate and request verification.”
"Yes!" Zou Xing couldn't help but tense up when he heard the words from the Inspectorate. Knowing that my uncle likes to do things vigorously and resolutely, he did not dare to neglect and quickly turned around and went out to make arrangements.
The Supervisory Council has the responsibility of inspecting, reporting, and verifying all officials in the world. Just the mere rumor of a small seventh-grade supervisory censor impeaching many big officials and ministers standing in the Fengtian Palace cannot bear it. If one person is not good enough, a second-grade official may fall into the hands of a seventh-grade junior official.
What's more, someone like Jing Haibo wrote to the Supervisory Office to verify a seventh-grade county magistrate? That is almost a sure shot, and those who are impeached will inevitably lose their official positions.
The relationship between Zou Xing and the surrounding counties is not bad. Even if we are all county magistrates and have no contact or are not in the same year, it is good that at least everyone can live in peace with each other.
Zou Xing didn't want others to suffer misfortune, so he not only sent people to inform them as soon as possible, but also sent smart confidants. I'm afraid that the people below are too stupid and the message will go wrong.
Starting from the fourth day, corvees from various counties came here one after another. In the evening of the fifth day, the corvee from the farthest county finally arrived.
The magistrate of this county doesn't have a good face. After all, he is the furthest away. The rush all the way has made him very tired. As soon as he arrived, he got into a fight with Zou Xing. He said in a cold voice: "Zou Zhixian is such a powerful official. He calls me like a servant in the county government. I can break my legs with just one sentence."
"Forgive me, Magistrate Meng, but this is not my intention. I am just a messenger." Zou Xing was speechless. He clearly meant well, but he didn't expect that he would be disliked by others. But considering that he had indeed traveled a long and dusty journey, Zou Xing had no intention of arguing with him.
"Meng Zhixian must not say this. Zou Zhixian reminded us repeatedly because of his good intentions." Another magistrate couldn't stand it any longer and came to the rescue to ease the atmosphere.
Seeing several people looking at him, he explained: "This Jing Haibo has also heard that he is indeed a popular person in front of the emperor. Moreover, he is young and energetic, and the eyes of such a person are the most unruly. If it were Meng Magistrate, you are late, maybe you will lose your official position."
After hearing this, Meng Zhixian's expression softened a lot, and he no longer had any hostility towards Zou Xing. After all, traveling for a few days is just a bit more tiring than losing your job.
"I was very offended just now, so please forgive me, Brother Zou." He said, and bowed his hands towards Zou Xinggong.
"Brother Meng, you're welcome." Zou Xing also laughed again and responded.
"I wonder what Jing Haibo's likes are? Is he easy to get along with?" Other county magistrates asked hurriedly when they saw that someone was familiar with Han Du.
It's a pity that the county magistrate only heard about Han Du. He shook his head and said, "I don't know about this, either." He looked up at Zou Xing, "But since Zou Zhixian works under Jing Haibo, I think he should Be clear."
What is the most important thing for an official to do when working under a superior? Naturally, it is Shangguan's preference. To know Shangguan's preferences accurately is to know Shangguan's pulse accurately. If you do things this way, you will get twice the result with half the effort.
