The recruitment of corvees is even more nonsense. In order to cherish the people's power, Lao Zhu is extremely cautious in recruiting corvees. In fact, there are not many corvees that can be recruited every year. That is, they can only repair local roads and canals. It is impossible to have more people. Build cement roads.
Just because the drought has not passed yet, Lao Zhu wants to keep more food in his hands. However, Handu's request for food is also justified. Now is indeed a God-given opportunity to build cement roads. For a moment, Lao Zhu couldn't help but hesitate.
In the end, Lao Zhu made a discount and allocated 500,000 dans of grain to Han Du. At the same time, a group of craftsmen were transferred from the Ministry of Industry and severely warned Han Du that if he could not be satisfied, he would settle the score with Han Du.
One of the reasons why Lao Zhu generously gave Han Du 500,000 loads of grain was because news came from Changguo County that there was indeed a vast fishing ground there. When the navy used to fish, they didn't need to look for fish at all. Once they reached a certain position, they could just put down the net and come back with a full load.
Fishing is faster and more efficient, and naturally more fish can be caught every day. And this fishing is not a one-time deal, but a long-term plan that can yield gains every day.
Under this series of good news, Lao Zhu reluctantly agreed that Han Du's construction project had arrived, and then allocated 500,000 tons of grain to Henan. Because this is indeed a rare opportunity to build cement roads.
When Han Du learned that Lao Zhu had allocated 500,000 dans of grain to Henan for his own construction of cement roads, he was so happy that he never closed his mouth.
Although Han Du asked for one million dan in the memorial, Han Du, who knew that Lao Zhu was stingy, never thought that Lao Zhu would give him so much food. Now that there are 500,000 dan, the first step of building cement roads can begin.
Han Du hit Lao Zhu with a cognitive gap. When it comes to building roads throughout Henan, many people think that they must start construction at the same time. In fact, no matter who builds roads, they always start from the main roads and then gradually spread to the details.
If you really want to build all the roads in Henan into cement roads at once, let alone 500,000 dans of grain, even 5 million dans will not be enough.
.
Han Du happily found Gu Kun and Fang Xiaoru and handed them official documents from the Ministry of Revenue.
"The emperor not only approved our request to build a cement road, but also allocated 500,000 dans of grain and some craftsmen."
After reading it, Gu Kun frowned and handed the memorial to Fang Xiaoru calmly.
He turned around and said to Han Du: "Uncle, is this cement road as magical as the rumors say?"
Gu Kun had also heard about the magic of the cement roads in the capital, but he had never seen it with his own eyes, so he had doubts in his heart.
"This official can assure Mr. Gu that the concrete road he has seen with his own eyes will only be more magical than the rumors." Fang Xiaoru opened the memorial and said with the same smile.
Raising his head, Fang Xiaoru looked at Han Du and said with a smile: "You are really capable. At this time, you can still get so much food from the emperor's hands."
Han Du smiled and said nothing. Although Lao Zhu was harsh to officials, he was quite generous to the people. As long as it is something that is beneficial to the people, Lao Zhu will do it as long as there is a glimmer of possibility, even if he is frugal on food and clothing.
Even with Fang Xiaoru's guarantee, Gu Kun still had doubts in his heart. He hesitated and gritted his teeth and asked: "But even if this cement road is as strong and smooth as the rumors say, and is not afraid of rain erosion, it can only avoid rushing. People are just mud. Is it worth spending such a big price just for such a small benefit?"
Han Du smiled and stretched out his hand to signal Gu Kun, "Master Gu, please sit down."
Gu Kun pondered for a moment and sat down.
When Gu Kun sat down, Han Du was ready to explain to him the benefits of building cement roads. "If it only has such a small benefit, then of course this cement road has no value in building, but its value is far more than that."
"I would like to hear from you uncle." Gu Kun was very polite and respectful to Han Du. This is not because of Han Du's title, but because Han Du saved the most people in Henan with a small amount of food.
Just from this matter, Gu Kun could tell,
Han Du's talent far exceeds his. After all, if it had been him, he would have been unable to think of any other way besides asking officials from various prefectures and counties to distribute food.
"I can't talk about Gao Jian." Han Du said softly, "Mr. Gu, have you ever seen anyone rushing on a rainy day?"
Who would rush on a rainy day? Gu Kun shook his head subconsciously. Even if there is something urgent, people would not choose to rush on a rainy day. Once you get wet in the rain, you will easily get wind chill, and you have heard of people being sent away by wind chill from time to time.
When Han Du saw Gu Kun shaking his head, he continued: "In addition to being afraid of the wind and cold, there is another reason. Once it rains, the road will become muddy and difficult to travel. Naturally, no one will rush on the road in such conditions. But it's different if it's a cement road. No matter how heavy the rain is, it won't affect the cement road. Even ordinary people won't rush on the road at this time, but at least it won't affect those driving horse-drawn carriages."
"And the cement roads are flat, which is very conducive to carriages running back and forth. Take the current road as an example. There are uneven potholes everywhere, and carriages don't dare to run fast at all, and can only walk slowly. Because once they run away If you go faster, you might get bumped and roll over. But the cement road is different. The carriage can run freely on the cement road. "
"The journey that originally took five hours can now be reached in one hour, which is equivalent to saving four hours. People can use these four hours to reclaim more wasteland and plant more crops. Grain and weaving more cloth are equivalent to making the people richer in disguise."
"Four hours for one person may not be much, but four hours for three million people in Henan is enough to bring about earth-shaking changes. Moreover, in the past, the roads were difficult to travel, and even if the people wanted to go out, most of them had to rely on You have to carry your shoulders and back. But once there is a cement road, it will be different. I am afraid that people will choose a more convenient wheelbarrow."
Indeed, the unicycle is not a rare object at all, it has been available among the people for a long time. Just because the road is convenient, few people use it. And it is only used on sunny days. It is almost useless when it rains or the road is muddy.
