The bright moon hangs in the sky, the shadows of the stone forest, a man and a woman sit quietly on both sides of the stone table. Among the maids holding a lantern not far away, one of the thin ones raised her ears and listened carefully to the conversation between the man and the woman.
Although a man and a woman spoke in low voices, even in the quiet night, the little bird could hear them clearly. After listening for a while, the little girl lost interest and just looked at the two people at the stone table with envy.
Brother Rong raised his head and saw the full moon rising above his head. Tuan Kuan advised: "It's time to go back."
Xiao Daiyu hummed softly. Although the atmosphere in the stone forest was as gentle as the spring breeze, she felt extremely at ease. He recited a poem softly, but Jia Rong, who was ignorant and unskilled, didn't understand the source and was thinking about it in his mind.
I heard Daiyu's voice again. "Brother Rong will return to Beijing early. I'll wait for you in Shenjing."
"Um?"
Under the lingering sound, the little man beside the stone table left with the lantern. The thin little Que'er originally wanted to stay and take care of her, but Zicuckoo coaxed her away, leaving Brother Rong alone in the forest. Picking up a lantern in his hand, he slowly thought about the meaning of Daiyu's words just now.
The lantern-carrying Rhododendron and Xiao Daiyu who were walking through the stone forest laughed and said, "I'm afraid Uncle Xiao Rong won't be able to sleep tonight."
Under the light of the lantern, Lin Daiyu's face was flushed, and the smile at the corner of her mouth was still as sentimental as before. She quietly looked back and saw Brother Rong still there in a daze. Yingying smiled and said, "It's better that he can't sleep. He also has to experience the pain of being unable to sleep."
Zijuan snickered and said, "It's a pity that I can't see Uncle Xiao Rong throwing red beans."
After hearing this, the little bird curled up its little mouth and discussed it with its belly. Looking at Zicuckoo laughing and making fun next to her, a secret suspicion arose in her heart.
The next day.
There was a big war going on in the Lin Mansion, and Jia Rong was woken up by the sound early in the morning.
The Lin family didn't bring many things to Kyoto. Most of them were books and paintings, and there were a few gold and stone toys that didn't look so shabby. Brother Rong thought to himself, the Lin family is traveling lightly this time. After waiting for a while, he avoided the figure slightly. I saw all the female members of the Lin family leaving the house, and there was a long queue of sedans and carriages outside.
"Uncle, where are we going?" asked the little bird beside him.
"The Lin family is going north today, and we still have to see them off at the pier. After seeing off the Lin family, it's time to go back to Hongze Lake for business."
Jia Rong calculated in his mind. Yangzhou's officialdom has changed drastically, and the Lin family's retirement after success is indeed the best thing. Apart from the credit for assisting, what else can I get? What can we do to benefit ourselves and the Jia family?
Brother Rong was thinking secretly, but suddenly he felt someone looking at this place. Looking back, he saw an old farmer staring closely at him at the edge of the pier.
Isn't this a peasant envoy under some respect from the Holy Religion?
Brother Rong pretended not to see it, but suddenly saw the little bird next to him looking nervous, lowering his head and saying, "Master, it's important to have business, let's go to Hongze Lake early."
I see. Jia Rong secretly glanced at the old farmer with his peripheral vision. This peasant envoy should have a high status in the Holy Religion. He actually has his own portrait, so he definitely recognizes the appearance of the Buddha Mother.
The reason why the old farmer stared closely at this place was that he saw Xiao Queer and the Buddha Mother who had been missing from the Holy Religion for two or three years.
Brother Rong nodded secretly and did not want to contact the people of the Holy Cult for the time being. Especially in Yangzhou City, who knows if there are any members of the Jinyi Division Guards on the dock.
He led Que'er to Lin Ruhai, said goodbye respectfully, then looked for the carriage and drove quickly towards Hongze Lake.
This day.
Jia Rong and the river officials inspected Hongze Lake and heard a report from Xuyi County Magistrate of Fengyang Prefecture asking for an audience.
Brother Rong was very happy to see his old acquaintance and said kindly, "You came in time. How are you doing these days?"
"After hearing the order for the counties around Hongze Lake to cooperate with the river channel adjustment, the lower officials also heard that the superior officials were here, so they came over in a hurry." Under the scorching sun, Duan Lang looked embarrassed even though he was wearing official uniform, sweating profusely.
"There is no need to be polite. You are different. Other magistrates obeyed orders and disobeyed them one after another. But you are the only one who is honest and actually came here in person." Jia Rong laughed.
Duan Lang was also quite helpless. As the saying goes, the imperial power does not extend to the county, but only to the clans, and the clans are autonomous. Duan Lang had only been here for a short period of time, and he wanted to do something serious. Naturally, he was not well received by the people in the county. All the big families in the county were those who would not let go of rabbits, and they may not be of the same faction as him.
Duan Lang smiled bitterly and said: "My uncle has an order, even if you are a mountain of swords and a sea of fire, I have to come here."
"Well come over." Brother Rong smiled and invited him to talk in the shade. He smiled and said: "The local situation is complicated, and the imperial court does not have the energy to manage it in depth. To govern like this, it depends entirely on you local masters. As long as you are willing to listen to the orders from above, promotion may not be difficult."
Duan Lang's eyes lit up and he was overjoyed. He also felt that his facial expression was too rude, so he quickly restrained himself and replied: "I beg you to show me."
"It's easy to say." Jia Rong said calmly: "If other magistrates don't come, it doesn't really matter. I see that the Huaihe River crosses your Xuyi County. As long as you come, it will be the same."
"Are we going to regulate the lower Huaihe River?" Duan Lang's expression tightened. The imperial court needed a lot of migrant workers to build rivers, and they didn't have much money. This...
Duan Yu, who was standing next to him, saw Duan Lang's expression and snorted coldly: "How can we still harm you, a small county magistrate? Fortunately, you are from Jia Jiaen, and you don't even have this awareness."
Duan Lang apologized and said bitterly: "The continuous heavy rain in June has affected many acres of land of all ethnic groups in Xuyi. If there is another big disturbance, the land tax will be levied this year..."
Jia Rong said calmly: "Don't worry. As far as I know, although the water areas in the Jiangnan provinces are developed, most of them are planted in dry fields and there is little rice. Although silk and gold are heavy, mulberry leaves are planted in both fertile and thin fields. What's the point? The foundation of farming. Now there is a strategy that can not only protect the Xuyi Huaihe River from flood disasters, but also allow you to rule the people and become an official. You will naturally be promoted and make a fortune."
Duan Lang was confused and asked: "Is there such a good thing in the world?"
"It didn't exist before, but now I have it when I come here." Jia Rong said: "Today, the cement kiln factory established by Ningguo Prefecture in Ping'an Prefecture has started production. These cement products will be transported to the south of the Yangtze River for use in Huanghuai flood control. Your county Xuyi is The most important thing is if we can build dams and reservoirs in various rivers and open water diversion canals for irrigation. This will not only prevent the need for water diversion and storage, but also prevent floods and open up thousands of acres of paddy fields, which will benefit future generations."
Duan Lang smiled bitterly, things are easy to say, but difficult to do. There is Hongze Lake in the north of Xuyi, with the Huaihe River in it, and the water system is developed. It cannot be cured by just thinking about it.
On this day, several people chatted for a long time.
After hearing the news, local officials from Baoying County and Hongxian County in the surrounding areas showed ridicule.
"Regulating the Huaihe River? A heavy rain will make all the efforts in vain."
"Even Sizhou City has gone to the bottom of Hongze Lake, and Xuyi is still trying to fight to the death. It's really ridiculous."
"Why do you care about this? Let's eat and drink. When Xuyi is flooded, the rich people in Xuyi County will not be able to escape to us?"
In fact, whether it is to manage Xuyi or the Huanghuai waters. In fact, except for King Zhongshun's faction, all the officials in the court were not optimistic about it, and even vigorously blocked it.
According to the ideas of Jia Rong and the river governor, water control can be divided into three steps.
"First of all, we have to reduce the water potential in the upper and lower reaches of the Huaihe River, and divert the water from the Huaihe River for irrigation in surrounding areas. Secondly, the mud and silt in Hongze Lake are increasing day by day, and the Yellow River needs to be diverted into the sea to reduce the pressure on Hongze Lake. At the same time, A diversion canal into the sea was built outside Hongze Lake for irrigation in the Huaidong area."
Jia Rong laughed and said, "Although Huaidong has become a saline-alkali land due to the influence of the Yellow River sediment, it is not impossible to plant. Rice cannot be planted, but planting mulberry trees is no problem, and it can even change the saline-alkali soil."
King Zhongshun asked: "Do you mean to concentrate the silkworm breeding in the north and south of Huaihe to Huaidong?"
Brother Rong nodded.
"Silk weaving in the south of the Yangtze River has developed so much that many people have converted fertile farmland into mulberry. Now, under the drought-to-water policy, we are taking this opportunity to return the original fertile farmland to paddy fields, and let the barren saline-alkali land grow mulberry leaves. This not only ensures the sustainability of silk, Paddy fields were also opened for cultivation.”
The governor of the river also said: "If water control and field camp are carried out at the same time, we will get twice the result with half the effort. I'm afraid the squires in the counties will not agree."
"They have been local emperors for several generations... country gentry and landlords. Now that they have a channel to change the land from drought to water and take official positions, they will not agree. I am afraid that when the time comes, they will rush to convert the land to paddy fields, and there will be a war over diversion of water for irrigation. "Jia Rong said contemptuously and sarcastically, "Now as long as they pay for people to build canals, we will even draw up the canal construction plans for them, so there is no reason to disagree."
King Zhongshun secretly squinted at the boy and asked, "What is your intention in calling the magistrate of Xuyi County?"
Brother Rong scratched his head and said shyly: "All the words are unfounded. As long as Xuyi County sets an example and waits for the imperial court to send official uniforms, which of the major families in other counties will not be jealous?"
The governor of the river and King Zhongshun were stunned. They had never thought of such a simple truth. It’s not their fault, it’s just that everyone has a different perspective. The Governor of the River Channel only protects the river channel and naturally doesn’t care about water conservancy and farmland matters.
The throne of Zhongshun is high and powerful, and the most trivial details like this can be left to the people below to handle. When the great scholar Shu Bole proposed that he could get an official position by changing drought to water, King Zhongshun still stopped him. Naturally, I won't think about it in that regard.
King Zhongshun sneered and said, "You are really tight with the magistrate of Xuyi County."
Brother Rong smiled and said: "It's not my fault. I sent a message to the masters from several surrounding counties to come over. But they all looked at our low status. Only one person from Xuyi County came here."
Duan Yu rolled his eyes when he heard this. These guards were considered half-imperial envoys when they came to the place. There was no reason why they would not cooperate. It's not Brother Rong who is causing trouble.
Did he know that Jia Rong did not disclose his identity when he sent the officials from Hedao Yamen to deliver the message? If Xuyi County Magistrate hadn't shrewdly known that it was Brother Rong who worked part-time at Hedao Yamen, he might not have come.
Brother Rong is manipulating people's hearts.
Master Thirteen didn't say anything after hearing these bastard words, and discussed the follow-up for a while.
Jia Rong said: "It is naturally not enough to open an irrigation canal to the east of Hongze Lake. The sluice gate of Gaoyou Lake entering the river needs to be repaired, and the Yangzhou river entering the river must also be repaired and protected."
Governor Hedao smiled and said: "Brother Rong, don't worry about this. Our Hedao Yamen has already made plans. It just depends on when the natural things from your Ningguo Mansion can be transported. The Hedao Yamen has already made drawings for each river in Yangzhou."
Brother Rong was happy in his heart and said: "The first ship of heavenly goods will be delivered in two days. Later, on the canal, there will be ships from Ningguo Mansion transporting heavenly goods day and night."
Master Thirteen poured a basin of cold water on him at this time. Tuangui said: "The canal is filled with water and released. Although it can temporarily allow your ships to transport heavenly goods, over time, the canal may not be able to withstand it."
Jia Rong also knows the pressure of frequent transportation on the canal. In the future, the canal will have to be dredged and diverted, making it unsuitable for heavy objects like cement to pass. He already had a countermeasure in his mind and replied: "Ningguo Mansion has already found a location to build a factory in Jinling. With the experience of Ping'an Prefecture, it won't take much time to start production. In the future, the Jinling Kiln Factory can produce while Expansion to meet Jiangnan needs.”
Money.
It's all money.
Brother Rong was secretly happy. The situation in the Jiangnan watershed is complex, and there are many places where cement is needed.
The Thirteenth Master looked at his appearance and said coldly: "I think your Ningguo Mansion may not be satisfied even if you open two more kilns."
Um?
What does this mean?
Listening to this, it doesn't seem good.
Jia Rong pretended to be stupid and said, "I should be satisfied."
After hearing this, Master Thirteen didn't ask any more questions, and everyone dispersed.
That evening, Jia Rong received a letter from Shenjing's family.
"Dry!"
"Uncle? What's the matter?" Xiaoque'er hurried over after hearing the voice.
"Nothing." Jia Rong said depressedly. Looking at the letter in my hand, I felt extremely helpless. No wonder during the day, I always felt that there was something in King Zhongshun's words. It turns out that all the officials in the DPRK finally had the idea of cement again.
This thing is really eye-catching, and as it is gradually promoted, it will become more and more eye-catching in the future.
Not to mention Gyeonggi and Pyonganju in the future, there are many places that need cement in Jiangnan Province. The benefits are truly enviable. I just didn't expect that in just half a year, the person who made the decision had been promoted from a country squire to a court official.
To be honest, Jia Rong really didn't want to give the cement prescription to the court.
But now, it’s difficult not to hand it over. Even King Zhongshun has hinted that the Thirteenth Master is now on the side of the court officials regarding the cement square. The most important thing is that there is the shadow of Emperor Xiande behind him. It was just that the emperor and the officials did not want to overtly prove the truth, so they changed their explanation.
"I knew there would be no benefit in becoming a concubine, just fuck her mother. I didn't expect that now Baiguan would use another method to force himself on urgent project matters. Alas..."
Xiaoque'er listened to Uncle Rong's curses and wanted to comfort him, but didn't know what to say.
Brother Rong concentrated and said to himself: "Although Zongcheng has made a grinding machine and is not afraid of competition in terms of output and quality, the formula cannot be handed over so cheaply."
Brother Rong cursed secretly and asked Xiao Que'er to take out the paper and write down the original cement formula. After calculating his words in his mind for a while, he arranged his clothes and hurried to where King Zhongshun was staying overnight.
"Second-class guard Jia Rong has something urgent to ask to see Prince Zhongshun."
He shouted, attracting the attention of all the guards.
"Brother Rong, what are you doing? You're here with this fight at night."
The person on duty outside was also an old acquaintance. Brother Rong said: "Good brother, can Mr. Thirteen take a rest? We have something urgent to ask for."
"It's not over yet, Brother Yu and Brother Yu just left."
