Looking at the bright sunshine and the green and pleasant scenery around him, Wei Shen's mood was as good as the weather and scenery! Sitting on the back of a donkey, quietly mulling over words and phrases, Wei Xi, a book boy, slowly walked on the newly widened official road.
Regarding the plan to widen official roads, Wei Shen admired the court and the emperor greatly, because the smooth roads not only allowed the country's decrees to flow smoothly, but also greatly benefited the nearby people, and the economy and agriculture developed rapidly.
The Wei Xi who was following him was only fifteen or sixteen years old, but he had served Wei Shen for more than four years. He was a loyal and reliable descendant of a domestic servant, but Wei Shen was interested in Wei Xi's aura!
Wei Shen had just graduated from the Imperial College a year ago and was preparing to participate in the scientific examination competition that year. The imperial examinations of the Han Dynasty gave many literati hope. Whether they were ordinary people or descendants of official families, everyone had opportunities and hope.
But suddenly the emperor changed his mind, and an imperial edict was issued, allowing 145 of the more than 800 students in the Imperial College to pass the imperial examination, and more than 1,300 students from more than 60 states across the country to receive the title without taking the exam! Although the title was transferred between neighboring counties, the whole country was rejoicing and everyone was happy!
It turned out that the emperor was implementing the official reform system, and because Wei Shen had someone in his family serving in the court, he vaguely heard that the court asked these students to practice before taking the exam. Because these students are already qualified candidates and are qualified to be officials, all they have to do is compete in the Jinshi Competition.
In order to eliminate those people who were obsessed with studying and could not become officials and govern, the imperial court first sent these people to prefectures and counties across the country to serve as interns, and then returned to Beijing with resumes to report on their work after one year of their term. The ranking in the examination determines whether you will stay or be appointed.
This method is really the first time in history, and many people feel very good. Because some candidates have studied all their lives and have not yet been admitted to the imperial examinations even when they are fifty or sixty years old. Even if they win the imperial examination in the future, they will not be able to serve the court for long, but their life experience is already quite good.
Previously, the imperial court had sent many people to temporarily appoint local officials. These temporarily appointed students were very successful in running construction and stabilizing local areas, and they played a positive role in various local developments!
These lucky students have naturally heard that many of these seniors have joined a secret party organization in the Han Dynasty. It is said that the leader of this organization is the current crown prince. Now that they have been appointed to important positions by the imperial court, especially those who are quite old, they are looking forward to showing off their talents somewhere!
Wei Shen's grandfather, Wei Shu, was a high-ranking official in Tongping Zhangshi under Emperor Gaozu, and also had the actual title of Minister of the Ministry of Industry. There are no high official titles in the hands of Wei Shen's parents anymore. Now Wei Shen has an uncle who is a sixth-rank official in the Ministry of Personnel, but he can't speak at all in the capital where officials are everywhere!
However, because of these relationships, Wei Shen himself had always been very popular in the Imperial College and had a lot of talents. By chance, he enthusiastically joined the secret party. Wei Shen was finally placed in Dongguan, not far from the capital. County internship.
Dongguan County originally belonged to Panyu County and Zengcheng County in ancient times, and was later divided into Bao'an County. It became a separate county in the middle of the Tang Dynasty. It got its name because it is located east of the Xingwang Mansion in the capital and is rich in coriander grass. Although it is very close to the capital and has a long coastline, Lingnan is still sparsely populated.
The current county magistrate is called Zhao Cijian, who is a descendant of Zhao Guangyi, the then Minister of War. He was barely a few years older than Wei Shen. He came to Dongguan around July last year, but he entered the official position out of kindness. Originally, it shouldn't be a problem to find a position in the capital based on his family background, but Wei Shen heard from his uncle, a sixth-grade uncle, that this Zhao Cijian was actually sent to Dongguan by the prince himself. Moreover, it is said that when the prince was King Wei, he actually teased Zhao Cijian several times in the circle of second-generation officials in Prince Xing's Mansion.
Wei Shen was no longer a young man who was ignorant of human affairs, and there were people in his family who were in the officialdom. In addition, many officials promoted by his grandfather in the past also helped him more or less. Knowing that people like Zhao Cijian came to Dongguan must have some insider knowledge, and he was either demoted or promoted without permission.
Zhao Cijian has obviously never held an official position before, so there is no such thing as demotion. Moreover, his family's support in the capital was obviously better than his own, so when he came to Dongguan, Wei Shen established a good relationship with Zhao Cijian.
Zhao Cijian also heard that Wei Shen's grandfather was Empress Wei Shu, so he was very polite and took good care of Wei Shen. After all, the Zhao family and the Wei family were both veterans of the founding of the Han Dynasty, and they still have many intersections. Now the younger generation must strengthen this win-win network!
This time Wei Shen was sent to Dongguan by the imperial court, and his duties were different from those of ordinary students. On the one hand, he is the best among the recent imperial examination students of the Imperial College; on the other hand, he has been educated at home since childhood and is good at making utensils and research on improving water conservancy construction. Furthermore, after secretly joining the secret party organization, he was trained by his superiors, so the Ministry of Civil Affairs directly designated him as the lucky one in this official examination arrangement, and directly appointed him to one of only four official positions with actual titles in each state. These four substantive official titles are generally distributed in the state capital and the important Shangzhong County, and their levels are from the junior rank of the official rank to the ninth rank.
Originally, county-level county captains in the late Tang Dynasty and Five Dynasties had official titles from the ninth rank, and each official rank was divided into upper and lower ranks. Even the assistant historians of Shangxian County in the two capitals and three capitals were all without rank. But the Liu Dynasty was good at creating official positions. Wei Shen didn't know what the court meant, but Wei Shen and the students who received the appointment were very happy!
Because if you have good grades, you are an official! Although he didn't know how long he would last as an official, Wei Shen knew that he would seize this opportunity and perform well.
I have been in Dongguan County for more than half a month. First, I have become familiar with some of the daily government affairs in the county, and then I have studied these aspects of things that I am responsible for. At this time, the countryside was preparing for busy farming. Lingnan has a good climate and crops are easier to grow than other places. However, it was said that the imperial court still had greater expectations for food production, so Wei Shen wanted to go to the countryside to see it in person and communicate with the villagers. Research and explore to see where it can be strengthened and improved.
Zhao Cijian arranged for Wei Shen to be in charge of agriculture and water conservancy. It was Wei Shen's expertise and inheritance of family knowledge, and Wei Shen was vaguely grateful to Zhao Cijian. Zhao Cijian himself has been busy supervising the construction at a seaside dock not far from the county seat. It is said that this dock is one of the three major shipyards in Dahan, and it is a new dock that only started construction in the second half of last year.
Wei Shen heard that the imperial court sent 5,000 soldiers to Dongguan at the end of last year, and even moved in many refugees. A large shipping workshop was built on the seaside, and it was strictly guarded by soldiers. Because Wei Shen is not in a position to interfere with government affairs that are not within his scope, he just wants to handle matters within his scope well. Wei Shen also knows that government affairs are things that cannot be rushed, but they must be done and implemented to be effective! So focus on delving into your own affairs!
Dongguan is located on the Pearl River at the southern end of Lingnan and has been sparsely populated since ancient times. But in July of last year, the imperial court suddenly allocated more than 200 households and more than 1,000 people to fill the gap, turning the small Dongguan County into a large county. Looking at the current layout of Dongguan and the continuous migration of refugees, Wei Shen had a vague feeling that Dongguan might become the state capital.
These families who moved to Dongguan scattered around to farm and settle down, and some became migrant workers near the shipyard. Everyone soon had their own farmland and jobs, and gradually became stable and lived in peace and contentment.
Among them, there was a place where the relocated households were concentrated. This place developed into a relatively famous place. Later, this place was named Deshengying. Deshengying is home to more than 30 families who have moved here this time. After hearing the introduction from the elderly in the county, Wei Shen decided to go and see the current development of these farmers.
When the county built the Desheng Camp, the imperial court sent commissioners to guide and help these farmers build their homes. The county must have also sent dedicated personnel to assist in the operation. Of course, the purpose of the county at that time was for stability and ease of management, and also to reflect the importance and good learning attitude of the commissioners sent by the imperial court.
Wei Shen then consulted Zhao Cijian's opinion and called a young detective of Chang San to accompany him, because Chang San had been to Desheng Camp several times with the county captain that day. Deshengying is more than 40 miles away from the county seat, and the terrain is close to mountains and seas, so it takes nearly 30 miles to travel through mountain roads.
The simple mountain official roads are actually just reconstructions of the original mountain roads, widened and flattened. Wei Shen didn't find it too strenuous as he had a donkey for transportation, not to mention that he himself was not the kind of frail scholar. Wei Xi and Chang San were used to walking, so they all set off early and arrived in less than two hours.
Sitting on the donkey and watching from a distance, Wei Shen was even a little surprised and curious as he looked at the relatively clear and well-proportioned wooden houses at the foot of the mountain. These houses are either built against the mountain or are located in twos and threes next to each other. They are all made of thick tree poles carefully assembled to form a large frame. However, these houses are built in the middle of the frame made of tree poles, with large flat blocks. Strips of stone are filled in orderly to form walls and foundations.
Wei Shen knew that this would protect the house from fire, making it as solid as a brick and tile structure but also in the style of a wooden building. Moreover, there is a small yard surrounded by fences in front of every house, and you can even see chickens and ducks in the yard. Although he looked at it from a distance, Wei Shen was already very surprised. This place doesn't look like a farmhouse that just moved here. It's like a paradise that has existed for hundreds of years!
Chang San seemed to see Wei Shen's surprise, but he seemed a little used to this look, and said with some emotion: "This is what Xiao Xiao accompanied Mr. Zhao to personally supervise the construction that day. Dozens of big houses were built by them." With the help of the villagers themselves and us, we cut down trees and moved stones to add foundations to fill the house, and it was all completed in only six days. The children have never seen such a method of building a house and such a fast speed. After it was built, I was secretly feeling miraculous. Mr. Zhao said at the time that this method was taught by our prince himself. Most of the villagers who moved from various places in Lingnan used this method to build their homes. And there are many places in Lingnan. The materials are large trees and stones, which can generally be obtained locally and are most suitable for farmers to live in."
Seeing that Wei Shen was listening attentively, he became even more energetic and talked about everything he saw and heard that day. He seemed to be better at expressing himself and added some of his own thoughts to it. It sounded particularly expressive, as if It brings people back to the situation at that time.
Wei Shen couldn't help but signal him not to stop, but looked around in the distance. He couldn't stop talking and kept talking: ",,,,,,, and ah! I heard that the people who moved to Lingnan were all greatly favored by the imperial court, and gratefully followed the imperial court's arrangements, and consciously used this There are many ways to build a home. Now go and see that every household has a memorial tablet for the emperor! Later, the county gave them the poultry seedlings distributed by the court. Ten households rented a cattle to make a living. The young man was ordered to accompany him A senior official from the county also came for a return visit! What he saw at that time was as surprising as yourselves now. He also lamented that if he didn’t serve in the county in the future, he would lead the family to find a quiet place like this. So happy!" Chang San saw that Wei Shen was so talkative and liked to listen, so he kept talking and his eyes were dancing.
Wei Shen was indeed so surprised and shocked that he slowly walked on the donkey and reached the middle of the mountain before he knew it. Gradually, I saw that there were no tall trees on the hillside here. There were paddy fields on the sloping mountain, winding down one ladder after another, and there were different crops growing well in the fields.
Wei Shen was even more surprised. There were high mountains and little water here, and there were obviously no ponds or other places to store water on the mountains. How did these paddy fields come from? Although there is a lot of rain in Lingnan, it won’t rain every few days!
Wei Shen became more and more curious and couldn't help but let go of the donkey, letting Wei Xi take it, and walked along the terraces. From time to time, I would squat down to look at the mud and moisture in the fields. Sure enough, each terraced field had sufficient moisture.
Chang San didn't understand either and could only follow him obediently, but Wei Xi took the donkey aside!
After walking for a while and looking around, a ditch about two feet wide appeared in front of me. It winds and stretches along the side of the mountain. This ditch follows the mountain. Some places are hidden under bushes, some disappear behind boulders, and some places obviously have traces of artificial modification, but they are all continuous together.
Wei Shen was always smart. After looking carefully, he laughed and said, "I understand, I understand!" Chang San and the other two looked at Wei Shen covered in mud inexplicably, with happy expressions on their faces!
Chang San saw that Wei Shen was happy and seemed to have remembered something. He came closer and said, "There was no ditch like this here before. When we first came to choose a place! It is said that the official sent by the imperial court took a fancy to it and chose it for everyone. Build houses and open up land here. Those villagers were unwilling to open up the wasteland on this hillside. I didn't expect that the adult led the villagers to climb up the mountain over there, found a waterfall, and led the ditch in two or three days. In a few days, these wastelands will turn into paddy fields!" Chang San was a little proud of the publicity and looked at Wei Xi who didn't understand. However, seeing Wei Shen staring at him, he had to speak again in embarrassment.
He pointed to the continuous mountain on the far right and said: "There has been a small ditch on the mountain far over there for many years. The water is not big but there is a small waterfall. It flows directly into the sea over there. And here you see Look at the natural sloping ditch on the side of the mountain. Although it is not obvious, it is connected to that side. The master asked them to open this ditch and compact the mud, and the water was brought here, but What's surprising is that he didn't let the water flow directly down the terraces here. Instead, he only allowed a small amount of water to be released regularly, and the rest guided the excess water in this ditch for more than ten miles. I went to another village outside, and there was a small natural lake there! I didn’t expect that the terraced soil opened up on the high slope would turn into fertile farmland. The imperial court stipulated that these paddy fields that were opened up by themselves, as long as they did not deliberately destroy the mountains and forests to create farmland. , even if the villagers have their own permanent fields, and the court only levied half of the tax on the granted fields five years after it was opened, these villagers are extremely happy, even if it is a small one, they are very excited!"
Wei Shen was extremely excited. He was good at water conservancy development and utilization. He naturally knew that such a policy was unprecedented and that such measures to benefit the people could directly lead to an increase in farmland across the country. Although the country has no obvious benefits for the time being, the people have benefited a lot. In a few years, the country's tax revenue will naturally increase significantly without directly harming the people.
Looking at this ditch, Wei Shen felt even more excited. Chang San didn't know the current significance of this ditch, but Wei Shen knew that not only did this mean that the paddy field would not dry up from now on, but also because of its parallel flow, The waterline will benefit villages in the distance. No matter how much wasteland there is under the ditch along the line, it will become fertile farmland in the future!
I really don’t know who came up with this method, but it is simple and applicable and has far-reaching significance. And it may go down in history. Wei Shen's heart boiled. Being an official requires merit, and benefiting all people is merit!
But Wei Shen didn't see this incident in the county's previous information. Although Wei Shen didn't know the reason, he thought about what it would mean if this method could be used to maintain and conserve water in places where water was scarce! Wei Shen almost didn't dare to imagine anymore, and immediately asked Wei Xi to take out a pen and paper, and quickly recorded and copied the surrounding environment.
As we descended to the foot of the mountain, we saw all kinds of crops along the way! Because these farmhouses are not far from the seaside, you can even see a big wooden boat on the beach. Wei Shen did not go there to see the boat, but saw many people pointing at the edge of a paddy field, as if they were getting ready to work. Judging from their clothes, they belonged to the farmers here.
Wei Shen asked Wei Xi to tie up the donkey, and then led them to the paddy field here. As he saw, the mud in these paddy fields had been plowed, crushed and processed, and the fields with muddy water were obviously ready to plant crops.
As you get closer, you can see that in some places in these paddy fields, bunches of green grass-like seedlings with a length of more than five inches have been scattered. Wei Shen is not a bumpkin, and he knows that these rice seedlings are from Fujian. Rice seedlings are now commonly grown in China. It is said that this kind of rice seedlings came from Jiaozhou. Han Dynasty also planted a small amount of them. They can be harvested in more than fifty days, and the yield is high!
Still a field away from everyone, Wei Shen didn't dare to be rude. I saw a young man standing in the paddy field with his trouser legs rolled up with two or three old people, talking seriously.
The young man was holding a few green seedlings in his hands, and the old men listened to the young man's words with respectful expressions on their faces. This young man was also wearing a peasant's homespun clothes. When Wei Shen looked at him, he felt that he was very majestic, but his hands were full of mud and his feet were bare.
There were a few people around him who were also thin-skinned and tender, but also wearing peasant clothes. Among them was a tall and sturdy peasant man, who looked over here with bright eyes. Wei Shen smiled without fear, nodded politely towards him, and saw that they were talking and did not disturb them.
At this time, Wei Shen looked at this young man, rolled up his trouser legs even higher, and then strode into the paddy field. He took a handful of bundled green seedlings, separated them and pinched one or two individual plants, and then carefully inserted the seedlings into the muddy water with three fingers of his right hand. He saw that the seedlings stood firmly. , he inserted one row at a distance of four or five inches.
Then he spread it seven or eight inches apart and inserted the second row. In a short time, he inserted a large area. He did not stop planting seeds and talking to the old people about the methods of planting seeds. Wei Shen had already heard clearly and knew that this young man was teaching these people to plant this kind of seedlings.
The old farmer on the side carefully watched him operate and concentrated on learning, with a smile on his face. After a while, when the young man asked them if they knew it, they quickly said they understood, but then asked some questions about crop seedling management and water conservancy.
Wei Shen listened on the sidelines but didn't understand at all. He was more and more surprised because these farmers spoke Mandarin, and this young man was also fluent in Mandarin. But seeing that this young man was obviously not an ordinary farmer, he kept watching quietly.
The young man walked to the edge of the field and washed his feet. Without wearing shoes, he smiled and asked the farmers around him if they understood. Everyone smiled and said yes! Wei Shensha was curious. When he saw him standing on the edge of the field, he couldn't help but walk over a few steps and bow his hands in greeting from afar!
"You are being polite. I see that the young master is familiar with the operation methods of these crops. This is Wei Shen, a new assistant official from Dongguan County. He would like to ask the young master for some advice on farm crops! I wonder if the young master can give me some advice!"
Before the young man could speak, the stout man next to him tried to stop Wei Shen. The young man waved his hand and the man stepped aside. There were several old farmers around the young man who had met Chang San and had some memories of him. They said a few words in the young man's ear.
The young man kept smiling. At this time, he said lightly: "It's rare. I am an official in the county. If you have anything to do, you should stay in the county. Besides, now is not the time for routine visits to the residents. I don't know what the master is doing." It’s time to come to this country village!”
Chang San was about to speak just now, but when he saw what Wei Shen was about to say, he stopped talking and led Wei Shen slowly closer.
Wei Shen winked and backed away. He raised his hands and said to the young man: "A certain family has been adhering to family education since childhood. They are very fond of water conservancy and agriculture. They only want to use what they have learned to do something for the country." . This time, Dongguan County, which has received the emperor's favor and allowed a certain family to come to Dongguan County as they wished, is determined to benefit the people with what they have learned."
At this point, Wei Shen said with a serious look on his face: "After coming all the way to Desheng Camp, a certain family was very happy to see what they saw. These measures implemented by the imperial court are indeed a great thing that benefits the country and the people! Especially when a certain family just came all the way. From what I saw, I also found a great thing that could make my Han Dynasty famous in history. A certain company decided to collect various techniques that benefit the country and the people from now on, compile it into a book and promote it to all people. Let the people of the Han Dynasty benefit a lot from now on, if possible Even in the future, the entire Central Plains region will also be affected by my big man! The young master of a certain family must be familiar with crops, so he wants to communicate with him, and I hope he will give you some advice!"
The young man laughed loudly: "That's great! Mr. Wei, please come over and get together!" He had already strode over to welcome him. Wei Shen hurriedly caught up, took the young man's hand and walked with him to the wider field ridge, his eyes full of happiness.
The young man asked Wei Shen what good thing he had just said that was beneficial to the country and the people. Wei Shen told the young man about what he had just seen on the mountain, the benefits of storing water in ditches for irrigation. Furthermore, if the water potential is not high enough, there are some techniques for using waterwheels and dams to store water.
As expected, this young man was also deeply involved in agriculture. Wei Shen was greatly impressed by the insights he expressed, and he also greatly appreciated Wei Shen's ideas. For a time, the two of them became more and more speculative.
The two people chatted non-stop for a while, and while communicating, they couldn't help but slowly walked to the front of a farmyard. The owner of this farmhouse is among this group of people. Although he looks like a farmhouse, he is quite knowledgeable and sensible. He hurriedly welcomed the group of people in, and Wei Shen didn't care and walked in holding hands with the young man.
