Zhang Lu proposed to Mi Rong, the king of Huayang, to build the Yi Canal, and the king of Huayang asked him to explain his intention. Zhang Lu was at Huayang Jun's desk, making calculations while explaining: "Go as high as possible, then go low. When you get the road, it's three steps wide, and build it solidly. Cars and horses can pass, and people can move. If something happens, reinforcements will be sent." It can come in a day or night. It can be said that it is once and for all."
Mi Rong almost did not interrupt Zhang Lu's narration, and listened quietly and attentively to his explanation. He thought for a moment and said, "Sir, you are a talented man. We are tired from the journey. Please go back to the library to rest temporarily. I would like to listen to the announcement indoors the next day." "
Zhang Lu had never spoken so happily. The blockage in his chest melted away like ice, making him extremely happy. His face turned red and his head felt dizzy. After listening to Mi Rong's words, he stood up, bowed and retreated.
Mi Rong watched Zhang Lu leave and turned around to go behind the screen. Behind him, there were four desks lined up opposite each other, and there was another table in the middle. There were five people sitting there, old and young. Mi Rong asked: "What do the Cao Cao think?"
Shu Zuo, who was sitting in the first place, said: "I think that Mr. Zhang is well versed in fortifications and can be employed as a workman."
One person said: "Zhang, a native of Wei, is in love with the Prince of Chu and spends the whole night together, so we must be on guard against him."
One person said: "If we send 30,000 troops to build the road, if we fail to do so, it will be difficult to maintain the Yiqu back-up, and things may be in jeopardy."
One person said: "The prince has gathered an army of one hundred thousand, and all the money and food have been spent. If there is no service, the money and food will be wasted. If you don't allocate one or two thousand to build a road, if it succeeds, it will be a great achievement; if it fails, it will not lead to disaster." thing."
One person said: "On the mountain road, you can go from high to low. Although it is only three steps, it requires a lot of labor. I should consider the situation in detail."
Mi Rong said to the person who spoke last: "Can the mayor speak to the Zhang family?"
Shi Cao said: "I only know the outline, but I don't know the details."
Mi Rong then said to the man who said that Zhang Lu stayed with the Prince of Chu for one night: "Fa Cao sincerely knows what Zhang Lu and Chu Heng said?"
Fa Cao said: "The post officials couldn't get close, but I realized that I didn't return home at night, and the official food was not used."
Mi Rong immediately said to Shi Cao: "I would like Shi Cao to personally go to Zaozuo Mansion, and please ask three or five people who are skilled in ramming and building rafters to come to the palace to discuss matters. We should carefully discuss Zhang's plan with them, and we will report them immediately!"
The mayor agreed and left.
Mi Rong then said to the Cao officer who basically agreed with Zhang Lu's opinion: "The household Cao can be surveyed. How many tools are used for tilling the earth and how many tools are used for tamping. Make sure you count them and report back the next day."
Hu Cao also agreed and said goodbye.
Mi Rong finally said to the man who was afraid that Yiqu's support would not be continued: "I would like Bingcao to ask Zuo Geng to discuss it."
Bing Cao also got up and left.
After sending away the three men, Mi Rong asked Fa Cao again: "Who did Zhang see when he entered Xianyang?"
Fa Cao said: "The Zhang family came to Xianyang to pay homage to the emperor and the king to recommend him. When he visited the king, he sent Wei and Han to get some wise men from the wild, who were introduced to Xianyang and recommended to the king. During the New Year, there was chaos, and the king did not see it. The Zhang family lived alone. In the pavilion, he was about to die from hunger and cold. No one helped him, and he did not leave the pavilion. Later, he was ordered by the king to serve the prince, and then he found out that his condition was the same as before. "
Mi Rong said: "It is said that Mr. Xiang has a photographic memory, and that is true! However, Xianyang has no relatives, but he met the prince of Chu and kissed him...The prince of Chu is also a noble person. Although he is in Qin, he must be The Lord is in Chu, and the Zhang family desires wealth and great talent, but Chu Heng refuses to worship him!"
Shu Zuo said: "The princes and princes are very suspicious. Those who want wealth and honor, the prince of Chu is more noble than the princes; those who want fame and fame, the prince of Chu is more powerful than the princes. In terms of closeness, Zhang and the prince spend the night together and spend the night with the princes. There is no difference between those who are close and those who are far away. Now, if we abandon the rich, noble, powerful and close, and consider the sparse and weak, what do we want?"
Mi Rong pondered undecided.
Not long after, Zuo Gengwen came to see him. Mi Rong quickly turned to the front and met Zuo Geng by mistake.
Zuo Gengcuo was born as a guest. He had entered the Qin Dynasty more than 20 years ago. He led an army to victory for the first time and immediately transferred to Zuo Geng. After that, he was mainly responsible for logistics support, troop training and other work, and rarely went out to fight. Until now, he is still Zuo Geng. In comparison, Bai Qihe's qualifications are almost the same as Zuo Gengcuo's, and he is now Daliang Zao and Wu'an Jun. Hu Yang, who was just starting out, was directly promoted to Zhong Geng, still above Zuo Geng, thanks to Hua Yang's great victory and his assist in defeating the Storm Kite. Zuo Gengcuo, on the other hand, seemed to take this very seriously. He didn't seem to have any objections and was still conscientiously completing his training and logistics work. So Mi Rong brought Zuo Geng here just to learn about the feasibility of Zhang Lu's plan from him.
After listening to Mi Rong's introduction, Zuo Geng fell into deep thought and made repeated calculations with his arithmetic chips. Then he said: "My initial plan was correct. I am willing to kill five hundred people with him to test his skills!"
After receiving Zuo Geng's approval, Mi Rong made a decision: If the calculations by the craftsmen of the Zaozuo Mansion were correct, he would give Zhang Lu 500 people and let him work for a few days to see the results. Seeing that it was getting late and all the Cao Cao officials were off duty going home, Mi Rong ate and rested in the side room.
After the troops heading for Yiqu entered the mountains, Bai Qi was mainly responsible for the communication with the rear. Logically, Mi Rong did not need to sit in Wangyi Palace. But Mi Rong knew that he was not as quick-witted as Bai Qi and had to immerse himself in it before he could come up with a solution. So he didn't dare to relax, but devoted himself to his work.
In fact, he doesn't have much specific work at the moment. His main task is to prepare everything that needs to be prepared so that if needed, he will have it ready at any time. As for what the front line needed, he actually had no idea. He discussed it with Bai Qi, but Bai Qi didn't take it seriously at all. He just kept sending spies in the direction of Yiqu to inquire about the news after the front line entered; and then urged Zuo Geng to give him Have your troops ready and ready to enter at a moment's notice. It can be seen that Bai Qi is actually very impatient with this work. What he is good at is using thunderbolt means to attack the enemy's weaknesses; carefully guarding against his own weaknesses like this makes Bai Qi exhausted physically and mentally: From his perspective, Qin There are weaknesses everywhere in the army's defense, and there is no way to repair them!
So the biggest headache for Mi Rong was whether to inform Bai Qi. With Bai Qi's character, if he directly mentioned the matter of road construction to him, nine times out of ten, he would be hit with a wall. Let's not talk about it for now. It might be more effective to give Zhang Lu 500 people to work on first, and then talk to Mr. Wu An about the results after he achieves results. Having made up her mind, Mi Rong fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, all Cao Cao came to duty. After Mi Rong dismissed the imperial court and entered Wangyi Palace, the city's Cao reported: "I came to plan with the craftsmen at night, but I didn't find anything wrong."
Hu Cao reported: "There are still 5,000 copies of Leisi and more than 1,000 copies of ramming pestles and plates in the mansion."
After hearing this, Mi Rong immediately asked someone to call Zhang Lu and said, "My servant heard what you said, and he had a good plan. It is difficult for thirty thousand people to gather in a hurry, and the tools of grass, pestle, and tablets are also uneven. I am willing to kill five hundred people." Along with me, I hope you will bring the necessary tools with you. I hope you will write them down, and I will serve you with due respect! I hope you will submit to the position of Gongcao, and as soon as you have merit, I will make a plan for the king. "
Zhang Lu never thought that Mi Rong would get a reply so quickly and was deeply surprised. He replied: "Your Majesty has allocated five hundred soldiers, but something unexpected happened, and I would like to use the funds as a plan."
Mi Rong called Shi Cao from behind the screen and asked him to take Zhang Lu to Shi Cao to calculate. The craftsmen of Zaozuofu are still sleeping there. Zhang Lu didn't want to be disturbed and started arranging plans on the case. Soon I got deep into it and started discussing with the city cao inadvertently. The city cao originally wanted to say a few words, but the content of Zhang Lu's discussion was very interesting, and the city cao couldn't help but join in. The voices of the two became louder and louder, waking up the resting craftsmen; they were also attracted by the questions and joined in the discussion and calculation.
With the efforts of everyone, it only took half a day to complete the project estimate for 500 people. Zhang Lu took the item list and the summary of the project progress and went to the hall with the mayor to find Mi Rong. Mi Rong took a brief look and then sent a memorial to the King of Qin to apply for the transfer of 500 people and related items.
Since Qin Prime Minister Wei Ran is still deploying governance and defense work in Nanyang, both Jingyang Lord and Gaoling Lord were sent to Yiqu, and the highest chief executive of Qin State was actually Mi Rong. The next day, King Qin approved Mi Rong's memorial when he went to court. Mi Rong convened the courtiers to discuss it and decided not to ask for help, so he mobilized 500 prisoners from nearby Yunyang to build the road. Since Mi Rong came forward to ensure that the plan was correct, all the ministers just went along and agreed, and even Bai Qi didn't say much.
The tools for five hundred people were solved locally in Yunyang. The only problem that needs to be solved is the food problem. Mi Rong sent out ten days' worth of grain, plus a hundred county soldiers to guard it, a total of twenty carts of grain.
During the mobilization of prisoners, Zhang Lu and others began to explore the road. Mi Rong transferred three craftsmen to the court to be responsible for project planning and quality management. Naturally, Zaozuo Mansion did not dare to neglect and sent out the best ramming craftsmen. Road exploration is not complicated, just follow the route of the Qin army.
Road construction started on a piece of wasteland between Wangyi Palace and Xianyang Palace. In a desolate wilderness, the prisoners dug up the soil in accordance with Tu Tu's request. Zhang Lu took a belt and measured a distance that was three steps wide and thirty steps long. The amount of work required for a prisoner to turn the soil in one day required that the soil must be turned one foot deep to remove stones and weeds.
First use a fire to burn as much weeds as possible. Trees were avoided as much as possible.
On the first day, a hundred men worked while the others built camp and rested.
The next day, one hundred people tilled the soil, and one hundred people sifted the soil with baskets. The loess is as fine as sand and can be easily sifted into shape.
On the third day, one hundred people tilled the soil, one hundred people sifted the soil, and one hundred people tamped the soil.
On the fourth day, one hundred people tilled the soil, one hundred people sifted the soil, one hundred people first tamped the soil, and one hundred people re-tamped the soil.
On the fifth day, one hundred people tilled the soil, one hundred people sifted the soil, one hundred people compacted the soil for the first time, one hundred people compacted the soil again, and one hundred people compacted the soil for the third time.
It only took five days to complete the initial construction of a ten-mile road.
Then the road stretched forward steadily at a rate of ten miles a day.
Ten days later, Mi Rong expressed satisfaction when looking at the solid road that extended for fifty miles. Twenty more carts of grain were allocated. The road extended for another hundred miles.
In addition to continuing to allocate grain, Mi Rong also asked Bai Qi to check the road conditions. Asked, if such a road was built from Xianyang to Yiqu... Bai Qi didn't wait for Mi Rong to finish speaking, and immediately said: "I've got it!"
