Su Ze's [Water Conservancy] skill has reached level 10. However, Su Ze added the water conservancy skill before to utilize water energy. Currently, he has two passive skills:
[Blue Passive—Tie the Canglong as a Machine: Build water-driven mechanical equipment, water conservancy skills +2. 】
[Purple Passive - Hydraulic Workshop: When building hydraulic power facilities, water conservancy skills +3, corresponding engineering skills +3]
Su Ze naturally supported Hu Zongxian's proposal to build water conservancy projects.
Of course he knew that Hu Zongxian may not have good intentions, but Su Ze believed that if the task of Zhejiang Water Conservancy Project was given to Hu Zongxian, Hu Zongxian would definitely complete it to the letter.
This is enough!
Moreover, developing agriculture was originally a development task set by Su Ze.
When people marveled at the British Industrial Revolution in the eighteenth century, few people paid attention to the agricultural revolution that broke out before the Industrial Revolution in Britain.
The rapid development of British agriculture in the early eighteenth century liberated more people from the land.
The growth of agricultural technology includes a series of scientific and technological developments such as agricultural breeding, planting technology, water conservancy and irrigation, pest control and fertilization, etc., which ultimately makes the UK's farmland yield per mu much higher than that of European countries.
Only on the premise of having enough to eat can a vigorous industrial revolution break out!
Su Ze also understood this truth. In this era, Daming's water conservancy facilities were very old, floods occurred frequently in various places, and production was often reduced due to floods and droughts.
Su Ze took the hydrographic map sent by Hu Zongxian and studied it carefully for a while.
In fact, Su Ze is willing to control the water because he has another trick.
The largest amount of water control work is excavation, but Su Ze has a super artifact that the Ming court does not have - explosives.
After the invention of dynamite, humans have greatly accelerated their transformation of nature. This is why the dynamite award has become the highest award in the scientific community.
The role of explosives in human engineering is no less than its contribution to weapons manufacturing.
With this, Su Ze can use the construction of water conservancy projects to test the effectiveness of explosives, and at the same time use explosives to save people's labor. It can be said that he kills two birds with one stone.
During the banquet, Su Ze and Hu Zongxian were enjoying themselves. After the two talked about the water conservancy project in Zhejiang, Hu Zongxian and Xu Wei were also surprised.
Xu Wei is originally from Zhejiang, so he naturally knows the mountains and geography of Zhejiang very well.
Hu Zongxian was fighting against Japanese invaders in Zhejiang. During this time, he made extra lessons and prepared lessons on the flood situation in Zhejiang.
But in front of Su Ze's Level 10 [Water Conservancy] skill, both of them were completely inadequate.
When it came to professional knowledge, Su Ze talked so eloquently that the two of them were stunned for a while.
Then Su Ze took out the hydrographic map presented by Hu Zongxian, readjusted his plan, and proposed a more time-saving and labor-saving construction plan. He also proposed a "step-by-step" plan to gradually solve the problem of Jiangnan Canal and Qiantang River. of flooding problems.
Hu Zongxian was horrified. He didn't expect Su Ze to be so knowledgeable. His plan was indeed much better than his own, and it also saved much time and effort.
But if the construction is really carried out according to Su Ze's plan, wouldn't it be a failure to delay Su Ze's plan by proposing water conservancy projects on his own?
But if it is really accomplished according to Su Ze's method, then the people of Zhejiang will be really blessed.
Hu Zongxian was troubled and uneasy in his heart.
Su Ze was very calm. After the banquet, Su Ze immediately said to Hu Zongxian:
"Hu Gong, since this plan was proposed by you, and it has a beginning and an end, please take charge of the Zhejiang Water Conservancy Project!"
Hu Zongxian was about to refuse, but Su Ze held his hand and said:
"The people of Zhejiang are suffering so much. With Mr. Hu here, they will definitely live a good life!"
Hu Zongxian thought for a while and finally agreed.
The next day, the appointment came out of the Metropolitan Governor's Office, and Hu Zongxian was appointed deputy governor of the Southeast Metropolitan Governor's Office, patrolling Zhejiang and responsible for Zhejiang's water conservancy.
Su Ze openly recruited talents who knew water conservancy engineering in Fuzhou and asked them to go to Zhejiang to assist Hu Zongxian in water control.
Su Ze took Hu Zongxian to meet with Fuzhou's military and political officials again. Hu Zongxian sighed inwardly that he had completely joined the gang.
Huizhou Prefecture.
Zhang Juzheng's blood pressure rose again as he read the urgent dispatch from the Nanjing Ministry of War:
"Jiujiang was captured by the bandits so quickly? Did Zeng Guangtai, the prefect of Jiujiang, surrender to the enemy!?"
Liu Shiyan was silent after reading the newspaper.
"Zhang Butang, could this be false news from the bandit army? Jiujiang City is tall and has the defenses of the outer city of Water Wall. Even if Zeng Guangtai didn't know how to fight, he wouldn't have fallen so quickly?"
Liu Shiyan was still lucky, but Zhang Juzheng was already desperate.
Zhang Juzheng shook his head and said: "The newspaper news of the bandit army is always accurate. Last time, the news of the imperial court's arrest of Tan Lun was faster than the imperial guards. This military information will be spread soon. It is impossible for the bandit army to do anything like this." lie."
Liu Shiyan thought about it and it seemed that it was indeed true. With the fall of Jiujiang, the Yangtze River waterway would soon be congested, and the news would reach Anqing, Nanjing and other places downstream within a few days. There was no need to create false news.
Liu Shiyan felt a great sense of frustration. He said to Zhang Juzheng: "Bu Tang, since the bandit army has captured Jiujiang, should we still fight the battle in Huizhou Prefecture?"
Zhang Juzheng and Liu Shiyan left Huizhou Prefecture originally wanting to support Jiangxi, but they were stopped by Lin Deyang's Zhejiang New Army in Jingdezhen.
In order to break through Lin Deyang's blockade, Liu Shiyan made many attacks, but was thwarted by Lin Deyang.
After fighting for so long, Liu Shiyan finally understood that Lin Deyang was basically using him to train troops!
Every time Liu Shiyan feints to attack, or a small group breaks through, Lin Deyang sends in inadequately trained recruits, so these battles can sometimes have unexpected results.
But once Liu Shiyan uses his main force to break through, Lin Deyang will definitely bring elites to block him, and Liu Shiyan's troops will be firmly stuck on the edge of Huizhou Prefecture every time.
Liu Shiyan felt insulted, but he couldn't beat him.
Now that Jiujiang has fallen, Zhang Juzheng's strategy of breaking through the western front to support Jiangxi can be said to have completely failed. Liu Shiyan looked at Zhang Juzheng and asked him about his next strategic direction.
Zhang Juzheng looked at the map and said: "Go to Anqing!"
Anqing?
Zhang Juzheng said:
"Uncle Sincerity, based on your experience in fighting the Soviet thieves, what are the characteristics of the Soviet thieves' combat?"
A few words came to Liu Shiyan's mind, "advanced equipment" and "strict military discipline", but what do these have to do with Zhang Juzheng's strategy?
Zhang Juzheng asked and answered his own questions and said: "If you want me to sum up, Su Ze's strategy of using troops is the word 'Feng Lin Huo'."
Liu Shiyan was an expert in the art of war, and he immediately knew that what Zhang Juzheng was talking about was an allusion from "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu. He said: "It is as fast as the wind, as slow as the forest, as invading and plundering as fire, as motionless as a mountain, as unpredictable as the clouds, and as moving as thunder."
Zhang Juzheng nodded and said, "The Su thief is so ambitious that he started training his troops to prepare for rebellion very early."
"But at that time, Su Ze was training the army in the name of anti-Japanese regiment training, and it was impossible to recruit too many people. Therefore, what Su Ze was best at was using elite soldiers."
"In the two provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang, Fujian has more mountains and less fields, and Zhejiang is also suffering from wars. Even if Su Song is added, Su Ze cannot raise a large army, so although the rebel army is elite, it is not large in number."
Liu Shiyan nodded repeatedly. Zhang Juzheng's analysis was correct. The army under Su Ze's command was like this. With a small number and good equipment, it could often defeat several times its own army.
Zhang Juzheng added: "Jing is the advantage of Su Ze's army, but it is also a disadvantage."
"When the Soviet thieves launched their attack, they were able to quickly capture Fujian and Zhejiang with their elite soldiers. However, after I blocked them in Zhenjiang, they did not continue to attack Nanjing and Yangzhou. This is because Su Ze had too few elite soldiers, because there were not enough of troops to control Nanjing."
Liu Shiyan also nodded. Zhang Juzheng's analysis was correct.
Zhang Juzheng said: "We are the same now. Although the Jingdezhen army on the opposite side is strong and blocks our way to Jiangxi, they are not able to invade Huizhou Prefecture because they do not have enough numbers."
Liu Shiyan nodded again and asked, "Bu Tang, what does this have to do with Feng Linhuoshan?"
Zhang Juzheng said: "It does matter, because there are only elites, so Su Ze's operations rely heavily on transportation lines."
"The reason why we were able to attack Fujian and Zhejiang in one fell swoop was because of the coastlines of Fujian and Zhejiang. The Soviet thieves were originally from the seaside military guards and trained their navy in Fuzhou, so they were able to quickly send elite troops to important cities along the coast of Fujian and Zhejiang, thus quickly Control two provinces.”
"The same is true for Suzhou Prefecture and Songjiang Prefecture. Both of them are close to the sea, and they have the Anti-Japanese General Corps left behind by Su Ze as a thorn."
Zhang Juzheng added: "The same is true for the Battle of Jiangxi. Along Poyang Lake to attack the cities along the lake, the Soviet thieves also relied on the maneuverability of ships."
"So Su Thief's style is Feng Lin Huo, but the most important thing is actually the four words 'It's as fast as the wind'!"
"Whether Jiujiang is breached or Huguang's grain transportation is cut off, I'm more worried that Su Ze will use the mobility of the Yangtze River to harass important cities upstream and downstream, and even threaten Nanjing."
Liu Shiyan broke out in a cold sweat. As expected, Zhang Juzheng was still thinking far ahead.
Su Ze is good at shipbuilding and now controls Jiujiang, an important town on the Yangtze River. If the Ming army does not respond as soon as possible, Su Ze can completely harass surrounding cities along the Yangtze River waterway.
Wuchang in the middle and upper reaches and Nanjing in the lower reaches are all on the Yangtze River route!
Liu Shiyan still hesitated and said: "Zhang Butang, if we go to Anqing, what about Huizhou Prefecture?"
Zhang Juzheng said: "Anqing is also an important town on the Yangtze River. It is located in southern Zhili. If the bandits really attack Huizhou, we can go south to support them at any time."
"As I said just now, Su Ze attaches great importance to maneuverability in his troops. Huizhou Prefecture is mountainous and watery, and the roads are difficult to travel. He will not choose to attack from here."
"If Uncle Cheng is still not at ease, just send people to destroy the road from Huizhou to Jiangxi, and then leave some troops to defend. The rest will follow me to Anqing!"
Zhang Juzheng analyzed it this way, and Liu Shiyan could only nod.
Following Zhang Juzheng's instructions, he destroyed roads and burned bridges, then left a small number of troops behind and led the army to Anqing.
Just when Zhang Juzheng led his troops to "transfer" to Anqing.
Songjiang Mansion.
Xu's mansion.
The second son of the Xu family, Xu Kun, the second son of the current court elder Xu Jie, is receiving the newly appointed Songjiang magistrate Shen Shixing.
"What? Su Thief, the Governor wants to order winter clothes from our Xu family?"
Xu Kun wondered if he had drunk too much yesterday, or if he was still dreaming.
Shen Shixing put down the tea cup and said: "Of course, who doesn't know that the Xu family in Songjiang Prefecture is the leader of cotton spinning in Songjiang Prefecture. This time our army will customize 20,000 winter clothes. Besides the Xu family, who else can take the next step?"
Xu Kun received praise from Shen Shixing, with a proud smile on his face.
Although Mr. Xu failed in exams and was not very good as a person, he was very talented in business.
After the publication of "Tiangong Kaiwu", Xu Kun broke his wrist and smashed the old spinning machine in his family's workshop. He immediately spent huge sums of money to hire talents and manufacture new looms. Although he suffered a small loss for a while, he finally succeeded in taking advantage of Xujiajia's great business. With huge advantages, it seized the technological opportunity and once again became the leader of Songjiang textile industry.
Relying on the cost reduction of technological development, Xu Kun made another huge profit through the winter clothes business of the Ming Dynasty frontier army.
Mr. Xu did not rest on his laurels. After investing in spinning and weaving, he opened a winter clothing workshop to recruit workers to make garments.
This is also the way Xu Kun thought of making money after he took over the Ming Army's winter clothes business.
Naturally, military uniforms cannot be tailor-made, so the winter clothes of the border army only need to be made in one size.
Xu Kun soon discovered the benefits of making one-size-fits-all clothes.
There is no need for customization, the cutting of fabrics can be done at the same time, and the stitching of each part can also be left to specialized personnel, using the "streamlined production" mentioned in "Tiangong Kaiwu".
The Xu family's clothing store also quickly established its brand in Suzhou Prefecture and Songjiang Prefecture.
Xu Kun didn't even bother to farm anymore. He converted a lot of his land into workshops.
Just when everything was prosperous, Su Ze's army occupied Songjiang Mansion, and Xu Kun was about to pack up and run away that day.
But he couldn't let go of his huge family fortune. Xu Kun hid in Songjiang City and found that nothing had changed in the city.
Su Ze did not liquidate anyone in Songjiang Mansion, nor did he specifically come to cause trouble for the Xu family.
Next, Xu Kun did not resist the two orders issued by Su Ze, reducing rent and interest and balancing corvee labor. Anyway, Xu Kun did not rely on this land rent to live, so he just reduced rent and interest.
As for the corvee, it would be better to spend some money to avoid it.
Later, Su Ze's decree prohibiting keeping domestic slaves was supported by Xu Kun!
Because there are domestic slaves here in Jiangnan, the Xu family's workshop often cannot recruit workers.
Xu Kun took the lead and burned the deeds of all the Xu family's slaves. As expected, the Xu family's workshop immediately recruited workers.
The Songjiang Prefect also sent Xu Kun a plaque "Home of Accumulated Good Deeds" to commend him for responding to the governor's decree.
During this period, Xu Kun's father Xu Jie wrote many times, asking Xu Kun to dispose of Songjiang's family property and immediately go north to the capital.
But Xu Kun didn't want to leave.
He is the second son, and his elder brother Xu Fan has become the minister of the Ministry of Industry thanks to his father's influence. No matter how favored the Xu family is, Xu Kun will only be an idle second young master when he goes to the capital.
Staying in Songjiang Mansion, inspecting the workshops and handling the industry every day gave Xu Kun a great sense of satisfaction.
How could Xu Kun be willing to give away such a huge property?
Moreover, if Su Ze liquidated the Xu family, he would have already liquidated it.
But Xu Kun still didn't expect that Shen Shixing would come to order military winter clothes from the Xu family.
A crazy question popped up in Xu Kun's mind:
When the frontier troops march south, when both sides meet on the battlefield wearing the Xu family's winter clothes, whose winter clothes are warmer?
(End of chapter)
