Twenty-one years of spring plowing in Jian'an finally ended in Zhang Xi's fear.
There is no locust plague yet, so Zhang Xi can only wait and see what happens. At the same time, he continues to work hard with Xiao Deng Ai to process paperwork and continue to be Xiaobao.
As soon as the spring plowing was over, another not-so-big thing was put on Zhang Xi's schedule - the peasants and craftsmen promised by the aristocratic families to Zhang Xi were already in place, and Yuelu Academy finally started formal construction.
Zhang Xi can finally rest assured about this matter for the time being. With the support of the four major aristocratic families, all he needs to do is find an assistant to keep an eye on the progress of the project.
Of course, the four major aristocratic families came to talk to Zhang Xi about this, and they didn't really care about the construction process of Yuelu Academy. They mainly wanted to remind Zhang Xi whether the paper distribution rights of the four of them had been settled.
At this time, Zhang Xi had actually received a letter from Zhuge Liang from Chengdu. This dead fish head is quite fashionable. Nowadays, letters are written on paper instead of silk.
Also, paper is much cheaper than silk. With Zhuge Liang's stinginess, it's strange that there are cheap ones that he doesn't use.
In short, Zhuge Liang told Zhang Xi in his letter that Liu Bei had agreed to the affairs of the four major families, and Chengdu would specially arrange an assistant historian to come to Jingzhou to be responsible for the issuance of Jingzhou paper.
At the same time, Zhuge Liang also briefly told Zhang Xi about using paper as a bargaining chip, and told Zhang Xi that the assistant historian would be responsible for this matter, and then reported directly to Zhang Xi for Zhang Xi's attention. Just go through the process.
This kind of thing should be discussed after the others arrive. Zhang Xi said that he should first tell the four major aristocratic families that Liu Bei agreed to let the four major aristocratic families issue paper as agents.
As soon as the four major aristocratic families heard that this matter was settled, they immediately flattered Zhang Xi, which made Zhang Xi feel a little disgusted.
In late April, Zhuge Liang's assistant arrived in Jingzhou and personally went to Guan Yu and Zhang Xi's mansion to pay homage to them one by one.
This person's surname is Fei, his given name is Yi, and his courtesy name is Wenwei.
Okay, here comes another great guy.
Fei Yi was actually from Jingzhou, but as early as when Liu Biao was in power, Fei Yi's hometown Jiangxia was back and forth between Huangzu and Jiangdong, causing a large number of aristocratic families and people to flee. The Fei family also fled from Jiangxia at this time. , and took refuge in Yizhou, which was relatively stable.
So, Fei Yi is considered a native of Jingzhou, but he grew up in Yizhou. It is easier for both parties to accept that he coordinates the paper issuance.
In addition, this person has good abilities, good eloquence and good command, and he is a material for big things.
Therefore, Zhuge Liang sent Fei Yi to Zhang Xi. Firstly, he asked Zhang Xi to help check this person's abilities. Secondly, he also gave Fei Yi a chance to exercise his independence in handling work in preparation for future promotion.
Zhang Xi has an inexplicable pride. Among the four faces of Ji Han, one is my colleague and the other two are my subordinates. How shameful would it be if he told this? !
Well, just think about it after work. After thinking about it, Zhang Xi has to continue to lower his head and deal with the work at hand. Fei Yi's arrival cannot help him reduce the paperwork on hand.
After the spring plowing ended, although the bulk of the work was over, other aspects of work slowly began to increase.
With the construction of Yuelu Academy started, although Zhang Xi sent an assistant to supervise it, he still has to pay attention to it, otherwise the old man Sima Hui will not let you go. He will wait for Yuelu Academy to be completed and move in to read books and retire. He was even prepared to die in Yuelu Academy.
In addition to this matter, in April, the corvee can be officially launched, but Zhang Xi plans to postpone it until May.
If a locust plague really breaks out, if Zhang Xi is unable to mobilize the people to take the initiative to exterminate the locusts, he will be forced to collect labor in the name of corvee. Although it may cause dissatisfaction among the people, he will not sit back and watch the locust plague raging.
But if the corvee was arranged in this aspect, many things would not be done in time, including strengthening the Jiangling city wall, maintaining roads in various places, etc. As soon as these things were delayed, Ma Liang immediately became anxious and went to Zhangxi three times a day. run.
The matter of corvee service is not only a matter for the Nanjun Prefect, Guan Yu also needs to use it, so it cannot be suppressed all the time.
Zhang Xi was also helpless and asked Ma Liang, what do you think we should do about this matter? !
Should we let the people build the city wall at the risk of a bad harvest and starvation, or should we endure the people's scolding and organize the people to save themselves? !
Ma Liang is not the kind of person who believes in the telepathy of heaven and man, otherwise he would not have warned Zhang Xi in advance about the possible insect infestation, so this rhetoric is useful to Ma Liang.
The two sighed at each other for a long time, and finally Ma Liang compromised, saying that he would withstand Guan Junhou's pressure, but it could only be postponed until early May at most. If there was no locust plague in early May, then the corvee should be collected on time.
Zhang Xi agreed.
In addition to the corvee matter, Ma Liang also had to discuss the military ordnance issue with Zhang Xi when he came this time.
In accordance with Guan Yu's request, the army began to comprehensively build the Miao Dao to replace the Huanshou Dao.
As for the Pu Dao, only 3,000 were made in the army. Guan Yu planned to use it to arm a team of 2,000 Pu Dao, leaving a thousand as a reserve.
More than 4,000 Miao knives have been made so far. Guan Yu has tried to change the uniforms of some of his soldiers. The first to be replaced are the 5,000 elite Yuanyang formations.
For the rest, Guan Yu plans to gather a team of 10,000 people before the end of the year. In this regard, it will still be very difficult if no one supervises him.
Ma Liang came to Zhang Xi to discuss this issue mainly.
In the past, the army did not reserve so much iron ore and coal. Once a batch was used up, it would have to organize other people to mine it. This kind of thing could only be done by the craftsmen in the army, and there was a serious shortage of manpower.
Mining technology these days is not up to standard, and mining in mines is very dangerous. Initiating corvees to do this will easily cause public resentment, but letting the sergeants do it will delay the training.
Therefore, Ma Liang was not sure how to handle this matter and came to ask Zhang Xi's opinion.
Zhang Xi said that if there is really no other way, then hire people from the refugees who are willing to take risks to support their families and go to the mountains to mine.
After all, they are refugees who have fled. If they really can't survive, they can do anything if they can have an income of money and food.
Ma Liang suddenly felt heartbroken again. Do you want money again? !
Our family is guarding the three original counties of Jingzhou. Among them, only Nanjun is considered the essence of Jingzhou. It is not easy for Wuling County and Lingling County to be self-sufficient.
A county has to do so many things to pay for food and taxes. It's not that Ma Liang is stingy, it's really money.
Then Zhang Xi said that apart from this method, he had no other good ideas.
After much deliberation, Ma Liang finally agreed to allocate a batch of money and food to Zhang Xi to recruit refugees.
On the one hand, the ore must be mined, which is related to the military's armaments, and Guan Yu doesn't care how difficult it is.
On the other hand, during the Huainan War last year, many refugees came to Jingzhou from Jiangxia in the east. If these refugees are not resettled, once civil unrest breaks out, it will also be a threat to the local area.
So, it’s better to pay for it.
However, Ma Liang still reminded Zhang Xi that it is okay to recruit refugees, but they must be controlled and cannot cause trouble in the local area.
Zhang Xi knew this very well. After all, when he was in Xiaji County, Zhang Xi had presided over the resettlement work of the refugees.
Serious refugees still hope to farm. Most of the refugees who risk mining for money and food are not good birds, so management must keep up. Someone in the province organizes the refugees to cause trouble.
Zhang Xi gave this job to Zhang Yi.
Zhang Xi believed in Zhang Ni's methods very much. After all, this was the person who would control the barbarians in Nanzhong in the future. It would be a disaster if he couldn't even manage these refugee miners.
Zhang Yi's approach was very simple. He directly organized these refugees into teams and managed them in a semi-military manner.
After that, Zhang Ni chopped off a few unruly heads as a deterrent, and promoted a few capable refugees to team captains. With the combination of kindness and power, the production efficiency of the refugee miners soon improved a lot, and they could provide The army has provided enough iron ore and coal.
In short, it can be considered that there is a dedicated person in charge of this matter.
Then, Zhang Xi thought about the things at hand and found that there seemed to be some manpower available.
Then why are you still as busy as a dog? !
Oh, it turns out that I also gave the job of the Jun Cheng a part-time job. What about my Jun Cheng? !
Ever since Zhang Xi agreed to Li Qiu's resignation and sent people to Wuling County to help Xu Shu fight against the barbarians, the position of Nanjun County Cheng became vacant.
The Jingzhou family is really keeping an eye on this position. If another outsider is placed in the position, he probably won't be able to hold it for long.
After much deliberation, Zhang Xi wrote a letter to Xu Shu, hoping that he would give one of his two brothers, Xi Hong and Xi Zhen, who were serving as county magistrates in Wuling County, to him as county magistrates.
When Liu Bei conquered Jingnan in the early years, the two brothers Xi Hong and Xi Zhen took refuge in Liu Bei and worked as Liu Bei's staff.
Later, Sun Quan made a surprise attack on Jingnan. Liu Bei and Sun Quan discussed the demarcation of the border. Liu Bei returned to Yizhou, and the two brothers Xi Hong and Xizhen were left by Liu Bei in Wuling County to help Xu Shu handle government affairs.
Zhang Xi thought about it, Xi Hong and Xi Zhen are both talented brothers. It would be a waste to keep them in one place in Wuling County. It would be better for one of them to come to Nan County to help him handle government affairs.
But this matter required Xu Shu’s nod, so he wrote to Xu Shu and asked Xu Shu to arrange it.
Then Xu Shu said that he was about to go out to quell the barbarian rebellion in Wuling County. The Xi brothers could not leave Wuling for the time being. They would discuss it with the two brothers after he returned to the army. In other words, at least before the middle of the year, Zhang Xi would have to Continue to hold the post of Nanjun County Magistrate concurrently.
Zhang Xi’s depressed one, doesn’t he still have to be a little treasure for at least two months? !
Zhang Xi's mind once again came up with the idea of finding talents for himself to share the pressure.
In this era, it is not taboo to cultivate your own people, expand your power, etc. After all, it is an era of dual monarchy.
Even Zhuge Liang can cultivate and recommend talents.
It's just that Zhuge Liang was dedicated to public service, so his talents were ultimately used by the country, while some people, whether they were Cao or Sima, their talents were only used to serve their own families.
Just for this reason, the Prime Minister dumped certain products for several times. I don’t know where they got the confidence to smear and accuse the Prime Minister.
Well, that’s too much nonsense.
Now Zhang Xi is short of talents. In order to prevent himself from continuing to be a little treasure, Zhang Xi began to recall whether he had met any talented people who were kind to others in the nearly ten years since he traveled back in time.
Then, Zhang Xi thought of someone.
Zhao Lei.
(End of chapter)
