Three days later, the imperial envoy sent by the capital finally arrived.
Yang Fan and Xiao Niangpi went to the entrance of Changqing Bridge to greet him.
The Three Hundred Regiment trained one hundred people to line up and use them as a guard of honor. The rest maintain law and order in the town and guard prisoners.
The imperial envoy's team came from the capital and wanted to cross the canal. There was an Evergreen Bridge on the canal. After crossing the bridge, the river bank here was a dock for cargo transfer. After walking two miles along a dirt road, they arrived at the town of Yangliuqing.
Tu Shanyue had to make arrangements to receive the imperial edict. Yang Fanshi didn't understand it at all. Tu Shanyue took out Dongchang's stall badge and went directly to the biggest official in the town, the inspector.
Inspection Xu almost died of fright. There were shootings in the town two days ago, and the patrol station of the Inspection Department was nowhere to be seen.
The stall owner from Dongchang came to see him today, thinking he had committed something.
He was relieved when he understood what Tu Shanyue meant.
In order to receive the imperial edict, it was a good thing to renovate the town inside and outside. He quickly said that it would be up to him to organize the civil servants.
Yang Fan, Tu Shanyue and Xu Inspector discussed the relevant matters and organized the officials and civilians in the town to come out to prepare for the reception, and then began to build the road.
The road from the town to the dock is in disrepair and is very difficult to walk. We can't let the imperial mission get their feet covered in mud.
Yang Fan and Tu Shanyue discussed it and decided to do some repairs to give the imperial mission a good impression. The preparations were well done. This was also an attitude of respecting the emperor, the Nine Thousand Years Old, and the ministers.
From ancient times to the present, every detail must be properly arranged when receiving a leader, because this is often the source of the leader's first impression of you.
Yang Fan sent out regiments and workers, as well as subordinates of the local inspector two days in advance, to start repairs on the two-mile official road from the town to the dock. The main tasks were to fill in the potholes on the road, fill in the ruts, and dig drainage ditches on both sides. .
After the land was leveled, the road was paved with loess. The steamed yellow clay was spread layer by layer on the ground, sprinkled with water, and then used oxen to pull stone rollers to smooth the road.
Yang Fan didn't understand why the loess should be steamed. Xu Inspector explained that there are insect eggs in the loess. If it is used directly, these insects will dig holes and destroy the roadbed when they hatch. As long as the loess is steamed and crushed, it will not regenerate. Although the bug is troublesome at the moment, the road is solid and it won't be a big problem for a hundred years.
So he requisitioned all the large pots and steamers in the town to steam the loess, and Yang Fan promised to give each family fifteen pure copper coins as a reward.
The people were very happy, and they couldn't find anything about making three cents of silver in two days.
In fact, even if they were not paid, they would still have to cooperate when assigned by the government, not to mention that Mr. Yang was building roads for them by accepting the imperial edict.
This is a rare good thing!
It has been more than 200 years since Tianjin was founded. Countless officials have come to Yangliuqing Town. These officials either passed through the town or came here to transfer supplies. The common people drove their cars, worked as porters, and ran the hall for them.
What the common people hear and see the officials talking about is which house has beautiful girls who are good at serving people. What did Shangguan mean by what he said two days ago? How to deal with other officials, how to get them down, and how to get yourself up.
These officials do nothing but think about people all day long. They think about their colleagues one by one. After thinking about one person thoroughly, they think about the next one.
After thinking about it thoroughly, he started to do evil.
As the old saying goes, kindness does not lead to military affairs, justice does not lead to financial management, laziness does not lead to scholarship, and kindness does not lead to officialdom.
I have never heard of an official from the Ming Dynasty taking the initiative to think about the local area and come to one place to benefit the other. Tell me what you want to do for the people. For example, the road here needs to be repaired, and the river embankment there needs to be reinforced. Apart from changing flowers and asking for money, there is nothing that makes the people happy.
When the master gets off the sedan chair, he wants to receive the money to get off the sedan chair. I really can't find any reason to spend money.
"When asking people for money, they all have their own names: when they start to ask for money, they say 'meeting money'; when it comes to festivals, they say 'chasing money'; for birthdays, they say 'birthday money'; when asking for money when they are in charge of things, they say 'routine money'; when sending greetings, they say 'favor money' ', the sentence is called 'paying money', and the argument is 'official money'.
This time Master Yang led troops to exterminate the gangsters left by Chen Jiarong, which had relieved the unbearable scourge that had been harassing the people these days. What made them even more relieved was that the Chen family, which had oppressed them for hundreds of years, was also imprisoned by Master Yang. , the people were all happy, so they just set off firecrackers.
I didn’t expect Master Yang to build roads for everyone.
If he is willing to go to work, he will be paid three cents a day in pure copper coins. What a joy.
Yang Fan thought that since the road was to be built, he might as well build it properly.
Two miles out of the town, this stretch of road reaches Changqing Bridge on the edge of the canal.
This is the transportation channel between the town and the dock, and the locals rely heavily on this road to transport supplies.
With proper repairs, this town can be used for many years in the future, which can be regarded as leaving some benefits to the people.
Under Yang Fan's command, the road was built into a curved gravel road. This way, rain will naturally flow to the newly dug drainage ditches on both sides, and the gravel road will not trap the wheels of the carriage. It is a better choice. .
It was the first time that Xiao Niangpi saw that roads could be built like this, and she couldn't help but ask Yang Fan, is this kind of road reliable? Don't let the people here be fooled just because you want to do a good-looking project according to the imperial decree. After all, our group will soon To leave, they would have to walk this journey for hundreds of years.
Yang Fan patted his chest and assured that this kind of gravel road is definitely better than the dirt road. The people here will naturally feel it after using it. If it weren't too far away from Zunhua, it would be better to transport some coal ash and steel slag to pave the road. I guarantee that it will not be damaged for a hundred years.
As for the main street in the town, it is paved with bluestone slabs. It has been used for hundreds of years and has become pitted and uneven due to wear and tear. Xiao Niangpi actually wanted to repair it. The city's roads are the first business card of the city. The imperial envoys dismounted their horses and sedans and saw very neat stone roads. The first impression must be good.
However, when I calculated the cost, it was too late, and it was too late to purchase slates for re-laying.
Yang Fan took a look and realized that Xiao Niangpi was really not the material to be a profiteer. She was tangled up in such a trivial matter.
"This is a very simple matter. It doesn't cost anything. You just need to lift up these stone slabs, turn them over, and lay them again."
"Hey, it seems so!" Xiao Niangpi exclaimed in surprise, "Why are you so smart with such a big head!"
The little girl excitedly held Yang Fan's head with her two young hands and shook it hard several times.
Three days later, the entire town of Yangliuqing took on a new look, with brand-new bluestone streets and red lanterns hanging at the door of every shop. The road from the town to Changqing Bridge is a clean and tidy gravel road, and the golden road is very beautiful.
Yang Fan and Tu Shanyue were waiting at the bridge in formal official uniforms.
"Mr. Yang, you are about to be promoted, what do you think?" the young lady said with a narrow smile.
