To the north of Zhigu Village, from Wuqing to Miaoyin and Tongzhou, many projects are being rolled out with the arrival of Guo Ning, and they are becoming more and more like a huge construction site.
The ground freezes in winter, making it difficult to construct, but the people around Zhongdu are idle, so the number of people who can respond to the recruitment is huge. The monthly salary given by the Marshal's Office is a full amount of 500 copper coins, which also includes three meals a day, supervision, clothing, tools, and clothes that can be taken home.
The price of copper in the Jin Kingdom was very high, and the value of copper coins was very high. Ordinary people in Zhongdu City could live with just twenty coins. The Marshal's Mansion offered such conditions, which many poor people in Zhongdu City would not even dare to think about. Everyone was extremely excited and energetic when working.
Of course, there were also private discussions among the people. No wonder Marshal Guo had grown up in the sea and opened a large gold treasury. He clearly had gold and silver in his hands. As a result, his subordinates were crying about poverty every day, and they said everywhere that it was difficult to provide money and food.
At present, the Kingdom of Jin is divided into two. A puppet emperor has appeared on the Nanjing Road, and Marshal Guo has no energy left to attack him. Looking back, it turns out that the money has been spent lavishly. It is a bit silly for the marshal to insist on giving money to hire people when he can clearly force the people to do things with a single order.
Some people even used Guo Ning as an example and told their children that this was clearly the behavior of frontier soldiers who tied their heads to their belts and did not care about their next meal. We are serious people and we cannot waste our money like this.
But more people are grateful to the Marshal's Mansion. After all, in the past few years, Zhongdu has been starving to death continuously. Every late winter, more people die of hunger and freezing. If it weren't for Marshal Guo's charity work-for-relief act, at least thousands more lives would have been lost!
At the end of November, the Marshal's Office issued an order saying that the monthly salary would be increased by 30% to meet the construction deadline. Among the common people, there were even some honest ones who made a special appointment to report to the Marshal's temporary station, saying that everyone was grateful for the Marshal's kindness and would naturally work hard, and the Marshal did not need to pay more.
Guo Ning received them in a friendly manner, and invited his wife to come forward and accompany them to dinner.
After the meal, everyone said goodbye and received some copper coins and clothing materials. After asking, they found out that there was a small ceremony going on in the marshal's mansion that day. Close subordinates gathered together to pray for Guo Jing, the marshal's legitimate son.
The people were more and more grateful, and they were talking about the Marshal's favor on the way and after returning to the camp.
Another old and virtuous Mr. Su said that Marshal Guo's eldest son was named "Ning" and his eldest son was named "Jing". Both words have very good meanings. It shows that peace in the world is not far away and everyone can take turns. Ansheng had a happy life in the past few years. Especially Mr. Guo Xiaolang. This name exudes a sense of righteousness, and he will definitely be blessed later in life. However, when everyone has time in the future, they should often recite a few Buddhist scriptures or Taoist scriptures, and do their best for the Marshal's family.
The common people soon discovered that the additional 30% of the salary was not a benefit that fell out of thin air, and it was really difficult to get it. Although there is more money, the requirements for project progress and project quality are also much stricter.
Among so many common people, there are naturally some lazy people, who inevitably join together to complain, secretly spread strange rumors, and even go as far as to slack off in work and confront the officials of Ding Haijun.
As a result, as soon as the signs appeared, those involved were immediately severely punished. Several of the leaders were beaten to death with big sticks on the spot, and a group of people who took an especially active part in the crime were also killed.
The common people inquired privately and found out that due to the large scale of various projects, there is now a senior official in charge of government affairs under Marshal Guo personally controlling them. Even ordinary people are familiar with this official's name. He is a notoriously ruthless character who is often scolded behind his back.
He was You Cheng, the minister of the current dynasty, and Yin Xuding of Daxing Prefecture.
Before that, the new emperor in Zhongdu ascended the throne, changed the Yuan Dynasty, and appointed Zhou Guogong as the assistant military minister. A series of events were all handled by people from Chu. After this trip, the reputation of this minister who has always been soft-handed in politics has greatly increased. Just last month, Yili Chucai simply restored his old surname of Yelu Chucai and will be known as Yelu Chucai from now on. , and completely broke with the old rules of the Dajin court.
There are new people rising up, and naturally there are old people seizing the last chance to stand in line.
For example, Xu Ding completely changed his identity from an ally to a subordinate very quickly. A capable minister like him was exactly what Guo Ning needed urgently, so after Guo Ning returned to Zhongdu and took up the post of Zhou Guogong and Pingzhang, he once again used Xu Ding to inform the Yin of Daxing Prefecture, asking him to manage the roads, warehouses, military camps, and military camps around Zhongdu. The construction of forts, wharves and many other projects were managed.
This is not a relegation, but a great deal of trust and reuse.
Because there are projects, huge amounts of money and food are spent, and a large number of strong men gather. Considering that the strong men are still separated from the land, they are managed according to tribes. The only difference between this kind of engineering team and an army that can fight is military training and equipment. Back then, the Kingdom of Jin often gathered hundreds of thousands of troops at Yehuling and Migukou, half of which were strong men gathered temporarily.
Of course Xu Ding would not rebel, nor would he do anything to win people's hearts.
He set out from Zhongdu and went south. When he arrived in Tongzhou, he inspected the local camp for widening roads. He encountered gangsters making trouble, and some lazy people responded. He gave an order on the spot and dismissed all those who participated in the trouble. Some scoundrels actually dared to act cruelly in front of Xu Ding, and as a result they were beaten to death with a big stick by the subordinates on the spot.
The officers and soldiers of the Dinghai Navy did not feel that this move was too harsh, but they were worried that the good government of the Dudu Marshal's Mansion would turn into a bad government, leaving other people unwilling to do their best. As a result, it was discovered two or three days later that with those unlucky people as negative examples, the common people were all active and used 70% of the manpower to achieve 120% of the results, while the monthly salary expenses of the military government were actually less than before.
The only troublesome thing is probably that Xu Ding's reputation has become worse again.
Fortunately, Xu Ding and his son had always been practical in the Jin Dynasty. If you do practical things, you will inevitably offend others. If you offend others, you will be scolded and you will be called a traitor. Xu Ding has long been used to it.
At this time, Xu Ding and his accompanying team were about to arrive at Zhigu Village. Today's weather is getting colder and colder. Even with the bright sun above our heads, we don't feel much warmth. Before Xu Ding set out in the morning, he specially arranged hot soup for his subordinates, and he also drank a large bowl of it himself. But by this time, the heat in my stomach had dissipated, and the cold wind off the coast seemed particularly biting.
The road the group of people passed was a section that had been widened, and the elbow-deep wheel marks on the old road surface were filled with a mixture of gravel, loess and lime, making the vehicle move very briskly.
There were still groups of pedestrians on the road at this time. Some of them were businessmen at first glance, and there were also common people working the fields nearby. Others were obviously frustrated and dissatisfied, and they were obviously civil servants who had been driven away from the construction site ahead of time.
Xu Ding strictly controlled the construction sites he passed along the way. At this time, he had not reached the area around Zhigu Village. These people may be officials in charge of the civil servants. Hearing that Xu Ding was coming, they took advantage of Xu Ding's name. The one who was driven away first.
As the officials walked, they also saw Xu Ding and his party. Their eyes were very complicated, and their emotions were even more mixed. They originally had an income of 500 or even 650 yuan a month, and they had no worries about food and clothing. They worked until the spring and could save enough money to feed the family for a whole year. Used for eating.
Such a good thing was ruined by themselves.
Some people were depressed, walking with their heads down and not talking. Others did not feel that they were lazy or had done anything wrong, and put the blame on others. They did not dare to blame Guo Ning, nor did they dare to blame the officials who managed them. It was obvious , those officials are all veterans who have retired from the Ding Navy, and they really dare to kill people when they fall out.
So it was Xu Ding who was scolded in the end. Some people were beeping all the way, saying that Xu Ding, the treacherous minister, had made slanderous remarks in front of Marshal Guo and framed Zhongliang.
Poor Xu Ding is still more than ten miles away from Zhigu Village, and he hasn't reached out to any construction sites at all? Even if he reaches Zhigu Village, he has to go to see Guo Ning quickly. How can he have time to deal with these things in a day or two?
At that moment, some disciples scratched their necks and shouted: "They are scolding you! Master, we really can't stand listening!"
They rushed their horses over, yelled and cursed, and whipped their whips at a few ugly-looking civil servants, beating them until they cried for their fathers and mothers on the spot.
Xu Ding really didn't care. He held back his laughter and called Conong back.
If these people have complaints in their hearts, whether they are right or wrong, they will have to wait until Xu Ding arrives to slowly investigate them. At the moment, they really don’t know what the twists and turns are.
In Xu Ding's view, the advantages of the team of officials recruited from the army by Ding Haijun are obvious, that is, they are highly motivated and generally loyal and reliable. However, government affairs are different from military affairs. Many things are placed in the army. As long as you give an order, you can get promoted and make a fortune, but if you can't do it, you have to raise your head to see it. For the recruited people, you have to sort out the regulations carefully and clarify each aspect. Make detailed provisions on the responsibilities of each link, otherwise it will inevitably lead to half the effort with half the effort.
These things happen to be what Xu Ding is good at, and it is exactly what Xu Ding plans to show to Guo Ning.
After walking a few miles, the group saw a swarm of civilian workers, Ali Xi, and troops working beside the road. There were people running around the whole construction site, and there were people driving donkey carts and handing out pine torches along the road, apparently preparing to grab some time in the evening.
Xu Ding stopped his horse and watched intently for a long time by the roadside.
An aide on the side asked: "Prime Minister, this place is very large and seems to be very important?"
Xu Ding nodded: "This place will be the Imperial College in the future."
"What?" The staff member was startled.
